FHWA Publishes 16 Deregulation Rulemakings – 5-30-25

Yesterday there was an unusual occurrence in the Federal Register, one agency published 16 separate rulemakings. The DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published five direct final rules and eleven notices of proposed rulemakings (NPRM). These are all part of the new administration’s deregulation efforts.

This area is not one that I have paid a lot of attention to in this blog and is certainly out of my area of expertise. But I thought that this bulk deregulation effort deserved some notice.

The final rules all took effect yesterday. The notices of proposed rulemakings all have a comment due date of June 30^th, 2025.

Final Rules

Rescinding Requirements Regarding Management and Monitoring Systems. (90 FR 22854) Summary: “This final rule rescinds the regulations issued on December 10, 1996, and amended on February 14, 2007, Management and Monitoring, thereby removing obsolete regulations governing transportation management and monitoring systems. Further, FWHA finalizes the proposed updates to the regulations governing risk-based Asset Management Plans by determining that no further action is needed.”

National Performance Management Measures; Rescinding Requirements for the First Performance Period. (90 FR 22852) Summary: “This final rule rescinds the requirements pertaining to the performance targets established by State departments of transportation (State DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) for the first performance period (Calendar Years 2018 through 2021), as originally promulgated in the regulations issued on January 18, 2017, National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Freight Movement on the Interstate System, and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.”

Rescinding Regulations on Projects of National and Regional Significance Evaluation and Rating. (90 FR 22856) Summary: This final rule rescinds the rule and regulations issued on October 24, 2008, Projects of National and Regional Significance Evaluation and Rating.”

Rescinding Preliminary Engineering Project 10-Year Repayment Provision. (90 FR 22858) Summary: “This final rule rescinds a portion of the regulations issued on May 10, 2001, Federal-Aid Project Agreement, which required that State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) repay FHWA Federal funds provided for preliminary engineering for a project if right-of-way acquisition for, or actual construction of, the road for which this preliminary engineering is undertaken is not started in ten years.”

State Highway Agency Equal Employment Opportunity Programs. (90 FR 22850) Summary: “The FHWA is removing outdated and duplicative regulations requiring State highway agencies to submit to FHWA, on an annual basis, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program plans for FHWA approval. Currently, FHWA is responsible for oversight of State highway agencies' EEO programs, which include collection and analysis of internal employment data, development of an internal affirmative action hiring plan, and contractor compliance reporting. These regulations overlap with, and are duplicative of, other Federal requirements enforced by other Federal agencies. In addition, an Executive order (E.O.) issued by President Donald J. Trump repealed a previous E.O. that was relied on to initially promulgate the regulation. Elimination of these regulations will reduce administrative and monetary burdens on Federal-aid recipients.”

NPRMs

Rescinding Requirements Regarding Bridges on Federal Dams. (90 FR 22874) Summary: “FHWA is proposing to rescind the rule and regulations issued on October 10, 1974, Bridges on Federal Dams.”

Rescinding Requirements Regarding Required Contract Provisions for Federal-Aid Construction Contracts (Other Than Appalachian Contracts). (90 FR 22876) Summary: “FHWA is proposing to rescind the rule and certain regulations issued on October 2, 1987, Required Contract Provisions.”

Rescinding Requirements Regarding the Forest Highway Program. (90 FR 22881) Summary: “FHWA proposes to rescind the regulations issued regarding the Forest Highway Program.”

Highway Safety Improvement Program; Withdrawal. (90 FR 22883) Summary: “FHWA withdraws its February 21, 2024, notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which proposed to update FHWA's Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) regulations. FHWA will proceed to formally withdraw the proposed rule from FHWA's upcoming Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (“Unified Agenda”).”

Rescinding Regulations Regarding Management Systems Pertaining to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Reservation Roads Program. (90 FR 22889) Summary: “FHWA proposes to rescind the regulations issued on February 27, 2004, Federal Lands Highway Program; Management Systems Pertaining to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Reservation Roads Program.”

Rescinding Regulations Regarding Management Systems Pertaining to the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Refuge Roads Program. (90 FR 22887) Summary: “FHWA proposes to rescind the regulations issued on February 27, 2004, Federal Lands Highway Program; Management Systems Pertaining to the Fish and Wildlife and the Refuge Roads Program.”

Rescinding Regulations Regarding Management Systems Pertaining to the Forest Service and the Forest Highway Program. (90 FR 22885) Summary: “FHWA proposes to rescind the regulations issued on February 27, 2004, Federal Lands Highway Program; Management Systems Pertaining to the Forest Service and the Forest Highway Program.”

Rescinding Regulations Regarding Management Systems Pertaining to the National Park Service and the Park Roads and Parkways Program. (90 FR 22883) Summary: “FHWA proposes to rescind the regulations issued on February 27, 2004, Federal Lands Highway Program; Management Systems Pertaining to the National Park Service and the Park Roads and Parkways Program.”

Rescinding Regulations on Procedures for Advance Construction of Federal-aid Projects. (90 FR 22872) Summary: “FHWA proposes to rescind a specific provision of the rule and regulations issued on March 30, 1990, Advance Construction of Federal-aid Projects.”

Rescinding Requirements Regarding Federal-Aid Contracts for Appalachian Contracts. (90 FR 22878) Summary: “FHWA is proposing to rescind the rule and regulations issued on September 30, 1974, Federal-Aid Contracts (Appalachian Contracts).”

Rescinding Requirements Regarding Geodetic Markers. (90 FR 22870) Summary: “FHWA is proposing to rescind the rule and regulations issued on July 19, 1974, Geodetic Markers.”

First Trump Administration Rule Submitted to OMB

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a notice of proposed rulemaking from the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on “National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measure”. This is the first rulemaking submitted to OIRA since President Trump took office on January 20^th and announced a temporary freeze on federal rulemaking.

There is no entry for this rulemaking in the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda, but I suspect that this rule will be a start to the process of overturning the Biden Administration’s 2024 “National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measure” final rule. That rule essentially overturned a Trump 45 rule from 2018 that overturned an Obama January 2017 rule.

While I have no intention of covering this rulemaking in this blog, it will be interesting to see how quickly OIRA processes this rulemaking. This is obviously a high-profile rulemaking for the incoming administration and there are only four other rulemakings currently in OIRA pending review. This rule will provide the first measure of how effective the new administration is on bureaucratic process of rulemaking.

OMB Approves FHWA RFI on Medium and Heavy-Duty Charging Stations

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a request for information from the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on “Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric Charging Technologies and Infrastructure Needs”. The RFI was sent to OMB on June 25^th, 2024.

This rulemaking was not listed in the Spring 2024 Unified Agenda, but that is not too unusual at this stage of the rulemaking process.

I suspect that the RFI will include a selection of cybersecurity related questions. If there are no such questions, the only coverage for the publication of this RFI will be a mention in the appropriate Short Takes post.

FHWA Sends Vehicle Charging Infrastructure RFI to OMB

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory affairs announced that it had received a notice of request for information (RFI) from the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on “Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Medium and Heavy-Duty Electric Charging Technologies and Infrastructure Needs”. There is no entry in the Fall 2023 Unified Agenda for this RFI.

I expect that there will be a selection of questions on cybersecurity for charging systems in the RFI.

OMB Approves FHWA Final Rule on Charging Station Standards

On Tuesday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a final rule for the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on “National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program”. The rule was sent to OIRA on January 10^th, 2023. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published on June 22^nd, 2022.

The NPRM included language that would have required that “States must implement physical and cybersecurity strategies consistent with their respective State EV Infrastructure Deployment Plans to mitigate charging infrastructure, grid, and consumer vulnerability associated with the operation of charging stations.”

The final rule will probably be published next week.

FHWA Sends Charging Station Final Rule to OMB

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs announced that it had received a final rule from the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on “National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program”. The rule would create “minimum standards and requirements for NEVI-funded projects. The FHWA is directed by Section 11129 of BIL, which amends 23 U.S.C. 109, by adding a requirement that EV charging station standards apply to all projects that install EV charging infrastructure using funds provided under title 23, United States Code.” 

The notice of proposed rulemaking for this action was published on June 22^nd, 2022. That language would have required that “States must implement physical and cybersecurity strategies consistent with their respective State EV Infrastructure Deployment Plans to mitigate charging infrastructure, grid, and consumer vulnerability associated with the operation of charging stations.”

OMB Approves FHWA V2I Guidance Document

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved an interim guidance document from the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration concerning vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communications. This was not listed in the Fall 2016 Unified Agenda, but this is certainly part of the DOT’s ongoing intelligent transportation system program.

The FHWA published a draft of this document in 2014. That draft promised the development of a guide to V2I cybersecurity that would include:

“Provides deployers with: (1) an analysis of extensibility of security and trust systems to additional points of connection, including V2I, devices, backhaul, and others; (2) an analysis of additional risks from extensibility and cybersecurity; (3) an analysis of potential impacts to the existing transportation system/networks. It will also provide definitions of the organizational functions and processes for operating the security function, along with cost models for operations and maintenance.”

It will be interesting to see if that management speak is better presented in this new interim guidance document. More importantly, it would be helpful if the cybersecurity guidance was actually included in the upcoming document and not just mentioned as a future project.