[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49372-49373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19681]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

49 CFR Part 611

[Docket No. FTA-2010-0009]


Notice of Availability of New Starts and Small Starts Policy 
Guidance

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability of policy guidance.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is issuing final 
policy guidance to sponsors of New Starts and Small Starts projects. 
This guidance is available both on the docket and the agency's public 
Web site. This final guidance includes changes made in response to 
comments received on the guidance proposed in January 2013, and 
accompanies the final rule for Major Capital Investment Projects 
promulgated in January 2013. The rule sets the framework for the New 
Starts and Small Starts evaluation and rating process; the policy 
guidance complements the rule by providing technical details about the 
methods for calculating the project justification and local financial 
commitment criteria used to evaluate and rate New Starts and Small 
Starts projects.

DATES: This final policy guidance is effective August 14, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program matters, Elizabeth Day, 
FTA Office of Planning and Environment, telephone (202) 366-5159 or 
[email protected]. For legal matters, Scott Biehl, FTA of Chief 
Counsel, telephone (202) 366-0826 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5309(g)(5), FTA is 
obliged to publish policy guidance on the review and evaluation process 
and criteria for capital investment projects each time the agency makes 
significant changes to the process and criteria, and in any event, at 
least once every two years. Also, FTA is obliged to invite public 
comment on the guidance, and to publish its response to comments. In 
this instance, FTA is publishing final policy guidance after having 
reviewed the comments received on the proposed policy guidance 
published on January 9, 2013, at 78 FR 2038. The final policy guidance 
is available in its entirety on FTA's public Web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov and in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov. It is 
approximately 40 typewritten pages in length. The final policy guidance 
addresses, in detail, measures and methods for calculating the project 
justification and local financial commitment criteria for New Starts 
and Small Starts projects. The final policy guidance sets forth 
breakpoints for determining whether a project rates ``high,'' ``medium-
high,'' ``medium,'' ``low-medium,'' or ``low'' on each of the various 
criteria. Additionally, the final policy guidance addresses the 
weighting of the criteria and measures to arrive at an overall project 
rating. The final policy guidance accompanies the final rule for Major 
Capital Investment projects issued on January 9, 2013, at 78 FR 1992-
2037, and codified at 49 CFR Part 611.
    FTA received 392 separate comments on the proposed policy guidance 
from 50 commenters, including cities, transit operators, state 
agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, non-profit 
organizations, a private business, and an interested citizen. Again, 
FTA's summary and response to these comments is available both on the 
agency's public Web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov and in the docket at 
http://www.regulations.gov. The public comments are available, in their 
entirety, on the docket at http://www.regulations.gov.
    This final policy guidance is effective immediately. This policy 
guidance provides technical details necessary for FTA to apply the 
evaluation and rating criteria codified in the final rule at 49 CFR 
Part 611, which took effect on April 9, 2013. Sponsors of New Starts 
and Small Starts projects need this final guidance to gather and submit 
the data and information on which their projects will be evaluated and 
rated, so that their projects can move forward. In turn, FTA

[[Page 49373]]

needs these data and information from the project sponsors to prepare 
the agency's annual report to Congress on capital investment funding 
recommendations for the forthcoming Federal fiscal year, as required by 
49 U.S.C. 5309(o)(1). For these reasons, and in accordance with the 
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(d), FTA finds good cause for 
an exception to the requirement for 30-day publication prior to an 
effective date.
    Please note, however, that both the rule for major capital 
investment projects at 49 CFR Part 611 and the final policy guidance 
pertain only to the evaluation and rating of New Starts and Small 
Starts projects. Neither the rule nor the policy guidance address the 
Core Capacity Improvement program created by the Moving Ahead for 
Progress in the 21st Century Act (``MAP-21''), effective October 1, 
2012, nor the evaluation of Programs of Interrelated Projects, the 
pilot program for expedited project delivery, or the process for 
expedited review of project sponsors' technical capacity, all of which 
were created by MAP-21. Nor does the rule or the policy guidance 
address the procedural changes made to the steps in the New Starts 
process, such as the elimination of Alternatives Analysis, the newly 
defined Project Development phase, and the newly defined Engineering 
phase, which were enacted by MAP-21. Those subjects will be addressed 
through future rulemakings and policy guidance.

Peter Rogoff,
Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-19681 Filed 8-13-13; 8:45 am]
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