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fM12 Federal Register / Vol. 54, No. 40 / Thursday. March 2, 1989 / Rules and R DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Office of the 49 CFR Part 24 [FitW .,...:st No. 87-22) RIN 2125-A8 65 Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Regulations for Feder and Federally Assisted Programs AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule. BusMY: This regulation establishes a governmentwide single rule for the implementation of statutory amendments to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (the Uniform Act) made by the Uniform Relocation Act Amendments of 1987 Title IV of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 (1987 Amendments), Pub„ 4100- 17. 101 00-17.101 Stat 2,48-258. The Uniform Act applies to all Federal or federally assisted activities that involve the acquisition of real property or the displacement aperient, including displacements cawed by rehabilitation and demolition activities. This regulation is intended to ensure that the implementation of the Uniform Act by Federal agencies is. in fact. as uniform and consistent as possible. while encouraging State and local discretion hi implementing the Uniform Acte provisions. DATE This regulation is effective March 2.1989. Further information concerning agency implementation is provided below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FD. i.ucknw, Chief, Program Requirements Division. Office of Right - of W ay, HRW-lo, (202) 368.0110 or Reid Alsop, Office of the Chief Counsel. HCC -4o, (202) 36e -13'n. The address is Federal Highway Administration. 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington. DC 20590. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background This regulation is the final step in the development of a governmentwide single rule for implementing the Uniform Act. The background of this development is described In considerable detail in the preamble to the interim final rule issued on December 17. 1987 (52 FR 47994), and the Notice al Proposed Rules (pj), Issued on July 21.1988 (53 FR 27508), and le not repeated here. On February 27„ 1985, a Presidential Memorandum was signed and publiahed in the Federal Register on March 5. 1965 (50 FR 8953), naming the Department of Transportation (DOT) as the agency with lead responsibility for the Uniform Act. This led to the publication of a multi -agency governmentwide common rule on February 27, 1988 (51 FR 7000). The 1987 Amendments named the DOT as lead agency. The Secretary at the delegated Department of asportation has g responsibility to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The 1987 Amendments recpdre the lead agency, in coordination with other Federal agencies. to issue roles, establish procedures end make interpretations to implement provisions of the Uniform Act Implementation of the 1887 Amendmeute On Tuesday. May 19;1987 (52 Flt 18788) the FHWA issued a Notice describing significant changes in the law and general plans to implement those changes. On Tuesday. December 1. 1987 (52 FR 45687) the FHWA issued a Notice of Regulatory Intent giving further notice of the specific regudatory actions that ft and the other affected Federal agencies would take to implement the 1987 Amendments. A few provisions of the 1987 Amendments upon which the law le expddt and allows for little. if any, administrative disaetion or Interpretation. and for which a period of public notice and comment would have been impractical. were implemented in an interim final rule in Part 24 issued by FHWA (52 FR 47994). on December 17. 1987. On the same day (52 FR 48015)17 Federal Departments and agencies that administer the Uniform Act, and had adopted the governmentwide common mile, published interim final rules rescinding the governmentwide common rule from the codification of their regulations and adopting in its place a cross -referents to the governmentwide single regulation published by FHWA at 49 CFR Part 24. The effective date for these agency rescissions and cross references varied, however all mach actions were to take effect on or April 2,1989. the date the 1987 Amendments become mandatory. An eighteenth Federal Department. the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was unable to join the other Federal agencies in publishing - an interim final rescission and alma referencing,action se December " 121114.4t of its.need to se certain Congressional review obligations. HUD subsequently. published such an interim rule on February 19, 1988 (53 FR 4964). As discussed in the preamble to the NPRM. no comments were received that objected to the nee of the rescission and crow -referencing actions by the various Federal agencies concerned to establish a governmentwide single regulation. The only relevant comment objected to the effective date of HUD's rescission and cross-referencing action. HUD considered that oomment but does not believe it is feasible to change the date for administrative reasons, in order to best achieve a smooth transition to the new requirements of the 1987 Amendments. The objective of she February 27.1985 Presidential memorandum. and one of the primary goals of the 1967 Amendments. was to establish governmentwide uniformity so as to eliminate the differences and inconsistencies among Federal agencies that had plagued Federal 'implementation of the Uniform Act since its enactment in 1971. These differences and incaasisteadea had been pert culady burdensome to State and bbW governments that were administering a variety of Federal programs, and also, in some cases. resulted in differences ln.the benefits provided to persons in like circumstances. The MS Amendments dearly provide that a single Federal lead agency will promulgate a governmentwide single role for the Uniform Act's implementation. Accordingly, other Federal agencies covered by the Act no longer have independent statutory authority to promulgate their own separate Uniform Act regulations and, in implementing the Uniform Act, must follow the regulations published by the lead agency. The Uniform Act's unique in that it Imposes requirements directly upon a large number of Federal and Federally assisted programs, but assigns the authority for the publication of all necessary implementing regulations to one lead agency. (Of course, such regulations will continue to be developed with the participation of HUD and other Federal agendas). Accordingly. because a governmentwide single regulation required by law. because of the waique nature of the Uniform Act. because no comments were received. and because no useful purpose would be served by hale 18 Federal ageodes take adilitional regulatory action to formally finellarthelt resdsalos and crow the interim readssion