E9-19485. Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; Community Development Block Grant Recovery (CDBG-R) Program

AGENCY:

Office of Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed information collection.

SUMMARY:

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES:

Comments Due Date: October 13, 2009.

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: Lillian L. Deitzer, Reports Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410; telephone [phone] (this is not a toll-free number) or e-mail Ms. Deitzer at [e-mail] for a copy of the proposed form and other available information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steve Johnson, Director, Entitlement Communities Division, Office of Block Grant Assistance, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 7282, Washington, DC 20410; telephone [phone] (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department is submitting the proposed information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended). The Department submitted to OMB for emergency processing a proposed information collection for the Community Development Block Grant Recovery (CDBG-R) program. It was approved by OMB on April 17, 2009 and expires on October 31, 2009. Since HUD will be using the form (SF 424) beyond the emergency clearance time period, this is a resubmission to OMB under the normal paperwork clearance process for a three-year approval.

This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information to: (1) Evaluate 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) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) 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.

This Notice also lists the following information:

Title of Proposal: Community Development Block Grant Recovery Program.

OMB Control Number, if Applicable: 2506-0184.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: This request identifies the estimated reporting burden associated with information that CDBG-R grantees will report in IDIS for CDBG-R assisted activities, recordkeeping requirements, and reporting requirements. Section 1512 of the Recovery Act requires that not later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, each recipient that received recovery funds from a Federal agency shall submit a report to that agency that contains: (1) The total amount of recovery funds received from that agency; (2) the amount of recovery funds received that were expended or obligated to projects or activities; and (3) a detailed list of all projects or activities for which recovery funds were expended or obligated, including the name of the project or activity; a description of the project or activity; an evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity; an estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained by the project or activity; and for infrastructure investments made by State and local governments, the purpose, total cost, and rationale of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment with funds made available under the Recovery Act and name of the person to contact at the agency if there are concerns with the infrastructure investment. Not later than 30 calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter, each agency that made Recovery Act funds available to any recipient shall make the information in reports submitted publicly available by posting the information on a Web site.

Agency Form Numbers: Not applicable.

Members of the Affected Public: Eligible CDBG grantees (metropolitan cities, urban counties, nonentitlement counties in Hawaii, and States).

Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the information collection including number of responses, frequency of responses, and hours of responses: The number of respondents is 1,196. The proposed frequency of the response to the collection is on a quarterly basis. The total estimated burden is 28,704 quarterly hours.

Status of the proposed information collection: This submission is an extension of a previously approved emergency information collection. The current OMB approval expires on October 31, 2009.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

Dated: August 6, 2009.

Mercedes Márquez,

Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.