Rule/Notice/NOFO: Emergency Relief Program
Federal Register/Notice: federalregister.gov
Description: FTA proposes to reduce the regulatory burden on grant recipients related to FTA’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program. Specifically, FTA proposes to modify section 602.15(b)(2) to establish a longer baseline time period within which grant recipients can qualify for a waiver of certain administrative requirements in order to obtain emergency relief funding. Currently, section 602.15(b)(2) establishes 45 days as the baseline time period for which FTA can determine whether certain FTA grant requirements, the requirements for E.O. 11988 floodplain analysis, and the labor protection requirements at 49 U.S.C. 5333(b) are waived. After administering the program for more than 10 years, FTA has determined this is an insufficient period of time to address emergencies in practice and it has frequently extended the time period to 90 days or longer, during prior emergency events. Thus, FTA proposes to modify section 602.15(b)(2) to extend the baseline time period to 90 days to align the regulatory text with existing practice and reduce the regulatory burden on grant recipients.
APTA Staff Advisor: Taria Barron, tbarron@apta.com