102246 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Notices 

County, Texas. This project will 

construct four elevated SH 35 main 

lanes in the median and intersection 

improvements at FM 528 and Wheeler 

Rd. The project will also reconstruct the 

existing SH 35 lanes to serve as frontage 

roads. The length of the project is 

approximately 1.33 mile. The actions by 

TxDOT and Federal agencies and the 

laws under which such actions were 

taken are described in the Categorical 

Exclusion Determination issued on 

November 25, 2024, and other 

documents in the TxDOT project file. 

The Categorical Exclusion 

Determination and other documents in 

the TxDOT project file are available by 

contacting the TxDOT Houston District 

Office at 7600 Washington Avenue, 

Houston, Texas 77007; telephone: (713) 

802–5000. 

10. FM 2100 from Huffman-Cleveland 

Road (North) to SH 99 (Grand Parkway), 

Harris County, Texas. The 5.6-mile-long 

project will expand the roadway from 

two lanes to a four-lane divided 

highway with a sidewalk on one side 

and a shared use path on the other. Part 

of the road will be realigned on new 

location. The actions by TxDOT and 

Federal agencies and the laws under 

which such actions were taken are 

described in the Final Environmental 

Assessment (EA), the Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) issued on 

September 13, 2024, and other 

documents in the TxDOT project file. 

The EA, FONSI and other documents in 

the TxDOT project file are available by 

contacting the TxDOT Houston District 

Office at 7600 Washington Avenue, 

Houston, TX 77007; telephone: (713) 

802–5000. 

11. FM 6 from SH 78 to FM 1777, 

Collin County, Texas. The project 

includes reconstruction to an ultimate 

phase of six 12-foot-wide travel lanes 

(three lanes in each direction), with an 

interim phase of four 12-foot-wide lanes 

(two lanes in each direction). The 

roadway facility will also include 

shoulders, dedicated turn lanes, and 

shared use paths. The shared use paths 

will be included along both the south 

and north sides of the roadway 

alignment. This project is approximately 

7.88 miles in length. The actions by 

TxDOT and Federal agencies and the 

laws under which such actions were 

taken are described in the Final 

Environmental Assessment (EA), 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) issued on October 16, 2024, 

and other documents in the TxDOT 

project file. The EA, FONSI, and other 

documents in the TxDOT project file are 

available by contacting the TxDOT 

Dallas District Office at 4777 E. 

Highway 80, Mesquite, TX 75150; 

telephone: (214) 320–4480. 

12. FM 1387 from North Midlothian 

Parkway to FM 664, Ellis County, Texas. 

The project will include the expansion 

of the current two-lane roadway to an 

interim four-lane roadway (ultimate sixlane roadway). The improvements 

consist of 11- to 12-foot-wide travel 

lanes with a 10-foot-wide shared use 

path in the westbound direction and a 

5-foot-wide sidewalk in the eastbound 

direction with a variable-width, raised 

median. This project is approximately 

5.8 miles in length. The actions by 

TxDOT and Federal agencies and the 

laws under which such actions were 

taken are described in the Final 

Environmental Assessment (EA), 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) issued on November 13, 2024, 

and other documents in the TxDOT 

project file. The EA, FONSI, and other 

documents in the TxDOT project file are 

available by contacting the TxDOT 

Dallas District Office at 4777 E. 

Highway 80, Mesquite, TX 75150; 

telephone: (214) 320–4480. 

13. SL 390/US 59 Relief Route (Future 

I–369), from 0.7 mile north of US 80 to 

I–20, Harrison County, Texas. The 

project will construct a controlled 

access roadway with two southbound 

12-foot main lanes and two northbound 

12-foot main lanes separated by a grassy 

median. One-way frontage roads will be 

constructed on either side of the 

proposed roadway and will consist of 

two 12-foot travel lanes offset from the 

main lanes by a grassy median. On- and 

off-ramps will be constructed 

throughout the length of the proposed 

roadway. The actions by TxDOT and 

Federal agencies and the laws under 

which such actions were taken are 

described in the Final Environmental 

Assessment (EA), the Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) issued on 

November 20, 2024, and other 

documents in the TxDOT project file. 

The EA, FONSI, and other documents in 

the TxDOT project file are available by 

contacting the TxDOT Atlanta District 

Office at 701 E. Main Street, Atlanta, 

Texas 75551; telephone: (903) 796– 

2851. 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1) 

Michael T. Leary, 

Director, Planning and Program Development, 

Federal Highway Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29756 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket No.: FHWA–2024–0078] 

Section 139 Efficient Environmental 

Reviews for Project Decisionmaking 

and One Federal Decision Interim Final 

Guidance 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), Federal 

Railroad Administration (FRA), Federal 

Transit Administration (FTA), U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice requests 

comments on FHWA, FRA, and FTA’s 

(collectively the ‘‘Agencies’’) revised 

Section 139 Efficient Environmental 

Reviews for Project Decisionmaking and 

One Federal Decision Interim Final 

Guidance (Interim Final Guidance). This 

Interim Final Guidance explains the 

environmental review process and best 

management practices for the surface 

transportation projects to which the 

Section 139 environmental review 

process applies. This Interim Final 

Guidance supersedes and replaces the 

SAFETEA–LU Environmental Review 

Process Final Guidance, jointly issued 

by FHWA and FTA in 2006. This 

Interim Final Guidance reflects statutory 

amendments to the Section 139 

environmental review process and 

includes information on the FRA and 

railroad projects. 

DATES: This Interim Final Guidance is 

effective on December 17, 2024. 

Comments must be received on or 

before February 18, 2025. Late-filed 

comments will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not 

duplicate your docket submissions, 

please submit comments by only one of 

the following means: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. This website 

allows the public to enter comments on 

any Federal Register notice issued by 

any agency. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Notices 102247 

1On March 13, 2015, FHWA and FTA published 

a notice of availability and accepted public 

comments on proposed revisions to the guidance to 

reflect the provisions of MAP–21. However, the 

proposed guidance was not finalized. All comments 

received were considered by the Agencies in 

drafting this Interim Final Guidance. 

2The term ‘‘major project’’ is defined in 23 U.S.C. 

139(a)(7). 

Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The telephone 

number is (202) 366–9329. 

• Instructions: You should identify 

the agency name (Federal Highway 

Administration, Federal Railroad 

Administration or Federal Transit 

Administration) and the docket number 

at the beginning of your comments. Late 

comments will be considered to the 

extent practicable. Note that all 

comments received will be posted 

without change to www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

the FHWA: Ms. Damaris Santiago, 

Office of Project Development and 

Environmental Review, (202) 494–2862, 

damaris.santiago@dot.gov, or Ms. Diane 

Mobley, Office of Chief Counsel, (202) 

366–1366, Diane.Mobley@dot.gov. For 

FRA: Ms. Marlys Osterhues, Office of 

Environmental Program Management, 

(202) 493–0413, marlys.osterhues@

dot.gov, or Mr. Faris Mohammed, Office 

of Chief Counsel, (202) 493–7064, 

faris.mohammed@dot.gov. For FTA: Ms. 

Megan Blum, Office of Environmental 

Policy and Programs, (202) 366–0463, 

Megan.Blum@dot.gov, or Mr. Mark 

Montgomery, Office of Chief Counsel, 

(202) 366–1017, mark.montgomery@ 

dot.gov. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. 

to 5:00 p.m., ET, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal Holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

A copy of the Interim Final Guidance 

is available for download and public 

inspection through www.regulations.gov 

using the docket number listed above, 

and on the FHWA, FRA and FTA 

websites, respectively: 

www.fhwa.dot.gov, 

www.railroads.dot.gov, and 

www.transit.dot.gov. Electronic retrieval 

assistance and guidelines are also 

available at www.regulations.gov. An 

electronic copy of this document also 

may be downloaded from the Office of 

the Federal Register’s website at: 

www.FederalRegister.gov and the U.S. 

Government Publishing Office’s website 

at: www.GovInfo.gov. 

Background 

Section 6002 of the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU), 

(Pub. L. 109–59), codified at 23 U.S.C. 

139, prescribed changes to: FHWA and 

FTA procedures for implementing the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended; the Council 

on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) 

implementing regulations, 40 CFR parts 

1500–1508; and FHWA’s and FTA’s 

NEPA procedures, 23 CFR part 771. 

Section 6002 was intended to make the 

FHWA and FTA environmental review 

processes more efficient and to protect 

environmental and community 

resources. 

On November 16, 2006, FHWA and 

FTA jointly issued guidance (71 FR 

66576), titled SAFETEA–LU 

Environmental Review Process Final 

Guidance (2006 Guidance). Since the 

2006 Guidance, there have been 

statutory amendments to the Section 

139 environmental review process as a 

result of the following: subtitle c of the 

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 

Century Act (MAP–21), (Pub. L. 112– 

141); section 1304 of the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation Act 

(FAST Act) (Pub. L. 114–94); section 

11301 of the Infrastructure Investment 

and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117–58, also 

known as the ‘‘Bipartisan Infrastructure 

Law’’ (BIL)); and amendments to NEPA 

in section 321 of the Fiscal 

Responsibility Act (Pub. L. 118–5). 

The MAP–21 amended the Section 

139 environmental review process by 

promoting accelerated project delivery 

through the increased use of categorical 

exclusions, programmatic approaches 

and planning and environment 

linkages.1 The FAST Act further 

amended the Section 139 environmental 

review process by institutionalizing best 

practices for accelerating complex 

infrastructure projects without 

undermining critical environmental 

laws or opportunities for public 

engagement. In addition, section 11503 

of the FAST Act required FRA to apply 

the Section 139 environmental review 

process to railroad projects to the 

greatest extent feasible. 49 U.S.C. 24201. 

The BIL further amended the Section 

139 environmental review process by 

codifying the One Federal Decision 

process for major projects.2

In 2023, section 321 of the Fiscal 

Responsibility Act amended NEPA. 

However, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 

did not amend the Sec. 139 

environmental review process. The 

Agencies have harmonized the NEPA 

amendments and the Sec. 139 

environmental review process to the 

maximum extent possible in the Interim 

Final Guidance. In a few instances, the 

Sec. 139 environmental review process 

provides specific procedural 

instructions that control for certain 

types of projects, and these are pointed 

out in the guidance. 

The Agencies are jointly issuing 

interim final guidance on the Section 

139 environmental review process that 

reflects amendments to 23 U.S.C. 139, 

including the addition of FRA and 

applicability to railroad projects, and 

NEPA, as amended by the Fiscal 

Responsibility Act. This Interim Final 

Guidance, currently effective, 

supersedes and replaces the 2006 

Guidance. This Interim Final Guidance 

will remain in effect until final guidance 

is issued or this interim final guidance 

is rescinded. This Interim Final 

Guidance does not supersede guidance 

and regulations promulgated by the 

Agencies under NEPA, including 23 

CFR part 771. 

Summary of Previous Comments 

Received 

The FHWA and FTA published a 

proposed revised guidance following 

enactment of MAP–21 for public 

comment on March 13, 2015 (80 FR 

13458). While the 2015 proposed 

guidance was never finalized, the 

Agencies considered all comments in 

developing this Interim Final Guidance. 

The Agencies received 11 comments 

from: one Federal agency (U.S. 

Department of the Interior), three State 

departments of transportation (New 

York, Texas, and Wisconsin), three 

transit authorities (San Francisco Bay 

Area Rapid Transit District, San 

Francisco Municipal Transportation 

Agency, and Tri-County Metropolitan 

Transportation District of Oregon), one 

State agency (State of Arizona Game and 

Fish Department), and three 

professional associations (American 

Public Transportation Association, 

American Association of State Highway 

and Transportation Officials, and the 

American Road & Transportation 

Builders Association). Seven of the 11 

commenters offered general support for 

the draft guidance, but all 11 

commenters suggested revisions to 

specific questions or answers found in 

the draft guidance. The Agencies 

considered all comments in developing 

this Interim Final Guidance but note 

that some comments were superseded 

by the enactment of the FAST Act or 

other statutory amendments. All 

comments can be found at: https://

www.regulations.gov/docket/FHWA2015-0001/comments. 

Request for Comments 

The Agencies request comments on 

this Interim Final Guidance, which is 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
102248 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Notices 

available in the docket for this notice 

and on FHWA’s, FTA’s and FRA’s 

websites. The Agencies will consider 

any substantive comments received on 

the Interim Final Guidance and will 

either revise this interim guidance based 

on comments received or will finalize 

this interim guidance. 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139; Pub. L. 112– 

141, 126 Stat. 405; Pub. L. 114–94, 129 

Stat. 1312; Pub. L. 117–58, 135 Stat. 

429; Pub. L. 118–5, 137 Stat. 10; 23 CFR 

part 771; 40 CFR parts 1500–1508. 

Kristin White, 

Acting Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration. 

Amitabha Bose, 

Administrator, Federal Railroad 

Administration. 

Veronica Vanterpool, 

Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29637 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[FTA–2021–0010] 

Notice of Availability of Final Policy 

Guidance for the Capital Investment 

Grants Program 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of availability of final 

policy guidance for the Capital 

Investment Grants program. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) is making 

available the agency’s final policy 

guidance for the Capital Investment 

Grants (CIG) program. This version 

amends FTA’s Initial CIG Policy 

Guidance published in January 2023, 

and incorporates feedback FTA received 

from the public comment on its 

proposed Policy Guidance published in 

the Federal Register in April 2024. The 

final guidance has been placed in the 

docket and posted on the FTA website. 

The policy guidance complements 

FTA’s regulations that govern the CIG 

program. 

DATES: This final policy guidance is 

effective January 16, 2025. Companion 

documents to the CIG Policy Guidance 

such as reporting instructions, CIG 

reporting templates, and standard cost 

category worksheets will be updated on 

the FTA website prior to the effective 

date. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Day, FTA Office of Planning 

and Environment, telephone (202) 366– 

5159 or Elizabeth.Day@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final 

policy guidance document contains 

binding obligations, which 49 U.S.C. 

5334(k) defines as ‘‘a substantive policy 

statement, rule, or guidance document 

issued by the Federal Transit 

Administration that grants rights, 

imposes obligations, produces 

significant effects on private interests, or 

effects a significant change in existing 

policy.’’ Under 49 U.S.C. 5334(k), FTA 

may issue binding obligations if it 

follows notice and comment rulemaking 

procedures under 5 U.S.C. 553. Prior to 

making the amendments announced 

today, FTA followed such procedures. 

The policy guidance that FTA 

periodically issues for the CIG program 

complements the FTA regulations that 

govern the CIG program, codified at 49 

CFR part 611. The regulations set forth 

the process that grant applicants must 

follow to be considered for discretionary 

funding under the CIG program, and the 

procedures and criteria FTA uses to rate 

and evaluate projects to determine their 

eligibility for discretionary CIG program 

funding. The policy guidance provides 

a greater level of detail about the 

methods FTA uses and the sequential 

steps a sponsor must follow in 

developing a project. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5309(g)(5), FTA 

is required to publish policy guidance 

on the CIG program each time the 

agency makes significant changes to the 

review and evaluation process and 

criteria, but not less frequently than 

once every two years. In April 2024, 

FTA published a notice in the Federal 

Register (89 FR 24086), seeking 

comment on proposed changes to FTA’s 

Initial CIG Policy Guidance issued in 

January 2023 (88 FR 2166), which were 

informed by feedback FTA received in 

response to its Request for Information 

published in the Federal Register in 

July 2021 (86 FR 37402). The amended 

Final CIG program policy guidance is 

being made available today on the 

agency’s public website at https://

www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grantprograms/capital-investments/capitalinvestment-grants-program-regulationsguidance, and in the docket at https:// 

www.regulations.gov/docket/FTA-2021- 

0010/. Additionally, FTA’s response to 

the comments received on the proposed 

changes are available in the docket. 

FTA is exempting certain projects 

from following the new amended Final 

CIG Policy Guidance. Specifically, 

projects already in the Project 

Development or Engineering phases of 

the CIG program as of the date of 

publication of this notice that have been 

evaluated and rated at least once by 

FTA under the January 2023 CIG Policy 

Guidance and that meet the 

requirements for receipt of a CIG 

construction grant award by the end of 

calendar year 2025 are exempt from 

following the new amended Final CIG 

Policy Guidance. These projects may 

continue to follow the January 2023 

Initial CIG Policy Guidance. To 

demonstrate a project has met the 

requirements for receipt of a 

construction grant award by the end of 

calendar year 2025, the project sponsor 

must submit a complete construction 

grant application to FTA no later than 

September 1, 2025. If a project sponsor 

desires to have an exempt project 

evaluated and rated under the new 

amended Final CIG Policy Guidance 

rather than the prior January 2023 Initial 

CIG Policy Guidance, the sponsor may 

notify FTA of this desire. 

Veronica Vanterpool, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29616 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

[Docket Number: DOT–OST–2024–0120] 

RIN 2105–AF17 

USDOT Federal Flood Risk 

Management Standard (FFRMS) 

Interim Guidelines 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The impacts of flooding affect 

the environment, economic prosperity, 

and public health and safety across the 

Nation. The Federal Flood Risk 

Management Standard (FFRMS) seeks to 

improve the resilience of communities 

and Federal assets against the impacts of 

flooding from extreme events and 

climate change. DOT has developed 

these FFRMS Interim Guidelines to 

advance the goals of the FFRMS and to 

outline the steps DOT is taking to 

implement the FFRMS across the 

Department. 

DATES: Comments due by February 18, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by docket number DOT–OST– 

2024–0120 by the following method: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for sending comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Heather Holsinger, 202–366–6263, 

Heather.Holsinger@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1