[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20338-20340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-08333]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. 0005]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for
Renewal of Currently Approved Information Collection
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
[[Page 20339]]
ACTION: Notice of request for comments for renewal of currently
approved information collection.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to submit
one information collection, which is summarized below under
Supplementary Information. We are required to publish this notice in
the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Please submit comments by July 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket ID 0005 by any
of the following methods:
Website: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thy H. Nguyen, (202) 875-0520,
Department of Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Research and Technology (OST-R), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington,
DC 20590. Office hours are from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation
(SMART) Grant Program.
OMB Control Number: 2125-0667.
Summary: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL, also known as the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), enacted on November 15, 2021
provides for significant investments in America's transportation
infrastructure. A key program of the legislation is the Strengthening
and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program ($100 million
per year), under which ``the Secretary shall provide grants to eligible
entities to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart
city or community technologies and systems in a variety of communities
to improve transportation efficiency and safety'' (BIL Sec. 25005; 23
U.S.C. 502(b)). More specifically, SMART Grants may be used to carry
out a project that demonstrates at least one of the following:
Coordinated Automation
Connected Vehicles
Systems Integration
Commerce Delivery and Logistics
Leveraging Use of Innovative Aviation Technology
Smart Grid
Smart Technology Traffic Signals
U.S. DOT anticipates that this notice and any subsequent notice for
this SMART grant program will be to applications for Stage Two
Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART)
grants. Stage Two SMART Grants are to be awarded on a competitive basis
to existing Stage One SMART grant recipients in order to implement the
plans and prototypes previously developed in Stage One that will
advance smart city or community technologies and systems to improve
transportation efficiency and safety.
Only recipients of SMART Stage One Planning and Prototyping Grants,
or eligible entities designated by Stage One SMART recipients, awarded
under previous SMART Stage One NOFOs, may apply for Stage Two
Implementation Grant NOFOs.
For this competitive grant program, the Office of the Secretary
will issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that describes the
requirements of the SMART Grant program, including the criteria that
will be used to evaluate applications. The NOFO will provide a
description of the application requirements. All eligible entities must
submit a completed application in order to be considered for a grant
award.
The applicants who are selected for a grant (i.e., the grantees)
will have additional reporting requirements associated with their SMART
grant, outlined below.
Annual Implementation Reports. These annual reports
document project progress in meeting its goals.
The first report is submitted not later than 2 years after the date
on which the SMART grant is received and annually thereafter until the
date on which the SMART grant is expended.
[cir] The Final Implementation Report will demonstrate how the
deployment and operational costs of the project compared to the
benefits and savings; the means by which each project has met its
original expectation, including data findings on the impacts of the
project (e.g., safety, mobility, access, system efficiency, etc.) and
lessons learned.
Evaluation Plan. The evaluation plan describes how the
project will be evaluated, including the anticipated impacts of the
project (e.g., goals), the methods that will be used to measure those
impacts, and the performance measures.
Data Management Plan. The data management plan provides
more detailed information on the types of data being collected by the
grantee and how that data will be managed and stored (e.g., how privacy
is protected, the entities that have access to the data, etc.).
Quarterly Progress Reports. The Quarterly progress reports
provide status updates, including activities accomplished during the
quarter, financial and schedule reporting, and anticipated activities
for the next quarter (among other updates, such as any project
challenges).
Respondents: Only recipients of SMART Stage One Planning and
Prototyping Grants, or eligible entities designated by Stage One SMART
recipients, awarded under previous SMART Stage One NOFOs, may apply for
Stage Two Implementation Grant NOFOs.
Eligible entities that may apply for the grant if they have
previously been awarded a Stage One Grant include: (A) a State; (B) a
political subdivision of a State; (C) a Tribal government; (D) a public
transit agency or authority; (E) a public toll authority; (F) a
metropolitan planning organization; and (G) a group of 2 or more
eligible entities (A through F) applying through a single lead
applicant.
We anticipate up to 100 applicants per Stage 1 NOFO, and
approximately 30 will be awarded.
We anticipate up to 80 applicants per Stage 2 NOFO, and
approximately 12 will be awarded.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: The estimated reporting
burden per response is 100 hours for each entity that submits an
application. For the subset of applicants who are selected to receive a
grant, they have an additional estimated 79 hours of average annual
burden associated with the grant award.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: The estimated total annual burden is
up to 12033 hours, which consists of 5333 hours for 80 Stage 1
applications, and 6700 hours for 100 Stage 2 applications. The subset
of applicants who receive an award, approximately 30 Stage 1 and 12
Stage 2 per year, will have an additional total average annual burden
of 3967.5 hours and 1,587 hours, respectively.
[[Page 20340]]
Public Comments Invited
You are asked to comment on any aspect of these information
collections, including: (1) Whether the proposed collections are
necessary for the OST's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated
burdens; (3) ways for the OST to enhance the quality, usefulness, and
clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burdens
could be minimized, including use of electronic technology, without
reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's
clearance of these information collections.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35,
as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued on: May 7, 2025.
Jazmyne Lewis,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2025-08333 Filed 5-12-25; 8:45 am]
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