[Federal Register: September 16, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 180)]
[Notices]
[Page 53478-53483]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16se08-106]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Value Pricing Pilot Program Participation, Fiscal Year 2009
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; solicitation for participation.
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SUMMARY: This notice invites State and local governments and other
public authorities to apply to participate in the Value Pricing Pilot
(VPP) program and presents guidelines for program applications. This
notice supersedes three previous notices about the VPP program under
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) published in the Federal Register on
January 6, 2006 (71 FR 970), July 17, 2006 (71 FR 40578), and December
22, 2006 (71 FR 77084). A January 6, 2006, notice covering non-grant
tolling programs, which was a companion to the original January 6,
2006, VPP program notice, remains in effect. That notice was entitled
``Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU); Opportunities for States and Other
Qualifying Agencies to Gain Authority to Toll Facilities Constructed
Using Federal Funds'' (71 FR 965). Today's new notice and the previous
companion notice covering non-grant tolling programs are together
intended to cover all of the opportunities for States and other
qualifying transportation agencies to obtain approval to toll their
respective facilities.
DATES: Applications for tolling authority only may be submitted at any
time. Formal grant applications, however, must be submitted no later
than November 7, 2008, for FY 2009 funds.
Application Submission: All Federal agencies, including FHWA, are
required to use http://www.grants.gov, an electronic format for
receiving applications. Grants.gov was developed as part of the
President's Management Agenda and related E-Government Strategy, which
charged Federal grant-making agencies with developing a single
electronic system to help prospective applicants find and apply for
Federal grant opportunities. Therefore, applicants requesting funding
under the VPP program must file their applications online at http://
www.grants.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice,
please contact Mr. Wayne Berman, FHWA Office of Operations, (202) 366-
4069, wayne.berman@dot.gov. For technical questions related to project
development, please contact Mr. Patrick DeCorla-Souza, FHWA Office of
Operations, at (202) 366-4076, patrick.decorla-souza@dot.gov. For legal
questions, please contact Mr. Michael Harkins, FHWA Office of the Chief
Counsel, (202) 366-4928, michael.harkins@dot.gov. Office hours for the
FHWA are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded from the
Federal Register's home page at: http://www.archives.gov and the
Government Printing Office's database at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/
nara.
Background
Section 1012(b) of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency
Act (ISTEA) (Pub. L. 102-240; 105 Stat. 1914), as amended by section
1216(a) of the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) (Pub. L. 105-178; 112
Stat. 107), and section 1604(a) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)
(Pub. L. 109-59; 119 Stat. 1144), authorizes the Secretary of
Transportation (the Secretary) to create a Value Pricing Pilot program.
Value pricing encompasses a variety of strategies to manage congestion
on highways, including tolling of highway facilities, as well as other
strategies that do not involve tolls, such as congestion pricing at
port facilities, mileage-based vehicle taxes and leasing fees, parking
pricing, and car sharing. The value pricing concept of assessing
relatively higher prices for travel during peak periods is the same as
that used in many other sectors of the economy to respond to peak-use
demands. For example, airlines, hotels, and theaters often charge more
at peak periods than at non-peak periods.
The FHWA is seeking applications for the FY 2009 VPP program that
are consistent with the objectives of the DOT's National Strategy to
Reduce
[[Page 53479]]
Congestion, announced on May 16, 2006, which seeks to dedicate
substantial Departmental resources toward addressing the growing
problem of urban congestion. This national strategy, and its linkage to
the VPP program applications that are being solicited by this notice,
are discussed in greater detail later in this notice. Consistent with
this national strategy, the primary objective of the VPP program for
fiscal year 2009 will be to facilitate cities in systematically
progressing toward implementation of broad congestion (variable)
pricing in the relatively near term.
According to the statutory requirements of the VPP program, FHWA
may enter into cooperative agreements with up to 15 State or local
governments or other public authorities (henceforth referred to only as
``States'') to establish, maintain, and monitor value pricing pilot
programs, each including an unlimited number of projects. The FHWA
invites interested States to apply to participate in the VPP program
for FY 2009. As of the date of this notice, there are already 13 State-
led programs and 1 city-led program currently in the VPP program:
California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota,
New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington State,
and New York City. Therefore, at this time, only one additional State
or other public authority is eligible to participate. Any value pricing
project included under these programs may involve the use of tolls on
the Interstate system. This is an exception to the general provisions
prohibiting tolls on the Interstate system as contained in 23 U.S.C.
129 and 301.
To comply with the statutory cap on the number of partnering States
and other public authorities in a manner that maximizes program
participation, FHWA will only consider an ``active'' cooperative
agreement sufficient to hold one of the 15 available value pricing
slots. An agreement will be considered ``active'' by FHWA under either
of the following two conditions: (1) During the period encompassing the
time between when a cooperative funding agreement for a project or
projects has been signed and when the project or projects has or have
been completed, and (2) if VPP program tolling authority has been
granted and is still needed to toll a new or existing highway. Absent
one or both of these conditions being met, an agreement will not be
considered active for the purposes of the VPP program. If the State's
progress in moving forward to use its VPP tolling authority is
unsatisfactory, FHWA reserves the right to withdraw that State's
authority in favor of other applicants seeking to obtain VPP tolling
authority. A State that does not maintain an active agreement with FHWA
risks being denied the opportunity to participate in the program in the
future if no participation slots are left.
A maximum of $12 million is authorized for fiscal year 2009 to be
made available to carry out the VPP program. Of this $12 million, $3
million per fiscal year must be set-aside for value pricing pilot
projects that do not involve highway tolls. The Federal share payable
under the program is 80 percent of the cost of the project. Funds
allocated by the Secretary to a State under this section shall remain
available for obligation by the State for a period of 3 years after the
last day of the fiscal year for which funds are authorized. If, on
September 30 of any year, the amount of funds made available for the
VPP program, but not allocated, exceeds $8 million, the excess amount
will, to comply with the statutory requirements of the VPP program, be
apportioned to all States as Surface Transportation Program funds.
Funds available for the VPP program can be used to support pre-
implementation study activities as well as to pay for pricing-specific
implementation costs of value pricing projects. Pursuant to section
1012(b)(2) of ISTEA, FHWA may not fund pre-implementation or
implementation costs for more than 3 years. Also, section 1012(b)(6) of
ISTEA provides that a State may permit vehicles with fewer than two
occupants to operate in high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes if the
vehicles are part of a local value pricing pilot program under this
section. In addition to this authority under the VPP program, 23 U.S.C.
166 authorizes States to convert HOV lanes into high occupancy toll
(HOT) lanes in which vehicles without the number of occupants required
for HOV status are permitted to use a HOV lane if such vehicles are
charged a toll. Since the authority to establish and operate a HOT lane
(including HOT lanes on the Interstate System) is no longer
experimental and has been ``mainstreamed'' in 23 U.S.C. 166, the
provisions of 23 U.S.C. 166 will generally be used for HOT projects in
order to more effectively allocate VPP funds and program slots.
Pursuant to section 1012(b)(7), the potential financial effects of
value pricing projects on low-income drivers shall be considered. Where
such effects are expected to be significant, possible mitigation
measures should be identified, such as providing new or expanded
transit service as an integral part of the value pricing project, toll
discounts or credits for low-income motorists who do not have viable
transit options, or fare or toll credits earned by motorists by use of
regular lanes which can be used to pay for tolls on priced lanes.
Mitigation measures can be included as part of the value pricing
project implementation costs.
Also, section 1012(b)(6) of ISTEA requires the Secretary to monitor
the effect of value pricing programs for a period of at least 10 years
and report to Congress every 2 years on the effects such programs are
having on driver behavior, traffic volume, transit ridership, air
quality, and availability of funds for transportation programs. Project
partners will be expected to assist FHWA by providing data on their
programs for use in these reports throughout the length of the
monitoring and reporting period.
In addition to the VPP program, other authorities are available
that permit States to use tolling to finance highway construction and
reconstruction, promote efficiency in the use of highways, and support
congestion reduction by providing expanded flexibility under the
following programs: HOV facilities; Interstate System Reconstruction
and Rehabilitation Pilot; Interstate System Construction Toll Pilot;
Express Lanes Demonstration Program; and Section 129 toll agreements.
For more information on these programs, please refer to the notice in
the January 6, 2006, Federal Register entitled, ``Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU); Opportunities for State and Other Qualifying Agencies to
Gain Authority to Toll Facilities Constructed Using Federal Funds'' (71
FR 965).
Applicable Terms
``Value pricing,'' ``congestion pricing,'' ``peak-period pricing,''
``variable pricing,'' and ``variable tolling'' are all terms used to
refer to direct non-constant charges for road use, possibly varying by
location, time of day, severity of congestion, vehicle occupancy, or
type of facility. By shifting some trips to off-peak periods, to mass
transit or other higher-occupancy vehicles, to non-motorized modes, or
to routes away from congested facilities, or by encouraging
consolidation of trips, value pricing charges are intended to promote
economic efficiency both generally and within the commercial freight
sector. They also achieve congestion reduction, improved air quality,
energy
[[Page 53480]]
conservation, and transit productivity goals.
A ``value pricing project'' means any pre-implementation activities
or implementation of value pricing concepts or techniques discussed in
the ``Potential Project Types'' section of this notice and included
under a State or local ``value pricing pilot program.'' A State is
considered to have a value pricing pilot program if it has one or more
approved value pricing projects. While the distinction between
``project'' and ``program'' may appear to be merely a technical one, it
is significant in that, as described in the ``Background'' section of
this notice, the number of total VPP programs is statutorily limited to
15, while there is no limit to the number of VPP projects allowed under
each VPP program.
A ``value pricing program'' means the combination of all value
pricing projects within a State or local government or public
authority. Any State or local government or public authority with a
cooperative agreement for a value pricing program is deemed to have a
value pricing program.
``Cooperative agreement'' means the agreement signed between the
FHWA and a State to establish and implement value pricing pilot
projects.
``Toll agreement'' means the agreement signed between the FHWA and
a State and/or local government or public authority to provide for the
statutorily authorized uses of toll revenues.
Program Objective
The overall objective of the VPP program is to support efforts by
State and local governments or other public authorities to establish
local value pricing pilot programs, to provide for the monitoring and
evaluation of value pricing projects included in such programs, and to
report on these effects. The VPP program's primary focus is on value
pricing with road tolls, with a secondary focus on other market-based
approaches for congestion relief that do not involve road tolls, such
as congestion pricing at port facilities, mileage-based vehicle taxes
and leasing fees, parking pricing, and car sharing.
The FHWA is seeking applications for funding and/or tolling
authority to use value pricing to reduce congestion, improve system
performance, and promote mobility in a manner consistent with the DOT's
National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's Transportation
Network, announced in May 2006. This strategy consists of a six-point
plan, designed to both reduce congestion in the short-term and to build
the foundation for successful longer-term congestion reduction efforts.
One of the six elements of the plan is to ``relieve urban congestion,''
under which ``[t]he Department will seek to enter * * * [a]greements
with model cities, pursuant to which the cities and Department will
commit to * * * implementing a broad congestion pricing or variable
toll demonstration * * *'' Consistent with this objective, all
proposals should incorporate significant pricing mechanisms intended to
reduce the level of congestion.
With successful examples of facility-specific pricing projects in
operation in the U.S., the next step under the Value Pricing Pilot
Program will focus on developing broader regionwide approaches.
Metropolitan areas will be encouraged to develop pricing concepts and
to collaborate with stakeholders to refine them and plan the process to
deploy them in a phased manner. Some metropolitan areas, e.g., Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC, have begun the
process for adoption of congestion pricing as a long-term strategy to
finance and manage their transportation systems. An objective of this
solicitation is to expand the number of metropolitan areas that are
developing regionwide approaches to congestion pricing by providing
incentive grants to a limited number of Metropolitan Planning
Organizations on a competitive basis.
Potential Project Types
To help meet the objectives of DOT's National Strategy to Reduce
Congestion on America's Transportation Network, FHWA is interested in
funding projects that have the greatest potential to lead to
significant, broad, and relatively near-term congestion relief. The
FHWA will consider applications for funds that show that a project will
achieve at least one of the following: (1) Build public support and a
technical foundation for relatively near-term implementation of
congestion pricing; (2) develop a pricing program with detailed plans
and specifications leading to near-term implementation of congestion
pricing; (3) perform a rigorous regional congestion pricing scenario
study around a scenario that is both comprehensive and realistic, and/
or; (4) implement broad-based pricing and evaluate its effectiveness.
For pre-implementation projects, applicants should demonstrate that
there is already sufficient political support for their implementation,
or that the project is well designed to bring about such support.
Value pricing charges need to be targeted at a sizable number of
vehicles that are causing congestion, and prices should be set at
levels significantly variable to encourage drivers to use alternative
times, routes, modes, or trip patterns, or to telecommute during
congested periods.
The FHWA is seeking VPP program applications from public entities
to study or implement pricing that is broad and/or regional in nature
and will no longer entertain applications for studying or implementing
smaller projects. Applications should cover a significantly-sized
geographical area and include multiple roadway facilities that are
priced, an interconnected managed lane network, or cordon pricing,
where, as in London and Stockholm, cars are charged a substantial fee
to drive in a congested area on weekdays. Variable pricing of currently
free and tolled facilities, pricing of multiple facilities or
corridors, and/or combinations of road pricing and parking pricing will
generally be required. Area-wide pricing applications that use
technologies that provide travelers (including drivers and transit
riders) with pre-trip and real-time congestion and pricing information
on alternative travel modes and routes are especially encouraged to
assist travelers in making efficient travel destination, mode and route
choices. Cashless tolling (i.e., no toll booths) is required and
dynamic pricing regimes based on real-time traffic conditions are
preferred.
As part of broad, regional pricing projects, the inclusion of new,
innovative value pricing approaches is encouraged. Such approaches
might entail pricing at major traffic bottlenecks, shifting from fixed
to variable toll schedules on existing toll facilities (i.e.,
combinations of peak-period surcharges and off-peak discounts), and
pricing of queue jumps, where paying motorists can bypass motorists who
choose not to pay, typically by using special lanes with priority
signals at freeway entrance ramps.
Projects should be designed to reflect the needs of low-income or
other transportation-disadvantaged groups. Mitigation strategies to
address equity concerns may include bus rapid transit or other
enhancements of transportation alternatives for peak-period travelers,
special reduced toll rates for low-income travelers, limited monetary
credits to all or just to low-income travelers that can be used to pay
for tolls or transit fares (thereby allowing a limited amount of free
travel before having to pay full fees), and credit-based
[[Page 53481]]
tolling programs such as toll credits earned by motorists in regular
lanes or by transit users in the corridor which can later be used to
pay tolls on priced lanes or for free transit trips.
The FHWA is also interested in grant applications for projects that
do not involve highway tolls. As discussed earlier, SAFETEA-LU sets
aside at least $3 million per fiscal year for such projects. The FHWA
encourages applicants to design such projects, to the extent possible,
to complement or offer the potential for ``broad'' pricing as called
for in the DOT's National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's
Transportation Network. The FHWA in particular seeks tests of
innovative port facility congestion pricing projects, such as the
PierPass project currently operational at ports in the Los Angeles
metropolitan area, and parking pricing strategies, including time-of-
day pricing and charges reflective of congested conditions, provided
the level and coverage of proposed parking charges is sufficient to
reduce congestion. Among the parking pricing strategies that could be
considered innovative include: surcharges for entering or exiting
parking facilities during or near peak periods; citywide, on-street
parking pricing that varies by demand; and a range of parking cash-out
policies, where cash is offered to employees in lieu of subsidized
parking, parking operators reimburse monthly patrons for unused parking
days, or renters or purchasers in multifamily housing developments are
provided direct financial saving for not availing of car parking
spaces.
It is the intent of FHWA to additionally set aside approximately $5
million to be made available to up to 10 Metropolitan Planning
Organizations to develop comprehensive multimodal regional
transportation packages that include congestion pricing as a key
component, for eventual incorporation in the region's transportation
plan. Studies are encouraged to include evaluation of benefits, costs,
revenues, environmental impacts, distributional impacts, and financial
feasibility of each alternative package of transportation improvements,
in comparison with the region's currently adopted long range
transportation plan. Development of alternative packages may involve
stakeholder groups, including (among others) business groups,
environmental groups, and advocates for social equity. Examples of the
types of regional transportation studies already conducted include the
Traffic Choices Study conducted by the Puget Sound Regional Council for
the Seattle Metropolitan Area, and the Value Pricing Study conducted by
the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Pre-Implementation Studies
States are encouraged to carry out pre-implementation study
activities designed to lead to implementation of a regional value
pricing project in the relatively near-term, consistent with the
objectives of the DOT's National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on
America's Transportation Network. The intent of the pre-implementation
study phase is to support efforts to identify and evaluate value
pricing project alternatives, and to prepare the necessary groundwork
for relatively near-term regional implementation. As indicated above,
FHWA intends to set aside approximately $5 million to fund region-wide
studies by Metropolitan Planning Organizations. So as to focus VPP
program resources in a manner consistent with the DOT Congestion
Initiative, FHWA will not fund purely academic studies of value pricing
or studies that involve major expansions of existing facilities or
area-wide planning studies covering many topics besides pricing and
incorporating value pricing only as one of a number of options. Such
studies may be funded with regular Federal-aid highway or transit
planning funds. Applications for pre-implementation studies will be
evaluated based on the likelihood that they will lead to relatively
near-term implementation of broad value pricing conforming to the
objectives described in the previous section.
Project Costs Eligible for Grant Funding
The FHWA will provide up to the statutorily allowable 80 percent
share of the estimated costs of an approved project. Funds available
for the VPP program can be used to support pre-implementation study
activities and also to pay for implementation costs of value pricing
projects. Costs of planning for, setting up, managing, operating,
monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on local value pricing pilot
projects are eligible for reimbursement, but neither pre-implementation
study costs nor implementation costs may be reimbursed for longer than
3 years. The 3-year funding limitation will begin on the date of the
first disbursement of Federal funds for project activities. Examples of
specific pre-implementation and implementation costs eligible for
reimbursement include the following:
1. Pre-Implementation Study Costs--Covered activities include those
undertaken to advance two key priority focus areas: foundation building
and regional program development.
a. Foundation building activities may be reimbursed, such as public
participation, consensus building, marketing, modeling, and technology
assessments; and
b. Regional program development activities are also eligible for
reimbursement, including project and financial planning, project
design, creating project specifications, and activities required to
meet Federal or State environmental or other planning requirements.
2. Implementation Costs--Allowable costs for reimbursement under
this priority focus area include those for setting up, managing,
operating, evaluating, and reporting on a value pricing project,
including:
a. Necessary salaries and expenses, or other administrative and
operational costs, such as installation of equipment for operation of a
pilot project (e.g., Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) technology, video
equipment for traffic monitoring, and other instrumentation),
enforcement costs, costs of monitoring and evaluating project
operations, and costs of continuing public relations activities during
the period of implementation;
b. ``[M]itigation measures to deal with any potential adverse
financial effects on low-income drivers[,]'' per section 1012(b)(7) of
ISTEA as amended, including costs of providing transportation
alternatives, such as new or expanded transit or ridesharing services
provided as an integral part of the value pricing project. Funds are
not available to replace existing sources of support for these
services.
Project implementation costs can be supported until such time that
sufficient revenues are being generated by the project to fund such
activities without Federal support, but in no case for longer than 3
years. Each implementation project included in a value pricing pilot
program will be considered separately for this purpose.
Funds may not be used to pay for activities conducted prior to
approval for VPP program participation. Also, funds made available
through the VPP program may not be used to construct new highway lanes
or bridges, even if those facilities are to be priced, but toll ramps
or minor pavement additions needed to facilitate toll collection or
enforcement are eligible. Complementary actions, such as lane
construction, the implementation of traffic control systems, or transit
projects can be funded through other highway and transit programs under
SAFETEA-LU and from new revenues
[[Page 53482]]
raised as a result of a pilot. VPP program applicants are encouraged to
explore opportunities for combining VPP program funds with other funds.
Federal funds may not, however, be used to match VPP program funds
unless there is specific statutory authority to do so.
Eligible Uses of Revenues
Section 1012(b)(2) of ISTEA provides that revenues generated by any
value pricing pilot project must be applied first to pay for pilot
project operating costs. Any project revenues in excess of pilot
project operating costs may, according to section 1012(b)(3) of ISTEA,
be used for any projects eligible under Title 23, United States Code. A
project's operating costs include, but are not limited to, any costs
necessary for a project's execution; mitigation measures to deal with
adverse financial effects on low-income drivers; the proper maintenance
of the facility; any construction (including reconstruction,
rehabilitation, restoration, or resurfacing) of the facility; any debt
service incurred in implementing the project; and a reasonable return
on investment by any private entity financing the project. States are
encouraged to consider using excess revenue for projects designed to
provide benefits to those traveling in the corridor where the project
is being implemented.
For VPP toll projects, FHWA and the public authority (including the
State transportation department) having jurisdiction over a facility
must enter into a toll agreement concerning the use of toll revenue to
be generated under a value pricing project. The toll agreement will
provide that the public authority use the revenues in accordance with
the applicable statutory requirements. The execution of a toll
agreement will facilitate oversight of a State's compliance with
revenue use requirements of the VPP program.
Who Is Eligible To Apply?
Qualified applicants for either tolling authority or grants (or
both) include State or local governments or public authorities, such as
tolling agencies. Although project agreements must be with the
aforementioned public entities, and preferably with State departments
of transportation in order to preserve participation slots, a VPP
program partnership may also include private tolling authorities, for-
profit companies, and non-profit organizations.
The Value Pricing Pilot Program Applications
Formal applications should be submitted online directly by the
State department of transportation to http://www.grants.gov.
There is no particular format that is required for tolling
authority applications or grant applications, although specific
information is requested. Applications should include the following
background information:
a. The name, title, e-mail address, and phone number of the person
who will act as the point of contact on behalf of the requesting
agency, authority, or authorities;
b. A description of the agency, authority, or authorities
requesting funding and/or tolling authority;
c. A statement as to whether only funding, both funding and tolling
authority, or only tolling authority via the VPP program is being
sought to support either pre-implementation or implementation
activities as permitted; and
d. A description of the public agency or agencies that will be
responsible for operating, maintaining, and enforcing the tolling
program, if applicable.
The core of the application should include the following:
1. A description of the congestion problem being addressed (current
and projected);
2. A description of the proposed pricing program and its goals;
3. An identification of the facilities that will be covered,
including whether any of the subject facilities is an Interstate
facility, whether any HOV lanes currently exist on any of the
facilities, and whether any construction related activities would be
needed to implement the project and, if so, whether this is new
construction, expansion, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or other;
4. Where applicable, a plan for implementing or modifying tolls,
and a related timetable. Where known, the range of anticipated tolls
and the strategies to vary toll rates (i.e., the formulas for variable
pricing), the technology to be used, enforcement programs, and
operating details;
5. Anticipated effects of the pricing program on reducing
congestion, altering travel behavior, and encouraging the use of other
transportation modes;
6. Preliminary estimates of the social and economic effects of the
pricing program, including potential equity impacts, and a plan or
methodology for further refining such estimates;
7. The role of alternative transportation modes in the project;
8. A description of the tasks to be carried out as part of each
phase of the project;
9. A detailed project timeline broken down by tasks and phases;
10. An itemized budget broken down by task and funding year (i.e.,
Year 1, Year 2, etc.), which is only required for grant applications;
11. Plans for monitoring and evaluating implementation projects,
including plans for data collection and analysis, before and after
assessment, and long-term monitoring and documenting of project
effects;
12. A detailed finance and revenue plan, including (for
implementation projects) a budget for capital and operating costs; a
description of all funding sources, planned expenditures, and proposed
uses of revenues; and a plan for projects to become financially self-
sustaining (without Federal support) within 3 years of implementation,
all of which is only required for grant applications;
13. A discussion of previous public involvement, including public
meetings, in the development of the proposed pricing program; any
expressions or declarations of support from State or local government
officials or the public; future plans for involving key affected
parties, coalition building, and media relations, and more broadly for
ensuring adequate public involvement prior to implementation;
14. Plans for meeting all Federal, State and local legal and
administrative requirements for project implementation, including
relevant Federal-aid planning and environmental requirements;
15. A description of how, if at all, any private entities are
involved in the project either in the up-front costs to enact tolling,
or the cost sharing or debt retirement associated with revenues; and
16. An explanation about how electronic toll collection project
components will be compatible with other ETC systems in the region.
If some of these items are not available or fully developed at the
time the formal application is submitted, applications will still be
considered for grant funding support if they meet the interests of
FHWA, as described earlier in the section entitled ``Potential Project
Types,'' and if there is a strong indication that these items will be
completed within a short time.
VPP Program Process
A. Requests for Funding
To ensure that all projects receive fair and equal consideration
for the limited available funds, FHWA requires formal grant
applications to be submitted no later than November 7, 2008, for FY
2009 funds to http://www.grants.gov.
[[Page 53483]]
B. Projects for Which No Funds Are Requested
Although most projects under the VPP program involve program funds,
some projects do not, and instead only seek tolling authority under the
program. In such cases, and especially where a State is not already
part of the VPP program, FHWA recommends that the public authority
investigate the other opportunities to gain authority to toll that are
listed in the notice in the January 6, 2006, Federal Register, entitled
``Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU); Opportunities for State and Other
Qualifying Agencies to Gain Authority to Toll Facilities Constructed
Using Federal Funds'' (71 FR 965).
Post-Selection Process
If approved, a formal cooperative agreement will be prepared
between the FHWA and the State. The cooperative agreement will include
a refined scope of work developed from the original funding application
and subsequent discussions with FHWA. Federal statutes will govern the
cooperative agreement. Regulations cited in the agreement, and 49 CFR
Part 18, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative
Agreements to State and Local Governments, will also apply. As a
practical matter, each value pricing project must have a separate
cooperative agreement. Although, in the past, the FHWA has allowed some
States to have a master cooperative agreement that is subsequently
amended for each approved project, in the future the FHWA will execute
a separate agreement for each project. For value pricing projects that
involve only toll authority and that do not involve requests for
Federal funds, a cooperative agreement must still be executed.
Where the implementation of tolling is part of the VPP project,
Federal tolling authority is required. To secure such authority for a
VPP project, a cooperative agreement will be executed, regardless of
whether VPP program funding is being provided. The cooperative
agreement must include all of the information normally required as part
of a tolling agreement (stipulating the terms of the tolling, providing
details on the dispensation of revenues, etc.). A separate tolling
agreement will not be required. As discussed previously, revenues must
generally first be used to cover debt service, provide reasonable
return on private party investments, and operate and maintain the
facility. Any remaining revenues may then be used for other Title 23,
United States Code eligible purposes.
Where tolling authority is secured through a VPP program
cooperative agreement, such an agreement, like tolling agreements
providing the authority to toll under other Federal provisions and
programs, will be signed by the Executive Director of FHWA. If tolling
authority is not required, the cooperative agreement will be signed by
the FHWA Division Administrator of the State Division Office. All
cooperative agreements will be administered jointly by FHWA's Office of
Operations and FHWA's State Division Office.
Other Requirements
Prior to FHWA approval of pricing project implementation, value
pricing programs must be shown to be consistent with Federal
metropolitan and statewide planning requirements (23 U.S.C. 134 and
135; and, if applicable, 49 U.S.C. 5303 and 5304).
Implementation projects involving tolls outside metropolitan areas
must be included in the approved statewide transportation improvement
program and be selected in accordance with the requirements set forth
in section 1204(f)(3) of the TEA-21.
Implementation projects involving tolls in metropolitan areas must
be: (a) Included in, or consistent with, the approved metropolitan
transportation plan (if the area is in nonattainment for a
transportation related pollutant, the metropolitan plan must be in
conformance with the State air quality implementation plan); (b)
included in the approved metropolitan and statewide transportation
improvement programs (if the metropolitan area is in a nonattainment
area for a transportation related pollutant, the metropolitan
transportation improvement program must be in conformance with the
State air quality implementation plan); (c) selected in accordance with
the requirements in section 1203(h)(5) or (i)(2) of TEA-21; and (d)
consistent with any existing congestion management system in
Transportation Management Areas, developed pursuant to 23 U.S.C.
134(i)(3).
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; sec. 1216(a), Pub. L. 105-178, 112
Stat. 107; Pub. L. 109-59; 117 Stat. 1144.
Issued on: September 9, 2008.
Thomas J. Madison, Jr.,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8-21517 Filed 9-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P