Agency Request for Emergency Approval of an Information Collection, 1477-1479 [2022-00334]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 11, 2022 / Notices
provisions of the Federal railroad safety
regulations contained at 49 CFR parts
215 (Railroad Freight Car Safety
Standards) and 224 (Reflectorization of
Rail Freight Rolling Stock). The relevant
FRA Docket Number is FRA–2011–
0009.
Specifically, NNR requested to extend
its special approval pursuant to 49 CFR
215.203, Restricted cars, for a total of 13
cars, including 2 cabooses (NN 22 and
NN 3), 2 flat cars (NN 23 and NN 100),
5 hopper cars (WSOR 102, WSOR 128,
WSOR 134, WSOR 158, and WSOR
159), and 4 boxcars (NN 1021, NN 1023,
NN 1024, and NN1025) that are more
than 50 years from the date of original
construction.1 NNR also requests to
extend its existing relief from 49 CFR
215.303, Stenciling of restricted cars,
and 224.101, General requirements.
NNR seeks to continue use of the cars
in mobile storage, occasional tourist
photographic events, and tourist
excursion operations. In support of its
request, NNR states that the relief would
enable the cars to maintain historic
integrity and that the cars would remain
on NNR’s track, not connected to the
general railroad system.
A copy of the petition, as well as any
written communications concerning the
petition, is available for review online at
www.regulations.gov.
Interested parties are invited to
participate in these proceedings by
submitting written views, data, or
comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing in
connection with these proceedings since
the facts do not appear to warrant a
hearing. If any interested party desires
an opportunity for oral comment and a
public hearing, they should notify FRA,
in writing, before the end of the
comment period and specify the basis
for their request.
All communications concerning these
proceedings should identify the
appropriate docket number and may be
submitted at https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Communications received by
February 25, 2022 will be considered by
FRA before final action is taken.
Comments received after that date will
be considered if practicable. Anyone
can search the electronic form of any
written communications and comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the document, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
1 Along with its request to renew the relief in this
docket, NNR submitted a request to extend the
relief in Docket Number FRA–2016–0110 and
combine that relief into the FRA–2011–0009 docket.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:03 Jan 10, 2022
Jkt 256001
business, labor union, etc.). Under 5
U.S.C. 553(c), the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) solicits comments
from the public to better inform its
processes. DOT posts these comments,
without edit, including any personal
information the commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov, as described in
the system of records notice (DOT/ALL–
14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
See also https://www.regulations.gov/
privacy-notice for the privacy notice of
regulations.gov.
Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety
Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022–00345 Filed 1–10–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. DOT–OST–2021–0166]
Agency Request for Emergency
Approval of an Information Collection
Department of Transportation.
Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Department of Transportation (DOT)
provides notice that it will submit an
information collection requests (ICR) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for emergency approval of a
proposed information collection. Upon
receiving the requested six-month
emergency approval by OMB, the Office
of the Secretary (OST) will follow the
normal PRA procedures to obtain
extended approval for this proposed
information collection. This collection
involves applicants to submit a proposal
for discretionary grant funding, under
the ‘‘National Infrastructure Project
Assistance Program, established by the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
of 2021, November 15, 2021, ‘‘Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law’’, or ‘‘BIL’’. OST is
requesting emergency approval due to
the urgency of making the associated
funds available to applicants that meet
the eligibility requirements under the
law. The continued viability of these
funds is critical in supporting the
transportation infrastructure needs
across the United States. The statutory
requirements of the BIL also establish a
strict 90-day timeframe from the date of
enactment to publish a Notice of
Funding Opportunity.
DATES: Comments should be submitted
as soon as possible upon publication of
this notice in the Federal Register.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
1477
Comments and questions
should be directed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs
(OIRA), Attn: OST OMB Desk Officer,
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC
20503. Comments and questions about
the ICR identified below may be
transmitted electronically to OIRA at
oira_submissions@omb.eop.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Information related to this ICR,
including applicable supporting
documentation may be obtained by
contacting John Augustine, Office of
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
in the office of the Under Secretary for
Transportation Policy (OST–P–40),
W84–306, Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590,
(202) 366–5437.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. chapter 35; as amended) and 5
CFR part 1320 require each Federal
agency to obtain OMB approval to
initiate an information collection
activity. DOT is seeking OMB approval
for the following DOT information
collection activity:
OMB Control Number: 2105–XXXX.
Title: National Infrastructure Project
Assistance Program.
Form Numbers: New Collection.
Type of Review: Emergency
information collection request.
Expected Number of Respondents:
100.
Frequency: One-time application, to
be followed by grant agreement
execution, reimbursement of funds, and
project closeout.
Estimated Average Burden per
Response: 100 (application submission,
grant agreement execution, project
management, and project evaluation/
reporting).
Estimated Total Annual Burden:
10,000.
Abstract: On November 15, 2021 the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
of 2021 (Pub. L. 117–58) ‘‘Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law (BIL)’’ was enacted.
Section 6701 established the National
Infrastructure Project Assistance
Program, to provide capital investments
in surface transportation infrastructure
that will have a significant local or
regional impact.
ADDRESSES:
Application Stage
In order to be considered to receive a
grant, a project sponsor must submit an
application to OST containing a project
narrative, as detailed in the Notice of
Funding Opportunity. The project
narrative should include the
information necessary for the
E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM
11JAN1
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
1478
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 11, 2022 / Notices
Department to determine that the
project satisfies eligibility requirements
as warranted by law.
The Department will receive
applications and reports electronically
via email and via websites from grant
awardees upon approval from OMB. In
order to minimize the burden on
applicants, OMB approved standard
forms are being used to collect
information where possible. Such
standard forms include the Application
for Federal Assistance (SF–424),
available online at https://
apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/
sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf, and the
post-award Federal Financial Reports
form (SF–425), available online at
https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/
sample/SF425_2_0-V2.0.pdf.
All information submitted as part of
or in support of any application shall
use publicly available data or data that
can be made public. If the application
includes information the applicant
considers to be a trade secret or
confidential commercial or financial
information, the applicant should do the
following: (1) Note on the front cover
that the submission ‘‘Contains
Confidential Business Information
(CBI)’’; (2) mark each affected page
‘‘CBI’’; and (3) highlight or otherwise
denote the CBI portions. DOT protects
such information from disclosure to the
extent allowed under applicable law. In
the event DOT receives a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request for the
information, DOT will follow the
procedures described in its FOIA
regulations at 49 CFR 7.17. Only
information that is ultimately
determined to be confidential under that
procedure will be exempt from
disclosure under FOIA. This grant
program is voluntary. No stakeholder is
required to participate. However,
participating stakeholders will be
expected to provide the following
information.
The Department will collect the
following information:
• Legal name of the applicant (i.e.,
the legal name of the business entity), as
well as any other identities under which
the applicant may be doing business.
• Address, telephone, and email
contact information for the applicant.
• Name and title of the authorized
representative of the applicant (who
will attest to the required certifications).
• DOT may also require the identity
of external parties involved in
preparation of the application, who may
be assisting the applicant that is
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:03 Jan 10, 2022
Jkt 256001
applying for assistance under this
program.
• The specific statutory criteria that
the applicant meets for eligibility under
this program.
Æ The statute defines eligible
applicants to include States, the District
of Columbia; the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico; the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands; the United
States Virgin Islands; American Samoa;
and, any other territory or possession of
the United States; a unit of local
government; a metropolitan planning
organization; a unit of local government;
a political subdivision of a State; a
special purpose district or public
authority with a transportation function,
including a port authority; a Tribal
government or a consortium of Tribal
governments; a partnership between
Amtrak and 1 or more entities described
above; and a group of entities described
above.
Æ The statute defines eligible projects
to include:
(A) A highway or bridge project
carried out on: (i) The National
Multimodal Freight Network established
under section 70103; (ii) the National
Highway Freight Network established
under section 167 of title 23; or (iii) the
National Highway System (as defined in
section 101(a) of title 23);
(B) a freight intermodal (including
public ports) or freight rail project that
provides a public benefit;
(C) a railway-highway grade
separation or elimination project;
(D) an intercity passenger rail project;
(E) a public transportation project that
is: (i) Eligible for assistance under
chapter 53; and (ii) part of a project
described in any of subparagraphs (A)
through (D); or
(F) a grouping, combination, or
program of interrelated, connected, or
dependent projects of any of the projects
described in subparagraphs (A) through
(E); and the eligible project costs of
which are: (A) Reasonably anticipated to
equal or exceed $500,000,000; or (B) for
any project funded by the set-aside
under subsection (m)(2): (i) More than
$100,000,000; but (ii) less than
$500,000,000.
• The specific statutory criteria for
the applicant’s location:
Æ Whether the applicant is located in
an urban or rural area, as defined by the
statute and outlined in the Notice of
Funding Opportunity. This information
and supporting documentation will be
required to ensure geographical
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
diversity, and a balance between rural
and urban communities.
Æ Whether the applicant is located in
an area of persistent poverty and/or a
historically disadvantaged community.
• A narrative description of how the
project aligns with the program criteria.
• Criteria include the extent to which
the project: Supports achieving a state of
good repair; the level of benefits the
project is expected to generate; the
benefits as compared to the costs; the
number of persons or volume of freight
supported by the project; national and
regional economic benefits; as well as
additional considerations, including:
Contributions to geographical diversity
the including a balance between the
needs of urban/rural areas; whether
multiple states would benefit from a
project; whether, and the degree to
which, a project uses: Construction
materials/approaches that have:
Demonstrated GHG reductions, and a
reduced the need for maintenance of
other projects; technologies that will
allow for future connectivity and
automation; whether a project benefits:
A historically disadvantaged
community or population or an area or
persistent poverty; whether a project
benefits users of multiple modes,
including: Pedestrians, bicyclists, and
users of non-vehicular rail and public
transportation, including intercity and
commuter rail; whether a project
improves connectivity between modes
of transportation moving persons or
goods nationally or regionally.
• A detailed project budget, including
the grant request amount, other Federal
funds, and non-Federal contributions.
DOT requires this information to
calculate the cost share requirements
outlined in statute. Applicants will be
required to provide supporting
documentation in sufficient detail to
describe the project cost breakdown.
• A plan for the collection and
analysis of data to identify: The impacts
of the project; and the accuracy of any
forecast prepared during the
development phase of the project and
included in the grant application.
• Other identification numbers, such
as their Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number, Unique Entity
Identifier under 2 CFR part 25, etc. All
applicants will be required to have preregistered with the System for Award
Management (SAM) at https://sam.gov/
SAM/.
Grant Agreement Stage
E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM
11JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 11, 2022 / Notices
The grant agreement is an agreement
between DOT and the recipient. In the
grant agreement, the recipient must
describe the project that DOT agreed to
fund, which is typically the project that
was described in the application or a
reduced-scope version of that project.
The grant agreement must also include
a detailed breakdown of the project
schedule and a budget listing all major
activities that will be completed as part
of the project.
Project Management Stage
The reporting requirements under this
stage are necessary to ensure the proper
and timely expenditure of federal funds
within the scope of the approved
project. The requirements comply with
the Common Grant Rule, and are also
included in sections of the grant
agreement. During the project
management stage, the grantee will
complete Quarterly Progress and
Monitoring Reports to ensure that the
project budget and schedule will be
maintained to the maximum extent
possible, that the project will be
completed with the highest degree of
quality, and that compliance with
Federal regulations will be met. The
substantive requirements of the report
include: The project’s overall status;
project significant activities and issues;
action items/outstanding issues; project
scope overview; project schedule;
project cost; an SF–425 Federal
Financial Report; and certifications.
This reporting requirement will greatly
reduce the need for on-site visits by
staff.
Project Evaluation Stage
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
The reporting requirement under this
stage is necessary to assess the longterm impact of the project by comparing
the baseline data provided in the data
collection plan as required in the
application to project data collected
during the five (5) years after project
completion. This electronic spreadsheet
report is collected once, at least five (5)
years after project completion from
grantees to help measure the
effectiveness of the grants as a program.
Information provided will allow the
Government to analyze project
performance.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended;
and 49 CFR 1:48.
Issued in Washington, DC.
John Augustine,
Director, Office of Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022–00334 Filed 1–10–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:03 Jan 10, 2022
Jkt 256001
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
1479
reporting requirement in detail will not
be considered to contain confidential
information.
The
FinCEN Regulatory Support Section at
1–800–767–2825 or electronically at
frc@fincen.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Renewal;
Comment Request; Renewal Without
Change of Reports of Transactions
With Foreign Financial Agencies
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network (FinCEN), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions
AGENCY:
As part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, FinCEN invites comments on
the proposed renewal, without change,
of a currently approved information
collection found in existing Bank
Secrecy Act regulations. Specifically,
the regulations authorize the Secretary
of the Treasury, as appropriate, to
promulgate regulations requiring
specified financial institutions to file
reports with the Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network of certain
transactions with designated foreign
financial agencies. Although no changes
are proposed to the information
collection itself, this request for
comments covers a future expansion of
the scope of the annual hourly burden
and cost estimate associated with these
regulations. This request for comments
is made pursuant to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments are welcome,
and must be received on or before
March 14, 2022
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Federal E-rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Refer to Docket Number FINCEN–2022–
0001 and the specific Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) control
number 1506–0055.
• Mail: Policy Division, Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network, P.O. Box
39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket
Number FINCEN–2022–0001 and OMB
control number 1506–0055.
Please submit comments by one
method only. Comments will generally
become a matter of public record. For
this reason, please do not include in
your comments information of a
confidential nature, such as sensitive
personal information or proprietary
information. A comment about the
burden posed to a financial institution
by a regulation requiring the reporting
of certain transactions with designated
foreign financial agencies, but that does
not describe the regulation or the
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00088
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The legislative framework generally
referred to as the Bank Secrecy Act
(BSA) consists of the Currency and
Financial Transactions Reporting Act of
1970, as amended by the Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept
and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001
(USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107–
56 (October 26, 2001), and other
legislation, including most recently the
Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020
(AML Act).1 The BSA is codified at 12
U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951–1960, 31
U.S.C. 5311–5314 and 5316–5336, and
includes notes thereto, with
implementing regulations at 31 CFR
Chapter X.
The BSA authorizes the Secretary of
the Treasury, inter alia, to require
financial institutions to keep records
and file reports that are determined to
have a high degree of usefulness in
criminal, tax, and regulatory matters, or
in the conduct of intelligence or
counter-intelligence activities to protect
against international terrorism, and to
implement AML programs and
compliance procedures.2 Regulations
implementing the BSA appear at 31 CFR
Chapter X. The authority of the
Secretary to administer the BSA has
been delegated to the Director of
FinCEN.3
The Secretary is authorized to require
any ‘‘resident or citizen of the United
States or a person in, and doing
business in, the United States, to . . .
keep records and file reports, when the
resident, citizen, or person makes a
transaction or maintains a relation for
any person with a foreign financial
agency.’’ 4 The term ‘‘foreign financial
agency’’ 5 (FFA) means any person
1 The AML Act was enacted as Division F,
§§ 6001–6511, of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2021, Public Law 116–283, 134 Stat 3388 (2021).
2 Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act added
language expanding the scope of the BSA to
intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to
protect against international terrorism. Section 6101
of the AML Act added language further expanding
the scope of the BSA but did not amend these
longstanding purposes.
3 Treasury Order 180–01 (re-affirmed Jan. 14,
2020).
4 31 U.S.C. 5314(a).
5 31 U.S.C. 5312(b)(2).
E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM
11JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1477-1479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00334]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2021-0166]
Agency Request for Emergency Approval of an Information
Collection
AGENCY: Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Department of Transportation (DOT) provides notice that it will submit
an information collection requests (ICR) to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for emergency approval of a proposed information
collection. Upon receiving the requested six-month emergency approval
by OMB, the Office of the Secretary (OST) will follow the normal PRA
procedures to obtain extended approval for this proposed information
collection. This collection involves applicants to submit a proposal
for discretionary grant funding, under the ``National Infrastructure
Project Assistance Program, established by the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, November 15, 2021, ``Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law'', or ``BIL''. OST is requesting emergency approval
due to the urgency of making the associated funds available to
applicants that meet the eligibility requirements under the law. The
continued viability of these funds is critical in supporting the
transportation infrastructure needs across the United States. The
statutory requirements of the BIL also establish a strict 90-day
timeframe from the date of enactment to publish a Notice of Funding
Opportunity.
DATES: Comments should be submitted as soon as possible upon
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments and questions should be directed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Attn: OST OMB Desk Officer,
725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. Comments and questions about
the ICR identified below may be transmitted electronically to OIRA at
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information related to this ICR,
including applicable supporting documentation may be obtained by
contacting John Augustine, Office of Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation in the office of the Under Secretary for Transportation
Policy (OST-P-40), W84-306, Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-5437.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. chapter 35; as amended) and 5 CFR part 1320 require each Federal
agency to obtain OMB approval to initiate an information collection
activity. DOT is seeking OMB approval for the following DOT information
collection activity:
OMB Control Number: 2105-XXXX.
Title: National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program.
Form Numbers: New Collection.
Type of Review: Emergency information collection request.
Expected Number of Respondents: 100.
Frequency: One-time application, to be followed by grant agreement
execution, reimbursement of funds, and project closeout.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: 100 (application submission,
grant agreement execution, project management, and project evaluation/
reporting).
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 10,000.
Abstract: On November 15, 2021 the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-58) ``Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
(BIL)'' was enacted. Section 6701 established the National
Infrastructure Project Assistance Program, to provide capital
investments in surface transportation infrastructure that will have a
significant local or regional impact.
Application Stage
In order to be considered to receive a grant, a project sponsor
must submit an application to OST containing a project narrative, as
detailed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The project narrative
should include the information necessary for the
[[Page 1478]]
Department to determine that the project satisfies eligibility
requirements as warranted by law.
The Department will receive applications and reports electronically
via email and via websites from grant awardees upon approval from OMB.
In order to minimize the burden on applicants, OMB approved standard
forms are being used to collect information where possible. Such
standard forms include the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424),
available online at https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf, and the post-award Federal Financial Reports form
(SF-425), available online at https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF425_2_0-V2.0.pdf.
All information submitted as part of or in support of any
application shall use publicly available data or data that can be made
public. If the application includes information the applicant considers
to be a trade secret or confidential commercial or financial
information, the applicant should do the following: (1) Note on the
front cover that the submission ``Contains Confidential Business
Information (CBI)''; (2) mark each affected page ``CBI''; and (3)
highlight or otherwise denote the CBI portions. DOT protects such
information from disclosure to the extent allowed under applicable law.
In the event DOT receives a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
for the information, DOT will follow the procedures described in its
FOIA regulations at 49 CFR 7.17. Only information that is ultimately
determined to be confidential under that procedure will be exempt from
disclosure under FOIA. This grant program is voluntary. No stakeholder
is required to participate. However, participating stakeholders will be
expected to provide the following information.
The Department will collect the following information:
Legal name of the applicant (i.e., the legal name of the
business entity), as well as any other identities under which the
applicant may be doing business.
Address, telephone, and email contact information for the
applicant.
Name and title of the authorized representative of the
applicant (who will attest to the required certifications).
DOT may also require the identity of external parties
involved in preparation of the application, who may be assisting the
applicant that is applying for assistance under this program.
The specific statutory criteria that the applicant meets
for eligibility under this program.
[cir] The statute defines eligible applicants to include States,
the District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; the United States Virgin
Islands; American Samoa; and, any other territory or possession of the
United States; a unit of local government; a metropolitan planning
organization; a unit of local government; a political subdivision of a
State; a special purpose district or public authority with a
transportation function, including a port authority; a Tribal
government or a consortium of Tribal governments; a partnership between
Amtrak and 1 or more entities described above; and a group of entities
described above.
[cir] The statute defines eligible projects to include:
(A) A highway or bridge project carried out on: (i) The National
Multimodal Freight Network established under section 70103; (ii) the
National Highway Freight Network established under section 167 of title
23; or (iii) the National Highway System (as defined in section 101(a)
of title 23);
(B) a freight intermodal (including public ports) or freight rail
project that provides a public benefit;
(C) a railway-highway grade separation or elimination project;
(D) an intercity passenger rail project;
(E) a public transportation project that is: (i) Eligible for
assistance under chapter 53; and (ii) part of a project described in
any of subparagraphs (A) through (D); or
(F) a grouping, combination, or program of interrelated, connected,
or dependent projects of any of the projects described in subparagraphs
(A) through (E); and the eligible project costs of which are: (A)
Reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $500,000,000; or (B) for any
project funded by the set-aside under subsection (m)(2): (i) More than
$100,000,000; but (ii) less than $500,000,000.
The specific statutory criteria for the applicant's
location:
[cir] Whether the applicant is located in an urban or rural area,
as defined by the statute and outlined in the Notice of Funding
Opportunity. This information and supporting documentation will be
required to ensure geographical diversity, and a balance between rural
and urban communities.
[cir] Whether the applicant is located in an area of persistent
poverty and/or a historically disadvantaged community.
A narrative description of how the project aligns with the
program criteria.
Criteria include the extent to which the project: Supports
achieving a state of good repair; the level of benefits the project is
expected to generate; the benefits as compared to the costs; the number
of persons or volume of freight supported by the project; national and
regional economic benefits; as well as additional considerations,
including: Contributions to geographical diversity the including a
balance between the needs of urban/rural areas; whether multiple states
would benefit from a project; whether, and the degree to which, a
project uses: Construction materials/approaches that have: Demonstrated
GHG reductions, and a reduced the need for maintenance of other
projects; technologies that will allow for future connectivity and
automation; whether a project benefits: A historically disadvantaged
community or population or an area or persistent poverty; whether a
project benefits users of multiple modes, including: Pedestrians,
bicyclists, and users of non-vehicular rail and public transportation,
including intercity and commuter rail; whether a project improves
connectivity between modes of transportation moving persons or goods
nationally or regionally.
A detailed project budget, including the grant request
amount, other Federal funds, and non-Federal contributions. DOT
requires this information to calculate the cost share requirements
outlined in statute. Applicants will be required to provide supporting
documentation in sufficient detail to describe the project cost
breakdown.
A plan for the collection and analysis of data to
identify: The impacts of the project; and the accuracy of any forecast
prepared during the development phase of the project and included in
the grant application.
Other identification numbers, such as their Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) number, Unique Entity Identifier under 2 CFR
part 25, etc. All applicants will be required to have pre-registered
with the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://sam.gov/SAM/.
Grant Agreement Stage
[[Page 1479]]
The grant agreement is an agreement between DOT and the recipient.
In the grant agreement, the recipient must describe the project that
DOT agreed to fund, which is typically the project that was described
in the application or a reduced-scope version of that project. The
grant agreement must also include a detailed breakdown of the project
schedule and a budget listing all major activities that will be
completed as part of the project.
Project Management Stage
The reporting requirements under this stage are necessary to ensure
the proper and timely expenditure of federal funds within the scope of
the approved project. The requirements comply with the Common Grant
Rule, and are also included in sections of the grant agreement. During
the project management stage, the grantee will complete Quarterly
Progress and Monitoring Reports to ensure that the project budget and
schedule will be maintained to the maximum extent possible, that the
project will be completed with the highest degree of quality, and that
compliance with Federal regulations will be met. The substantive
requirements of the report include: The project's overall status;
project significant activities and issues; action items/outstanding
issues; project scope overview; project schedule; project cost; an SF-
425 Federal Financial Report; and certifications. This reporting
requirement will greatly reduce the need for on-site visits by staff.
Project Evaluation Stage
The reporting requirement under this stage is necessary to assess
the long-term impact of the project by comparing the baseline data
provided in the data collection plan as required in the application to
project data collected during the five (5) years after project
completion. This electronic spreadsheet report is collected once, at
least five (5) years after project completion from grantees to help
measure the effectiveness of the grants as a program. Information
provided will allow the Government to analyze project performance.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C.
chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.
Issued in Washington, DC.
John Augustine,
Director, Office of Infrastructure Finance and Innovation, Office of
the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-00334 Filed 1-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
