Federal Highway Administration 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The 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 are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This notice announces the FHWA website, ``FAST Act Section 1421Programmatic Approaches to Project Delivery,'' where information and guidance on improving project delivery is consolidated to encourage implementation of approaches, techniques, and best practices to facilitate the productive, effective, and timely expenditure of title 23, United States Code, funds. Consistent implementation of the information and guidance provided on the website will serve to assist Federal-aid recipients in effectively using Federal funds by avoiding unnecessary, costly project delays and minimizing project cost overruns.

The FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans that are final within the meaning of agency law. The actions relate to a proposed highway project, Interstate 15, from post mile 18.3 to post mile 21.0, in the City of Lake Elsinore, in the County of Riverside, State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

The Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program allows a State to assume FHWA's environmental responsibilities for review, consultation, and compliance for Federal highway projects. When a State assumes these Federal responsibilities, the State becomes solely responsible and liable for carrying out the responsibilities it has assumed, in lieu of FHWA. Prior to the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, the Program required semiannual audits during each of the first 2 years of State participation to ensure compliance by each State participating in the Program. This notice announces and solicits comments on the fourth audit report for the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) participation in accordance with these pre-FAST Act requirements.

This rulemaking rescinds certain transportation planning regulations pertaining to the establishment of the metropolitan planning area (MPA) boundaries, the designation of metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), and the coordination among MPOs. The amendments contained in this rule carry out the statutory mandate to rescind the final rule published on December 20, 2016, on this topic.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to announce action taken by the USACE that are final within the meaning of the United States Code. The action relates to the construction of the South Mountain Freeway/ Loop 202 Project (Project) in Maricopa County, in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, in the State of Arizona. The USACE granted a Department of the Army permit, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, as amended, authorizing the Arizona Department of Transportation (AZDOT) to discharge dredged or fill material into Waters of the United States at specified locations related to the Project.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the Notice of Intent (NOI), issued on March 2, 2010, to prepare an EIS is being rescinded for the proposed Taylorsville Mobility Study transportation project. The proposed EIS was to analyze and address the regional transportation connectivity needs on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley in the area bounded by 6200 South, 4700 South; Bangerter Highway and Redwood Road in Salt Lake County, State of Utah. For Further Information, contact: Edward T. Woolford, Environmental Program Manager, Federal Highway Administration, 2520 West 4700 South, Suite 9A, Salt Lake City, Utah 84129, by telephone (801) 955-3524.

This notice announces the first meeting of the Motorcycle Advisory Council (MAC) to the FHWA. The purpose of this meeting is to advise the Secretary of Transportation, through the Administrator of the FHWA, on infrastructure issues of concern to motorcyclists, including; barrier design, road design, construction and maintenance practices, and the architecture and implementation of intelligent transportation system technologies, pursuant to Section 1426 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 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 August 1, 2017. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden.

The FHWA and the State of Arizona, acting by and through its Department of Transportation (State), propose participation of the State in the Categorical Exclusion Assignment program. This Program allows FHWA to assign to States its authority and responsibility for determining whether certain designated activities within the geographic boundaries of the State, as specified in the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), are categorically excluded from preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The FHWA invites State transportation departments to submit applications for candidate projects in the Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program (ISRRPP), authorized in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and amended by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Under the ISRRPP, FHWA may permit up to three States to collect tolls on a facility on the Interstate System for the purpose of reconstructing or rehabilitating Interstate highway corridors that could not otherwise be adequately maintained or functionally improved without the collection of tolls. This notice describes general program provisions, eligibility and selection criteria, and the application submission and evaluation process.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 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 August 1, 2017. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the ROD for the proposed I-94 East-West Corridor (70th Street to 16th Street) Project in the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin is rescinded effective with this notice.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the procurement of a John Deere 640R Standard Farm Loader for recreational trail maintenance by the St. Marys Area Snowmobile Association (through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) because the equipment is not available to be produced using 100 percent domestic steel or iron.

This notice announces certain actions taken by UDOT on behalf of FHWA and other Federal agencies. The actions relate to a proposed highway project located on Interstate 80 (I-80), from approximate milepost (MP) 142.1 to MP 136, in the Counties of Summit and Salt Lake, State of Utah. Those actions grant licenses, permits and approvals for the project.

This NPRM follows a series of related rules that established a set of performance measures for State departments of transportation (State DOT) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) to use as required by Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. In the last of that series of rules, published on January 18, 2017, FHWA established a measure on the percent change in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the reference year 2017, generated by on-road mobile sources on the National Highway System (NHS) (also referred to as the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) measure). Through this NPRM, FHWA proposes to repeal the GHG measure.

This SNPRM provides interested parties the opportunity to comment on the proposed revisions to the FHWA and FTA joint regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 4(f) requirements. The FHWA, FRA, and FTA (hereafter referred to as ``the Agencies'') propose these revisions after the enactment of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which requires a rulemaking to address programmatic approaches in environmental reviews and makes other changes to existing law that should be addressed in a rulemaking. In this SNPRM the Agencies also propose to add FRA to regulations governing environmental impact and related procedures and the parks, recreation areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic site, making those regulations FRA's NEPA implementing procedures and FRA's Section 4(f) implementing regulations, respectively. This SNPRM proposes to modify the FHWA/FTA Environmental Impact and Related Procedures due to changes to the environmental review process made by the FAST Act and to modify the Parks, Recreation Areas, Wildlife and Waterfowl Refuges, and Historic Sites regulations due to new exceptions created by the FAST Act. Lastly, the Agencies request comments regarding the current FHWA and FTA definition of ``existing operational right-of-way'' in their respective categorical exclusion sections. The Agencies seek comments on the proposals in this document.

This NPRM provides interested parties with the opportunity to comment on proposed regulations governing the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Program for Eliminating Duplication of Environmental Reviews (Program) established by Section 1309 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). Section 1309 directed the U.S. Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to establish a pilot program authorizing up to five States to conduct environmental reviews and make approvals for projects under State environmental laws and regulations instead of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FAST Act requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to promulgate regulations to implement the requirements of the Program, including application requirements and criteria necessary to determine whether State laws and regulations are at least as stringent as the applicable Federal law. The FHWA, FRA, and FTA, hereinafter referred to as ``the Agencies,'' are proposing these regulations on behalf of the Secretary and seek comments on the proposals contained in this NPRM. This rule would also implement a provision in Section 1308 of the FAST Act that amends the corrective action period that the Agencies must provide to a State participating in the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program (Section 327 Program).

The FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans, that are final. The actions relate to the proposed Improvement Project on State Route 55 (SR-55) between Interstate 405 (I-405) and Interstate 5 (I-5) in the County of Orange, State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

This document requests comments on including non-cargo- carrying tractor-high mount automobile semi-trailer combination in the definition of automobile transporter in the FHWA's guidance.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of U.S.C. 139(I)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, State Route (SR) 162 (Pellissippi Parkway Extension) Improvements, from SR 33 (Old Knoxville Highway) to US 321/SR 73 (Lamar Alexander Parkway) in Blount County, Tennessee. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA and other federal agencies that are final. The actions relate to a proposed highway project, Seward Highway Milepost 75 to 90 Road and Bridge Rehabilitation, in the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

The Federal Highway Administration is issuing this notice to advise the public that the Record of Decision for the proposed State Route 704 Cross Base Highway in Pierce County, Washington is being rescinded.

The FHWA, on behalf of Caltrans, is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by Caltrans.The actions relate to the proposed improvement of Avenue R from the Sierra Highway to just east of 25th Street East within the City of Palmdale in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

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.