Funding Opportunity for the Department of Transportation's Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program for Fiscal Year 2018 |
|---|
|
Brandye L. Hendrickson
Federal Highway Administration
5 October 2018
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50436-50440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21826]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Funding Opportunity for the Department of Transportation's
Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program for
Fiscal Year 2018
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of funding opportunity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces a funding opportunity and requests grant
applications for the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal
Projects (NSFLTP) Program. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation
(FAST) Act established the NSFLTP Program to provide Federal funding to
projects of national significance for construction, reconstruction, or
rehabilitation of transportation facilities within, adjacent to, or
providing access to Federal or Tribal lands. As per the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2018, the Secretary of Transportation may award up
to $300 million--the amount appropriated by Congress to the NSFLTP
Program in the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 2018--
through the FHWA's Office of Federal Lands Highway. The FHWA will
distribute these funds as described in this notice on a competitive
basis in a manner consistent with the selection criteria.
DATES: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and evaluated
quarterly, until available funding has been exhausted. The first
application deadline is December 17, 2018. After that, subsequent
deadlines will be 11:59 p.m. on the last business day of the next
fiscal quarter.
ADDRESSES: Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. Refer to
CFDA Number: 20.205, Highway Planning and Construction.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Mann, Office of Program
Development, FHWA, Office of Federal Lands Highway, 21400 Ridgetop
Circle, Sterling, VA 20166-6511, Telephone: 703-404-6230 or email:
Jeffrey.Mann@dot.gov.
Scott Johnson, Office of Program Development, FHWA, Office of
Federal Lands Highway, 21400 Ridgetop Circle, Sterling, VA 20166-6511,
Telephone: 703-404-6231 or email: Scott.Johnson@dot.gov.
In addition, the FHWA will regularly post information about the
NSFLTP Program on its website at https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/nsfltp/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each section of this notice contains
information and instructions relevant to the application process for
NSFLTP Program grants. The applicant should read this notice in its
entirety to submit eligible and competitive applications.
Table of Contents
A. Program Description
B. Federal Award Information
C. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
2. Cost Sharing and Matching
3. Other
D. Application and Submission Information
1. Address To Request Application
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
3. Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number
and System for Award Management (SAM)
4. Submission Dates and Timelines
5. Intergovernmental Review
6. Funding Restrictions
E. Application Review Information
F. Federal Award Administration Information
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)
H. Other Information
A. Program Description
The FAST Act, Public Law 114-94, section 1123, established the
NSFLTP Program to fund projects to construct, reconstruct, or
rehabilitate transportation facilities within, adjacent to, or
accessing Federal and Tribal lands.
The NSFLTP Program provides an opportunity to address significant
challenges across the Nation for transportation facilities that serve
Federal and Tribal lands.
B. Federal Award Information
1. Amount Available--For FY 2018, the Secretary may award up to
$300 million in grants on a competitive basis to Federal and Tribal
lands projects of national significance that meet the requirements. The
$300 million funding amount is based on the amount appropriated for the
NSFLTP Program in the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act,
2018.
2. Award Size--The NSFLTP Program provides discretionary funding
for projects that have an estimated construction cost of at least $25
million, with construction projects with an estimated cost equal to or
exceeding $50 million receiving priority consideration in the selection
process.
3. Availability of Funds--The funds provided for this program under
the FY 2018 Appropriations Act are available until expended.
C. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
a. Entities eligible to receive funds under the Federal Lands
Access Program (23 United State Code (U.S.C.) 204), the Federal Lands
Transportation Program (23 U.S.C. 203), the Tribal Transportation
Program (23 U.S.C. 202), and the Federal Lands Planning Program (23
U.S.C. 201) may apply for funding under the NSFLTP Program, except that
a State, county, or unit of local government may only apply for funding
under the NSFLTP Program if sponsored by an eligible Federal land
management agency (FLMA) or federally recognized Indian Tribe.
b. As sponsors, FLMAs and Tribes will provide quarterly a list of
project applications they are sponsoring from their organization on
behalf of State or local governments.
I. To promote effective communication and coordination, an FLMA or
Tribe should identify one individual within their organization who will
serve as Sponsorship Coordinator.
II. The Sponsorship Coordinator is responsible for providing the
list of sponsored projects to the NSFLTP Program contacts listed on
page 1 of this NOFO. The use of Grants.gov permits a wide range of
eligible applicants to enter project applications. The Sponsorship
Coordinator role ensures applications have been coordinated through and
approved by FLMA and/or Tribal leaders.
III. The list of sponsored projects should provide enough detail so
that FHWA can match the projects to those received via Grants.gov.
IV. A list of Sponsorship Coordinators can be obtained from the
NSFLTP Program contacts listed on page 1 of this NOFO, or at the
following website--https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/nsfltp/.
c. FLMAs and Tribes may sponsor applications on behalf of:
I. A State or group of States;
II. a metropolitan planning organization;
III. a unit of local government or group of local governments;
IV. a political subdivision of a State or local government;
V. a special purpose district or public authority with a
transportation function, including a port authority;
VI. a group of FLMAs;
VII. a consortium of Tribal governments; or
[[Page 50437]]
VIII. a multi-State or multijurisdictional group of public
entities.
d. Recipients of NSFLTP Program funding are responsible for meeting
reporting requirements.
2. Cost Sharing and Matching
a. The Federal share of the cost of the project shall be up to 90
percent.
b. The non-Federal share shall not be less than 10 percent of the
cost of the project and can be:
I. Any other Federal funds, as long as they were not authorized
under title 23 or title 49, U.S.C.;
II. Any private or public source, as long as the source did not
receive the funds through programs authorized under title 23 or title
49, U.S.C.; and
III. ``Soft-matches'' or ``in-kind matches'' (e.g., donations of
funds, materials, services, right-of-way acquisition, utility
relocation).
IV. Tapered matches are permissible to allow for greater
flexibility. Tapered match is a form of Federal-aid matching
flexibility that allows a project's Federal share to vary over the life
of the project as long as the final contribution of Federal funds does
not exceed the project's maximum authorized share. Indicate that a
tapered match will be sought within the project narrative when
describing how the non-Federal share will be funded.
c. The application and project agreement must document the match
requirement and any related commitments.
3. Other
a. To meet the minimum statutory requirements for eligibility, a
project must meet all of the following conditions:
b. The project is a single continuous project;
c. The project meets at least one of the following definitions of
transportation facilities from section 101 of Title 23, U.S.C., except
that such facilities are not required to be included in an inventory
described in section 202 or 203 of such title:
I. ``Federal lands transportation facility'', which means a public
highway, road, bridge, trail, or transit system that is located on, is
adjacent to, or provides access to Federal lands for which title and
maintenance responsibility is vested in the Federal Government;
II. ``Federal lands access transportation facility'', which means a
public highway, road, bridge, trail, or transit system that is located
on, is adjacent to, or provides access to Federal lands for which title
or maintenance responsibility is vested in a State, county, town,
township, tribal, municipal, or local government; or
III. ``Tribal transportation facility'', which means a public
highway, road, bridge, trail, or transit system that is located on or
provides access to tribal land.
d. All activities required under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) demonstrate completion
through:
I. A record of decision, if the NEPA class of action is an
environmental impact statement;
II. A finding of no significant impact, if the NEPA class of action
is an environmental assessment; or
III. A determination that the project is a categorical exclusion
under the lead Federal agency's NEPA policies;
e. The project must have estimated construction costs, based on the
results of preliminary engineering, equal to or greater than
$25,000,000, with priority consideration for projects with estimated
construction costs equal to or exceeding $50,000,000; and
f. The project will use NSFLTP Program funds only for construction,
reconstruction, or rehabilitation of transportation facilities, i.e.,
project design costs are not eligible for NSFLTP Program funds.
D. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application--Applications must be submitted
to Grants.gov.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission--Include in the
application package the following:
a. Standard Form 424 (Application for Federal Assistance);
b. Standard Form 424C (Budget Information for Construction
Programs);
c. Standard Form 424D (Assurances for Construction Programs);
d. A cover page, including the following chart:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project name
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previously Incurred Project Eligible Costs.. $
Future Eligible Project Costs............... $
Total Project Cost.......................... $
NSFLTP Program Grant Request Amount......... $
Federal (DOT) Funding including Program $
Funds Requested.
Is the project within, adjacent to, or Yes/No
accessing Federal and/or Tribal land.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
e. A project narrative--The application must include information
required for the FHWA to determine that the project satisfies the
eligibility requirements described in Section IV above. The FHWA
recommends the project narrative adhere to the following basic
guidelines to clearly address the program requirements and make
critical information readily apparent.
I. Project Description--Describe what activities the requested
NSFLTP Program funds and matching funds will support, how the project
is nationally significant based on authorized criteria and Secretary's
objectives, information on the expected users of the project, a
description of the transportation challenges the project aims to
address, and how the project will address these challenges.
II. Project Location--Provide a detailed description of the
location of proposed project and geospatial data for the project, as
well as a map of the project's location and its connections to existing
transportation infrastructure.
III. Project Parties--Provide information about who is involved and
their respective roles in supporting the project.
IV. Grant Funds, Sources, and Uses of Project Funds--
i. Funding--Document the funding that will be used to construct
this project, including past or pending Federal funding requests for
this project. Include the size, nature, and source(s) of the required
match for those funds, if applicable. Demonstrate that the requested
NSFLTP Program funds do not exceed 90 percent of project costs.
ii. Budget--Provide a detailed project budget containing a
breakdown of how the funds will be spent. The budget should estimate--
by dollar amount and percentage of cost--the cost of construction work
for each project component.
V. Project Readiness--Provide the expected start date, with
supporting rationale for that date.
VI. To the extent practicable, provide data and evidence of project
merits in a form that is verifiable or publicly available. The FHWA may
ask any applicant to supplement data in its application, but expects
applications to be complete upon submission.
VII. Include a table of contents, maps, and graphics, as
appropriate, to make the information easier to review.
VIII. The FHWA recommends that the project narrative not exceed 10
pages, excluding supporting documentation, and be prepared with as a
single-spaced document, using a standard 12-point font such as Times
New Roman, with 1-inch margins.
IX. Provide website links to supporting documentation rather than
copies of these supporting materials. If supporting documents are
submitted,
[[Page 50438]]
clearly identify the relevant portion of the project narrative that
each document supports.
X. The FHWA recommends using appropriately descriptive names (e.g.,
``Project Narrative,'' ``Maps,'' ``Memoranda of Understanding and
Letters of Support,'' etc.) for all attachments.
3. Unique Entity Identifier and SAM--
a. Each applicant must:
I. Be registered in SAM before submitting its application;
II. provide a valid unique entity identifier in its application;
and
III. continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current
information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or
an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding
agency. The Department may not make a grant to an applicant until the
applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and
SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the
requirements by the time the Department is ready to make a grant, the
Department may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive
a grant and use that determination as a basis for making a grant to
another applicant.
4. Submission Dates and Timelines--
a. Deadline--Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and
evaluated quarterly, until available funding has been exhausted. The
application deadline will be 11:59 p.m. on the last business day of
each fiscal quarter. The first application deadline is December 17,
2018. Subsequent, quarterly deadline dates include March 29, 2019, and
June 28, 2019. It is possible for all funding to be awarded in the
first round. Information regarding awards and available funding will be
posted to the website cited on page 1 of this NOFO.
b. To submit an application through Grants.gov, applicants must:
I. Obtain a DUNS number;
II. Register with SAM at www.SAM.gov;
III. Create a Grants.gov username and password; and
IV. Respond to the registration email sent to the applicants E-
Business Point of Contact (POC) from Grants.gov and login at Grants.gov
to authorize the applicant as the Authorized Organization
Representative (AOR).
c. Please note there can be more than one AOR for an organization.
Applicants are encouraged to submit applications in advance of the
application deadline; however, applications will not be evaluated, and
awards will not be made until after the application deadline.
d. Please note the Grants.gov registration process usually takes 2-
4 weeks to complete and the Department will not consider late
applications that are the result of failure to register or comply with
Grants.gov applicant requirements in a timely manner. For information
and instruction on each of these processes, please see instructions at
http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html. If
applicants experience difficulties at any point during the registration
or application process, please call the Grants.gov Customer Service
Support Hotline at 1(800) 518-4726, Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
EST.
e. Consideration of Applications--Only applicants who comply with
all submission deadlines described in this notice and electronically
submit valid, sponsor-approved applications through Grants.gov will be
eligible for award. Applicants are strongly encouraged to make
submissions in advance of deadlines.
f. Late Applications--Applications received after a quarterly
deadline will be considered in the following fiscal quarter.
5. Intergovernmental Review--The NSFLTP Program is not subject to
the Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.
6. Funding Restrictions--Developmental phase activities including
planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental
review, preliminary engineering, design, and other preconstruction
activities are not eligible for funding under the NSFLTP Program.
E. Application Review Information
The FHWA will award NSFLTP Program funds based on the selection
criteria and policy considerations outlined below.
1. Statutory Criteria--In accordance with the FAST Act, section
1123, when selecting projects for funding under the NSFLTP Program, the
FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the project:
a. Furthers the goals of DOT, including safety, state of good
repair, economic competitiveness, and quality of life, by considering;
I. An analysis of the project's safety improvements compared to a
baseline in which the project is not done. For more information, see
Section 4.3, pages 13 through 15, of the DOT's Benefit-Cost Analysis
Guidance for TIGER and INFRA Applications, https://cms.dot.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/mission/office-policy/transportation-policy/284031/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance-2017_1.pdf.
II. Technical data provided about existing facilities in poor
repair or, where the project is new construction, the extent to which
the existing conditions demonstrate a need for new transportation
facilities;
III. An analysis of the project's economic benefits--such as travel
time savings, and vehicle operating cost savings, and emissions
reductions--compared to a baseline in which the project is not done.
For more information on what impacts are considered economic benefits
and how to estimate the value of such effects, see section 4 of the
Department's guidance on benefit-cost analysis. Where values cannot be
monetized, provide other quantitative or qualitative information.
IV. How the project is expected to improve the quality of life for
a local community and/or the traveling public, providing data and
analysis where relevant and feasible, such as estimates of trips and/or
vehicle miles traveled.
b. Improves the condition of critical transportation facilities,
including multimodal facilities, by considering the requirements the
applicant communicates in the application. Examples may include but are
not limited to: A bridge in poor condition that may be subject to
closure in the absence of funds; primary transportation facility that
provides access to critical community services, high use recreation
destination areas and/or economic generators within Tribal and/or
Federal lands.
c. Needs construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation;
d. Has costs matched by funds that are not provided under the
NSFLTP Program or titles 23 or 49 by giving preference to;
I. Projects with over 30 percent in non-NSFLTP Program funding,
with additional preference given to projects that exceed even this
threshold; followed by
II. Projects with between 20 percent and 30 percent in non-NSFLTP
Program funding; followed by
III. Projects with between 10 percent and 19 percent in non-NSFLTP
Program funding; followed by
IV. Projects with the minimum 10 percent in non-NSFLTP Program
funding;
e. Is included in or eligible for inclusion in the National
Register of Historic Places;
f. Uses new technologies and innovations that enhance the
efficiency of the project;
g. Is supported by funds, other than funds received under the
NSFLTP
[[Page 50439]]
Program, to construct, maintain, and operate the facility, by
considering what other funds exist, besides those available for match,
to aid in maintenance and operation of the facility, as well as the
reasonable expectation that those funds will remain available;
h. Spans two or more States; and
i. Serves land owned by multiple Federal agencies or Indian Tribes.
2. Departmental criteria--After applying the above preferences, the
Federal Highway Administrator will take into account the following key
Departmental objectives:
a. Using innovative approaches to improve safety and expedite
project delivery;
b. Supporting economic vitality at the national and regional level;
c. Utilizing alternative funding sources and innovative financing
models to attract non-Federal sources of infrastructure investment;
d. Accounting for the life-cycle costs of the project to promote
the state of good repair; and
e. Beginning projects in a timely manner after award of NSFLTP
Program funding.
3. Review and Selection Process--The FHWA will review all eligible
applications received within a fiscal quarter. The review and selection
process will consist of a Technical Review and Senior Review.
a. Technical Review--In the Technical Review, a team comprising
technical staff from FHWA will review all eligible applications and
rate each project's alignment with the selection criteria, using the
following guidelines.
I. Highly Recommended--The project aligns extremely well with the
objectives of the selection statutory criteria under consideration.
Projects with several criteria rated as ``Strong Alignment'' are likely
to receive this rating, as well as projects that have ``Alignment''
with all of the statutory criteria.
II. Recommended--The project aligns well with the objectives of the
selection criterion. Projects with at least one criteria rated as
``Strong Alignment'' or that have ``Alignment'' with most of the
statutory criteria are likely to receive this rating.
III. Acceptable--The project somewhat aligns well with the
objectives of the selection criterion under consideration. Projects
with no criteria rated as ``Strong Alignment'' but with a several
criteria rated as ``Alignment'' are likely to receive this rating.
IV. Not Recommended--The project does not align well with
objectives of the selection criterion under consideration.
b. The Senior Review Team, comprised of senior leadership from
FHWA, will determine which projects rated as Acceptable and higher by
the Technical Review Team to advance to the Secretary.
4. The final funding decisions will be made by the Secretary of
Transportation.
5. Additional Information--Prior to award, each selected applicant
will be subject to a risk assessment required by 2 CFR 200.205. The
Department must review and consider any information about the applicant
that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible
through SAM, currently the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity
Information System (FAPIIS). An applicant may review information in
FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself. The Department will
consider comments by the applicant in addition to the other information
in FAPIIS, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity,
business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when
completing the review of risk posed by applicants.
F. Federal Award Administration Information
1. Federal Award Notices--The FHWA will announce awarded projects
by posting a list of selected projects at https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/nsfltp/. Following the announcement, the FHWA will contact the
POC listed in form SF-424 to initiate negotiation of a project-specific
agreement.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements--All awards will
be administered pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Requirements,
Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards found in 2
CFR part 200, as adopted by DOT at 2 CFR part 1201. In addition,
applicable Federal laws, rules and regulations of the FHWA will apply
to the projects that receive NSFLTP Program funds, including planning
requirements, agreements, Buy America compliance, and other grant
program requirements.
3. Reporting--Each recipient of NSFLTP Program funding must submit
the Federal Financial Report (SF-425) on the financial condition of the
project and the project's progress bi-annually, as well as an Annual
Budget Review and Program Plan to monitor the use of Federal funds and
ensure accountability and financial transparency in the NSFLTP Program.
The FHWA reserves the right to request additional information, if
deemed needed, to better understand the status of the project.
4. Reporting Matters Related to Integrity and Performance--If the
total value of a selected recipient's currently active grants,
cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal
awarding agencies exceeds $10,000,000 for any period of time during the
period of performance of this Federal award, then the applicant during
that period of time must maintain the information reported to SAM and
FAPIIS, about civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings described
in paragraph 2 of this award term and condition. This is a statutory
requirement under section 872 of Public Law 110-417, as amended (41
U.S.C. 2313). As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all
information posted in the designated integrity and performance system
on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews required
for Federal procurement contracts, will be publicly available.
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)
For further information concerning this notice please contact:
1. Jeffrey Mann, NSFLTP Program Manager, via email at
jeffrey.mann@dot.gov; by telephone at 202-366-9494; Office hours are
from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
2. Scott Johnson, Director Office of Program Development, via email
at scott.johnson@dot.gov; by phone at 202-366-9494; Office hours are
from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
3. Both can also be reached by mail at Federal Highway
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
4. For legal questions, please contact Ms. Vivian Philbin, Office
of the Chief Counsel, by telephone at (720) 963-3445; by email at
vivian.philbin@dot.gov; or by mail at Federal Highway Administration,
Central Federal Lands Highway Division, 12300 West Dakota Avenue,
Lakewood, CO 80228. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. MDT.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
H. Other Information
1. Protection of Confidential Business Information--All information
submitted as part of or in support of any application shall use
publicly available data or data that can be made public and methods
that are accepted by industry practice and standards, to the extent
possible. If the application includes information the applicant
considers to be a trade secret or confidential
[[Page 50440]]
commercial or financial information, the applicant should do the
following: (1) Note on the front cover that the submission ``Contains
Confidential Business Information (CBI)''; (2) mark each affected page
``CBI''; and (3) highlight or otherwise denote the CBI portions. The
FHWA protects such information from disclosure to the extent allowed
under applicable law. In the event FHWA receives a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request for the information, FHWA will follow
DOT procedures described in its FOIA regulations at 49 CFR 7.17. Only
information that is ultimately determined to be confidential under that
procedure will be exempt from disclosure under FOIA.
Authority: Section 1123 of Public Law 114-94.
Issued on: October 1, 2018.
Brandye L. Hendrickson,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-21826 Filed 10-3-18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P