[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44440-44443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14793]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No. FTA-2023-0009]


Grant Programs for Urbanized Areas: Program Guidance and 
Application Instructions, Proposed Circular

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed circular and request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is seeking public 
comment on a new, consolidated circular entitled, ``Grant Programs for 
Urbanized Areas: Program Guidance and Application Instructions'' which 
consolidates and replaces the circulars for the Urbanized Area Formula 
Grants Program, the State of Good Repair Grants Program, and the 
Urbanized Area formula component of the Grants for Buses and Bus 
Facilities Program. The update and consolidation of the circulars 
incorporate provisions from the Fixing America's Surface Transportation 
(FAST) Act; the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as 
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL); the Uniform Administrative 
Requirements for Federal awards to non-Federal entities; and current 
FTA policies and procedures.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by September 11, 2023. Late-filed 
comments will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments by only one of the following 
methods, identifying your submission by docket number FTA-2023-0009. 
All electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government 
electronic site at https://www.regulations.gov/.
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ 
and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    (4) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name (Federal Transit 
Administration) and Docket number (FTA-2023-0009) for this notice at 
the beginning of your comments. Submit two copies of your comments if 
you submit them by mail. For confirmation that FTA received your 
comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Note that all 
comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/including any personal information provided and 
will be available to internet users. For information on DOT's 
compliance with the Privacy Act, please visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents and 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov/ at any time or to 
the U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, 
DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program questions, Latrina 
Trotman, Office of Program Management, Federal Transit Administration, 
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room E46-301, Washington, DC 20590, phone: 
(202) 366-2328, or email, [email protected]. For legal questions, 
Jerry Stenquist, Office of Chief Counsel, same address, Room E56-314, 
phone: (202)

[[Page 44441]]

493-8020, or email, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Overview
II. Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis
    A. Chapter I--Introduction and Background
    B. Chapter II--Program Overviews
    C. Chapter III--General Program Information
    D. Chapter IV--Eligible Projects and Requirements
    E. Chapter V--Planning & Project Development
    F. Chapter VI--Program Management and Administrative 
Requirements
    G. Appendices

I. Overview

    The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) proposed circular 
titled, ``Grant Programs for Urbanized Areas: Program Guidance and 
Application Instructions'' is a consolidation of guidance for the 
administration and preparation of grant applications for the Urbanized 
Area Formula Grants Program under 49 U.S.C. 5307 (FTA Circular C 
9030.1), State of Good Repair Grants Program under 49 U.S.C. 5337 (FTA 
Circular C 5300.1), and the Urbanized Area component of the Grants for 
Buses and Bus Facilities Program under 49 U.S.C. 5339(a) (FTA Circular 
C 5100.1). Additionally, this circular incorporates provisions of the 
FAST Act (Pub. L. 114-94) and BIL (Pub. L. 117-58) and includes 
program-specific guidance for these formula programs. Additional 
requirements for all grant programs are identified in FTA's Award 
Management Requirements Circular C 5010.1. The proposed circular is 
posted on https://www.regulations.gov in Docket FTA-2023-0009.
    The proposed circular consolidates and summarizes programmatic 
information, streamlines pre-existing guidance from the three program 
circulars, and reduces duplication of information provided between the 
Urbanized Area Formula Programs circular and FTA's other topic-specific 
circulars, including by moving certain text applicable to most or all 
of FTA's grant programs to FTA's Award Management Requirements Circular 
C 5010.1. Furthermore, the proposed circular clarifies a number of 
policy issues as interpreted and applied by FTA. These clarifications 
address topics in the existing program circulars, including: 
reallocations or transfers of apportionments; consolidation of grants 
to insular areas; intermodal use of formula funds; eligible projects 
and activities for each formula program; operating assistance 
limitations and exceptions; capital cost of contracting; the role of 
transportation network companies in providing public transportation 
services; period of availability to obligate funds flexed to the FTA 
formula programs from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); 
planning requirements; pre-award authority; and requirements pertaining 
to fares charged to seniors and persons with disabilities.

II. Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

A. Chapter I--Introduction and Background

    Due to the consolidation of the three program circulars, 
definitions and program descriptions were compared and revised for 
consistency with proposed updates to Circular C 5010.1E ``Award 
Management Requirements,'' Circular C 9040.1G ``Formula Grants for 
Rural Areas,'' and Circular C 9070.1G ``Enhanced Mobility of Seniors 
and Individuals with Disabilities.'' FTA proposes to amend the 
definitions section for consistency, clarification, and to reflect 
changes to statute and other authorities. Specifically, FTA has updated 
the following terms:
     ``Capital Asset'' is modified for consistency with 
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Governmental 
Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Financial Accounting Standards Board 
(FASB), and FTA's Uniform System of Accounts.
     ``Clean Fuel Bus'' now recognizes other low or no 
emissions technologies besides full electric and hybrid electric buses.
     ``Fleet Management Plan'' is modified to explicitly 
clarify that the management plan includes an inventory of all rolling 
stock.
     ``Mobility Management'' is modified to explicitly exclude 
the operation of public transportation service as a mobility management 
activity, consistent with the definition in 49 U.S.C. 5302.
     ``Rehabilitate'' is expanded to include applicability to 
facilities and amended to clarify that not all rehabilitative 
activities must be a restoration to original condition to more 
accurately reflect the term's broad usage in 49 U.S.C. 5337 and 5339.
     ``Urbanized Area'' is updated to reflect changes in 
designation by the Census Bureau, which no longer utilizes ``Urbanized 
Area'' but ``Urban Area'' (UZA), as defined by the Secretary of 
Commerce.
     ``Useful Life'' now applies to real property and other 
capital assets. Because useful life depends on depreciation and 
estimated time in use, consideration of useful life changes according 
to the type of asset in question.

B. Chapter II--Programs Overview

    FTA proposes several updates to its program guidance within Chapter 
II to reflect statutory and regulatory changes, including information 
disseminated by the Census Bureau. The proposed circular further 
addresses administrative procedure in apportioning and distributing 
funds, including the roles of designated recipients (DR), state 
recipients, subrecipients, and private contractors.
    The proposed circular includes information related to private 
contractors such as transportation network companies (TNCs) and taxi 
service; these entities are not eligible subrecipients under sections 
5307, 5337 and 5339(a) but may be contracted to perform public transit 
activities through eligible recipients for shared-ride on-demand 
service to the general public or to a segment of the public for certain 
eligible transit services.

C. Chapter III--General Program Information

    The proposed circular contains several updates regarding the 
apportionment of program funds for Sections 5307, 5337, and 5339 to 
reflect statutory and regulatory changes. Specifically, the percentages 
of Section 5307 funds available for state safety oversight programs and 
small transit intensive cities have been amended. Furthermore, the 
proposed circular includes additional formula factors for 
apportionments for the Section 5307 and 5339 programs. Chapter III also 
clarifies and highlights recipients' flexibility to reallocate or 
transfer apportionments, including consolidating formula program funds 
for use in insular areas. Lastly, the circular sets forth the 
circumstances in which certain human resources and training supportive 
services are eligible costs under 49 U.S.C. 5314(b)(4) to assist 
individuals in the enrollment and completion of workforce training, 
including child and dependent care, tools, work clothing, costs of 
apprenticeship, and required pre-employment training.

D. Chapter IV--Eligible Projects and Requirements

    The proposed circular contains several changes to the programs' 
eligibility and requirements to include additional flexibilities 
provided by law. Specifically, FTA proposes additional flexibility in 
financial assistance eligibility, namely that Section 5307

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funds that are apportioned to a UZA based on service metrics for a 
variety of public transportation modes may be expended on eligible 
activities for other modes. Additionally, funds apportioned under 49 
U.S.C. 5340 may be expended on the same activities that are eligible 
under Section 5307 for each recipient. FTA further clarifies that 
Section 5337 funds apportioned to a UZA based on the presence of high 
intensity motorbus may also be expended on high intensity fixed 
guideway projects. Lastly, the proposed circular explains that while 
funds are apportioned based on the presence of high intensity motorbus 
and high intensity fixed guideway segments in revenue service for at 
least seven years, the funds may be used on any part of a recipient's 
fixed guideway or high intensity motorbus system.
    The proposed circular includes guidance on additional flexibility 
in program eligibility provided by the FAST Act and BIL, including 
additional eligibility for a recipient to use up to 20 percent of its 
annual Section 5307 apportionment at the capital project 80/20 Federal/
local share ratio to pay for complementary paratransit services, 
providing for innovative procurement tools for acquiring rolling stock, 
accounting for the expansion of transit facilities to accommodate clean 
fuel vehicles, and providing funding for programs addressing public 
transportation human resource needs.
    The proposed circular reemphasizes procedural safeguards in 
accounting for the capital cost of contracting to prevent recipients 
from utilizing this method for publicly funded assets and thus 
receiving reimbursement for the asset from two or more public sources 
and potentially resulting in overlapping federal interests. The capital 
cost of contracting language is also modified to clarify the exclusion 
of Section 5337 and 5339(a) funds from use toward capital cost of 
contracting except for what is specifically eligible under both 
programs (e.g., leasing of vehicles, equipment, and facilities for 
Sections 5337 and 5339, and maintenance for Section 5337).
    FTA also proposes updating language to account for multiple 
modifications to the special operations rule for large UZAs due to 
statutory changes, including applicability of vehicles in demand-
response service and an exception to the special rule that allows up to 
a ten percent greater operating assistance cap for recipients. In 
addition, FTA updated the list of operating expenses eligible for FTA 
operating assistance, including public transportation security 
operating assistance projects. The proposed circular also modifies the 
list of eligible activities for Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) 
projects.

E. Chapter V--Planning & Project Development

    The proposed circular amends various provisions regarding planning 
and project development, including clarifications of how transportation 
improvement programs and statewide transportation improvement programs 
should address projects outside of UZAs but within the metropolitan 
planning area. The circular explicitly identifies MPOs as the 
responsible party for the development and adoption of the metropolitan 
transportation plan and transportation improvement program, clarifying 
that each must cover a minimum twenty-year horizon and four-year 
horizon, respectively.
    FTA proposes to remove language in the Section 5339 circular that 
restricts application for funds directly to designated recipients only 
on behalf of subrecipients, as section 3017 of the FAST Act authorized 
state and local government entities operating fixed route bus service 
to be direct recipients of FTA grants, regardless of their status as 
designated recipients.
    The proposed section titled ``Program of Projects and Public 
Participation Requirements'' clarifies that recipients must submit the 
appropriate documentation demonstrating recipients complied with a 
local project selection process through an amendment to the relative 
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)/Statewide Transportation 
Improvement Program (STIP). The section also clarifies that recipients 
must provide FTA with documentation of their amendment of a Program of 
Projects, TIP, and STIP to reflect applicable changes when the 
recipient proposes an award modification deviating from an applicable 
Program of Projects, TIP, or STIP.
    In the section titled, ``Availability of FHWA Flexible Funds for 
Transit Projects,'' FTA describes how recipients may flex funds from 
FHWA to FTA, which may only be used for activities eligible under both 
the transferring and receiving programs. Funds transferred to FTA must 
be administered under applicable FTA program requirements. This section 
includes a list of FHWA programs from which funds may be flexed for 
planning, capital, or operating projects, and has been updated to 
reflect changes in the law since the last circular update.
    The proposed circular seeks to further reduce the administrative 
burden on recipients by consolidating reporting requirements, including 
allowing information reporting on the spending toward associated 
transit improvements, required under 49 U.S.C. 5307(c)(1)(K), to be 
included within other federally-required reports.
    Under ``Public Transportation Security Projects,'' the proposed 
circular notes that some security projects may also satisfy the 
separate requirement that each recipient in a UZA of 200,000 people or 
more use 0.75 percent of Section 5307 funds on safety projects.
    In the section on ``Transit Asset Management Requirements,'' FTA 
updated its guidance to reflect changes in 49 U.S.C. 5326 and 49 CFR 
625, including clarifying the relationship between transit asset 
management (TAM) plans and recipients' use of Section 5337 funds.
    In the section titled ``Public Transportation Safety 
Requirements,'' the proposed circular contains updates reflecting 
statutory and regulatory updates, including 49 U.S.C. 5329 requirements 
for a National Public Transportation Safety Plan (49 CFR 670), 
requirements for Public Transportation Safety Certification Training 
Programs (49 CFR 672), requirements for Public Transportation Agency 
Safety Plans (49 CFR 673), and requirements for State Safety Oversight 
Agencies (49 CFR 674).
    The circular includes proposed language addressing pre-award 
authority, including providing automatic pre-award authority for 
certain types of capital expenses. The proposed circular also clarifies 
that recipients may incur capital expenses under pre-award authority 
for projects that clearly meet the criteria for a categorical exclusion 
under 23 CFR 771.118, though they do so at their own risk.

F. Chapter VI--Program Management and Administrative Requirements

    FTA proposes updates to reflect statutory changes and to expand the 
explanation of various certifications required for the Urbanized Area 
Formula Grant Programs. Specifically, the proposed circular more 
comprehensively describes the requirement and circumstances under which 
Section 5307 recipients must charge seniors and persons with 
disabilities during nonpeak hours no more than half the peak fare.

G. Appendices

    FTA proposes consolidating and revising various appendices within 
the three formula circulars as they are shown within the new proposed 
circular. As such, appendices have been relabeled, updated, or removed. 
For

[[Page 44443]]

example, the proposed ``Appendix B: Preventive Maintenance (Section 
5307 and 5337)'' was previously Appendix E in the current Section 5307 
circular (C 9030.1).
    After a review and consideration of the comments provided on this 
proposed circular, FTA will publish the final circular on its website.

Nuria I. Fernandez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2023-14793 Filed 7-11-23; 8:45 am]
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