Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection

Requests (ICRs) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for extension of currently approved

collections. The ICRs describes 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 July 15, 1996 (FR 61, page

36954-36955).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 6, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sylvia Barney, (202) 366-6680, and

refer to the OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

1. Title: Title VI As It Applies to FTA Grant Programs.

Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information

collection.

OMB Control Number: 2132-0540.

Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.

Abstract: Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

states: ``No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race,

color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied

the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or

activity receiving Federal financial assistance.'' This information

collection is required by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Title VI

Regulation, 28 CFR Part 42, Subpart F (Section 42.406), and DOT Order

1000.12. FTA policies and requirements are designed to clarify and

strengthen these regulations. This requirement is applicable to all

applicants, recipients, and sub recipients receiving Federal financial

assistance. Experience has demonstrated that a program requirement at

the application stage is necessary to assure that benefits and services

are equitably distributed by grant recipients. The requirements

prescribed by the Office of Civil Rights accomplish that objective

while diminishing possible vestiges of discrimination among FTA grant

recipients. FTA's assessment of this requirement indicated that the

formulation and implementation of the Title VI program should occur

with a decrease in costs to such applicants and recipients.

All FTA grant applicants, recipients, and sub recipients are

required to submit applicable Title VI information to the FTA Office of

Civil Rights for review and approval. If FTA did not conduct pre-award

reviews, solutions would not be generated in advance and program

improvements could not be integrated into projects. FTA's experience

with pre-award reviews for all projects and grants suggests this method

contributes to maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness of FTA dollars

and has kept post-award complaints to a minimum. Moreover, the

objective of the Title VI statute can be more easily attained and

beneficiaries of FTA funded programs have a greater likelihood of

receiving transit services and related benefits on a nondiscriminatory

basis.

Estimated Annual Burden: The estimated annual burden is 2,883

hours.

2. Title: Nondiscrimination As It Applies to FTA Grant Programs.

Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information

collection.

OMB Control Number: 2132-0542.

Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.

Abstract: All entities receiving Federal financial assistance from

FTA are prohibited from discriminating against any employee or

applicant for employment because of race, color, creed, sex, national

origin, age, or disability. To ensure that FTA's equal employment

opportunity (EEO)procedures are followed, FTA requires grant recipients

to submit written EEO plans to FTA for approval. FTA's assessment of

this requirement shows that the formulating, submitting, and

implementing of EEO programs should minimally increase costs for FTA

applicants and recipients.

To determine a grantee's compliance with applicable laws and

requirements, grantee submissions are evaluated and analyzed based on

the following criteria. First, an EEO program must include an EEO

policy statement issued by the chief executive officer covering all

[[Page 52488]]

employment practices, including recruitment, selection, promotions,

terminations, transfers, layoffs, compensation, training, benefits, and

other terms and conditions of employment. Second, the policy must be

placed conspicuously so that employees, applicants, and the general

public are aware of the agency's EEO commitment.

The data derived from written EEO and affirmative action plans will

be used by the Office of Civil Rights in monitoring grantees'

compliance with applicable EEO laws and regulations. This monitoring

and enforcement activity will ensure that minorities and women have

equitable access to employment opportunities and that recipients of

Federal funds do not discriminate against any employee or applicant

because of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, or age, or

disability.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated annual burden is

6,000 hours.

3. Title: Reporting of Technical Activities by FTA Grant

Recipients.

Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information

collection.

OMB Control Number: 2132-0549

Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.

Abstract: 49 U.S.C. Sections 5303 and 5313 (a) and (b) authorize

the use of Federal funds to assist metropolitan planning organizations

(MPOs), states, and local public bodies in developing transportation

plans and programs to serve future transportation needs of urbanized

areas over 50,000 in population and States throughout the nation. As

part of this effort, MPOs are required to consider a wide range of

goals and objectives and to analyze alternative transportation system

management and investment strategies. These objectives are measured by

definable activities such as suburban mobility planning and other

related activities.

The information collected by these forms is used to report annually

to Congress, the Secretary, and to the FTA Administrator on how

grantees are responding to national emphasis areas and congressional

direction, and allows FTA to track grantees' use of Federal planning

and research funds.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated burden is 150

hours.

4. Title: Bus Testing Program.

Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information

collection.

OMB Control Number: 2132-0550

Affected Public: FTA grant recipients.

Abstract: 49 U.S.C. Section 5323 provides that no

Federal funds appropriated or made available after September 30, 1989,

may be obligated or expended for the acquisition of a new bus model

(including any model using alternative fuels) unless the bus has been

tested at the Bus Testing Center (Center) in Altoona, Pennsylvania. 49

U.S.C. Section 5318(a) further specifies that each new bus model is to

be tested for maintainability, reliability, safety, performance

(including braking performance), structural integrity, fuel economy,

emissions, and noise.

The operator of the Bus Testing Center, the Pennsylvania

Transportation Institute (PTI), is under contract to the FTA. PTI

operates and maintains the Center, and establishes and collects fees

for the testing of the vehicles at the facility. Upon completion of the

testing of the vehicle at the Center, a test report is provided to the

manufacturer of the new bus model. The bus manufacturer certifies to an

FTA grantee that the bus the grantee is purchasing has been tested at

the Center. Also, grantees about to purchase a bus use this report to

assist them in making their purchasing decisions. PTI maintains a

reference file for all the test reports which are made available to the

public.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated annual burden is

50 hours.

5. Title: Prevention of Alcohol Misuse in Transit Operations.

Type of Request: Extension to a currently approved information

collection.

OMB Control Number: 2132-0557.

Abstract: The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991

(Pub.L. 102-143, October 28, 1991, now codified in relevant part at 49

U.S.C. Section 5331) requires any recipient of Federal financial

assistance under 49 U.S.C. Sections 5309, 5307, or 5311 or under 23

U.S.C. Section 103(e) (4) to establish a program designed to help

prevent accidents and injuries resulting from the misuse of drugs and

alcohol by employees who perform safety-sensitive functions. FTA's

regulation, 49 CFR Part 654, ``Prevention of Alcohol Misuse in Transit

Operations,'' effective March 17, 1994, requires recipients to submit

to FTA annual reports containing data which summarize information

concerning the recipients' alcohol testing program, such as the number

and type of test given, number of positive test results, and the kind

of safety-sensitive function the employee performs. FTA uses these data

to ensure compliance with the rule, to assess the misuse of alcohol in

the transit industry, and to set the random testing rate. The data will

also be used to assess the effectiveness of the rule in reducing the

misuse of alcohol among safety-sensitive transit employees and making

transit safer for the public.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total estimated annual burden is

32,480 hours.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725-17th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20503, Attention OST Desk Officer.

Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of

information is 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 estimate of the burden of the

proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility

and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize

the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including

the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1, 1996.

Phillip A. Leach,

Clearance Officer, United States Department of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 96-25610 Filed 10-4-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-62-P