[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50312-50313]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23663]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

25 CFR Part 170

[178A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900 253G]
RIN 1076-AF38


Tribal Transportation Program; Delay of Compliance Date

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Interim final rule.

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SUMMARY: This interim final rule updates the Tribal Transportation 
Program regulations published in 2016 to delay the deadline for Tribes 
to comply with requirements to collect data on proposed roads for the 
National Tribal Transportation Facility Inventory (NTTFI).

DATES: This rule is effective October 31, 2017. Submit comments by 
November 30, 2017. Compliance with Sec.  170.443 for proposed roads 
currently in the NTTFI to remain in the inventory is required by 
November 7, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either: (1) Federal rulemaking 
portal www.regulations.gov (the rule is listed under the agency name 
``Bureau of Indian Affairs''); or (2) Mail, Hand Delivery, or Courier 
to: Ms. Elizabeth Appel, Office of Regulatory Affairs & Collaborative 
Action, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Mail Stop 
4660, Washington, DC 20240. We cannot ensure that comments received 
after the close of the comment period (see DATES) will be included in 
the docket for this rulemaking and considered. Comments sent to an 
address other than those listed above will not be included in the 
docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. LeRoy Gishi, Division of 
Transportation, Office of Indian Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
(202) 513-7711, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#234f46514c5a0d444a504b4a63414a420d444c55"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="deb2bbacb1a7f0b9b7adb6b79ebcb7bff0b9b1a8">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Summary of Rule

    Regulations governing the Tribal Transportation Program published 
last year. See 81 FR 78456 (November 7, 2016). The regulations became 
effective on December 7, 2016, except for Sec.  170.443, which required 
Tribes' compliance one year later: on November 7, 2017. Section 170.443 
requires Tribes to collect data for proposed roads to be added to, or 
remain in, the NTTFI. This interim final rule affects only Sec.  
170.443. The rule delays the current November 7, 2017, deadline for 
compliance with that section to November 7, 2019. This delay will allow 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs time to reexamine the need for this data 
collected in the NTTFI and consult with Tribes on whether revision or 
deletion of the data collection requirements in Sec.  170.443 is 
appropriate. The Bureau of Indian Affairs finds that there is good 
cause to place this rule into immediate effect before receiving public 
comment and without a 30-day waiting period because the delay in the 
compliance deadline is expected to be uncontroversial with both the 
impacted Tribes and the public, and placing into immediate effect will 
eliminate potentially needless expenditure of resources by Tribes.

II. Procedural Requirements

A. Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866 and 13563)

    Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 provides that the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) will review all significant rules. OIRA has determined 
that this rule is not significant.
    E.O. 13563 reaffirms the principles of E.O. 12866 while calling for 
improvements in the nation's regulatory system to promote 
predictability, to reduce uncertainty, and to use the best, most 
innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends. 
The E.O. directs agencies to consider regulatory approaches that reduce 
burdens and maintain flexibility and freedom of choice for the public 
where these approaches are relevant, feasible, and consistent with 
regulatory objectives. E.O. 13563 emphasizes further that regulations 
must be based on the best available science and that the rulemaking 
process must allow for public participation and an open exchange of 
ideas. We have developed this rule in a manner consistent with these 
requirements.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule will not have a significant economic effect on a 
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because Tribes are not small entities under 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule:
    (a) Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million 
or more because this rule affects only surface transportation for 
Tribes.
    (b) Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for 
consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local government 
agencies, or geographic regions because it does not affect costs or 
prices.
    (c) Does not have significant adverse effects on competition, 
employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of 
U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises 
because the rule addresses Tribal surface transportation within the 
United States.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This rule does not impose an unfunded mandate on State, local, or 
Tribal governments or the private sector of more than $100 million per 
year. The rule does not have a significant or unique effect on State, 
local, or Tribal governments or the private sector. A statement 
containing the information required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(2 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is not required.

E. Takings (E.O. 12630)

    This rule does not affect a taking of private property or otherwise 
have taking implications under E.O. 12360. A takings implication 
assessment is not required.

F. Federalism (E.O. 13132)

    Under the criteria in section 1 of E.O. 13132, this rule does not 
have sufficient Federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a 
summary impact statement, because the rule primarily addresses the 
relationship between the Federal Government and Tribes. A Federalism 
summary impact statement is not required.

G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988)

    This rule complies with the requirements of E.O. 12988. 
Specifically, this rule:
    (a) Meets the criteria of section 3(a) requiring that all 
regulations be reviewed to eliminate errors and ambiguity and written 
to minimize litigation; and
    (b) Meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) requiring that all 
regulations be written in clear language and contain clear legal 
standards.

H. Consultation With Indian Tribes (E.O. 13175 and Departmental policy)

    The Department of the Interior strives to strengthen its 
government-to-government regulations with Indian Tribes through a 
commitment to consultation with Indian Tribes and recognition of their 
right to self-governance and Tribal sovereignty. We

[[Page 50313]]

have evaluated this rule under the Department's consultation policy and 
have identified substantial direct effects on federally recognized 
Indian Tribes that will result from this rule. This rule will relieve a 
regulatory burden from Tribes and allow time for consultation on an 
appropriate replacement or deletion of regulatory requirements.

I. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains information collection requirements, and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information 
collections under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) under OMB Control 
Number 1076-0161, which expires December 31, 2019. Please note that an 
agency may not sponsor or request, and an individual need not respond 
to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB Control 
Number.

J. National Environmental Policy Act

    This rulemaking does not constitute a major Federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment because it 
is of an administrative, technical, and procedural nature. It is 
therefore subject to categorical exclusion, see 43 CFR 46.210(i), and 
no extraordinary circumstances exist, see 43 CFR 46.215.

K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 13211)

    This rulemaking is not a significant energy action under the 
definition in E.O. 13211. A Statement of Energy Effects is not 
required.

L. Clarity of This Regulation

    We are required by Executive Orders 12866 (section 1(b)(12)), and 
12988 (section 3(b)(1)(B)), and 13563 (section 1(a)), and by the 
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain 
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
    (a) Be logically organized;
    (b) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
    (c) Use common, everyday words and clear language rather than 
jargon;
    (d) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
    (e) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
    If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us 
comments by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. To 
better help us revise the rule, your comments should be as specific as 
possible. For example, you should tell us the numbers of the sections 
or paragraphs that you find unclear, which sections or sentences are 
too long, the sections where you think lists or tables would be useful, 
etc.

M. E.O. 13771: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

    This rule is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because this rule 
is not significant under E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 25 CFR Part 170

    Highways and roads, Indians--lands.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of the 
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, amends part 170 in Title 25 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 170--TRIBAL TRANSPORATION PROGRAM

0
1. The authority citation for part 170 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  Pub. L. 112-141, Pub. L. 114-94; 5 U.S.C. 2; 23 
U.S.C. 201, 202; 25 U.S.C. 2, 9.

0
2. In Sec.  170.443, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  170.443   What is required to successfully include a proposed 
transportation facility in the NTTFI?

* * * * *
    (b) For those proposed roads that currently exist in the NTTFI, the 
requirements identified above as paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(8) of 
this section, must be completed and submitted for approval to BIA and 
FHWA by November 7, 2019, in order to remain on the inventory.

    Dated: October 6, 2017.
John Tahsuda,
Acting Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017-23663 Filed 10-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4337-15-P


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