FY15 Discretionary Funding Opportunity: Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program (LoNo) Program, 57656-57661 [2015-24231]

Agencies

• Federal Transit Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 185 (Thursday, September 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57656-57661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24231]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


FY15 Discretionary Funding Opportunity: Low or No Emission 
Vehicle Deployment Program (LoNo) Program

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and for Request for 
Proposals (RFP).

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

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the 
availability of $22.5 million of Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 funds for the 
deployment of low or no emission transit buses. Of that amount, a 
minimum of $3.0 million is available for supporting facilities and 
related equipment. If additional funding is appropriated for this 
program in FY 2016, FTA may, at its discretion, also make those funds 
available under this announcement.

DATES: Complete proposals must be submitted electronically through the 
grants.gov ``Apply'' function by November 23, 2015. Prospective 
applicants should initiate the process by registering on the GRANTS.GOV 
Web site promptly to ensure completion of the application process 
before the submission deadline. Instructions for applying can be found 
on FTA's Web site at https://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13077.html and in 
the ``find'' module of grants.gov. Mail and fax submissions will not be 
accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Ricketson, FTA Office of Research 
Demonstration and Innovation, 202-366-6678 or sean.ricketson@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

A. Program Description
B. Federal Award Information
C. Eligibility Information
D. Application and Submission Information
E. Application Review
F. Federal Award Administration
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

A. Program Description

    The Low and No Emission Vehicle Deployment (LoNo) Program provides 
funding for transit agencies for capital acquisitions and leases of 
zero-emission and low-emission transit buses, including acquisition, 
construction, and leasing of required supporting facilities such as 
recharging, refueling, and maintenance facilities.
    The main purpose of the LoNo Program is to deploy the cleanest and 
most energy efficient U.S.-made transit buses that have been largely 
proven in testing and demonstrations but are not yet widely deployed in 
transit fleets. The LoNo Program is a capital program focused on 
deploying new production vehicles that are market-ready or near market-
ready. It is not a program for designing and developing prototypes. The 
program gives priority consideration to the deployment of buses with 
the lowest energy consumption and least harmful emissions, including 
direct carbon emissions.

B. Federal Award Information

    The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), 
Public Law 112-141, July 6, 2012, amended 49 U.S.C. 5312 to add a new 
paragraph (d)(5) authorizing FTA to make grants to finance eligible 
projects under the ``Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program'' 
(LoNo Program).
    The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 
(FY 2015 Appropriations) Public Law 113-235, December 16, 2014, has 
made available $22.5 million in FY 2015 to carry out the LoNo Program. 
Of that amount, a minimum of $3.0 million is available for supporting 
facilities and related equipment. Given that projects must be 
competitively selected pursuant

[[Page 57657]]

to 49 U.S.C. 5312(d)(5)(E), if additional funding is appropriated for 
this program in FY 2016, FTA may, at its discretion, apply those funds 
to either scale up selections made under this announcement, or to fund 
meritorious proposals that were not selected for lack of FY 2015 
funding.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

    The FTA will consider projects from eligible applicants located in 
eligible areas, as defined in 49 U.S.C 5312(d). Eligible areas are 
limited to non-attainment and maintenance areas. Specifically, an 
eligible area is defined as an area that is:
    (i) Designated as a nonattainment area for ozone or carbon monoxide 
under section 107(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407(d)); or
    (ii) A maintenance area, as defined in section 5303, for ozone or 
carbon monoxide.
    Eligible applicants and recipients under this program are limited 
to designated recipients in eligible areas over 200,000 in population 
and State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) for eligible areas under 
200,000 in population. State DOTs must apply for and administer the 
proposal and if selected, subsequent grant, for projects located in 
eligible areas under 200,000 in population.
    For more information about Designated Recipients, please see FTA 
Circular 9030.1E, ``Urbanized Area Formula Program: Program Guidance 
and Application Instructions'', January 16, 2014, Chapter II, which can 
be found on FTA's Web site in its Law Library. For information about 
non-attainment and maintenance areas, please visit the Environmental 
Protection Administration's Greenbook, at https://www.epa.gov/airquality/greenbook/.
    Eligible applicants may apply on behalf of eligible subrecipients, 
to include other public transportation providers, tribes, and a project 
team member identified in the proposal and deemed a ``Key Party'' by 
FTA. Project teams may include consultants, manufacturers, vendors, 
systems integrators and facilities providers. Tribes and other FTA 
direct recipients should work with State DOTs or eligible designated 
recipients in their area to apply on their behalf.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

    The FTA has determined that all eligible expenses under this 
program are attributable to compliance with the Clean Air Act. 
Therefore under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 5323(i) the Federal 
Government's participation in the costs of leasing or acquiring a 
transit bus financed under the LoNo Program is limited to 85 percent of 
the total transit bus cost. The proposer may seek a lower Federal 
contribution.
    Further, the Federal Government's participation in the cost of 
leasing or acquiring transit bus-related equipment and facilities under 
the LoNo Program is limited to 90 percent of the net project cost of 
the equipment or facilities attributable to compliance with the Clean 
Air Act.
    The Federal Share is limited to 80 percent for the cost of 
equipment and facilities not attributable to compliance with the Clean 
Air Act. Again, the proposer may seek a lower Federal contribution.
    Therefore, at a minimum, the proposer must provide at least 15 
percent of the cost of all transit bus acquisitions and 10 percent of 
the cost for all related equipment and facilities.

3. Eligible Projects

    The following projects are eligible for funding, in accordance with 
section 5312(d)(5)(A)(ii):
    (i) Acquiring or leasing low or no emission transit buses;
    (ii) Constructing or leasing facilities and related equipment for 
low or no emission transit buses;
    (iii) Constructing new public transportation facilities to 
accommodate low or no emission transit buses; or,
    (iv) Rehabilitating or improving existing public transportation 
facilities to accommodate low or no emission transit buses.

4. Eligible Vehicles

    Proposals for bus acquisitions should result in the deployment of 
at least five (5) new transit buses per location. Proposals for 
supporting facilities should support at least five (5) buses. Buses 
must be largely identical. To be eligible, vehicles must be production 
transit buses used to provide public transportation and meet either the 
zero-emission bus, or the low emission bus definition below.
    For the purposes of this solicitation, a zero-emission transit bus 
is defined as a bus that produces no direct carbon emissions and no 
particulate matter emissions under any and all possible operational 
modes and conditions. A hydrogen fuel-cell bus qualifies as a zero-
emission bus. A battery-electric bus qualifies as a zero-emission 
transit bus. A zero-emission bus and a no emission bus are the same.
    For the purposes of this solicitation, a low emission bus is 
defined as any transit bus that is powered by an engine that produces 
lower non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and oxides of nitrogen 
(NOX) than are legally permitted under EPA's engine 
standards at 49 CFR part 86.
    All transit buses proposed for deployment under the LoNo Program 
must complete current FTA bus testing for production transit buses 
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5318. The FTA will only evaluate proposals for 
production transit buses that have either completed testing or will be 
tested prior to deployment. The LoNo Program is not a platform for the 
development of prototypes.

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Address To Request Application Package
    A complete proposal submission will consist of at least two files: 
(1) The SF424 Mandatory form (downloaded from GRANTS.GOV) and (2) the 
Applicant and Proposal Profile supplemental form for LoNo funding 
(Supplemental Form) found on grants.gov and the FTA Web site by 
clicking (or copying and pasting) the LoNo Program link at https://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13077.html. The Supplemental Form provides 
guidance and a consistent format for proposers to respond to the 
criteria outlined in this NOFA.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

(i) Proposal Submission
    A complete proposal submission consists of a minimum of two forms: 
The SF424 Mandatory Form and the Supplemental Form. The Supplemental 
Form must be placed in the attachments section of the SF424 Mandatory 
Form. Proposers must use the Supplemental Form designated for the LoNo 
Program and attach it to the submission in GRANTS.GOV to successfully 
complete the application process.
    A proposal submission may contain additional supporting 
documentation as attachments. If an applicant elects to attach an 
additional proposal narrative, it must not exceed 10 numbered pages. 
Submissions must be presentable and use standard fonts, font sizing, 
and at least one-inch margins so the information can easily be read by 
the reviewers.
    Within 48 hours after submitting an electronic application, the 
applicant should receive three email messages from grants.gov: (1) 
Confirmation of successful transmission to grants.gov, (2) confirmation 
of successful validation by grants.gov, and (3) confirmation of

[[Page 57658]]

successful validation by FTA. If confirmations of successful validation 
are not received or a notice of failed validation or incomplete 
materials is received, the applicant must address the reason for the 
failed validation, as described in the email notice, and resubmit 
before the submission deadline. If making a resubmission for any 
reason, include all original attachments regardless of which 
attachments were updated and check the box on the supplemental form 
indicating this is a resubmission.
    The FTA urges proposers to submit applications at least 72 hours 
prior to the due date to allow time to receive the validation messages 
and to correct any problems that may have caused a rejection 
notification. The FTA will not accept submissions after the stated 
deadline. Grants.gov scheduled maintenance and outage times are 
announced on the grants.gov Web site. Deadlines will not be extended 
due to scheduled Web site maintenance.
    Proposers are encouraged to begin the process of registration on 
the grants.gov site well in advance of the submission deadline. 
Registration is a multi-step process, which may take several weeks to 
complete before an application can be submitted. Registered proposers 
may still be required to take steps to keep their registration up to 
date before submissions can be made successfully: (1) Registration in 
the System for Award Management (SAM) is renewed annually; and, (2) 
persons making submissions on behalf of the Authorized Organization 
Representative (AOR) must be authorized in grants.gov by the AOR to 
make submissions. Instructions on the grants.gov registration process 
are provided in the Appendix.
    Applicants that submit multiple projects in one proposal must be 
sure to clearly define each project by completing a separate 
Supplemental Form for each project.
    Information such as proposer name, Federal amount requested, local 
match amount, description of areas served, etc. may be requested in 
varying degrees of detail on both the SF424 form and Supplemental Form. 
Proposers must fill in all fields unless stated otherwise on the forms. 
The Supplemental Form template supports pasting copied text from other 
documents; applicants should verify that pasted text is fully captured 
on the Supplemental Form and has not been truncated by the character 
limits built into the form. Proposers should use both the ``Check 
Package for Errors'' and the ``Validate Form'' validation buttons on 
both forms to check all required fields on the forms, and ensure that 
the federal and local amounts specified are consistent.
(ii) Application Content
    The SF424 Mandatory Form and the Supplemental Form will prompt 
applicants for the required information, including:
    a. Applicant name;
    b. Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 
number if available. (Note: If selected, applicant will be required to 
provide DUNS number prior to award);
    c. Key contact information (including contact name, address, email 
address, phone and fax number;
    d. Description of services provided by the agency, including areas 
served;
    e. Congressional district(s) where the deployment will take place;
    f. A list of project team organizational members, by organization 
name and address;
    g. A Letter of Commitment from each organizational member of the 
project team;
    h. A description of the technical, legal and financial capacity of 
the applicant and partners to carry out the proposed project;
    i. A description of the project and how it meets the program 
purpose, including any related projects funded under other sources;
    j. A description of the transit bus model(s) proposed, including 
propulsion type, operating ranges, recharging/refueling requirements, 
and whether it qualifies as a zero-emission bus under this notice;
    k. A listing of all greenhouse gas and criteria pollutants that may 
be emitted by the bus;
    l. A description of required support facilities and infrastructure 
in existence, being procured through other programs, and being proposed 
through this program;
    m. A description of the applicant's commitment to deploying a zero-
emission or low emission fleet and how this project contributes to the 
agency's future plans.
    n. A project management plan;
    o. A line-item budget. The budget should be at least for the 
minimum 5 bus deployment and show the source of funds (requested under 
this NOFA, local share, other Federal (identify source)). For projects 
that propose to use LoNo Program funds solely for the incremental 
costs, the applicants' budget should detail the other sources of 
funding supporting the bus procurement. Budgets must also identify the 
amount that is specifically being requested for facilities and 
equipment;
    p. If the project can be scaled, a scaling plan;
    q. A project schedule outlining steps through completion, including 
significant milestones; and
    r. The proposed deployment location(s).

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Registration in Brief
    Registration can take as little as 3-5 business days, but since 
there could be unexpected steps or delays (for example, if you need to 
obtain an Employer Identification Number), FTA recommends allowing 
ample time, up to several weeks, for completion of all steps.
STEP 1: Obtain DUNS Number
    Same day. If requested by phone (1-866-705-5711) DUNS is provided 
immediately. If your organization does not have one, you will need to 
go to the Dun & Bradstreet Web site at https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform to 
obtain the number. *Information for Foreign Registrants. *Webform 
requests take 1-2 business days.
STEP 2: Register With SAM
    Three to five business days or up to two weeks. If you already have 
a TIN, your SAM registration will take 3-5 business days to process. If 
you are applying for an EIN please allow up to two weeks. Ensure that 
your organization is registered with the System for Award Management 
(SAM). If your organization is not, an authorizing official of your 
organization must register.
STEP 3: Username & Password
    Same day. Complete your AOR (Authorized Organization 
Representative) profile on Grants.gov and create your username and 
password. You will need to use your organization's DUNS Number to 
complete this step. https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/OrcRegister.
STEP 4: AOR Authorization
    *Same day. The E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) at your 
organization must login to Grants.gov to confirm you as an Authorized 
Organization Representative (AOR). Please note that there can be more 
than one AOR for your organization. In some cases the E-Biz POC is also 
the AOR for an organization. *Time depends on responsiveness of your E-
Biz POC.
STEP 5: TRACK AOR STATUS
    At any time, you can track your AOR status by logging in with your 
username and password. Login as an Applicant (enter your username & 
password you

[[Page 57659]]

obtained in Step (3) using the following link: applicant_profile.jsp.

4. Submission Dates and Times

    Project proposals must be submitted electronically through 
GRANTS.GOV by November 23, 2015. Mail and fax submissions will not be 
accepted.

5. Funding Restrictions

    Funds under this NOFA cannot be used to reimburse projects for 
otherwise eligible expenses incurred prior to FTA award of a Grant 
Agreement or Cooperative Agreement unless FTA has issued a ``Letter of 
No Prejudice'' for the project before the expenses are incurred.

6. Other Submission Requirements

    If possible, FTA asks that proposals for bus projects be scalable 
upwards in increments of 1 or 2 transit buses so FTA can allocate all 
available funding under the LoNo Program, including FY 2016 funds if 
these become available and FTA elects to apply them to proposals 
received under this announcement. To help FTA allocate program funding, 
applicants are encouraged to identify how the proposed budgets are 
scalable. In addition, the FTA must allocate a minimum of $3.0 million 
for supporting facilities and related equipment. Therefore, applicants 
are encouraged to include a facilities and related equipment component 
to their proposal with a scalable budget for facilities and equipment. 
This will enable FTA to ensure the $3.0 million minimum can be met with 
a given portfolio of selected projects. Applicants should use the 
separate budget section on the Supplemental Form to itemize any portion 
of the proposed project that is specifically for related facilities and 
equipment.
    All proposals should describe how the proposed project fits with 
long term goals of creating and deploying a zero-emission bus fleet.

E. Application Review

1. Selection Criteria
    The FTA will use the following primary selection criteria when 
evaluating competing projects eligible under this program:
i. Bus Model
    The bus model is a priority consideration of the LoNo program. The 
proposed bus model must receive at least a ``Recommended'' rating for a 
proposal to be recommended for funding.
    a. The proposed bus model will be evaluated on the extent to which 
it has been successfully demonstrated in revenue service but is not yet 
widely deployed in transit agency fleets (meeting the purpose of the 
program) and the quality of the supporting evidence. Note that a bus 
model's transit revenue service demonstration need not take place in 
the United States. The FTA prefers bus models that have been 
successfully demonstrated in the United States, but the documented 
demands of the transit service and the quality of documentation of the 
bus model's performance is more important than whether the 
demonstration took place in the United States.
    b. To meet the requirements of section 5312(d)(5)(F), priority 
consideration will be given to projects that support bus models with 
the greatest reduction in energy consumption and harmful emissions, 
including direct carbon emissions, when compared to other buses. A 
zero-emission bus project, for example, will receive priority 
consideration over a project that proposes buses that produce some 
level of emissions.
    c. The proposed bus model will be evaluated by the status of its 
FTA Bus Testing report; if bus testing is not complete, proposals will 
be evaluated by the demonstrated commitment to complete transit bus 
testing prior to bus delivery.
    d. The proposed bus model will be evaluated by whether there is 
sufficient documentation that it meets Buy-America domestic content 
requirements.
    e. Zero-emission bus technology, while ready for wider deployment, 
is still developing in many respects. It is important that proposed bus 
models advance bus technology that will contribute to the further 
commercialization of zero-emission buses. Therefore proposed bus models 
will be evaluated by the extent to which they advance technology that 
can lead to better or less costly zero-emission buses.

    Note:  If no bus acquisition is being proposed (such as in a 
proposal for facilities and equipment only) all four Bus Model 
criteria (a-d) must still be addressed, describing the bus model 
that the proposed facilities and equipment would support.

ii. Project Effectiveness
    The following four criteria address the likelihood the proposal 
will be effective in meeting critical considerations of the LoNo 
program:
    a. The likelihood the project will result in, or support, the 
successful deployment of at least five largely-identical qualified 
transit buses operating in a single geographic location.
    b. The projected emissions of the proposed transit bus model, 
including greenhouse gas and Criteria (EPA-regulated) emissions.
    c. The extent to which the proposal leverages or expands a fleet of 
zero-emission transit buses.
    d. The extent to which the proposal builds on past or current 
Federally-funded research efforts.
iii. Transit Agency and Community Commitment
    Overcoming the challenges of deploying new technology requires 
leadership and commitment. The FTA seeks both prospective and existing 
operators of clean technology buses who can demonstrate the technical 
capacity and commitment required for sustained successful deployments. 
Transit agencies who are already industry leaders should emphasize and 
demonstrate their commitment to supporting and deploying the cleanest 
and most energy efficient buses available.
    a. Proposals will be evaluated by the extent to which they 
demonstrate the transit agency's and the community's ongoing and long-
term commitment to the deployment of a zero-emission bus fleet.
    b. Transit agencies should highlight their technical capacity and 
commitment for applying the resources necessary for success, including 
how they will train the agency's workforce to support clean bus 
technology. In this regard, proposals will be evaluated by the extent 
to which they demonstrate the transit agency's consideration of, and 
commitment to, workforce development and training in support of zero-
emission technology.
    c. In order to maximize LoNo Program impact, FTA seeks to build on 
existing transit bus procurements, where possible. Therefore, the 
selection process will prioritize proposals that leverage other funds 
such that LoNo Program funds are used to cover only the incremental 
cost of procuring the proposed transit bus model above that of a more 
conventional higher-emission transit bus. Therefore proposals will be 
evaluated by the extent to which they offer a method to use program 
funds to cover only the incremental cost of the proposed bus model or 
facility over the cost of a transit bus or facility of a more widely 
deployed propulsion system.
iv. Safety
    Safety considerations are critical in the deployment of new 
technology, to ensure public and worker safety and to protect public 
and private investment. Therefore proposals will be evaluated

[[Page 57660]]

by the extent to which they demonstrate an understanding of, and make 
accommodation for, the safety considerations of the proposed bus 
technology.
v. Technical Capacity
    To reduce project risk, the following criteria will assist FTA to 
determine the technical capacity of the project team:
    a. The extent to which the proposal identifies by name a 
comprehensive project team, including transit agencies, bus 
manufacturers, and facilities providers, as well as systems 
integrators, and project management consultants.
    The FTA encourages the use of experienced project management 
consultants on project teams especially if the transit agency involved 
lacks experience with the technology being proposed. In the event that 
an applicant or transit agency has a pending procurement or an open 
procurement for the same type of transit bus that qualifies under this 
NOFA and the agency wishes to expand the procurement through the LoNo 
Program, FTA recognizes that identifying all project team members could 
contradict or delay the procurement process. Therefore, identifying all 
project team members is not required. Applicants in this or similar 
situations are strongly encouraged to apply and in such case the lack 
of identified team members will not be penalized by FTA. Instead, the 
applicant should cite the procurement as evidence of ongoing interest 
and commitment. This clarification applies to procurements of vehicles 
that qualify under this NOFA.
    b. The extent to which the proposal identifies and demonstrates the 
technical capacity and commitment of agencies, partners or teams with 
expertise in the sustained successful deployment of similar projects or 
propulsion technologies.
vi. Project Management
    The applicant must demonstrate the capacity to carry out the 
project through a project management plan that shows:
    a. The applicant is in a fundable status for the FTA grant award;
    b. A viable project approach, budget, and schedule;
    c. There are no outstanding legal, technical, or financial issues 
with the applicant that would make this a high-risk project;
    d. The source(s) of local share and that the funds are available 
for prompt project implementation if selected; and,
    e. The applicant has the ability and commitment to collect 
information and document the results of the project as part of an FTA 
project evaluation effort.

2. Review and Selection Process

    A technical evaluation committee comprised of FTA staff and 
representatives of other collaborative government agencies will review 
project proposals against the described evaluation criteria. The 
technical evaluation committee reserves the right to evaluate proposals 
it receives and to seek clarification from any proposer about any 
statement that is made in a proposal that FTA finds ambiguous. The FTA 
may also request additional documentation or information to be 
considered during the evaluation process. After the evaluation of all 
eligible proposals, the technical evaluation committee will provide 
project recommendations to the FTA Administrator. The FTA Administrator 
will determine the final list of project selections, and the amount of 
funding for each project. To better evaluate technologies in a variety 
of conditions and locales, FTA may select a portfolio of geographically 
diverse projects.

F. Federal Award Administration

1. Federal Award Notice

    Subsequent to an announcement by the FTA Administrator of the final 
project selections posted on the FTA Web site, FTA will publish a list 
of the selected projects, including Federal dollar amounts and 
recipients. Project recipients should contact their FTA Regional 
Offices for information about setting up grant agreements with FTA.

2. Award Administration

    Successful proposals will be awarded through FTA's Transit Award 
Management System (TrAMS) as either Cooperative Agreements or Grant 
Agreements, at FTA's discretion. Proposals that expand existing 
procurements will likely be handled consistently with the agreement 
supporting the existing procurement. The appropriate FTA Regional 
Office in consultation with the FTA Research Office will manage project 
agreements.
    Applicants must sign and submit current Certifications and 
Assurances before FTA may award funding under a Cooperative Agreement 
or Grant Agreement for a competitively selected project. If the 
applicant has already submitted the annual Certifications and 
Assurances for the fiscal year in which the award will be made in 
TrAMS, they do not need to be resubmitted.
    To enhance the value of the portfolio of the projects to be 
implemented, FTA reserves the right to request an adjustment of the 
project scope and budget of any proposal selected for funding. Such 
adjustments shall not constitute a material alteration of any aspect of 
the proposal that influenced the proposal evaluation or decision to 
fund the project.
    The FTA considers the competitive nature of LoNo Program proposal 
selection to constitute adequate competition for the purpose of 
satisfying third-party contracting requirements applicable to the 
procurement of proposed transit bus models by selected applicants. The 
FTA makes this determination with respect to the funding provided 
through this NOFA and any other Federal funds that may be involved in 
the selected LoNo bus acquisition proposal.
    Further, FTA reserves the right to name any or all proposed project 
team members as a ``Key Party'' and to make any award conditional upon 
the participation of the ``Key Party.'' A ``Key Party'' is essential to 
the project as approved by FTA and, is, therefore, eligible for a 
noncompetitive award by the project sponsor to provide the goods or 
services described in the proposal. Participation by members of the 
``Key Party'' on a selected project may not later be substituted 
without FTA's approval.

3. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

    Except as otherwise provided in this NOFA, grants or cooperative 
agreements are subject to the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5307 as 
described in the latest FTA Circular 9030.1 for the Urbanized Area 
Formula Program. Additionally, under the LoNo Program FTA may, at its 
discretion, consider exceptions to assist in the commercialization of 
zero-emission bus technology, such as modifying spare ratio or useful 
life requirements. The FTA will not consider any requests for bus 
testing waivers.
    All transit buses and related infrastructure and facilities under 
the LoNo Program must be Buy-America compliant pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
5323(j) and its implementing regulations. The FTA will not consider any 
Buy America waivers under the LoNo Program.

4. Reporting

    The legislation that created the LoNo Program requires FTA to 
evaluate all projects in the program. Therefore, the applicant must 
agree to participate and cooperate with FTA project evaluation 
activity. Evaluation activity that FTA expects applicants to perform 
includes collecting and providing raw, unaltered vehicle performance 
and maintenance

[[Page 57661]]

data, meeting with FTA evaluators or FTA's evaluation representative on 
a quarterly basis, and providing evaluators access to the project site 
and to project team members, when requested by FTA. The FTA Research 
Office is sensitive to the importance of proprietary information and 
has a successful record of accommodating those concerns.

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

    For further information concerning this notice please contact the 
(LoNo) Program staff via email at sean.ricketson@dot.gov, or call Sean 
Ricketson at 202-366-6678. A TDD is available for individuals who are 
deaf or hard of hearing at 1-800-877-8339. In addition, DOT will post 
answers to questions and requests for clarifications on DOT's Web site 
at www.fta.dot.gov. To ensure applicants receive accurate information 
about eligibility or the program, the applicant is encouraged to 
contact DOT directly, rather than through intermediaries or third 
parties, with questions. DOT staff may also conduct briefings on the 
LoNo program discretionary grants selection and award process upon 
request.

H. Other Information

    The applicant assures that it will comply with all applicable 
Federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, FTA Circulars, and 
other Federal administrative requirements in carrying out any project 
supported by the FTA agreement. The applicant acknowledges that it is 
under a continuing obligation to comply with the terms and conditions 
of the agreement executed with FTA for its project. The applicant 
understands that Federal laws, regulations, policies, and 
administrative practices might be modified from time to time and may 
affect the implementation of the project. The applicant agrees that the 
most recent Federal requirements will apply to the project, unless FTA 
issues a written determination otherwise.

Matthew J. Welbes,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-24231 Filed 9-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P