80 FR 21704 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Application for Investment Assistance

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 75 (April 20, 2015)

The Department of Commerce, 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 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21704-21706]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09181]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Application for 
Investment Assistance

AGENCY: Economic Development Administration.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, 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 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The purpose of 
this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment. Comments 
submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included 
in the request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of 
this information collection; they also will become a matter of public 
record.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 19, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via email at 
JJessup@ doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or

[[Page 21705]]

copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Kerstin Millius, Senior Program Analyst, Performance and 
National Programs Division, Room 71030, Economic Development 
Administration, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, 
(or via email at kmillius@ eda.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The mission of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to 
lead the Federal economic agenda by promoting innovation and 
competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in 
the worldwide economy. In order to effectively administer and monitor 
its economic development assistance programs, EDA collects certain 
information from applications for, and recipients of, EDA investment 
assistance. This 60-day Federal Register Notice covers changes to EDA's 
existing Application for Investment Assistance.
    EDA is currently undergoing a comprehensive review and improvement 
effort for its grants cycle process. Using staff input and results from 
EDA's 2014 Customer Service survey, EDA has reimagined its grants 
application process from the ground up, making significant improvements 
for both stakeholders and staff. As part of this process, EDA is making 
changes to its forms to address the following concerns:
     Confusion among applicants regarding which sections of the 
ED-900 needed to be completed for the program they were applying for;
     Undue burden on applicants to complete the application 
form for projects that were not likely to be funded;
     Outdated links to external sources;
     Unnecessary waste of paper and ink when a complete form 
was printed, since sections that may not be required for a particular 
program were printed along with those that were required.
    In order to address these concerns, EDA is dividing the ED-900 into 
a suite of smaller forms that can be mixed and matched to fit the needs 
of different program solicitations on Grants.gov. This will ensure that 
applicants only see the information they are required to provide in 
order to apply and eliminate the unnecessary waste of paper and ink 
resources. In addition, EDA has developed a new ``Proposal'' form, 
which will allow applicants to submit significantly less information to 
EDA in order to get a better understanding of the potential 
competitiveness of their application. The following is a crosswalk of 
the currently approved ED-900 with the proposed new forms:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Relevant sections of
      Proposed new form        Content of the form   the existing ED-900
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ED-900--General Application   Questions that        Sections A, B, C, D,
 for EDA Programs.             pertain to all EDA    E, K.
                               programs, including
                               Project Narrative
                               questions
                               (geographic
                               coverage, scope of
                               work, potential
                               impacts), budget
                               narrative, and
                               eligibility
                               questions.
ED-900A--Additional EDA       Specific assurances   Exhibits B, C, and
 Assurances for Construction   that applicants       D.
 Or Non-Construction           need to provide in
 Investments.                  order to apply for
                               EDA funding.
ED-900B--Beneficiary          Specific assurances   Exhibit A.
 Information Form.             required from
                               beneficiaries of
                               EDA funding,
                               including
                               documentation of
                               estimated jobs and
                               private investment
                               resulting from the
                               EDA project.
ED-900C--EDA Application      Information required  Section M, except
 Supplement for Construction   from construction     questions included
 Programs.                     applicants as part    in the ED-900P
                               of a full             Proposal Form.
                               application after
                               the proposal has
                               been approved.
ED-900D--Requirements for     Information required  Section N.
 Design and Engineering        from design/
 Assistance.                   engineering
                               applicants as part
                               of a full
                               application after
                               the proposal has
                               been approved.
ED-900E--Calculation of       Provides detailed     Exhibit E.
 Estimated Relocation and      breakdown of the
 Acquisition Expenses.         estimated total for
                               line item 3
                               (``relocation
                               expenses and
                               payments'') of Form
                               SF-424C, 'Budget
                               Information'--Const
                               ruction Programs to
                               comply with the
                               Uniform Relocation
                               Act.
ED-900F--Supplement for       Information required  Section L.
 Revolving Loan Fund           to evaluate the
 Applications.                 competitiveness of
                               a revolving loan
                               fund application.
ED-900P--Proposal for EDA     New general           For all applicants,
 Assistance.                   questions to allow    new questions not
                               applicants to give    contained in the ED-
                               a broad overview of   900. For
                               their proposed        construction
                               project/scope of      applicants only,
                               work.                 portions of section
                                                     M not covered in
                                                     the ED-900C
                                                     Construction Form.
Environmental Narrative       Template to guide     Referenced in
 Requirements and Appendix     the applicant         section M.8, with
 A: Applicant Certification    through the           separate documents
 Clause.                       development of an     posted on EDA's
                               environmental         website.
                               narrative that
                               satisfies the
                               requirements of the
                               National
                               Environmental
                               Policy Act (NEPA).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The new forms are required to apply for EDA investment assistance under 
EDA's Public Works, Economic Adjustment, Technical Assistance, 
Research, and Planning programs. This collection of information is 
required to ensure that applications meet the requirements for EDA 
assistance set out in EDA's regulations at 13 CFR Chapter III.

II. Method of Collection

    Paper and electronic submissions.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0610-0094.
    Form Number(s): ED-900, ED-900A, ED-900B, ED-900C, ED-900D, ED-
900E, ED-900F, ED-900P.
    Type of Review: Regular submission; Revision of a currently 
approved collection.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; Federal government; 
State, local, or tribal government; Business or other for-profit 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1672.

[[Page 21706]]

    Estimated Time Per Response: 13 hours, 28 minutes
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 22,512.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

    Dated: April 16, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-09181 Filed 4-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-34-P