Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 19 / Monday, February 1, 2021 / Notices 7765 

The agency will summarize and/or 

include your comments in the request 

for OMB’s clearance of this information 

collection. 

(Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; and 

49 CFR 1.48) 

Issued On: January 26, 2021. 

Michael Howell, 

Information Collection Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01997 Filed 1–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2020–0027] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Request for Comments for a 

New Information Collection 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, this notice announces that FHWA 

will submit the collection of 

information described below to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and comment. The 

Federal Register Notice with a 60-day 

comment period soliciting comments on 

the following collection of information 

was published on June 19, 2017. The 

PRA submission describes the nature of 

the information collection and its 

expected cost and burden. 

DATES: Please submit comments by 

March 3, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket ID 2020–0027 

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: 

Mark Ferroni, 202–366–3233, Office of 

Planning, Environment, and Realty, 

Federal Highway Administration, 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590. Office hours are from 6:00 a.m. 

to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Noise Barrier Inventory. 

Background: The basis of the Federalaid highway program is a strong federalstate partnership. At the core of that 

partnership is a philosophy of trust and 

flexibility, and a belief that the states are 

in the best position to make investment 

decisions and that states base these 

decisions on the needs and priorities of 

their citizens. The FHWA noise 

regulation (23 CFR 772) gives each state 

department of transportation (SDOT) 

flexibility to determine the feasibility 

and reasonableness of noise abatement 

by balancing of the benefits of noise 

abatement against the overall adverse 

social, economic, and environmental 

effects and costs of the noise abatement 

measures. The SDOT must base its 

determination on the interest of the 

overall public good, keeping in mind all 

the elements of the highway program 

(need, funding, environmental impacts, 

public involvement, etc.). 

Reduction of highway traffic noise 

should occur through a program of 

shared responsibility with the most 

effective strategy being implementation 

of noise compatible planning and land 

use control strategies by state and local 

governments. Local governments can 

use their power to regulate land 

development to prohibit noise-sensitive 

land use development adjacent to a 

highway, or to require that developers 

plan, design, and construct 

development in ways that minimize 

noise impacts. The FHWA noise 

regulations limit Federal participation 

in the construction of noise barriers 

along existing highways to those 

projects proposed along lands where 

land development or substantial 

construction predated the existence of 

any highway. The data reflects the 

flexibility in noise abatement decisionmaking. Some states have built many 

noise barriers while a few have built 

none. Through the end of 2010, 47 

SDOTs and the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico have constructed over 2,748 

linear miles of barriers at a cost of over 

$4.05 billion ($5.44 billion in 2010 

dollars). Three states and the District of 

Columbia have not constructed noise 

barriers. Ten SDOTs account for 

approximately sixty-two percent (62%) 

of total barrier length and sixty-nine 

percent (69%) of total barrier cost. The 

type of information requested can be 

found in 23 CFR 772.13(f). 

The previously distributed listing can 

be found at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ 

environment/noise/noise_barriers/ 

inventory/summary/sintro7.cfm. This 

listing continues to be extremely useful 

in the management of the highway 

traffic noise program, in our technical 

assistance efforts for State highway 

agencies, and in responding to inquiries 

from congressional sources, Federal, 

State, and local agencies, and the 

general public. An updated listing of 

noise barriers will be distributed 

nationally for use in the highway traffic 

noise program. It is anticipated that this 

information will be requested in 2014 

(for noise barriers constructed in 2011, 

2012 and 2013) and then again in 2017 

(for noise barriers constructed in 2014, 

2015 and 2016). After review of the 

‘‘Summary of Noise Barriers 

Constructed by December 31, 2004’’ 

document, a SDOT may request to 

delete, modify or add information to any 

calendar year. 

Respondents: Each of the 50 SDOTs, 

the District of Columbia, and the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

Frequency: Every 3 years. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: It is estimated that on average 

it would take 8 hours to respond to this 

request. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: It is estimated that the estimated 

total annual burden is 139 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. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued On: January 26, 2021. 

Michael Howell, 

Information Collection Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01995 Filed 1–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P