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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93399-93400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27702]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2024-0132]

Notice of Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; 
Modification of Existing Information Collection.

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Department of Transportation (the Department) invites 
public comments on a request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to approve modifications to a currently approved Information 
Collection Request (ICR). The forms have been updated to reflect 
efficiencies in the application process adopted by the Department, 
provide clarifying information, and make the forms easier for 
applicants to use. The general process of applying for credit 
assistance is not changing; applications are still accepted on a 
rolling basis. The ICR continues to be necessary for the Department to 
evaluate projects and project sponsors for credit program eligibility 
and creditworthiness as required by law.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 27, 2025.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket No. DOT-OST-2024-0132. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department 
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Build America Bureau at 
[email protected] or (202) 366-2300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0569.
    Title: Letter of Interest and Application Forms for the Railroad 
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing and Transportation 
Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act Credit Programs.
    Type of Review: Modification of existing information collections.

[[Page 93400]]

    Background: The RRIF credit program has its origins in Title V of 
the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, 45 
U.S.C. 821 et seq., which authorized the Federal Railroad 
Administration to provide railroads certain financial assistance. This 
Title V financing program was replaced by the RRIF program under 
section 7203 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century of 
1998, Pub. L. 105-178 (1998) (TEA 21). RRIF was subsequently amended 
by: the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 
Act: A Legacy for Users, Pub. L. 109-59 (2005) (SAFETEA-LU); the Rail 
Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Division A of Pub. L. 110-432; the 
Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (Pub. L. 114-94) (2015) 
(FAST Act) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (Pub. L. 117-
58). All applicants for RRIF credit program assistance are required to 
submit a completed application. 49 U.S.C. 22403(a). The information 
collection activity request for the RRIF credit program application was 
most recently approved in 2021 (OMB Control Number 2105-0569). See 86 
FR 51717 and 86 FR 33475.
    The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 
1998 was enacted as part of TEA 21. The TIFIA program was subsequently 
amended by SAFETEA-LU, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 
Century Act (Pub. L. 112-141) (2012) (MAP-21), the FAST Act and the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). All applicants for TIFIA credit 
program assistance are required to submit a completed LOI and 
application. 23 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(A). The existing information 
collection activity request for the TIFIA credit program letter of 
interest and application was most recently approved in 2021 (OMB 
Control Number 2105-0569). See 86 FR 51717 and 86 FR 33475.
    The National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau 
(referenced hereafter as the Build America Bureau or the Bureau), 
established by the Secretary on July 20, 2016, in accordance with the 
FAST Act, was created to streamline and improve access to the 
Department's Federal credit programs, including RRIF and TIFIA. The 
Bureau was made responsible for administering the application processes 
for the TIFIA and RRIF credit programs. To streamline and conform these 
application processes, the Bureau created a single LOI form and a 
single application form that can be used by applicants of either credit 
program. Both the LOI form and the application form have been updated 
to reflect efficiencies in the application process adopted by the 
Department, provide clarifying information, and make the forms easier 
for applicants to use. Because some key statutory differences exist 
between the two programs' application processes and eligibility 
criteria, the forms have been reorganized to clearly identify where an 
item of information applies only for one of the programs and need not 
be answered by applicants of the other program. The Department seeks 
OMB approval to modify the LOI and application. The forms have also 
been reviewed to ensure that all information requested is necessary for 
the Department to properly perform its functions in administering its 
credit programs and updated to reflect the current statutory 
requirements.
    The LOI asks the applicant to describe, among other things, the 
project and its location, purpose and cost; the proposed financial 
plan, the status of environmental review, and certain information 
regarding satisfaction of other eligibility requirements under the 
applicable credit program. The application serves as the official 
request for credit and, therefore, requires the same information 
required of the LOI, plus detailed information about the applicant's 
legal and management structure, its financial health, the revenue 
stream pledged to repay the loan, and other information regarding 
satisfaction of eligibility requirements. TIFIA and RRIF credit 
assistance is awarded based on a project's satisfaction of TIFIA and 
RRIF (as applicable) eligibility requirements. The Department is 
authorized to prescribe the form and contents of the LOI and 
application. 49 U.S.C. 22403(a) and 23 U.S.C. 601(a)(6).
    Respondents: State and local governments, transit agencies, 
government-sponsored authorities, special authorities, special 
districts, ports, private railroads, and certain other private 
entities.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: Based on the number and 
type of interested stakeholders that have contacted the Department 
about the RRIF and TIFIA programs in fiscal years (FY) 2021-2024, the 
Department estimates that it will receive, on an annual basis, twenty 
(20) RRIF letters of interest (LOIs), twenty (20) TIFIA LOIs, five (5) 
RRIF applications, and nine (9) TIFIA applications.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The Department estimates that 
it will generally take applicants not fewer than twenty (20) person-
hours to assemble a single LOI (for either credit program) and not 
fewer than one hundred (100) person-hours to assemble a single 
application (for either credit program). (Person-hour estimates 
provided for a RRIF application assume that the applicant will 
initially submit an LOI, reducing the number of person-hours spent on 
the application.) Based on the anticipated annual total number of 
respondents, the total annual hour burden of this collection for RRIF 
LOIs and applications is 960 and for TIFIA LOIs and applications is 
1,440 hours.
    Frequency of Collection: This information collection will occur on 
a rolling basis as interested entities seek RRIF or TIFIA credit 
assistance.
    Public Comments Invited: The Department invites interested 
respondents to comment on a proposed information collection activity 
(summarized below) with respect to: (i) whether the information 
collection activities are necessary for the Department to properly 
execute its functions, including whether the activities will have 
practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the Department's estimates of 
the burden of the information collection activities, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used to determine the 
estimates; (iii) ways for the Department to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and (iv) ways 
for the Department to minimize the burden of information collection 
activities on the public by automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology (e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses). See 
44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)(i)-(iv); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1)(i)-(iv). The 
Department believes that soliciting public comment will promote its 
efforts to reduce the administrative and paperwork burdens associated 
with the collection of information mandated by Federal regulations. In 
summary, the Department reasons that comments received will advance 
three objectives: (i) reduce reporting burdens; (ii) ensure that it 
organizes information collection requirements in a ``user friendly'' 
format to improve the use of such information; and (iii) accurately 
assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce information 
requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

Duane Callender,
Executive Director (Acting), the Build America Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2024-27702 Filed 11-25-24; 8:45 am]
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