APTA Letter to Senate EPW Leaders Outlines Proposed Regulatory Reform Proposals
3/20/2025
APTA sent a letter, March 21, to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works (EPW), as written testimony for the record for the hearing on Feb. 19, 2025, titled, “Improving the Federal Environmental Review and Permitting Processes.” The letter outlines proposals for streamlining regulatory and administrative requirements that will go a long way toward expediting projects of importance to public transit agencies.
First, APTA urged Congress to add flexibility to FTA’s policy on land acquisition prior to the NEPA review to replace the term “right-of-way” with “real property interests”, thereby expanding the opportunity for broader property acquisition prior to the completion of environmental reviews. This proposal would bring FTA’s authority into parity with the Federal Highway Administration’s property acquisition authority.
Second, APTA urged Congress to direct FTA and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to create a national Programmatic Agreement to categorically exclude bus shelter installation in an existing right-of-way for National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 determinations. Specifically, transit agencies encounter obstacles funding and installing bus shelter projects in certain FTA regions due to NHPA requirements. The conflicting guidance leads to delays and increased costs.
In the letter, APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas, stated that, “APTA stands ready to work with your committee and Congress to streamline and improve the federal regulatory process to enable better and expanded public transportation services for Americans and drive economic growth across the nation.”