[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81327-81328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32336]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[FTA Docket No. 2010-0047]


Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration invites public comment 
about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's 
(OMB) approval to renew the following information collection:
    49 U.S.C. Part 611--Major Capital Investment Projects. The 
information collected for this program will be used is to evaluate 
proposed New and Small Starts projects. The Federal Register notice 
with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments was published on 
October 13, 2010.

DATES: Comments must be submitted before January 26, 2011. A comment to 
OMB is most effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sylvia L. Marion, Office of 
Administration, Office of Management Planning, (202) 366-6680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 49 U.S.C. Part 611--Major Capital Investment Projects
    Abstract: On August 10, 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) 
was enacted. Sections 3011(d)(5) and 3011(e)(6) of SAFETEA-LU require 
FTA to issue regulations on the manner in which candidate projects for 
major capital investment grants for new fixed guideway systems, 
extensions to existing fixed guideway systems, or significant corridor 
based bus investments (``New Starts'' and ``Small Starts'') will be 
evaluated and rated for purposes of the FTA Capital Investment Grant 
program under 49 USC Section

[[Page 81328]]

5309. An Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for this 
regulation was issued on January 30, 2006, (71 FR 22841). A Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was issued on August 3, 2007, (72 FR 43328). 
The NPRM was withdrawn on February 17, 2009, due to an intervening 
statutory change resulting from the passage of the SAFETEA-LU Technical 
Corrections Act in June 2008. Another ANPRM for the regulation was 
issued on June 2, 2010 (75 FR 31383). FTA is reviewing the comments 
received on the ANPRM, and at this time a date for publication of the 
NPRM is not known. FTA has a longstanding requirement to evaluate 
proposed projects against a prescribed set of statutory criteria at 
specific points during the projects' development including when they 
seek to enter preliminary engineering, final design, and a Full Funding 
Grant Agreement. In addition, FTA must report on its evaluations and 
ratings annually to Congress. The Surface Transportation and Uniform 
Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 (STURAA) established in law a set of 
criteria that proposed projects had to meet in order to be eligible for 
federal funding. The requirement for summary project ratings has been 
in place since 1998. Thus, the requirements for project evaluation and 
data collection for New Starts projects are not new. One addition 
included in SAFETEA-LU is the Small Starts program. The Small Starts 
program enables smaller cost projects with a smaller requested share of 
Section 5309 major capital investment funds to progress through a 
simplified and streamlined project evaluation and data collection 
process. In general, the information used by FTA for New and Small 
Starts project evaluation and rating should arise as a part of the 
normal planning process.
    FTA has been collecting project evaluation information from project 
sponsors under the existing OMB approval for this program (OMB No. 
2132-0561). However, due to modifications in the project evaluation 
criteria and FTA evaluation and rating procedures for the New Starts 
program and the addition of the Small Starts program, it became 
apparent that some information now required might be beyond the scope 
of ordinary planning activities. In particular, SAFETEA-LU creates 
additional requirements for before-and-after data collection as a 
condition of obtaining a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) or a 
Project Construction Grant Agreement (PCGA).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 37,070 hours.

ADDRESSES: All written comments must refer to the docket number that 
appears at the top of this document and be submitted to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725--17th Street, NW. Washington, DC 20503, Attention: FTA Desk 
Officer.
    Comments are Invited On: Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

    Issued On: December 20, 2010.
Ann M. Linnertz,
Associate Administrator for Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-32336 Filed 12-23-10; 8:45 am]
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