[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3653-3654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01028]


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FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT STEERING COUNCIL

[ICR Ref. No. 202312-3121-001; OMB Control No. 3121-002]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council 
(Permitting Council) Executive Director invites the public and Federal 
agencies to comment on a proposed information collection request which 
is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. The Permitting 
Council publishes this notice in the Federal Register and invites 
comments in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please send your comments to the Permitting Council Executive 
Director on or before March 19, 2024. The Permitting Council Executive 
Director is soliciting comment on any aspect of this information 
collection, including: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) 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 Permitting Council Executive Director will 
consider all comments and

[[Page 3654]]

suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication, and will 
summarize and/or include the comments received in any request for 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of this information 
collection.

ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments to [email protected] with the 
subject line: ``ERIF TAP Information Collection Comment.'' You may 
obtain copies of the proposed collection of information by emailing 
[email protected]. Please identify all requests by including ``ERIF TAP'' 
in the subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Flores, at [email protected], 
or (385) 602-2138.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of the Program Seeking Information Collection: Environmental 
Review Improvement Fund Tribal Assistance Program (ERIF TAP).
    Type of Review: New Information Collection Request (ICR).
    Background: Established in 2015 by title 41 of the Fixing America's 
Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), 42 U.S.C. 4370m et seq., the 
Permitting Council is a unique Federal agency charged with improving 
the transparency and predictability of the Federal environmental review 
and authorization process for certain infrastructure projects. The 
Permitting Council is comprised of the Permitting Council Executive 
Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 Federal agency Council 
members (including deputy secretary-level designees of the Secretaries 
of Agriculture, Army, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation, 
Defense, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairs of 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation); and the 
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the 
OMB. 42 U.S.C. 4370m-1(a) & (b).
    The Permitting Council coordinates Federal environmental reviews 
\1\ and authorizations \2\ for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-
41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive 
permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of 
those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard in compliance with 
FAST-41 procedural requirements. 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(c) & (d). Sponsors 
of FAST-41 covered projects also benefit from the direct engagement of 
the Permitting Council Executive Director and the Permitting Council 
members in timely identification and resolution of permitting issues 
that affect covered projects' permitting timetables.
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 4370m(11) (defining ``environmental review'' as 
``the agency procedures and processes for applying a categorical 
exclusion or for preparing an environmental assessment, an 
environmental impact statement, or other document required under 
[the National Environmental Policy Act]'').
    \2\ 42 U.S.C. 4370m(3) (defining ``authorization'' as ``any 
license, permit, approval, finding, determination, or other 
administrative decision issued by an agency and any interagency 
consultation that is required or authorized under Federal law in 
order to site, construct, reconstruct, or commence operations of a 
covered project administered by a Federal agency or, in the case of 
a State that chooses to participate in the environmental review and 
authorization process in accordance with [42 U.S.C.] 4370m-
2(c)(3)(A) . . . , a State agency'').
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    The Permitting Council Executive Director, with the approval of the 
OMB Director, also may transfer funds from the Environmental Review and 
Improvement Fund (ERIF) to Federal agencies and state, local, and 
tribal governments to make the environmental review and authorization 
process for FAST-41 covered projects more timely and efficient. 42 
U.S.C. 4370m-8(d)(3). Executive Director has established the ERIF 
Tribal Assistance Program (TAP) to facilitate the distribution of ERIF 
funds to Tribal governments pursuant to this authority.
    This collection is necessary for administration of the ERIF TAP in 
accordance with 42 U.S.C. 4370m-8(d)(3). The Executive Director seeks 
public comment on the application form that the Executive Director 
would use to collect information from Tribal governments that seek ERIF 
TAP funding. The form will be used by the Executive Director to 
evaluate the eligibility of each Tribal government applicant, and 
determine whether, the circumstances under which, and the amount of any 
ERIF funds that may be transferred to a Tribal government applicant 
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(d)(3). Seeking ERIF funds under the ERIF 
TAP is voluntary with each Tribal government. The application form is 
planned as a one-time information collection per applicant. The 
Permitting Council estimates that it will take approximately 40 hours 
to complete the application form for ERIF TAP funds.
    Respondents: Federally-recognized Indian Tribe consulting on or 
engaged in the Federal environmental review and authorization process 
(e.g., through the National Environmental Policy Act or Section 106 of 
the National Historic Preservation Act) for one or more FAST-41 covered 
projects that are posted on the Permitting Dashboard at the time of 
submission.
    Frequency: One time per grant application.
    Application: To be considered to receive ERIF TAP funds, an 
eligible Tribal government must submit a completed application form to 
the Permitting Council Executive Director that contains the information 
required in the Application Instructions. At a minimum, the applicant 
must include contact information, the amount of funding requested, what 
will be accomplished with the funding (i.e., activities and funding 
level per activity), which FAST-41 covered projects the applicant is 
consulting on or engaged in, and how the funded activities will result 
in more timely and efficient environmental review and authorization of 
those FAST-41 covered projects. The application should include the 
information necessary for the Permitting Council Executive Director to 
determine that the project and proposal satisfies eligibility 
requirements.
    Completed application forms must be submitted to the Executive 
Director through [email protected]. Instructions for submitting 
applications can be found at https://www.permits.performance.gov/fpisc-content/erif-tribal-assistance-program.
    Estimated Burden: The estimated burden for completing an 
application form is as follows:
    Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 30 per year.
    Frequency: Once per application.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 40 hours for each new 
application form.
    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 4370m-8(d)(3).

Eric Beightel,
Executive Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.
[FR Doc. 2024-01028 Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
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