83 FR 23525 - Notice of Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Agency Request To Modify Existing Information Collections: Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) and Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Credit Programs

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 98 (May 21, 2018)

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of Transportation (the Department) invites public comments on a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve modifications to two currently approved Information Collection Requests (ICRs). As part of the modifications to the ICRs, one ICR will be integrated into the other ICR. The modified and integrated ICR will be used to allow entities to apply for Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) and Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credit assistance using a common set of forms, rather than having a separate set of forms for each of RRIF and TIFIA. The new, integrated forms have also been updated to reflect changes in law, streamlining of the credit programs, and efficiencies in the application process adopted by the Department. However, the general process of applying for credit assistance is not changing; applications are still accepted on a rolling basis. The ICR continues to be necessary for the Department to evaluate projects and project sponsors for credit program eligibility and creditworthiness as required by law.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23525-23527]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10033]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0044]


Notice of Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; 
Agency Request To Modify Existing Information Collections: Railroad 
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) and Transportation 
Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Credit Programs

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Department of Transportation (the Department) invites 
public comments on a request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to approve modifications to two currently approved Information 
Collection Requests (ICRs). As part of the modifications to the ICRs, 
one ICR will be integrated into the other ICR. The modified and 
integrated ICR will be used to allow entities to apply for Railroad 
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) and Transportation 
Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credit assistance 
using a common set of forms, rather than having a separate set of forms 
for each of RRIF and TIFIA. The new, integrated forms have also been 
updated to reflect changes in law, streamlining of the credit programs, 
and efficiencies in the application process adopted by the Department. 
However, the general process of applying for credit assistance is not 
changing; applications are still accepted on a rolling basis. The ICR 
continues to be necessary for the Department to evaluate projects and 
project sponsors for credit program eligibility and creditworthiness as 
required by law.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before July 20, 2018.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0044. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except on Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenny Barket at [email protected] 
or (202) 366-9993, or The Build America Bureau via email at 
[email protected] or (202) 366-2300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 2105-0569.
    Title: Letter of Interest and Application Forms for the Railroad 
Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing and Transportation 
Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act Credit Programs.
    Type of Review: Modification of existing information collections.
    Background: The RRIF credit program has its origins in Title V of 
the Railroad

[[Page 23526]]

Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, 45 U.S.C. 821 et 
seq., which authorized the Federal Railroad Administration to provide 
railroads certain financial assistance. This Title V financing program 
was replaced by the RRIF program under section 7203 of the 
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century of 1998, Public Law 105-
178 (1998) (TEA 21). RRIF was subsequently amended by: The Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users, Public Law 109-59 (2005) (SAFETEA-LU); the Rail Safety 
Improvement Act of 2008, Division A of Public Law 110-432; and the 
Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (Pub. L. 114-94) (2015) 
(FAST Act). All applicants for RRIF credit program assistance are 
required to submit a completed application. 45 U.S.C. 823(a). The 
information collection activity request for the RRIF credit program 
application was most recently approved in 2015 (OMB Control Number 
2130-0548). See 80 FR 11518 and 80 FR 27228.
    The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 
1998 was enacted as part of TEA 21. The TIFIA program was subsequently 
amended by SAFETEA-LU, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 
Century Act (Pub. L. 112-141) (2012) (MAP-21), and the FAST Act. All 
applicants for TIFIA credit program assistance are required to submit a 
completed LOI and application. 23 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(A). The existing 
information collection activity request for the TIFIA credit program 
letter of interest and application was most recently approved in 2017 
(OMB Control Number 2105-0569). See 82 FR 15101 and 82 FR 25045.
    The National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau 
(referenced hereafter as the Build America Bureau or the Bureau), 
established by the Secretary on July 20, 2016, in accordance with the 
FAST Act, was created to streamline and improve access to the 
Department's Federal credit programs, including RRIF and TIFIA. The 
Bureau was made responsible for administering the application processes 
for the TIFIA and RRIF credit programs. To streamline and conform these 
application processes, the Bureau has integrated the submission forms 
to create a single LOI form and a single application form that can be 
used by applicants of either credit program. The integrated forms 
substantially conform to the LOI and application forms approved under 
OMB Control Number 2105-0569. The Department seeks OMB approval to 
integrate the RRIF ICR into the TIFIA ICR. The integrated information 
collection activity would retain OMB Control Number 2105-0569 and the 
RRIF ICR would be discontinued if the integrated RRIF/TIFIA ICR is 
approved.
    The integrated forms have also been reviewed to ensure that all 
information requested is necessary for the Department to properly 
perform its functions in administering its credit programs, updated to 
reflect the current statutory requirements, and reorganized to make the 
forms easier for applicants to use. Because some key statutory 
differences exist between the two programs' application processes and 
eligibility criteria, each of the forms clearly identifies where an 
item of information applies only for one of the programs and need not 
be answered by applicants of the other program.
    The TIFIA application process is prescribed by 23 U.S.C. 
602(a)(1)(A) and requires submission of an LOI. If the LOI demonstrates 
a reasonable likelihood of satisfying the TIFIA program's statutory 
eligibility requirements, including creditworthiness, the Department 
will invite the applicant to submit a formal credit application. Laws 
governing the RRIF credit program do not require that an LOI be 
submitted prior to a formal application. Practically, however, since 45 
U.S.C. 822 requires RRIF applicants to submit an application 
demonstrating compliance with eligibility requirements, the Bureau 
encourages RRIF applicants to submit an LOI before submitting an 
application. The Department believes that submitting an LOI before 
submitting an application will significantly increase the likelihood 
that a formal RRIF application will be substantially complete on the 
first submission and reduce the time and effort of reaching financial 
close on a credit instrument. The Department is authorized to prescribe 
the form and contents of the LOI and application. 45 U.S.C. 823 and 23 
U.S.C. 601(a)(6). The integrated LOI and application can be found on 
the Bureau's website at https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica.
    The LOI asks the applicant to describe, among other things, the 
project and its location, purpose and cost; the proposed financial 
plan, the status of environmental review, and certain information 
regarding satisfaction of other eligibility requirements under the 
applicable credit program. The application serves as the official 
request for credit and, therefore, requires the same information 
required of the LOI, plus detailed information about the applicant's 
legal and management structure, its financial health, the revenue 
stream pledged to repay the loan, and other information regarding 
satisfaction of eligibility requirements. TIFIA and RRIF credit 
assistance is awarded based on a project's satisfaction of TIFIA and 
RRIF (as applicable) eligibility requirements.
    Respondents: State and local governments, transit agencies, 
government-sponsored authorities, special authorities, special 
districts, ports, private railroads, and certain other private entities
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: Based on the number and 
type of interested stakeholders that have contacted the Department 
about the RRIF and TIFIA programs in fiscal years (FY) 2015-2018, the 
Department estimates that it will receive, on an annual basis, eight 
(8) RRIF letters of interest (LOIs), twelve (12) TIFIA LOIs, eight (8) 
RRIF applications, and twelve (12) TIFIA applications.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The Department estimates that 
it will generally take applicants not fewer than twenty (20) person-
hours to assemble a single LOI (for either credit program) and not 
fewer than one hundred (100) person-hours to assemble a single 
application (for either credit program). (Person-hour estimates 
provided for a RRIF application assume that the applicant will 
initially submit an LOI, reducing the number of person-hours spent on 
the application.) These estimates are consistent with the approved ICR 
for TIFIA under OMB Control Number 2105-0569. Based on the anticipated 
annual total number of respondents, the total annual hour burden of 
this collection for RRIF LOIs and applications is 960 and for TIFIA 
LOIs and applications is 1,440 hours.
    Frequency of Collection: This information collection will occur on 
a rolling basis as interested entities seek RRIF or TIFIA credit 
assistance.
    Public Comments Invited: The Department invites interested 
respondents to comment on a proposed information collection activity 
(summarized below) with respect to: (i) Whether the information 
collection activities are necessary for the Department to properly 
execute its functions, including whether the activities will have 
practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the Department's estimates of 
the burden of the information collection activities, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used to determine the 
estimates; (iii) ways for the Department to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and (iv) ways 
for the Department to minimize the burden of information collection 
activities on the

[[Page 23527]]

public by automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology (e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses). See 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)(I)-(iv); 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1)(i)-(iv). The Department 
believes that soliciting public comment will promote its efforts to 
reduce the administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the 
collection of information mandated by Federal regulations. In summary, 
the Department reasons that comments received will advance three 
objectives: (i) Reduce reporting burdens; (ii) ensure that it organizes 
information collection requirements in a ``user friendly'' format to 
improve the use of such information; and (iii) accurately assess the 
resources expended to retrieve and produce information requested. See 
44 U.S.C. 3501.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2018.
Habib Azarsina,
Privacy and PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-10033 Filed 5-17-18; 11:15 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-22-P