83 FR 18071 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Evaluation of the Office of Public and Indian Housing's (PIH) Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) Program

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 80 (April 25, 2018)

HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 30 days of public comment.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18071-18072]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08579]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7001-N-17]


30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Evaluation of 
the Office of Public and Indian Housing's (PIH) Energy Performance 
Contracting (EPC) Program

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 30 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: May 25, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: HUD Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503; fax:202-395-5806, Email: OIRA [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QMAC, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; email Anna P. Guido at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-5535. This is not a toll-free 
number. Person with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be 
obtained from Ms. Guido.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.
    The Federal Register notice that solicited public comment on the 
information collection for a period of 60 days was published on July 
22, 2016 at 81 FR 47813.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Evaluation of the Office of Public 
and Indian Housing's (PIH) Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) 
Program.
    OMB Approval Number: 2528--New.
    Type of Request: New.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: The 
information is being collected to explore and document the 
effectiveness and value of HUD's Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) 
program. EPCs are an innovative financing technique designed to provide 
Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) with cost-effective energy 
improvements that are installed with little or no up-front 
expenditures, wherein the costs of the improvements are typically borne 
by the performance contractor and repaid using a portion of the cost 
savings resulting from the improvements. Since this type of financing 
began in the 1980s, HUD has approved approximately 315 EPCs totaling 
nearly $1.5 billion in investments. EPCs have been executed in all ten 
HUD regions in very small (less than 250 units) to very large (more 
than 6,599 units) PHAs; however, to date; no substantive review of the 
program's performance has been conducted. The proposed data collection 
instrument is a web-based survey that will be supported by follow-up 
telephone interviews to a subset of the study's participants.
    Respondents (i.e., Affected Public): Employees of housing 
organizations receiving funding from HUD, specifically public housing 
authorities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents/Estimated Number of Responses:

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                                                                                                                            Hourly cost
         Information collection              Number of     Frequency of    Responses per    Burden hour    Annual burden   per response     Annual cost
                                            respondents      Response          annum       per response        hours            \1\
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Base Period:
    Web.................................          299.00            1.00          299.00            0.33           98.67          $34.79       $3,432.73
    Telephone...........................           28.00            1.00           28.00            1.00           28.00           34.79          974.12
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...........................          327.00  ..............          327.00  ..............          126.67           34.79        4,406.85
Option Period:
    Web.................................          136.00            1.00          136.00            0.33           44.88           34.79        1,561.38
    Telephone...........................           18.00            1.00           18.00            1.00           18.00           34.79          626.22
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...........................          154.00  ..............  ..............  ..............           62.88           34.79        2,187.60
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Total.......................          481.00  ..............  ..............  ..............          189.55           34.79        6,594.45
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\1\ The Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey reported estimates that in 2017, the average property manager made about $34.79/hour
  (see https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).


[[Page 18072]]

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond; including through the use of appropriate 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

    Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

    Dated: April 18, 2018.
Anna P. Guido,
Department Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-08579 Filed 4-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P