[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 135 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45409-45410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15054]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Agency Information Collection Extension

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

ACTION: Submission for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review; 
comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy has submitted an information 
collection request to the OMB for extension under the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection requests a 
three-year extension of its Clean Cities Vehicle Programs Information 
Collection, OMB Control Number 1910-5171.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before August 16, 2023. If you anticipate difficulty in 
submitting comments within that period, contact the person(s) listed 
below as soon as possible. The Desk Officer may be telephoned at (202) 
881-8585.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark Smith, at telephone: (202) 
email: [email protected]. Please put ``2023 DOE Agency Information 
Collection Renewal-Clean Cities Vehicle Programs'' in the subject line 
when sending an email.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE is proposing to extend an information 
collection pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 
approved collection is presently 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. Previously DOE proposed to include a 
new information collection instrument to address active and effective 
Clean Cities Coalition self-assessments to ensure its coalitions can 
remain in good standing for designation purposes, however, DOE has 
determined that a specific information collection will not be needed 
for this work. For this reason, DOE is no longer proposing this 
specific effort. The net result is that DOE is not proposing to expand 
the scope of the existing ICR.
    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.
    This information collection request contains: (1) OMB No.: 1910-
5171; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Clean Cities Vehicle 
Programs; (3) Type of Review: Extension; (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 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

[[Page 45410]]

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; (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 2,500 hours for the Ride and Drive surveys.
    (5) Type of Respondents: Public;
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,300;
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 16,300;
    (8) 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
    (9) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$2,278,480.
    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 July 10, 
2023, by Michael Berube, Acting Program Director, Vehicle Technologies, 
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 July 12, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-15054 Filed 7-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P