FTA asks users: What is a Federal Project?
Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, Editor, Railway Track & Structures; and Engineering Editor, Railway Age
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is hosting an online dialogue among stakeholders aimed at defining what a federal project is in an effort to improve delivery of federally funded projects.
The online dialogue will be open from July 16 to Aug. 17. FTA says it is seeking input from state departments of transportation, transit agencies, transit operators and other interested parties on how a federal definition affects project delivery. FTA also notes that the dialogue solicits ideas to improve the process of deciding when a project or project element is subject to federal requirements and whether those requirements should apply to phases that are not supported with federal funds.
This dialogue is designed to further streamlining efforts, which were outlined in a July 16, 2018 Federal Register notice.
As part of its streamlining activities, FTA says it reduced the frequency at which grant recipients are required to submit reports. Under the new policy, grants of $2 million or less in urbanized areas over 200,000 in population should be reported annually rather than quarterly unless a specific risk is identified. That will reduce approximately 13,000 reports per year.
FTA also increased the threshold for property appraisals associated with transit projects, from $500,000 to $1 million, which FTA says will reduce submissions by 20% and save about 50 weeks of agency review time.
In a post on the U.S. Department of Transportation Connections blog, FTA wrote, “Over the past year, FTA staff reviewed regulations and guidance documents to ensure they are straightforward, clear and designed to minimize burden on grant applicants. In a continued effort to review its processes, FTA is hosting an online dialogue to collect public input on the current definition of a ‘federal project’ and how that may impact the timely and effective implementation of transit projects.”
