Information Collection Activities, 72972-72977 [2013-29015]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2013 / Notices
In the second column, in the seventh
line from the bottom, the entry
‘‘mailto:KillTP@state.gov’’ was
inadvertently added to the document
and is therefore deleted.
[FR Doc. C1–2013–28232 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1505–01–D
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 8541]
Meeting of the United States-Colombia
Environmental Affairs Council and
Environmental Cooperation
Commission and Request for
Comments on the Meeting Agendas
Announcement of meetings;
solicitation of comments.
ACTION:
The Department of State and
the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) are providing
notice that the United States and
Colombia intend to hold the first
meeting of the Environmental Affairs
Council (the ‘‘Council’’) and the first
meeting of the Environmental
Cooperation Commission (the
‘‘Commission’’) on December 18 and 19,
2013. The purpose of the meetings is to
review implementation of Chapter 18
(Environment) of the United StatesColombia Trade Promotion Agreement
(TPA) and the United States-Colombia
Environmental Cooperation Agreement
(ECA). The Department of State and
USTR invite interested organizations
and members of the public to attend the
public session and comment on any
items that should be included on the
meeting agendas.
DATES: The public session of the
Council and Commission meetings will
be held on December 19, 2013, from
9:30–11:30 a.m. We request comments
and suggestions in writing no later than
December 12, 2013.
ADDRESSES: The public session of the
Council and Commission meetings will
be held in the Loy Henderson
Conference Room, U.S. Department of
State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington,
DC. Please submit written comments
and suggestions to both:
(1) Rachel Kastenberg, Office of
Environmental Quality and
Transboundary Issues, U.S. Department
of State, by electronic mail at
kastenbergRL@state.gov with the subject
line ‘‘U.S.-Colombia EAC/ECC
Meeting’’; and
(2) Sarah Stewart, Office of
Environment and Natural Resources,
Office of the United States Trade
Representative, by electronic mail at
Sarah_Stewart@ustr.eop.gov with the
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SUMMARY:
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subject line ‘‘U.S.-Colombia EAC/ECC
Meeting.’’ If you have access to the
Internet, you can view and comment on
this notice by going to: https://
www.regulations.gov/#!home and
searching on docket number: DOS–
2013–0022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rachel Kastenberg, Telephone (202)
736–7111 or Sarah Stewart, Telephone
(202) 395–3858.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
United States-Colombia TPA entered
into force on May 15, 2012. Article 18.6
of the TPA establishes an
Environmental Affairs Council to
discuss the implementation of, and
progress under, Chapter 18. The ECA
entered into force on June 28, 2013.
Article III of the ECA establishes an
Environmental Cooperation
Commission and makes the Commission
responsible for developing a Work
Program. Article 18.6 of the TPA and
Article VI of the ECA require that
meetings of the Council and
Commission respectively include a
public session, unless the Parties
otherwise agree.
If you would like to attend the public
session, please notify Rachel Kastenberg
at the email addresses listed above
under the heading ADDRESSES. Please
include your full name and identify any
organization or group you represent. In
preparing comments, we encourage
submitters to refer to:
• Chapter 18 of the TPA,
• The Final Environmental Review of
the TPA, and
• The ECA.
These documents are available at:
https://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/
free-trade-agreements/colombia-fta/
final-text and https://www.state.gov/e/
oes/eqt/trade/c51527.htm
Dated: November 27, 2013.
Deborah Klepp,
Director, Office of Environmental Quality and
Transboundary Issues, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2013–29014 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–09–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket DOT–OST–2013–0018]
Application of Ultimate
JETCHARTERS, LLC for Commuter Air
Carrier Authority
Department of Transportation.
Notice of Order to Show Cause
(Order 2013–11–20).
AGENCY:
ACTION:
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The Department of
Transportation is directing all interested
persons to show cause why it should
not issue an order finding Ultimate
JETCHARTERS, LLC, fit, willing, and
able, and awarding it commuter air
carrier authority to conduct scheduled
commuter service.
DATES: Persons wishing to file
objections should do so no later than
December 18, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Objections and answers to
objections should be filed in Docket
DOT–OST–2012–0108 and addressed to
Docket Operations, (M–30, Room W12–
140), U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, and
should be served upon the parties listed
in Attachment A to the order.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lauralyn Remo, Air Carrier Fitness
Division (X–56), U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590,
(202) 366–9721.
SUMMARY:
Susan L. Kurland,
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and
International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013–28900 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–2013–0241; Notice No.
13–18]
Information Collection Activities
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
PHMSA invites comments on an
information collection pertaining to
Hazardous Materials Emergency
Preparedness (HMEP) Grants. PHMSA
will request approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for a
revision to the current information
collection. The revision implements a
statutory requirement in the Moving
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
Act (Public Law No. 112– 141, July 6,
2012) (MAP–21) to submit an annual
report to Congress that identifies the
ultimate recipients of HMEP grants and
contains a detailed accounting and
description of each grant expenditure by
each grant recipient, including the
amount of, and purpose for, each
SUMMARY:
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expenditure. This notice describes and
seeks comment on the request for
information PHMSA seeks to collect in
order to comply with MAP–21.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before February
3, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by identification of the docket number
(Docket No. PHMSA–2013–0241) by any
of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Operations, U.S.
Department of Transportation, West
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12–
140, Routing Symbol M–30, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC
20590.
• Hand Delivery: To Docket
Operations, Room W12–140 on the
ground floor of the West Building, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number for this notice at the beginning
of the comment. All comments received
will be posted without change to the
Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS), including any personal
information.
Docket: For access to the dockets to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov or DOT’s Docket
Operations Office (see ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emmanuel Ekwo, Chief, Grants and
Registration Branch, Outreach, Training,
and Grants Division, Office of
Hazardous Materials Safety (PHH–52),
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, (202) 366–1634,
PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) requires PHMSA to
provide interested members of the
public and affected agencies an
opportunity to comment on information
collection and recordkeeping requests.
This notice identifies an information
collection PHMSA will submit to OMB
for a revision to OMB Control Number
2137–0586, entitled ‘‘Hazardous
Materials Public Sector Training and
Planning Grants,’’ to comply with
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century Act (Public Law No. 112– 141,
July 6, 2012) (MAP–21). This collection
of information is contained in 49 CFR,
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part 110, Hazardous Materials Public
Sector Training and Planning Grants.
PHMSA is seeking to identify the
ultimate recipients of HMEP grants and
a detailed accounting and description of
each grant expenditure by each grant
recipient, including the amount of, and
purpose for, each expenditure.
HMEP Grants
PHMSA is responsible for the
administration of the Hazardous
Materials Emergency Preparedness
(HMEP) grant program. The HMEP grant
program, as mandated by Federal
hazardous materials transportation law
(Federal hazmat law; 49 U.S.C. 5101 et
seq.) provides Federal financial and
technical assistance to states, territories,
and Native American tribes to ‘‘develop,
improve, and carry out emergency
plans’’ within the National Response
System and the Emergency Planning
and Community Right-To-Know Act of
1986 (Title III), 42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq.
The program was established in 1993 to
ensure that the needed planning,
training, and infrastructure are in place
to protect the public in the event of a
transportation-related hazardous
materials incident. The grants are used
to develop, improve, and implement
emergency plans; train public sector
hazardous materials emergency
response employees to respond to
accidents and incidents involving
hazardous materials; determine flow
patterns of hazardous materials within a
state and between states; and determine
the need within a state for regional
hazardous materials emergency
response teams.1
Among the statutory requirements for
HMEP grants are funding for planning
and training with pass-through
requirements,2 recipient sharing in 20
percent of the total costs of the planning
and training activities, and maintenance
of the level of aggregate expenditures by
a recipient for the last five (5) fiscal
years. The program is a discretionary
grant program. PHMSA is not obligated
to make an award if an applicant does
not meet PHMSA’s requirements.
PHMSA has provided funding to
eligible states, territories, or Native
American tribal applicants that submit a
completed, thorough application with
1 The HMEP grants program is funded by
registration fees collected from persons who offer
for transportation or transport certain hazardous
materials in intrastate, interstate, or foreign
commerce.
2 With pass-through grants, states apply to the
Federal government for a grant. After receiving the
grant, the state then passes a certain percentage of
the Federal funds on to sub-grantees. At least 75
percent of the Federal training funds must be used
to provide training to local responders, including
volunteers.
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the required documentation. Annual
obligations for all recipients are
approximately $22 million, while
individual award amounts range from
less than $50,000 to more than $1
million.
MAP–21 and Enhanced Grant PostAward Monitoring
On July 6, 2012, President Obama
signed into law the law Moving Ahead
for Progress in the 21st Century Act
(MAP–21), which among other
requirements, stipulates that in its
annual Report to Congress, PHMSA
identify the ultimate recipients of HMEP
grants and include a detailed accounting
and description of each grant
expenditure by each grant recipient,
including the amount of, and purpose
for, each expenditure. In the past,
PHMSA has not collected this
information. Requiring this information
now constitutes a revision to an existing
information collection under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and
necessitates approval by OMB.
The additional information will
provide a better understanding of how
the allocated funds are being used and
will enable PHMSA to help grantees to
better develop, improve, or implement
emergency plans; train emergency
response employees; determine flow
patterns of hazardous materials within a
state and between states; and determine
the need within the state, territory, or
Native American tribal land for regional
hazardous materials emergency
response teams.
Questions to HMEP Grantees
Following the close of this 60-Day
Notice and receipt of comments,
PHMSA will publish a 30-day Notice.
The 30-day Notice will provide
grantees, shippers, carriers, and other
stakeholders the questions PHMSA will
ask grantees for it to comply with the
new MAP–21 reporting requirements
and to enable it to more accurately
evaluate the effectiveness of the HMEP
program in meeting emergency response
planning and training needs. PHMSA
proposes to collect the following types
of information from each HMEP grantee.
General Grantee and Sub-Grantee
Information
PHMSA is seeking to collect the
following general background
information on grantees and subgrantees to comply with the MAP–21
requirements and identify the ultimate
grant recipients and their intended use
of grant funds. This detailed level of
reporting will allow PHMSA to better
help grant recipients identify when
training or planning has been
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successful, and how best to allocate
future funds. While the initial
application includes this information,
throughout the year, the grant point-ofcontact, and other necessary
information, often changes. Confirming
that the information on grantees is upto-date throughout the grant cycle will
enable PHMSA to better monitor the
ultimate recipient and use of grant
funds, and will ensure that PHMSA is
able to contact grantees when necessary,
allowing it to better oversee the use of
the grant funds.
Grantee Information
• Grantee’s name
• Name of point of contact
• Telephone number of the point of
contact
• Email address of the point of contact
• Grant number
• Reporting period for which the report
is being submitted
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Planning and Training Grants Subgrantee Information
• Names and requested funding amount
for each sub-grantee
• Award amount of each sub-grantee
• Amount expended by the close of the
reporting period
• An explanation of the selection
process and how funding was
allocated to each sub-grantee
• An explanation of how the grantee
made no less than 75% of HMEP
training grant funds available to
benefit public sector employees
PHMSA does not anticipate that
completing the general grantee and subgrantee questions will impose a
significant burden. This information is
used by the grantee to determine how it
will distribute its funds throughout the
course of the grant cycle. As such, grant
recipients should have this information
readily available before they request
grant funding. PHMSA estimates no
more than 65 grantees will be asked to
answer these questions and that it will
take each respondent approximately 60
minutes to answer the list of questions.
The resulting estimated total burden is
65 hours (65 respondents × 1 hour per
respondent = 65 hours) for the grantee
and sub-grantee question data
collection.
Information on Local Emergency
Planning Committees
PHMSA is seeking to collect
information regarding Local Emergency
Planning Committees (LEPCs) or
comparable entities. PHMSA’s mission
is to protect people and the
environment from the risks of hazardous
materials transportation. One way in
which PHMSA achieves its mission is to
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provide funding to grantees, who, in
turn, fund LEPCs to prepare the public
and first responders to reduce
consequences if an incident does occur.
LEPCs are in place to plan the initial
response for foreseeable hazardous
materials transportation incidents,
which is in direct support of PHMSA’s
mission. The consequences of incidents
involving hazardous materials
transportation could be greatly reduced
when a locality has an active LEPC with
information on what hazardous
materials are passing through its
community.
On July 6, 2013, a catastrophic
accident involving a freight train
containing loaded tank cars of
petroleum crude oil occurred in the
´
town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on the
Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway
(MMA). Forty-two people were
confirmed dead with five more missing
and presumed dead. More than 30
buildings in the town’s center, roughly
half of the downtown area, were
destroyed.
While an active LEPC most likely
could not have mitigated the disastrous
results in this particular incident, as the
chain of events unfolded too quickly for
any organized response, this incident
did bring to light the ever growing
quantities of hazardous materials,
especially crude oil, that are moving
through the nation’s communities.3 This
increase in shipments of crude oil
corresponds with the increase in the
number of incidents and accidents from
railroad cars carrying crude oil—up
from one or two incidents a year in the
early 2000’s to 88 in 2012.4
On July 10, 2005, two freight trains
collided head-on in Anding,
Mississippi. This accident prompted the
National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) to recommend that PHMSA
require and verify that states and their
communities receiving funds through
the HMEP grant program conduct
training exercises and drills with the
joint participation of railroads and other
transporters of hazardous materials as a
means to evaluate state, regional, and
local emergency response plans.
With adequate planning and
preparedness to respond to catastrophic
3 Industry statistics demonstrate that, in terms of
rail originations, crude oil shipments are the fastest
growing of all hazardous materials shipped by rail.
According to the Association of American
Railroads’ (AAR) Annual Report of Hazardous
Materials Transported by Rail for 2012, the number
of crude oil originations has increased by 443%
since 2005. Further, since 2005, rail shipments of
ethanol have increased by a similar percentage.
DOT anticipates that for the foreseeable future, rail
shipment originations of crude oil will remain high.
4 U.S. DOT, PHMSA, Office of Hazardous
Materials Safety, Incidents Reports Database.
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accidents, injuries and deaths could be
reduced or avoided. Data involving
highway miles, rail miles,5 and the
assessment of chemical threats and
response capabilities, examined in
conjunction with detailed information
regarding the LEPCs, will enable
PHMSA to comply with the MAP–21
requirements to better identify the level
of grant funding used for planning by
each grantee, increase its oversight, and
better enable grantees to support
training activities in support of
PHMSA’s mission. With this in mind,
PHMSA seeks to request the following
information.
• Number of active Local Emergency
Planning Committees or equivalent
• Number of inactive Local Emergency
Planning Committees or equivalent
• Number of emergency response plans
currently in place
• Number of Local Emergency Planning
Committees participating on the grant
PHMSA does not anticipate that
providing the information regarding
LEPCs or comparable entities will
impose a significant burden on grant
recipients. PHMSA estimates no more
than 65 grantees will be asked to answer
these questions, and that it will take
each respondent approximately 60
minutes to answer the list of questions.
The resulting estimated total burden is
65 hours (65 respondents × 1 hour per
respondent = 65 hours) for the grantee
to collect this data.
Assessment of Potential Chemical
Threats
PHMSA is seeking to collect the
following information on the potential
for hazardous materials incidents or
accidents in each grantee’s state,
territory, or Native American tribe to
help determine if the level of funding to
each grant recipient is commensurate
with the potential for incidents or
accidents in the particular jurisdiction.
This information will enable PHMSA to
better allocate grant funds according to
need.
• Total number of hazards chemicals
produced, used, or stored within the
applicant’s State/Tribe/Territory
• Total number of facilities that
produce, use, or store hazardous
chemicals within the applicant’s
State/Tribe/Territory
• Total number of facilities that
produce, use, or store extremely
hazardous substances within the
applicant’s State/Tribe/Territory
PHMSA does not anticipate that
providing information on hazardous
5 Highway and rail miles can be derived from
other sources.
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chemicals use, production, and storage
will impose a significant burden on
grantees. This information must already
be provided by facilities to the State
Emergency Response Commission,
LEPC, and local fire departments in
accordance with the Emergency
Planning and Community Right-toKnow Act. The questions listed above
are intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP–21 reporting
requirements, and estimates no more
than 65 grantees will be asked to answer
these questions. PHMSA estimates it
will take each respondent
approximately 20 minutes to answer the
list of questions, resulting in an
estimated total burden of 22 hours (65
respondents × 0.33 hour per respondent
= 22 hours) for the grantee and subgrantee question data collection.
Assessment of Response Capabilities for
Accidents/Incidents Involving the
Transportation of Hazardous Materials
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PHMSA is seeking to collect the
following information on the total
number of emergency responders and
emergency response teams with a
HAZMAT specialty unit in each
grantee’s state, territory, or Native
American tribe to help determine if the
level of funding to each grant recipient
is commensurate with the potential in
the particular jurisdiction for incidents
or accidents. This information will
enable PHMSA to better allocate grant
funds according to need.
• The total number of emergency
responders in the following
disciplines:
Æ Police
Æ Fire
Æ EMS
Æ Other
• The number of emergency response
teams with a HAZMAT specialty
unit
PHMSA does not anticipate that
providing the number of emergency
responders and the number of
emergency response teams with
HAZMAT specialty units will impose a
significant burden on grantees. PHMSA
estimates no more than 65 grantees will
be asked to answer these questions, and
that it will take each respondent
approximately 30 minutes to answer the
list of questions. The resulting estimated
total burden is 32.5 hours (65
respondents × 0.5 hour per respondent
= 32.5 hours) for the grantee and subgrantee question data collection.
HMEP Planning and Training Grant
Reporting
PHMSA is seeking to collect the
following information on each
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completed activity for the reporting
period. The information obtained will
enable PHMSA to ascertain more
detailed reporting from grantees to
comply with MAP–21.
• The grantee will list the completed
activities for the reporting period,
including:
Æ Name of the activity
Æ Purpose of the activity
Æ Number of participants involved in
the activity
Æ Name and description of supplies
needed to conduct the activity (if
applicable)
Æ Name and description of any
equipment needed to conduct the
activity (if applicable)
Æ Expected start and end time for the
activity (if applicable)
• Outcome of each completed activity
• Output of each completed activity
• Actual cost of each completed activity
using the following categories:
Æ Personal costs
Æ Fringe benefits costs
Æ Travel costs
Æ Equipment costs
Æ Supplies costs
Æ Contractual costs
Æ Indirect costs
Æ Other costs not listed
• The amount of non-Federal funds
contributed to this activity, if any
• Aggregate expenditures exclusive of
Federal funds for the last five years
The questions listed above are
intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP–21 reporting
requirements. PHMSA does not
anticipate that providing information on
each completed activity will impose a
significant burden on grantees. PHMSA
estimates no more than 65 grantees will
be asked to answer these questions, and
that it will take each respondent
approximately 30 minutes to answer the
list of questions. The resulting estimated
total burden is 32.5 hours (65
respondents × 0.5 hour per respondent
= 32.5 hours) for the grantee and subgrantee question data collection.
HMEP Planning Goal and Objectives
PHMSA seeks to collect the following
information on each grant recipient’s
goals and objectives for the HMEP
planning grant to better allocate grant
funds. A 2008 Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Nationwide Survey 6 of
LEPCs indicated that a dedicated
membership is the greatest single factor
contributing to an LEPC’s success
(33.3%) while 15.9% report that
6 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2008
Nationwide Survey of LEPCs (https://www.epa.gov/
oem/docs/chem/2008_lepcsurv.pdf (accessed 11/7/
2013))
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regularly scheduled meetings contribute
most to their success as an organization.
Grant funding to support LEPC planning
initial responses for foreseeable
hazardous materials transportation
incidents would most likely reduce the
number of incidents and accidents in
each state, territory, or Native American
tribal land. PHMSA intends to ask each
planning grant recipient to explain the
following goals and objectives.
• The current abilities and authorities
of the grant recipient’s program for
preparedness planning
• The need to sustain or increase
program capability
• The current degree of participation in
regional hazardous materials
emergency preparedness teams
• The intention to assess the need for a
regional hazardous materials
emergency preparedness team
• The impact that the grant has/will
have on the program
The questions listed above are
intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP–21 reporting
requirements. PHMSA does not
anticipate that providing planning goals
and objectives will impose a significant
burden on grantees. These are question
each grantee must ask itself when
applying for HMEP grant funds. PHMSA
estimates no more than 65 grantees will
be asked to answer these questions, and
that it will take each respondent
approximately 30 minutes to answer the
list of questions. The resulting estimated
total burden is 32.5 hours (65
respondents × 0.5 hour per respondent
= 32.5 hours) for the grantee and subgrantee question data collection.
HMEP Training Goals and Objectives
PHMSA seeks to collect the following
information on each grant recipient’s
goals and objectives for the HMEP
training grant to better allocate grant
funds to reduce the number of incidents
and accidents in each state, territory, or
Native American tribal land. PHMSA
intends to ask each training grant
recipient to explain the following goals
and objectives.
• Overall training needs of the
jurisdiction, quantified in terms of
number of persons needing training and
the number of persons currently trained
in the different disciplines and planning
and response functions.
• Ways in which the training grant
will support the diverse needs in the
jurisdiction, such as decentralized
delivery of training to meet the needs
and time considerations of local
responders or how the grant program
will accommodate the different training
needs for rural versus urban
environments.
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The questions listed above are
intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP–21 reporting
requirements. PHMSA does not
anticipate that providing training goals
and objectives will impose a significant
burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates
no more than 65 grantees will be asked
to answer these questions, and that it
will take each respondent
approximately 20 minutes to answer the
list of questions. The resulting estimated
total burden is 22 hours (65 respondents
× 0.33 hour per respondent = 22 hours)
for the grantee data collection.
anticipate that providing training
assessments will impose a significant
burden on grantees as grantees should
be aware of these statistics to determine
the effectiveness of the activities
performed using HMEP grant funds.
PHMSA estimates no more than 65
grantees will be asked to answer these
questions, and that it will take each
respondent approximately 30 minutes to
answer the list of questions. The
resulting estimated total burden is 32.5
hours (65 respondents × 0.50 hour per
respondent = 32.5 hours) for the grantee
data collection.
HMEP Training and Planning
Assessment
PHMSA seeks to collect the following
information on each grantee’s
assessment of the use of their HMEP
training and planning grant funds
towards the end of the grant cycle to
determine how the grant funds were
actually used and to assess the best
allocation of future grants. PHMSA
intends to ask each grant recipient to
provide a progress report during the
course of the grant cycle on the
following:
• A narrative detailing how goals and
objectives for the HMEP planning grant
were achieved.
• A narrative detailing how the State/
Tribe/Territory, through the use of
HMEP planning funds, is better suited
to handle accidents and incidents
involving the transport of hazardous
materials.
• Number of emergency plans
updated during the performance period.
• Number of emergency response
plans written during the performance
period.
• Number of commodity flow studies
conducted during the performance
period.
• Number of hazard risk analyses
conducted during the performance
period.
• Number of hazardous materials
drills or exercises conducted during the
performance period involving air, water,
highway, and rail.
• A narrative detailing how the State/
Tribe/Territory, through the use of
HMEP planning and training funds, is
better suited to handle accidents and
incidents involving the transport of
hazardous materials.
• Number of fire, police, EMS, and
any additional disciplines that received
awareness, operation, technician,
refresher, Incident Command System,
site specialist trainings.
The questions listed above are
intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP–21 reporting
requirements. PHMSA does not
Hazmat Transportation Fees
PHMSA seeks to collect the following
information on hazardous materials
transportation fees collected within
each grantee’s state, territory, or Native
American tribe. 49 U.S.C. 5116(b)(4)(C)
and (D) authorizes PHMSA to allocate
amounts made available for grants for a
fiscal year among eligible states,
territories, and Native American tribes
based on the needs of the states and
Native American tribes for emergency
response training. In making a decision
about those needs, PHMSA is required
to consider whether the state, territory,
or Native American tribe imposes and
collects a fee on transporting hazardous
material; and whether the fee is used
only to carry out a purpose related to
transporting hazardous material. In the
past, PHMSA has not collected this
information. Requiring this information
now constitutes a revision to an existing
information collection under the PRA
and necessitates approval by OMB. This
information may be used to assess
whether entities are receiving funds
from other sources to perform hazardous
materials transportation training or
planning and to determine whether or
not to reallocate funds to grantees
without supplemental funding.
• Are fees collected solely for the
transportation of hazardous materials in
the grant recipient’s state, territory, or
Native American tribe? (yes or no)
• If such fees are collected, are they
used to carry out purposes related to the
transportation of hazardous materials?
(yes or no)
• If fees are used to carry out
purposes related to the transportation of
hazardous materials, what is the dollar
amount collected?
The questions listed above are
intended to ensure that PHMSA is
aware of other funding for hazardous
materials transportation in each state,
territory, or Native American tribe to
better assess how each grantee is using
HMEP grant funds, and to what degree,
if any, funding may be used towards
other resources where additional
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17:09 Dec 03, 2013
Jkt 232001
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Frm 00118
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
funding is not available. PHMSA does
not anticipate that listing hazmat fees
collected by each grantee’s state,
territory, or Native American tribe will
impose a significant burden on grantees.
PHMSA estimates no more than 65
grantees will be asked to answer these
questions, and that it will take each
respondent approximately 10 minutes to
answer the list of questions. The
resulting estimated total burden is 11
hours (65 respondents × 0.17 hour per
respondent = 11 hours) for the grantee
data collection.
Grantee Complies With National
Incident Management System and Grant
Application Is Reviewed by SERC
Prior to applying for a HMEP grant,
states, territories and Native American
tribes must comply with the National
Incident Management System (NIMS).
NIMS identifies concepts and principles
to manage emergencies from
preparedness to recovery regardless of
their cause, size, location, or
complexity. State Emergency Response
Commissions (SERC) consist of
members from state and local
government, including fire, public
health, industry, transportation, and the
public. Members of SERC are generally
appointed by the governor of each state
and are requested to supervise and
coordinate activities of Local Emergency
Planning Committees, and to approve
members of the LEPC. PHMSA seeks to
collect the following information on
each grant applicant to ensure that they
meet NIMS requirements and that each
member of the SERC was given the
opportunity to review the HMEP Grant
application before submitting it to
PHMSA.
• The applicant is to state whether or
not the State/Tribe/Territory is
compliant with National Incident
Management System (NIMS) (yes or no)
• The applicant is to state whether or
not each member of the SERC was given
the opportunity to review the HMEP
Grant application before submitting it to
PHMSA. (yes or no)
The questions listed above are
intended to ensure that grant applicants
comply with Federal requirements to
receive grant funds. PHMSA does not
anticipate that answering these
questions will impose a significant
burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates
no more than 65 grantees will be asked
to answer these questions, and that it
will take each respondent
approximately 5 minutes to answer the
two questions. The resulting estimated
total burden is 5.5 hours (65
respondents × .08 hour per respondent
= 5.5 hours).
E:\FR\FM\04DEN1.SGM
04DEN1
72977
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2013 / Notices
HMEP Grant Program Administration
PHMSA seeks to maintain up-to-date
records to ensure that it continues to
receive detailed accounting of all
grantees and sub-grantees. Accordingly,
PHMSA intends to ask each grant
applicant the following questions.
• If applicable, the grantee will list
any changes in the grant program; i.e.
program priorities, points of contact, tax
or employee identification numbers.
• If applicable, the grantee will list
any issues that impact performance; i.e.
response to natural disasters or loss of
key personnel.
The questions listed above are
intended to ensure that grantees provide
up-to-date information. PHMSA does
not anticipate that answering these
questions will impose a significant
burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates
no more than 65 grantees will be asked
General Grantee and Sub-grantee information ...........................................
Information on LEPCs ..................................................................................
Assessment of Potential Chemical Threats .................................................
Assessment of Response Capabilities for Accidents/Incidents .................
HMEP Planning and Training Grant Reporting ..........................................
HMEP Planning Goals and Objectives ........................................................
HMEP Training Goals and Objectives .........................................................
HMEP Training and Planning Assessment .................................................
Hazmat Transportation Fees ........................................................................
Grant Applicant is NIMS Compliant/Grant Application Is Reviewed By
SERC.
HMEP Grant Program Administration ........................................................
Total Information Collection Burden ...................................................
EMCDONALD on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Title: Hazardous Materials Public
Sector Training and Planning Grants.
OMB Control Number: 2137–0586.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: Part 110 of 49 CFR sets forth
the procedures for reimbursable grants
for public sector planning and training
in support of the emergency planning
and training efforts of states, Native
American tribes and local communities
to manage hazardous materials
VerDate Mar<15>2010
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65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
65
respondents
respondents
respondents
respondents
respondents
respondents
respondents
respondents
respondents
respondents
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
Frm 00119
Fmt 4703
Total Information Collection Burden
The total revised information
collection budget for the HMEP grants
program follows:
1 hr .........................................
1 hr .........................................
0.33 hr ....................................
0.5 hr ......................................
0.5 hr ......................................
0.5 hr ......................................
0.33 hr ....................................
0.5 hr ......................................
0.17 hr ....................................
.08 hr ......................................
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
65 hours
65 hours
22 hours
32.5 hours
32.5 hours
32.5 hours
22 hours
32.5 hours
11 hours
5.5 hours
65 respondents × 0.17 hr ....................................
= 11 hour
65 respondents .....................................................
331.5 hours
emergencies, particularly those
involving transportation. Sections in
this part address information collection
and recordkeeping with regard to
applying for grants, monitoring
expenditures, and reporting and
requesting modifications.
Affected Public: State and local
governments, territories, and Native
American tribes. Recordkeeping:
Estimated Number of Respondents: 65
Estimated Number of Responses: 65
PO 00000
to answer these questions, and that it
will take each respondent
approximately 10 minutes to answer the
two questions. The resulting estimated
total burden is 11 hours (65 respondents
× .17 hour per respondent = 11 hours).
Sfmt 9990
Increase in Estimated Annual Burden
Hours: 320
Increase in Estimated Annual Burden
Costs: $3,200
Frequency of Collection: Up to four (4)
times a year.
R. Ryan Posten,
Deputy Associate Administrator for
Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013–29015 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–60–P
E:\FR\FM\04DEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72972-72977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29015]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0241; Notice No. 13-18]
Information Collection Activities
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA
invites comments on an information collection pertaining to Hazardous
Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) Grants. PHMSA will request
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a revision
to the current information collection. The revision implements a
statutory requirement in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century Act (Public Law No. 112- 141, July 6, 2012) (MAP-21) to submit
an annual report to Congress that identifies the ultimate recipients of
HMEP grants and contains a detailed accounting and description of each
grant expenditure by each grant recipient, including the amount of, and
purpose for, each
[[Page 72973]]
expenditure. This notice describes and seeks comment on the request for
information PHMSA seeks to collect in order to comply with MAP-21.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
February 3, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by identification of the docket
number (Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0241) by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: To Docket Operations, Room W12-140 on the
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number for this notice at the beginning of the comment. All
comments received will be posted without change to the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS), including any personal information.
Docket: For access to the dockets to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or DOT's Docket
Operations Office (see ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emmanuel Ekwo, Chief, Grants and
Registration Branch, Outreach, Training, and Grants Division, Office of
Hazardous Materials Safety (PHH-52), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration, (202) 366-1634, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE., Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1320.8(d), Title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) requires PHMSA to provide interested members of the
public and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on information
collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice identifies an
information collection PHMSA will submit to OMB for a revision to OMB
Control Number 2137-0586, entitled ``Hazardous Materials Public Sector
Training and Planning Grants,'' to comply with Moving Ahead for
Progress in the 21st Century Act (Public Law No. 112- 141, July 6,
2012) (MAP-21). This collection of information is contained in 49 CFR,
part 110, Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning
Grants. PHMSA is seeking to identify the ultimate recipients of HMEP
grants and a detailed accounting and description of each grant
expenditure by each grant recipient, including the amount of, and
purpose for, each expenditure.
HMEP Grants
PHMSA is responsible for the administration of the Hazardous
Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant program. The HMEP grant
program, as mandated by Federal hazardous materials transportation law
(Federal hazmat law; 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) provides Federal financial
and technical assistance to states, territories, and Native American
tribes to ``develop, improve, and carry out emergency plans'' within
the National Response System and the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (Title III), 42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq. The
program was established in 1993 to ensure that the needed planning,
training, and infrastructure are in place to protect the public in the
event of a transportation-related hazardous materials incident. The
grants are used to develop, improve, and implement emergency plans;
train public sector hazardous materials emergency response employees to
respond to accidents and incidents involving hazardous materials;
determine flow patterns of hazardous materials within a state and
between states; and determine the need within a state for regional
hazardous materials emergency response teams.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The HMEP grants program is funded by registration fees
collected from persons who offer for transportation or transport
certain hazardous materials in intrastate, interstate, or foreign
commerce.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Among the statutory requirements for HMEP grants are funding for
planning and training with pass-through requirements,\2\ recipient
sharing in 20 percent of the total costs of the planning and training
activities, and maintenance of the level of aggregate expenditures by a
recipient for the last five (5) fiscal years. The program is a
discretionary grant program. PHMSA is not obligated to make an award if
an applicant does not meet PHMSA's requirements. PHMSA has provided
funding to eligible states, territories, or Native American tribal
applicants that submit a completed, thorough application with the
required documentation. Annual obligations for all recipients are
approximately $22 million, while individual award amounts range from
less than $50,000 to more than $1 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ With pass-through grants, states apply to the Federal
government for a grant. After receiving the grant, the state then
passes a certain percentage of the Federal funds on to sub-grantees.
At least 75 percent of the Federal training funds must be used to
provide training to local responders, including volunteers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAP-21 and Enhanced Grant Post-Award Monitoring
On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law the law Moving
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which among other
requirements, stipulates that in its annual Report to Congress, PHMSA
identify the ultimate recipients of HMEP grants and include a detailed
accounting and description of each grant expenditure by each grant
recipient, including the amount of, and purpose for, each expenditure.
In the past, PHMSA has not collected this information. Requiring this
information now constitutes a revision to an existing information
collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and necessitates
approval by OMB.
The additional information will provide a better understanding of
how the allocated funds are being used and will enable PHMSA to help
grantees to better develop, improve, or implement emergency plans;
train emergency response employees; determine flow patterns of
hazardous materials within a state and between states; and determine
the need within the state, territory, or Native American tribal land
for regional hazardous materials emergency response teams.
Questions to HMEP Grantees
Following the close of this 60-Day Notice and receipt of comments,
PHMSA will publish a 30-day Notice. The 30-day Notice will provide
grantees, shippers, carriers, and other stakeholders the questions
PHMSA will ask grantees for it to comply with the new MAP-21 reporting
requirements and to enable it to more accurately evaluate the
effectiveness of the HMEP program in meeting emergency response
planning and training needs. PHMSA proposes to collect the following
types of information from each HMEP grantee.
General Grantee and Sub-Grantee Information
PHMSA is seeking to collect the following general background
information on grantees and sub-grantees to comply with the MAP-21
requirements and identify the ultimate grant recipients and their
intended use of grant funds. This detailed level of reporting will
allow PHMSA to better help grant recipients identify when training or
planning has been
[[Page 72974]]
successful, and how best to allocate future funds. While the initial
application includes this information, throughout the year, the grant
point-of-contact, and other necessary information, often changes.
Confirming that the information on grantees is up-to-date throughout
the grant cycle will enable PHMSA to better monitor the ultimate
recipient and use of grant funds, and will ensure that PHMSA is able to
contact grantees when necessary, allowing it to better oversee the use
of the grant funds.
Grantee Information
Grantee's name
Name of point of contact
Telephone number of the point of contact
Email address of the point of contact
Grant number
Reporting period for which the report is being submitted
Planning and Training Grants Sub-grantee Information
Names and requested funding amount for each sub-grantee
Award amount of each sub-grantee
Amount expended by the close of the reporting period
An explanation of the selection process and how funding was
allocated to each sub-grantee
An explanation of how the grantee made no less than 75% of
HMEP training grant funds available to benefit public sector employees
PHMSA does not anticipate that completing the general grantee and
sub-grantee questions will impose a significant burden. This
information is used by the grantee to determine how it will distribute
its funds throughout the course of the grant cycle. As such, grant
recipients should have this information readily available before they
request grant funding. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will be
asked to answer these questions and that it will take each respondent
approximately 60 minutes to answer the list of questions. The resulting
estimated total burden is 65 hours (65 respondents x 1 hour per
respondent = 65 hours) for the grantee and sub-grantee question data
collection.
Information on Local Emergency Planning Committees
PHMSA is seeking to collect information regarding Local Emergency
Planning Committees (LEPCs) or comparable entities. PHMSA's mission is
to protect people and the environment from the risks of hazardous
materials transportation. One way in which PHMSA achieves its mission
is to provide funding to grantees, who, in turn, fund LEPCs to prepare
the public and first responders to reduce consequences if an incident
does occur. LEPCs are in place to plan the initial response for
foreseeable hazardous materials transportation incidents, which is in
direct support of PHMSA's mission. The consequences of incidents
involving hazardous materials transportation could be greatly reduced
when a locality has an active LEPC with information on what hazardous
materials are passing through its community.
On July 6, 2013, a catastrophic accident involving a freight train
containing loaded tank cars of petroleum crude oil occurred in the town
of Lac-M[eacute]gantic, Quebec, on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic
Railway (MMA). Forty-two people were confirmed dead with five more
missing and presumed dead. More than 30 buildings in the town's center,
roughly half of the downtown area, were destroyed.
While an active LEPC most likely could not have mitigated the
disastrous results in this particular incident, as the chain of events
unfolded too quickly for any organized response, this incident did
bring to light the ever growing quantities of hazardous materials,
especially crude oil, that are moving through the nation's
communities.\3\ This increase in shipments of crude oil corresponds
with the increase in the number of incidents and accidents from
railroad cars carrying crude oil--up from one or two incidents a year
in the early 2000's to 88 in 2012.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Industry statistics demonstrate that, in terms of rail
originations, crude oil shipments are the fastest growing of all
hazardous materials shipped by rail. According to the Association of
American Railroads' (AAR) Annual Report of Hazardous Materials
Transported by Rail for 2012, the number of crude oil originations
has increased by 443% since 2005. Further, since 2005, rail
shipments of ethanol have increased by a similar percentage. DOT
anticipates that for the foreseeable future, rail shipment
originations of crude oil will remain high.
\4\ U.S. DOT, PHMSA, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety,
Incidents Reports Database.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On July 10, 2005, two freight trains collided head-on in Anding,
Mississippi. This accident prompted the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) to recommend that PHMSA require and verify that states and
their communities receiving funds through the HMEP grant program
conduct training exercises and drills with the joint participation of
railroads and other transporters of hazardous materials as a means to
evaluate state, regional, and local emergency response plans.
With adequate planning and preparedness to respond to catastrophic
accidents, injuries and deaths could be reduced or avoided. Data
involving highway miles, rail miles,\5\ and the assessment of chemical
threats and response capabilities, examined in conjunction with
detailed information regarding the LEPCs, will enable PHMSA to comply
with the MAP-21 requirements to better identify the level of grant
funding used for planning by each grantee, increase its oversight, and
better enable grantees to support training activities in support of
PHMSA's mission. With this in mind, PHMSA seeks to request the
following information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Highway and rail miles can be derived from other sources.
Number of active Local Emergency Planning Committees or
equivalent
Number of inactive Local Emergency Planning Committees or
equivalent
Number of emergency response plans currently in place
Number of Local Emergency Planning Committees participating on
the grant
PHMSA does not anticipate that providing the information regarding
LEPCs or comparable entities will impose a significant burden on grant
recipients. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to
answer these questions, and that it will take each respondent
approximately 60 minutes to answer the list of questions. The resulting
estimated total burden is 65 hours (65 respondents x 1 hour per
respondent = 65 hours) for the grantee to collect this data.
Assessment of Potential Chemical Threats
PHMSA is seeking to collect the following information on the
potential for hazardous materials incidents or accidents in each
grantee's state, territory, or Native American tribe to help determine
if the level of funding to each grant recipient is commensurate with
the potential for incidents or accidents in the particular
jurisdiction. This information will enable PHMSA to better allocate
grant funds according to need.
Total number of hazards chemicals produced, used, or stored
within the applicant's State/Tribe/Territory
Total number of facilities that produce, use, or store
hazardous chemicals within the applicant's State/Tribe/Territory
Total number of facilities that produce, use, or store
extremely hazardous substances within the applicant's State/Tribe/
Territory
PHMSA does not anticipate that providing information on hazardous
[[Page 72975]]
chemicals use, production, and storage will impose a significant burden
on grantees. This information must already be provided by facilities to
the State Emergency Response Commission, LEPC, and local fire
departments in accordance with the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act. The questions listed above are intended to ensure
that PHMSA complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements, and
estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these
questions. PHMSA estimates it will take each respondent approximately
20 minutes to answer the list of questions, resulting in an estimated
total burden of 22 hours (65 respondents x 0.33 hour per respondent =
22 hours) for the grantee and sub-grantee question data collection.
Assessment of Response Capabilities for Accidents/Incidents Involving
the Transportation of Hazardous Materials
PHMSA is seeking to collect the following information on the total
number of emergency responders and emergency response teams with a
HAZMAT specialty unit in each grantee's state, territory, or Native
American tribe to help determine if the level of funding to each grant
recipient is commensurate with the potential in the particular
jurisdiction for incidents or accidents. This information will enable
PHMSA to better allocate grant funds according to need.
The total number of emergency responders in the following
disciplines:
[cir] Police
[cir] Fire
[cir] EMS
[cir] Other
The number of emergency response teams with a HAZMAT specialty
unit
PHMSA does not anticipate that providing the number of emergency
responders and the number of emergency response teams with HAZMAT
specialty units will impose a significant burden on grantees. PHMSA
estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these
questions, and that it will take each respondent approximately 30
minutes to answer the list of questions. The resulting estimated total
burden is 32.5 hours (65 respondents x 0.5 hour per respondent = 32.5
hours) for the grantee and sub-grantee question data collection.
HMEP Planning and Training Grant Reporting
PHMSA is seeking to collect the following information on each
completed activity for the reporting period. The information obtained
will enable PHMSA to ascertain more detailed reporting from grantees to
comply with MAP-21.
The grantee will list the completed activities for the
reporting period, including:
[cir] Name of the activity
[cir] Purpose of the activity
[cir] Number of participants involved in the activity
[cir] Name and description of supplies needed to conduct the
activity (if applicable)
[cir] Name and description of any equipment needed to conduct the
activity (if applicable)
[cir] Expected start and end time for the activity (if applicable)
Outcome of each completed activity
Output of each completed activity
Actual cost of each completed activity using the following
categories:
[cir] Personal costs
[cir] Fringe benefits costs
[cir] Travel costs
[cir] Equipment costs
[cir] Supplies costs
[cir] Contractual costs
[cir] Indirect costs
[cir] Other costs not listed
The amount of non-Federal funds contributed to this activity,
if any
Aggregate expenditures exclusive of Federal funds for the last
five years
The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not
anticipate that providing information on each completed activity will
impose a significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than
65 grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will
take each respondent approximately 30 minutes to answer the list of
questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 32.5 hours (65
respondents x 0.5 hour per respondent = 32.5 hours) for the grantee and
sub-grantee question data collection.
HMEP Planning Goal and Objectives
PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on each grant
recipient's goals and objectives for the HMEP planning grant to better
allocate grant funds. A 2008 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Nationwide Survey \6\ of LEPCs indicated that a dedicated membership is
the greatest single factor contributing to an LEPC's success (33.3%)
while 15.9% report that regularly scheduled meetings contribute most to
their success as an organization. Grant funding to support LEPC
planning initial responses for foreseeable hazardous materials
transportation incidents would most likely reduce the number of
incidents and accidents in each state, territory, or Native American
tribal land. PHMSA intends to ask each planning grant recipient to
explain the following goals and objectives.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2008 Nationwide Survey
of LEPCs (https://www.epa.gov/oem/docs/chem/2008_lepcsurv.pdf
(accessed 11/7/2013))
The current abilities and authorities of the grant recipient's
program for preparedness planning
The need to sustain or increase program capability
The current degree of participation in regional hazardous
materials emergency preparedness teams
The intention to assess the need for a regional hazardous
materials emergency preparedness team
The impact that the grant has/will have on the program
The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not
anticipate that providing planning goals and objectives will impose a
significant burden on grantees. These are question each grantee must
ask itself when applying for HMEP grant funds. PHMSA estimates no more
than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it
will take each respondent approximately 30 minutes to answer the list
of questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 32.5 hours (65
respondents x 0.5 hour per respondent = 32.5 hours) for the grantee and
sub-grantee question data collection.
HMEP Training Goals and Objectives
PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on each grant
recipient's goals and objectives for the HMEP training grant to better
allocate grant funds to reduce the number of incidents and accidents in
each state, territory, or Native American tribal land. PHMSA intends to
ask each training grant recipient to explain the following goals and
objectives.
Overall training needs of the jurisdiction, quantified in
terms of number of persons needing training and the number of persons
currently trained in the different disciplines and planning and
response functions.
Ways in which the training grant will support the diverse
needs in the jurisdiction, such as decentralized delivery of training
to meet the needs and time considerations of local responders or how
the grant program will accommodate the different training needs for
rural versus urban environments.
[[Page 72976]]
The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not
anticipate that providing training goals and objectives will impose a
significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than 65
grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will take
each respondent approximately 20 minutes to answer the list of
questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 22 hours (65
respondents x 0.33 hour per respondent = 22 hours) for the grantee data
collection.
HMEP Training and Planning Assessment
PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on each grantee's
assessment of the use of their HMEP training and planning grant funds
towards the end of the grant cycle to determine how the grant funds
were actually used and to assess the best allocation of future grants.
PHMSA intends to ask each grant recipient to provide a progress report
during the course of the grant cycle on the following:
A narrative detailing how goals and objectives for the
HMEP planning grant were achieved.
A narrative detailing how the State/Tribe/Territory,
through the use of HMEP planning funds, is better suited to handle
accidents and incidents involving the transport of hazardous materials.
Number of emergency plans updated during the performance
period.
Number of emergency response plans written during the
performance period.
Number of commodity flow studies conducted during the
performance period.
Number of hazard risk analyses conducted during the
performance period.
Number of hazardous materials drills or exercises
conducted during the performance period involving air, water, highway,
and rail.
A narrative detailing how the State/Tribe/Territory,
through the use of HMEP planning and training funds, is better suited
to handle accidents and incidents involving the transport of hazardous
materials.
Number of fire, police, EMS, and any additional
disciplines that received awareness, operation, technician, refresher,
Incident Command System, site specialist trainings.
The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA
complies with the MAP-21 reporting requirements. PHMSA does not
anticipate that providing training assessments will impose a
significant burden on grantees as grantees should be aware of these
statistics to determine the effectiveness of the activities performed
using HMEP grant funds. PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will
be asked to answer these questions, and that it will take each
respondent approximately 30 minutes to answer the list of questions.
The resulting estimated total burden is 32.5 hours (65 respondents x
0.50 hour per respondent = 32.5 hours) for the grantee data collection.
Hazmat Transportation Fees
PHMSA seeks to collect the following information on hazardous
materials transportation fees collected within each grantee's state,
territory, or Native American tribe. 49 U.S.C. 5116(b)(4)(C) and (D)
authorizes PHMSA to allocate amounts made available for grants for a
fiscal year among eligible states, territories, and Native American
tribes based on the needs of the states and Native American tribes for
emergency response training. In making a decision about those needs,
PHMSA is required to consider whether the state, territory, or Native
American tribe imposes and collects a fee on transporting hazardous
material; and whether the fee is used only to carry out a purpose
related to transporting hazardous material. In the past, PHMSA has not
collected this information. Requiring this information now constitutes
a revision to an existing information collection under the PRA and
necessitates approval by OMB. This information may be used to assess
whether entities are receiving funds from other sources to perform
hazardous materials transportation training or planning and to
determine whether or not to reallocate funds to grantees without
supplemental funding.
Are fees collected solely for the transportation of
hazardous materials in the grant recipient's state, territory, or
Native American tribe? (yes or no)
If such fees are collected, are they used to carry out
purposes related to the transportation of hazardous materials? (yes or
no)
If fees are used to carry out purposes related to the
transportation of hazardous materials, what is the dollar amount
collected?
The questions listed above are intended to ensure that PHMSA is
aware of other funding for hazardous materials transportation in each
state, territory, or Native American tribe to better assess how each
grantee is using HMEP grant funds, and to what degree, if any, funding
may be used towards other resources where additional funding is not
available. PHMSA does not anticipate that listing hazmat fees collected
by each grantee's state, territory, or Native American tribe will
impose a significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than
65 grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will
take each respondent approximately 10 minutes to answer the list of
questions. The resulting estimated total burden is 11 hours (65
respondents x 0.17 hour per respondent = 11 hours) for the grantee data
collection.
Grantee Complies With National Incident Management System and Grant
Application Is Reviewed by SERC
Prior to applying for a HMEP grant, states, territories and Native
American tribes must comply with the National Incident Management
System (NIMS). NIMS identifies concepts and principles to manage
emergencies from preparedness to recovery regardless of their cause,
size, location, or complexity. State Emergency Response Commissions
(SERC) consist of members from state and local government, including
fire, public health, industry, transportation, and the public. Members
of SERC are generally appointed by the governor of each state and are
requested to supervise and coordinate activities of Local Emergency
Planning Committees, and to approve members of the LEPC. PHMSA seeks to
collect the following information on each grant applicant to ensure
that they meet NIMS requirements and that each member of the SERC was
given the opportunity to review the HMEP Grant application before
submitting it to PHMSA.
The applicant is to state whether or not the State/Tribe/
Territory is compliant with National Incident Management System (NIMS)
(yes or no)
The applicant is to state whether or not each member of
the SERC was given the opportunity to review the HMEP Grant application
before submitting it to PHMSA. (yes or no)
The questions listed above are intended to ensure that grant
applicants comply with Federal requirements to receive grant funds.
PHMSA does not anticipate that answering these questions will impose a
significant burden on grantees. PHMSA estimates no more than 65
grantees will be asked to answer these questions, and that it will take
each respondent approximately 5 minutes to answer the two questions.
The resulting estimated total burden is 5.5 hours (65 respondents x .08
hour per respondent = 5.5 hours).
[[Page 72977]]
HMEP Grant Program Administration
PHMSA seeks to maintain up-to-date records to ensure that it
continues to receive detailed accounting of all grantees and sub-
grantees. Accordingly, PHMSA intends to ask each grant applicant the
following questions.
If applicable, the grantee will list any changes in the
grant program; i.e. program priorities, points of contact, tax or
employee identification numbers.
If applicable, the grantee will list any issues that
impact performance; i.e. response to natural disasters or loss of key
personnel.
The questions listed above are intended to ensure that grantees
provide up-to-date information. PHMSA does not anticipate that
answering these questions will impose a significant burden on grantees.
PHMSA estimates no more than 65 grantees will be asked to answer these
questions, and that it will take each respondent approximately 10
minutes to answer the two questions. The resulting estimated total
burden is 11 hours (65 respondents x .17 hour per respondent = 11
hours).
Total Information Collection Burden
The total revised information collection budget for the HMEP grants
program follows:
General Grantee and Sub- 65 respondents x = 65 hours
grantee information. 1 hr.
Information on LEPCs.......... 65 respondents x = 65 hours
1 hr.
Assessment of Potential 65 respondents x = 22 hours
Chemical Threats. 0.33 hr.
Assessment of Response 65 respondents x = 32.5 hours
Capabilities for Accidents/ 0.5 hr.
Incidents.
HMEP Planning and Training 65 respondents x = 32.5 hours
Grant Reporting. 0.5 hr.
HMEP Planning Goals and 65 respondents x = 32.5 hours
Objectives. 0.5 hr.
HMEP Training Goals and 65 respondents x = 22 hours
Objectives. 0.33 hr.
HMEP Training and Planning 65 respondents x = 32.5 hours
Assessment. 0.5 hr.
Hazmat Transportation Fees.... 65 respondents x = 11 hours
0.17 hr.
Grant Applicant is NIMS 65 respondents x = 5.5 hours
Compliant/Grant Application .08 hr.
Is Reviewed By SERC.
HMEP Grant Program 65 respondents x = 11 hour
Administration. 0.17 hr.
----------------------
Total Information 65 respondents... 331.5 hours
Collection Burden.
Title: Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning
Grants.
OMB Control Number: 2137-0586.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: Part 110 of 49 CFR sets forth the procedures for
reimbursable grants for public sector planning and training in support
of the emergency planning and training efforts of states, Native
American tribes and local communities to manage hazardous materials
emergencies, particularly those involving transportation. Sections in
this part address information collection and recordkeeping with regard
to applying for grants, monitoring expenditures, and reporting and
requesting modifications.
Affected Public: State and local governments, territories, and
Native American tribes. Recordkeeping:
Estimated Number of Respondents: 65
Estimated Number of Responses: 65
Increase in Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 320
Increase in Estimated Annual Burden Costs: $3,200
Frequency of Collection: Up to four (4) times a year.
R. Ryan Posten,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-29015 Filed 12-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P