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Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).
Notice; request for comment.
This notice announces and solicits comments on the draft audit report for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program allows a State to assume FRA's environmental responsibilities for environmental review, consultation, and compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for railroad projects should a State first assume NEPA responsibilities under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). When a State assumes these Federal responsibilities, the State becomes solely responsible and liable for carrying out the responsibilities it has assumed, in lieu of FRA. This program mandates annual audits during each of the first 4 years of State participation to ensure compliance with program requirements.
Comments must be received on or before October 16, 2026.
The draft audit report is available for review at https://www.regulations.gov. Comments related to Docket No. FRA-2026-2278 may be submitted by going to https://www.regulations.gov and following the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must refer to the Federal Railroad Administration and the docket number in this notice (FRA-2026-2278). Note that all submissions received, including any personal information provided, will be posted without change and will be available to the public on https://www.regulations.gov. You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or at https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
For questions about this notice, for FRA, please contact Ms. Carmen Stemen, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Environmental Program Management, Federal Railroad Administration, telephone: (740) 817-7304, email: C armen.Stemen@dot.gov. For ODOT, please contact Mr. Timothy Hill, Administrator of ODOT's Office of Environmental Services, Ohio Department of Transportation, 1980 West Broad Street, Mail Stop 4170, Columbus, Ohio 43223, telephone: (614) 644-0377; email: Tim.Hill@dot.ohio.gov.
Background:Section 327 of Title 23, United States Code (23 U.S.C. 327) establishes the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program (Program), also known as the NEPA Assignment Program. It allows the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Secretary) to assign, and a State to assume, responsibility for all or part of the Secretary's responsibilities for environmental review, consultation, or other actions required under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) and any Federal environmental law with respect to one or more highway projects within the State, as well as one or more railroad, public transportation, and/or multimodal projects.[1] FRA is authorized to act on behalf of the Secretary with respect to these matters for railroad projects.
( printed page 58747)The State of Ohio initially participated in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Program and in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 327, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FHWA for the FHWA NEPA Assignment Program in Ohio. The FHWA NEPA Assignment MOU between the State, acting through ODOT, and FHWA became effective December 11, 2015, was amended on June 6, 2018, and renewed on December 14, 2020. Since being accepted into the FHWA NEPA Assignment Program, the State has successfully completed four audits, eight self-assessments, and two monitoring events. FHWA has consistently publicly stated that the State continues to meet all requirements of the FHWA NEPA Assignment Program. The State will have participated in the Program for 11 years on December 11, 2026.
ODOT published its application to assume FRA's environmental review responsibilities for railroad projects (“FRA NEPA Assignment”) on June 2, 2024, and made it available for public comment for 30 days. After considering public comments, ODOT submitted its application to FRA on July 22, 2024. The application served as the basis for developing an MOU that identifies the responsibilities and obligations that ODOT would assume. The FRA published a notice of the draft MOU in the Federal Register on September 9, 2024, with a 30-day comment period to solicit the views of the public and Federal agencies. After the close of the comment period, FRA and ODOT considered comments and proceeded to execute the MOU pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 (Section 327 MOU). Effective December 3, 2024, ODOT assumed FRA's responsibilities under NEPA, and the responsibilities for NEPA-related Federal environmental laws described in the Section 327 MOU.
Section 327(g) of Title 23, U.S.C., requires the Secretary to conduct annual audits during each of the first 4 years of State participation. After the fourth year, the Secretary shall monitor the State's compliance with the written agreement. The results of each audit must be made available for public comment. FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it has conducted the first-year audit of the State of Ohio, acting through ODOT. This notice announces the availability of the first draft audit report for ODOT's FRA NEPA Assignment Program and solicits public comment for a 30-day period in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 327(g). No later than 60 days after the close of the comment period, FRA will publish the final audit report in the Federal Register . FRA will consider the comments submitted on the draft audit report for ODOT's FRA NEPA Assignment Program.
Authority:23 U.S.C. 327; 42 U.S.C. 4331, 4332; 23 CFR part 773; and 49 CFR 264.101.
Marlys Ann Osterhues,
Director, Office of Environmental Program Management, Office of Railroad Administration.
1. The Secretary may not assign its responsibility for making any conformity determination required under section 176 of the Clean Air Act. Also not assignable is Government to Government consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes.
Back to Citation[FR Doc. 2026-18986 Filed 9-15-26; 8:45 am]
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This document has a comment period that ends in 7 days. (10/16/2026) Submit a public comment