[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65768-65769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20745]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No.: FTA-2023-0006]


Notice of Availability of Programmatic Assessment of Greenhouse 
Gas Emissions From Transit Projects; Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the 
availability of and requests comments on a Programmatic Assessment of 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transit Projects.

DATES: Comments must be received by November 24, 2023. Late filed 
comments will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: The Programmatic Assessment is available through https://www.regulations.gov under docket number FTA-2023-0006.
    You may submit comments to Docket No. FTA-2023-0006 by any of the 
following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://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, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 
p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name (Federal Transit 
Administration) and the Docket Number of this notice at the beginning 
of your comments. Note that all comments received will be posted 
without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Blum, Office of Environmental 
Programs, (202) 366-0463, [email protected], or Alexandra Brun, Office 
of Environmental Programs, (202) 366-7469, [email protected]; Mark 
Montgomery, Office of Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1017, 
[email protected]. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal 
agencies to disclose and analyze the environmental effects of their 
proposed actions. In January 2023, the Council on

[[Page 65769]]

Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued the National Environmental Policy 
Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate 
Change (88 FR 1196) (CEQ guidance) to assist agencies in analyzing 
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change effects of their 
proposed actions under NEPA. The CEQ guidance provides a framework for 
agencies to consider the effects of a proposed action on climate 
change, as indicated by its estimated GHG emissions. It also advises 
agencies to assess the effects of climate change on their proposed 
actions.
    The CEQ guidance acknowledges that incorporation by reference is of 
great value in considering GHG emissions or the implications of climate 
change for the proposed action and its environmental effects. The CEQ 
guidance also notes that an agency may decide that it would be useful 
and efficient to provide an aggregate analysis of GHG emissions or 
climate change effects in a programmatic analysis and then incorporate 
that analysis by reference into future NEPA reviews. FTA considers it 
practicable to assess the effects of GHG emissions and climate change 
for transit projects at a programmatic level, where possible.
    The Programmatic Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from 
Transit Projects (Programmatic Assessment) is a NEPA streamlining tool 
that creates greater efficiency by: (1) reporting on whether certain 
types of proposed transit projects merit detailed analysis of their GHG 
emissions at the project-level; and (2) providing a source of data and 
analysis for FTA and its project sponsors to reference in future 
environmental documents for projects where detailed, project-level GHG 
analysis would provide only limited information beyond what is 
collected and considered in the Programmatic Assessment. The 
Programmatic Assessment is intended to update and supersede FTA's 
January 2017 Programmatic Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from 
Transit Projects (82 FR 5636).
    The Programmatic Assessment presents results from an analysis to 
estimate direct and indirect GHG emissions generated from the 
construction, operations, and maintenance phases for a sample of bus 
rapid transit, streetcar rail, light rail, commuter rail, and heavy 
rail projects, as well as an estimate of personal vehicle emissions 
displaced due to transit's ``ridership effect.'' Emissions estimates 
were calculated using FTA's Transit Greenhouse Gas Estimator, version 
3.0 (https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/environmental-programs/ftas-transit-greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator), which is an Excel-based tool that allows users to calculate 
partial lifecycle GHG emissions estimates by transit mode based on 
limited data inputs. The CEQ guidance also indicates that project 
proponents should place potential GHG emissions and their impacts in 
appropriate context. In order to provide additional context for the GHG 
estimates included in the Programmatic Assessment, the net social 
benefits of reduced operational emissions resulting from each transit 
project in the sample were estimated.
    The Programmatic Assessment provides a reference for FTA and its 
project sponsors to use in future NEPA documents to describe the 
effects of proposed transit investments on partial lifecycle GHG 
emissions. The Programmatic Assessment's results can inform transit 
project proponents who are considering the GHG emissions of future 
transit investments or who might independently want to evaluate the GHG 
emissions benefits and cost of such investments.
    FTA requests comments on the Programmatic Assessment, which is 
available in the docket. FTA will respond to comments received on the 
Programmatic Assessment in a second Federal Register notice to be 
published after the comment period closes. That second notice will also 
announce the availability of a final Programmatic Assessment that 
reflects any changes implemented as a result of comments received.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 40 CFR 1507.3; 49 CFR 
1.81(a)(5).

Felicia L. James,
Associate Administrator for Planning and Environment.
[FR Doc. 2023-20745 Filed 9-22-23; 8:45 am]
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