[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 203 (Thursday, October 21, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61901-61902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23550]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2004-18785]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comments; 
Clearance of a New Information Collection; Evaluate the Effects of 
Appraisal Waivers

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to 
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new 
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 December 20, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
FHWA-2004-18785 by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
    <bullet> Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    <bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reginald Bessmer, 202-366-2037, Office 
of Real Estate Services, Federal Highway Administration, Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office 
hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Evaluate the Effects of Appraisal Waivers.
    Abstract: The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 
Acquisition Properties Act of 1970, as amended, provides that ``Real 
property shall be appraised before the initiation of negotiations, and 
that the owner, or the owner's designated representative shall be given 
an opportunity to accompany the appraiser during the appraiser's 
inspection of the property, except that the head of the lead agency may 
prescribe a procedure to waive the appraisal in cases involving the 
acquisition by sale or donation of property with a low fair market 
value.'' The appraisal waiver policy is based on the premise that 
administrative costs, particularly appraisal costs, should not be a 
high proportion, or even exceed the value of the actual real property 
to be acquired. The procedure to waive the appraisal is specified in 49 
CFR 24.102(c) and allows agencies acquiring real property to `` * * * 
determine that an appraisal is unnecessary because the valuation 
problem is uncomplicated and the fair market value is estimated at 
$2,500 or less, based on a review of available data.'' The Federal 
Highway

[[Page 61902]]

Administration (FHWA) has expanded this policy through 49 CFR 24.7, 
Federal agency waiver of regulations, to allow the State Departments of 
Transportation, at their request, to raise the appraisal waiver 
threshold to a maximum of $10,000 and more recently, to a maximum of 
$25,000. This information collection involves a survey to determine the 
impact of FHWA's appraisal waiver policy on the acquisition of real 
property by agreements with owners, subsequent litigation (eminent 
domain), consistent treatment for owners, and public confidence in 
Federal land acquisition practices. Also, the FHWA seeks to determine 
the impacts that the FHWA's appraisal waiver procedures may have on the 
State DOTs' operations. The information to be collected will be used to 
determine whether the appraisal waiver policy, as implemented by the 
FHWA through its State Department of Transportation partners, is 
accomplishing its intended goals. This includes, minimizing 
administrative costs, expediting the acquisition of real property, 
avoiding litigation, and maintaining consistent treatment for owners. 
The information will also help identify and analyze the impact of 
unknown and unintended consequences of the appraisal waiver program, as 
implemented by the FHWA.
    Respondents: 50 State Departments of Transportation, the District 
of Columbia and Puerto Rico (Right-of-Way Department).
    Frequency: This is a one-time survey.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 3 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 156 hours.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of 
the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that 
the burden could be minimized, including the 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 this information collection.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (volume 65, number 70; pages 19477-78), or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

    Issued On: October 7, 2004.
James R. Kabel,
Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.
[FR Doc. 04-23550 Filed 10-20-04; 8:45 am]
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