[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21704-21706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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
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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:
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Relevant sections of
Proposed new form Content of the form the existing ED-900
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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).
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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.
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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