IRR and the Federal Lands Highway Office

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IRR and the Federal Lands Highway Office

• 20th Anniversary
• Self-Governance Conference
• Las Vegas, NV
• May 1, 2008

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Welcome

• Robert Sparrow
• IRR Program Manager
• [phone]
• robert.sparrow_at_fhwa.dot.gov

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Topics

• Federal Lands Highway Office
• Structure
• Business Approach
• Available Services
• IRR Program
• IRR Program Agreements
• Other miscellaneous issues

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Federal Lands HighwayOffices and Areas
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Business Approach

• Fee for Service
• Project related work from transportation planning
  and environmental studies, to all aspects of
  engineering, project procurement, and
  construction oversight
• Partners
• National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Fish
  and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
  Tribal Governments, State and local governments
  and DOTs, and Department of Defense
• Over 655,000 miles of road and 10,000 bridges
• IRR Program Agreements with Tribes
• Carry out inherent Federal Activities as required
  by 25 CFR 170

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Other FHWA Services

• Non-direct project services
• Capacity Building
• Safety Audits and Training
• Road Safety Audits
• Tribal Safety Plans
• Other Technical Assistance
• Through site visits or PSE reviews or best
  practice guidance, design references
• Assist with State, County, Borough, MPO/RPO
  coordination
• Mentoring

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Indian Reservation Roads(IRR) Program
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Items covered

• Program Funding Levels
• SAFTEA-LU Impacts
• IRR Bridge Program
• FHWA/Tribal Agreements

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FY08 Funding Levels

• IRR Program
• 410 million authorized
• 350 million available
• IRR Bridge Program (IRRBP)
• 14 million authorized
• 12.8 million available
• Pending legislation may take an additional 2
  million taken from programs

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SAFETEA-LU impacts to the IRR Program

• New eligible items on Bridge Program
• IRR Comprehensive inventory
• FHWA/Tribal IRR Program Agreements
• 25 maintenance allowance
• DAS for Tribal Government Affairs

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IRR Bridge Program

• An additional program of 14 million/year.
• Structurally deficient or functionally obsolete
  bridges only
• New eligible activities (Planning and Design)
• Funding Divisions/categories
• BIA vs. non-BIA
• Local match requirement
• Project size limitation
• Design vs. Construction
• Updated IRRBP Regulation (23 CFR 661) published
  March 25, 2008
• Program has funded more than 235 Projects and
  127 million through FY07.

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FHWA/Tribal Agreements

• SAFETEA-LU
• Provides an option for Tribes to enter into
  Program Agreements directly with DOT/FHWA for
  funds made available to an Indian tribal
  government under Chapter 2 of Title 23 for
  designated road, bridge, or transit projects that
  provide access to or are within a reservation
• Agreements developed in accordance with ISDEAA.

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FHWA/Tribal Agreements

• Authorizes DOT Secretary to enter into funding
  agreements
• Amount a tribe receives equals
• funding that the tribe would otherwise receive in
  accordance with the formula, plus
• an amount as determined by the DOT Secretary as
  the amount that BIA would withhold for project
  administration.

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FHWA/Tribal Agreements

• Eligibility
• Financial stability and management capability
  during the preceding three fiscal years.
• No uncorrected significant and material audit
  exceptions in their annual audit. This is
  conclusive evidence.
• Assumption of Powers, Functions and Duties
• Tribe assumes all powers, functions and duties
  (that are not inherently Federal or cannot be
  transferred) that the Secretary of Interior would
  have performed.

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FHWA/Tribal Agreements

• Agreement Structure
• Two-part agreement
• IRR Program Agreement
• Multi-year through SAFETEA
• Provides general overview of program, identifies
  terms and conditions, the authority, as well as
  the roles and responsibilities of the parties
• Referenced Funding Agreement (RFA)
• Funding Transfer mechanism
• Outlines activities to be undertaken with funding
  provided.
• Completed on as-needed basis

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FHWA/Tribal Agreements

• 15 Tribes to date
• 9 from Alaska
• 1 from New Mexico
• 1 from Oklahoma
• 1 from Montana
• 2 from North Dakota
• 1 from South Dakota

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New Tribal/FHWA Relationship

• What services are needed?
• LRTP development, inventory, environmental
  review, coordination, project oversight?
• Who carries out what inherent Federal activities?
• FHWA Federal Lands?
• BIA Regional Office?
• FHWA Fed-Aid Office?
• Other Coordination
• Other Federal, State, or local Agencies?
• IRR Manual

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Future Challenges and Happenings

• Delivering a successful IRR Program with new
  partners
• Next phase of Inventory Study/Report
• New leadership at FHWA and FLH
• New administration in 2009
• Next Reauthorization in 2010

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FLH Points of Contact

• Federal Lands IRR Team
• Bob Sparrow [phone]
• Monica Gourdine [phone]
• Russell Garcia [phone]
• Galen Balster [phone]
• Kyle Kitchel (WFLHD) [phone]
• Bert McCauley (CFLHD) [phone]
• Tim Penney FHWA Tribal Liaison
• [phone]
• www.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov

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Questions?

• Robert Sparrow
• IRR Program Manager
• [phone]
• robert.sparrow_at_dot.gov