Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 12, 2018 / Notices 46251 

https://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/Details/ 

L19057. 

3. Reporting 

a. Progress Reporting on Grant Activity 

Each applicant selected for a grant 

will be required to comply with all 

standard FRA reporting requirements, 

including quarterly progress reports, 

quarterly Federal financial reports, and 

interim and final performance reports, 

as well as all applicable auditing, 

monitoring and close out requirements. 

Reports may be submitted 

electronically. 

b. Performance Reporting 

Each applicant selected for funding 

must collect information and report on 

the project’s performance using 

measures mutually agreed upon by FRA 

and the recipient to assess progress in 

achieving strategic goals and objectives. 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

For further information regarding this 

notice and the grants program, please 

contact Ms. Amy Houser, Office of 

Program Delivery, Federal Railroad 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W36–412, 

Washington, DC 20590; email: 

amy.houser@dot.gov; phone: 202–493– 

0303. 

H. Other Information 

All information submitted as part of 

or in support of any application shall 

use publicly available data or data that 

can be made public and methodologies 

that is accepted by industry practice and 

standards, to the extent possible. If the 

application includes information the 

applicant considers to be a trade secret 

or confidential commercial or financial 

information, the applicant should do the 

following: (1) Note on the front cover 

that the submission ‘‘Contains 

Confidential Business Information 

(CBI)’’; (2) mark each affected page 

‘‘CBI’’; and (3) highlight or otherwise 

denote the CBI portions. 

DOT protects such information from 

disclosure to the extent allowed under 

applicable law. In the event DOT 

receives a Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) request for the information, DOT 

will follow the procedures described in 

its FOIA regulations at 49 CFR 7.17. 

Only information that is ultimately 

determined to be confidential under that 

procedure will be exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Ronald Louis Batory, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19740 Filed 9–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Pilot Program for Expedited Project 

Delivery 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; request for expressions 

of interest to participate. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) is soliciting 

expressions of interest for the Expedited 

Project Delivery Pilot Program (Pilot 

Program) authorized by the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation Act 

(FAST). The Pilot Program is aimed at 

expediting delivery of new fixed 

guideway capital projects, small starts 

projects, or core capacity improvement 

projects that utilize public-private 

partnerships, are planned to be operated 

and maintained by employees of an 

existing public transportation provider, 

and have a Federal share not exceeding 

25 percent of the project cost. It is also 

aimed at increasing innovation, 

improving efficiency and timeliness of 

project implementation, and 

encouraging new revenue streams. The 

law specifies that not more than eight 

projects can be awarded grants under 

the Pilot Program. FTA intends to work 

with selected project sponsors to further 

define the steps that must be completed 

before a construction grant can be 

awarded under the Pilot Program, 

including expedited FTA reviews of 

technical capacity, local financial 

commitment, and project justification. 

This announcement is available on the 

FTA’s website at: www.transit.dot.gov/ 

funding/grants/expedited-projectdelivery-capital-investment-grants-pilot3005b. 

DATES: Expressions of interest to become 

one of the participants in the Pilot 

Program for Expedited Project Delivery 

must be submitted to FTA by mail, 

email or facsimile by 11:59 p.m. EDT 

November 13, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Mail submission must be 

addressed to the Office of Planning and 

Environment, Federal Transit 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room E45–119, 

Washington, DC 20590 and postmarked 

no later than November 13, 2018. Email 

submissions must be sent to 

ExpeditedProjectDelivery@dot.gov by 

11:59 p.m. EDT on November 13, 2018. 

Facsimile submissions must be 

submitted to the attention of Expedited 

Project Delivery Pilot Program at 202– 

493–2478 by 11:59 p.m. EDT ON 

November 13, 2018. If there are 

insufficient candidate projects that FTA 

determines meet the requirements of the 

Pilot Program, FTA may conduct 

additional requests for expressions of 

interest in the future. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Eddy, FTA Office of Planning and 

Environment, telephone (202) 366–5499 

or email Susan.Eddy@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background 

FTA, together with its transit industry 

partners, invests billions of dollars in 

capital projects designed to improve 

public transportation by reinvesting in 

existing assets to expand capacity or by 

increasing the extent and quality of 

public transportation service by making 

new investments. These projects take 

considerable time to plan, develop, 

design, approve, and deploy. While it is 

important for FTA to ensure that it 

selects only well-conceived projects that 

are implemented in the most efficient 

and effective manner, a lengthy process 

delays the delivery of the intended 

benefits to the riding public. 

2. Pilot Program 

Section 3005(b) of the FAST Act, 

Public Law 114–94 (December 4, 2015), 

authorizes the Pilot Program for FTA to 

make not more than eight grants for new 

fixed guideway capital projects, small 

starts projects, or core capacity 

improvement projects that have not yet 

entered a construction grant agreement 

with the FTA. The law defines these 

types of eligible projects for the Pilot 

Program in a manner similar to, but not 

entirely the same as, the CIG program. 

Thus, FTA encourages project sponsors 

to review closely the definitions found 

in Section 3005(b) to ensure the 

project’s eligibility. 

Eligible applicants to the Pilot 

Program are state or local government 

authorities. Proposed projects must 

utilize public-private partnerships; be 

operated and maintained by employees 

of an existing provider of fixed 

guideway or bus rapid transit public 

transportation in the service area of the 

project, or if none exists, by employees 

of an existing public transportation 

provider in the service area; and have a 

Federal share not exceeding 25 percent 

of the net capital project cost. Project 

sponsors also must have financial 

advisors providing guidance to them on 

the terms and structure of the project 

that are independent from investors in 

the project. Sponsors must further 

certify that the existing public 

transportation system is in a state of 

good repair as defined by law. (See Pub. 

L. 114–94, 129 STAT. 1458; 49 U.S.C. 

5302; 49 U.S.C. 5326(b)(1); 49 CFR 

625.5.) 


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46252 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 12, 2018 / Notices 

The Pilot Program requires FTA to use 

an expedited technical capacity review 

process for sponsors that have recently 

and successfully completed at least one 

new fixed guideway capital project, 

small start project, or core capacity 

improvement project, if the sponsor 

achieved budget, cost, and ridership 

outcomes for the project that are 

consistent with or better than 

projections and the applicant 

demonstrates that it continues to have 

staff expertise and other resources to 

implement a new project. 

While not all of the following are 

required with the expression of interest 

submission, project sponsors should 

understand that prior to being 

considered for a grant agreement, 

Section 3005(b) requires that project 

sponsors requesting a construction grant 

under the Pilot Program must meet all 

requirements of Section 3005(B) and 

submit: (1) Information identifying the 

proposed eligible project; (2) a schedule 

and finance plan for the construction 

and operation of the project; (3) an 

analysis of the efficiencies of the 

proposed eligible project development 

and delivery methods and innovative 

financing arrangement for the eligible 

project. This submission must include 

documents related to the public-private 

partnership and justification of the 

project based on mobility improvements 

attributable to the project; 

environmental benefits associated with 

the project; congestion relief associated 

with the project; economic development 

effects derived as a result of the project; 

and estimated ridership projections; (4) 

a certification that the project sponsor’s 

existing public transportation system is 

in a state of good repair, or, in the event 

that the applicant does not operate a 

public transportation system, the public 

transportation system to which the 

proposed project will be attached, is in 

a state of good repair. Alternatively, 

with respect to the state of good repair 

certification, for core capacity 

improvement projects, a sponsor may 

include a description of how the eligible 

project will allow it to make substantial 

progress in achieving a state of good 

repair. FTA may not award a 

construction grant agreement until after 

the project sponsor has completed 

necessary planning and activities 

required under the National 

Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 

4321, et seq., and the recipient has 

demonstrated the necessary legal, 

technical, and financial capacity to 

successfully complete the project. 

Project sponsors must also demonstrate 

an acceptable degree of local financial 

commitment and show evidence of 

stable and dependable financing 

sources. Part of FTA’s consideration 

includes, but is not limited to, an 

analysis of the private contributions, 

management of the transfer of project 

risk, financial partnering, and other 

strategies included in the public-private 

partnership. 

The law also requires participants in 

the program to develop a Before and 

After Study Report that describes and 

analyzes the impacts of the project on 

public transportation services and 

ridership, describes and analyzes the 

consistency of predicted and actual 

benefits and costs of the innovative 

project development and delivery or 

innovative financing, and identifies 

reasons for any differences between the 

predicted and actual outcomes. The law 

requires the project sponsor to submit 

the Before and After Study Report to 

FTA not later than two years after the 

initiation of revenue service of the 

project. 

All projects that receive a grant 

through the Pilot Program are expected 

to be constructed and enter revenue 

service. Therefore, Section 3005(b) 

specifies that a sponsor must repay all 

Federal funds plus interest and penalty 

charges if the project is not completed. 

This provision is intended to ensure 

that all Federal interest is protected if a 

public-private partnership fails to 

deliver a project. 

At present, $5 million has been 

appropriated by Congress in Fiscal Year 

2016 and $20 million in Fiscal Year 

2017 for the Pilot Program. The FY 2018 

Consolidated Appropriations Act did 

not provide funding for the Pilot 

Program; and the President’s FY 2019 

budget proposal to Congress did not 

recommend any funding for the Pilot 

Program. 

If selected for the Pilot Program, 

project sponsors will be invited to 

propose alternative ways that FTA 

might satisfy the requirements 

established by law for Pilot projects. For 

example, FTA expects that it will be 

necessary to establish the cost, scope, 

and schedule for Pilot projects to a 

reasonable level of confidence, which 

could be accomplished in a number of 

ways, in particular to address the 

requirement in law for an expedited 

technical capacity review process for 

sponsors with successful past 

performance. Project sponsors selected 

for the Pilot Program may suggest 

alternate approaches to any aspect of the 

statutory evaluation process that the 

sponsor believes will save time and 

effort, while still assuring compliance 

with the Pilot Program requirements 

outlined in law. FTA is particularly 

interested in receiving expressions of 

interest from project sponsors who are 

considering pursuing Value Capture 

techniques as part of their innovative 

project financing arrangements. 

3. Expression of Interest Submission 

Process 

Project sponsors must submit the 

required information by mail, email or 

facsimile by 11:59 p.m. EDT November 

13, 2018, as specified in the DATES

section of this Notice above. FTA 

reserves the right to request additional 

clarifying information from any and all 

project sponsors before making a 

selection to participate in the Pilot 

Program. 

Project sponsors wishing to 

participate in the Pilot Program must 

submit an expression of interest to FTA 

no longer than 10 pages in length 

including any supporting 

documentation. While there is no 

specific format that must be followed for 

the expression of interest, the narrative 

provided by the project sponsor to FTA 

should include the following 

information: 

a. A description of the proposed 

project that provides sufficient 

information to demonstrate its eligibility 

as a new fixed guideway capital project, 

small starts project, or core capacity 

improvement project as defined in 

Section 3005(b); 

b. The proposed project schedule and 

an outline of the proposed financing 

plan for the project, including the total 

amount of Federal funding being sought; 

c. A description of the public-private 

partnership included in the project; 

d. A description of the advisors 

providing guidance to the project 

sponsor on the terms and structure of 

the project that are independent from 

investors in the project; 

e. How the project sponsor intends to 

analyze the predicted and actual 

benefits and costs of the innovative 

project development and delivery 

methods or innovative financing for the 

eligible project in order to complete the 

Before and After Study required by 

Section 3005(b); 

f. A certification that the project 

sponsor’s existing public transportation 

system is in a state of good repair, or for 

core capacity improvement projects, a 

description of how the eligible project 

includes elements designed to aid the 

existing fixed guideway system in 

making substantial progress towards 

achieving a state of good repair; 

g. Documentation that the project has 

completed the steps required by the 

Metropolitan Planning process or the 

Statewide and Non-Metropolitan 

Planning process, as applicable. 

Specifically, provide evidence that the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 177 / Wednesday, September 12, 2018 / Notices 46253 

project is included in the approved 

Metropolitan Transportation Plan and 

Transportation Improvement Program or 

Statewide Transportation Improvement 

Program, or provide a schedule 

demonstrating the project will complete 

the process in the foreseeable future; 

h. Documentation that the project has 

completed the NEPA process or a 

schedule demonstrating the project will 

complete the NEPA process in the 

foreseeable future. 

4. Candidate Project Evaluation and 

Selection 

FTA will evaluate the proposals to 

determine which proposed projects best 

meet the intent of Section 3005(b). FTA 

will work with the selected project 

sponsors to further define the steps in 

law required before a construction grant 

can be awarded under the program. 

K. Jane Williams, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19860 Filed 9–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2018–0078] 

Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA) is 

announcing an opportunity for public 

comment on the proposed collection of 

certain information by the Agency. 

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (the PRA), Federal Agencies are 

required to publish a notice in the 

Federal Register concerning each 

proposed collection of information and 

to allow 60 days for public comment in 

response to the notice. This notice 

solicits comments on an information 

collection supporting the development 

of improved child-size crash test 

dummies. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 13, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

using any of the following methods. All 

comments must have the applicable 

DOT docket number noted 

conspicuously on them. 

Electronic submissions: Go to http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building, Ground 

Floor, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. 

Hand Delivery: West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Instructions: Each submission must 

include the Agency name and the 

Docket number for this Notice. Note that 

all comments received will be posted 

without changes to http://

www.regulations.gov including any 

personal information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Stammen, Ph.D., Applied 

Biomechanics Division, Vehicle 

Research and Test Center, NHTSA, 

10820 State Route 347—Bldg. 60, East 

Liberty, Ohio 43319; Telephone (937) 

666–4511; Facsimile: (937) 666–3590; 

email address: jason.stammen@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501–3520), before an agency 

submits a proposed collection of 

information to OMB for approval, it 

must first publish a document in the 

Federal Register providing a 60-day 

comment period and otherwise consult 

with members of the public and affected 

agencies concerning each proposed 

collection of information. The OMB has 

promulgated regulations describing 

what must be included in such a 

document. Under OMB’s regulation (at 

5 CFR 1320.8(d), an agency must ask for 

public comment on the following: 

(i) Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(ii) the accuracy of the agency’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(iii) how to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; 

(iv) how to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including the use 

of appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g. permitting 

electronic submission of responses. In 

compliance with these requirements, 

NHTSA asks for public comments on 

the following proposed collection of 

information: 

Title: Pediatric Shoulder Response in 

Frontal Loading. 

Type of Request: New collection. 

OMB Clearance Number: None. 

Requested Expiration Date of 

Approval: Three years from date of 

approval. 

Summary of the Collection of 

Information: NHTSA proposes to collect 

information from the public to support 

the development of design criteria for 

the mobility of the shoulder of a new 

child-size crash test dummy. Minors age 

8–12 will participate after informed 

consent of the parent/guardian is 

received. After researchers measure the 

participant’s anthropometry (height, 

weight, shoulder landmarks, etc.), the 

participant will undergo a fun, lowintensity exercise activity under the 

direction of the researchers while the 

parent/guardian observes. The activity 

will involve motion of the participant’s 

shoulder while resisting forces are 

collected. The data from all participants 

will then be compiled to develop design 

criteria for the crash test dummy 

shoulder. 

Description of the Need for the 

Information and Proposed Use of the 

Information: In the early 2000’s, NHTSA 

evaluated the Hybrid III 10-year-old 

child dummy. While this dummy was 

deemed adequate for the evaluation of 

large child restraints and eventually 

federalized in 2012, one of the 

shortcomings NHTSA identified of the 

child dummy is a shoulder that has very 

little mobility with no interaction with 

the ribcage. In 2011, the NHTSA Vehicle 

Research & Test Center Applied 

Biomechanics Division initiated a 

research program to develop a new 

crash dummy representing a large child 

with improved biofidelity called the 

Large Omnidirectional Child (LODC) 

dummy. NHTSA used pediatric 

biomechanical information from 

literature to guide the design of the 

LODC prototype. However, there was 

very little biomechanical information on 

the response of the pediatric shoulder. 

As the shoulder is a very important 

structure of the body for managing 

interaction of the restraint and body in 

a motor vehicle crash, new 

biomechanical data is needed to guide 

the design of the LODC shoulder. 

Historically, child dummy component 

responses have simply been scaled from 

adult post-mortem surrogate tests. 

However, there is a large body of 

research that has demonstrated that 

children are not simply small adults 

when it comes to behavior in a highspeed crash scenario. Developmental 

anatomy must be considered in addition 

to mass and anthropometry in the 

creation of design targets for child 

dummies. 


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