OMB Supporting Statement:
Annual Reporting for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program, OMB# 2125-0614
Introduction: The purpose of this document is to request OMB’s three-year extension for a currently approved information collection titled, “Annual Reporting for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program,” covered by OMB Control No. 2125-0614.
Part A. Justification
Circumstances that make collection of information necessary:
Legislation establishing the CMAQ program at 23 USC 149 provides that eligible transportation projects must be located in air quality nonattainment or maintenance areas and must contribute to the attainment or maintenance of national ambient air quality standards. In addition, these contributions must be measured by the projected emissions reduction of criteria pollutants for each candidate CMAQ project. Information regarding these eligibility factors must be clearly established by State and local sponsors of projects prior to approval by the FHWA division office.
The information described above will support the research and development of a study—required by Congress—that delves into the performance of the CMAQ program. Section 1113 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) calls for an Evaluation and Assessment of CMAQ projects. The statute calls for the identification and analysis of a representative sample of CMAQ projects and the establishment and maintenance of an automated database that describes the impacts of the program both on traffic congestion levels and regional air quality. Given the CMAQ program’s direct focus on mobile source emissions reduction and traffic congestion mitigation, this collection effort is tied to DOT Strategic Goals in Mobility and the Natural Environment.
How, by whom, and for what purpose is the information used:
The information will be supplied by the State DOTs and other contributing elements of local government. It will be furnished via an automated system provided by the Federal Highway Administration, specifically developed to streamline the reporting process for the CMAQ program and reduce the reporting burden associated with hard-copy paper reports. In conjunction with EPA, FHWA staff will use the project data provided by the States to generate the Evaluation and Assessment mandated by Congress in Section 1113 of MAP-21.
Extent of automated information collection:
State DOTs will gather the information required for the annual reports and enter it via FHWA’s automated system. The system is menu-driven and follows a step-by-step progression that allows the entry of individual project information and the subsequent summation of program level data by State program. The information provided by States is approved by both FHWA Division Offices and FHWA Headquarters prior to final acceptance into the database. The electronic reporting system is available to all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
Efforts to identify duplication:
No similar information is available for the CMAQ program.
Efforts to minimize the burden on small businesses:
No burden is expected on small business.
Impact of less frequent collection of information:
Annual collection appears to be the minimal timeframe to accomplish the statutory goals of Section 1113 of MAP-21. Without adequate population of the database, there would be no basis for the Evaluation and Assessment program called for in the statute.
Special circumstances:
There are no special circumstances.
Compliance with 5 CFR 1320.8:
Published in the Federal Register on February 21, 2018 volume 83, Page 7527. No comments were submitted.
Payments or gifts to respondents:
No payments or gifts will be given to respondents.
Assurance of confidentiality:
FHWA will not assuring confidentiality.
Justification for collection of sensitive information:
Sensitive information is not a part of this collection.
Estimate of burden hours for information requested:
Each State and the District of Columbia will provide a response for a total of 51 entries. Responses are estimated to require approximately 125 hours each, resulting in a gross annual burden of approximately 6375 hours. The annual labor burden associated with this collection is $320,535.
Estimate of total annual costs to respondents:
None beyond the hour burden reflected accounted in Item 12.
Estimate of cost to the Federal government:
Our current estimate of the cost to FHWA for annual data collection and maintenance of the database is $125,000, based on a partial utilization rate applied to two full-time equivalents and contractor support for operation and maintenance. (See attachment)
Explanation of program changes or adjustments:
There are no program changes.
Publication of results of data collection:
Results of the collection will not be published, however it is made available to other government agencies and the public through the CMAQ Public Access System. This is a read only, searchable repository of all CMAQ project information from 1992 to the present, with a one year lag. It is accessible through both the USDOT, FHWA, Air Quality website and most major internet search engines.
Approval for not displaying the expiration date of OMB approval:
Not applicable, FHWA is not seeking approval to not display the expiration date..
Exceptions to certification statement:
Not applicable, FHWA is not seeking and exception to the certification statement.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Supporting Statement: Annual Reporting for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program |
| Author | MKoontz |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-20 |