Prior to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), a State was required to repay Federal reimbursements of preliminary engineering (PE) costs if a project did not advance to right-of-way acquisition or on-site construction within 10 years of the initial PE obligation (“10-year PE Rule”).
On November 15, 2021, BIL repealed the 10-year PE Rule by striking 23 U.S.C. 102(b) and the 10-year PE Rule is no longer in effect. The change was not effective immediately, but on February 4, 2022, FHWA paused all activities relating to the 10-year PE Rule, including monitoring projects approaching the 10-year limit and repayment actions until additional guidance was developed. Guidance was provided on December 9, 2022, to assist FHWA Division Offices in identifying any Federal-aid projects that have not satisfied the 10-year PE Rule and require repayment.
The FHWA California Division has determined that there are no Caltrans or local Federal-aid projects subject to repayment. Confirmation is noted on page 72 in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Overview 2021 pdf below.
Note: BIL made no changes to 23 U.S.C. 108(a) and a State is still required to repay Federal reimbursements of right of way (ROW) costs if a project does not advance to on-site construction within 20 years of the initial ROW authorization (“20-year ROW Rule”).
For any questions, please contact Caltrans Project Management Oversight, North Office – Felicia Haslem.