53478 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 16, 2008 / Notices 

of Oregon: Highway 199 Expressway 

Upgrade. This project will improve U.S. 

199 from two lanes in each direction to 

three lanes in each direction from 

Tussey Lane to Dowell Road. Redwood 

Avenue at Allen Creek Road will be 

realigned to the north to accommodate 

future traffic volumes and queues. 

Median barrier and/or raised curb 

median will be constructed from Dowell 

Road to Midway Avenue to improve 

safety and eliminate crossing turn 

movements. The intersections of U.S. 

199 at Midway Avenue and U.S. 199 at 

Hubbard Lane will be improved to allow 

U-turns. The existing signals on U.S. 

199 at Redwood Avenue and 

Fairgrounds Road will be removed. A 

new signal will be installed on U.S. 199 

at Hubbard Lane. The actions by the 

Federal agency and the laws under 

which such actions were taken are 

described in the Environmental 

Assessment, Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment, Revised 

Environmental Assessment and FONSI 

issued on August 6, 2008, and in other 

documents in the FHWA project 

records. This notice applies to all 

Federal agency decisions as of the 

issuance date of this notice and all laws 

under which such actions were taken, 

including but not limited to: 

1. General: National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) [42 U.S.C 4321– 

4351]; Federal-Aid Highway Act [23 

U.S.C. 109 and 23 U.S.C. 128]. 

2. Air: Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401– 

7671(q)]. 

3. Land: Section 4(f) of the 

Department of Transportation Act of 

1966 [49 U.S.C. 303]. 

4. Wildlife: Endangered Species Act 

[16 U.S.C. 1531–1544 and Section 

1536]; Fish and Wildlife Coordination 

Act [16 U.S.C. 661–667 (d)]; Migratory 

Bird Treaty Act [16 U.S.C. 703–712]. 

5. Historic and Cultural Resources: 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, as amended 

[16 U.S.C. 470(f) et seq.]. 

6. Social and Economic: Civil Rights 

Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)– 

2000(d)(1)]. 

7. Executive Orders: E.O. 11990 

Protection of Wetlands; E.O. 12898, 

Federal Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low Income 

Populations; E.O. 13175 Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments; E.O. 13112 Invasive 

Species. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

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

Issued On: September 4, 2008. 

Michelle Eraut, 

Environmental Program Manager, 

Salem, Oregon. 

[FR Doc. E8–21357 Filed 9–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Value Pricing Pilot Program 

Participation, Fiscal Year 2009 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; solicitation for 

participation. 

SUMMARY: This notice invites State and 

local governments and other public 

authorities to apply to participate in the 

Value Pricing Pilot (VPP) program and 

presents guidelines for program 

applications. This notice supersedes 

three previous notices about the VPP 

program under the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 6, 2006 (71 FR 970), July 17, 

2006 (71 FR 40578), and December 22, 

2006 (71 FR 77084). A January 6, 2006, 

notice covering non-grant tolling 

programs, which was a companion to 

the original January 6, 2006, VPP 

program notice, remains in effect. That 

notice was entitled ‘‘Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

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

Opportunities for States and Other 

Qualifying Agencies to Gain Authority 

to Toll Facilities Constructed Using 

Federal Funds’’ (71 FR 965). Today’s 

new notice and the previous companion 

notice covering non-grant tolling 

programs are together intended to cover 

all of the opportunities for States and 

other qualifying transportation agencies 

to obtain approval to toll their 

respective facilities. 

DATES: Applications for tolling authority 

only may be submitted at any time. 

Formal grant applications, however, 

must be submitted no later than 

November 7, 2008, for FY 2009 funds. 

Application Submission: All Federal 

agencies, including FHWA, are required 

to use http://www.grants.gov, an 

electronic format for receiving 

applications. Grants.gov was developed 

as part of the President’s Management 

Agenda and related E-Government 

Strategy, which charged Federal grantmaking agencies with developing a 

single electronic system to help 

prospective applicants find and apply 

for Federal grant opportunities. 

Therefore, applicants requesting 

funding under the VPP program must 

file their applications online at http:// 

www.grants.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about this notice, please 

contact Mr. Wayne Berman, FHWA 

Office of Operations, (202) 366–4069, 

wayne.berman@dot.gov. For technical 

questions related to project 

development, please contact Mr. Patrick 

DeCorla-Souza, FHWA Office of 

Operations, at (202) 366–4076, 

patrick.decorla-souza@dot.gov. For legal 

questions, please contact Mr. Michael 

Harkins, FHWA Office of the Chief 

Counsel, (202) 366–4928, 

michael.harkins@dot.gov. Office hours 

for the FHWA are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 

p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

An electronic copy of this document 

may be downloaded from the Federal 

Register’s home page at: http:// 

www.archives.gov and the Government 

Printing Office’s database at: http:// 

www.access.gpo.gov/nara. 

Background 

Section 1012(b) of the Intermodal 

Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 

(ISTEA) (Pub. L. 102–240; 105 Stat. 

1914), as amended by section 1216(a) of 

the Transportation Equity Act (TEA–21) 

(Pub. L. 105–178; 112 Stat. 107), and 

section 1604(a) of the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) 

(Pub. L. 109–59; 119 Stat. 1144), 

authorizes the Secretary of 

Transportation (the Secretary) to create 

a Value Pricing Pilot program. Value 

pricing encompasses a variety of 

strategies to manage congestion on 

highways, including tolling of highway 

facilities, as well as other strategies that 

do not involve tolls, such as congestion 

pricing at port facilities, mileage-based 

vehicle taxes and leasing fees, parking 

pricing, and car sharing. The value 

pricing concept of assessing relatively 

higher prices for travel during peak 

periods is the same as that used in many 

other sectors of the economy to respond 

to peak-use demands. For example, 

airlines, hotels, and theaters often 

charge more at peak periods than at 

non-peak periods. 

The FHWA is seeking applications for 

the FY 2009 VPP program that are 

consistent with the objectives of the 

DOT’s National Strategy to Reduce 


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Congestion, announced on May 16, 

2006, which seeks to dedicate 

substantial Departmental resources 

toward addressing the growing problem 

of urban congestion. This national 

strategy, and its linkage to the VPP 

program applications that are being 

solicited by this notice, are discussed in 

greater detail later in this notice. 

Consistent with this national strategy, 

the primary objective of the VPP 

program for fiscal year 2009 will be to 

facilitate cities in systematically 

progressing toward implementation of 

broad congestion (variable) pricing in 

the relatively near term. 

According to the statutory 

requirements of the VPP program, 

FHWA may enter into cooperative 

agreements with up to 15 State or local 

governments or other public authorities 

(henceforth referred to only as ‘‘States’’) 

to establish, maintain, and monitor 

value pricing pilot programs, each 

including an unlimited number of 

projects. The FHWA invites interested 

States to apply to participate in the VPP 

program for FY 2009. As of the date of 

this notice, there are already 13 Stateled programs and 1 city-led program 

currently in the VPP program: 

California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, 

Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New 

Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, 

Virginia, Washington State, and New 

York City. Therefore, at this time, only 

one additional State or other public 

authority is eligible to participate. Any 

value pricing project included under 

these programs may involve the use of 

tolls on the Interstate system. This is an 

exception to the general provisions 

prohibiting tolls on the Interstate system 

as contained in 23 U.S.C. 129 and 301. 

To comply with the statutory cap on 

the number of partnering States and 

other public authorities in a manner that 

maximizes program participation, 

FHWA will only consider an ‘‘active’’ 

cooperative agreement sufficient to hold 

one of the 15 available value pricing 

slots. An agreement will be considered 

‘‘active’’ by FHWA under either of the 

following two conditions: (1) During the 

period encompassing the time between 

when a cooperative funding agreement 

for a project or projects has been signed 

and when the project or projects has or 

have been completed, and (2) if VPP 

program tolling authority has been 

granted and is still needed to toll a new 

or existing highway. Absent one or both 

of these conditions being met, an 

agreement will not be considered active 

for the purposes of the VPP program. If 

the State’s progress in moving forward 

to use its VPP tolling authority is 

unsatisfactory, FHWA reserves the right 

to withdraw that State’s authority in 

favor of other applicants seeking to 

obtain VPP tolling authority. A State 

that does not maintain an active 

agreement with FHWA risks being 

denied the opportunity to participate in 

the program in the future if no 

participation slots are left. 

A maximum of $12 million is 

authorized for fiscal year 2009 to be 

made available to carry out the VPP 

program. Of this $12 million, $3 million 

per fiscal year must be set-aside for 

value pricing pilot projects that do not 

involve highway tolls. The Federal 

share payable under the program is 80 

percent of the cost of the project. Funds 

allocated by the Secretary to a State 

under this section shall remain available 

for obligation by the State for a period 

of 3 years after the last day of the fiscal 

year for which funds are authorized. If, 

on September 30 of any year, the 

amount of funds made available for the 

VPP program, but not allocated, exceeds 

$8 million, the excess amount will, to 

comply with the statutory requirements 

of the VPP program, be apportioned to 

all States as Surface Transportation 

Program funds. 

Funds available for the VPP program 

can be used to support preimplementation study activities as well 

as to pay for pricing-specific 

implementation costs of value pricing 

projects. Pursuant to section 1012(b)(2) 

of ISTEA, FHWA may not fund preimplementation or implementation 

costs for more than 3 years. Also, 

section 1012(b)(6) of ISTEA provides 

that a State may permit vehicles with 

fewer than two occupants to operate in 

high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes if 

the vehicles are part of a local value 

pricing pilot program under this section. 

In addition to this authority under the 

VPP program, 23 U.S.C. 166 authorizes 

States to convert HOV lanes into high 

occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in which 

vehicles without the number of 

occupants required for HOV status are 

permitted to use a HOV lane if such 

vehicles are charged a toll. Since the 

authority to establish and operate a HOT 

lane (including HOT lanes on the 

Interstate System) is no longer 

experimental and has been 

‘‘mainstreamed’’ in 23 U.S.C. 166, the 

provisions of 23 U.S.C. 166 will 

generally be used for HOT projects in 

order to more effectively allocate VPP 

funds and program slots. 

Pursuant to section 1012(b)(7), the 

potential financial effects of value 

pricing projects on low-income drivers 

shall be considered. Where such effects 

are expected to be significant, possible 

mitigation measures should be 

identified, such as providing new or 

expanded transit service as an integral 

part of the value pricing project, toll 

discounts or credits for low-income 

motorists who do not have viable transit 

options, or fare or toll credits earned by 

motorists by use of regular lanes which 

can be used to pay for tolls on priced 

lanes. Mitigation measures can be 

included as part of the value pricing 

project implementation costs. 

Also, section 1012(b)(6) of ISTEA 

requires the Secretary to monitor the 

effect of value pricing programs for a 

period of at least 10 years and report to 

Congress every 2 years on the effects 

such programs are having on driver 

behavior, traffic volume, transit 

ridership, air quality, and availability of 

funds for transportation programs. 

Project partners will be expected to 

assist FHWA by providing data on their 

programs for use in these reports 

throughout the length of the monitoring 

and reporting period. 

In addition to the VPP program, other 

authorities are available that permit 

States to use tolling to finance highway 

construction and reconstruction, 

promote efficiency in the use of 

highways, and support congestion 

reduction by providing expanded 

flexibility under the following 

programs: HOV facilities; Interstate 

System Reconstruction and 

Rehabilitation Pilot; Interstate System 

Construction Toll Pilot; Express Lanes 

Demonstration Program; and Section 

129 toll agreements. For more 

information on these programs, please 

refer to the notice in the January 6, 

2006, Federal Register entitled, ‘‘Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

Users (SAFETEA–LU); Opportunities for 

State and Other Qualifying Agencies to 

Gain Authority to Toll Facilities 

Constructed Using Federal Funds’’ (71 

FR 965). 

Applicable Terms 

‘‘Value pricing,’’ ‘‘congestion 

pricing,’’ ‘‘peak-period pricing,’’ 

‘‘variable pricing,’’ and ‘‘variable 

tolling’’ are all terms used to refer to 

direct non-constant charges for road use, 

possibly varying by location, time of 

day, severity of congestion, vehicle 

occupancy, or type of facility. By 

shifting some trips to off-peak periods, 

to mass transit or other higheroccupancy vehicles, to non-motorized 

modes, or to routes away from 

congested facilities, or by encouraging 

consolidation of trips, value pricing 

charges are intended to promote 

economic efficiency both generally and 

within the commercial freight sector. 

They also achieve congestion reduction, 

improved air quality, energy 


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conservation, and transit productivity 

goals. 

A ‘‘value pricing project’’ means any 

pre-implementation activities or 

implementation of value pricing 

concepts or techniques discussed in the 

‘‘Potential Project Types’’ section of this 

notice and included under a State or 

local ‘‘value pricing pilot program.’’ A 

State is considered to have a value 

pricing pilot program if it has one or 

more approved value pricing projects. 

While the distinction between ‘‘project’’ 

and ‘‘program’’ may appear to be merely 

a technical one, it is significant in that, 

as described in the ‘‘Background’’ 

section of this notice, the number of 

total VPP programs is statutorily limited 

to 15, while there is no limit to the 

number of VPP projects allowed under 

each VPP program. 

A ‘‘value pricing program’’ means the 

combination of all value pricing projects 

within a State or local government or 

public authority. Any State or local 

government or public authority with a 

cooperative agreement for a value 

pricing program is deemed to have a 

value pricing program. 

‘‘Cooperative agreement’’ means the 

agreement signed between the FHWA 

and a State to establish and implement 

value pricing pilot projects. 

‘‘Toll agreement’’ means the 

agreement signed between the FHWA 

and a State and/or local government or 

public authority to provide for the 

statutorily authorized uses of toll 

revenues. 

Program Objective 

The overall objective of the VPP 

program is to support efforts by State 

and local governments or other public 

authorities to establish local value 

pricing pilot programs, to provide for 

the monitoring and evaluation of value 

pricing projects included in such 

programs, and to report on these effects. 

The VPP program’s primary focus is on 

value pricing with road tolls, with a 

secondary focus on other market-based 

approaches for congestion relief that do 

not involve road tolls, such as 

congestion pricing at port facilities, 

mileage-based vehicle taxes and leasing 

fees, parking pricing, and car sharing. 

The FHWA is seeking applications for 

funding and/or tolling authority to use 

value pricing to reduce congestion, 

improve system performance, and 

promote mobility in a manner 

consistent with the DOT’s National 

Strategy to Reduce Congestion on 

America’s Transportation Network, 

announced in May 2006. This strategy 

consists of a six-point plan, designed to 

both reduce congestion in the short-term 

and to build the foundation for 

successful longer-term congestion 

reduction efforts. One of the six 

elements of the plan is to ‘‘relieve urban 

congestion,’’ under which ‘‘[t]he 

Department will seek to enter * * * 

[a]greements with model cities, 

pursuant to which the cities and 

Department will commit to * * * 

implementing a broad congestion 

pricing or variable toll demonstration 

* * *’’ Consistent with this objective, 

all proposals should incorporate 

significant pricing mechanisms 

intended to reduce the level of 

congestion. 

With successful examples of facilityspecific pricing projects in operation in 

the U.S., the next step under the Value 

Pricing Pilot Program will focus on 

developing broader regionwide 

approaches. Metropolitan areas will be 

encouraged to develop pricing concepts 

and to collaborate with stakeholders to 

refine them and plan the process to 

deploy them in a phased manner. Some 

metropolitan areas, e.g., Los Angeles, 

San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, 

DC, have begun the process for adoption 

of congestion pricing as a long-term 

strategy to finance and manage their 

transportation systems. An objective of 

this solicitation is to expand the number 

of metropolitan areas that are 

developing regionwide approaches to 

congestion pricing by providing 

incentive grants to a limited number of 

Metropolitan Planning Organizations on 

a competitive basis. 

Potential Project Types 

To help meet the objectives of DOT’s 

National Strategy to Reduce Congestion 

on America’s Transportation Network, 

FHWA is interested in funding projects 

that have the greatest potential to lead 

to significant, broad, and relatively nearterm congestion relief. The FHWA will 

consider applications for funds that 

show that a project will achieve at least 

one of the following: (1) Build public 

support and a technical foundation for 

relatively near-term implementation of 

congestion pricing; (2) develop a pricing 

program with detailed plans and 

specifications leading to near-term 

implementation of congestion pricing; 

(3) perform a rigorous regional 

congestion pricing scenario study 

around a scenario that is both 

comprehensive and realistic, and/or; (4) 

implement broad-based pricing and 

evaluate its effectiveness. For preimplementation projects, applicants 

should demonstrate that there is already 

sufficient political support for their 

implementation, or that the project is 

well designed to bring about such 

support. 

Value pricing charges need to be 

targeted at a sizable number of vehicles 

that are causing congestion, and prices 

should be set at levels significantly 

variable to encourage drivers to use 

alternative times, routes, modes, or trip 

patterns, or to telecommute during 

congested periods. 

The FHWA is seeking VPP program 

applications from public entities to 

study or implement pricing that is broad 

and/or regional in nature and will no 

longer entertain applications for 

studying or implementing smaller 

projects. Applications should cover a 

significantly-sized geographical area 

and include multiple roadway facilities 

that are priced, an interconnected 

managed lane network, or cordon 

pricing, where, as in London and 

Stockholm, cars are charged a 

substantial fee to drive in a congested 

area on weekdays. Variable pricing of 

currently free and tolled facilities, 

pricing of multiple facilities or 

corridors, and/or combinations of road 

pricing and parking pricing will 

generally be required. Area-wide pricing 

applications that use technologies that 

provide travelers (including drivers and 

transit riders) with pre-trip and realtime congestion and pricing information 

on alternative travel modes and routes 

are especially encouraged to assist 

travelers in making efficient travel 

destination, mode and route choices. 

Cashless tolling (i.e., no toll booths) is 

required and dynamic pricing regimes 

based on real-time traffic conditions are 

preferred. 

As part of broad, regional pricing 

projects, the inclusion of new, 

innovative value pricing approaches is 

encouraged. Such approaches might 

entail pricing at major traffic 

bottlenecks, shifting from fixed to 

variable toll schedules on existing toll 

facilities (i.e., combinations of peakperiod surcharges and off-peak 

discounts), and pricing of queue jumps, 

where paying motorists can bypass 

motorists who choose not to pay, 

typically by using special lanes with 

priority signals at freeway entrance 

ramps. 

Projects should be designed to reflect 

the needs of low-income or other 

transportation-disadvantaged groups. 

Mitigation strategies to address equity 

concerns may include bus rapid transit 

or other enhancements of transportation 

alternatives for peak-period travelers, 

special reduced toll rates for lowincome travelers, limited monetary 

credits to all or just to low-income 

travelers that can be used to pay for tolls 

or transit fares (thereby allowing a 

limited amount of free travel before 

having to pay full fees), and credit-based 


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tolling programs such as toll credits 

earned by motorists in regular lanes or 

by transit users in the corridor which 

can later be used to pay tolls on priced 

lanes or for free transit trips. 

The FHWA is also interested in grant 

applications for projects that do not 

involve highway tolls. As discussed 

earlier, SAFETEA–LU sets aside at least 

$3 million per fiscal year for such 

projects. The FHWA encourages 

applicants to design such projects, to 

the extent possible, to complement or 

offer the potential for ‘‘broad’’ pricing as 

called for in the DOT’s National Strategy 

to Reduce Congestion on America’s 

Transportation Network. The FHWA in 

particular seeks tests of innovative port 

facility congestion pricing projects, such 

as the PierPass project currently 

operational at ports in the Los Angeles 

metropolitan area, and parking pricing 

strategies, including time-of-day pricing 

and charges reflective of congested 

conditions, provided the level and 

coverage of proposed parking charges is 

sufficient to reduce congestion. Among 

the parking pricing strategies that could 

be considered innovative include: 

surcharges for entering or exiting 

parking facilities during or near peak 

periods; citywide, on-street parking 

pricing that varies by demand; and a 

range of parking cash-out policies, 

where cash is offered to employees in 

lieu of subsidized parking, parking 

operators reimburse monthly patrons for 

unused parking days, or renters or 

purchasers in multifamily housing 

developments are provided direct 

financial saving for not availing of car 

parking spaces. 

It is the intent of FHWA to 

additionally set aside approximately $5 

million to be made available to up to 10 

Metropolitan Planning Organizations to 

develop comprehensive multimodal 

regional transportation packages that 

include congestion pricing as a key 

component, for eventual incorporation 

in the region’s transportation plan. 

Studies are encouraged to include 

evaluation of benefits, costs, revenues, 

environmental impacts, distributional 

impacts, and financial feasibility of each 

alternative package of transportation 

improvements, in comparison with the 

region’s currently adopted long range 

transportation plan. Development of 

alternative packages may involve 

stakeholder groups, including (among 

others) business groups, environmental 

groups, and advocates for social equity. 

Examples of the types of regional 

transportation studies already 

conducted include the Traffic Choices 

Study conducted by the Puget Sound 

Regional Council for the Seattle 

Metropolitan Area, and the Value 

Pricing Study conducted by the 

Metropolitan Washington Council of 

Governments. 

Pre-Implementation Studies 

States are encouraged to carry out preimplementation study activities 

designed to lead to implementation of a 

regional value pricing project in the 

relatively near-term, consistent with the 

objectives of the DOT’s National 

Strategy to Reduce Congestion on 

America’s Transportation Network. The 

intent of the pre-implementation study 

phase is to support efforts to identify 

and evaluate value pricing project 

alternatives, and to prepare the 

necessary groundwork for relatively 

near-term regional implementation. As 

indicated above, FHWA intends to set 

aside approximately $5 million to fund 

region-wide studies by Metropolitan 

Planning Organizations. So as to focus 

VPP program resources in a manner 

consistent with the DOT Congestion 

Initiative, FHWA will not fund purely 

academic studies of value pricing or 

studies that involve major expansions of 

existing facilities or area-wide planning 

studies covering many topics besides 

pricing and incorporating value pricing 

only as one of a number of options. 

Such studies may be funded with 

regular Federal-aid highway or transit 

planning funds. Applications for preimplementation studies will be 

evaluated based on the likelihood that 

they will lead to relatively near-term 

implementation of broad value pricing 

conforming to the objectives described 

in the previous section. 

Project Costs Eligible for Grant Funding 

The FHWA will provide up to the 

statutorily allowable 80 percent share of 

the estimated costs of an approved 

project. Funds available for the VPP 

program can be used to support preimplementation study activities and 

also to pay for implementation costs of 

value pricing projects. Costs of planning 

for, setting up, managing, operating, 

monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on 

local value pricing pilot projects are 

eligible for reimbursement, but neither 

pre-implementation study costs nor 

implementation costs may be 

reimbursed for longer than 3 years. The 

3-year funding limitation will begin on 

the date of the first disbursement of 

Federal funds for project activities. 

Examples of specific preimplementation and implementation 

costs eligible for reimbursement include 

the following: 

1. Pre-Implementation Study Costs— 

Covered activities include those 

undertaken to advance two key priority 

focus areas: foundation building and 

regional program development. 

a. Foundation building activities may 

be reimbursed, such as public 

participation, consensus building, 

marketing, modeling, and technology 

assessments; and 

b. Regional program development 

activities are also eligible for 

reimbursement, including project and 

financial planning, project design, 

creating project specifications, and 

activities required to meet Federal or 

State environmental or other planning 

requirements. 

2. Implementation Costs—Allowable 

costs for reimbursement under this 

priority focus area include those for 

setting up, managing, operating, 

evaluating, and reporting on a value 

pricing project, including: 

a. Necessary salaries and expenses, or 

other administrative and operational 

costs, such as installation of equipment 

for operation of a pilot project (e.g., 

Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) 

technology, video equipment for traffic 

monitoring, and other instrumentation), 

enforcement costs, costs of monitoring 

and evaluating project operations, and 

costs of continuing public relations 

activities during the period of 

implementation; 

b. ‘‘[M]itigation measures to deal with 

any potential adverse financial effects 

on low-income drivers[,]’’ per section 

1012(b)(7) of ISTEA as amended, 

including costs of providing 

transportation alternatives, such as new 

or expanded transit or ridesharing 

services provided as an integral part of 

the value pricing project. Funds are not 

available to replace existing sources of 

support for these services. 

Project implementation costs can be 

supported until such time that sufficient 

revenues are being generated by the 

project to fund such activities without 

Federal support, but in no case for 

longer than 3 years. Each 

implementation project included in a 

value pricing pilot program will be 

considered separately for this purpose. 

Funds may not be used to pay for 

activities conducted prior to approval 

for VPP program participation. Also, 

funds made available through the VPP 

program may not be used to construct 

new highway lanes or bridges, even if 

those facilities are to be priced, but toll 

ramps or minor pavement additions 

needed to facilitate toll collection or 

enforcement are eligible. 

Complementary actions, such as lane 

construction, the implementation of 

traffic control systems, or transit 

projects can be funded through other 

highway and transit programs under 

SAFETEA–LU and from new revenues 


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raised as a result of a pilot. VPP program 

applicants are encouraged to explore 

opportunities for combining VPP 

program funds with other funds. Federal 

funds may not, however, be used to 

match VPP program funds unless there 

is specific statutory authority to do so. 

Eligible Uses of Revenues 

Section 1012(b)(2) of ISTEA provides 

that revenues generated by any value 

pricing pilot project must be applied 

first to pay for pilot project operating 

costs. Any project revenues in excess of 

pilot project operating costs may, 

according to section 1012(b)(3) of 

ISTEA, be used for any projects eligible 

under Title 23, United States Code. A 

project’s operating costs include, but are 

not limited to, any costs necessary for a 

project’s execution; mitigation measures 

to deal with adverse financial effects on 

low-income drivers; the proper 

maintenance of the facility; any 

construction (including reconstruction, 

rehabilitation, restoration, or 

resurfacing) of the facility; any debt 

service incurred in implementing the 

project; and a reasonable return on 

investment by any private entity 

financing the project. States are 

encouraged to consider using excess 

revenue for projects designed to provide 

benefits to those traveling in the 

corridor where the project is being 

implemented. 

For VPP toll projects, FHWA and the 

public authority (including the State 

transportation department) having 

jurisdiction over a facility must enter 

into a toll agreement concerning the use 

of toll revenue to be generated under a 

value pricing project. The toll agreement 

will provide that the public authority 

use the revenues in accordance with the 

applicable statutory requirements. The 

execution of a toll agreement will 

facilitate oversight of a State’s 

compliance with revenue use 

requirements of the VPP program. 

Who Is Eligible To Apply? 

Qualified applicants for either tolling 

authority or grants (or both) include 

State or local governments or public 

authorities, such as tolling agencies. 

Although project agreements must be 

with the aforementioned public entities, 

and preferably with State departments 

of transportation in order to preserve 

participation slots, a VPP program 

partnership may also include private 

tolling authorities, for-profit companies, 

and non-profit organizations. 

The Value Pricing Pilot Program 

Applications 

Formal applications should be 

submitted online directly by the State 

department of transportation to http:// 

www.grants.gov. 

There is no particular format that is 

required for tolling authority 

applications or grant applications, 

although specific information is 

requested. Applications should include 

the following background information: 

a. The name, title, e-mail address, and 

phone number of the person who will 

act as the point of contact on behalf of 

the requesting agency, authority, or 

authorities; 

b. A description of the agency, 

authority, or authorities requesting 

funding and/or tolling authority; 

c. A statement as to whether only 

funding, both funding and tolling 

authority, or only tolling authority via 

the VPP program is being sought to 

support either pre-implementation or 

implementation activities as permitted; 

and 

d. A description of the public agency 

or agencies that will be responsible for 

operating, maintaining, and enforcing 

the tolling program, if applicable. 

The core of the application should 

include the following: 

1. A description of the congestion 

problem being addressed (current and 

projected); 

2. A description of the proposed 

pricing program and its goals; 

3. An identification of the facilities 

that will be covered, including whether 

any of the subject facilities is an 

Interstate facility, whether any HOV 

lanes currently exist on any of the 

facilities, and whether any construction 

related activities would be needed to 

implement the project and, if so, 

whether this is new construction, 

expansion, rehabilitation, 

reconstruction, or other; 

4. Where applicable, a plan for 

implementing or modifying tolls, and a 

related timetable. Where known, the 

range of anticipated tolls and the 

strategies to vary toll rates (i.e., the 

formulas for variable pricing), the 

technology to be used, enforcement 

programs, and operating details; 

5. Anticipated effects of the pricing 

program on reducing congestion, 

altering travel behavior, and 

encouraging the use of other 

transportation modes; 

6. Preliminary estimates of the social 

and economic effects of the pricing 

program, including potential equity 

impacts, and a plan or methodology for 

further refining such estimates; 

7. The role of alternative 

transportation modes in the project; 

8. A description of the tasks to be 

carried out as part of each phase of the 

project; 

9. A detailed project timeline broken 

down by tasks and phases; 

10. An itemized budget broken down 

by task and funding year (i.e., Year 1, 

Year 2, etc.), which is only required for 

grant applications; 

11. Plans for monitoring and 

evaluating implementation projects, 

including plans for data collection and 

analysis, before and after assessment, 

and long-term monitoring and 

documenting of project effects; 

12. A detailed finance and revenue 

plan, including (for implementation 

projects) a budget for capital and 

operating costs; a description of all 

funding sources, planned expenditures, 

and proposed uses of revenues; and a 

plan for projects to become financially 

self-sustaining (without Federal 

support) within 3 years of 

implementation, all of which is only 

required for grant applications; 

13. A discussion of previous public 

involvement, including public meetings, 

in the development of the proposed 

pricing program; any expressions or 

declarations of support from State or 

local government officials or the public; 

future plans for involving key affected 

parties, coalition building, and media 

relations, and more broadly for ensuring 

adequate public involvement prior to 

implementation; 

14. Plans for meeting all Federal, State 

and local legal and administrative 

requirements for project 

implementation, including relevant 

Federal-aid planning and environmental 

requirements; 

15. A description of how, if at all, any 

private entities are involved in the 

project either in the up-front costs to 

enact tolling, or the cost sharing or debt 

retirement associated with revenues; 

and 

16. An explanation about how 

electronic toll collection project 

components will be compatible with 

other ETC systems in the region. 

If some of these items are not 

available or fully developed at the time 

the formal application is submitted, 

applications will still be considered for 

grant funding support if they meet the 

interests of FHWA, as described earlier 

in the section entitled ‘‘Potential Project 

Types,’’ and if there is a strong 

indication that these items will be 

completed within a short time. 

VPP Program Process 

A. Requests for Funding 

To ensure that all projects receive fair 

and equal consideration for the limited 

available funds, FHWA requires formal 

grant applications to be submitted no 

later than November 7, 2008, for FY 

2009 funds to http://www.grants.gov. 


ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 16, 2008 / Notices 53483 

B. Projects for Which No Funds Are 

Requested 

Although most projects under the VPP 

program involve program funds, some 

projects do not, and instead only seek 

tolling authority under the program. In 

such cases, and especially where a State 

is not already part of the VPP program, 

FHWA recommends that the public 

authority investigate the other 

opportunities to gain authority to toll 

that are listed in the notice in the 

January 6, 2006, Federal Register, 

entitled ‘‘Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 

Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU); 

Opportunities for State and Other 

Qualifying Agencies to Gain Authority 

to Toll Facilities Constructed Using 

Federal Funds’’ (71 FR 965). 

Post-Selection Process 

If approved, a formal cooperative 

agreement will be prepared between the 

FHWA and the State. The cooperative 

agreement will include a refined scope 

of work developed from the original 

funding application and subsequent 

discussions with FHWA. Federal 

statutes will govern the cooperative 

agreement. Regulations cited in the 

agreement, and 49 CFR Part 18, Uniform 

Administrative Requirements for Grants 

and Cooperative Agreements to State 

and Local Governments, will also apply. 

As a practical matter, each value pricing 

project must have a separate cooperative 

agreement. Although, in the past, the 

FHWA has allowed some States to have 

a master cooperative agreement that is 

subsequently amended for each 

approved project, in the future the 

FHWA will execute a separate 

agreement for each project. For value 

pricing projects that involve only toll 

authority and that do not involve 

requests for Federal funds, a cooperative 

agreement must still be executed. 

Where the implementation of tolling 

is part of the VPP project, Federal 

tolling authority is required. To secure 

such authority for a VPP project, a 

cooperative agreement will be executed, 

regardless of whether VPP program 

funding is being provided. The 

cooperative agreement must include all 

of the information normally required as 

part of a tolling agreement (stipulating 

the terms of the tolling, providing 

details on the dispensation of revenues, 

etc.). A separate tolling agreement will 

not be required. As discussed 

previously, revenues must generally 

first be used to cover debt service, 

provide reasonable return on private 

party investments, and operate and 

maintain the facility. Any remaining 

revenues may then be used for other 

Title 23, United States Code eligible 

purposes. 

Where tolling authority is secured 

through a VPP program cooperative 

agreement, such an agreement, like 

tolling agreements providing the 

authority to toll under other Federal 

provisions and programs, will be signed 

by the Executive Director of FHWA. If 

tolling authority is not required, the 

cooperative agreement will be signed by 

the FHWA Division Administrator of 

the State Division Office. All 

cooperative agreements will be 

administered jointly by FHWA’s Office 

of Operations and FHWA’s State 

Division Office. 

Other Requirements 

Prior to FHWA approval of pricing 

project implementation, value pricing 

programs must be shown to be 

consistent with Federal metropolitan 

and statewide planning requirements 

(23 U.S.C. 134 and 135; and, if 

applicable, 49 U.S.C. 5303 and 5304). 

Implementation projects involving 

tolls outside metropolitan areas must be 

included in the approved statewide 

transportation improvement program 

and be selected in accordance with the 

requirements set forth in section 

1204(f)(3) of the TEA–21. 

Implementation projects involving 

tolls in metropolitan areas must be: (a) 

Included in, or consistent with, the 

approved metropolitan transportation 

plan (if the area is in nonattainment for 

a transportation related pollutant, the 

metropolitan plan must be in 

conformance with the State air quality 

implementation plan); (b) included in 

the approved metropolitan and 

statewide transportation improvement 

programs (if the metropolitan area is in 

a nonattainment area for a 

transportation related pollutant, the 

metropolitan transportation 

improvement program must be in 

conformance with the State air quality 

implementation plan); (c) selected in 

accordance with the requirements in 

section 1203(h)(5) or (i)(2) of TEA–21; 

and (d) consistent with any existing 

congestion management system in 

Transportation Management Areas, 

developed pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 

134(i)(3). 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; sec. 1216(a), Pub. 

L. 105–178, 112 Stat. 107; Pub. L. 109–59; 

117 Stat. 1144. 

Issued on: September 9, 2008. 

Thomas J. Madison, Jr., 

Federal Highway Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–21517 Filed 9–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2004–18898] 

Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 

Initiative 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of public listening 

session. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

announces a public listening session to 

obtain feedback from interested parties 

on the Agency’s Comprehensive Safety 

Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) initiative, a 

comprehensive review, analysis, and 

restructuring of FMCSA’s current safety 

fitness determination process and 

enforcement programs. FMCSA will use 

the listening session to brief participants 

on the direction and progress of CSA 

2010 and obtain feedback from its 

partners and stakeholders. FMCSA also 

requests comments on the CSA 2010 

operational model described in this 

notice. 

DATES: The Public Listening Session 

will be held on October 16, 2008, from 

8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Participant 

registration will be from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. 

Written comments must be received by 

January 31, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The Public Listening 

Session will be held at the Key Bridge 

Marriott, 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, 

VA 22209. You may submit comments 

identified by FDMS Docket ID Number 

FMCSA–2004–18898 and by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket ID for this 

Notice. Note that DOT posts all 

comments received without change to 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 


ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES