Federal Transit Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the availability of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) discussion paper on the Evaluation of Economic Development and requests your comments on it. The paper describes one possible approach that could be used to evaluate economic development impacts of projects seeking New Starts funding. Economic development is one of the criteria that FTA uses to assess project justification, which, along with local financial commitment, informs FTA funding decisions for New Starts projects.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is proposing to expand the type of projects it considers to be ``beyond the ADA'' and thus increase the types of projects eligible for funding under the New Freedom program. Under the proposed interpretation, new and expanded fixed route and demand responsive transit service designed to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities would be eligible projects.

Recent changes to the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) statute require changes in the TIFIA rule. In addition, the DOT has gained substantial administrative experience since the TIFIA rule was last amended in 2000. The DOT proposes to amend the TIFIA rule to implement the recent statutory changes and to incorporate certain other changes to the rule that it considers will improve the efficiency of the program and its usefulness to borrowers. In addition, the DOT seeks comment on policy issues with potentially significant impact on the TIFIA project selection process.

As provided in 49 CFR Part 601, Subpart D, (72 FR 910, Jan. 9, 2007), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) must, by January 31 of each year, establish an Emergency Relief Docket so grantees and subgrantees affected by national or regional emergencies may request relief from FTA administrative requirements set forth in FTA policy statements, circulars, guidance documents, and regulations. By this notice, FTA is establishing an Emergency Relief Docket for calendar year 2009.

This notice by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of proposed guidance on the application of a provision of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) concerning the acquisition of railroad right-of-way for transit projects. The guidance explains FTA's interpretation of the provision, which allows the acquisition of pre-existing railroad right-of-way, under certain conditions, before the completion of the environmental review for a transit project that would use the right-of-way. FTA requests comments on this guidance, which is available on the U.S. Government electronic docket site and on the FTA Web site.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects to be funded under Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 appropriations for the Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program; Tribal Transit Program (TTP), a program authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

This notice revises Project Identification Numbers published in the August 22, 2008, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) notice titled ``Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Announcement of Project Selections.'' The notice identifies corrections to Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 and 2008 Project Identification Numbers; however, award amounts remain unchanged.

Following the two recent Buy America rulemakings pursuant to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a petition for reconsideration of the treatment of bi-metallic composite conducting rail as a steel product that must be manufactured in the United States. At present, FTA's Buy America regulation treats both running rail and contact rail as a steel or iron product which must be manufactured entirely in the United States. During the recent rulemakings, several commenters proposed that bi-metallic rail be instead categorized as ``traction power equipment.'' If adopted, the proposal would have changed the regulatory treatment of contact rail based on the rail's composition. As traction power equipment, bi-metallic rail would have been subject to a lower 60 percent domestic content requirement, in contrast to running rail made of steel and iron, which must contain 100 percent domestic content. In addition, as traction power equipment, bi- metallic rail would be subject only to ``final assembly'' in the United States, which may be a less rigorous process than the manufacturing process required for other forms of power rail, including steel and iron. Because FTA believed adopting the proposal in the Final Rule would have altered the regulatory environment for affected parties who may have been unaware of the proposal, including manufacturers of steel and iron contact rail, without subjecting the issue to full notice-and- comment from all affected parties, FTA declined to adopt the proposal, instead deferring action to this separate rulemaking. Through this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM), FTA proposes to amend its Buy America regulations to re-categorize bi-metallic composite conducting rail as ``traction power equipment'' which need only consist of 60 percent domestic content, with final assembly taking place in the United States.

Through this notice, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) proposes to amend its school bus operations regulations. Most notably, FTA proposes to clarify several definitions, amend the school bus operations complaint procedures, and implement Section 3023(f) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). FTA seeks comment on this notice from interested parties.

This notice solicits proposals from States and tribal associations or consortia for United We Ride (UWR) mobility management grants. This solicitation is issued by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on behalf of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM). Funding in the amount of $1.5 million is provided by FTA to support grants ranging up to $300,000 each. These grants are intended to assist States and tribal associations in supporting the development of transportation coordination capabilities and capacity within local or regional human service networks to address the individualized customer transportation needs of persons and families with low income, persons with disabilities, older adults and youth. Specifically, these grants seek to address individual customer needs for mobility within workforce development, health care, aging, youth, disability, education, housing, veterans and other social service or human service support networks. State or tribal mobility management proposals may include the development of educational programs, training and technical assistance activities, and mobility management coordination pilots for or within such networks. These grants are not intended to fund the capital or operating costs of specific transportation services or transportation brokerage programs. The projects proposed should represent new or expanded activities, not just the maintenance of existing actions already being funded. FTA-funded technical assistance and training programs are described that may prove helpful to applicants in either developing or implementing proposals.

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: 49 U.S.C. section 5316Job Access and Reverse Commute Program. The information to be collected for this program is used to determine eligibility for funding and to monitor the grantees' progress in implementing and completing project activities. The information submitted ensures FTA's compliance with applicable federal laws and OMB Circular A-102. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments was published on September 12, 2008.

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5323(n), FTA is authorized to consolidate the certifications and assurances required by Federal law or regulations for its programs into a single document. FTA is also required by 49 U.S.C. 5323(n) to publish a list of those certifications and assurances annually. Appendix A of this Notice contains the comprehensive compilation of FTA's Certifications and Assurances for Federal Fiscal Year (Federal FY) 2009 applicable to the various Federal assistance programs that FTA will administer during that Federal FY. FTA's Certifications and Assurances for Federal FY 2009 reflect Federal statutory, regulatory, and programmatic changes that have now become effective.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has asked the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to waive its Buy America requirements on the basis of public interest to permit Vossloh Espa[ntilde]a S.A. (Vossloh) to manufacture and assemble two pilot locomotives in Spain. MotivePower, Inc., a domestic competitor to Vossloh has asked FTA to deny MBTA's request. FTA seeks public comment before deciding whether to grant MBTA's request. This Notice sets forth MBTA's arguments for and MotivePower's arguments against a public interest waiver and seeks comment thereon.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has issued FTA Circular 4220.1F, ``Third Party Contracting Guidance'' to provide comprehensive guidance to grantees and recipients of cooperative agreements (recipients) to implement third party contracting requirements that apply to FTA assisted procurements.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has placed in the docket and on its Web site (https://www.fta.dot.gov) guidance in the form of Circular 5010.1D, Grant Management Requirements, which circular replaces FTA's prior Grant Management Circular 5010.1C. Circular 5010.1D includes information pertaining to new and existing FTA programs; incorporates provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU); discusses the circumstances under which a grantee may request budget revisions and grant amendments; identifies useful life standards for trolleys, ferry boats, and facilities; and increases the threshold that determines whether FTA must approve a real estate appraisal.

This notice announces final environmental actions taken by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for public transportation projects in the following areas: Fort Collins, Colorado; Belle Glade, Florida; Gustavus, Alaska; Dallas, Texas; West Covina, California; and Andover, New Jersey. The purpose of this notice is to announce publicly the environmental decisions by FTA on the subject projects and to activate the limitation on any claims that may challenge these final environmental actions.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) issue this early scoping notice to advise other agencies and the public that they intend to explore, in the context of the Council on Environmental Quality's early scoping process, methods of improving transit capacity and service in the Harbor Subdivision Transit Corridor of Los Angeles, California. The early scoping process is part of a planning Alternatives Analysis (AA) required by Title 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) Sec. 5309, that will lead to the selection of the alternatives that will be subject to the appropriate environmental process. Early scoping meetings have been planned and are announced below. The Harbor Subdivision Transit Corridor is approximately 35 miles in length and includes; 26.36 miles of the Harbor Subdivision that is owned by LACMTA (BNSF Railway currently has some freight operations on the ROW), approximately 2.5 miles to the north of the LACMTA-owned portion right-of-way that would provide the connection to downtown Los Angeles, and approximately 3.5-6 miles south of the LACMTA-owned portion of the right-of-way that would provide a possible connection to the Metro Harbor Transitway, Metro Blue Line, Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line or any other destinations or transit facilities that would attract potential ridership. The Metro-owned Harbor Subdivision Line extends 26.36 miles from Harbor Junction at the north, near downtown Los Angeles just east of the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue and Watson Yard at the south, in Wilmington just east of Pacific Coast Highway (U.S. Highway 1) and Alameda Street. The Harbor Subdivision connects or runs adjacent to major destinations and transportation hubs including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Metro Blue Line, Harbor Transitway and the Port of Los Angeles. The Corridor traverses twelve jurisdictions including the cities of Los Angeles, Vernon, Huntington Park, Inglewood, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Carson and the County of Los Angeles. As it passes through these communities, it traverses residential neighborhoods, commercial and warehousing districts and industrial areas including oil fields and refineries. LAX lies to the west of the rail line along Aviation Boulevard near Century Boulevard. The conclusion of the planning Alternatives Analysis is expected to be the selection of a set of alternatives by the LACMTA and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which is the official metropolitan planning organization for Los Angeles. The set of alternatives will then be the ``proposed action'' that are subject to an appropriate environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). If the selected set of alternatives would have significant impacts, an environmental impact statement (EIS), combined with a California environmental impact report (EIR) would be initiated with a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register and distribution of a Notice of Preparation (NOP) required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Public and agency scoping of the EIS/EIR would be conducted at that time. In particular, the purpose and need for the project, the range of alternatives to be considered in the EIS/EIR, the environmental and community impacts to be evaluated, and the methodologies to be used, would be subject to public and interagency review and comment, in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 139 and CEQA.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the discretionary selection of projects that will be funded using the unallocated Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Clean Fuels Grant program funds.

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 extend the following currently approved information collection:

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects to be funded under Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 and FY 2008 appropriations for the Over- the-Road Bus (OTRB) Accessibility Program, authorized by section 3038 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The OTRB Accessibility Program makes funds available to private operators of over-the-road buses to help finance the incremental capital and training costs of complying with DOT's Over-the-Road Bus accessibility rule.

This notice provides interested parties with the opportunity to comment on changes to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) National Transit Database (NTD) policy on the reporting of coordinated human services transportation data. For many years, it has been FTA's policy to require transit agencies reporting demand response service to the NTD to exclude service data for certain sponsored trips from their reports. These trips were typically arranged and paid for by a third party for a specific group of clients (such as participants in programs like Medicaid, Head Start, sheltered workshops, or assisted living centers), and were often not open to the general public at large. Data for these trips were thus excluded from the calculation of the apportionment of Urbanized Area Formula Grants. In light of FTA's policies and guidance on Coordinated Human Services Transportation, FTA is proposing to clarify this policy for the 2008 NTD Report Year to specify that transit agencies are to report data for all of their demand response service as public transportation, except for those services that are defined as charter service under FTA's recently revised charter rule (49 CFR Part 604, 73 FR 2326, January 14, 2008). FTA also proposes to require transit agencies in urbanized areas to separately report their ``regular unlinked passenger trips'' and their ``sponsored demand response unlinked passenger trips'' for demand response service. FTA invites the public to comment on this proposed policy change.

This notice conveys the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Final Guidance on New Starts/Small Starts Policies and Procedures.

This notice announces the adoption of certain amendments for the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) 2008 National Transit Database (NTD) Urbanized Area Annual Reporting Manual (Annual Manual). On February 7, 2008, FTA published a notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 7361) inviting comments on proposed amendments to the 2008 Annual Manual. This notice provides responses to those comments, and announces the adoption of certain amendments for the 2008 Annual Manual, as well as the adoption of some amendments to take effect for the 2009 Report Year.

This notice announces final environmental actions taken by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for public transportation projects in the following areas: Houston, Texas, Portland, Oregon, and Orlando, Florida. The purpose of this notice is to announce publicly the environmental decisions by FTA on the subject projects and to activate the limitation on any claims that may challenge these final environmental actions.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has placed in the docket and on its Web site final guidance in the form of a circular on Metropolitan Planning and State Planning and Research Program Grants. The final circular revises and combines into one document the contents of previous Circular 8100.1B for the Metropolitan Planning Program (MPP) and previous Circular 8200.1 the State Planning and Research Program (SPRP). The final circular also provides information on Consolidated Planning Grants (CPG) between FTA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).