[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62873-62875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19702]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2023-0023]
National Bridge Inspection Program Compliance Review Manual
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice requests comments on the Performance Year (PY)
2024 Interim National Bridge Inspection Program (NBIP) Compliance
Review Manual outlining the procedures FHWA Division Bridge Engineers
will follow during calendar year 2023 when performing compliance
reviews of State department of transportation bridge safety inspection
programs. The PY 2024 Interim NBIP Compliance Review Manual
incorporates revised provisions of the National Bridge Inspection
Standards (NBIS), which came into effect June 6, 2022. The FHWA will
consider all comments received during the comment period in developing
subsequent versions of the NBIP Compliance Review Manual. However,
please note that the PY 2024 Interim NBIP Compliance Review Manual is
currently in effect and will be utilized by FHWA Division Bridge
Engineers for the calendar year 2023 reviews.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 13, 2023. Late-
filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions, please
submit all comments by only one of the following means:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov and
follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, W12-140, Washington, DC
20590.
Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is (202) 366-9329.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket
number at the beginning of your comments. All comments received will be
posted without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice,
contact Ms.
[[Page 62874]]
Samantha Lubkin, Safety Inspection Team Leader, FHWA Office of Bridges
and Structures, (202) 366-1575, Federal Highway Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, or via email at
[email protected]. For legal questions, please contact Mr.
William Winne, Attorney Advisor, FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel,
(202) 366-1397, Federal Highway Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE, Washington, DC 20590, or via email at [email protected].
Business hours for the FHWA are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access and Filing
A copy of the PY 2024 Interim NBIP Compliance Review Manual is
available for download and public inspection under the docket number
noted above at the Federal eRulemaking portal at: www.regulations.gov.
You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Federal
eRulemaking portal at: www.regulations.gov. The website is available 24
hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission and retrieval
help and guidelines are available under the help section of the
website.
An electronic copy of this document may also be downloaded from the
Office of the Federal Register's home page at: www.federalregister.gov
and the Government Printing Office's web page at: www.GovInfo.gov. Late
comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
Background
For more than 45 years, FHWA has annually assessed each State's
bridge inspection program to evaluate compliance with the NBIS as
codified at 23 CFR 650, subpart C. Historically, the depth and scope of
the reviews varied based upon FHWA's knowledge of the State's
inspection program and the experience of FHWA staff. In 2009, the
Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report National
Bridge Inspection Program: Assessment of FHWA's Implementation of Data-
Driven, Risk-Based Oversight \1\ that summarized its review of FHWA
oversight of the NBIP. One of the five OIG recommendations from this
audit was for FHWA to develop and implement minimum requirements for a
data-driven, risk-based process for Division Bridge Engineers to use
for their annual NBIP compliance reviews. Senate Report 110-418 \2\
supported the OIG recommendations and the need for prompt action by
FHWA. In addition, Conference Report 111-366,\3\ directed FHWA to
improve its oversight of bridge safety and conditions.
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\1\ Report MH-2009-013; Link to OIG Report.
\2\ Senate Report 110-418; Link to Report.
\3\ House of Representatives Conference Report 111-366; Link to
Report.
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In response to the OIG recommendations and congressional direction,
FHWA developed a new systematic, data-driven, risk-based oversight
process for monitoring State compliance with the NBIS. In 2010, FHWA
initiated a pilot program using the new process in nine States. The
FHWA made adjustments following the pilot in preparation for nationwide
implementation in February 2011. After the nationwide implementation,
in the fall of 2011, FHWA and the American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) established a joint task force to
further identify possible modifications or improvements to the
assessment process. As a first step, the joint task force gathered
information from all States and interested Federal Agencies, including
their input and feedback on the assessment process. The FHWA collected
information from internal staff, and AASHTO gathered information from
the States. The joint task force used the information collected to help
identify and prioritize improvements to the process. The joint task
force efforts resulted in FHWA implementing several improvements in
April 2012.
Section 1111 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
Act (MAP-21) (Pub. L. 112-141, 126 Stat. 405) amended 23 U.S.C.
144(h)(3)(A)(i) to include provisions for the Secretary to establish,
in consultation with the States, Federal Agencies, and interested and
knowledgeable private organizations and individuals, procedures to
conduct reviews of State compliance with the NBIS. The MAP-21 also
amended 23 U.S.C. 144(h)(5) to establish a penalty for States
determined to be in noncompliance with the NBIS.
The FHWA developed and implemented the current review process to
evaluate a State's bridge inspection program for compliance with the
NBIS prior to the requirements of MAP-21, section 1111. The development
of the review process included consultation with stakeholders through
the pilot project, the joint FHWA/AASHTO task force, as well as with
individual States and Federal Agencies during the initial
implementation of the process in 2011. The FHWA continued to use the
risk-based, data-driven review process that was implemented in 2011 to
evaluate State compliance with the NBIS as required by 23 U.S.C.
144(h)(4)(A).
On June 7, 2013, at 78 FR 34424, FHWA published a notice requesting
comment on the process FHWA uses to conduct reviews of State compliance
with the NBIS and the associated penalty process for findings of
noncompliance. The FHWA responded to comments received and implemented
the compliance review procedures and the penalty provisions in 23
U.S.C. 144(h)(5). The FHWA later documented the process in FHWA's NBIP
Compliance Review Manual.
On May 6, 2022, at 87 FR 27396, FHWA published a final rule
updating the NBIS regulations as required by MAP-21. The NBIS
regulations were revised to address MAP-21 requirements, incorporate
technological advancements, and address ambiguities identified since
the last update of the NBIS. The rule became effective June 6, 2022.
Most of the revised requirements were also effective on that date, but
some provisions will become effective 24 months later, June 6, 2024. In
addition, some provisions of the rule relating to data submissions in
accordance with the Specifications for the National Bridge Inventory
will not be able to be implemented until the States have the necessary
data collection and management systems in place. The timeline for the
data submissions in the new format is expected to commence with the
States' March 2026 data submissions.
Under 23 U.S.C. 144(h), FHWA is required to revise the compliance
review criteria to address the recent changes to the NBIS. The PY 2024
Interim NBIP Compliance Review Manual incorporates the revised
provisions of the NBIS, 23 CFR part 650, subpart C, that are currently
in effect. The PY 2024 Interim Compliance Review Manual designates new
criteria and review procedures that will be evaluated for compliance in
calendar year 2023 in a bold and underlined text format. A blue and
italicized font is used to indicate criteria that will be assessed for
compliance beginning in the PY 2025 reviews. The intent of including
the PY 2025 information is to give the States a preview of next year's
criteria to aid in the States' preparation. It is anticipated that the
NBIP Compliance Review Manual will need to be slightly modified in
successive years to reflect changes resulting from full implementation
of the updated NBIS and provisions that became effective after June 6,
2022.
[[Page 62875]]
The FHWA welcomes comments on the PY 2024 Interim NBIP Compliance
Review Manual from any interested party, including Federal, State, and
local agencies; industry groups; and the public. A copy of the PY 2024
Interim NBIP Compliance Review Manual is available for download and
public inspection under the docket number noted above at the Federal
eRulemaking portal at: www.regulations.gov. The FHWA requests that
commenters cite the page number of the manual for which each specific
comment to the docket is concerned, to help make the FHWA's docket
comment review process more efficient. The FHWA will consider all
comments received during the comment period in developing subsequent
versions of the NBIP Compliance Review Manual. However, please note
that the PY 2024 Interim NBIP Compliance Review Manual is currently in
effect and will be utilized for calendar year 2023 reviews.
Shailen P. Bhatt,
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-19702 Filed 9-12-23; 8:45 am]
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