[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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