Federal Highway Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule amends the regulations governing the enforcement of commercial vehicle size and weight to incorporate provisions enacted in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU); the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and; the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006. This final rule adds various definitions; corrects obsolete references, definitions, and footnotes; eliminates redundant provisions; amends numerical route changes to the National Highway designations; and incorporates statutorily mandated weight and length limit provisions.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared for proposed highway improvements to United States Highway 14 (Highway 14) from the existing four-lane bypass of Dodge Center to the intersection of Highway 14 and Interstate 35 (I-35) in Owatonna, a distance of approximately 19 miles, in Dodge and Steele Counties, Minnesota.

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.

Section 6005 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) established a pilot program to allow the Secretary of Transportation to assign, and the State to assume, the Secretary's responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for one or more highway projects. The Secretary may permit not more than five States (including the States of Alaska, California, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas) to participate in the program. Upon assigning NEPA responsibilities, the Secretary may further assign to the State all or part of the Secretary's responsibilities for environmental review, consultation or other action required under any Federal environmental law pertaining to the review of a specific project. In order to be selected for the pilot program a State must submit an application to the Secretary. Section 6005 requires the Secretary to promulgate rules that establish requirements relating to information required to be contained in an application by a State to participate in the pilot program. This final rule establishes these application requirements.

The FHWA is currently conducting a reassessment of the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS), which is a national highway transportation system database maintained and used primarily by the FHWA as a resource for information about the extent, condition, performance, use, and operating characteristics of the Nation's highways. This notice requests public comment on the draft HPMS Reassessment Recommendations Report, which is available in the docket and via the FHWA Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hpms/ index.htm. This draft report documents in detail various issues and proposed changes to specific HPMS data items and the associated collecting and reporting procedures based in part upon customer and data provider needs. The FHWA requests public comments on this draft report. The report would enhance and improve HPMS procedures and incorporate changing data customer needs while building a stronger partnership with the HPMS data user and provider community.

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew an information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on November 28, 2006. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on November 21, 2006. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on November 3rd, 2006. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared for a project in San Diego, California, known as the State Route (SR) 75/282 Transportation Corridor Project.

The FHWA hereby gives notice that it intends to prepare an EIS for the proposed new construction of approximately 7 miles of SH 16 between SH 44 (State Street) and I-84 in the general vicinity of McDermott Road in Ada County, Idaho. The corridor study will evaluate the location and design for future construction of this highway segment. This EIS is being prepared and considered in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and FHWA regulations, guidance and policy. Anticipated Federal approvals/actions needed for this project to be constructed include permits for Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), issuance of a Biological Opinion by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through consultation as required by Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Cooperating Agencies: There are no cooperating agencies yet identified for this project.

The FHWA invites public comment regarding our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 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 action taken by the FHWA and Other Federal Agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, U.S. 31 Plymouth to South Bend, Indiana, in the Counties of Marshall and St. Joseph, State of Indiana. This action is the Record of Decision issued by FHWA for the U.S. 31 Plymouth to South Bend Project.

This notice invites State and local governments and other public authorities to apply to participate in the Value Pricing Pilot (VPP) program and presents guidelines for program applications. This notice supersedes two previous notices about the VPP program under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) published in the Federal Register on January 6, 2006 (71 FR 970), and July 17, 2006 (71 FR 40578). The primary purpose of superseding the previous notices with this new notice is to shift the focus on the types of VPP program projects being solicited to achieve consistency with the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's Transportation Network (DOT Congestion Initiative), announced on May 16, 2006.\1\ This national strategy contains a number of elements that involve pricing, thus warranting a reconsideration of the types of projects solicited for VPP program participation. This solicitation aligns the VPP program with the DOT Congestion Initiative by together seeking to support metropolitan areas in systemically progressing toward implementation of broad congestion pricing strategies in the near term. This notice also describes the statutory basis for the VPP program and specifies all of the steps necessary to apply for funding and, where applicable, tolling authority under the program. A new application deadline is also provided.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to announce the final list of nationally and exceptionally significant features of the Federal Interstate Highway System. The list is available at https:// www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/histpres/highways.asp. In developing the final list, the FHWA considered public comments received on the preliminary list of exceptional elements, which was published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2006 (71 FR 34988). This notice summarizes those comments. Exemptions of the Interstate Highway System from consideration as historic property under the provisions of section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 \1\ will not apply to the elements on this list.

The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Announce the publication of interim CMAQ guidance; and (2) solicit public comment on the contents of the interim guidance. Sections 1101, 1103 and 1808 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59, Aug. 10, 2005) amended the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program, and authorizes $8.6 billion to support the CMAQ program in 2005-2009. The interim guidance went into effect October 31, 2006; however, we will review all comments submitted to the docket and will modify the guidance as necessary or appropriate.

This document announces the first meeting of the National Safe Routes to School Task Force to the Secretary of Transportation. This is the first meeting of the task force. The purpose of the Task Force is to advise the Secretary of Transportation, through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety, on strategies to advance Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programs nationwide and to encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school pursuant to Section 1404(h) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59). This meeting is open to the public and will have time allocated for public testimony. The public is welcome to present written or oral comments to the Task Force.

This notice announces actions taken by the FHWA and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway project, U.S. Highway 101 Prunedale Improvement Project between Kilo Posts R146.8 to 161.6 (Post Miles R91.2 to 100.4) north of the City of Salinas in Monterey County, State of California. Those actions grant approvals for the project.

The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on September 21, 2006. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DOT intends to establish a system of records under the Privacy Act of 1974.

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to renew an 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.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared for a proposed highway project in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

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.

The FHWA is revising its regulations in 23 CFR part 635 subpart D to address Section 5514 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This law requires the FHWA to ensure that States provide for competition with respect to the specification of alternative types of culvert pipes. These revisions will ensure that States provide for competition in the specification of alternative types of culvert pipes.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this notice of intent to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for solutions to improve mobility across the Willamette River in the City of Salem and Marion and Polk Counties, Oregon.