Action
Final rule.
Summary
The FHWA is amending its regulation on the emergency relief (ER) program to revise the threshold used in determining eligibility for a disaster from $500,000 to $700,000. The threshold is used to distinguish between heavy maintenance or routine emergency repairs and serious damage eligible under the ER program. In addition, the FHWA is amending the regulation to include the recent clarifying guidance on administering ER funding eligibility for betterment/replacement facilities, for project and project features resulting from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, and for traffic damage caused by response vehicles. Also, this document presents changes to the ER application process; minor revisions to guidance for eligible uses; and the revised policy of delegating the approval authority to FHWA Division Administrators, previously exercised by the Federal Highway Administrator, to make the initial "finding" approving ER assistance for a new disaster and related administrative procedural changes.