2023-25537. Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

AGENCY:

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for an information collection, which is summarized below under Supplementary Information. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Please submit comments by January 19, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 0048 by any of the following methods:

website: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

Fax: [phone].

Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590–0001.

Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Melissa Corder, 202–366–5853, Office of Real Estate Services, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Regulations for Federal and Federally Assisted Programs.

Background: This program implements 42 U.S.C. 4602, concerning acquisition of real property and relocation assistance for persons displaced by Federal and federally-assisted programs. It prohibits the provision of relocation assistance and payments to persons not legally present in the United States (with certain exceptions). The information collected consists of a certification of residency status from affected persons to establish eligibility for relocation assistance and payments. Displacing agencies will require each person who is to be displaced by a Federal or federally-assisted project, as a condition of eligibility for relocation payments or advisory assistance, to certify they are lawfully present in the United States.

Respondents: Federal agencies, 50 State Transportation Departments, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, local government agencies, persons administering projects or programs and airport sponsors receiving financial assistance for expenditures of Federal funds on acquisition and relocation payments and required services to displaced persons that are subject to the Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended, for file maintenance and for annual statistical reports.

Estimated Average Burden per Response: The respondents electronically submit one statistical report each year. The average burden per statistical report is 16.5 hours. Each instance of file maintenance requires an estimated average of 30 minutes to complete.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Total estimated average annual burden is 25,000 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.

Issued On: November 14, 2023.

Jazmyne Lewis,

Information Collection Officer.