[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 150 (Thursday, August 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39374-39375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18771]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[FTA Docket No. FTA-2009-0038]


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 CFR 
Part 611 Major Capital Investment Projects (OMB Number: 2132-0561). The 
information to be collected for this program is to evaluate proposed 
New and Small Starts projects. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-
day comment period soliciting comments was published on April 27, 2009.

DATES: Comments must be submitted before September 8, 2009. 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 CFR 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,'' ``Small Starts,'' respectively) 
will be evaluated and rated for purposes of the FTA Capital Investment 
Grants program for New and Small Starts under 49 USC Section 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was withdrawn on February 17, 2009, due to an intervening statutory 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.
    FTA has a longstanding requirement to evaluate proposed projects 
against a prescribed set of statutory criteria. 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, nor have

[[Page 39375]]

they changed extensively since their inception. One addition included 
in SAFETEA-LU is the Small Starts program. The Small Starts program 
enables projects with a lesser total capital cost and smaller requested 
share of New Starts funds to progress through a simplified and 
streamlined project evaluation and data collection process. In general, 
though, the information used by FTA for New and Small Starts project 
evaluation and rating purposes 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 project evaluation 
criteria for the New Starts program and the addition of the Small 
Starts program, it became apparent that some information required might 
be beyond the scope of ordinary planning activities.
    SAFETEA-LU created additional requirements for before-and-after 
data collection for purposes of Government Performance and Results Act 
reporting as a condition of obtaining a Full Funding Grant Agreement 
(FFGA) or a Project Construction Grant Agreement (PCGA).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 38,760 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: July 31, 2009.
Ann M. Linnertz.
Associate Administrator for Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-18771 Filed 8-5-09; 8:45 am]
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