[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 141 (Friday, July 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47813-47814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17391]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5915-N-06]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Notice of 
Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment: Evaluation of the 
Office of Public and Indian Housing's (PIH) Energy Performance 
Contracting (EPC) Program

AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: September 20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Colette Pollard, Reports 
Management

[[Page 47814]]

Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW., Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-402-
3400 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at 
[email protected] for a copy of the proposed forms or other 
available information. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email Colette Pollard at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-3400. This is not a toll-
free number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Evaluation of the Office of Public 
and Indian Housing's (PIH) Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) 
Program.
    OMB Approval Number: None.
    Type of Request: This is a new request.
    Form Number: None.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
information is being collected to explore and document the 
effectiveness and value of HUD's Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) 
program. EPCs are an innovative financing technique designed to provide 
Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) with cost-effective energy 
improvements that are installed with little or no up-front 
expenditures, wherein the costs of the improvements are typically borne 
by the performance contractor and repaid using a portion of the cost 
savings resulting from the improvements. HUD has approved approximately 
315 EPCs, totally nearly $1.5 billion in investments, since this type 
of financing began in the 1980s. EPCs have been executed in all ten HUD 
Regions and in very small (less than 250 units) to very large (more 
than 6,599 units) PHAs; however to date, no substantive review of the 
program's performance has been conducted. The proposed data collection 
instrument is a web-based survey that will be supported by follow-up 
telephone interviews to a subset of the study's participants.
    Respondents (i.e. affected public): Employees of housing 
organizations receiving funding from HUD, specifically public housing 
authorities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 492 (consisting of PHAs that have: 
(1) Executed an EPC, (2) begun the EPC application process but didn't 
execute the EPC, and (3) never been associated with an EPC),
    Estimated Number of Responses: 394 (based on an 80% response rate, 
web survey or telephone interviews).
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Hours per Response: 0.79 (weighted average).
    Total Estimated Burdens: 312.

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                                             Number of     Frequency of    Responses per    Burden hour    Annual burden    Hourly cost
         Information collection             respondents      response          annum       per response        hours       per response     Annual cost
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Web Survey..............................             328               1               1            0.75             246          $44.15         $10,861
Telephone Interview.....................              66               1               1               1              66           44.15           2,914
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    Total...............................             394  ..............  ..............  ..............             312  ..............          13,775
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B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

    Authority:  Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

    Dated: May 11, 2016.
Matthew E. Ammon,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-17391 Filed 7-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P