Short Takes – 9-1-26 - Federal Register Edition

NEPA  

National Environmental Policy Act Regulations. DOT/FHWA/FRA/FTA final rule. Summary: “FHWA, FRA, and FTA (collectively referred to as the “Agencies”) are finalizing the interim final rule (IFR) published on July 3, 2025, which revised the Agencies' National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 implementing regulations in light of the removal of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, the amendments to NEPA included in the section of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FR Act) of 2023, known as the Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews (BUILDER) Act of 2023, amendments regarding efficient environmental reviews included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021, and the Supreme Court decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition. The Agencies provided a 30-day comment period for the public to review and comment on the IFR. This final rule addresses public comments received and finalizes the IFR with minor technical changes.” 

Pipeline Safety  

Pipeline Safety: Joint Meeting of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees. PHMSA comment period extension. Summary: “On July 17, 2026, PHMSA published a Federal Register notice titled: “Pipeline Safety: Joint Meeting of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees,” which provided an opportunity for public comment by August 31, 2026, on the proceedings of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees meeting related to 13 notices of proposed rulemakings (NPRM). These proposed rules covered topics such as special permit conditions, in-plant piping, incidental gathering lines, coating damage assessments, atmospheric corrosion, class change pressure tests, maximum allowable operating pressure reconfirmation, operator identification notifications, limitations on welding, remote valves, the property damage definition, right-of-way patrols, and reporting deadlines. PHMSA received requests from stakeholders to extend the comment period. Based on those requests, PHMSA is reopening the comment period for the joint Pipeline Advisory Committee (PAC) proceedings related to the 13 regulatory modernizing NPRMs to September 4, 2026.” 

Surface Transportation Security  

Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Cybersecurity Measures for Surface Modes. 30-day ICR revision notice. Summary: “The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The collection involves the designation of a Cybersecurity Coordinator; the reporting of cybersecurity incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; the development of a cybersecurity contingency/recovery plan to address cybersecurity gaps; and the completion of a cybersecurity assessment.” 

NOTE: Today’s notice reports that “After publishing the 60-day notice (link added), TSA reviewed and updated the number of respondents from 846 to 67 and updated the estimate of the annual time burden from 210,684 hours to 22,167 hours.” I will be taking a detailed look at the changes once TSA submits their data to OIRA.