DOT Seeks Opinions on Rural Transportation Program

Public opinion is being sought by the U.S. Department of Transportation to help share the agency’s Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success program.

In a news release, DOT said it wants to know how it can can better support the transportation infrastructure in rural areas.

The ROUTES Council will use the responses to guide the evaluation of rural projects and improve funding options,

The program seeks to assist public officials in rural areas better understand how to apply for and land DOT grants and to develop data-driven approaches to assess needs and benefits of rural transportation projects.

In its news release, DOT said rural transportation is particularly important for agriculture, mining and energy commodities.

Two-thirds of freight rail originates in rural areas and nearly half of all truck vehicle-miles-traveled occur on rural roads.

The program will be coordinated with the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration.

DOT Seeking Environmental Review Changes

Regulatory changes being proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation are being touted as designed to streamline the environmental review process for multimodal projects.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said the proposed changes will bring the Federal Railroad Administration’s  environmental review process into harmony with procedures used by the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration.

A DOT news release said that the proposal, which has been sent to the Federal Register for publication, is being made so that multimodal projects are required to follow only one process rather than multiple agency processes.

Under the proposed rules, most concrete and steel bridges built after 1945 would be exempt from historic sites review.

In her AASHTO speech, Chao said that DOT is seeking to identify ways to eliminate unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy that will save states time and money, and reduce burdensome compliance costs.

“Important new regulatory and policy changes are underway at the Department to help deliver infrastructure projects faster, and in a more cost effective manner,” she said.

Chao said DOT has issued an updated guidance policy for the application of categorical exclusions for multimodal projects. The new rules allow one USDOT agency to use the categorical exclusions of another USDOT agency for certain multimodal projects.

U.S. DOT Seeking Public Views on Regulations

Public views are being sought by the U.S. Department of Transportation on policies, guidance documents and regulations that may create obstacles to transportation infrastructure projects.

The agency is undertaking a review of its existing polices, guidance and regulations that may be unnecessary.

As part of that review, DOT is asking affected stakeholders and the public to help identify non-statutory requirements that should be removed or revised.

Comments should be received no later than July 24.

Instructions for filing comments can be found via this link.