Agency Information Collection Activities: Reinstatement of a Previously Approved Collection of Information, 52365-52368 [2015-21337]
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(the Railroad Assets), a distance of
approximately 4.6 miles.
According to MassDOT, the
acquisition of the Railroad Assets will
promote continued use (and potential
growth) of freight traffic due in part to
physical plant improvements that
MassDOT is already undertaking, and
will facilitate use of the property for
railroad passenger excursion operations.
MassDOT also states that it will not
acquire the right, nor will it have the
ability, to provide rail freight common
carrier service over the Railroad Assets,
and that PAS will retain a permanent,
exclusive freight operating easement
over the Railroad Assets.2 Under the
terms of the governing agreements,
MassDOT maintains that it will be
entitled to conduct entirely intrastate
passenger rail excursion service over the
Railroad Assets. MassDOT states that
the proposed transaction has been
agreed upon pursuant to a June 26, 2015
Purchase and Sale Contract. According
to MassDOT, the agreements governing
the subject asset sale and posttransaction railroad operations preclude
MassDOT from interfering materially
with PAS’s provision of railroad
common carrier service over the
Railroad Assets. MassDOT also states
that the proposed transaction does not
involve any provision or agreement that
would limit future interchange with a
third-party connecting carrier.
MassDOT certifies that it would not
conduct freight operations over the
Railroad Assets, and therefore,
MassDOT’s prospective annual common
carrier revenues will not result in the
creation of a Class I or Class II carrier.
MassDOT also states that the parties
intend to consummate the transaction
on or about September 28, 2015, subject
to a Board decision on the concurrently
filed motion to dismiss. The earliest this
transaction may be consummated is
September 13, 2015 (30 days after the
verified notice was filed).
If the verified notice contains false or
misleading information, the exemption
is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the
exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d)
may be filed at any time. The filing of
a petition to revoke will not
automatically stay the effectiveness of
the exemption. Petitions to stay must be
filed no later than September 4 2015 (at
least seven days before the exemption
becomes effective).
An original and ten copies of all
pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD
2A
motion to dismiss the notice of exemption on
grounds that the transaction does not require
authorization from the Board was concurrently filed
with this notice of exemption. The motion to
dismiss will be addressed in a subsequent Board
decision.
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35943, must be filed with the Surface
Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20423–0001. In
addition, a copy of each pleading must
be served on Robert A. Wimbish,
Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker
Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606–
2832.
Board decisions and notices are
available on our Web site at
‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’
Decided: August 25, 2015.
By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015–21316 Filed 8–27–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT–OST–2015–0061]
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Reinstatement of a
Previously Approved Collection of
Information
Office of the Secretary (OST),
U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Department of
Transportation (DOT) invites public
comments on a request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to
approve the reinstatement of a
previously approved Information
Collection Request (OMB Control #
2105–0563) in accordance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub L. 104–13,
44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
The previous approval granted the
Department of Transportation authority
to collect information involving
National Infrastructure Investments or
TIGER Discretionary Grants pursuant to
Title I of the Transportation, Housing
and Urban Development, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act for 2010
(the ‘‘FY 2010 Appropriations Act). The
Office of the Secretary of Transportation
(‘‘OST’’) is referring to these grants as
TIGER Discretionary Grants. The
original collection of information was
necessary in order to receive
applications for grant funds pursuant to
the Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act of 2010 (‘‘FY 2010
Appropriations Act’’), Title I—
Department of Transportation, Office of
the Secretary, National Infrastructure
SUMMARY:
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52365
Investments, Public Law 111–117, 123
Stat. 3034. The purpose of the TIGER
Discretionary Grants program is to
advance projects that will have a
significant impact on the Nation,
Metropolitan area or a region.
This request for reinstatement
advances the previously approved
request of an information collection.
The information to be collected will be
used to, receive applications for grant
funds, to evaluate the effectiveness of
projects that have been awarded grant
funds and to monitor project financial
conditions and project progress in
support of the National Infrastructure
Investments, referred to by the
Department as ‘‘Grants for
Transportation Investment Generating
Economic Recovery’’, or ‘‘TIGER’’
Discretionary Grants program
authorized and implemented pursuant
to the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the
‘‘Recovery Act’’) (OMB Control Number:
2105–0563) and the grants for National
Infrastructure Investments under the FY
2010 Appropriations Act or TIGER
Discretionary Grant programs include
promoting economic recovery and
supporting projects that have a
significant impact on the Nation, a
metropolitan area, or a region.
A 60-day Federal Register notice was
published on April 6, 2015 (FR 2015–
07856). Since the publication of the 60day Federal Register notice, no
comments were received to the Docket
(DOT–OST–2015–0061) and therefore
no review of comments was required, so
none was performed by the Department.
DATES: Written comments should be
submitted by September 28, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
[identified by Docket No. DOT–OST–
2015–0061] to the DOT/OST Desk
Officer through one of the following
methods:
• Email: oira_submissions@
omb.eop.gov.
• Fax: 1–202–395–5806—Attention:
DOT/OST Desk Officer.
• Mail: Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, Docket
Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street
NW., Washington, DC 20503 with the
associated OMB Control Number 2105–
0563 and Dockets (DOT–OST–2011–
0019).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Mariner, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Transportation Policy, at
202–366–8914, or Robert.Mariner@
dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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OMB Control Number: 2105–0563
Title: National Infrastructure
Investments Grant Program or TIGER
Discretionary Grants.
Form Numbers: None
Type of Request: Reinstatement of a
previously approved collection
Target Audience: Eligible Applicants’’
for TIGER Discretionary Grants are
State, local, and tribal governments,
including U.S. territories, transit
agencies, port authorities, metropolitan
planning organizations (MPOs), other
political subdivisions of State or local
governments, and multi-State or multijurisdictional groups applying through a
single lead applicant (for multijurisdictional groups, each member of
the group, including the lead applicant,
must be an otherwise eligible applicant
as described in this paragraph).
Estimated Number of Responses:
5,570.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
500.
Total Estimated Burden: $4,259,310
Costs.
Frequency: Quarterly, and Yearly.
Estimated Average Burden per
Response: 8 hours for each request for
Quarterly Progress and Monitoring
Report; 8 hours for each Annual Budget
Review; 8 hours for each Quarterly
Performance Measurement Report.
Estimated Total Annual Burden:
144,070 hours.
Obligation to Respond: Required To
Obtain Benefits.
The following is detailed information
and instructions regarding the specific
reporting requirements for each report
identified above:
TIGER Discretionary Grant program
grantees will submit a Project Progress
and Monitoring Report and the Federal
Financial Report (SF–425) to the
Government on a quarterly basis.
Grantees should use the following
structure when preparing the quarterly
Project Progress and Monitoring Report.
• Project Progress and Monitoring
Report.
Æ Frequency: Quarterly (on the 20th
of the first month of the calendar
quarter).
Æ Report covers: Previous quarter,
along with a two-quarter forecast.
Æ Start: Upon award of grant.
Æ End: Once construction is
complete.
Æ Format/Fields and accompanying
instructions (beyond project ID
information):
1. Executive Summary.—A clear and
concise summary of the current status of
the project, including identification of
any major issues that have an impact on
the project’s scope, budget, schedule,
quality, or safety, including:
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• Current total project cost (forecast)
vs. latest budget vs. baseline budget.
Include an explanation of the reasons
for any deviations from the approved
budget.
• Current overall project completion
percentage vs. latest plan percentage.
• Any delays or exposures to
milestone and final completion dates.
Include an explanation of the reasons
for the delays and exposures.
• A summary of the projected and
actual dates for notices to proceed for
significant contracts, start of
construction, start of expenditure of
TIGER Discretionary Grant funds, and
project completion date. Include an
explanation of the reasons for any
discrepancies from the corresponding
project milestone dates included in the
Agreement.
• Any Federal obligations and/or
TIFIA disbursements occurring during
the month versus planned obligations or
disbursements.
• Any significant contracts
advertised, awarded, or completed.
• Any significant scope of work
changes.
• Any significant items identified as
having deficient quality.
• Any significant safety issues.
• Any significant Federal issues such
as environmental compliance, Buy
America/Buy American (whichever is
applicable to this Project), Davis Bacon
Act Prevailing Wage requirements, etc.
2. Project Activities and
Deliverables.—Highlighting the project
activities and deliverables occurring
during the previous quarter (reporting
period), and (2) define the activities and
deliverables planned for the next two
reporting periods. Activities and
deliverables to be reported on should
include meetings, audits and other
reviews, design packages submitted,
advertisements, awards, construction
submittals, construction completion
milestones, submittals related to
Recovery Act requirements, media or
Congressional inquiries, value
engineering/constructability reviews,
and other items of significance. The two
reporting period ‘‘look ahead schedule’’
will enable the Government to
accommodate any activities requiring
input or assistance.
3. Action Items/Outstanding Issues.—
Drawing attention to, and tracking the
progress of, highly significant or
sensitive issues requiring action and
direction in order to resolve. In general,
issues and administrative requirements
that could have a significant or adverse
impact to the project’s scope, budget,
schedule, quality, safety, and/or
compliance with Federal requirements
should be included. Status, responsible
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person(s), and due dates should be
included for each action item/
outstanding issue. Action items
requiring action or direction should be
included in the quarterly status meeting
agenda. The action items/outstanding
issues may be dropped from this section
upon full implementation of the
remedial action, and upon no further
monitoring anticipated.
4. Project Schedule.—An updated
master program schedule reflecting the
current status of the program activities
should be included in this section. A
Gantt (bar) type chart is probably the
most appropriate for quarterly reporting
purposes, with the ultimate format to be
agreed upon between the grantee and
the Government. It is imperative that the
master program schedule be integrated,
i.e., the individual contract milestones
tied to each other, such that any delays
occurring in one activity will be
reflected throughout the entire program
schedule, with a realistic completion
date being reported. Narratives, tables,
and/or graphs should accompany the
updated master program schedule,
basically detailing the current schedule
status, delays and potential exposures,
and recovery efforts. The following
information should also be included:
• Current overall project completion
percentage vs. latest plan percentage.
• Completion percentages vs. latest
plan percentages for major activities
such as right-of-way, major or critical
design contracts, major or critical
construction contracts, and significant
force accounts or task orders. A
schedule status description should also
be included for each of these major or
critical elements.
• Any delays or potential exposures
to milestone and final completion dates.
The delays and exposures should be
quantified and overall schedule impacts
assessed. The reasons for the delays and
exposures should be explained, and
initiatives being analyzed or
implemented in order to recover the
schedule should be detailed.
5. Project Cost.—An updated cost
spreadsheet reflecting the current
forecasted cost vs. the latest approved
budget vs. the baseline budget should be
included in this section. One way to
track project cost is to show: (1)
Baseline Budget, (2) Latest Approved
Budget, (3) Current Forecasted Cost
Estimate, (4) Expenditures or
Commitments to Date, and (5) Variance
between Current Forecasted Cost and
Latest Approved Budget. Line items
should include all significant cost
centers, such as prior costs, right-ofway, preliminary engineering,
environmental mitigation, general
engineering consultant, section design
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contracts, construction administration,
utilities, construction packages; force
accounts/task orders, wrap-up
insurance, construction contingencies,
management contingencies, and other
contingencies. The line items can be
broken-up in enough detail such that
specific areas of cost change can be
sufficiently tracked and future
improvements made to the overall cost
estimating methodology. A Program
Total line should be included at the
bottom of the spreadsheet. Narratives,
tables, and/or graphs should accompany
the updated cost spreadsheet, basically
detailing the current cost status, reasons
for cost deviations, impacts of cost
overruns, and efforts to mitigate cost
overruns. The following information
should be provided:
• Reasons for each line item deviation
from the approved budget, impacts
resulting from the deviations, and
initiatives being analyzed or
implemented in order to recover any
cost overruns.
• Transfer of costs to and from
contingency line items, and reasons
supporting the transfers.
• Speculative cost changes that
potentially may develop in the future, a
quantified dollar range for each
potential cost change, and the current
status of the speculative change. Also, a
comparison analysis to the available
contingency amounts should be
included, showing that reasonable and
sufficient amounts of contingency
remain to keep the project within the
latest approved budget.
• Detailed cost breakdown of the
general engineering consultant (GEC)
services (if applicable), including such
line items as contract amounts, task
orders issued (amounts), balance
remaining for tasks, and accrued
(billable) costs.
• Federal obligations and/or TIFIA
disbursements for the project, compared
to planned obligations and
disbursements.
6. Project Funding Status.—The
purpose of this section is to provide a
status report on the non-TIGER
Discretionary Grant funds necessary to
complete the project. This report section
should include a status update of any
legislative approvals or other actions
necessary to provide the non-TIGER
Discretionary Grant funds to the project.
Such approvals might include
legislative authority to charge user fees
or set toll rates, or the commitment of
local funding revenues to the project. In
the event that there is an anticipated or
actual project cost increase, the project
funding status section should include a
report on the anticipated or actual
source of funds to cover the cost
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increase and any significant issues
identified with obtaining additional
funding.
7. Project Quality.—The purpose of
this section is to: (1) Summarize the
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
activities during the previous month
(reporting period), and (2) highlight any
significant items identified as being
deficient in quality. Deficient items
noted should be accompanied by
reasons and specifics concerning the
deficiencies, and corrective actions
taken or planned. In addition, the
agency or firm responsible for the
corrective action should be
documented. Planned corrective actions
should then be included as Action
Items/Outstanding Issues.
8. Federal Financial Report (SF–
425).—The Federal Financial Report
(SF–425) is a financial reporting form
used throughout the Federal
Government Grant system. Grantees
should complete this form and attach it
to each quarterly Project Progress and
Monitoring Report.
TIGER Discretionary Grant program
grantees will submit an Annual Budget
Review and Program Plan to the
Government 60 days prior to the end of
each Agreement year that they are
receiving grant funds. Grantees should
use the following structure when
preparing the Annual Budget Review
Report.
• Annual Budget Review Report
Æ Frequency: Yearly (60 days before
the end of the Agreement year).
Æ Report covers: Upcoming
Agreement year.
Æ Start: 60 days before first
anniversary of grant award.
Æ End: Once construction is
complete.
Æ Format/Fields and accompanying
instructions (beyond project ID
information):
1. Detailed Schedule of Activities.—
An updated master program schedule
reflecting the current status of the
program activities should be included in
this section. A Gantt (bar) type chart is
probably the most appropriate for
annual reporting purposes.
2. Estimate of Specific Performance
Objectives.—This section will discuss,
what, if any performance objectives of
the project will be achieved over the
course of the upcoming Agreement Year
and note any differences from the
original project plan.
3. Forecasted Expenditures.—This
section will discuss financial outlays
that will occur in support of the project
over the course of the upcoming
Agreement Year and note any
differences from the original project
plan.
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52367
4. Schedule of Milestones for the
Upcoming Agreement Year.—This
section will discuss, what, if any project
milestones will be achieved over the
course of the upcoming Agreement Year
and the obligations associated with each
milestone, noting any differences from
the original project plan.
If there are no proposed deviations
from the Approved Detailed Project
Budget, the Annual Budget Review shall
contain a statement stating such. The
grantee will meet with the Government
to discuss the Annual Budget Review
and Program Plan. If there is an actual
or projected project cost increase, the
annual submittal should include a
written plan for providing additional
sources of funding to cover the project
budget shortfall or supporting
documentation of committed funds to
cover the cost increase. To the extent
the annual budget update deviates from
the approved project budget by more
than 10 percent, then work proposed
under the Annual Budget Review and
Program Plan shall not commence until
written approval from the Government
is received.
TIGER Discretionary Grant program
grantees will submit Performance
Measure Reports on the performance (or
projected performance) of the project
using the performance measures that the
grantee and the Government selected
through negotiations.
• Performance Measurement Reports
Æ Frequency: Quarterly (on the 20th
of the first month of the calendar
quarter).
Æ Report covers: Previous quarter.
Æ Start: Once, upon award of grant;
Quarterly, once construction complete.
Æ End: At the end of agreed upon
performance measurement period.
Æ Format/Fields and accompanying
instructions (beyond project ID
information):
1. Performance Measures Narrative.—
Including a detailed description of data
sources, assumptions, variability, and
the estimated level of precision for each
measure.
2. Performance Measures
Spreadsheet.—Government and grantee
will agree on the format of the
spreadsheet for each individual project.
Measures (to be negotiated between
grantees and the Government,
individually) may include, but are not
limited to: Average tons handled/day;
average daily gross ton-miles (GTM);
average container lifts per day (TEUs);
containers transported on lines (TEUs);
transit passenger miles and hours of
travel; transit passenger & nonpassenger counts; transit rider
characteristics; average bike and or
pedestrian users at key locations;
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average daily traffic (ADT) and average
daily truck traffic (ADTT); average daily
total train delay (minutes); average daily
total (all vehicles) vehicle delay at
crossings; transit service level; facility
service level; average hourly (or peak &
off-peak) vehicle travel time; average
hourly (or peak & off-peak) buffer index;
annual crash rates by type/severity;
average slow order miles and average
daily delay minutes due to slow orders;
bridge condition (Sufficiency Rating);
road closure/lost capacity time (lanehours).
Project Outcomes.—Detailing Project
successes and/or the influence of
external factors on Project expectations,
including an ex post examination of
project effectiveness in relation to the
Pre-project Report baselines.
Background: On February 17, 2009,
the President of the United States signed
the Recovery Act to, among other
purposes, (1) preserve and create jobs
and promote economic recovery, (2)
invest in transportation infrastructure
that will provide long-term economic
benefits, and (3) assist those most
affected by the current economic
downturn. The Recovery Act
appropriated $1.5 billion of
discretionary grant funds to be awarded
by the Department of Transportation for
capital investments in surface
transportation infrastructure. The
Department refers to these grants as
‘‘Grants for Transportation Investment
Generating Economic Recovery’’ or
‘‘TIGER’’ Discretionary Grants. Funding
for 51 projects totaling nearly $1.5
billion under the TIGER program was
announced on February 17, 2010.
Projects were selected based on their
alignment with the selection criteria
specified in the Federal Register notice
for the TIGER Discretionary Grant
program. On December 16, 2009 the
President signed the FY 2010
Appropriations Act. The FY 2010
Appropriations Act appropriated $600
million for National Infrastructure
Investments using language that is very
similar, but not identical to the language
in the Recovery Act authorizing the
TIGER Discretionary Grants. The
Department is referring to the grants for
National Infrastructure Investments as
TIGER Discretionary Grants. TIGER
Discretionary Grants are for capital
investments in surface transportation
infrastructure and are to be awarded on
a competitive basis for projects that will
have a significant impact on the Nation,
a metropolitan area, or a region.
Funding for 72 projects totaling nearly
$600 million under the TIGER program
was announced on September 12, 2014.
Projects were selected based on their
alignment with the selection criteria
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specified in the Federal Register notice
for the TIGER Discretionary Grant
program. As announced in the Federal
Register notices for TIGER Discretionary
Grant programs, grantees are expected to
provide information to the Government
so that the Government may monitor the
financial conditions and progress of
projects, as well as the effectiveness of
projects using performance
measurement metrics negotiated
between the grantees and the
Government.
This request reinstates a previously
approved information collection that is
necessary to receive applications for
grant funds, to evaluate the effectiveness
of projects that have been awarded grant
funds and to monitor project financial
conditions and project progress.
The reporting requirements for the
program are as follows:
Grantees will submit reports on the
financial condition of the project and
the project’s progress. Grantees will
submit progress reports and the Federal
Financial Report (SF–425) to the
Government on a quarterly basis,
beginning on the 20th of the first month
of the calendar-year quarter following
the execution of a grant agreement, and
on the 20th of the first month of each
calendar-year quarter thereafter until
completion of the project. The initial
report will include a detailed
description, and, where appropriate,
drawings, of the items funded.
Grantees will also submit an Annual
Budget Review and Program Plan to the
Government via email 60 days prior to
the end of each Agreement year that
they are receiving grant funds. The
Annual Budget Review and Program
Plan will provide a detailed schedule of
activities, estimate of specific
performance objectives, include
forecasted expenditures, and schedule
of milestones for the upcoming year. If
there is an actual or projected project
cost increase, the Annual Budget
Review will include a written plan for
providing additional sources of funding
to cover the project budget shortfall or
supporting documentation of committed
funds to cover the cost increase.
This information will be used to
monitor grantees’ use of Federal funds,
ensuring accountability and financial
transparency in the TIGER programs.
Grantees will also submit reports on
the performance (or projected
performance) of the project on
performance measures that the grantee
and the Government select through
negotiations. The Grantees will submit a
Pre-project Report that will consist of
current baseline data for each of the
performance measures specified in the
Performance Measurement Table in the
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grant agreement negotiated between the
grantee and the Government. The Preproject Report will include a detailed
description of data sources,
assumptions, variability, and the
estimated level of precision for each
measure. The Grantees will submit
interim Project Performance
Measurement Reports to the
Government for each of the performance
measures specified in the Performance
Measurement Table in the grant
agreement negotiated between the
grantee and the Government. Grantees
will submit reports at each of the
intervals identified for the duration of
the time period specified in the
Performance Measurement Table in the
grant agreement negotiated between the
grantee and the Government. The
Grantees will submit a Project Outcomes
Report after the project is completed
that will consist of a narrative
discussion detailing project successes
and/or the influence of external factors
on project expectations.
This information collected will be
used to evaluate and compare projects
and the monitor results that grant funds
achieve, ensuring that grant funds
achieved the outcomes targeted by the
TIGER Discretionary Grant program.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended;
and 49 CFR 148.
Issued in Washington, DC on August 19,
2015.
Patricia Lawton,
DOT Paperwork Reduction Act Clearance
Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015–21337 Filed 8–27–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary of
Transportation
[Docket No. DOT–OST–2015–0169]
Notice of Lithium Battery Safety Public
Meeting and Request for Information
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration,
Federal Aviation Administration,
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of lithium battery safety
public meeting and request for
information.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Transportation, including the Federal
Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Office
of Hazardous Materials Safety and the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration’s (PHMSA) Office of
Hazardous Materials Safety, announce a
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52365-52368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21337]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2015-0061]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Reinstatement of a
Previously Approved Collection of Information
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments
on a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve
the reinstatement of a previously approved Information Collection
Request (OMB Control # 2105-0563) in accordance with the requirements
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
The previous approval granted the Department of Transportation
authority to collect information involving National Infrastructure
Investments or TIGER Discretionary Grants pursuant to Title I of the
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act for 2010 (the ``FY 2010 Appropriations Act). The
Office of the Secretary of Transportation (``OST'') is referring to
these grants as TIGER Discretionary Grants. The original collection of
information was necessary in order to receive applications for grant
funds pursuant to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (``FY 2010
Appropriations Act''), Title I--Department of Transportation, Office of
the Secretary, National Infrastructure Investments, Public Law 111-117,
123 Stat. 3034. The purpose of the TIGER Discretionary Grants program
is to advance projects that will have a significant impact on the
Nation, Metropolitan area or a region.
This request for reinstatement advances the previously approved
request of an information collection. The information to be collected
will be used to, receive applications for grant funds, to evaluate the
effectiveness of projects that have been awarded grant funds and to
monitor project financial conditions and project progress in support of
the National Infrastructure Investments, referred to by the Department
as ``Grants for Transportation Investment Generating Economic
Recovery'', or ``TIGER'' Discretionary Grants program authorized and
implemented pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (the ``Recovery Act'') (OMB Control Number: 2105-0563) and the
grants for National Infrastructure Investments under the FY 2010
Appropriations Act or TIGER Discretionary Grant programs include
promoting economic recovery and supporting projects that have a
significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region.
A 60-day Federal Register notice was published on April 6, 2015 (FR
2015-07856). Since the publication of the 60-day Federal Register
notice, no comments were received to the Docket (DOT-OST-2015-0061) and
therefore no review of comments was required, so none was performed by
the Department.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by September 28, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. DOT-OST-
2015-0061] to the DOT/OST Desk Officer through one of the following
methods:
Email: oira_submissions@omb.eop.gov.
Fax: 1-202-395-5806--Attention: DOT/OST Desk Officer.
Mail: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office
of Management and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street
NW., Washington, DC 20503 with the associated OMB Control Number 2105-
0563 and Dockets (DOT-OST-2011-0019).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Mariner, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation
Policy, at 202-366-8914, or Robert.Mariner@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 52366]]
OMB Control Number: 2105-0563
Title: National Infrastructure Investments Grant Program or TIGER
Discretionary Grants.
Form Numbers: None
Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved collection
Target Audience: Eligible Applicants'' for TIGER Discretionary
Grants are State, local, and tribal governments, including U.S.
territories, transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning
organizations (MPOs), other political subdivisions of State or local
governments, and multi-State or multi-jurisdictional groups applying
through a single lead applicant (for multi-jurisdictional groups, each
member of the group, including the lead applicant, must be an otherwise
eligible applicant as described in this paragraph).
Estimated Number of Responses: 5,570.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 500.
Total Estimated Burden: $4,259,310 Costs.
Frequency: Quarterly, and Yearly.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 8 hours for each request for
Quarterly Progress and Monitoring Report; 8 hours for each Annual
Budget Review; 8 hours for each Quarterly Performance Measurement
Report.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 144,070 hours.
Obligation to Respond: Required To Obtain Benefits.
The following is detailed information and instructions regarding
the specific reporting requirements for each report identified above:
TIGER Discretionary Grant program grantees will submit a Project
Progress and Monitoring Report and the Federal Financial Report (SF-
425) to the Government on a quarterly basis. Grantees should use the
following structure when preparing the quarterly Project Progress and
Monitoring Report.
Project Progress and Monitoring Report.
[cir] Frequency: Quarterly (on the 20th of the first month of the
calendar quarter).
[cir] Report covers: Previous quarter, along with a two-quarter
forecast.
[cir] Start: Upon award of grant.
[cir] End: Once construction is complete.
[cir] Format/Fields and accompanying instructions (beyond project
ID information):
1. Executive Summary.--A clear and concise summary of the current
status of the project, including identification of any major issues
that have an impact on the project's scope, budget, schedule, quality,
or safety, including:
Current total project cost (forecast) vs. latest budget
vs. baseline budget. Include an explanation of the reasons for any
deviations from the approved budget.
Current overall project completion percentage vs. latest
plan percentage.
Any delays or exposures to milestone and final completion
dates. Include an explanation of the reasons for the delays and
exposures.
A summary of the projected and actual dates for notices to
proceed for significant contracts, start of construction, start of
expenditure of TIGER Discretionary Grant funds, and project completion
date. Include an explanation of the reasons for any discrepancies from
the corresponding project milestone dates included in the Agreement.
Any Federal obligations and/or TIFIA disbursements
occurring during the month versus planned obligations or disbursements.
Any significant contracts advertised, awarded, or
completed.
Any significant scope of work changes.
Any significant items identified as having deficient
quality.
Any significant safety issues.
Any significant Federal issues such as environmental
compliance, Buy America/Buy American (whichever is applicable to this
Project), Davis Bacon Act Prevailing Wage requirements, etc.
2. Project Activities and Deliverables.--Highlighting the project
activities and deliverables occurring during the previous quarter
(reporting period), and (2) define the activities and deliverables
planned for the next two reporting periods. Activities and deliverables
to be reported on should include meetings, audits and other reviews,
design packages submitted, advertisements, awards, construction
submittals, construction completion milestones, submittals related to
Recovery Act requirements, media or Congressional inquiries, value
engineering/constructability reviews, and other items of significance.
The two reporting period ``look ahead schedule'' will enable the
Government to accommodate any activities requiring input or assistance.
3. Action Items/Outstanding Issues.--Drawing attention to, and
tracking the progress of, highly significant or sensitive issues
requiring action and direction in order to resolve. In general, issues
and administrative requirements that could have a significant or
adverse impact to the project's scope, budget, schedule, quality,
safety, and/or compliance with Federal requirements should be included.
Status, responsible person(s), and due dates should be included for
each action item/outstanding issue. Action items requiring action or
direction should be included in the quarterly status meeting agenda.
The action items/outstanding issues may be dropped from this section
upon full implementation of the remedial action, and upon no further
monitoring anticipated.
4. Project Schedule.--An updated master program schedule reflecting
the current status of the program activities should be included in this
section. A Gantt (bar) type chart is probably the most appropriate for
quarterly reporting purposes, with the ultimate format to be agreed
upon between the grantee and the Government. It is imperative that the
master program schedule be integrated, i.e., the individual contract
milestones tied to each other, such that any delays occurring in one
activity will be reflected throughout the entire program schedule, with
a realistic completion date being reported. Narratives, tables, and/or
graphs should accompany the updated master program schedule, basically
detailing the current schedule status, delays and potential exposures,
and recovery efforts. The following information should also be
included:
Current overall project completion percentage vs. latest
plan percentage.
Completion percentages vs. latest plan percentages for
major activities such as right-of-way, major or critical design
contracts, major or critical construction contracts, and significant
force accounts or task orders. A schedule status description should
also be included for each of these major or critical elements.
Any delays or potential exposures to milestone and final
completion dates. The delays and exposures should be quantified and
overall schedule impacts assessed. The reasons for the delays and
exposures should be explained, and initiatives being analyzed or
implemented in order to recover the schedule should be detailed.
5. Project Cost.--An updated cost spreadsheet reflecting the
current forecasted cost vs. the latest approved budget vs. the baseline
budget should be included in this section. One way to track project
cost is to show: (1) Baseline Budget, (2) Latest Approved Budget, (3)
Current Forecasted Cost Estimate, (4) Expenditures or Commitments to
Date, and (5) Variance between Current Forecasted Cost and Latest
Approved Budget. Line items should include all significant cost
centers, such as prior costs, right-of-way, preliminary engineering,
environmental mitigation, general engineering consultant, section
design
[[Page 52367]]
contracts, construction administration, utilities, construction
packages; force accounts/task orders, wrap-up insurance, construction
contingencies, management contingencies, and other contingencies. The
line items can be broken-up in enough detail such that specific areas
of cost change can be sufficiently tracked and future improvements made
to the overall cost estimating methodology. A Program Total line should
be included at the bottom of the spreadsheet. Narratives, tables, and/
or graphs should accompany the updated cost spreadsheet, basically
detailing the current cost status, reasons for cost deviations, impacts
of cost overruns, and efforts to mitigate cost overruns. The following
information should be provided:
Reasons for each line item deviation from the approved
budget, impacts resulting from the deviations, and initiatives being
analyzed or implemented in order to recover any cost overruns.
Transfer of costs to and from contingency line items, and
reasons supporting the transfers.
Speculative cost changes that potentially may develop in
the future, a quantified dollar range for each potential cost change,
and the current status of the speculative change. Also, a comparison
analysis to the available contingency amounts should be included,
showing that reasonable and sufficient amounts of contingency remain to
keep the project within the latest approved budget.
Detailed cost breakdown of the general engineering
consultant (GEC) services (if applicable), including such line items as
contract amounts, task orders issued (amounts), balance remaining for
tasks, and accrued (billable) costs.
Federal obligations and/or TIFIA disbursements for the
project, compared to planned obligations and disbursements.
6. Project Funding Status.--The purpose of this section is to
provide a status report on the non-TIGER Discretionary Grant funds
necessary to complete the project. This report section should include a
status update of any legislative approvals or other actions necessary
to provide the non-TIGER Discretionary Grant funds to the project. Such
approvals might include legislative authority to charge user fees or
set toll rates, or the commitment of local funding revenues to the
project. In the event that there is an anticipated or actual project
cost increase, the project funding status section should include a
report on the anticipated or actual source of funds to cover the cost
increase and any significant issues identified with obtaining
additional funding.
7. Project Quality.--The purpose of this section is to: (1)
Summarize the Quality Assurance/Quality Control activities during the
previous month (reporting period), and (2) highlight any significant
items identified as being deficient in quality. Deficient items noted
should be accompanied by reasons and specifics concerning the
deficiencies, and corrective actions taken or planned. In addition, the
agency or firm responsible for the corrective action should be
documented. Planned corrective actions should then be included as
Action Items/Outstanding Issues.
8. Federal Financial Report (SF-425).--The Federal Financial Report
(SF-425) is a financial reporting form used throughout the Federal
Government Grant system. Grantees should complete this form and attach
it to each quarterly Project Progress and Monitoring Report.
TIGER Discretionary Grant program grantees will submit an Annual
Budget Review and Program Plan to the Government 60 days prior to the
end of each Agreement year that they are receiving grant funds.
Grantees should use the following structure when preparing the Annual
Budget Review Report.
Annual Budget Review Report
[cir] Frequency: Yearly (60 days before the end of the Agreement
year).
[cir] Report covers: Upcoming Agreement year.
[cir] Start: 60 days before first anniversary of grant award.
[cir] End: Once construction is complete.
[cir] Format/Fields and accompanying instructions (beyond project
ID information):
1. Detailed Schedule of Activities.--An updated master program
schedule reflecting the current status of the program activities should
be included in this section. A Gantt (bar) type chart is probably the
most appropriate for annual reporting purposes.
2. Estimate of Specific Performance Objectives.--This section will
discuss, what, if any performance objectives of the project will be
achieved over the course of the upcoming Agreement Year and note any
differences from the original project plan.
3. Forecasted Expenditures.--This section will discuss financial
outlays that will occur in support of the project over the course of
the upcoming Agreement Year and note any differences from the original
project plan.
4. Schedule of Milestones for the Upcoming Agreement Year.--This
section will discuss, what, if any project milestones will be achieved
over the course of the upcoming Agreement Year and the obligations
associated with each milestone, noting any differences from the
original project plan.
If there are no proposed deviations from the Approved Detailed
Project Budget, the Annual Budget Review shall contain a statement
stating such. The grantee will meet with the Government to discuss the
Annual Budget Review and Program Plan. If there is an actual or
projected project cost increase, the annual submittal should include a
written plan for providing additional sources of funding to cover the
project budget shortfall or supporting documentation of committed funds
to cover the cost increase. To the extent the annual budget update
deviates from the approved project budget by more than 10 percent, then
work proposed under the Annual Budget Review and Program Plan shall not
commence until written approval from the Government is received.
TIGER Discretionary Grant program grantees will submit Performance
Measure Reports on the performance (or projected performance) of the
project using the performance measures that the grantee and the
Government selected through negotiations.
Performance Measurement Reports
[cir] Frequency: Quarterly (on the 20th of the first month of the
calendar quarter).
[cir] Report covers: Previous quarter.
[cir] Start: Once, upon award of grant; Quarterly, once
construction complete.
[cir] End: At the end of agreed upon performance measurement
period.
[cir] Format/Fields and accompanying instructions (beyond project
ID information):
1. Performance Measures Narrative.--Including a detailed
description of data sources, assumptions, variability, and the
estimated level of precision for each measure.
2. Performance Measures Spreadsheet.--Government and grantee will
agree on the format of the spreadsheet for each individual project.
Measures (to be negotiated between grantees and the Government,
individually) may include, but are not limited to: Average tons
handled/day; average daily gross ton-miles (GTM); average container
lifts per day (TEUs); containers transported on lines (TEUs); transit
passenger miles and hours of travel; transit passenger & non-passenger
counts; transit rider characteristics; average bike and or pedestrian
users at key locations;
[[Page 52368]]
average daily traffic (ADT) and average daily truck traffic (ADTT);
average daily total train delay (minutes); average daily total (all
vehicles) vehicle delay at crossings; transit service level; facility
service level; average hourly (or peak & off-peak) vehicle travel time;
average hourly (or peak & off-peak) buffer index; annual crash rates by
type/severity; average slow order miles and average daily delay minutes
due to slow orders; bridge condition (Sufficiency Rating); road
closure/lost capacity time (lane-hours).
Project Outcomes.--Detailing Project successes and/or the influence
of external factors on Project expectations, including an ex post
examination of project effectiveness in relation to the Pre-project
Report baselines.
Background: On February 17, 2009, the President of the United
States signed the Recovery Act to, among other purposes, (1) preserve
and create jobs and promote economic recovery, (2) invest in
transportation infrastructure that will provide long-term economic
benefits, and (3) assist those most affected by the current economic
downturn. The Recovery Act appropriated $1.5 billion of discretionary
grant funds to be awarded by the Department of Transportation for
capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure. The
Department refers to these grants as ``Grants for Transportation
Investment Generating Economic Recovery'' or ``TIGER'' Discretionary
Grants. Funding for 51 projects totaling nearly $1.5 billion under the
TIGER program was announced on February 17, 2010. Projects were
selected based on their alignment with the selection criteria specified
in the Federal Register notice for the TIGER Discretionary Grant
program. On December 16, 2009 the President signed the FY 2010
Appropriations Act. The FY 2010 Appropriations Act appropriated $600
million for National Infrastructure Investments using language that is
very similar, but not identical to the language in the Recovery Act
authorizing the TIGER Discretionary Grants. The Department is referring
to the grants for National Infrastructure Investments as TIGER
Discretionary Grants. TIGER Discretionary Grants are for capital
investments in surface transportation infrastructure and are to be
awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a
significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region.
Funding for 72 projects totaling nearly $600 million under the TIGER
program was announced on September 12, 2014. Projects were selected
based on their alignment with the selection criteria specified in the
Federal Register notice for the TIGER Discretionary Grant program. As
announced in the Federal Register notices for TIGER Discretionary Grant
programs, grantees are expected to provide information to the
Government so that the Government may monitor the financial conditions
and progress of projects, as well as the effectiveness of projects
using performance measurement metrics negotiated between the grantees
and the Government.
This request reinstates a previously approved information
collection that is necessary to receive applications for grant funds,
to evaluate the effectiveness of projects that have been awarded grant
funds and to monitor project financial conditions and project progress.
The reporting requirements for the program are as follows:
Grantees will submit reports on the financial condition of the
project and the project's progress. Grantees will submit progress
reports and the Federal Financial Report (SF-425) to the Government on
a quarterly basis, beginning on the 20th of the first month of the
calendar-year quarter following the execution of a grant agreement, and
on the 20th of the first month of each calendar-year quarter thereafter
until completion of the project. The initial report will include a
detailed description, and, where appropriate, drawings, of the items
funded.
Grantees will also submit an Annual Budget Review and Program Plan
to the Government via email 60 days prior to the end of each Agreement
year that they are receiving grant funds. The Annual Budget Review and
Program Plan will provide a detailed schedule of activities, estimate
of specific performance objectives, include forecasted expenditures,
and schedule of milestones for the upcoming year. If there is an actual
or projected project cost increase, the Annual Budget Review will
include a written plan for providing additional sources of funding to
cover the project budget shortfall or supporting documentation of
committed funds to cover the cost increase.
This information will be used to monitor grantees' use of Federal
funds, ensuring accountability and financial transparency in the TIGER
programs.
Grantees will also submit reports on the performance (or projected
performance) of the project on performance measures that the grantee
and the Government select through negotiations. The Grantees will
submit a Pre-project Report that will consist of current baseline data
for each of the performance measures specified in the Performance
Measurement Table in the grant agreement negotiated between the grantee
and the Government. The Pre-project Report will include a detailed
description of data sources, assumptions, variability, and the
estimated level of precision for each measure. The Grantees will submit
interim Project Performance Measurement Reports to the Government for
each of the performance measures specified in the Performance
Measurement Table in the grant agreement negotiated between the grantee
and the Government. Grantees will submit reports at each of the
intervals identified for the duration of the time period specified in
the Performance Measurement Table in the grant agreement negotiated
between the grantee and the Government. The Grantees will submit a
Project Outcomes Report after the project is completed that will
consist of a narrative discussion detailing project successes and/or
the influence of external factors on project expectations.
This information collected will be used to evaluate and compare
projects and the monitor results that grant funds achieve, ensuring
that grant funds achieved the outcomes targeted by the TIGER
Discretionary Grant program.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 148.
Issued in Washington, DC on August 19, 2015.
Patricia Lawton,
DOT Paperwork Reduction Act Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-21337 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
