Federal Highway Administration May 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces that the FHWA and the Utah Department of Transportation (State) plan to renew and amend an existing MOU established pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 326 under which the FHWA has assigned to the State the FHWA's responsibility for determining whether a project is categorically excluded from preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (NEPA) and for carrying out certain other responsibilities for conducting environmental reviews, consultations, and related activities for Federal-aid highway projects. The proposed amendments include removal of language referring to existing programmatic agreements between the State and FHWA concerning categorical exclusions. This change is proposed to make the processing of these documents more clearly defined. The public is invited to comment on any aspect of the proposed MOU, including the scope of environmental review, consultation, and other activities which are assigned.

The FHWA is extending the comment period for a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and request for comments, which was published on March 28, 2014. The original comment period is set to close on May 27, 2014. The extension is based on concern expressed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) that the May 27 closing date does not provide sufficient time to review and provide comprehensive comments on the HSIP NPRM, considering all related rulemaking activities including the FHWA/FTA Statewide and Nonmetropolitan Transportation Planning; Metropolitan Transportation Planning NPRM (FHWA RIN 2125-AF52; FTA RIN 2132-AB10). The FHWA recognizes that others interested in commenting may have similar concerns and agrees that the comment period should be extended. Therefore, the closing date for comments is changed to June 30, 2014, which will provide AASHTO and others interested in commenting additional time to discuss, evaluate, and submit responses to the docket.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to the construction of one additional highway lane in each direction on Interstate 64 from approximately Exit 255 in the east to approximately Exit 247 in the west in the City of Newport News, Virginia. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that FHWA will submit the collection of information described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 14, 2014. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden.

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

This Notice finalizes guidance that describes the FHWA internal procedures for review of State compliance with the National Bridge Inspection Standards. It also describes how the FHWA will implement the related statutory penalties against noncompliant States. The FHWA proposed this guidance in a Notice on June 7, 2013. Here, the FHWA updates and finalizes the guidance and responds to the 12 commenters.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an environmental impact statement will be prepared for a proposed highway project in Cook County, Illinois.