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

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA–2021–0019] 

Surface Transportation Project 

Delivery Program; Alaska Department 

of Transportation Fourth 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 

environmental 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. This program mandates 

annual audits during each of the first 4 

years of State participation to ensure 

compliance with program requirements. 

This notice makes available the final 

fourth audit report for the Alaska 

Department of Transportation and 

Public Facilities (DOT&PF). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David T. Williams, Office of Project 

Development and Environmental 

Review, (202) 366–5074, 

David.Williams@dot.gov, or Michelle 

Andotra, Office of the Chief Counsel, 

(404) 562–3679, Michelle.Andotra@

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 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 it has assumed, in 

lieu of FHWA. The Alaska DOT&PF 

published its application for NEPA 

assumption on May 1, 2016; and made 

it available for public comment for 30 

days. After considering public 

comments, DOT&PF submitted its 

application to FHWA on July 12, 2016. 

The application served as the basis for 

developing a memorandum of 

understanding (MOU) that identified the 

responsibilities and obligations that 

DOT&PF would assume. The FHWA 

published a notice of the draft MOU in 

the Federal Register on August 25, 

2017, with a 30-day comment period to 

solicit the views of the public and 

Federal agencies. After the close of the 

comment period, FHWA and DOT&PF 

considered comments and proceeded to 

execute the MOU. Effective November 

13, 2017, DOT&PF assumed FHWA’s 

responsibilities under NEPA, and the 

responsibilities for NEPA-related 

Federal environmental laws described 

in the MOU. 

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

requires the Secretary to conduct annual 

audits to ensure compliance with the 

MOU during each of the first 4 years of 

State participation and, after the fourth 

year, monitor compliance. The FHWA 

must make the results of each audit 

available for public comment. The 

FHWA published a notice in the 

Federal Register at 87 FR 66352, 

November 3, 2022, soliciting comments 

for 30 days pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327(g). 

The FHWA received comments on the 

draft report from the American Road & 

Transportation Builders Association 

(ARTBA). The ARTBA’s comments were 

supportive of the Surface Transportation 

Project Delivery Program and did not 

relate specifically to the audit. The team 

has considered these comments in 

finalizing the audit report. This notice 

makes available the final audit report of 

DOT&PF’s fourth audit under the 

program. The final audit report is 

available for download at 

www.regulations.gov under FHWA 

Docket No. FHWA–2021–0019. 

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’s Audit of the Alaska 

Department of Transportation, April 

12–16, 2021 

Executive Summary 

This report summarizes the results of 

the Federal Highway Administration’s 

(FHWA) fourth audit of the Alaska 

Department of Transportation and 

Public Facilities’ (DOT&PF) assumption 

of FHWA’s project-level National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

responsibilities and obligations 

pursuant to a 23 U.S.C. 327 

memorandum of understanding (MOU). 

The DOT&PF entered the NEPA 

Assignment Program after more than 8 

years of experience making FHWA 

NEPA Categorical Exclusion (CE) 

determinations pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 

326 (beginning September 22, 2009). 

Alaska’s MOU became effective on 

November 13, 2017, and was amended 

on August 20, 2020. Currently, FHWA’s 

NEPA responsibilities in Alaska include 

the oversight and auditing of the 

DOT&PF’s execution of the NEPA 

Assignment Program and certain 

activities excluded from the MOU, such 

as the NEPA reviews of projects 

advanced by direct recipients other than 

the DOT&PF. 

The FHWA audit team began to 

prepare for the site visit in November 

2020. The audit team reviewed 

DOT&PF’s NEPA project files, 

DOT&PF’s response to FHWA’s preaudit information request (PAIR), and 

DOT&PF’s Self-Assessment Report. On 

April 12–16, 2021, the audit team 

conducted a virtual site visit for the 

second year due to COVID–19 pandemic 

safety concerns, rather than on-site 

visits as had been used for the first two 

audits. 


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62876 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 13, 2023 / Notices 

The audit team appreciates DOT&PF’s 

responsiveness to the questions 

regarding the status of general 

observations from the third audit. This 

report concludes with a status update 

for FHWA’s observations from the third 

audit report. 

The audit team finds DOT&PF in 

substantial compliance with the terms 

of the MOU in meeting the 

responsibilities it has assumed. This 

report does not identify any noncompliance observations; it does 

identify four general observations and 

three successful practices. 

Background 

The NEPA Assignment Program 

allows a State to assume FHWA’s 

environmental responsibilities for 

review, consultation, and compliance 

for highway projects. This program is 

codified at 23 U.S.C. 327. When a State 

assumes these Federal responsibilities 

for NEPA project decisionmaking, the 

State becomes solely responsible and 

solely liable for carrying out these 

obligations in lieu of and without 

further NEPA-related approval by 

FHWA. 

The FHWA assigned responsibility for 

making project NEPA approvals and 

other related environmental decisions 

for highway projects to DOT&PF. The 

MOU documents these responsibilities. 

Examples of responsibilities DOT&PF 

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. 

This is the last of the four required 

annual audits pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 

327(g) and Part 11 of the MOU. The 

FHWA uses audits as the primary 

mechanism to oversee DOT&PF’s 

compliance with the MOU and the 

NEPA Assignment Program 

requirements. This includes ensuring 

compliance with applicable Federal 

laws and policies, evaluating DOT&PF’s 

progress toward achieving the 

performance measures identified in 

Section 10.2 of the MOU, and collecting 

information needed for the U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT) 

Secretary’s annual report to Congress. 

The FHWA must present its audit 

results in a report and make it available 

for public comment in the Federal 

Register. 

The audit team included NEPA 

subject matter experts from FHWA’s 

Alaska Division Office, the 

Headquarters Office of Project 

Development and Environmental 

Review, the Resource Center, Western 

Legal Services Division, Office of 

Stewardship, Oversight and 

Management, and the DOT Volpe 

Center. 

Scope and Methodology 

The audit team examined a sample of 

DOT&PF’s NEPA project files, DOT&PF 

responses to the PAIR, and DOT&PF’s 

Self-Assessment Report. The audit team 

also conducted interviews and reviewed 

DOT&PF policies, guidance, and 

manuals pertaining to NEPA 

responsibilities. All reviews focused on 

objectives related to the six NEPA 

Assignment Program elements 

contained in the MOU: Program 

Management, Documentation and 

Records Management, Quality 

Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC), 

Training, Performance Measures, and 

Legal Sufficiency. 

Project File Review: To consider 

DOT&PF staff adherence to program 

procedures and Federal requirements, 

the audit team selected a sample of 47 

individual project files for which the 

environmental review had been 

completed. The audit team evaluated 

DOT&PF’s compliance with assumed 

responsibilities and adherence to their 

own processes and procedures for 

project-level environmental 

decisionmaking. The audit team did not 

evaluate DOT&PF’s project-specific 

decisions. The sampled files included 

CEs, Environmental Assessments (EA), 

and environmental reevaluations. 

PAIR Review: The audit team 

reviewed DOT&PF’s responses to the 

PAIR, which consisted of 28 questions 

about specific elements in the MOU that 

DOT&PF must implement. The audit 

team used these responses to develop 

specific follow-up questions for 

interviews with DOT&PF staff. 

DOT&PF Self-Assessment Review: 

The audit team reviewed DOT&PF’s 

December 2020 Self-Assessment Report 

and used it to develop specific followup questions for interviews with 

DOT&PF staff. The NEPA Assignment 

Program MOU Section 8.2.5, requires 

the DOT&PF to conduct annual selfassessments of its QA/QC procedures 

and performance. 

Interviews: The audit team conducted 

interviews with 17 DOT&PF employees, 

including staff from each of DOT&PF’s 

three regional offices and the Statewide 

Environmental Office (SEO). The audit 

team selected invited DOT&PF 

employees representing a diverse range 

of expertise, experience, and program 

responsibility to participate in 

interviews. 

In addition, the audit team conducted 

interviews of two attorneys with the 

Alaska Department of Law and 

interviews with individuals at the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the 

United States Forest Service (USFS), 

and the State Historic Preservation 

Office (SHPO). 

Policy/Guidance/Manual Review: 

Throughout the document reviews and 

interviews, the audit team verified 

information on DOT&PF’s NEPA 

Assignment Program using DOT&PF 

policies, guidance, manuals, and 

reports. These included the 

Environmental Program Manual (EPM), 

the NEPA Assignment QA/QC Plan, the 

NEPA Assignment Program Training 

Plan, and the NEPA Assignment SelfAssessment Report. 

Overall Audit Opinion 

This report identifies four 

observations and three successful 

practices. The audit team finds DOT&PF 

is substantially in compliance with the 

provisions of the MOU, has carried out 

the environmental responsibilities it 

assumed through the NEPA Assignment 

Program, and has taken steps to address 

observations identified in the third 

audit. 

Non-Compliance Observations 

The audit team made no noncompliance observations in the fourth 

audit. 

Observations and Successful Practices 

This section summarizes the audit 

team’s observations of DOT&PF’s NEPA 

Assignment Program implementation 

and DOT&P’’s successful practices. 

‘‘Observations’’ are items the audit team 

would like to draw DOT&PF’s attention 

to, which may benefit from revisions to 

improve processes, procedures, or 

outcomes, if such steps have not already 

been taken. ‘‘Successful practices’’ are 

those that FHWA would like to 

commend DOT&PF on developing. 

These may include ideas or concepts 

that DOT&PF has planned, but not yet 

implemented. Successful practices and 

observations are described under the six 

MOU topic areas: Program Management, 

Documentation and Records 

Management, QA/QC, Training, 

Performance Measures, and Legal 

Sufficiency. 

This audit report provides an 

opportunity for DOT&PF to take further 

actions to improve their program. The 

FHWA will consider the status of areas 

identified for potential improvement in 

this audit’s observations as part of the 

scope of future monitoring events. 

DOT&PF will continue to be able to 

describe program improvements in their 

annual Self-Assessment reports. 

Program Management 

Program Management includes the 

overall administration of the NEPA 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 13, 2023 / Notices 62877 

Assignment Program. The audit team 

noted the following successful practices 

and observations related to Program 

Management. 

Successful Practice #1: Business 

Program Management (BPM) System 

Interviewees overwhelmingly 

responded positively to questions 

regarding the development and 

implementation of the BPM system. 

They acknowledged the efforts by the 

developers and SEO to include the 

following: virtual training sessions and 

demonstrations, creation of a user’s 

manual, PowerPoint handouts, and beta 

testing with Regional Environmental 

Managers (REMs) to work through 

‘‘bugs’’ in the system. 

Observation #1: Permitting Dashboard 

Reporting Procedures 

Section 5.1.1 of the MOU subjects 

DOT&PF to the same procedural 

requirements and substantive 

requirements that apply to the DOT 

Secretary including, but not limited to 

Federal statutes or FHWA policy. Per 23 

U.S.C. 139 and the Memorandum from 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Transportation Policy, Federal 

Permitting Dashboard Reporting 

Standard, December 28, 2018, EA and 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

project information is required to be 

entered in the Federal Infrastructure 

Permitting Dashboard (Dashboard). The 

Dashboard Reporting Standards require 

EIS’s and EA’s permitting timetables to 

be entered in the dashboard: (1) within 

90 days after the issuance of a Notice of 

Intent for an EIS, or (2) the class of 

action determination for an EA initiated 

after June 2016. Based on interviews, 

only one project has been entered into 

the Dashboard, which FHWA verified. 

Based on DOT&PF records, three 

projects should have been entered into 

the Dashboard. The FHWA understands 

that DOT&PF does not have written 

procedures regarding how to carry out 

these responsibilities. Written 

procedures would provide opportunities 

for consistent, timely, and compliant 

reporting of the projects required to be 

in the Dashboard. 

Documentation and Records 

Management 

Documentation and Records 

Management includes maintaining 

project files and other recordkeeping 

(whether hardcopy or electronic) 

pertaining to the DOT&PF’s discharge of 

the responsibilities it has assumed 

under the 23 U.S.C. 327 Program. From 

November 1, 2019, through October 31, 

2020, DOT&PF made 228 project 

decisions. Through employing both 

random and judgmental sampling 

procedures, the audit team identified 47 

project decisions to review. 

Successful Practice #2: Tracking 

Interviews with Section 106 

Professionally Qualified Individuals 

(PQI) revealed the use of an Excel 

database in at least one DOT&PF region 

to track and manage Section 106 

information for projects. Tracking 

information on consultation letters, 

determinations of eligibility, effect 

findings, SHPO concurrence, etc. allows 

the PQI to stay on top of required tasks 

and ensure work is completed. Once 

Section 106 consultation is completed, 

the PQI enters this data into the SEO 

Access database tracking system that is 

used for the Section 106 Programmatic 

Agreement monitoring and annual 

reporting. 

Observation #2: Documentation of 

Public and Agency Comments in CE 

In 6 of 21 (28 percent) CE project files 

reviewed, there was inadequate 

documentation of public and/or agency 

comments and resolution of the 

comments. This is not in accordance 

with Chapter 4 of the DOT&PF Highway 

Preconstruction Manual, which requires 

that CE Forms ‘‘list the issues raised by 

the public and agencies and the manner 

in which they were resolved.’’ In 

addition, this observation appears to be 

inconsistent with data reported in 

Section 9.2.2. (Maintain completeness 

and adequacy of documentation of SEO 

records for projects done under the 

program) of DOT&PF’s 2020–2021 SelfAssessment Report. 

Interview responses to questions 

about public involvement requirements 

for CEs varied. Some interviewees 

responded that they follow the guidance 

in the Environmental Procedures 

Manual. Several interviewees spoke to 

responding directly to commenters via 

emails or letters and the potential for 

controversy to affect the class of action 

decision. However, none specifically 

mentioned the need to document 

comments and/or controversy and 

DOT&PF’s responses to them on the CE 

forms. The FHWA recommends that 

DOT&PF incorporate procedures for 

documenting public involvement for 

CEs when appropriate into the EPM. 

Quality Assurance/Quality Control 

Under Section 8.2.4 of the MOU, 

DOT&PF agreed to carry out regular QA/ 

QC activities in accordance with the 

MOU and DOT&PF procedures 

established to implement the NEPA 

Assignment Program. Based on the 

information evaluated by the audit 

team, DOT&PF continues to carry out 

regular QA/QC activities in accordance 

with the MOU. The FHWA believes the 

BPM system provides more opportunity 

to augment data collection and reporting 

for continued program improvement. 

Observation #3: The State’s 

Commitment of Adequate Resources 

and QA/QC Performance 

Sections 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 of the MOU 

outline the requirements for the State’s 

commitment of adequate resources to 

carry out NEPA Assignment 

successfully. Moderate to high staff 

turnover has been a recurring issue. 

This has been documented in Audit #1 

report Observation #3 and Audit #2 

report Observation #3. In the January 

2020 Self-Assessment Report, DOT&PF 

acknowledged the issue and indicated 

that they will continue to track staffing 

impacts on the program through the 

QA/QC process. During Audit #4, 

FHWA documented comments from 

multiple DOT&PF staff in some of the 

regions concerning workload, staffing, 

and turnover issues affecting QA/QC 

processes and observed a downward 

trend in QA/QC performance (i.e., more 

errors and omissions in NEPA approvals 

relative to the previous audit 

performance period). In addition, 

interviews with the SHPO suggested 

some of the Section 106 challenges, 

such as incomplete applications during 

Section 106 consultations, may be due 

to workload issues at DOT&PF. Despite 

these observations, FHWA found that 

DOT&PF’s implementation of the 327 

Program was in substantial compliance 

with the MOU. The FHWA encourages 

DOT&PF to continue to assess how 

workload, staffing, and turnover issues 

might affect the level of compliance 

with the 327 MOU, organizational 

performance for carrying out NEPA 

Assignment and overall program 

delivery, and consider using tools like 

the BPM system, resource sharing, 

increased use of consultants, and other 

approaches to help address workload 

and staffing issues raised by some 

regions as well as the QA/QC 

performance issues indicated in the 

most recent self-assessment and 

observed by the audit team. 

Training 

Under Sections 12.1 and 12.2 of the 

MOU, the DOT&PF committed to 

implementing training necessary to 

carry out the environmental 

responsibilities assumed under the 

NEPA Assignment Program. The 

DOT&PF also committed to assessing its 

need for training, developing a training 

plan, and updating the training plan on 

an annual basis. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
62878 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 13, 2023 / Notices 

Observation #4: Training Needs 

Assessment 

Considering ongoing staff turnover, as 

discussed in Observation #3, FHWA 

encourages DOT&PF to conduct a 

detailed statewide training needs 

assessment of new environmental staff. 

This will help DOT&PF allocate 

resources more efficiently to identify 

skill and knowledge gaps. The FHWA 

also encourages DOT&PF to explore 

cross training opportunities with other 

agencies (e.g.: SHPO, BLM, USFS) and 

engage them in development of their 

annual training plan. 

Performance Measures 

The FHWA and DOT&PF mutually 

established a set of performance 

measures to evaluate DOT&PF’s 

performance in assuming NEPA 

Assignment Program responsibilities. 

The DOT&PF continues to collect, 

maintain, and develop data towards 

monitoring its performance as required 

by Section 10.1.3 of the MOU. The audit 

team noted the following successful 

practice related to Performance 

Measures. 

Successful Practice #3: Relationships 

With Agencies 

The audit team found that DOT&PF 

has very good and positive relationships 

with BLM, USFS, and SHPO. The 

FHWA has interviewed resource 

agencies in previous audits and found 

that overall, they had good working 

relationships with DOT&PF. The audit 

team decided to interview staff from 

BLM and the USFS during Audit #4 

since Federal Land Management 

Agencies had not been interviewed in 

past audits and they were included in 

DOT&PF’s May 2020 agency poll. The 

audit team also chose to interview the 

SHPO since they had not been 

interviewed since Audit #1. The 

individuals interviewed from these 

three agencies indicated that overall, 

their working relationships with 

DOT&PF were very good and positive. 

This information correlates well with 

the overwhelmingly positive responses 

DOT&PF received to their agency poll. 

Legal Sufficiency 

Since 2017, the same attorney from 

the Alaska Attorney General’s Office, 

Transportation Section, has been 

assigned to the NEPA Assignment 

Program. The assigned attorney has 

significant experience with Federal-aid 

highway projects and the Federal 

environmental process. The attorney 

works directly with DOT&PF staff on 

project environmental documents. 

Based on the interviews, the attorney 

becomes involved early in project 

development, normally reviewing a 

NEPA document before receiving a 

formal request for a legal sufficiency 

review. During the audit period, the 

attorney did not review an EIS or a 

Section 4(f) evaluation requiring a legal 

sufficiency review. Although a legal 

sufficiency review is not required for 

EAs, the attorney reviewed two EAs 

during the audit period. The attorney 

reported that the review process for an 

EA is like the review process for an EIS. 

Department of Law Management 

stated during the interviews that while 

one attorney is currently assigned to the 

program, should workload increase 

significantly another attorney could be 

assigned to NEPA work or litigation, 

likely through the utilization of outside 

counsel per 23 U.S.C. 327(a)(2)(G). 

The audit team finds that DOT&PF 

meets the legal sufficiency 

determination and staffing requirements 

set forth in the DOT&PF Environmental 

Procedures Manual. 

Status of Observations From Audit #3 

Report (April 2020) 

This section describes the actions 

DOT&PF has taken in response to 

observations made during the third 

audit. 

Observation #1: Self-Assessment 

Procedures 

The DOT&PF’s 2018 NEPA 

Assignment Program Self-Assessment 

Procedures require that SEO develop the 

preliminary and final Self-Assessment 

Report through coordination with, and 

input from, the REMs. During Audit #3 

interviews, the audit team found that 

DOT&PF did not develop the January 

2020 Self-Assessment Report in 

accordance with their procedures, nor 

distribute the final report to the regions. 

For Audit #4, DOT&PF indicated in 

their responses to the PAIR that the 

draft December 2020 Self-assessment 

was sent to the REMs for review and 

comment according to their procedures. 

Comments were received and addressed 

in the final Self-Assessment Report, 

which was then shared with the regions. 

Observation #2: Assessing Resource 

Agency Communication 

Section 10.2.1 C. of the MOU requires 

DOT&PF to ‘‘Assess change in 

communication among DOT&PF, 

Federal and State agencies, and the 

public resulting from assumption of 

responsibilities under this MOU’’. The 

MOU allows DOT&PF to determine the 

method it will use to assess this change. 

The DOT&PF selected to use an annual 

resource agency poll. The DOT&PF 

identified this measure in its DOT&PF 

NEPA Assignment Program Performance 

Measures document located on its 

website. At the time of Audit #3, 

DOT&PF had not yet used a resource 

agency poll, and FHWA recommended 

that DOT&PF consider changing the 

method for reporting this measure. 

In May 2020 (prior to Audit #4), 

DOT&PF conducted an agency survey to 

assess changes in communication 

among DOT&PF, State, and Federal 

resource agencies. As described in 

DOT&PF’s Self-Assessment Report, the 

survey consisted of six questions 

distributed via an online platform to a 

representative cross section of State and 

Federal resource Agency staff. Twentyfour responses were received from 11 

different resource agencies. The 

DOT&PF asked the question: ‘‘Has the 

level of communication improved, 

declined, or remained the same since 

the MOU became effective?’’ Eleven of 

the responses indicated that there had 

been an improvement in 

communication and the remaining 

responses indicated there had been no 

change. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19703 Filed 9–12–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA–2021–0020] 

Surface Transportation Project 

Delivery Program; Arizona Department 

of Transportation FHWA 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 

established the Surface Transportation 

Project Delivery Program that allows a 

State to assume FHWA’s environmental 

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. This 

program mandates annual audits during 

each of the first 4 years of State 

participation to ensure compliance with 

program requirements. This is the 

second audit of the Arizona Department 

of Transportation’s (ADOT) performance 

of its responsibilities under the Surface 

Transportation Project Delivery Program 

(NEPA Assignment Program). This 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1