Texas Administrative Code › Title 43 - TRANSPORTATION › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 16 - PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS › Subchapter B - TRANSPORTATION PLANNING › Section 16.51 - Responsibilities of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO)

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) General. Pursuant to
				  23 U.S.C. §
											134 and 49 U.S.C. §5303, as implemented
				  by 23 C.F.R. Part 450, the metropolitan planning organization (MPO), in
				  cooperation with the department and with public transportation operators as
				  defined by 23 C.F.R. Part 450, shall be responsible for carrying out the
				  metropolitan transportation planning process. The MPO, department, and public
				  transportation operators shall cooperatively determine their mutual
				  responsibilities in the conduct of the planning process, including corridor
				  refinement (e.g., feasibility and major investment) studies. They shall
				  cooperatively develop the unified planning work program (UPWP), metropolitan
				  transportation plan (MTP) containing both a long-range and mid-range forecast
				  of proposed projects and transportation improvement program (TIP) containing a
				  list of projects that have been approved for development in the near-term. The
				  MPO, department, and public transportation operators shall coordinate the
				  development of the MTP and TIP with other providers of transportation, such as
				  14 C.F.R. Part 139 airport sponsors, maritime port operators, and rail
				  operators. All transportation plans and programs developed by the MPO as part
				  of the planning process must comply with federal requirements and provide for
				  public involvement.
(b) Membership
				  of MPOs. According to 23 C.F.R. Part 450, each MPO that serves a transportation
				  management area shall consist of local elected officials, officials of public
				  agencies that administer or operate major modes of transportation in the
				  metropolitan planning area, and appropriate state transportation
				  officials.
(c) Approval of
				  boundaries. The governor or the commission, if the approval authority has been
				  delegated to the commission, must approve the boundaries of a designated
				  metropolitan planning area and any revision of those boundaries. Approval of
				  the boundaries of a designated metropolitan planning area by the Federal
				  Highway Administration (FHWA) or the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is
				  not required. The MPO must provide the governor and the department with
				  appropriate documentation and the rationale supporting any recommended boundary
				  change. The MPO must provide its approved metropolitan planning area boundary
				  maps to the department for submission to the FHWA, FTA, and other applicable
				  federal agencies.
(d) Metropolitan
				  planning area agreements.
(1) Planning
				  agreement. The responsibilities for cooperatively carrying out transportation
				  planning (including corridor and subarea studies) and programming shall be
				  clearly identified in a planning agreement between the department and the
				  MPO.
(2) MPO-public transportation
				  operator planning agreement. There shall be a written agreement between the
				  MPO, the department, and public transportation operators as defined by 23
				  C.F.R. Part 450 that specifies cooperative procedures for carrying out
				  transportation planning (including corridor and subarea studies) and
				  programming as required by this subchapter, as well as developing and sharing
				  information related to transportation performance data, the selection of
				  performance targets, the reporting of performance targets, the reporting of
				  performance to be used in tracking progress toward attainment of critical
				  outcomes for the region of the MPO, and the collection of data for state asset
				  management plans for the national highway system.
(3) Agreements in nonattainment MPOs. If the
				  metropolitan planning area includes part but not all of a nonattainment or
				  maintenance area, as defined by the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), there shall be
				  a written agreement among the department, the Texas Commission on Environmental
				  Quality (TCEQ), affected local agencies, and the MPO describing the process for
				  cooperative planning and analysis of all projects outside the metropolitan
				  planning area, but within the nonattainment or maintenance area. The agreement
				  shall be in accordance with federal requirements.
(4) Coordination of planning processes. If
				  more than one MPO has authority within an urbanized area or a nonattainment or
				  maintenance area, there shall be a written agreement between the department and
				  the MPOs describing how the processes will be coordinated to assure the
				  development of an overall transportation plan for that area. The TCEQ and any
				  local air quality agencies must also be parties to an agreement that relates to
				  a nonattainment or maintenance area.