Railroad Safety Technology Program Grant Program, 15484-15485 [2010-6889]

Download as PDF 15484 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 59 / Monday, March 29, 2010 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 6934] Waiver of Restriction on Assistance to the Central Government of Uzbekistan Related to Budget Transparency Pursuant to section 7086(c)(2) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2010 (Division F, Pub. L. 111–117) (‘‘the Act’’), and Department of State Delegation of Authority Number 245–1, I hereby determine that it is important to the national interest of the United States to waive the requirements of section 7086(c)(1) of the Act with respect to the Government of Uzbekistan, and I hereby waive such restriction. This determination shall be reported to the Congress, and published in the Federal Register. Dated: March 22, 2010. Jacob J. Lew, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. [FR Doc. 2010–6910 Filed 3–26–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4710–46–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration [Docket No. FRA–2010–005–N–5] Railroad Safety Technology Program Grant Program Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability, Solicitation of Applications. cprice-sewell on DSK89S0YB1PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: SUMMARY: The Rail Safety Technology Program is a newly authorized program under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) (Pub. L. 110–432; October 16, 2008). The program authorizes the Department of Transportation to provide grants to passenger and freight rail carriers, railroad suppliers, and State and local governments for projects that have a public benefit of improved railroad safety and efficiency. The program makes available $50,000,000 in Federal funds. This grant program has a maximum 80 percent Federal and minimum 20 percent grantee cost share (cash or in-kind) match requirement. DATES: FRA will begin accepting grant applications 10 days after publication of this Notice of Funding Availability in the Federal Register. Applications may be submitted until July 1, 2010. Reviews will be conducted immediately VerDate Nov<24>2008 09:18 Apr 05, 2010 Jkt 220001 following the solicitation close date. Selection announcements will be made on or around September 3, 2010. ADDRESSES: Applications for grants under this Program must be submitted electronically to Grants.gov (https:// www.grants.gov) following the detailed procedures in the grant application package online. The Grants.gov Web site allows organizations to find and apply electronically for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal grantmaking agencies. Any entity wishing to submit an application pursuant to this notice should immediately initiate the process of registering with Grants.Gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Those interested in responding to this solicitation are strongly encouraged to first call Dr. Mark Hartong, FRA, Senior Electronics Engineer (Phone: (202) 493– 1332; e-mail: Mark.Hartong@dot.gov), or Mr. David Blackmore, FRA, Program Manager–Advanced Technologies (Phone: (312) 835–3903, e-mail: David.Blackmore@dot.gov), to discuss the prospective idea, its potential responsiveness to the solicitation, and potential for FRA interest. Taking this action could forestall costly efforts by interested parties whose proposed work may not be of interest to FRA under this grant. Non-technical inquiries should be directed to the Grants Officer, Ms. Jennifer Capps (Phone: (202) 493–0112, e-mail: Jennifer.Capps@dot.gov). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority and Funding: The Railroad Safety Technology Program (RSTP) authorized under section 105 of the RSIA (Division A, Pub. L. 110–432) (49 U.S.C. 20158), authorizes the appropriation of $50 million annually for fiscal years (FY) 2009 through 2013. The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 provided $50 million for this purpose. Eligible Organizations: Title 49 U.S.C. 20158 provides that ‘‘Grants shall be made under this section to eligible passenger and freight railroad carriers, railroad suppliers, and State and local governments for projects * * * that have a public benefit of improved safety and network efficiency.’’ To be eligible for assistance, entities must have either received approval of the Technology Implementation Plans (TIP) and Positive Train Control Implementation Plans (PTCIP) required by 49 U.S.C. 20156(e)(2) and 20157, or demonstrate to the satisfaction of FRA that they are currently developing the required plans. Preference will be given in the following order: 1. Entities that have completed and received FRA approval of both their TIP and PTCIP. PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 2. Entities that have completed and received FRA approval of their PTCIP. 3. Entities that have submitted their PTCIP to FRA for approval. 4. Entities that have certified to FRA progress towards completion of their PTCIP and TIP. 5. All other entities. Collaborative project submissions by freight and passenger carriers, suppliers, and State and local governments on eligible projects will be evaluated more favorably. Eligible Projects: Grant awards will focus on using technologies or methods that are ready for deployment, or of sufficient technical maturity that they can be made ready for deployment within the 24 months of the grant award. FRA will give preference to collaborative projects by multiple railroads that have active railroad carrier and sponsoring public authority participation in the following order: Priority 1: Projects that: (a) Support the resolution of Northeast Corridor Positive Train Control (PTC) interoperability issues, (b) Support the resolution of mixed freight and passenger PTC interoperability issues in the Los Angeles Basin, or (c) Facilitate sharing of PTC communications infrastructure and spectrum. Priority 2: Projects that: (a) Support high-speed passenger operations using general freight PTC technologies, (b) Optimize PTC deployment on the core 2015 PTC territory, or (c) Support PTC deployment on non2015 core PTC territory. Priority 3: All other projects. Selection Criteria: Applications will be evaluated and ranked based on both technical and cost/price factors. Technical Factors (75% overall weighting): 1. Responsiveness to Solicitation Intent and Requirements (20%): Degree to which proposal meets the conceptual intent and submission requirements of the solicitation. 2. Significance for Implementing Interoperable PTC Deployment and Fit with FRA Mission (30%): Degree to which successful implementation of proposed idea would make interoperable PTC deployment more technically or economically practical (includes contribution to cost effectiveness, reliability, safety, availability, or maintainability), and fit within FRA’s primary mission of ensuring the safety of the Nation’s approximately 700 railroads. 3. Technical Merit (20%): Degree to which proposed ideas exhibit a sound E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM 29MRN1 cprice-sewell on DSK89S0YB1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 59 / Monday, March 29, 2010 / Notices scientific and engineering basis; how well the proposed ideas could be practically applied in, and would be compatible with, the railroad environment; and perceived likelihood of technical and practical success. 4. Key Personnel and Supporting Organization (15%): The technical qualifications and demonstrated experience of key personnel proposed to lead and perform the technical efforts; qualifications of primary and supporting organizations to fully and successfully execute proposal plan within proposed timeframe and budget. 5. Collaborative Efforts (15%): The degree to which proposed effort is supported by multiple entities and the applicability and availability of results to the larger railroad industry. Cost/Price Factor (25% overall weighting): 1. Affordability and degree to which proposed effort appears to be a good value for the amount of funding requested. This includes the reasonableness and realism of the proposed costs (60%). 2. The extent of proposed cost sharing or cost participation under the proposed effort (exclusive of the applicant’s prior investment) (40%). All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price alone. Technical evaluation is appreciably more important than cost or price and, as such, greater consideration shall be given to technical excellence rather than cost or price alone. An offer must be found acceptable under all applicable evaluation factors to be considered eligible for award. Awards will be made to responsible applicants whose offers provide the best value to the Government in terms of technical excellence, cost or price, and performance risk to include consistency and accord with the objectives of the solicitation and FRA’s expressed areas of interest. Requirements and Conditions for Grant Applications: Detailed application requirements and conditions may be found in the grant application guidance (RSS–RSTG– FY2010–1) for this solicitation on Grants.gov. Information Collection: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under emergency clearance procedures, has approved the information collection associated with the Rail Safety Technology Program for 6 months. The approval number for this collection of information is OMB No. 2130–0587, and the expiration date is September 30, 2010. FRA will be publishing a Notice in the Federal Register shortly in which the agency will be seeking regular OMB VerDate Nov<24>2008 09:18 Apr 05, 2010 Jkt 220001 Clearance for this collection of information. Such approvals are normally good for 3 years. FRA will publish a Notice for this second OMB approval once it is obtained. Issued in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2010. Brenda Moscoso, Acting Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety/Chief Safety Officer. [FR Doc. 2010–6889 Filed 3–26–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket ID PHMSA–2010–0097] Pipeline Safety: Workshop on Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of workshop. AGENCY: SUMMARY: PHMSA is holding a workshop on the integrity assessment of cased pipe for pipelines subject to integrity management program requirements. The workshop is intended to discuss PHMSA’s recently issued guidance ‘‘Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe in Gas Transmission Pipelines’’ and related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). The latest guidelines and FAQs are available online at: https:// primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/ documents.htm. The workshop focus will be for the public, pipeline operators, trade associations, and others to address ideas and concerns with using External Corrosion Direct Assessment integrity evaluation methods and use of other technologies to assess pipelines in casings located within high consequence areas. The workshop will be held at the Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 on April 28, 2010. ADDRESSES: The April 28, 2010, cased pipe workshop will be held at the Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. The meeting room will be posted at the hotel on the day of the workshop. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Max Kieba at (202) 493–0595, or by e-mail at max.kieba@dot.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Registration: Members of the public may attend this free workshop. The workshop will not be webcast. Hotel reservations under the ‘‘U.S. Department PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 15485 of Transportation’’ room block for the night of April 27, 2010, can be made by contacting the hotel directly at 1–800– 325–3535. A daily base rate of $161.00 is available for the night of April 27, 2010. For this rate, room reservations must be made by April 13, 2010. To help assure that adequate space is provided, all attendees are encouraged to register for the workshop at: https:// primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/ MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. Name badge pick-up and on-site registration will be available starting at 7:30 a.m. with the workshop taking place from 8:30 a.m. until approximately 5 p.m. Refer to the meeting Web site for updated agenda and times at https:// primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/ MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. All workshop presentations will be available on the meeting Web site within 30 days following the workshop. Comments: Members of the public may also submit written comments, either before or after the workshop. Comments should reference Docket ID PHMSA–2010–0097. Comments may be submitted in the following ways: • E-Gov Web Site: https:// www.regulations.gov. This site allows the public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice issued by any agency. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. • Mail: Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12– 140, Washington, DC 20590. • Hand Delivery: DOT Docket Management System, Room W12–140, on the ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Instructions: Identify the Docket ID at the beginning of your comments. If you submit your comments by mail, please submit two copies. If you wish to receive confirmation that PHMSA has received your comments, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard. Internet users may submit comments at https:// www.regulations.gov. Note: Comments will be posted without changes or edits to https://www.regulations.gov including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading in the Regulatory Analyses and Notices section of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information. Privacy Act Statement: Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments received for any of our dockets. You may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM 29MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15484-15485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6889]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2010-005-N-5]


Railroad Safety Technology Program Grant Program

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability, Solicitation of Applications.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Rail Safety Technology Program is a newly authorized 
program under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) (Pub. L. 
110-432; October 16, 2008). The program authorizes the Department of 
Transportation to provide grants to passenger and freight rail 
carriers, railroad suppliers, and State and local governments for 
projects that have a public benefit of improved railroad safety and 
efficiency. The program makes available $50,000,000 in Federal funds. 
This grant program has a maximum 80 percent Federal and minimum 20 
percent grantee cost share (cash or in-kind) match requirement.

DATES: FRA will begin accepting grant applications 10 days after 
publication of this Notice of Funding Availability in the Federal 
Register. Applications may be submitted until July 1, 2010. Reviews 
will be conducted immediately following the solicitation close date. 
Selection announcements will be made on or around September 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Applications for grants under this Program must be submitted 
electronically to Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov) following the 
detailed procedures in the grant application package online. The 
Grants.gov Web site allows organizations to find and apply 
electronically for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal 
grant-making agencies. Any entity wishing to submit an application 
pursuant to this notice should immediately initiate the process of 
registering with Grants.Gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Those interested in responding to this 
solicitation are strongly encouraged to first call Dr. Mark Hartong, 
FRA, Senior Electronics Engineer (Phone: (202) 493-1332; e-mail: 
Mark.Hartong@dot.gov), or Mr. David Blackmore, FRA, Program Manager-
Advanced Technologies (Phone: (312) 835-3903, e-mail: 
David.Blackmore@dot.gov), to discuss the prospective idea, its 
potential responsiveness to the solicitation, and potential for FRA 
interest. Taking this action could forestall costly efforts by 
interested parties whose proposed work may not be of interest to FRA 
under this grant. Non-technical inquiries should be directed to the 
Grants Officer, Ms. Jennifer Capps (Phone: (202) 493-0112, e-mail: 
Jennifer.Capps@dot.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

    Authority and Funding: The Railroad Safety Technology Program 
(RSTP) authorized under section 105 of the RSIA (Division A, Pub. L. 
110-432) (49 U.S.C. 20158), authorizes the appropriation of $50 
million annually for fiscal years (FY) 2009 through 2013. The 
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act of 2010 provided $50 million for this purpose.

    Eligible Organizations: Title 49 U.S.C. 20158 provides that 
``Grants shall be made under this section to eligible passenger and 
freight railroad carriers, railroad suppliers, and State and local 
governments for projects * * * that have a public benefit of improved 
safety and network efficiency.''
    To be eligible for assistance, entities must have either received 
approval of the Technology Implementation Plans (TIP) and Positive 
Train Control Implementation Plans (PTCIP) required by 49 U.S.C. 
20156(e)(2) and 20157, or demonstrate to the satisfaction of FRA that 
they are currently developing the required plans. Preference will be 
given in the following order:
    1. Entities that have completed and received FRA approval of both 
their TIP and PTCIP.
    2. Entities that have completed and received FRA approval of their 
PTCIP.
    3. Entities that have submitted their PTCIP to FRA for approval.
    4. Entities that have certified to FRA progress towards completion 
of their PTCIP and TIP.
    5. All other entities.
    Collaborative project submissions by freight and passenger 
carriers, suppliers, and State and local governments on eligible 
projects will be evaluated more favorably.
    Eligible Projects: Grant awards will focus on using technologies or 
methods that are ready for deployment, or of sufficient technical 
maturity that they can be made ready for deployment within the 24 
months of the grant award. FRA will give preference to collaborative 
projects by multiple railroads that have active railroad carrier and 
sponsoring public authority participation in the following order:
    Priority 1: Projects that:
    (a) Support the resolution of Northeast Corridor Positive Train 
Control (PTC) interoperability issues,
    (b) Support the resolution of mixed freight and passenger PTC 
interoperability issues in the Los Angeles Basin, or
    (c) Facilitate sharing of PTC communications infrastructure and 
spectrum.
    Priority 2: Projects that:
    (a) Support high-speed passenger operations using general freight 
PTC technologies,
    (b) Optimize PTC deployment on the core 2015 PTC territory, or
    (c) Support PTC deployment on non-2015 core PTC territory.
    Priority 3: All other projects.
    Selection Criteria: Applications will be evaluated and ranked based 
on both technical and cost/price factors.
    Technical Factors (75% overall weighting):
    1. Responsiveness to Solicitation Intent and Requirements (20%): 
Degree to which proposal meets the conceptual intent and submission 
requirements of the solicitation.
    2. Significance for Implementing Interoperable PTC Deployment and 
Fit with FRA Mission (30%): Degree to which successful implementation 
of proposed idea would make interoperable PTC deployment more 
technically or economically practical (includes contribution to cost 
effectiveness, reliability, safety, availability, or maintainability), 
and fit within FRA's primary mission of ensuring the safety of the 
Nation's approximately 700 railroads.
    3. Technical Merit (20%): Degree to which proposed ideas exhibit a 
sound

[[Page 15485]]

scientific and engineering basis; how well the proposed ideas could be 
practically applied in, and would be compatible with, the railroad 
environment; and perceived likelihood of technical and practical 
success.
    4. Key Personnel and Supporting Organization (15%): The technical 
qualifications and demonstrated experience of key personnel proposed to 
lead and perform the technical efforts; qualifications of primary and 
supporting organizations to fully and successfully execute proposal 
plan within proposed timeframe and budget.
    5. Collaborative Efforts (15%): The degree to which proposed effort 
is supported by multiple entities and the applicability and 
availability of results to the larger railroad industry.
    Cost/Price Factor (25% overall weighting):
    1. Affordability and degree to which proposed effort appears to be 
a good value for the amount of funding requested. This includes the 
reasonableness and realism of the proposed costs (60%).
    2. The extent of proposed cost sharing or cost participation under 
the proposed effort (exclusive of the applicant's prior investment) 
(40%).
    All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are 
significantly more important than cost or price alone. Technical 
evaluation is appreciably more important than cost or price and, as 
such, greater consideration shall be given to technical excellence 
rather than cost or price alone. An offer must be found acceptable 
under all applicable evaluation factors to be considered eligible for 
award. Awards will be made to responsible applicants whose offers 
provide the best value to the Government in terms of technical 
excellence, cost or price, and performance risk to include consistency 
and accord with the objectives of the solicitation and FRA's expressed 
areas of interest.
    Requirements and Conditions for Grant Applications: Detailed 
application requirements and conditions may be found in the grant 
application guidance (RSS-RSTG-FY2010-1) for this solicitation on 
Grants.gov.
    Information Collection: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
under emergency clearance procedures, has approved the information 
collection associated with the Rail Safety Technology Program for 6 
months. The approval number for this collection of information is OMB 
No. 2130-0587, and the expiration date is September 30, 2010. FRA will 
be publishing a Notice in the Federal Register shortly in which the 
agency will be seeking regular OMB Clearance for this collection of 
information. Such approvals are normally good for 3 years. FRA will 
publish a Notice for this second OMB approval once it is obtained.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 23, 2010.
Brenda Moscoso,
Acting Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety/Chief Safety 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-6889 Filed 3-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
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