Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Notices 8631 

existence of a small business 

manufacturer of the identified products. 

Thus, SBA is proposing to terminate the 

class waiver for irradiation apparatus 

manufacturing, computerized axial 

tomography (CT/CAT) scanners 

manufacturing; CT/CAT (computerized 

axial tomography) scanners 

manufacturing; fluoroscopes 

manufacturing; fluoroscopic X-ray 

apparatus and tubes manufacturing; 

generators, X-ray, manufacturing; 

irradiation equipment manufacturing; 

X-ray generators manufacturing; and Xray irradiation equipment 

manufacturing under NAICS code 

334517 and PSC 6525. The public is 

invited to comment or provide source 

information on the proposed 

termination of the NMR waiver for these 

products. 

More information on the NMR and 

class waivers can be found at 

Nonmanufacturer rule (sba.gov). 

Wallace D. Sermons, II, 

Acting Director, Office of Government 

Contracting. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03202 Filed 2–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Docket No. FAA–2022–0201] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Requests for Comments; 

Clearance of Renewed Approval of 

Information Collection: Certification: 

Pilots and Flight Instructors 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 

invites public comments about our 

intention to request Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval to renew an information 

collection. FAA regulations prescribe 

certification standards for pilots, flight 

instructors, and ground instructors. The 

information collected is used to 

determine compliance with applicant 

eligibility. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by April 18, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the FAA 

at the following address: Dwayne C. 

Morris, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence Ave. 

SW, Washington, DC 20591; email: 

chris.morris@faa.gov. 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for FAA’s 

performance; (b) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to 

enhance the quality, utility and clarity 

of the information collection; and (d) 

ways that the burden could be 

minimized without reducing the quality 

of the collected information. The agency 

will summarize and/or include your 

comments in the request for OMB’s 

clearance of this information collection. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

Hardy by email at: jean.hardy@faa.gov. 

phone: 207–289–7287. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Control Number: 2120–0021. 

Title: Certification: Pilots and Flight 

Instructors. 

Form Numbers: 8710–1, 8710–13. 

Type of Review: This is a renewal of 

an existing information collection. 

Background: Persons applying for an 

airman certificate under part 61 are 

mandated to report information using 

the Airman certificate and/or Rating 

Application form and the required 

records, logbooks and statements to the 

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

Flight Standards District Offices or its 

representatives on occasion. This 

information is used to determine 

qualifications of the applicant for 

issuance of a pilot or instructor 

certificate, or rating or authorization. 

The FAA estimates that there are 

approximately 825,000 active 

certificated pilot airmen. This includes 

student, private, commercial, airline 

transport pilot certificate holders, as 

well as ground and flight instructors. 

Approximately 25% of these pilots are 

providing data on an annual basis. 

Instructor certificates must be renewed 

every 24 months to remain effective. If 

the information collection were not 

conducted, the FAA would be unable to 

issue the appropriate certificates and 

ratings. Persons applying for a remote 

pilot certificate with a small UAS rating 

under part 107, are mandated to report 

information using the FAA Form 8710– 

13, Remote Pilot Certificate and/or 

Rating Application. For applicants who 

do not hold a pilot certificate under part 

61, the Remote Pilot Certificate and/or 

Rating Application is submitted along 

with a documentation demonstrating 

that the applicant passed an 

aeronautical knowledge test. For 

applicants who hold a pilot certificate 

under part 61 and meet the flight review 

requirements of § 61.56, the Remote 

Pilot Certificate and/or Rating 

Application is submitted with evidence 

of completion of the training program is 

estimated to be approximately 25 

percent of the population of active 

certificated pilots and instructors. Given 

a population of 825,000, the result is 

approximately 206,250 respondents 

providing data on an annual basis. The 

total number of applicants for a remote 

pilot certificate with a small UAS rating 

is estimated to be 39,229 annually. 

Frequency: As needed. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: For the hour burdens 

resulting from the application 

requirements of the collection of 

information other than remote pilots 

with small UAS ratings, the FAA 

estimates that forms are submitted for 

these certificates and ratings at an 

average preparation time of 15 minutes 

(0.25 hrs) each. The average time 

estimate of 0.25 hours assumes that 

many individual applicants will submit 

an 8710–1 form more than once for 

various reasons, and that most of the 

information provided on the form likely 

will not have changed. For Part 107 we 

estimate that an average of 39,229 forms 

are submitted annually that require an 

average preparation time of 0.25 hours 

to complete. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: The 

total number of annual responses for the 

airman certification program is 

estimated to be 1,171,0405. The FAA 

estimates the total reporting burden 

hours to be 43,157 hours. The FAA 

estimates the total recordkeeping 

burden hours to be 282,329 hours. The 

FAA estimates the burden for the 

collection of information to be 325,486 

hours annually. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 9, 

2022. 

Dwayne C. Morris, 

Project Manager, Flight Standards Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03196 Filed 2–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA–2020–0014] 

Surface Transportation Project 

Delivery Program; Alaska Department 

of Transportation and Public Facilities 

Third 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 


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8632 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Notices 

that allows a State to assume FHWA’s 

environmental responsibilities for 

environmental review, consultation, and 

compliance under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

related environmental authorities 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 

four years of State participation to 

ensure compliance with program 

requirements. This notice announces 

the availability of the third 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 Mr. Patrick 

Smith, Office of the Chief Counsel, 202– 

366–1345, Patrick.C.Smith@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 and 

the final audit report may be 

downloaded from the specific docket 

page at www.regulations.gov, from the 

Office of the Federal Register’s website 

at www.FederalRegister.gov, or from the 

Government Publishing Office’s website 

at www.GovInfo.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 responsibilities for 

environmental 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 DOT&PF published 

its application for NEPA assignment 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 

(82 FR 40625), 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. FHWA must 

make the results of each audit available 

for public comment. FHWA published a 

notice in the Federal Register for a draft 

audit report on December 7, 2020 (85 FR 

78914), soliciting comments for 30 days 

pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327(g). FHWA 

received comments on the draft audit 

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 this audit report. This notice 

makes available the final audit report of 

DOT&PF’s third audit under the 

program. The final audit report is 

available for download at 

www.regulations.gov under [FHWA 

Docket No. FHWA–2020–0014]. 

Authority: Section 1313 of Public Law 

112–141; Section 6005 of Public Law 

109–59; 23 U.S.C 327; 23 CFR part 773. 

Stephanie Pollack, 

Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration. 

Surface Transportation Project Delivery 

Program, FHWA’s Audit of the Alaska 

Department of Transportation 

April 6–10, 2020 

Executive Summary 

This report summarizes the results of 

the Federal Highway Administration’s 

(FHWA) third 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. 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 a site visit in November 

2019. The audit team reviewed 

DOT&PF’s NEPA project files, 

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

considered DOT&PF’s Self-Assessment 

Report. On April 6–10, 2020, the audit 

team conducted a completely virtual 

site visit rather than its traditional inperson site visit due to COVID–19 

pandemic travel restrictions. 

The audit team appreciates DOT&PF’s 

responsiveness to questions regarding 

the status of general observations from 

the second audit. This third audit report 

concludes with a status update for 

FHWA’s observations from the second 

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 two general observations and 

three successful practices. 

Background 

The NEPA Assignment Program 

allows a State to assume FHWA’s 

responsibilities for environmental 

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 

through an MOU on November 13, 2017. 

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 third of four required 

annual audits pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Notices 8633 

327(g) and Part 11 of the MOU. 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 Secretary’s 

annual report to Congress. 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 the FHWA 

Alaska Division Office, the Chief 

Counsel’s Office, the Resource Center, 

and the Headquarters Offices of Project 

Development & Environmental Review 

and Infrastructure. 

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 interviewed resource agencies and 

DOT&PF staff 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: 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 

individual project files for which the 

environmental review had been 

completed. The audit team evaluated 

DOT&PFs 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 54 sampled files included 

programmatic CEs (actions approved in 

the regional offices as noted in 

DOT&PF’s November 2017 NEPA 

Assignment Categorical Exclusion 

guidance), CEs, Environmental 

Assessments (approved in the Statewide 

Environmental Office (SEO)), and reevaluations (approved by the same 

office as the original environmental 

document). 

PAIR Review: The audit team 

reviewed DOT&PF’s responses to the 

PAIR, which consisted of 32 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 

January 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 

21 interviews with DOT&PF staff. 

Interviewees included staff from each of 

DOT&PF’s three regional offices and its 

SEO. The audit team invited DOT&PF 

staff and middle management to 

participate in interviews to ensure they 

represented a diverse range of staff 

expertise, experience, and program 

responsibility. 

In addition, the audit team conducted 

two phone interviews of attorneys with 

the Alaska Department of Law and five 

phone interviews with staff at the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and 

the National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS). 

Policy/Guidance/Manual Review: 

Throughout the document reviews and 

interviews, the audit team verified 

information on DOT&PF’s NEPA 

Assignment Program including DOT&PF 

policies, guidance, manuals, and 

reports. This 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 two 

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 second 

audit. 

Non-Compliance Observations 

The audit team did not make any noncompliance observations in the third 

audit. 

Observations and Successful Practices 

This section summarizes the audit 

team’s observations of DOT&PF’s NEPA 

Assignment Program implementation, 

and DOT&PF’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. The DOT&PF 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 

DOT&PF could make improvements. 

‘‘Successful practices’’ are positive 

results 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 the fourth audit. The fourth 

audit report will include a summary 

discussion that describes progress since 

this audit. 

Program Management 

Program Management includes the 

overall administration of the NEPA 

Assignment Program. The audit team 

noted the following successful practices 

and observations related to program 

management. 

Successful Practice #1: Consultation 

With Resource Agencies 

The review team interviewed five staff 

from USACE and three staff from NMFS. 

Under Section 3.2.1 of the MOU, the 

State assumed DOT Secretary’s 

responsibilities for highway projects 

under NEPA for environmental review, 

reevaluation, consultation, or other 

actions required under the Endangered 

Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and 

other environmental laws. The audit 

teams’ assessment of DOT&PF’s 

compliance with consultation and 

permitting requirements under this 

section of the MOU resulted in the 

following five conclusions: 

1. DOT&PF is submitting complete 

and accurate information to both the 

USACE and NMFS for consultation and 

permitting requirements. 

2. DOT&PF is very responsive when 

agencies request additional information 

or revisions. 

3. DOT&PF submits comprehensive 

and timely monitoring reports when 

they are required for projects. 

4. DOT&PF has improved their 

oversight of construction contractors’ 

adherence to USACE permit conditions. 

The DOT&PF has self-reported permit 


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violations and worked with USACE to 

remedy the situation. 

5. DOT&PF has a good working 

relationship with USACE and NMFS. 

Some of the DOT&PF regions have set 

up regular meetings with the agencies to 

foster relationships and enhance 

communication. Resource agency 

interviews revealed that they think 

those meetings are helpful and would 

like them to continue. 

The USACE interviews identified an 

opportunity to increase the efficiency of 

interagency coordination. The DOT&PF 

should more clearly identify in the 

permitting package whether a project is 

a Federal undertaking or not, and 

identify what coordination it has 

completed. 

Observation #1: Self-Assessment 

Procedures 

Section 8.2.5 of the MOU (Monitoring 

and Oversight), requires DOT&PF to 

perform annual self-assessments of its 

QA/QC process and performance to 

determine if the process is working as 

intended. Section 10.1.3 of the MOU 

(Performance Measurement) requires 

DOT&PF to collect and maintain data 

related to the attainment of performance 

measures, monitor progress towards 

meeting performance measures, and 

include its progress in a self-assessment. 

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 Regional Environmental 

Managers. The audit team found that 

DOT&PF did not develop the January 

2020 Self-Assessment Report in 

accordance with their procedures, and 

did not distribute the final report to the 

regions. The audit team based this 

finding on interviews. 

Documentation and Records 

Management 

Documentation and Records 

Management includes maintaining 

project files and other recordkeeping 

(whether hardcopy or electronic) 

pertaining to DOT&PF’s discharge of the 

responsibilities it has assumed under 

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

November 1, 2018, through October 31, 

2019, DOT&PF made 287 project 

decisions. Through employing both 

random and judgmental sampling 

procedures, the audit team identified 54 

project decisions to review, and did not 

identify any systemic issues warranting 

an observation. 

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 is conducting regular 

QA/QC activities in accordance with the 

MOU, though opportunities exist to 

utilize trend data to continue improving 

the program. 

Training 

Under Sections 12.1 and 12.2 of the 

MOU, 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. 

Successful Practice #2: Central Region 

Organizational Cross-Training Initiative 

The Central Region has recently 

kicked off an organizational crosstraining initiative, called ‘‘Share-TheKnowledge,’’ that provides 

opportunities for environmental 

analysts to get exposure to informal 

training in other functional areas, such 

as transportation planning, realty, 

safety, highway design, operations, and 

construction. Cross-training provides a 

general awareness of how and to what 

extent NEPA reviews can relate to 

project planning and inform Federal-aid 

highway project development. 

Successful Practice #3: Taking 

Advantage of Training Opportunities 

Based on interviews, the audit team 

learned the South Coast Region invited 

Federal resource agency representatives 

to monthly meetings to encourage 

knowledge sharing and partnering. 

During a time when training budgets are 

limited, FHWA encourages DOT&PF to 

continue to take advantage of training 

opportunities that may be made 

available by Federal partners. One 

example was when DOT&PF staff 

participated in the recent NMFS 

acoustic training in Anchorage. 

Performance Measures 

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 observation 

related to Performance Measures. 

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. In addition, 

DOT&PF reported in this audit, and 

Audits 1 and 2, that an annual resource 

poll would be the method for collecting 

data towards monitoring this measure. 

The DOT&PF has not used a resource 

agency poll to date. Through the audit 

team’s review of DOT&PF’s SelfAssessment, PAIR, and audit interviews 

with DOT&PF, the audit team found that 

a poll was not a useful tool to assess 

changes in communication. The FHWA 

recommends that DOT&PF consider 

changing the method for reporting this 

measure. 

Legal Sufficiency 

Since 2017, the same attorney from 

the Department of Law (DOL), 

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 review 

process exceeded the standard set forth 

in the Environmental Procedures 

Manual, with the attorney being 

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 reviewed one 

Final Section 4(f) Evaluation and issued 

a finding of legal sufficiency in August 

2019. The attorney did not review an 

environmental impact statement during 

the audit period. 

The DOL management stated during 

the interviews that while one attorney is 

currently assigned to the program, 

should workload increase significantly 

another attorney would be assigned to 

NEPA work, perhaps through the 

utilization of outside counsel per 23 

U.S.C. 327(a)(2)(G). 

Based on these observations, the audit 

team finds that the DOT&PF meets the 

legal sufficiency determination and 

staffing requirements set forth in the 

DOT&PF Environmental Procedures 

Manual. 


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Status of Observations From Audit #2 

Report (April 2019) 

This section describes the actions 

DOT&PF has taken (or is taking) in 

response to observations made during 

the second audit. 

Observation #1: Applicability of Existing 

Interagency Agreements 

Section 5.1.3 of the MOU required the 

DOT&PF to work with FHWA and the 

resource agencies to modify existing 

interagency agreements within 6 months 

of the effective date of the MOU. During 

Audit 2, the audit team determined that 

none of DOT&PF’s existing agreements 

applied to the current NEPA 

Assignment Program under 23 U.S.C. 

327. According to the January 2020 SelfAssessment Report, ‘‘DOT&PF is not 

currently pursuing agency agreements 

per Section 5.1.4 of the MOU regarding 

appropriate processes and procedures.’’ 

Observation #2: DOT&PF Delegation of 

Authority for NEPA Approvals 

Section 3.3.1 of the MOU requires 

DOT&PF to make NEPA approvals (CE 

determinations, findings of no 

significant impact, or records of 

decision). Audit 2 revealed 

inconsistencies regarding the delegation 

of NEPA approvals within DOT&PF. 

The DOT&PF’s January 2020 SelfAssessment states that DOT&PF will 

incorporate a protocol that standardizes 

the delegation authority for NEPA 

approval in the regions in the February 

2020 update of its EPM. The DOT&PF 

has not made any changes to the EPM 

since February 2018 per the DOT&PF’s 

response to Audit 3’s Pre-Audit 

Information Request. In interviews 

conducted as part of Audit 3, DOT&PF 

relayed plans to incorporate this 

protocol into the EPM in May 2020. 

Currently, each region has its own 

delegation process. Generally, DOT&PF 

delegates NEPA approvals to the senior 

staff and communicates that delegation 

via email to affected parties. Most staff 

interviewed understand their region’s 

delegation process and new staff are 

becoming oriented with the process. 

Observation #3: Staff Capacity 

Sections 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 of the MOU 

outline the requirements for the State’s 

commitment of resources and adequate 

organizational staff capacity. Moderate 

to high staff turnover has been a 

recurring issue since the MOU went into 

effect (Audit #1 report Observation #3 

and Audit #2 report Observation #3). 

According to the January 2020 SelfAssessment Report, ‘‘DOT&PF’s staffing 

levels were a concern during this audit 

period and senior staff expended 

considerable effort to hire new qualified 

staff and to retain current staff. As a 

result of this effort, the regional offices 

are now fully or near fully staffed.’’ 

DOT&PF is aware of the issue and 

continues to track staffing impacts on 

the NEPA Assignment Program through 

the QA/QC process. 

Observation #4: Documentation of 

Environmental Commitments 

Section 5.1.1 of the MOU requires the 

State to follow Federal laws, 

regulations, policies, and procedures to 

implement the responsibilities assumed. 

Audit 2 revealed inconsistencies 

regarding how DOT&PF was 

documenting environmental 

commitments and making sure that 

DOT&PF carries the environmental 

commitments through the project 

development process and into 

construction. The DOT&PF developed 

written guidance on the documentation 

of environmental commitments. 

According to the January 2020 SelfAssessment Report, the guidance was 

implemented on May 5, 2019. Based on 

the interviews conducted as part of 

Audit 3, DOT&PF staff understood who 

certified that the environmental 

commitments were included in the 

plan, specifications, and estimates, as 

well as their role in the certification 

process. 

Observation #5: Inconsistency in Project 

Termini and Statewide Transportation 

Improvement Program (STIP) 

Section 3.3.1 of the MOU requires 

DOT&PF, at the time of NEPA approval 

(CE determination, finding of no 

significant impact, or record of 

decision), to ensure that the project’s 

design concept, scope, and funding is 

consistent with current planning 

documents. During Audit 2, the audit 

team found one project file with an 

inconsistency between project termini 

shown in a project plan and that 

described in the STIP, and similar 

inconsistencies in the DOT&PF’s Audit 

2 Self-assessment. Project scope 

inconsistencies were not found by the 

file review team during Audit 3. The 

DOT&PF’s Audit 3 Self-assessment 

identified one instance of a project 

description discrepancy that did not 

affect the scope of the project. Regional 

QC efforts appear to have improved this 

issue, although DOT&PF noted in their 

self-assessment that using the STIP 

project description as the project scope 

in environmental documents is not 

possible for all projects. 

Observation #6: Training Plan Update 

Section 12.2 of the MOU commits 

DOT&PF and FHWA to update the 

DOT&PF training plan annually in 

consultation with other Federal 

Agencies as appropriate. The DOT&PF 

did not update its Training Plan prior to 

or during the Audit 2 process. In their 

response to the Audit 3 PAIR, DOT&PF 

stated ‘‘the training plan was updated 

on October 29, 2019, with minor 

revisions to Section 5. A list of proposed 

training has been added to this section 

and the RD&T2 [Research, Development, 

and Technology Transfer], FHWA, and 

Prior Training Requests subsections 

have been removed.’’ Based on the 

information gathered through the PAIR 

and interviews, the audit team is 

satisfied that the DOT&PF addressed the 

training observation from the second 

audit. Moving forward, DOT&PF 

committed to coordinating with the 

FHWA Alaska Division Office and other 

Federal Agencies, as appropriate, for the 

future annual updates of the training 

plan. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03171 Filed 2–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Notice of OFAC Sanctions Actions 

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets 

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the 

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) is publishing the names 

of one or more persons that have been 

placed on OFAC’s Specially Designated 

Nationals and Blocked Persons List 

(SDN List) based on OFAC’s 

determination that one or more 

applicable legal criteria were satisfied. 

All property and interests in property 

subject to U.S. jurisdiction of these 

persons are blocked, and U.S. persons 

are generally prohibited from engaging 

in transactions with them. 

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for effective date(s). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OFAC: Andrea Gacki, Director, tel.: 

202–622–2490; Associate Director for 

Global Targeting, tel.: 202–622–2420; 

Assistant Director for Licensing, tel.: 

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Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 202–622–4855; 

or the Assistant Director for Sanctions 

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