[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 201 (Thursday, October 17, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55498-55500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22682]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

25 CFR Part 170

[192A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900 253G]
RIN 1076-AF50


Tribal Transportation Program; Delay of Compliance Date

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Interim final rule.

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SUMMARY: This interim final rule updates the Tribal Transportation 
Program regulations to delay the deadline for Tribes to comply with 
requirements to collect data on proposed roads for the National Tribal 
Transportation Facility Inventory (NTTFI).

DATES: This rule is effective October 17, 2019. Submit comments by 
November 18, 2019. Compliance with Sec.  170.443 for proposed roads 
currently in the NTTFI to remain in the inventory is required by March 
6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal rulemaking portal www.regulations.gov. The rule is 
listed under the agency name ``Bureau of Indian Affairs.''
     Mail, Hand Delivery, or Courier: Ms. Elizabeth Appel, 
Office of Regulatory Affairs & Collaborative Action, U.S. Department of 
the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Mail Stop 4660, Washington, DC 20240.
     We cannot ensure that comments received after the close of 
the comment period (see DATES) will be included in the docket for this 
rulemaking and considered. Comments sent to an address other than those 
listed above will not be included in the docket for this rulemaking.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. LeRoy Gishi, Division of 
Transportation, Office of Indian Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
(202) 513-7711, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Summary of Rule

    Regulations governing the Tribal Transportation Program were 
published in 2016. See 81 FR 78456 (November 7, 2016). The regulations 
became effective on December 7, 2016, except for Sec.  170.443, which 
required Tribes' compliance at a later date: On November 7, 2019. See 
83 FR 8609 (February 28, 2018). Section 170.443 requires Tribes to 
collect data for proposed roads to be added to, or remain in, the 
NTTFI.
    This interim final rule affects only Sec.  170.443. The rule delays 
the current November 7, 2019, deadline for compliance with that section 
to March 6, 2020. This delay will allow the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
time to complete the rulemaking that is reexamining the need for this 
data collection in the NTTFI and determining whether revision or 
deletion of the data collection requirements in Sec.  170.443 is 
appropriate. The Bureau of Indian Affairs finds that there is good 
cause to

[[Page 55499]]

place this rule into immediate effect before receiving public comment 
and without a 30-day waiting period because the delay in the compliance 
deadline is expected to be uncontroversial with both the impacted 
Tribes and the public, and placing into immediate effect will eliminate 
potentially needless expenditure of resources by Tribes.

II. Procedural Requirements

A. Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866 and 13563)

    Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 provides that the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) will review all significant rules. OIRA has determined 
that this rule is not significant.
    E.O. 13563 reaffirms the principles of E.O. 12866 while calling for 
improvements in the nation's regulatory system to promote 
predictability, to reduce uncertainty, and to use the best, most 
innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends. 
The E.O. directs agencies to consider regulatory approaches that reduce 
burdens and maintain flexibility and freedom of choice for the public 
where these approaches are relevant, feasible, and consistent with 
regulatory objectives. E.O. 13563 emphasizes further that regulations 
must be based on the best available science and that the rulemaking 
process must allow for public participation and an open exchange of 
ideas. We have developed this rule in a manner consistent with these 
requirements.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule will not have a significant economic effect on a 
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because Tribes are not small entities under 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule:
    (a) Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million 
or more because this rule affects only surface transportation for 
Tribes.
    (b) Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for 
consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local government 
agencies, or geographic regions because it does not affect costs or 
prices.
    (c) Does not have significant adverse effects on competition, 
employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of 
U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises 
because the rule addresses Tribal surface transportation within the 
United States.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This rule does not impose an unfunded mandate on State, local, or 
Tribal governments or the private sector of more than $100 million per 
year. The rule does not have a significant or unique effect on State, 
local, or Tribal governments or the private sector. A statement 
containing the information required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(2 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is not required.

E. Takings (E.O. 12630)

    This rule does not affect a taking of private property or otherwise 
have taking implications under E.O. 12360. A takings implication 
assessment is not required.

F. Federalism (E.O. 13132)

    Under the criteria in section 1 of E.O. 13132, this rule does not 
have sufficient Federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a 
summary impact statement, because the rule primarily addresses the 
relationship between the Federal Government and Tribes. A Federalism 
summary impact statement is not required.

G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988)

    This rule complies with the requirements of E.O. 12988. 
Specifically, this rule:
    (a) Meets the criteria of section 3(a) requiring that all 
regulations be reviewed to eliminate errors and ambiguity and written 
to minimize litigation; and
    (b) Meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) requiring that all 
regulations be written in clear language and contain clear legal 
standards.

H. Consultation With Indian Tribes (E.O. 13175 and Departmental Policy)

    The Department of the Interior strives to strengthen its 
government-to-government regulations with Indian Tribes through a 
commitment to consultation with Indian Tribes and recognition of their 
right to self-governance and Tribal sovereignty. We have evaluated this 
rule under the Department's consultation policy and have identified 
substantial direct effects on federally recognized Indian Tribes that 
will result from this rule. This rule will relieve a regulatory burden 
from Tribes and allow time for consultation on an appropriate 
replacement or deletion of regulatory requirements.

I. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains information collection requirements, and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information 
collections under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) under OMB Control 
Number 1076-0161, which expires December 31, 2019.
    Please note that an agency may not sponsor or request, and an 
individual need not respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB Control Number.

J. National Environmental Policy Act

    This rulemaking does not constitute a major Federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment because it 
is of an administrative, technical, and procedural nature. It is 
therefore subject to categorical exclusion, see 43 CFR 46.210(i), and 
no extraordinary circumstances exist. See 43 CFR 46.215.

K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 13211)

    This rulemaking is not a significant energy action under the 
definition in E.O. 13211. A Statement of Energy Effects is not 
required.

L. Clarity of This Regulation

    We are required by Executive Orders 12866 (section 1(b)(12)), and 
12988 (section 3(b)(1)(B)), and 13563 (section 1(a)), and by the 
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain 
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
    (a) Be logically organized;
    (b) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
    (c) Use common, everyday words and clear language rather than 
jargon;
    (d) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
    (e) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
    If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us 
comments by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. To 
better help us revise the rule, your comments should be as specific as 
possible. For example, you should tell us the numbers of the sections 
or paragraphs that you find unclear, which sections or sentences are 
too long, the sections where you think lists or tables would be useful, 
etc.

M. E.O. 13771: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

    This rule is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because this rule 
is not significant under E.O. 12866.

[[Page 55500]]

List of Subjects in 25 CFR Part 170

    Highways and roads, Indians--lands.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of the 
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, amends part 170 in title 25 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 170--TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM

0
1. The authority for part 170 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  Pub. L. 112-141, Pub. L. 114-94; 5 U.S.C. 2; 23 
U.S.C. 201, 202; 25 U.S.C. 2, 9.


0
2. Revise Sec.  170.443(b) to read as follows:


Sec.  170.443   What is required to successfully include a proposed 
transportation facility in the NTTFI?

* * * * *
    (b) For those proposed roads that currently exist in the NTTFI, the 
requirements identified above as paragraphs (a)(1) through (8) of this 
section, must be completed and submitted for approval to BIA and FHWA 
by March 6, 2020, in order to remain on the inventory.

    Dated: September 26, 2019.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-22682 Filed 10-16-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4337-15-P