Federal Transit Administration September 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice proposes guidance in the form of a revised circular on the Federal Transit Administration's Grant Management Requirements and seeks comment thereon. Proposed Circular 5010.1D modifies FTA's existing Grants Management Circular 5010.1C in several material respects. Among other things, Circular 5010.1D proposes to expand the circumstances under which a grantee may request budget revisions and grant amendments, to identify useful life standards for trolleys, ferry boats, and facilities, and to increase the threshold triggering FTA review and approval for appraisals of real property. In addition to the foregoing substantive changes, proposed Circular 5010.1D updates FTA's guidance to reflect current policy and new FTA programs; restructures the circular; and clarifies FTA's requirements and processes.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has placed in the docket and on its Web site, proposed guidance in the form of a circular to assist grantees in implementing the Capital Investment Program. The Capital Investment Program includes projects such as bus and bus facilities, new fixed guideway systems, and fixed guideway modernization, as authorized by 49 U.S.C. 5309. By this notice, FTA invites public comment on the proposed circular for this program.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR part 1505.6), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 151710, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in cooperation with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), will prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Van Ness Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, an approximately two-mile transit improvement along Van Ness Avenue through the City and County of San Francisco, California. The Project would create dedicated bus lanes from approximately South Van Ness Avenue and Mission Street (south end) to Van Ness Avenue and Lombard Street (north end). The project would also establish high capacity stations with passenger amenities and low-level boarding platforms; real time bus arrival information systems; proof- of-payment fare verification; transit signal priority; and modern, high-capacity, low-floor, multi-door buses. The EIS/EIR will evaluate the following alternatives: (1) No- Project/Baseline Alternative; (2) Van Ness Avenue BRT Project, which will include design options for the configuration of the BRT transitway and stations; and (3) any additional reasonable alternatives that emerge from the study process. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with FTA regulations (23 CFR 771 et seq.) implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The EIR will be prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (California Code of Regulation, Title 14, Chapter 3). As part of the EIS/EIR process, an evaluation of potential transit improvement alternatives will be completed (``alternatives analysis'') in accordance with 23 CFR Part 450 and inform the development of project alternatives. Previous studies and documents relevant to this action include the recently completed Van Ness Avenue BRT Feasibility Study (December 2006); 2005 Prop K Strategic Plan (March 2005); 2004 San Francisco Countywide Transportation Plan (adopted July 20, 2004), and the New Transportation Expenditure Plan for San Francisco (Proposition K, approved November 4, 2003). These documents describe the planning and funding for transportation improvements in San Francisco, including BRT in major bus corridors. These documents can be downloaded at the Web site www.sfcta.org, or requested from the Authority. EIS/EIR preparation will be initiated through a formal NEPA scoping process, which solicits input on issues and potential project impacts to consider in the environmental studies. Scoping will be accomplished through meetings and correspondence with interested persons, organizations, the general public, and Federal, State, and local agencies. Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments have been sent to the appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and to private organizations and individuals. Comments on issues and impacts to be considered in preparation of the EIS/EIR will be recorded in the project information database.

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) requires the Federal Transit Administration (FTA or the Agency) to make certain changes to the Buy America requirements. This Final Rule creates a new publication process for public interest waivers to provide an opportunity for public comment; clarifies Buy America requirements with respect to microprocessor waivers; issues new provisions to permit post-award waivers; clarifies the definition of ``end products'' with regards to components, subcomponents, and major systems, and provides a representative list of end products; clarifies the requirements for final assembly of rolling stock and provides representative examples of rolling stock components; expands FTA's list of communications, train control, and traction power equipment; and updates debarment and suspension provisions to bring them into conformity with statutory amendments made by SAFETEA-LU.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of funds in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 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 finance the incremental capital and training costs of complying with DOT's over- the-road bus accessibility regulation. The authorizing legislation calls for national solicitation of applications, with grantees to be selected on a competitive basis. Federal transit funds are available to intercity fixed-route providers and other OTRB providers at up to 90 percent of the project cost. In FY 2007, $5,700,000 was appropriated for intercity fixed-route service providers and $1,900,000 was appropriated for other OTRB service providers. In anticipation of additional appropriations for the program in FY 2008, FTA reserves the right to select projects for funding with FY 2008 funds from applications received in response to this notice. This announcement is available on the Internet on the FTA Web site at: https://www.fta.dot.gov. FTA will announce final selections on the Website and in the Federal Register. A synopsis of this announcement will be posted in the FIND module of the government-wide electronic grants Web site at https://www.grants.gov. Applications may be submitted to FTA in hard copy or electronically through the Grants.Gov APPLY function.

This notice provides interested parties with the opportunity to comment on the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) National Transit Database (NTD) Rural Reporting Manual (Rural Manual). Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5335, FTA requires recipients of grants under 49 U.S.C. 5311 (Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Grants) to provide an annual report to the Secretary of Transportation via the NTD reporting system according to a uniform system of accounts (USOA). 49 U.S.C. 5311 provides additional specifications for annual reporting from recipients of Section 5311 grants. The Rural Manual provides complete details as to FTA's implementation of these annual requirements through reporting to the Rural NTD Module. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5334, and in an ongoing effort to be responsive to the needs of NTD reporters, the Rural Manual is available in the DOT docket for public comment.

The Federal Transit Administration invites public comment about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the following new information collection: Customer Service Surveys of FTA Grantees and Stakeholders. The information to be collected from the surveys covered in this request will provide FTA with a means to gather data directly from its customers. The surveys will be used to assess how FTA's services are perceived by customers and stakeholders, determine opportunities for improvement and establish goals to measure results. The surveys will be limited to data collections that solicit voluntary opinions and will not involve information that is required by regulations. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments was published on June 8, 2007.