[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68-69]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28498]


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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 modify and 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 March 6, 2023. If you anticipate any difficulty 
in submitting comments within that period, contact the person listed in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 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. Mark 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. Mark Smith, at telephone: (202) 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Energy is proposing to 
modify and extend an information collection pursuant to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. The approved collection is presently being used 
for Clean Cities programmatic efforts involving three Clean Cities 
efforts: (1) community readiness for plug-in electric vehicles (PEV); 
(2) DOE's National Clean Fleets Partnership; and (3) Clean Cities 
coalition ``Ride and Drive Surveys''. DOE is proposing to continue 
assessing levels of community readiness for PEVs and also to continue 
assessing progress and acceptance of advanced technology vehicles via 
``Ride and Drive Surveys''. DOE is proposing to include a new 
information collection instrument that is an active and effective Clean 
Cities Coalition self-assessment to ensure its coalitions can remain in 
good standing for designation purposes. DOE will no longer be 
collecting information regarding its National Clean Fleets Partnership. 
The net result is that DOE is not proposing to expand the scope of the 
existing ICR.
    Comments are invited on: (a) whether the modified and 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.

[[Page 69]]

    This information collection request contains: (1) OMB No.: 1910-
5171; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Clean Cities Vehicle 
Programs; (3) Type of Review: renewal and modification; (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 
successful adoption of these vehicles and assess their progress in 
doing so. The voluntary PEV Scorecard is intended to assist its 
coalitions and stakeholders in assessing the level of readiness of 
their communities for PEVs. The principal objective of the scorecard is 
to provide respondents with an objective assessment and estimate of 
their respective community's readiness for PEV deployment as well as 
understand the respective community's commitment to deploying these 
vehicles successfully. DOE intends the scorecard 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 
scorecard 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 Cities Coalition active and effective self-
assessment, DOE seeks to gain information that allows DOE Clean Cities 
leadership to determine whether its coalitions can remain in good 
standing, and thereby retain designation as a Clean Cities coalition. 
There are 80 Clean Cities coalitions across the United States, each of 
which applies to DOE for designation. Achieving full designation 
requires a comprehensive, strategic, four-year Program Plan that spells 
out a much broader range of commitments from the coalition and 
associated stakeholder outlining education plans, technical assistance, 
and other strategies to overcome market barriers and adopt best 
practices for organizational excellence that ensure the long-term 
sustainability of the coalition itself. DOE expects approximately 80 
coalitions to complete the self-assessment annually, and DOE expects a 
total respondent population of 80 corresponding respondents. Completing 
the self-assessment for each Clean Cities coalition, which occurs 
annually, is expected to take 45 minutes. The total burden is expected 
to be 80 coalition respondents x 45 minutes = 60 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/sometime 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; (4) Perceptions of PEVs before 
and after driving; (5) Post-drive vehicle experience; (6) Purchase 
expectations; (7) Follow-up survey regarding subsequent behaviors; (8) 
Purchase information; (9) Barriers; and (10) 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) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 16,300; (6) Annual 
Estimated Number of Total Responses: 16,300; (7) Annual Estimated 
Number of Burden Hours: 28,250 hours (25,625 for PEV Scorecard, 60 
hours for Clean Fleets coalition self-assessment, 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.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on December 
23, 2022, by Sarah Ollila, Acting Director of the Vehicle Technologies 
Office, Office Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, pursuant to 
delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with 
the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For 
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of 
the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 
Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the 
document in electronic format for publication, as an official document 
of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way 
alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on December 28, 2022
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2022-28498 Filed 12-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P