Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices 51717 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of 

Transportation, as represented by the 

Maritime Administration (MARAD), is 

authorized to issue coastwise 

endorsement eligibility determinations 

for foreign-built vessels which will carry 

no more than twelve passengers for hire. 

A request for such a determination has 

been received by MARAD. By this 

notice, MARAD seeks comments from 

interested parties as to any effect this 

action may have on U.S. vessel builders 

or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.- 

flag vessels. Information about the 

requestor’s vessel, including a brief 

description of the proposed service, is 

listed below. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

October 18, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket Number 

MARAD–2021–0211 by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Search 

MARAD–2021–0211 and follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket 

Management Facility is in the West 

Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation. The 

Docket Management Facility location 

address is: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, MARAD–2021–0211, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 

Building, Room W12–140, Washington, 

DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except on 

Federal holidays. 

Note: If you mail or hand-deliver your 

comments, we recommend that you include 

your name and a mailing address, an email 

address, or a telephone number in the body 

of your document so that we can contact you 

if we have questions regarding your 

submission. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

specific docket number. All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to the docket at www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments, or to submit 

comments that are confidential in 

nature, see the section entitled Public 

Participation. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Mead, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Maritime 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W23–459, 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone 202– 

366–5723, Email James.Mead@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

described in the application, the 

intended service of the vessel 

PAPILLON is: 

—Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: 

‘‘The vessel will be used for passenger 

charters.’’ 

—Geographic Region Including Base of 

Operations: ‘‘California’’ (Base of 

Operations: Berkeley, CA) 

—Vessel Length and Type: 70.0′ Motor 

The complete application is available 

for review identified in the DOT docket 

as MARAD 2021–0211 at http://

www.regulations.gov. Interested parties 

may comment on the effect this action 

may have on U.S. vessel builders or 

businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag 

vessels. If MARAD determines, in 

accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and 

MARAD’s regulations at 46 CFR part 

388, that the employment of the vessel 

in the coastwise trade to carry no more 

than 12 passengers will have an unduly 

adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or 

a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in 

that business, MARAD will not issue an 

approval of the vessel’s coastwise 

endorsement eligibility. Comments 

should refer to the vessel name, state the 

commenter’s interest in the application, 

and address the eligibility criteria given 

in section 388.4 of MARAD’s 

regulations at 46 CFR part 388. 

Public Participation 

How do I submit comments? 

Please submit your comments, 

including the attachments, following the 

instructions provided under the above 

heading entitled ADDRESSES. Be advised 

that it may take a few hours or even 

days for your comment to be reflected 

on the docket. In addition, your 

comments must be written in English. 

We encourage you to provide concise 

comments and you may attach 

additional documents as necessary. 

There is no limit on the length of the 

attachments. 

Where do I go to read public 

comments, and find supporting 

information? 

Go to the docket online at http://

www.regulations.gov, keyword search 

MARAD–2021–0211 or visit the Docket 

Management Facility (see ADDRESSES for 

hours of operation). We recommend that 

you periodically check the Docket for 

new submissions and supporting 

material. 

Will my comments be made available to 

the public? 

Yes. Be aware that your entire 

comment, including your personal 

identifying information, will be made 

publicly available. 

May I submit comments confidentially? 

If you wish to submit comments 

under a claim of confidentiality, you 

should submit the information you 

claim to be confidential commercial 

information by email to SmallVessels@

dot.gov. Include in the email subject 

heading ‘‘Contains Confidential 

Commercial Information’’ or ‘‘Contains 

CCI’’ and state in your submission, with 

specificity, the basis for any such 

confidential claim highlighting or 

denoting the CCI portions. If possible, 

please provide a summary of your 

submission that can be made available 

to the public. 

In the event MARAD receives a 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

request for the information, procedures 

described in the Department’s FOIA 

regulation at 49 CFR 7.29 will be 

followed. Only information that is 

ultimately determined to be confidential 

under those procedures will be exempt 

from disclosure under FOIA. 

Privacy Act 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), 

DOT solicits comments from the public 

to better inform its rulemaking process. 

DOT posts these comments, without 

edit, to www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice, DOT/ALL–14 FDMS, accessible 

through www.dot.gov/privacy. To 

facilitate comment tracking and 

response, we encourage commenters to 

provide their name, or the name of their 

organization; however, submission of 

names is completely optional. Whether 

or not commenters identify themselves, 

all timely comments will be fully 

considered. 

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 U.S.C. 55103, 

46 U.S.C. 12121) 

* * * * * 

By Order of the Acting Maritime 

Administrator. 

T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr., 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20040 Filed 9–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2021–0075] 

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. 

51718 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces that the Information 

Collection Request (ICR) abstracted 

below is being forwarded to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and comments. A Federal 

Register Notice with a 60-day comment 

period soliciting comments on the 

following information collection was 

published June 24, 2021, and the 

comment period ended August 23, 2021. 

One comment related to the ICR was 

submitted into the docket. The comment 

proposed striking the existing 

requirement that an original Application 

should be provided in three-hole punch 

binders as part of the application 

process. The Build America Bureau has 

accepted this comment and removed the 

requirement that an original Application 

should be provided in three-hole punch 

binders for each loan application. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted directly to the OMB by 

October 18, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to the attention of the 

DOT/OST Desk Officer, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th 

Street NW, Washington, DC 20503 or by 

email at OIRA_submission@

omb.eop.gov with the associated OMB 

Control Number 2105–0569. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Approval No.: 2138–0013. 

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 collection. 

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, Public Law 105–178 

(1998) (TEA 21). RRIF was subsequently 

amended by: The Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users, Public Law 

109–59 (2005) (SAFETEA–LU); the Rail 

Safety Improvement Act of 2008, 

Division A of Public Law 110–432; and 

the Fixing America’s Surface 

Transportation Act (Pub. L. 114–94) 

(2015) (FAST Act). All applicants for 

RRIF credit program assistance are 

required to submit a completed 

application. 45 U.S.C. 823(a). The 

information collection activity request 

for the RRIF credit program application 

was most recently approved in 2018 

(OMB Control Number 2105–0569). See 

83 FR 23525 and 83 FR 35534. 

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), and the 

FAST Act. All applicants for TIFIA 

credit program assistance are required to 

submit a completed Letter of Interest 

(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 2018 (OMB Control Number 2105– 

0569). See 83 FR 23525 and 83 FR 

35534. 

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. 45 U.S.C. 823 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) 2018–2021, the Department 

estimates that it will receive, on an 

annual basis, eight (8) RRIF LOIs, twelve 

(12) TIFIA LOIs, eight (8) RRIF 

applications, and twelve (12) 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 personhours 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 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices 51719 

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. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 9, 

2021. 

Morteza Farajian, 

Executive Director, the Build America Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19945 Filed 9–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2021–0106] 

America’s Supply Chains and the 

Transportation Industrial Base 

ACTION: Notice of request for 

information. 

SUMMARY: On February 24, 2021, 

President Biden issued an Executive 

Order, ‘‘America’s Supply Chains,’’ 

which directs several Federal agency 

actions to secure and strengthen 

America’s supply chains. On June 8, 

2021, the President also established a 

Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force— 

co-chaired by the Secretaries of 

Transportation, Agriculture, and 

Commerce—to address near term supply 

chain challenges, with a focus on 

alleviating bottlenecks and supply 

constraints in the transportation sector, 

particularly for ports, rail, and trucking. 

The Executive Order requires the 

Secretary of Transportation to submit, 

within one year, a report to the 

President on supply chains for the 

transportation industrial base. DOT’s 

one-year assessment will build off the 

work of the Supply Chains Disruption 

Task Force and focus on the freight and 

logistics sector, with the goal of 

strengthening resilience among 

transportation supply chains. This 

notice requests information from the 

public to assist the Department of 

Transportation in preparing the report 

required by the Executive Order and 

solicits practical solutions from a broad 

range of stakeholders to address current 

and future challenges to supply chain 

resilience in the freight and logistics 

sector. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 18, 2021. DOT will 

consider comments filed after this date 

to the extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Docket Number DOT– 

OST–2021–0106 by any of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Search by using 

the docket number (provided above). 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments on the electronic docket site. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor (W12–140), Washington, 

DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: W12–140 of the 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

numbers. 

Note: All comments received, including 

any personal information, will be posted 

without change to the docket and is 

accessible via http://www.regulations.gov. 

Input submitted online via 

www.regulations.gov is not immediately 

posted to the site. It may take several 

business days before your submission is 

posted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ryan Endorf at ryan.endorf@dot.gov or 

at 202–366–4835. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: On February 24, 2021, 

President Biden issued Executive Order 

14017, ‘‘America’s Supply Chains’’ (86 

FR 11849) (E.O. 14017). E.O. 14017 

focuses on the need for resilient, 

diverse, and secure supply chains to 

ensure U.S. economic prosperity and 

national security. Such supply chains 

are needed to address conditions that 

can reduce critical manufacturing 

capacity and the availability and 

integrity of critical goods, products, and 

services. Section 4 of E.O. 14017 directs 

that within one year, the Secretary of 

Transportation shall submit a report to 

the President, through the Assistant to 

the President for National Security 

Affairs (APNSA) and the Assistant to 

the President for Economic Policy 

(APEP), on supply chains for the 

transportation industrial base. Per the 

Executive Order, the Secretary shall 

determine what constitutes the 

‘‘transportation industrial base’’ for 

purposes of the report. President Biden 

has also established a Supply Chain 

Disruptions Task Force—co-chaired by 

the Secretaries of Transportation, 

Agriculture, and Commerce—to address 

near term supply chain challenges, with 

a focus on alleviating bottlenecks and 

supply constraints in the transportation 

sector, particularly for ports, rail, and 

trucking. 

The transportation industry in the 

U.S. is both vast and varied and 

underpins much of the economic 

activity that takes place in other sectors. 

It includes both the vehicles required to 

move goods and people and the roads, 

rails, waterways, and airways over 

which those vehicles travel. It includes 

cargo and passenger terminals that 

provide for the transfer of people and 

goods between vehicles and modes. It 

includes the control and information 

systems that allow the network to 

operate smoothly and efficiently and 

enable users to make the most 

advantageous choices about their use of 

that network. It includes public and 

private providers of transportation 

services and the operation of privately 

owned personal vehicles. 

In fulfilling this requirement, the 

Department intends to produce a report 

on the Nation’s freight and logistics 

sector, focused on how the freight 

system supports supply chains and any 

challenges and resilience issues within 

that system. DOT has heard from many 

stakeholders about issues related to 

bottlenecks on highways, rail, and at 

ports, as well as severe container/ 

chassis shortages and lack of adequate 

warehousing capacity, particularly 

around the nation’s largest ports. The 

resiliency of the freight system is also a 

key aspect of supply chain resiliency 

across the rest of the economy, 

including the critical products being 

addressed in the one-year reports being 

developed by other agencies.