Department of Transportation December 19, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice of determination provides the FRA Administrator's minimum annual random drug and alcohol testing rates for calendar year 2015. According to data from FRA's Management Information System, the rail industry's random drug testing positive rate has remained below 1.0 percent for the last two years. FRA's Administrator has therefore determined that the minimum annual random drug testing rate for the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015, will remain at 25 percent of covered railroad employees. In addition, because the industry-wide random alcohol testing violation rate has remained below 0.5 percent for the last two years, the Administrator has determined that the minimum random alcohol testing rate will remain at 10 percent of covered railroad employees for the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Railroads remain free, as always, to conduct random testing at higher rates.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is providing notice of a request from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to waive Buy America requirements for the purchase of components of high-speed track turnouts that do not meet FTA's Buy America requirements. The LIRR submitted the request in connection with three projects: (1) LIRR's 2015 State of Good Repair Program; (2) the East Side Access Project; and (3) LIRR's Jamaica Capacity Improvement Project. Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A), FTA is providing notice of the waiver request and is seeking public comment before deciding whether to grant the request. If granted, the waiver would apply only to the FTA-funded procurements in LIRR's 2015 State of Good Repair Program, the East Side Access Project, and LIRR's Jamaica Capacity Improvement Project, and only to the procurement of componentsthe turnouts will be manufactured in the United States. This proposed Buy America waiver does not include the turnout components for the Northeast Corridor Congestion Relief Project at Harold Interlocking, which is being addressed in a separate waiver request published by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), as FRA funds are being used for that project.

As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 12121, the Secretary of Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), is authorized to grant waivers of the U.S.-build requirement of the coastwise laws under certain circumstances. A request for such a waiver has been received by MARAD. The vessel, and a brief description of the proposed service, is listed below.

This joint interim final rule implements for all Federal award-making agencies the final guidance Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance) published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on December 26, 2013. This rule is necessary in order to incorporate into regulation and thus bring into effect the Uniform Guidance as required by OMB. Implementation of this guidance will reduce administrative burden and risk of waste, fraud, and abuse for the approximately $600 billion per year awarded in Federal financial assistance. The result will be more Federal dollars reprogrammed to support the mission, new entities able to compete and win awards, and ultimately a stronger framework to provide key services to American citizens and support the basic research that underpins the United States economy.