[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 28 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9286-9288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02671]



[[Page 9286]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2024-0016]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Approval of Information 
Collection

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), DOT.

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice 
announces that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is forwarding the 
Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes 
the information collection and its expected burden. On September 6, 
2023, DOT published a notice providing a 60-day period for public 
comment on the ICR. DOT received no comments on this notice. This 
collection is necessary for administration of the Reconnecting 
Communities (RCP) and Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) 
Discretionary Grant Programs and funding opportunities. Together, these 
programs are known as ``Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods 
(RCN)'' in the combined NOFO. RCN provides federal financial assistance 
for surface transportation infrastructure projects. Through RCP, this 
includes removing, retrofitting, or mitigating transportation 
facilities such as highways and rail lines that create barriers to 
community connectivity including to mobility, access, or economic 
development. Through NAE, this includes the RCP eligibilities and 
expands eligibility to activities that reduce the burdens to 
communities of existing transportation infrastructure, including air 
quality impacts and greenhouse gas emissions, urban heat islands, gaps 
in tree canopy coverage, and other natural environment concerns.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by March 11, 2024.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions, 
please submit them by only one of the following means:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W-12-140 
1200, New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    Instructions: To ensure proper docketing of your comment, please 
include the agency name and docket number [DOT-OST-2024-0016] at the 
beginning of your comments. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding this 
notice, please contact the Office of the Secretary via email at 
[email protected] or contact Andrew Emanuele at 
[email protected]. A TDD is available for individuals who are 
deaf or hard of hearing at 202-366-3993.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: New Collection. OMB number will be issued 
after the collection is approved.
    Title: Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and Neighborhood 
Access and Equity Program (Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods 
[RCN] Program) Discretionary Grants.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Type of Review: New Information Collection Request (ICR).
    Background: The Office of the Secretary (OST) within the Department 
of Transportation (DOT) provides financial assistance for surface 
transportation infrastructure projects, including removing, 
retrofitting, or mitigating transportation facilities such as highways 
and rail lines that create barriers to community connectivity including 
to mobility, access, or economic development. The Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58, November 15, 2021) (Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law, or BIL) provided funds to DOT to invest in planning 
and capital construction grants to reduce transportation barriers: the 
Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, found under section 11509 of 
division A. The Inflation Reduction Act (Pub. L. 117-169, August 16, 
2022) (IRA) provided funds to DOT for the NAE to invest in planning and 
construction grants to improve walkability and safety and provide 
affordable access: the Neighborhood Access and Equity grant program, 
found at 23 U.S.C. 177. To help streamline the process for applicants, 
DOT has combined the applications for the RCP and NAE programs into the 
RCN common application.
    DOT combined these two programs into one single Notice of Funding 
Opportunity (NOFO) to provide a more efficient application process for 
project sponsors. While they remain separate programs for the purposes 
of award, the programs share many common characteristics. Because of 
these shared characteristics, it is possible for many projects to be 
eligible and considered for multiple programs using a single 
application.
    This notice seeks comments on the proposed information collection, 
which will collect information necessary to support the ongoing 
oversight and administration of previous awards, a Letter of Intent 
screening tool, the evaluation and selection of new applications, the 
funding agreement negotiation stage for new awards, and the evaluation 
of the programs. The reporting requirements for the program is as 
follows:
    Prior to applying, a project sponsor may fill out a ``Letter of 
Intent'' screening tool to help determine eligibility for one or both 
programs within the RCN NOFO or help direct them to a more appropriate 
grant program.
    To be considered to receive an RCN grant, a project sponsor must 
submit an application to DOT containing standard forms, a key 
information table, a project narrative, and budget description, as 
detailed in the NOFO. These materials should include the information 
necessary for DOT to determine that the project satisfies eligibility 
requirements as warranted by law.
    Following the announcement of a funding award, the recipient and 
DOT will negotiate and sign a funding agreement with awardees. In the 
agreement, the recipient must describe the project that DOT agreed to 
fund, which is the project that was described in the RCN application or 
a reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement also includes 
project schedule milestones, a budget, and project-related climate 
change, equity, and workforce planning and policies.
    To fulfill evaluation requirements, DOT will conduct interviews 
with stakeholders associated with each awarded capital construction 
grant. These interviews will be used to inform case studies that will 
be developed for each funded capital construction project.
    During the project monitoring stage, grantees will submit reports 
on the financial condition of the project and the project's progress. 
Grantees will submit progress and monitoring reports to DOT on a 
quarterly basis until completion of the project. The progress reports 
will include an SF-425, Federal Financial Report, and other information

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determined by the administering DOT Operating Administration. This 
information will be used to monitor grantees' use of Federal funds, 
ensuring accountability and financial transparency in the RCN programs.
    For Post Construction Reporting, the DOT will evaluate the program 
for recipients of capital construction grants and include the outcomes 
and impacts of the completed projects. The reporting will document any 
changes in the overall level of mobility, congestion, access, and 
safety in the project areas, and environmental impacts and economic 
development opportunities in project areas. Performance reporting 
continues for five years after project construction is completed, 
during which DOT will not provide grant funding specifically for 
performance reporting.
    DOT received 682 applications in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. For the 
purposes of estimating the information collection burden below for new 
applicants and awardees, DOT expects to receive 600 applications in FY 
2024 and 435 applications in FY 2025, with the expected depletion of 
NAE funds. DOT is negotiating 45 funding agreements in FY 2023 and 
estimates that for FY 2024 and FY 2025, it will negotiate 100 funding 
agreements per year. Quarterly project monitoring will occur for the 45 
RCP projects awarded in FY 2022 and in the following year, for both FY 
2022 and 2023 awards. DOT will conduct interviews with 30 stakeholders 
(five for each of the six capital construction grants awarded in the FY 
2022 round) in FY 2024 and 175 stakeholders (five for each of the 
estimated 35 capital construction grants awarded in the FY 2023 round) 
in FY 2025. DOT estimates that 600 respondents will use the Letter of 
Intent tool in FY 2024 and 250 respondents will use it in FY 2025. For 
a detailed breakdown of burden hours, please see Table 1.

                                                                         Table 1
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                                                Year 1 (2023)                    Year 2 (2024)                    Year 3 (2025)
              Respondent              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Total hrs.
                                           #         Hrs.      Freq.        #         Hrs.      Freq.        #         Hrs.      Freq.
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Letter of Intent.....................  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  ..............
Applicants...........................        682        100          1  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........          68,200
Awardee Funding Agreements...........         45          6          1  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........             270
Quarterly Monitoring.................  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  ..............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter of Intent.....................  .........  .........  .........        600        0.5          1  .........  .........  .........             300
Applicants...........................  .........  .........  .........        600        100          1  .........  .........  .........          60,000
Awardee Funding Agreements...........  .........  .........  .........        100          6          1  .........  .........  .........             600
Interviews...........................  .........  .........  .........         30          2          1  .........  .........  .........              60
Quarterly Monitoring (FY 2022).......  .........  .........  .........         45          5          4  .........  .........  .........             900
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Letter of Intent.....................  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........        250        0.5          1             125
Applicants...........................  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........        435        100          1          43,500
Awardee Funding Agreements...........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........        100          6          1             600
Interviews...........................  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........        175          2          1             350
Quarterly Monitoring (FY 2022 and      .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........        145          5          4            2900
 2023)...............................
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Grand Total......................  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........  .........         177,805
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DOT's estimated burden for this information collection is the 
following:

For Letter of Intent Screening Tool

    Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 600 in Year 2. DOT 
expects 250 in Year 3 with depletion of NAE funding, reducing those 
using the tool.
    Frequency: Once.
    Estimated Average Burden Per Response: 0.5 hours per respondent.

For Applications

    Expected Number of Respondents: DOT received 682 applications in 
Year 1 and expects to receive 600 applications in Year 2 and 435 in 
Year 3 with the expected depletion of NAE funds.
    Frequency: Once.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 100 hours for each 
application.

For Funding Agreements

    Expected Number of Respondents: DOT awarded 45 grants in Year 1 and 
expects to award approximately 100 in Years 2 and 3.
    Frequency: Once.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 6 hours for each funding 
agreement.

For Program Evaluation

    Expected Number of Respondents: Estimated 30 in Year 2 (five 
interviews per capital construction grant awarded) and 175 in Year 3 
(five interviews per an estimated 35 capital construction grants 
awarded.
    Frequency: Once.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 2 hours for each interview.

For Quarterly Monitoring

    Expected Number of Respondents: Approximately 45 in Year 2 and 145 
in Year 3.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 5 hours for each Quarterly 
Monitoring Report.

For Post-Construction Project Monitoring

    Because RCN expect no projects to complete construction by 2025, 
post-construction monitoring hours and cost are not computed in this 
document.

Estimated Total 3-Year Burden on Respondents: 177,805 Hours

 Letter of Intent [425 hours]
 Applicants [171,700 hours]
 Awardee Funding Agreements [1,470 hours]
 Interviews [410 hours]
 Prior Awardee Quarterly Project Monitoring [3,800 hours]

    The following is detailed information and instructions regarding 
the specific reporting requirements for each report identified above:

Letter of Intent Screening Stage

    To help applicants determine their eligibility for the RCN combined 
grant opportunity, DOT will develop and use the ``Letter of Intent'' 
tool to help applicants determine eligibility, direct them to a more 
appropriate grant

[[Page 9288]]

program if applicable, and identify application materials they may be 
missing. The tool will save potential applicants hundreds of hours of 
application development time if the project has a ``fatal flaw'' that 
would render it ineligible. The tool will consist of 10-20 questions 
and takes 0.5 hour to complete.

Application Stage

    To be considered for an RCN grant award, a project sponsor must 
apply to DOT, providing standard forms, a key information table, a 
project narrative, and budget description, as detailed in the NOFO. 
These materials should include the information necessary for DOT to 
determine that the project satisfies eligibility requirements.
    Applications must be submitted through www.valideval.com. 
Instructions for submitting planning or capital construction grant 
applications can be found at https://usg.valideval.com/teams/rcn_planning/signup or https://usg.valideval.com/teams/rcn_capitalconstruction/signup, respectively. The application must 
include the Standard Form 424 (Application for Federal Assistance), 
Standard Form 424a (Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs) 
or 424c (Budget Information for Construction Programs), Standard Form 
424b (Assurances--Non-Construction Programs) or 424d (Assurances--
Construction Programs), a Key Information Table, narrative, and budget.
    The application should include a table of contents, maps, and 
graphics, as appropriate, to make the information easier to review. DOT 
recommends that the application be prepared with standard formatting 
preferences (i.e., a single-spaced document, using a standard 12-point 
font such as Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins). The only 
substantive portions that may exceed the page limit are documents 
supporting assertions or conclusions made in the project narrative. If 
possible, website links to supporting documentation should be provided 
rather than copies of these supporting materials. If supporting 
documents are submitted, applicants should clearly identify within the 
project narrative the relevant portion of the project narrative that 
each supporting document refers to. At the applicant's discretion, 
relevant materials provided previously to a modal administration in 
support of a different DOT financial assistance program may be 
referenced and described as unchanged.
    DOT estimates that it takes approximately 100 person-hours to 
compile an application package for an RCN application.

Funding Agreement Stage

    DOT enters into a funding agreement with each grant recipient. In 
the agreement, the recipient describes the project that DOT agreed to 
fund, which is typically the project that was described in the RCN 
application or a reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement 
also includes a project schedule, budget, and project related climate 
change and equity planning and policies.
    DOT estimates that it takes approximately 6 person-hours to provide 
the information necessary for funding agreements.

Program Evaluation Stage (Interviews)

    To fulfill evaluation requirements, DOT will conduct interviews 
with stakeholders associated with each awarded capital construction 
grant. These interviews will be used to inform case studies that will 
be developed for each funded capital construction project.

Project Monitoring Stage

    DOT requires each grant recipient to submit quarterly reports 
during the project period to ensure the proper and timely expenditure 
of federal funds under the grant.
    The requirements comply with 2 CFR part 200 and are restated in the 
funding agreement. During the project monitoring stage, the grantee 
will complete quarterly progress reports to allow DOT to monitor the 
project budget and schedule.
    DOT estimates that it takes approximately 5 person-hours to develop 
and submit a quarterly progress report.

Post Construction Monitoring Stage

    For Post Construction Reporting, DOT will evaluate the program for 
recipients of capital construction grants and include the outcomes and 
impacts of the completed projects, The reporting will document any 
changes in the overall level of mobility, congestion, access, and 
safety in the project areas, and environmental impacts and economic 
development opportunities in project areas. Because RCN expect no 
projects to complete construction by 2025, post-construction monitoring 
hours and cost are not computed in this document.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2024.
John Augustine,
Director of the Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation, Office 
of the Under Secretary for Transportation Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024-02671 Filed 2-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P