Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / Notices 1455

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Federal Transit Administration

National ITS Architecture Policy on

Transit Projects

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration

(FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) announces the

FTA National ITS Architecture Policy

on Transit Projects, which is defined in

this document. The National ITS

Architecture Policy is a product of

statutory changes made by the

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st

Century (TEA–21) (Pub. L. 105–178)

enacted on June 9, 1998. The National

ITS Architecture Policy is also a product

of the Request for Comment on the

National ITS Architecture Consistency

Policy for Project Development that was

published in the Federal Register on

May 25, 2000. Because it is highly

unlikely that the entire National ITS

Architecture would be fully

implemented by any single metropolitan

area or State, this policy requires that

the National ITS Architecture be used to

develop a local implementation of the

National ITS Architecture, which is

referred to as a ‘‘regional ITS

architecture.’’ Therefore, conformance

with the National ITS Architecture is

defined under this policy as

development of a regional ITS

architecture within four years after the

first ITS project advancing to final

design, and the subsequent adherence of

ITS projects to the regional ITS

architecture. The regional ITS

architecture is based on the National

ITS Architecture and consists of several

parts including the system functional

requirements and information

exchanges with planned and existing

systems and subsystems and

identification of applicable standards,

and would be tailored to address the

local situation and ITS investment

needs.

DATE: Effective Date: This policy is

effective from February 7, 2001.

ADDRESSES: For FTA staff, Federal

Transit Administration, Department of

Transportation (DOT), 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

Technical Information: Ron Boenau,

Chief, Advanced Public Transportation

Systems Division (TRI–11), at (202)

366–0195 or Brian Cronin, Advanced

Public Transportation Systems Division

(TRI–11), at (202) 366–8841. For Legal

Information: Richard Wong, Office of

the Chief Council (202) 366–1936. The

policy is posted on the FTA website on

the Internet under http://

www.fta.dot.gov.

Electronic Access: An electronic copy

of this document may be downloaded

using a computer, modem and suitable

communications software from the

Government Printing Office’s Electronic

Bulletin Board Service at (202) 512–

1661. Internet users may reach the

Office of the Federal Register’s home

page at: http://www.nara.gov/fedreg and

the Government Printing Office’s web

page at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/

nara.

Internet users may access all

comments received by the U.S. DOT

Dockets, Room PL–401, for the Request

for Comment that was issued on May

25, 2000 which were used to clarify this

Policy, by using the universal resource

locator (URL): http://dms.dot.gov. It is

available 24 hours each day, 365 days

each year. Please follow the instructions

online for more information and help.

The docket number for the Request for

Comment was FTA–99–6417.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Federal Transit Administration

(FTA) published a Request for Comment

on May 25, 2000, to implement section

5206(e) of the Transportation Equity Act

for the 21st Century (TEA–21) (Pub.L.

105–178), which was enacted on June 9,

1998.

Section 5206(e) of TEA–21 requires

that the Secretary of the DOT must

Ensure that intelligent transportation

system projects carried out using funds made

available from the Highway Trust Fund,

* * * conform to the national architecture,

applicable standards or provisional

standards, and protocols developed under

subsection(a).

The objectives for the FTA’s National

ITS Architecture Policy for Transit

Projects are to:

• Provide requirements for ITS

project development for projects

implemented wholly or partially with

highway trust funds.

• Achieve system integration of ITS

projects funded through the highway

trust fund with other transportation

projects planned for the region, which

will thereby enable electronic

information and data sharing for

advanced management and operations

of the ITS infrastructure.

• Engage stakeholders (state DOT’s,

transit agencies, public safety agencies,

other transportation operating agencies)

in the project development and

implementation process.

• Facilitate future expansion

capability of the ITS infrastructure.

• Save design time through use of the

National ITS Architecture requirements

definitions and market packages.

FTA has developed this policy to

meet the TEA–21 requirement contained

in Section 5206(e) and the DOT/FTA

goal to encourage effective deployment

of ITS projects. Additionally, DOT and

FTA encourage the coordination of local

ITS strategies and projects to help meet

national and local goals for mobility,

accessibility, safety, security, economic

growth and trade, and the environment.

The National ITS Architecture

documents were developed by the US

DOT, and are updated on an as-needed

basis. Current work to update the

National ITS Architecture is the Archive

Data User Service, which provides the

ability to store and process data over an

extended period of time. FTA is

pursuing the addition of a Rail ITS

program for travel management,

vehicles, and users. New versions of the

documents, when they are issued, will

be available from the US DOT on the

DOT website at www.its.dot.gov.

Version 3.0 is the latest version of the

National ITS Architecture.

The first section of this policy

contains a complete analysis of and

response to the comments provided to

the docket. The remainder of the Notice

contains the FTA National ITS

Architecture Policy for Transit Projects.

II. Public Comments

Eighteen comments were submitted to

the FTA National ITS Architecture

Consistency Policy for Project

Development docket by the September

23, 2000, close of the comment period.

Comments were submitted by transit

operators (3), state and local

governments (5), metropolitan planning

organizations (4), industry associations

(3), and consultants (3). As indicated

earlier, a complete analysis and

response to the docket comments is

provided. In order to facilitate focused

comments, FTA asked a series of

questions about the policy. The public

comment section is organized first by

analysis and response to the specific

questions asked; second by responses to

comments not specifically related to one

of the nine questions; and finally by an

explanation of other changes. In general,

the comments received were positive.

Therefore, the FTA has kept the scope

of the policy and made appropriate

clarifications to the text of the policy to

address concerns raised in comments. In

response to the many comments

requesting it, the FTA, in association

with the ITS Joint Program Office, in the

Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA) will also provide a program of

guidance, training, and technical

1456 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / Notices

support to assist with the

implementation of this policy.

Questions

1. Do reviewers understand the

definition of a major ITS investment as

defined in Section IV, ‘‘Regional ITS

Architecture,’’ or is more clarification

needed, and if so please explain?

Comments: Nine commenters

submitted responses to this question. In

general, commenters found the

definition confusing, and did not

understand why major ITS projects need

to be called out over other ITS projects.

One commenter noted that small dollar

projects can have a major impact on

future development, while an expensive

system may have no impact. Another

commenter was unclear about the term

‘‘supporting national interoperability.’’

Response: Of specific concern to the

agency is the timing in which

requirements for this policy are enacted.

As such, the terms ‘‘major ITS

investment’’ and ‘‘major ITS project’’

were provided so as to distinguish

between projects that will require

immediate correlation to the regional

ITS architecture and those that do not.

The term ‘‘major ITS investment’’ was

also found to be redundant to ‘‘major

ITS project’’ and was removed from the

policy. Guidance on the classification of

‘‘ITS projects’’ and ‘‘major ITS projects’’

will be provided upon enactment of the

policy.

2. Do reviewers understand the

definition of an ITS project, or is more

clarification needed, and if so please

explain?

Comments: Nine commenters

submitted responses to this question.

Commenters found this term less

confusing than ‘‘major ITS

investments,’’ but requested more

clarification. Some commenters

proposed alternative language or asked

for clarification on particular examples.

Response: The agency has clarified

the definition by deleting the potentially

ambiguous examples provided and will

develop guidance material that provides

examples of projects that will be

considered ITS projects and those that

will not be considered ITS projects. In

general, unless a technology project is

implementing one of the ITS user

services defined in the National ITS

Architecture, it would not be considered

an ITS project.

3. Do reviewers understand the

difference between a ‘‘major ITS

investment,’’ and an ‘‘ITS project’’, or is

more clarification needed, and if so

please explain?

Comments: Eight commenters

submitted responses to this question.

Commenters had mixed responses, as

some commenters found the differences

to be clear, while others requested that

guidance material be provided to further

explain the differences. Commenters did

suggest that a ‘‘project’’ is a ‘‘project’’

and should not be quantified in terms of

dollar amounts.

Response: As described in the

response to question 1, the agency has

removed the term ‘‘major ITS

investment’’ and will provide guidance

on the term ‘‘ITS project.’’

4. Are the requirements for

development of a Regional ITS

Architecture clear? If not, what is not

clear about the requirement?

Comment: Nine commenters provided

responses to the question. Most

commenters found the requirements to

be unclear and/or did not agree with the

requirements. One commenter suggested

that a region will have different

definitions. One commenter noted that

a concept of operations and conceptual

design are normally conducted at the

project level. One commenter requested

clarification as to the appropriate place

to program projects, in the regional ITS

architecture, or in the planning process.

Response: Of specific concern to the

agency is providing a flexible policy

that allows the transportation

stakeholders to define their region and

the roles and responsibilities of each

stakeholder during the development of

a regional ITS architecture. As such, the

agency has clarified the requirements of

a regional ITS architecture and also

removed the specific requirements for a

Concept of Operations and a Conceptual

Design. Instead, the agency has listed

the specific requirements for a regional

ITS architecture and has left the

development, documentation, and

maintenance of the regional ITS

architecture to the stakeholders

involved. Also, the region is defined as

‘‘a geographical area that is based on

local needs for sharing information and

coordinating operational strategies

among multiple projects.’’ A region can

be specified at a metropolitan,

Statewide, multi-State, or corridor level.

Additional guidance on this topic will

be provided after enactment of the

policy.

5. What additional guidance, if any, is

required to explain how to implement

this proposed policy?

Comments: Ten commenters provided

responses to this question. All the

comments called for additional

guidance on the specifics of

implementing this policy. Commenters

requested guidance on the definition of

a ‘‘region,’’ the ownership of the

regional ITS architecture, determination

of stakeholders, regional ITS

architecture maintenance, certification

and simplification of definitions. One

commenter requested that the policy be

limited to only the ITS Integration

Requirements defined in the

Metropolitan and Statewide Planning

NPRM.

Response: The agency will provide

guidance materials to address the

comments suggested. The ITS

Integration Strategy, as defined in the

NPRM, is part of the planning process

and as such does not satisfactorily

address project level requirements.

6. The proposed rule allows regions to

develop a Regional Architecture as a

separate activity, or incrementally, as

major ITS investments are developed

within a region. Do reviewers anticipate

particular difficulties with

implementing and documenting either

approach?

Comments: Nine commenters

provided responses to this question.

Commenters largely did not favor one

approach over the other. One

commenter suggested that a regional ITS

architecture with a twenty year time

horizon is impractical and infeasible.

One commenter suggested that either

approach would require additional staff

resources.

Response: The agency was concerned

about the time horizon and

development process needed to create a

regional ITS architecture within the

time period required and as a result

suggested both an incremental and

initial comprehensive approach. Based

on the responses, the agency has

modified the policy to be silent on the

approach used to develop the regional

ITS architecture. Instead, the agency

focused on the products included in the

regional ITS architecture, the effective

date of the requirements, and the

catalyst for requiring the development

of a regional ITS architecture.

7. Do reviewers understand the

relationships between the Integration

Strategy, the Regional ITS Architecture,

and the ITS Project Architecture?

Comment: Seven commenters

provided a response to this question. In

general, commenters did not understand

the relationship between the Integration

Strategy, regional ITS architecture, and

the ITS Project Architecture. One

commenter suggested that flexibility in

application of project architecture must

be maintained to accommodate legacy

systems and to take advantage of

technological innovation, while

maintaining the outcome of

interoperability, where applicable.

Response: The Agency is concerned

with linkage between the planning

process and the project development

process. However, this policy only deals

with the project level requirements.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / Notices 1457

Planning level requirements, including

the Integration Strategy, will be

explained as the Metropolitan and

Statewide Planning Process rulemaking

process is advanced. This policy only

requires that the regional ITS

architecture should be consistent with

the transportation planning process. A

definition for a project level ITS

architecture has been added to the

policy.

8. What additional guidance, if any, is

required regarding phasing of this rule?

Comments: Six commenters

submitted responses to this question. In

general, the commenters stated that the

phasing was clear. However, one

commenter requested a three-year

phase-in period. Several commenters

requested that existing projects be

exempt from the policy.

Response: The agency has clarified

the policy statements that refer to the

project status and the applicability of

this policy. Projects that have reached

final design by the date of this policy

are exempt from the policy

requirements. The agency has extended

the time period for regional ITS

architecture development to four years.

Any region that is currently

implementing ITS projects shall have a

regional architecture within four years

of the effective date of the final policy.

All other regions not currently

implementing ITS projects shall have a

regional ITS architecture in place within

four years of the first ITS project for that

region advancing to final design.

9. Are the oversight and

documentation requirements clear? If

not, what is not clear about the

requirements?

Comments: Eight commenters

submitted responses to this question.

Commenters in general requested more

guidance from FTA on oversight and

documentation requirements, but few

provided suggestions to clarify the

requirements. One commenter suggested

that checklists to verify consistency

requirements will be needed. Other

commenters suggested that selfcertification should be allowed, but also

needs to be clearly defined.

Response: The agency will continue

to use normal existing oversight

procedures to review grantee

compliance with FTA policies and

regulations. Normal oversight

procedures include the annual risk

assessment of grantees performed by

regional office staff, triennial reviews,

planning process reviews, and project

management oversight reviews, as

applicable. In TEA–21, FTA was granted

authority to use oversight funds to

provide technical assistance to grantees

in which oversight activities suggested

non-compliance with agency policies

and regulations. FTA is using oversight

funds to specifically hire contractors

with ITS experience who will monitor

and assist grantees who are at risk of

NOT meeting the National ITS

Architecture Policy requirements.

Additional guidance on oversight and

documentation requirements will be

provided.

Additional Comments

One commenter suggested that the

proposed guidance circular requires that

all of the agencies in a region agree

before a project can be implemented,

thus conferring ‘‘veto’’ power over the

project. The agency does not intend for

the policy to halt ITS deployment in

areas where agencies cannot agree on

project designs. As part of the regional

ITS Architecture development, the

agencies can agree to disagree, however,

the regional ITS architecture should

include a representation of the standalone ITS deployments.

One commenter suggests that the

proposal infers that existing agreements

between agencies will now need to be

amended or redone, which would result

in a halt in operations of successful ITS

projects and prevent the completion of

other ITS projects. In response to the

comment, the agency has clarified the

regional ITS architecture requirements

to specify that existing agreements that

address the regional ITS architecture

requirements are sufficient and that new

agreements are not necessarily required.

One commenter noted that a

definition of ITS was not included in

the policy. The commenter suggested

that the definition provided in TEA–21

section 5206(e) should be included in

the policy. The agency agrees and has

added the definition of ITS to the list of

definitions. However, the legislative

definition of ITS is broad and other

commenters have suggested that if the

policy is written to include every new

piece of electronics or hardware, then

the policy would be too limiting. As a

result, the policy is intended to apply

only to projects meeting the definition

of an ‘‘ITS project’’ listed in the

‘‘Definitions’’ section of the policy.

One commenter suggested that DOT

should ensure that the Federal Highway

Administration’s (FHWA’s) regulation

and the FTA policy have the same

statutory standing and that their

requirements in ITS planning and

deployment be consistent if not

identical. The FTA and FHWA have

different processes and procedures for

project development. Therefore, the

FHWA has issued a regulation, and FTA

has issued the policy. The policy

language in each document is consistent

and will be carried out in a coordinated

fashion, as applicable under FTA and

FHWA project management and

oversight procedures. FTA and FHWA

planning procedures are a joint

regulation and as such will be identical.

FTA received some comments

regarding the use of standards. Several

comments concern the premature use of

required standards and interoperability

tests, their impact on legacy systems,

and confusion regarding the term

‘‘adopted by the USDOT.’’

In response to the comments, FTA has

significantly modified the final policy to

eliminate reference to the use of

standards and interoperability tests

prior to adoption through formal

rulemaking. It is not the intent of the

USDOT to formally adopt any standard

before the standard is mature; also, not

all ITS standards should, or will, be

formally adopted by the USDOT. The

only interoperability tests that are

currently contemplated by the USDOT

are those associated with the

Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO)

program. These tests are currently being

used by States deploying CVO systems

and will follow a similar set of criteria

for adoption as those defined for

standards.

Other Changes

Several commenters expressed

concern about linkages to the planning

rule and the integration strategy.

Comments regarding the portions of the

National ITS Architecture conformity

process included in the proposed

transportation planning rule will be

addressed as that rule proceeds to its

issuance. The FHWA rule and the

parallel FTA policy have been

developed without direct reference to

the proposed changes to the

transportation planning process,

including no mention of the

development of an integration strategy.

However, the policy statement of this

guidance notes a link to transportation

planning processes, and fully supports

those collaborative methods for

establishing transportation goals and

objectives.

Policy Contents

I. Purpose

II. Definitions

III. Policy

IV. Applicability

V. Regional ITS Architecture

VI. Project Implementation

VII. Project Oversight

VIII. FTA Guidance

I. Purpose

This policy provides procedures for

implementing section 5206(e) of the

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st

1458 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / Notices

Century, Public Law 105–178, 112 Stat.

547, pertaining to conformance with the

National Intelligent Transportation

Systems Architecture and Standards.

II. Definitions

Intelligent Transportation Systems

(ITS) means electronics,

communications or information

processing used singly or in

combination to improve the efficiency

or safety of a surface transportation

system.

ITS project means any project that in

whole or in part funds the acquisition

of technologies or systems of

technologies that provide or

significantly contribute to the provision

of one or more ITS user services as

defined in the National ITS

Architecture.

Major ITS project means any ITS

project that implements part of a

regional ITS initiative that is multijurisdictional, multi-modal, or

otherwise affects regional integration of

ITS systems.

National ITS Architecture (also

‘‘national architecture’’) means a

common framework for ITS

interoperability. The National ITS

Architecture comprises the logical

architecture and physical architecture

which satisfy a defined set of user

services. The National ITS Architecture

is maintained by U.S. DOT (Department

of Transportation) and is available on

the DOT web site at http://

www.its.dot.gov.

Project level ITS architecture is a

framework that identifies the

institutional agreement and technical

integration necessary to interface a

major ITS project with other ITS

projects and systems.

Region is the geographical area that

identifies the boundaries of the regional

ITS architecture and is defined by and

based on the needs of the participating

agencies and other stakeholders. A

region can be specified at a

metropolitan, Statewide, multi-State, or

corridor level. In metropolitan areas, a

region should be no less than the

boundaries of the metropolitan planning

area.

Regional ITS architecture means a

regional framework for ensuring

institutional agreement and technical

integration for the implementation of

ITS projects or groups of projects.

Systems engineering is a structured

process for arriving at a final design of

a system. The final design is selected

from a number of alternatives that

would accomplish the same objectives

and considers the total life-cycle of the

project including not only the technical

merits of potential solutions but also the

costs and relative value of alternatives.

III. Policy

ITS projects shall conform to the

National ITS Architecture and standards

in accordance with the requirements

contained in this part. Conformance

with the National ITS Architecture is

interpreted to mean the use of the

National ITS Architecture to develop a

regional ITS architecture in support of

integration and the subsequent

adherence of all ITS projects to that

regional ITS architecture. Development

of the regional ITS architecture should

be consistent with the transportation

planning process for Statewide and

Metropolitan Transportation Planning

(49 CFR part 613 and 621).

IV. Applicability

(a) All ITS projects that are funded in

whole or in part with the Highway Trust

Fund (including the mass transit

account) are subject to these provisions.

(b) The Secretary may authorize

exceptions for:

1. Projects designed to achieve

specific research objectives outlined in

the National ITS Program Plan under

section 5205 of the Transportation

Equity Act for the 21st Century or the

Surface Transportation Research and

Development Strategic Plan developed

under section 5208 of Title 23, United

States Code; or

2. The upgrade or expansion of an ITS

system in existence on the date of

enactment of the Transportation Equity

Act for the 21st Century if the Secretary

determines that the upgrade or

expansion—

a. Would not adversely affect the

goals or purposes of Subtitle C

(Intelligent Transportation Systems) of

the Transportation Equity Act for the

21st Century and

b. Is carried out before the end of the

useful life of such system; and

c. Is cost-effective as compared to

alternatives that would meet the

conformity requirement of this rule

(c) These provisions do not apply to

funds used for Operations and

Maintenance of an ITS system in

existence on June 9, 1998.

V. Regional ITS Architecture

(a) A regional ITS architecture shall

be developed to guide the development

of ITS projects and programs and be

consistent with ITS strategies and

projects contained in applicable

transportation plans. The National ITS

Architecture shall be used as a resource

in the development of the regional ITS

architecture. The regional ITS

architecture shall be on a scale

commensurate with the scope of ITS

investment in the region. Provision

should be made to include participation

from the following agencies, as

appropriate, in the development of the

regional ITS architecture: Highway

agencies; public safety agencies (e.g.,

police, fire, emergency/medical); transit

agencies; federal lands agencies; state

motor carrier agencies; and other

operating agencies necessary to fully

address regional ITS integration.

(b) Any region that is currently

implementing ITS projects shall have a

regional ITS architecture February 7,

2005.

(c) All other regions not currently

implementing ITS projects shall have a

regional ITS architecture within four

years of the first ITS project for that

region advancing to final design.

(d) The regional ITS architecture shall

include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) A description of the region;

(2) Identification of participating

agencies and other stakeholders;

(3) An operational concept that

identifies the roles and responsibilities

of participating agencies and

stakeholders in the operation and

implementation of the systems included

in the regional ITS architecture;

(4) Any agreements (existing or new)

required for operations, including at a

minimum those affecting integration of

ITS projects; interoperability of different

ITS technologies, utilization of ITSrelated standards, and the operation of

the projects identified in the regional

ITS architecture;

(5) System functional requirements;

(6) Interface requirements and

information exchanges with planned

and existing systems and subsystems

(for example, subsystems and

architecture flows as defined in the

National ITS Architecture);

(7) Identification of ITS standards

supporting regional and national

interoperability;

(8) The sequence of projects required

for implementation of the regional ITS

architecture.

(e) Existing regional ITS architectures

that meet all of the requirements of

section V(d) shall be considered to

satisfy the requirements of V(a).

(f) The agencies and other

stakeholders participating in the

development of the regional ITS

architecture shall develop and

implement procedures and

responsibilities for maintaining the

regional ITS architecture, as needs

evolve within the region.

VI. Project Implementation

(a) All ITS projects funded with mass

transit funds from the highway trust

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / Notices 1459

fund shall be based on a systems

engineering analysis.

(b) The analysis should be on a scale

commensurate with the project scope.

(c) The systems engineering analysis

shall include, at a minimum:

(1) Identification of portions of the

regional ITS architecture being

implemented (or if a regional ITS

architecture does not exist, the

applicable portions of the National ITS

Architecture).

(2) Identification of participating

agencies’ roles and responsibilities;

(3) Requirements definitions:

(4) Analysis of alternative system

configurations and technology options

to meet requirements;

(5) Analysis of financing and

procurement options;

(6) Identification of applicable ITS

standards and testing procedures; and

(7) Procedures and resources

necessary for operations and

management of the system;

(d) Upon completion of the regional

ITS architecture required in section V,

the final design of all ITS projects

funded with highway trust funds shall

accommodate the interface requirements

and information exchanges as specified

in the regional ITS architecture. If the

final design of the ITS project is

inconsistent with the regional ITS

architecture, then the regional ITS

architecture shall be updated as per the

process defined in V(f) to reflect the

changes.

(e) Prior to completion of the regional

ITS architecture, any major ITS project

funded with highway trust funds that

advances to final design shall have a

project level ITS architecture that is

coordinated with the development of

the regional ITS architecture. The final

design of the major ITS project shall

accommodate the interface requirements

and information exchanges as specified

in this project level ITS architecture. If

the project final design is inconsistent

with the project level architecture, then

the project level ITS architecture shall

be updated to reflect the changes. The

project level ITS architecture is based

on results of the systems engineering

analysis, and includes the following:

(1) A description of the scope of the

ITS project

(2) An operational concept that

identifies the roles and responsibilities

of participating agencies and

stakeholders in the operation and

implementation of the ITS project;

(3) Functional requirements of the ITS

project;

(4) Interface requirements and

information exchanges between the ITS

project and other planned and existing

systems and subsystems; and

(5) Identification of applicable ITS

standards

(b) All ITS projects funded with Mass

Transit Funds from the Highway Trust

Funds shall use applicable ITS

standards and interoperability tests that

have been officially adopted through

rulemaking by the United States

Department of Transportation (US

DOT).

(c) Any ITS project that has advanced

to final design by (effective date of

policy) is exempt from the requirements

of VI.

VII. Project Oversight

(a) Prior to authorization of Mass

Transit Funds from the Highway Trust

Fund for acquisition or implementation

of ITS projects, grantees shall self-certify

compliance with sections V and VI.

Compliance with this policy shall be

monitored under normal FTA oversight

procedures, to include annual risk

assessments, triennial reviews, and

program management oversight reviews

as applicable.

(b) Compliance with the following

FTA Circulars shall also be certified:

• C5010.1C, Grant Management

Guidelines

• C6100.1B, Application Instructions

and Program Management Guidelines

VIII. FTA Guidance

FTA will develop appropriate

guidance materials regarding the

National ITS Architecture Consistency

Policy.

Issued on: January 2, 2001.

Nuria I. Fernandez,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–392 Filed 1–5–01; 8:45 am]

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