[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 96 (Friday, May 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22561-22562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10309]



[[Page 22561]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-2019-0011]


Notice of Meeting

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notification of Tribal Government-to-Government Consultation

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SUMMARY: The FHWA announces that it is holding Tribal consultation 
meetings in Washington, District of Columbia; San Diego, California; 
Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Anchorage, Alaska, to gather federally recognized 
Tribal governments' comments on the Tribal Technical Assistance Program 
(TTAP) pilot before securing long-term services for the program.

DATES: The Tribal Consultation meeting dates are as follows:
    1. Thursday, June 20, 2019, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (CST), Oklahoma 
City, Oklahoma.
    2. Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (PST), Reno, 
Nevada.
    3. Tuesday, July 9, 2019, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (AKST), Anchorage, 
Alaska.
    4. Thursday July 11, 2019, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (CST), 
Bloomington, Minnesota.

ADDRESSES: 
    1. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will 
be held at the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, 4205 N 
Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
    2. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Reno, Nevada, will be held at 
the Hyatt Place Reno-Tahoe Airport, 1790 East Plumb Lane, Reno, NV 
89502.
    3. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, will be 
held at the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 222 W 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99513.
    4. The Tribal Consultation meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota, will 
be held at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 5600 American Boulevard 
West, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458.
    The FHWA welcomes the opportunity to engage in consultation on the 
TTAP pilot. In addition to the consultation sessions listed above, you 
may submit written comments by July 19, 2019. All comments must be 
identified by agency and docket number and sent by one of the following 
methods:
    [ssquf] Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    [ssquf] Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    [ssquf] Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    [ssquf] Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Peters, Office of Innovative 
Program Delivery, Federal Highway Administration, 
[email protected], or (720) 963-3522.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The TTAP's objective, as described in the legislation that 
authorizes the program, is to provide training and technical assistance 
to Tribal governments so they can develop and expand their ability to 
build, maintain, and operate the highway transportation networks that 
serve them. This includes professional capacity building in core 
functional areas such as pavements, bridges, concrete structures, 
intermodal connections, safety management systems, intelligent 
transportation systems, incident response, operations, and traffic 
safety countermeasures. It also includes providing Tribal governments 
the opportunity to explore and implement new technologies and 
practices.
    To accomplish this objective, TTAP provides a comprehensive 
portfolio of training that is in-person and on-demand/virtual from 
multiple sources, on-call technical assistance, website resources, 
newsletters, peer resources, and access to innovative practices and 
technologies.
    The TTAP is currently in the evaluation phase of a delivery model 
that: (1) Consolidates the administrative function; (2) focuses the 
training on the core functions needed to build, maintain, and operate a 
highway transportation network; (3) expands the availability and 
geographic equity of the types of training and technical assistance the 
TTAP offers; (4) diversifies the training options to augment in-person 
training and technical assistance with on-line/on-demand training and 
ready access to subject matter experts to shorten problem resolution 
response times; and, (5) increases the frequency and range of 
technology and practice innovations that are introduced to and promoted 
with the Tribes. The FHWA is interested in Tribal input on these 
improvements to TTAP.

Tribal Consultation Meetings

    The purpose of these Tribal consultations is to assist FHWA with 
gathering information on the services provided by the 2018-2019 pilot 
program to guide FHWA's evaluation process before securing a long-term 
contract for the program. The FHWA requests that the comments focus on 
the subject matter, quality, quantity and availability of the training 
and technical assistance provided to the Tribes under the 2018-2019 
pilot program and general issues as they pertain to TTAP.
    The FHWA will consider all oral and written comments received 
during the consultation meetings as part of its decision-making 
process. The FHWA officials may ask questions to seek clarity or 
further explanation of the comments. The FHWA requests that commenters 
do not raise issues pertaining to other programs. Tribal 
representatives are encouraged to provide a written copy of their 
comments at the meeting or using the methods described above by July 5, 
2019. The FHWA will accept written material that the presenter wishes 
to provide that further supplements his or her testimony. Electronic or 
digitized copies are encouraged.
    The FHWA will adjourn a Tribal consultation meeting early if all 
attendees intending to speak have delivered their comments. The FHWA 
will summarize in a letter to Tribal governments the comments received 
and indicate how Tribal input was considered in the final action. The 
letter will constitute formal follow-up notification and will be 
entered as the date Tribal consultation ended.

Respondents

    The Consultation Sessions will prioritize the Government-to-
Government discussion and will provide elected or appointed leaders of 
Tribal governments or their designated representatives first 
opportunity to comment. Other representatives of Tribal governments, 
Tribal organizations, and members of the public may offer comment after 
official Tribal representatives.

Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the Tribal 
consultation meeting, contact Victoria Peters at the telephone number 
or email address indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this notice.


[[Page 22562]]


    Issued on: May 13, 2019.
Brandye L. Hendrickson,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-10309 Filed 5-16-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-22-P