[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 121 (Wednesday, June 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36401-36402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15485]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[FTA Docket No. FTA-2015-0018]


Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved 
Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration 
(FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
the revision of

[[Page 36402]]

the currently approved information collection:
    Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants--New Starts Section 5309

DATES: Comments must be submitted before August 24, 2015.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that your comments are not entered more than once 
into the docket, submit comments identified by the docket number by 
only one of the following methods:
    1. Web site: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the U.S. Government electronic docket site. 
(Note: The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) electronic 
docket is no longer accepting electronic comments.) All electronic 
submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic docket site 
at www.regulations.gov. Commenters should follow the directions below 
for mailed and hand-delivered comments.
    2. Fax: 202-493-2251.
    3. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9:00 a.m. and 
5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number 
for this notice at the beginning of your comments. Submit two copies of 
your comments if you submit them by mail. For confirmation that FTA has 
received your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Note 
that all comments received, including any personal information, will be 
posted and will be available to Internet users, without change, to 
www.regulations.gov. You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published April 11, 2000, (65 FR 
19477), or you may visit www.regulations.gov. Docket: For access to the 
docket to read background documents and comments received, go to 
www.regulations.gov at any time. Background documents and comments 
received may also be viewed at the U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9:00 a.m. 
and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elizabeth Day, Office of Planning 
and Environment, (202) 366-5159, or email: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested parties are invited to send 
comments regarding any aspect of this information collection, 
including: (1) the necessity and utility of the information collection 
for the proper performance of the functions of the FTA; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways to 
minimize the collection burden without reducing the quality of the 
collected information. Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of 
this information collection.
    Title: Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants--New Starts Section 
5309
    (OMB Number: 2132-0561)
    Background: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) administers 
the discretionary Capital Investment Grant (CIG) grant program under 49 
U.S.C. 5309 that provides funding for major transit capital investments 
including rapid rail, light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit, and 
ferries. Three types of eligible projects are outlined in law: smaller 
scaled corridor-based transit capital projects known as ``Small 
Starts''; new fixed guideway transit systems and extensions to existing 
fixed guideway systems known as ``New Starts''; and projects to improve 
capacity at least 10 percent in existing fixed guideway corridors that 
are at capacity today or will be in five years, known as ``Core 
Capacity''. The CIG program has a longstanding requirement that FTA 
evaluate proposed projects against a prescribed set of statutory 
criteria at specific points during the projects' development including 
when they seek to enter a subsequent phase of the process or a 
construction grant agreement. In addition, FTA must report on its 
evaluations and ratings annually to Congress.
    The Moving Ahead for Progress Act in the 21st Century (MAP-21) 
enacted on July 6, 2012, made significant changes to the CIG program, 
including creation of an entirely new category of eligible projects 
called Core Capacity. MAP-21 also reduced the number of steps in the 
CIG process projects must follow to receive funds, created a new 
congestion relief evaluation criterion FTA must use to evaluate and 
rate projects, and specified that ``warrants'' (ways projects can 
qualify for automatic ratings) should be developed and used to the 
extent practicable. The requirement for CIG project ratings has been in 
place since 1998. Thus, the requirements for project evaluation and 
data collection for these proposed projects are not new. In general, 
the information used by FTA for CIG project evaluation and rating 
should arise as a part of the normal project planning process.
    FTA has been collecting project evaluation information from project 
sponsors under the existing OMB approval for this program (OMB No. 
2132-0561). However, due to the addition of the Core Capacity 
eligibility, the changes to the steps in the CIG process made by MAP-
21, and the proposed implementation of ``warrants,'' it became apparent 
that some information now required might be beyond the scope of 
ordinary planning activities.
    Respondents: State and local government.
    Estimated Annual Burden on Respondents: Approximately 444 hours for 
each of the 155 respondents.
    Estimated Annual Total Burden: 68,840 hours.
    Frequency: Annually.

Matthew M. Crouch,
Associate Administrator for Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-15485 Filed 6-23-15; 8:45 am]
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