30 day Federal Register Notice

61472

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 9, 2012 / Notices

waters of the U.S. including wetlands
from right-of-way encroachment; and
potential indirect and cumulative
impacts.
Public involvement is a critical
component of the project development
process and will occur throughout the
planning and study phases.
Opportunities for public involvement
would exist during the scoping process,
public meetings and a public hearing. A
Public and Agency Coordination Plan
will be provided in accordance with 23
U.S. Code Section 139 (23 U.S.C. 139),
to facilitate and document the lead
agencies, structure interaction with the
public and other agencies, and to inform
the public and other agencies of how the
coordination will be accomplished. The
Public and Agency Coordination Plan
will promote early and continuous
involvement from stakeholders,
agencies, and the public as well as
describe the proposed project, the roles
of the agencies and the public, the
project purpose and need, schedule,
level of detail for alternatives analysis,
and the proposed process for
coordination and communication.
Letters describing the proposed action
and soliciting comments will be sent to
the appropriate Federal, State, and local
agencies, and private organizations and
citizens who have previously expressed
or are known to have interest in this
proposal. To ensure that the full range
of issues related to this proposed action
are addressed and all significant issues
are identified, comments and
suggestions are invited from all
interested parties. Comments or
questions concerning this proposed
action and the EIS should be directed to
FHWA at the address above.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Number 20.205, Highway, Planning,
and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372
regarding intergovernmental consultation on
Federal programs and activities apply to this
program.)
Issued on: October 1, 2012.
Salvador Deocampo,
District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2012–24722 Filed 10–5–12; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2012–0006–N–14]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Comment Request
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).

AGENCY:

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Notice and request for
comments.

ACTION:

In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces that the Information
Collection Requirements (ICRs)
abstracted below have been forwarded
to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and comment. The
ICRs describe the nature of the
information collections and their
expected burdens. The Federal Register
notice with a 60-day comment period
soliciting comments on the following
collections of information was
published on August 6, 2012, volume
77, page number 151.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before November 8, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Janet Wylie, Office of Planning and
Administration, RPD–3, Federal
Railroad Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 20,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202)
493–6292), or Ms. Kimberly Toone,
Office of Information Technology, RAD–
20, Federal Railroad Administration,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 35,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202)
493–6132). (These telephone numbers
are not toll-free.).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), Public Law 104–13, Section 2,
109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised
at 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part
1320, require Federal agencies to issue
two notices seeking public comment on
information collection activities before
OMB may approve paperwork packages.
44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5,
1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On August 6,
2012, FRA published a 60-day notice in
the Federal Register soliciting
comments on ICR that the agency was
seeking OMB approval. 77 FR 46800.
FRA received one comment after issuing
this 60-day notice. Accordingly, DOT
announces that these information
collection activities have been reevaluated and certified under 5 CFR
1320.5(a) and forwarded to OMB for
review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR
1320.12(c).
Before OMB decides whether to
approve these proposed collections of
information, it must provide 30 days for
public comment. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5
CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires
OMB to approve or disapprove
paperwork packages between 30 and 60
days after the 30 day notice is
published. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b)–(c); 5 CFR
1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983,
August 29, 1995. OMB believes that the
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30 day notice informs the regulated
community to file relevant comments
and affords the agency adequate time to
digest public comments before it
renders a decision. 60 FR 44983, August
29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should
submit their respective comments to
OMB within 30 days of publication to
best ensure having their full effect. 5
CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983,
Aug. 29, 1995.
The summaries below describe the
nature of the information collection
requirements (ICRs) and the expected
burden. The revised requirements are
being submitted for clearance by OMB
as required by the PRA.
Title: Solicitation of Applications and
Notice of Funds Availability for HighSpeed Rail Corridors and Intercity
Passenger Rail Service-Capital
Assistance and Planning Grants
Program.
OMB Control Number: 2130–0584.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: States and local
governments, government sponsored
authorities and corporations, railroads.
Abstract: After 60 years and more
than 1.8 trillion investment dollars, the
United States has developed the world’s
most advanced highway and aviation
systems. During this time, the nation
has made a relatively modest
investment in passenger rail systems. As
congestion on highways and in the air
continues to grow and environmental
costs mount, there is a growing need for
diverse transportation options.
In 2009, President Obama announced
a new vision to address the nation’s
transportation challenges. He called for
a collaborative effort among the Federal
government, States, railroads, and other
stakeholders to help transform
America’s transportation system. The
President’s vision seeks to create an
efficient high-speed passenger rail
system to connect inner-city
communities across America.
Developing a comprehensive highspeed intercity passenger rail network
requires a long-term commitment at
both the Federal and State levels. The
President has jump-started the process
with $2 billion provided by the
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Appropriations Act of 2010 (FY10
Appropriations), $8 billion provided by
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA), $90 million
provided by the DOT Appropriations
Act of 2009 (FY09 Appropriations), and
approximately $1.8 million remaining
funds from the Transportation, Housing
and Urban Development, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008
(FY08 Appropriations). Additional or

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 9, 2012 / Notices
future funding for high-speed intercity
passenger rail may come from a variety
of sources, including annual
appropriations, one-time
appropriations, redistribution of
previously allocated or obligated funds,
or distribution of residual funding from
previous sources.
The Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) allocates funds to applicants with
plans or programs that align with the
President’s key strategic transportation
goals: creating safe and efficient
transportation choices, building a
foundation for economic
competitiveness, promoting energy
efficiency and environmental quality,
and supporting interconnected livable
communities. Grants are being
administered for the following types of
projects:
• Service Development Programs—
Aimed at new high-speed rail corridor
services or substantial upgrades to
existing corridor services. Grants are
intended to fund a set of inter-related
projects that constitute a phase (or
geographic section) of a long-range
corridor plan.
• Individual Projects—Aimed at
discrete capital projects that will result
in service benefits or other tangible
improvements on a corridor. These
projects include completion of
preliminary engineering (PE), National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
documentation, final design (FD), and
construction, which can include
equipment procurements to provide
improved service and modernized fleets
throughout the country.
• Planning Projects—Aimed at
helping to establish a pipeline of future
construction projects and corridor
development programs by completing
Service Development Plans and servicelevel environmental analysis for
corridors that are at an earlier stage of
the development process, as well as
State Rail Plans.
As the President outlined in his March
20, 2009 memorandum, ‘‘Ensuring
Responsible Spending of Recovery Act
Funds,’’ implementing agencies are to
‘‘develop transparent, merit-based
selection criteria that will guide their
available discretion in committing,
obligating, or expending funds under
the Recovery Act.’’ In order to achieve
this goal, FRA created an application
process that contains clear selection
criteria and evaluation procedures.
The Application Process
In essence, the application process is
grounded on three key principles: (1)
Promoting collaboration and shared
responsibility among the Federal
Government and States, groups of States

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within corridor regions, and
governments, railroads and other private
entities; (2) managing, rather than
eliminating, risk through program
management structure, controls and
procedures that permit prudent but
effective investments; and (3) ensuring
early success while building a
sustainable program to meet near-term
economic recovery goals while
developing public consensus for a longterm program. FRA has issued interim
program guidance as well as detailed
instructions to clearly explain the
application process.
The applications include the standard
items, such as the SF 424, all ARRArelevant forms, and other necessary and
relevant technical documents that are
project-specific and voluntary.
In order to determine eligibility for
funds, FRA must solicit applications
and collect information from parties
interested in obtaining and utilizing
these funds for eligible projects.
Following allocation of funds to
applicants, FRA must collect
information from recipients in the form
of various required reports in order to
effectively monitor and track the
progress of all funded projects. This
process consists of:
• Tracking project activities and
progress against the approved
milestones in the Statement of Work
through quarterly submission of the
FRA Quarterly Progress Report
• Comparing the rate of a project’s
actual expenditures to the planned
amounts in the approved project
budget through the quarterly
submission of the Federal Financial
Report (SF–425)
• Tracking cumulative funds and job
creation through the quarterly
submission of the ARRA 1512(c)
Report for ARRA recipients
• Capturing the cumulative activities
and achievements of the project, with
respect to objectives and milestones,
through the one-time submission of
the Final Performance Report
This collection of information is
necessary in order to comply with the
funding agreements outlined in the
Notice of Grant Agreement and, for
ARRA recipients, satisfy legal
obligations identified in Section
1501(c).
Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.132,
FRA F 6180.133, FRA F 6180.134, FRA
F 6180.135, FRA F 6180.138, FRA F
6180.139, SF–425.
Annual Estimated Burden Hours:
20,384.
Addressee: Send comments regarding
these information collections to the
Office of Information and Regulatory

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61473

Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street NW.,
Washington, DC, 20503, Attention: FRA
Desk Officer. Alternatively, comments
may be sent via email to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs
(OIRA), Office of Management and
Budget, at the following address:
[email protected]
Comments are invited on the
following: Whether the proposed
collections of information are necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the Department, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; the accuracy of the
Department’s estimates of the burden of
the proposed information collections;
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the
burden of the collections of information
on respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
A comment to OMB is best assured of
having its full effect if OMB receives it
within 30 days of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.
Issued in Washington, DC on October 1,
2012.
Michael Logue,
Associate Administrator for Administration,
Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012–24613 Filed 10–5–12; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request for Voluntary Customer
Surveys To Implement E.O. 12862
Coordinated by the Corporate Planning
and Performance Division on Behalf of
All IRS Operations Functions
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

The Department of the
Treasury, as part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is
soliciting comments concerning the
Voluntary Customer Surveys To
Implement E.O. 12862 Coordinated by

SUMMARY:

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