The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced it has proposed removing criteria calculating the “social cost of carbon” from the guidelines for the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.
FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro said the agency was proposing an update to the rating criteria for CIG grants, the country’s largest discretionary grant program to fund capital investments including heavy rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit.
“President Trump charged the Department of Transportation with unleashing American energy so we can lower costs and grow the economy,” FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro said. “Under Secretary Duffy’s leadership, we’re doing just that. These proposed actions remove unnecessary regulatory requirements and provide the best support possible for locally driven transit projects.”
The agency is requesting feedback on the new standards as it pursues updating CIG Policy Guidance. The guidance provides direction to project sponsors applying for CIG construction grants. After receiving feedback from the transit industry, officials said, the FTA is proposing the removal of overly complex social cost of carbon calculations from the Environmental Benefits section of the CIG Policy Guidance. FTA is recommending that the agency revert to previous methodology that relies on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) designation based on which city a transit project is located in.
The agency said it is also publishing a Request for Information to solicit public input on a comprehensive update to the CIG program guidance at a later date. Federal law requires FTA to update CIG Policy Guidance at least every two years. Comments on the CIG Interim Guidance are due by Sept. 2, and comments on the Request for Information are due by Sept. 18.