Federal Highway Administration May 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FHWA is extending the period for submitting applications to the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) published March 29, 2016, for the advanced transportation and congestion management technologies deployment program. The original due date for applications was June 3, 2016. The extension is based on requests from potential eligible entities for additional time to prepare and submit applications.

The FHWA and FTA are jointly issuing this final rule to update the regulations governing the development of metropolitan transportation plans (MTP) and programs for urbanized areas, long-range statewide transportation plans and programs, and the congestion management process as well as revisions related to the use of and reliance on planning products developed during the planning process for project development and the environmental review process. The changes reflect the passage of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The MAP-21 continues many provisions related to transportation planning from prior laws; however, it introduces transformational changes and adds some new provisions. The FAST Act makes minor edits to existing provisions. The changes make the regulations consistent with current statutory requirements and implement the following: A new mandate for State departments of transportation (hereafter referred to simply as ``States'') and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) to take a performance-based approach to planning and programming; a new emphasis on the nonmetropolitan transportation planning process, by requiring States to have a higher level of involvement with nonmetropolitan local officials and providing a process for the creation of regional transportation planning organizations (RTPO); a structural change to the membership of the larger MPOs; a new framework for voluntary scenario planning; new authority for the integration of the planning and environmental review processes; and a process for programmatic mitigation plans.

The FHWA, as the Federal Lead Agency, and the ADOT, as the Local Project Sponsor, are issuing this notice to advise the public of our intention to prepare a Tier 1 EIS for the Interstate 11 (I-11) Corridor between Nogales and Wickenburg, AZ (I-11 Corridor). The Tier 1 EIS will assess the potential social, economic, and natural environmental impacts of a vehicular transportation facility and potential multimodal facility (rail and utility) opportunities in the designated I-11 Corridor across a range of alternatives, including a ``No Build'' alternative. The Tier 1 EIS will be prepared in accordance with regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and provisions of Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST) Act.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid funds for 34 State projects involving the acquisition of vehicles and equipment on the condition that they be assembled in the U.S.

FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection, which is summarized below under Supplementary Information. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on February 10, 2016. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The FHWA invited public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of a new information collection that is summarized below under supplementary information. The FHWA also invites public comments on the design of the survey instrument and questions for the National Transportation Performance Management (TPM) Review Survey. A document containing the draft survey and survey design report is available at https:// www.fhwa.dot.gov/tpm/engage/docs/questions.pdf. FHWA has received a request to extend the comment period in order to provide more time to evaluate the proposed revisions. FHWA is extending the comment period to May 31, 2016. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on June 23, 2015. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the use of non-domestic motor and machinery brakes for Southern Boulevard (SR 80) Bascule Bridge Replacement project that meet AASHTO Moveable Highway Bridge Design specifications (MHBDS) 5.5, 5.6, 6.7.13 in the State of Florida.