[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66393-66394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26209]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Proposed Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, intends to extend for three years an information 
collection request with the Office of Management and Budget.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before February 3, 2020. If you anticipate difficulty in 
submitting comments within that period, contact the person listed below 
as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should include DOCKET # EERE-2019-VT-0XXX 
in the subject line of the message and be sent to: Mr. Dennis Smith, 
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE-3V), U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20585-0121, or by fax at 202-586-1600, or by email at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Dennis Smith at 
[email protected] or via 202-586-1791.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the 
extended collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of DOE, including whether the information 
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of DOE's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    The Department of Energy is proposing to extend an information 
collection pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 
approved collection is being used for three Clean Cities programmatic 
efforts. The first initiative is the collection of information for a 
voluntary plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) questionnaire that assists 
communities and DOE Clean Cities coalitions in assessing the level of 
readiness of their communities for PEVs. The second effort is intended 
to develop information that enables DOE to review the progress of DOE's 
National Clean Fleets Partnership (Partnership). The third effort is 
referred to as ``Ride and Drive Surveys''. DOE is not proposing to 
expand the scope of these information collection efforts.
    This information collection request contains: (1) OMB No.: 1910-
5171; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Clean Cities Vehicle 
Programs; (3) Type of Review: Renewal; (4) Purpose: DOE's Clean Cities 
initiative has developed three voluntary mechanisms by which 
communities, certain fleets, and the purchasing public can get a better 
understanding of their readiness for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), 
and to help DOE's Clean Cities coalitions prepare for the adoption of 
these vehicles review their progress in doing so. The voluntary PEV 
Scorecard is intended to assist communities and the coalitions in 
assessing the level of readiness of their communities for PEVs. The 
principal objectives of the questionnaire are to provide

[[Page 66394]]

respondents with an objective assessment and estimate of their 
respective community's readiness for PEVs as well as understand the 
respective community's goals related to integrating these vehicles, and 
allow communities to assess the magnitude of gaps in their readiness to 
achieve their goals. DOE intends the questionnaire to be completed by a 
city/county/regional sustainability or energy coordinator. As the 
intended respondent may not be aware of every aspect of local or 
regional PEV readiness, coordination among local stakeholders to gather 
appropriate information may be necessary.
    DOE expects a total respondent population of approximately 1,250 
respondents. Selecting the multiple-choice answers in completing a 
questionnaire is expected to take under 30 minutes, although additional 
time of no more than 20 hours may be needed to assemble information 
necessary to be able to answer the questions, leading to a total burden 
of approximately 25,625 hours. Assembling information to update 
questionnaire answers in the future on a voluntary basis would be 
expected to take less time, on the order of 10 hours, as much of any 
necessary time and effort needed to research information would have 
been completed previously.
    For the Clean Fleets Partnership information collection, the 
Partnership is targeted at large, private-sector fleets that own or 
have contractual control over at least 50 percent of their vehicles and 
have vehicles operating in multiple States. DOE expects approximately 
50 fleets to participate in the Partnership and, as a result, DOE 
expects a total respondent population of approximately 50 respondents. 
Providing initial baseline information for each participating fleet, 
which occurs only once, is expected to take 60 minutes. Follow-up 
questions and clarifications for the purpose of ensuring accurate 
analyses are expected to take up to 90 minutes. The total burden is 
expected to be 125 hours.
    For the DOE Clean Cities initiative that involves the ride-and-
drive surveys, DOE has developed a three-part voluntary survey to 
assist its coalitions and stakeholders in assessing the level of 
interest, understanding, and acceptance of PEVs and alternative fuel 
vehicles (AFV) by the purchasing public. DOE intends the surveys to be 
completed by individuals who are participating in one of many ride-and-
drive events. There are three phases to the Survey: (1) Pre Ride-and-
Drive; (2) post Ride-and-Drive; and (3) a few months/some time later to 
discern if the respondent followed through with acquisition of a PEV or 
another AFV. Respondents provide answers in the first two phases 
through a user-friendly paper survey and on-line survey, and in the 
third phase they answer questions via an electronic interface, although 
a paper survey may be used for those lacking access to an electronic 
device or computer.
    The Surveys' effort relies on responses to questions the respondent 
chooses to answer. The multiple-choice questions address the following 
topic areas: (1) Demographics; (2) Current vehicle background; (3) How 
they learned about ride and drive event; (3) Perceptions of PEVs before 
and after driving; (4) Post-drive vehicle experience; (5) Purchase 
expectations; (6) Follow-up survey regarding subsequent behaviors; (7) 
Purchase information; (8) Barriers; and (9) Future intentions. The 
survey is expected to take 30 minutes, leading to a total burden of 
approximately 28,250 hours (an increase 2,500 hours above the total 
burden in hours for the two currently approved collections).
    (5) Type of Respondents: Public; (6) Annual Estimated Number of 
Respondents for all three information collections: 16,300; (7) Annual 
Estimated Number of Total Responses: 16,300; (7) Annual Estimated 
Number of Burden Hours: 28,250 (25,625 for PEV Scorecard, 125 for Clean 
Fleets Partnership, and 2,500 for the Ride and Drive Surveys); and (8) 
Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: There is no 
cost associated with reporting and recordkeeping.

    Statutory Authority: 42 U.S.C. 13233; 42 U.S.C. 13252 (a)-(b); 
42 U.S.C. 13255.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on: November 25, 2019.
David Howell,
Deputy Director, Vehicle Technologies Office, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2019-26209 Filed 12-3-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P