Federal Transit Administration June 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) issue this early scoping notice to advise other agencies and the public that they intend to conduct another round of early scoping. The additional early scoping period will continue the examination of potential alternatives for providing high-capacity transit in the Georgia (GA) 400 corridor in north Fulton County, GA from Dunwoody to Alpharetta. The alternatives would improve transit linkages and coverage to communities within this corridor and would enhance mobility and accessibility to and within the corridor by providing a more robust transit network that offers an alternative to automobile travel. This notice invites the public and agency officials to provide input to the ongoing alternatives analysis and system planning effort by commenting on the project's purpose and need, the project study area, the alternatives being considered, the transportation problems that are being addressed by the alternatives analysis study, public participation and outreach methods, the relevant transportation and community impacts and benefits being considered, known environmental issues raised by public and agency coordination to date, and the projected capital and operating costs of this project. The early scoping process is intended to support the alternatives analysis and a future National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping process and will help streamline the future development of an environmental impact statement (EIS), if warranted. In addition, the early scoping process supports FTA planning requirements associated with the New Starts (``Section 5309'') funding program for certain kinds of major capital investments. Although recent legislation has led to changes in the New Starts process, MARTA will comply with all relevant FTA requirements relating to planning and project development to help analyze and screen alternatives in preparation for the NEPA process. The planned public meetings are described immediately below. A more detailed discussion of the project and this early scoping process is included in sections that follow.

In response to the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District's (MetroLINK) request for a Buy America waiver for a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) HVAC system, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) hereby waives its Buy America requirements for the VRF HVAC system to be installed in MetroLINK's Rock Island Transfer Station. This waiver is limited to a single procurement for the VRF HVAC system for the Rock Island Transfer Station project, an FTA-funded project.

As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the Federal Transit Administration invites public comment about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to renew the following information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.):

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew the following information collection:

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of prior year Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities Program discretionary funds for the Ladders of Opportunity Initiative in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. FTA will make available approximately $100 million from recoveries from the Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities Program authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Public Law 109-59 and prior authorizations. Additional recoveries or other unallocated program funding may result in additional funding for proposals submitted under this notice. This notice solicits proposals to compete for funding under the aforementioned program and initiatives, and includes the priorities established by FTA for these discretionary funds, the criteria FTA will use to identify meritorious projects for funding, and the description of how to apply for funding under these discretionary programs. This announcement is available on the FTA Web site at: https:// www.fta.dot.gov. A synopsis of this funding opportunity will be posted in the FIND module of the government-wide electronic grants Web site at https://www.GRANTS.GOV. FTA will announce final selections on the FTA Web site and may also announce selections in the Federal Register.

The FHWA and the FTA are jointly issuing this NPRM to propose revisions to the regulations governing the development of metropolitan transportation plans and programs for urbanized areas, State transportation plans and programs, and the congestion management process. The changes reflect recent passage of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The MAP-21 continues many provisions related to transportation planning from prior laws; however, it introduces transformational changes and adds some new provisions. The proposed rule would make the regulations consistent with current statutory requirements and proposes the following: A new mandate for State departments of transportation (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; revisions to the integration of the planning and environmental review process; and a process for programmatic mitigation plans.