Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: FY24 Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP).

Background: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Public Law 118-42, section 126, March 9, 2024, provides $250 million to be awarded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for a Competitive Highway Bridge Program.

Eligible applicants are States that have a population density of less than 115 individuals per square mile and less than 26% of total bridges classified as in good condition; or greater than or equal to 5.2% of total bridges classified in poor condition. States meeting the population criteria and that have greater than 14% of total bridges classified as in poor condition are eligible to receive no less than $32,500,000. The funds shall be used for highway bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects on public roads that demonstrate cost savings by bundling multiple highway bridge projects. Population density is calculated based on the latest available data from the decennial census conducted under section 14(a) of title 13, United States Code. Percentages of bridge counts are based on the National Bridge Inventory as of June 2023. (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Pub. L. 118-42, sec. 126, March 9, 2024.)

Population density is calculated based on the latest available data on March 9, 2024, the date which the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, became law. Resident population density is used. The percentages are based on number of bridges. Funds shall be obligated by September 30, 2027.

Based on these requirements, eligible applicants are the State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) of Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. State DOTs that are eligible to receive no less than $32,500,000 include Iowa, Maine, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

Awards will be made only to a State DOT. Applications by non-State Dot entities must be submitted by the State DOT in which they are located.

Each application will require the following project narrative:

• A discussion and supporting information that describes the project description, location, and project parties,
• a discussion and supporting information on proposed project funding including the sources and availability of funds to supplement a grant award and to supplement the Federal share,
• a discussion and supporting information on how the project meets the CHBP merit criteria,
• a discussion and supporting information on project readiness and environmental status to include discussion and supporting information on technical feasibility, project schedule, status of required approvals including environmental permits and reviews, status of State, metropolitan, and local planning document approvals, and an assessment of project risks and mitigation strategies.

Each applicant selected for CHBP grant funding will be required to execute a project agreement which is a type of grant agreement for administration of funds to a State DOT in FHWA's Fiscal Management System. In the agreement, the recipient must describe the project that FHWA agreed to fund, which is the project that was described in the application or a reduced-scope version of that project. The agreement also includes project schedule milestones, a budget, and project-related goals.

Each applicant selected for CHBP grant funding (awardee) will be required to collect and report project monitoring information. This will include information on the project's performance using performance indicators supplied by FHWA that relate to CHBP goals. Performance reporting continues for several years after project construction is completed. Each awardee will submit progress and monitoring reports on a quarterly basis until completion of the project as determined by FHWA. This information will be used to monitor awardees' use of Federal funds, ensuring accountability and financial transparency.

These requirements will be further detailed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

This notice seeks comments on the proposed information collection, which will collect information necessary to support the evaluation of applications and selection of project awards, the funding agreement negotiation stage for awards, and project monitoring.

Respondents: Any eligible State DOT can submit as many as three applications. A limit of three applications will be specified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. There are 18 eligible States.

Frequency: The information will be collected once.

Estimated Average Burden per Response: 100 hours per respondent per application. In addition, each awarded project is estimated to require 60 hours for negotiating and signing the funding agreement and project monitoring reporting including performance indicator and financial monitoring. FHWA is estimates that project monitoring will occur for four years.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: It is estimated that the respondents will complete approximately 27 applications for an estimated total of 2,700 burden hours. In addition, it is estimated that there will be 18 awarded projects for an estimated total of 1,080 additional burden hours.

Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information collection.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

[FR Doc. 2024-24845 Filed 10-24-24; 8:45 am]

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