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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 230 / Friday, December 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Robert F. Altneu, Director, Regulations & Disclosure Law Division Regulations & Rulings, Office of Trade U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Approved:
Timothy E. Skud, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
FR Doc. 202126348 Filed 12121; 11:15 am BILLING CODE 911114P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration 23 CFR Part 645
Docket No. FHWA20190037
RIN 2125AF92

Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Federal Highway Administration FHWA, U.S.
Department of Transportation DOT.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

FHWA amends its regulations governing the accommodation of utilities on the right-of-way ROW of Federal-aid or direct Federal highway projects to implement requirements of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, for broadband infrastructure deployment. The requirements, which will apply to each State that receives Federal funds under Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code U.S.C., aim to facilitate the installation of broadband infrastructure.

SUMMARY:

DATES:

This rule is effective March 3,
2022.
This document, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking NPRM, the supporting economic analysis, and the public comments received may be viewed online through the Federal eRulemaking portal at: http
www.regulations.gov. An electronic copy of this document may also be downloaded from the Office of the Federal Registers website at https
www.federalregister.gov and the Government Publishing Offices website at www.GovInfo.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Julie Johnston, Office of Preconstruction, Construction and Pavements HICP10, 202 5915858, or via email at Julie.Johnston@dot.gov, or Mr. Lev Gabrilovich, Office of the Chief Counsel HCC30, 202 366
3813, or via email at Lev.Gabrilovich@
dot.gov. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

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ADDRESSES:

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Background Utility facilities, unlike most other fixed objects that may be present within the highway environment, are not owned nor are their operations directly controlled by State or local public agencies. Federal laws and FHWA
regulations contained in 23 U.S.C. 109, 111, 116, and 123 and 23 CFR parts 1, 635, 645, and 710 regulate the accommodation, relocation, and reimbursement of utilities located within the highway ROW. State departments of transportation State DOT are required to develop Utility Accommodation policies that meet these regulations. 23 CFR 645.211.
Legal Authority, Statement of the Problem, and Regulatory History The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 Pub. L. 115141, Division P, Title VII MOBILE NOW Act, Section 607, Broadband Infrastructure Deployment 47 U.S.C. 1504, directs the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations to ensure that States meet specific registration, notification, and coordination requirements to facilitate broadband infrastructure deployment in the ROW of applicable Federal-aid highway projects. Accordingly, this rulemaking is required by statute. This regulation addresses the need to update FHWA regulations to implement the Section 607 requirements.
FHWA published a NPRM on August 13, 2020 85 FR 49328, seeking public comment on proposed revisions to its regulations governing the accommodation of utilities on the ROW
of Federal-aid or direct Federal highway projects to implement the Section 607
requirements. FHWA also requested public comments on an economic analysis summarized in the preamble to the proposed rule and presented in a supporting statement and a spreadsheet found in the rulemaking docket FHWA20190037. FHWA received 30
public comment submissions.
Commenters included several State DOTs, industry associations, associations of State and local officials, companies, and individuals. After carefully considering the comments received in response to the NPRM in light of the statutory requirements, FHWA is promulgating final regulations without changes to the proposed regulations.
Overview of the Final Rule The final rule, which aims to facilitate the installation of broadband infrastructure, will apply to each State that receives Federal funds under
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Chapter 1 of title 23, U.S.C., including the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The MOBILE NOW Act defines the term State and other terms that are used in the final rule such as appropriate State agency, broadband infrastructure, and broadband infrastructure entity, as discussed in the preamble to the proposed rule. See 85 FR at 49329.
In 645.307a, FHWA sets out four new requirements of Section 607 of the MOBILE NOW Act. First, 645.307a1
requires that the State DOT, in consultation with appropriate State agencies, identify a broadband utility coordinator who is responsible for facilitating the infrastructure ROW
efforts within the State.
Second, 645.307a2 requires the State DOT, in consultation with appropriate State agencies, to establish a registration process for broadband infrastructure entities that seek to be included.
Section 645.307a3 requires the State DOT, in consultation with appropriate State agencies, to establish a process for electronically notifying broadband infrastructure entities identified under 645.307a2, on an annual basis, of the State Transportation Improvement Program STIP and providing other notifications as necessary. FHWA assumes that to comply with this provision, States will create an electronic notification process, update their utility accommodation policies to include this new process, and also notify broadband companies of these changes, as discussed in the preamble to the proposed rule. See 85
FR at 49330.
Finally, 645.307a4 requires that the State DOT, in consultation with appropriate State agencies, coordinate initiatives under Section 607 of the MOBILE NOW Act with other statewide telecommunication and broadband plans and State and local transportation and land use plans, including strategies to minimize repeated excavations that involve broadband infrastructure installation in a ROW. FHWA assumes a statewide coordinator will carry out these responsibilities, as discussed in the preamble to the proposed rule. See 85 FR at 49330.
Section 645.307b contains the Section 607 of the MOBILE NOW Act provision that, if a State chooses to provide for the installation of broadband infrastructure in the ROW of an applicable Federal-aid highway project, the State DOT must ensure that any existing broadband infrastructure entities are not disadvantaged, as compared to other broadband
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