8802 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 16, 2022 / Notices 

1See Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) 

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (August 3, 

2021), https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/searchgrants.html (available under the ‘‘Related 

Documents’’ tab). 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03371 Filed 2–15–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Connecting Minorities 

Communities Pilot Program 

AGENCY: National Telecommunications 

and Information Administration (NTIA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection, 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, following the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. This 

Notice of Information Collection is for 

the Connecting Minorities Communities 

Pilot Program Baseline Report, 

Performance Report and Annual Report. 

The purpose of this notice is to allow for 

60 days of public comment preceding 

the submission of the collection to 

OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before April 18, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments by 

mail to Jennifer Duane, Director, Grants 

Management, Administration, and 

Compliance, Office of internet 

Connectivity and Growth, National 

Telecommunication and Information 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Room 4887, Washington, DC 

20230, or by email to broadbandusa@

ntia.gov. Please reference CMC Data 

Collection in the subject line of your 

comments. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

specific questions related to collection 

activities should be directed Jennifer 

Duane, Director, Grants Management, 

Administration, and Compliance, via 

email at jduane@ntia.gov; 

broadbandusa@ntia.gov; or via 

telephone at (202) 482–2048. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Connecting Minority 

Communities Pilot Program (CMC), 

authorized by the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, 

Title IX, Section 902 (c), Public Law 

116–260, 134 stat. 1182 Dec. 27, 2020) 

(Act), aims to address the lack of 

broadband access, connectivity, 

adoption, and equity to Historically 

Black Colleges and Universities 

(HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and 

Universities (TCUs), and Minority 

Serving Institutions (MSIs), and their 

surrounding anchor communities. NTIA 

will make up to 268,000,000 available 

for federal assistance to eligible entities 

and programs to facilitate educational 

instruction and learning, purchase or 

lease eligible equipment and devices for 

student or patron use and hire and train 

information technology personnel who 

are a part of the eligible anchor 

institution, MBE, or tax-exempt 

501(c)(3) organization. 

On August 3, 2021, NTIA published 

the program’s Notice of Funding 

Opportunity (NOFO) on Grants.gov to 

describe the requirements under which 

it will award grants for the CMC.1 The 

NOFO required award recipients to 

submit financial reports, performance 

(technical) reports, and annual reports 

to the NTIA Federal Program Officer 

and the NOAA Grants Officer and 

Grants Specialist. Award recipients 

must follow the reporting requirements 

described in Sections A.01, Reporting 

Requirement, of the Department of 

Commerce Financial Assistance 

Standard Terms and Conditions (dated 

November 12, 2020). Additionally, in 

accordance with 2 CFR part 170, all 

recipients of a federal wared were made 

on or after October 1, 2010, must 

comply with reporting requirements 

under the Federal Funding 

Accountability and Transparency Act of 

2006 (Pub. L. 109–282). 

NTIA will use the information 

collected from each award recipient to 

effectively administer and monitor the 

grant program to ensure the 

achievement of CMC program purposes 

and account for the expenditure of 

federal funds to deter waste, fraud, and 

abuse. 

II. Method of Collection 

Connecting Minority Communities Pilot 

Program 

Award recipients will submit 

financial and performance reports on a 

semi-annual basis for the periods ending 

March 31st and September 30th of each 

year, and an annual report no later than 

one year after receiving grant funds and 

until they have expended all funds. The 

Baseline Report is a one-time collection 

of information from award recipients 

covering project plans and details about 

key outputs and outcomes that is due 

within 45 days of the issuance of the 

award. NTIA will collect data through 

electronic submission. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 06XX–XXXX. 

Form Number(s): TBD. 

Type of Review: New information 

collection. 

Affected Public: Grant award 

recipients consisting of Historically 

Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs); 

Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs); 

Minority-serving institutions (MSIs); or 

consortiums that are led by a 

historically Black college or university, 

Tribal College or University, or 

Minority-serving institution and that 

also include: (a) An MBE; or (b) an 

organization described in section 

501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

of 1986 and exempt from tax under 

section 501(a) of such Code). 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

183. 

Estimated Time Per Response: 33.22. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 17,055.7. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $447,712.13. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, 

Title IX, Section 905, Public Law 116– 

260, 134 Stat. 1182 (Dec. 27, 2020). 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: 

(a) Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility. 

(b) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the time and cost burden for 

this proposed collection, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used. 

(c) Evaluate ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected. 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 16, 2022 / Notices 8803 

1See Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) 

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (May 19, 

2021), https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/searchgrants.html (available under the ‘‘Related 

Documents’’ tab). 

(d) Minimize the reporting burden on 

those who are to respond, including the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03367 Filed 2–15–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Broadband Infrastructure 

Program 

AGENCY: National Telecommunications 

and Information Administration (NTIA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Information 

Collection, request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to comment on 

proposed, and continuing information 

collections, which helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. This Notice of 

Information Collection is for the 

Broadband Infrastructure Program 

Baseline Report, Performance Report 

and Annual Report. The purpose of this 

notice is to allow for 60 days of public 

comment preceding submission of the 

collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before April 18, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Jennifer Duane, Director, Grants 

Management, Administration, and 

Compliance, Office of internet 

Connectivity and Growth, National 

Telecommunications and Information 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Room 4887, Washington, DC 

20230, or by email to broadbandusa@

ntia.gov. Please reference BIP Data 

Collection in the subject line of your 

comments. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

specific questions related to collection 

activities should be directed to Jennifer 

Duane, Director, Grants Management, 

Administration, and Compliance, via 

email at jduane@ntia.gov; 

broadbandusa@ntia.gov; or via 

telephone at (202) 482–2048. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Broadband Infrastructure 

Program was authorized by the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, 

Division N, Title IX, Section 905, Public 

Law 116–260, 134 Stat. 1182 (Dec. 27, 

2020) (ACT). This program seeks to 

provide federal funding to deploy 

broadband infrastructure to eligible 

service areas of the country. The 

program will make up to $288,000,000 

grant available on a competitive basis to 

covered partnerships for covered 

broadband projects. On May 19, 2021, 

NTIA published the program’s Notice of 

Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on 

Grants.gov to describe the requirements 

under which it will award grants for the 

BIP.1 The NOFO required award 

recipients to submit financial reports, 

performance (technical) reports, and 

annual reports to the NTIA Federal 

Program Officer and the NOAA Grants 

Officer and Grants Specialist. Award 

recipients must follow the reporting 

requirements described in Sections 

A.01, Reporting Requirement, of the 

Department of Commerce Financial 

Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions (dated November 12, 2020). 

Additionally, in accordance with 2 CFR 

part 170, all recipients of a federal 

award made on or after October 1, 2010, 

must comply with reporting 

requirements under the Federal Funding 

Accountability and Transparency Act of 

2006 (Pub. L. 109–282). 

NTIA will use the information 

collected from each award recipient to 

effectively administer and monitor the 

grant program to ensure the 

achievement of BIP program purposes 

and account for the expenditure of 

federal funds to deter waste, fraud, and 

abuse. 

II. Method of Collection 

Broadband Infrastructure Program 

Award recipients will be required to 

submit financial and performance 

reports on a semi-annual basis for the 

periods ending March 31 and September 

30 of each year and an annual report no 

later than one year after receiving grant 

funds and annually thereafter until the 

funds have been expended. NTIA will 

collect data through electronic 

submission. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 06XX–XXXX. 

Form Number(s): TBD. 

Type of Review: New information 

collection. 

Affected Public: Selected covered 

partnerships, defined as a partnership 

between (a) a State, or one or more 

political subdivisions of a State; and (b) 

a provider of a fixed broadband service. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

240. 

Estimated Time per Response: 33.22. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 12,254.4. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $407,092. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, 

Title IX, Section 905, Public Law 116– 

260, 134 Stat. 1182 (Dec. 27, 2020). 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department to: 

(a) Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility. 

(b) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the time and cost burden for 

this proposed collection, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used. 

(c) Evaluate ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected. 

(d) Minimize the reporting burden on 

those who are to respond, including the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1