62870 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 13, 2023 / Notices 

Market St., Suite 2620, Philadelphia, PA 

19103. 

According to YARR, this action is 

categorically excluded from 

environmental review under 49 CFR 

1105.6(c) and from historic reporting 

requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b). 

Board decisions and notices are 

available at www.stb.gov. 

Decided: September 7, 2023. 

By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office 

of Proceedings. 

Eden Besera, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19752 Filed 9–12–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA–2021–0010] 

Surface Transportation Project 

Delivery Program; Utah Department of 

Transportation Audit Report 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Moving Ahead for 

Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP– 

21) established the Surface 

Transportation Project Delivery Program 

that allows a State to assume FHWA’s 

responsibilities for environmental 

review, consultation, and compliance 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) for Federal highway 

projects. When a State assumes these 

Federal responsibilities, the State 

becomes solely responsible and liable 

for carrying out the responsibilities it 

has assumed in lieu of FHWA. The 

program mandates annual audits during 

each of the first 4 years of State 

participation to ensure compliance with 

program requirements. This notice 

finalizes the findings of the fourth and 

final audit report for the Utah 

Department of Transportation (UDOT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Cohen, Office of Project 

Development and Environmental 

Review, (202) 366–8531, David.Cohen@

dot.gov, or Ms. Diane Mobley, Office of 

the Chief Counsel, (202) 366–1366, 

Diane.Mobley@dot.gov, Federal 

Highway Administration, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. 

to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

An electronic copy of this notice may 

be downloaded from the specific docket 

page at www.regulations.gov. 

Background 

The Surface Transportation Project 

Delivery Program, codified at 23 United 

States Code (U.S.C.) 327, commonly 

known as the NEPA Assignment 

Program, allows a State to assume 

FHWA’s environmental responsibilities 

for review, consultation, and 

compliance for Federal highway 

projects. When a State assumes these 

Federal responsibilities, the State 

becomes solely liable for carrying out 

the responsibilities in lieu of FHWA. 

The UDOT published its application for 

NEPA assumption on October 9, 2015, 

and made it available for public 

comment for 30 days. After considering 

public comments, UDOT submitted its 

application to FHWA on December 1, 

2015. The application served as the 

basis for developing a memorandum of 

understanding (MOU) that identifies the 

responsibilities and obligations that 

UDOT would assume. The FHWA 

published a notice of the draft MOU in 

the Federal Register on November 16, 

2016 (81 FR 80710), with a 30-day 

comment period to solicit the views of 

the public and Federal agencies. After 

the end of the comment period, FHWA 

and UDOT considered comments and 

proceeded to execute the MOU. 

Effective January 17, 2017, UDOT 

assumed FHWA’s responsibilities under 

NEPA, and the responsibilities for other 

Federal environmental laws described 

in the MOU. On May 26, 2022, FHWA 

and UDOT renewed the MOU for 

another 5-year term. 

Section 327(g) of Title 23, U.S.C., 

requires the Secretary to conduct annual 

audits during each of the first 4 years of 

State participation. After the fourth 

year, the Secretary shall monitor the 

State’s compliance with the written 

agreement. The FHWA must make the 

results of each audit available for public 

comment. This notice finalizes the 

findings of the fourth audit report for 

UDOT participation in the NEPA 

Assignment Program. The FHWA 

published a draft version of this report 

in the Federal Register on June 23, 2022 

(87 FR 37547), and made it available for 

public review and comment for 30 days 

in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 327(g). 

The FHWA received three responses to 

the Federal Register notice during the 

public comment period for the draft 

report, and FHWA responds to these 

comments in the final report, pursuant 

to 23 U.S.C. 327(g)(2). The FHWA also 

determined that the comments required 

no changes to the draft audit report. 

This notice finalizes the fourth and final 

NEPA Assignment audit report in Utah. 

Authority: Section 1313 of Public Law 

112–141; Section 6005 of Public Law 

109–59; 23 U.S.C. 327; 23 CFR 773. 

Shailen P. Bhatt, 

Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration. 

Surface Transportation Project Delivery 

Program, FHWA Audit of the Utah 

Department of Transportation—Final 

Report, July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020 

Executive Summary 

This report summarizes the results of 

the Federal Highway Administration’s 

(FHWA) fourth and final audit of the 

Utah Department of Transportation’s 

(UDOT) National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) review responsibilities and 

obligations that FHWA assigned and 

UDOT assumed pursuant to 23 United 

State Code (U.S.C.) 327. Throughout this 

report, FHWA uses the term ‘‘NEPA 

Assignment Program’’ to refer to the 

program codified at 23 U.S.C. 327. 

Pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327, UDOT and 

FHWA executed a memorandum of 

understanding (MOU) on January 17, 

2017, to memorialize UDOT’s NEPA 

responsibilities and obligations for 

Federal-aid highway projects and 

certain other FHWA actions in Utah. 

The FHWA and UDOT recently renewed 

the MOU on May 26, 2022, for another 

5-year term. The section 327 MOU 

covers environmental review 

responsibilities for projects that require 

the preparation of environmental 

assessments (EA), environmental impact 

statements (EIS), and non-designated 

documented categorical exclusions 

(DCE). A separate MOU, pursuant to 23 

U.S.C. 326, authorizes UDOT’s 

environmental review responsibilities 

for other categorical exclusions (CE), 

commonly known as CE Program 

Assignment. The scope of this audit did 

not include the CE Program Assignment 

responsibilities and projects. 

As part of FHWA’s review 

responsibilities under 23 U.S.C. 327, 

FHWA formed a team (the ‘‘Audit 

Team’’) in August 2020 to plan and 

conduct an audit of NEPA 

responsibilities UDOT assumed. Due to 

COVID–19-related travel restrictions, 

the Audit Team conducted a virtual 

audit during the period from November 

9, 2020, to December 2, 2020. Prior to 

the virtual audit, the Audit Team 

reviewed UDOT’s NEPA project files, 

UDOT’s response to FHWA’s pre-audit 

information request (PAIR), UDOT’s 

NEPA Assignment Self-Assessment 

Report, UDOT’s NEPA Quality 

Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) 


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Guidance, and UDOT’s NEPA 

Assignment Training Plan. The Audit 

Team conducted videoconference 

interviews with four members of UDOT 

central office staff, six of UDOT’s legal 

counsel (one current Assistant Attorney 

General assigned to UDOT, one former 

Assistant Attorney General assigned to 

UDOT, and four outside counsel), three 

staff members from the U.S 

Environmental Protection Agency, and 

two staff members from the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service (FWS) as part of 

the virtual audit. 

Overall, the Audit Team found that 

UDOT continues to successfully carry 

out its DCE, EA, and EIS project review 

responsibilities. The UDOT has also 

made efforts to respond to the FHWA 

findings from the third audit, including 

improving document management and 

QA/QC procedures. In the third audit, 

the Audit Team found that UDOT 

issued an environmental document 

without a final legal sufficiency finding, 

and had observed that there were ways 

UDOT could improve their training. 

In this fourth and final audit, the 

Audit Team identified four observations 

and two successful practices. The Audit 

Team finds UDOT is carrying out the 

responsibilities it has assumed, and they 

are in substantial compliance with the 

provisions of the MOU. This report also 

concludes with the status of FHWA’s 

non-compliance observation from the 

third audit review, including any UDOT 

self-imposed corrective actions. After 

the fourth year of UDOT’s participation 

in the program, FHWA will continue to 

monitor UDOT’s compliance with the 

terms of this MOU, in accordance with 

23 U.S.C. 327(h). 

Background 

The NEPA Assignment Program 

allows a State to assume FHWA’s 

environmental responsibilities for 

review, consultation, and compliance 

for Federal-aid highway projects and 

certain other FHWA actions. Under 23 

U.S.C. 327, a State that assumes these 

Federal responsibilities becomes solely 

responsible and solely liable for 

carrying them out. Effective January 17, 

2017, UDOT assumed FHWA’s 

responsibilities under NEPA and other 

Federal environmental laws. Examples 

of responsibilities UDOT has assumed 

in addition to NEPA include section 7 

consultation under the Endangered 

Species Act and consultation under 

section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act. 

Audits are the primary mechanism 

through which FHWA oversees UDOT’s 

compliance with the MOU and the 

NEPA Assignment Program 

requirements. This includes ensuring 

compliance with the applicable Federal 

laws and policies, evaluating UDOT’s 

progress toward achieving the 

performance measures identified in 

MOU Section 10.2, and collecting 

information needed for the Secretary’s 

annual report to Congress. The FHWA 

must present the results of each audit in 

a report and make it available for public 

comment in the Federal Register. 

Through this fourth and final audit, 

FHWA will satisfy provisions of 23 

U.S.C. 327(g) and Part 11 of the MOU. 

This report summarizes the results of 

the fourth and final audit in Utah, and 

it includes a summary discussion that 

describes progress since the last audit. 

Scope and Methodology 

The MOU (Part 3.1.1) states that 

‘‘[p]ursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327(a)(2)(A), on 

the effective date, FHWA assigns, and 

UDOT assumes, subject to the terms and 

conditions set forth in 23 U.S.C. 327 and 

this MOU, all of the U.S. Department of 

Transportation Secretary’s 

responsibilities for compliance with the 

NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. with 

respect to the highway projects 

specified under subpart 3.3. This 

assignment includes statutory 

provisions, regulations, policies, and 

guidance related to the implementation 

of NEPA for highway projects such as 23 

U.S.C. 139, 40 CFR parts 1500–1508, 

DOT Order 5610.1C, and 23 CFR 771 as 

applicable.’’ Also, the performance 

measure in MOU Part 10.2.1(A) for 

compliance with NEPA and other 

Federal environmental statutes and 

regulations commits UDOT to 

maintaining documented compliance 

with requirements of all applicable 

statutes and regulations as well as the 

provisions in the MOU. 

The Audit Team consisted of NEPA 

subject matter experts from the FHWA 

Utah Division, FHWA Resource Center, 

the Volpe Center, FHWA Headquarters, 

and FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel. 

These experts received training on how 

to evaluate implementation of the NEPA 

Assignment Program. 

The Audit Team conducted an 

examination of UDOT’s NEPA project 

files, UDOT’s responses to the PAIR, 

and UDOT’s self-assessment. The audit 

also included interviews with staff and 

reviews of UDOT policies, guidance, 

and manuals pertaining to NEPA 

responsibilities. All reviews focused on 

objectives related to the six NEPA 

Assignment Program elements: program 

management; documentation and 

records management; QA/QC; legal 

sufficiency; training; and performance 

measurement. In particular, the Audit 

Team reviewed UDOT’s process and 

procedures for conducting 

environmental reevaluations. 

The focus of the audit was on UDOT’s 

process and program implementation. 

Therefore, while the Audit Team 

reviewed project files to evaluate 

UDOT’s NEPA process and procedures, 

the Audit Team did not evaluate 

UDOT’s project-specific decisions to 

determine if they were, in FHWA’s 

opinion, appropriate or not. The Audit 

Team reviewed 20 NEPA Project files 

with DCEs, EAs, EISs, and 

reevaluations, representing all projects 

with decision points or other actionable 

items between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 

2020. The Audit Team also interviewed 

environmental staff in UDOT’s 

headquarters office. 

The PAIR consisted of 25 questions 

about specific elements in the MOU. 

The Audit Team used UDOT’s response 

to the PAIR to develop specific followup questions for the UDOT staff. The 

Audit Team conducted four interviews 

with UDOT environmental staff, one 

virtual interview with staff from the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), one interview with staff from the 

FWS, two interviews with UDOT’s 

outside legal counsel, and one interview 

with legal counsel from the Utah 

Attorney General’s Office. All 

interviews were conducted as 

videoconferences. 

Throughout the document reviews 

and interviews, the Audit Team verified 

information regarding the UDOT NEPA 

Assignment Program including UDOT 

policies, guidance, manuals, and 

reports. This included the NEPA QA/QC 

Guidance, the NEPA Assignment 

Training Plan, and the NEPA 

Assignment Self-Assessment Report. 

The Audit Team compared the 

procedures outlined in UDOT 

environmental manuals and policies to 

the information obtained during 

interviews and project file reviews to 

determine if there were discrepancies 

between UDOT’s performance and 

documented procedures. The Audit 

Team documented observations under 

the six NEPA Assignment Program topic 

areas and arrived at the following audit 

opinion. 

Overall, UDOT has carried out the 

environmental responsibilities it 

assumed through the MOU and the 

application for the NEPA Assignment 

Program, and as such, the Audit Team 

finds UDOT is substantially compliant 

with the provisions of the MOU. 

Observations and Successful Practices 

This section summarizes the Audit 

Team’s observations of UDOT’s NEPA 

Assignment Program implementation, 

including successful practices UDOT 


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62872 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 13, 2023 / Notices 

may want to continue or expand. 

Successful practices are positive results 

FHWA would like to commend UDOT 

for developing. These may include ideas 

or concepts that UDOT has planned but 

not yet implemented. Observations are 

items that the Audit Team would like to 

draw UDOT’s attention to, which may 

benefit from revisions to improve 

processes, procedures, or outcomes. The 

UDOT may have already taken steps to 

address or improve upon the Audit 

Team’s observations, but at the time of 

the audit they appeared to be areas 

where UDOT could make 

improvements. This report addresses all 

six MOU topic areas as separate 

discussions. Within each area, this 

report discusses successful practices 

followed by observations. 

This audit report provides an 

opportunity for UDOT to implement 

actions to improve their NEPA 

Assignment Program. The FHWA and 

UDOT will continue to work together to 

monitor UDOT’s compliance with the 

terms of this MOU, as required by 23 

U.S.C. 327(h). 

Program Management 

Successful Practice #1 

The Audit Team identified one of 

UDOT’s project websites which 

included detailed information about the 

proposed noise impact analyses, traffic 

noise abatement measures, and the 

proposed relocation of the existing noise 

barriers as a successful practice. The 

noise impact and abatement information 

presented to the public was 

comprehensive and easy to understand. 

Observation #1 

Section 5.1.4 of UDOT’s NEPA 

Assignment MOU outlines an 

interagency planning and coordination 

protocol to make sure that all 

programmatic agreements reflect 

UDOT’s new roles and responsibilities 

under NEPA Assignment. The Audit 

Team observed that UDOT’s Section 106 

programmatic agreements with four 

Tribal governments predate NEPA 

Assignment, and they do not reflect 

UDOT’s assigned roles and 

responsibilities. We recommend that 

UDOT reach out to these Tribal 

governments and implement the 

interagency planning and coordination 

provisions of Section 5.1.4, which may 

include amending the programmatic 

agreements or obtaining a ‘‘written 

consent.’’ The recommended path 

forward would enable UDOT to clarify 

its assigned roles and responsibilities 

during Section 106 consultations. The 

overall consistency across all five of the 

Section 106 programmatic agreements is 

important to clarify the organizational 

roles and responsibilities between 

UDOT and FHWA for both Section 106 

and Government-to-Government 

consultations, resulting in more 

predictable lines of communication, 

more productive and meaningful 

interagency dialogue with the Tribes, 

and a positive reinforcement of FHWA’s 

retained Tribal trust responsibilities. 

Observation #2 

In the course of reviewing the most 

recent Manual of Instruction (MOI), the 

Audit Team identified several areas that 

do not address the most recent 

requirements and guidelines associated 

with the Fixing America’s Surface 

Transportation Act; FHWA’s 2019 

Reevaluation Q&A Guidance; Moving 

Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century 

Act Section 1319 interim guidance 

relating to the appropriate use of the 

combined Final Environment Impact 

Statement/Record of Decision 

documents; FHWA’s 2011 

Environmental Justice and NEPA 

guidance for identifying, disclosing and 

mitigating impacts to environmental 

justice communities; or FHWA’s 

October 2018 memorandum addressing 

activities that may be completed prior to 

issuance of a Notice of Intent to prepare 

an EIS. During interviews, UDOT 

informed us that they make regular 

updates to the MOI, as needed. 

However, these examples illustrate that 

the MOI would benefit from a regularly 

scheduled, comprehensive review to 

ensure that it reflects current national 

policy and guidance. 

Documentation and Records 

Management 

Successful Practice #1 

During this audit period, the Audit 

Team reviewed reevaluations for two 

EIS projects that appeared to use the 

same format. While it is not explicitly 

required by the MOI, UDOT did appear 

to use a standard procedure for these 

reevaluations. For example, both 

included a Summary of Re-evaluation 

Analysis Table that functions like an 

environmental checklist. This table 

creates a standard process for looking at 

changes in both the magnitude of 

project impacts, as well as project scope 

modifications. 

Observation #1 

The team reviewed multiple 

reevaluations for the West Davis 

Corridor Project. Each individual 

reevaluation addressed the changes on 

that portion of the larger project. The 

FHWA suggests UDOT also add 

language that summarizes the changes 

across all the reevaluations, such as 

providing a listing of all the related 

reevaluations and a statement 

correlating them, to clearly demonstrate 

and document that UDOT has 

considered impacts across the entirety 

of the project. 

Quality Assurance/Quality Control 

The UDOT has made improvements to 

its QA/QC procedures. These 

improvements are discussed in the 

Legal Sufficiency section of this report. 

Legal Sufficiency 

During the audit period outside 

counsel issued three findings of legal 

sufficiency per the requirements of 23 

CFR 771.125(b) and 23 CFR 774.7(d), 

copies of which were provided to the 

Audit Team. These include legal 

sufficiency reviews of one EIS and two 

Section 4(f) evaluations. The UDOT has 

continued using the legal sufficiency 

process it put in place for both Section 

326 CE and Section 327 NEPA 

Assignment; that is, contracting with 

outside counsel who have extensive 

experience in NEPA, other 

environmental laws, and Federal 

environmental litigation. Since the 

signing of the initial FHWA–UDOT 

MOU for the NEPA Assignment Program 

in January 2017, no lawsuits have been 

filed against NEPA-assigned projects in 

the State of Utah. 

Training 

The UDOT has continued to develop 

an annual training plan, in compliance 

with Section 12.2 of the MOU. 

Performance Measures 

The UDOT has continued to assess its 

performance as required under the 

terms of the MOU. The UDOT’s annual 

self-assessment report indicates that 

they are meeting their performance 

targets. The process of, and results from, 

the State’s self-assessment have been an 

important factor in the improvement of 

UDOT’s NEPA Program. Observation #1 

Section 10.2.1.C.i of the MOU requires 

UDOT to assess change in and ensure 

effective communication among UDOT, 

Federal, and State resource agencies 

resulting from assumption of 

responsibilities under the MOU. In 

interviews, resource agency staff at the 

EPA and the FWS stated that overall 

they have a good working relationship 

with UDOT staff. Some FWS staff 

indicated that they could utilize 

additional information on the 

differences between the 23 U.S.C. 326 

(CE Assignment) program and the 23 

U.S.C. 327 (NEPA Assignment) program. 

The Audit Team also learned that 

neither FWS nor EPA had responded to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 13, 2023 / Notices 62873 

UDOT’s annual resource agency survey. 

These are examples of where UDOT’s 

program may benefit from more 

consistent, program-level discussions 

with resource agencies to ensure that all 

parties understand their respective roles 

and responsibilities, as well as the 

provisions of the 326 and 327 programs. 

Stronger managerial-level 

communications with the resource 

agencies may increase their 

understanding of the importance of the 

survey and improve the response rate. 

No Non-Compliance Observations in 

Audit #4 

Non-compliance observations are 

instances where the team found UDOT 

was out of compliance or deficient in 

proper implementation of a Federal 

regulation, statute, guidance, policy, the 

terms of the MOU, or UDOT’s own 

procedures for compliance with the 

NEPA process. Such observations may 

also include instances where UDOT has 

failed to maintain technical 

competency, adequate personnel, and/or 

financial resources to carry out the 

assumed responsibilities. Other 

noncompliance observations could 

suggest a persistent failure to adequately 

consult, coordinate, or consider the 

concerns of other Federal, State, Tribal, 

or local agencies with oversight, 

consultation, or coordination 

responsibilities. The FHWA expects 

UDOT to develop and implement 

corrective actions to address all noncompliance observations. The Audit 

Team did not identify any noncompliance observations during this 

audit. 

Follow-up on the Prior NonCompliance Observations From Audit 

#3 

The FHWA had reported a 

noncompliance observation relating to 

UDOT not complying with the State’s 

environmental review procedures as a 

part of Audit #3. 2019 Audit #3—Issuing 

a Document Without Final Legal 

Sufficiency Finding As noted earlier, in 

response to the 2019 audit finding that 

legal sufficiency review documentation 

was not provided prior to approval of a 

project FEIS, UDOT and outside counsel 

implemented a more formalized system 

by instituting a Legal Sufficiency 

Review Form to be completed by 

UDOT’s outside counsel. The form 

would ensure a record that the legal 

sufficiency review occurred. The Audit 

Team confirmed that UDOT developed 

and implemented the form for the legal 

sufficiency reviews during this audit 

period. 

Response to Public Comments on the 

Draft Report and the Final Report 

The FHWA received and responded to 

three comments on the draft audit 

report, pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327(g)(2). 

The American Road & Transportation 

Builders Association (ARTBA) 

commented that they are in general 

support of UDOT’s implementation of 

the NEPA Assignment Program to 

accelerate Federal-aid highway program 

and project delivery in Utah. The 

FHWA appreciates ARTBA’s input. A 

private citizen commented that he is not 

supportive of UDOT’s implementation 

of the NEPA Assignment Program, due 

to his experience with the Northern 

Corridor Highway Project in the Bureau 

of Land Management’s (BLM) Red Cliffs 

National Conservation Area. The Audit 

Team, in conjunction with the FHWA 

Utah Division Office, independently 

reviewed and confirmed that the 

Federal action associated with this 

concern was the BLM’s Federal land 

management decision, including BLM’s 

NEPA approval for that Federal land 

management decision. It was not a 

NEPA approval by UDOT under the 

NEPA Assignment Program. Finally, an 

anonymous commenter raised concerns 

about UDOT’s traffic noise abatement 

procedures as they apply to local public 

agencies. Based on FHWA’s traffic noise 

abatement regulations in 23 CFR 

772.7(b), UDOT has developed noise 

policies in conformance with 23 CFR 

part 772, and FHWA Utah Division 

Office approved them. The UDOT is 

required to apply these policies 

uniformly and consistently statewide, 

including the uniform and consistent 

application to the NEPA reviews of the 

Federal-aid highway projects 

administered by the local public 

agencies in Utah. 

After reviewing the public comments, 

and looking into the concerns raised in 

the comments, FHWA determined that 

there is no need to revise the draft audit 

report. The FHWA may also consider 

the public comments in scoping the 

future NEPA Assignment monitoring 

reviews in Utah. 

Therefore, FHWA is finalizing 

UDOT’s fourth and final NEPA 

Assignment audit report with this 

Federal Register notice. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19705 Filed 9–12–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

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. 

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. 


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