[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 111 (Friday, June 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33503-33504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9030]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket Number: FTA-2006-24947]


Notice of Availability of Proposed Interim Guidance and 
Instructions for Small Starts and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability; Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Federal Transit 
Administration's (FTA's) proposed Interim Guidance and Instructions: 
Small Starts Provision of the Section 5309 New Starts Program and 
requests your comments on it. The proposed guidance explains submission 
requirements and evaluation criteria that FTA plans to use to evaluate 
Small Starts projects in the interim period before publication of the 
Final Rule for Major Capital Investment Projects. FTA requests comments 
on the proposed interim guidance, which is available in DOT's 
electronic docket and on FTA's Web site.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 10, 2006. Late filed comments 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
FTA-2006-24947] by any of the following methods:
    Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
    Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name (Federal Transit 
Administration) and the docket number (FTA-2006-24947). You should 
submit two copies of your comments if you submit them by mail. If you 
wish to receive confirmation that FTA received your comments, you must 
include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change to the Department's Docket 
Management System (DMS) Web site located at http://dms.dot.gov. This 
means that if your comment includes any personal identifying 
information, such information will be made available to users of DMS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Fisher, Office of Planning and 
Environment, telephone (202) 366-4033, Federal Transit Administration, 
U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20590 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 
Act--A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), enacted on August 10, 2005, 
established a new ``Small Starts'' program category for projects that 
seek less than $75,000,000 in funding from the Federal Transit 
Administration's (FTA's) Section 5309 New Starts Program and that have 
a total project cost of less than $250,000,000. SAFETEA-LU called for 
FTA to issue regulations to implement this new program category. 
Authorizations for Small Starts begin in Fiscal Year 2007. In addition, 
SAFETEA-LU made a number of other changes in FTA's New Starts Program 
(for projects too large to qualify as a Small Start). Consistent with 
SAFETEA-LU requirements to do so, FTA published a notice in the Federal 
Register on January 19, 2006, providing proposed revisions to FTA's New 
Starts Policy and draft New Starts Program guidance. This notice 
indicated that changes in the New Starts program required by SAFETEA-LU 
would be subject to a subsequent rulemaking and provided additional 
material describing possible approaches to implementing the changes 
which would be the subject of that rulemaking. In addition, on January 
30, 2006, FTA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) 
related to implementation of the Small Starts program category. In both 
Federal Register notices, FTA indicated that it expected that a single 
regulation would be issued to cover both Small Starts and New Starts 
and that a later Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would be issued covering 
both programs. As promised in the January 19, 2006, notice, on May 22, 
2006, FTA issued a notice responding to the comments received on the 
proposed New Starts policy changes and draft Program Guidance, 
announcing the final policy changes and making available the final 
Program Guidance.
    The statutory language in section 5309(e) of Title 49, United 
States Code, which establishes the Small Starts category, provides for 
some significant differences for the Small Starts program in comparison 
to the requirements for larger New Starts projects in section 5309(d). 
The eligibility for funding is broader, including certain ``corridor-
based bus capital projects,'' rather than only new ``fixed guideway'' 
systems and extensions. As noted above, projects are limited to those 
with a proposed section 5309 amount of less than $75,000,000 and a 
total project cost of less than $250,000,000. Recognizing the smaller 
size of the projects to be funded, a number of simplifications are put 
in place. First, the project justification criteria are simplified, 
focusing on three criteria--cost-effectiveness, public transportation 
supportive land use policies, and effect on local economic 
development--rather than the more extensive list provided for in 
section 5309(d). The criteria for local financial commitment have been 
simplified to focus only on a shorter term financial plan. The project 
development process has three steps--alternatives analysis, project 
development, and construction--rather than the four steps--alternatives 
analysis, preliminary engineering, final design, and construction--in 
the section 5309(d) process. Finally, the instrument used for 
implementing these Small Starts projects is a ``project construction 
grant agreement,'' which is to be structured as a streamlined version 
of the ``full funding grant agreement'' required for larger New Starts 
projects under section 5309(d).

2. Summary

    As noted in the May 22, 2006, notice, FTA received numerous 
comments on both the January 19, 2006, notice on New Starts and the 
January 30, 2006 ANPRM on Small Starts. It has become clear that the 
issues involved in developing the New Starts/Small Starts

[[Page 33504]]

regulations are complex. Given the depth of interest among FTA's 
stakeholders and the time needed to develop an NPRM, it is clear that 
it will not be possible for the NPRM to be developed and issued, 
comments received and addressed, and a Final Rule published before the 
start of Fiscal Year 2007. While the existing New Starts regulation can 
continue to be used to govern the New Starts program, the process in 
place is not consistent with the simplifications intended for the Small 
Starts program. FTA does not feel it would be consistent with the 
legislative intent for this new program category to require candidate 
projects for funding under this category to be subject to the same 
level of analysis now required for New Starts projects until a Final 
Rule can be promulgated. Thus, FTA has developed and is hereby making 
available proposed Interim Guidance on Small Starts. The proposed 
guidance is intended to allow project sponsors to begin to develop 
candidate Small Starts projects for evaluation and potential funding in 
fiscal year 2007 and to permit projects to be evaluated for possible 
inclusion in the fiscal year 2008 New Starts Report, to be issued in 
February 2007.
    In developing the proposed Interim Guidance for Small Starts, FTA's 
primary goal was to account for the intent of SAFETEA-LU to develop 
project development processes and evaluation criteria that are simpler 
than those required for New Starts. At the same time, FTA recognizes 
that there may be additional streamlining steps that may be taken as 
part of the rulemaking process. On the other hand, the final results of 
the rulemaking process cannot yet be predicted. Pending the results of 
that process, FTA wants to make sure that project sponsors would not be 
faced with a situation in which project sponsors might have to be 
required to go back and do additional work to comply with the 
requirements in the Final Rule. Thus, the Interim Guidance is largely 
based on the current New Starts project development and evaluation 
process, simplified to account for those differences that are clearly 
defined in SAFETEA-LU. In addition, FTA has created a sub-category of 
Very Small Starts projects, which by their very nature will be rated as 
``Medium''. While FTA is seeking comment on all aspects of the Interim 
Guidance, in particular, FTA is interested if there are other ways to 
streamline the financial reporting and land use requirements and 
whether it is appropriate, in the interim, to evaluate economic 
development as an ``Other Factor''. Furthermore, FTA seeks comments on 
its approach to using the same cost-effectiveness breakpoints that are 
currently applied to all New Starts projects, but adjusted upward using 
a nationally estimated 20-year growth forecast applied to the user 
benefits of the opening year to account for the additional user 
benefits that are expected to accrue from the project over a 20 year 
period. Project sponsors would not be required to submit anything other 
than opening year forecasts, as required by SAFETEA-LU, but projects 
would not be penalized by the fact that the current breakpoints were 
originally calculated assuming a 20 year forecast.
    FTA will be exploring further simplification and process 
improvements both for Small Starts and New Starts as it develops the 
NPRM. Comments on the ANPRM, the January 19, 2006, notice, and the 
guidance made available by this notice will be taken into account in 
that process. FTA believes that the approach contained in the proposed 
Interim Guidance may be streamlined further in the NPRM and Final Rule. 
Project sponsors complying with the proposed Interim Guidance would 
thus be assured that they would easily comply with the Final Rule.
    Although FTA is not providing a detailed summary of the comments 
received on the ANPRM at this time, FTA did take the comments into 
account in developing the proposed Interim Guidance. The proposed 
Interim Guidance is not intended to fully address all of the changes 
which may be proposed in the Final Rule. Further, the proposed Interim 
Guidance is being made available for comment at this time. Thus, FTA 
felt it was more appropriate to summarize the comment on both the 
original ANPRM and on this Notice when the NPRM is issued and it will 
summarize comments received on the proposed Interim Guidance when it is 
published as final in the Federal Register.
    FTA has posted the proposed Interim Guidance on its Web site as 
well as in the docket for this notice. Comments should be made to the 
docket in accordance with the instructions provided above.

    Issued in Washington, DC this 6th day of June 2006.
Sandra K. Bushue,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-9030 Filed 6-8-06; 8:45 am]
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