Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Department of Transportation's Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA Grants) for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018, 31135-31151 [2017-14042]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 5, 2017 / Notices
up to 0.999 mgd (peak day) (Docket No.
20130905).
3. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C. (Sugar
Creek), Burlington Township, Bradford
County, Pa. Application for renewal of
surface water withdrawal of up to 0.499
mgd (peak day) (Docket No. 20130906).
4. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C.
(Susquehanna River), Terry Township,
Bradford County, Pa. Application for
renewal of surface water withdrawal of
up to 1.440 mgd (peak day) (Docket No.
20130907).
5. Project Sponsor and Facility: Chief
Oil & Gas LLC (Towanda Creek), Leroy
Township, Bradford County, Pa.
Application for surface water
withdrawal of up to 1.500 mgd (peak
day).
6. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Downs Racing, L.P. d/b/a Mohegan Sun
Pocono, Plains Township, Luzerne
County, Pa. Application for
consumptive use of up to 0.350 mgd
(peak day).
7. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Elizabethtown Area Water Authority,
Mount Joy Township, Lancaster County,
Pa. Application for renewal of
groundwater withdrawal of up to 0.432
mgd (30-day average) from Well 6
(Docket No. 19861103).
8. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Elizabethtown Area Water Authority,
Mount Joy Township, Lancaster County,
Pa. Application for groundwater
withdrawal of up to 0.432 mgd (30-day
average) from Well 7.
9. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Elizabethtown Area Water Authority,
Elizabethtown Borough and Mount Joy
Township, Lancaster County, Pa.
Modification to correct total system
limit to remove inclusion of water
discharged to the Conewago watershed
to offset passby and transfer of water
from Conewago Creek to Back Run
(Docket No. 20160903).
10. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Houtzdale Municipal Authority, Gulich
Township, Clearfield County, Pa.
Application for groundwater
withdrawal of up to 1.008 mgd (30-day
average) from Well 14R.
11. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Moxie Freedom LLC, Salem Township,
Luzerne County, Pa. Modification to
increase consumptive use by an
additional 0.408 mgd (peak day), for a
total consumptive use of up to 0.500
mgd (peak day) (Docket No. 20150907).
12. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Susquehanna Gas Field Services, LLC
(Meshoppen Creek), Meshoppen
Borough, Wyoming County, Pa.
Application for renewal of surface water
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withdrawal of up to 0.145 mgd (peak
day) (Docket No. 20130913).
13. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC, Salem
Township, Luzerne County, Pa.
Modification to increase consumptive
use by an additional 5.000 mgd (peak
day), for a total consumptive use of up
to 53.000 mgd (peak day) (Docket No.
19950301).
14. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC
(Susquehanna River), Salem Township,
Luzerne County, Pa. Modification to
increase surface water withdrawal by an
additional 10.000 mgd (peak day), for a
total surface water withdrawal increase
of up to 76.000 mgd (peak day) (Docket
No. 19950301).
15. Project Sponsor and Facility:
SWEPI LP (Elk Run), Sullivan
Township, Tioga County, Pa.
Application for surface water
withdrawal of up to 0.646 mgd (peak
day).
16. Project Sponsor and Facility: SWN
Production Company, LLC (Wyalusing
Creek), Wyalusing Township, Bradford
County, Pa. Application for renewal of
surface water withdrawal of up to 2.000
mgd (peak day) (Docket No. 20130911).
17. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Company, LLC. Project: Atlantic Sunrise
(Fishing Creek), Sugarloaf Township,
Columbia County, Pa. Application for
modification to add consumptive use of
up to 0.200 mgd (peak day) to existing
docket approval (Docket No. 20160913).
18. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Company, LLC. Project: Atlantic Sunrise
(Fishing Creek), Sugarloaf Township,
Columbia County, Pa. Application for
modification to change authorized use
of source to existing docket approval
(Docket No. 20160913).
19. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Village of Waverly, Tioga County, N.Y.
Application for groundwater
withdrawal of up to 0.320 mgd (30-day
average) from Well 1.
20. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Village of Waverly, Tioga County, N.Y.
Application for groundwater
withdrawal of up to 0.480 mgd (30-day
average) from Well 2.
21. Project Sponsor and Facility:
Village of Waverly, Tioga County, N.Y.
Application for groundwater
withdrawal of up to 0.470 mgd (30-day
average) from Well 3.
Opportunity To Appear and Comment
Interested parties may appear at the
hearing to offer comments to the
Commission on any project, request or
proposal listed above. The presiding
officer reserves the right to limit oral
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31135
statements in the interest of time and to
otherwise control the course of the
hearing. Guidelines for the public
hearing will be posted on the
Commission’s Web site, www.srbc.net,
prior to the hearing for review. The
presiding officer reserves the right to
modify or supplement such guidelines
at the hearing. Written comments on
any project, request or proposal listed
above may also be mailed to Mr. Jason
Oyler, General Counsel, Susquehanna
River Basin Commission, 4423 North
Front Street, Harrisburg, Pa. 17110–
1788, or submitted electronically
through www.srbc.net/pubinfo/
publicparticipation.htm. Comments
mailed or electronically submitted must
be received by the Commission on or
before August 14, 2017, to be
considered.
Authority: Pub. L. 91–575, 84 Stat. 1509
et seq., 18 CFR parts 806, 807, and 808.
Dated: June 29, 2017.
Stephanie L. Richardson,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017–14076 Filed 7–3–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7040–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary of
Transportation
[Docket No. DOT–OST–2017–0090]
Notice of Funding Opportunity for the
Department of Transportation’s
Nationally Significant Freight and
Highway Projects (INFRA Grants) for
Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018
Office of the Secretary of
Transportation, U.S. Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of funding opportunity.
AGENCY:
The Nationally Significant
Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA)
program provides Federal financial
assistance to highway and freight
projects of national or regional
significance. This notice solicits
applications for awards under the
program’s FY 2017 and FY 2018
funding, subject to future
appropriations.
DATES: Applications must be submitted
by 8:00 p.m. EST November 2, 2017.
The Grants.gov ‘‘Apply’’ function will
open by August 1, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Applications must be
submitted through www.Grants.gov.
Only applicants who comply with all
submission requirements described in
this notice and submit applications
through www.Grants.gov will be eligible
for award.
SUMMARY:
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For
further information regarding this
notice, please contact the Office of the
Secretary via email at INFRAgrants@
dot.gov. For more information about
highway projects, please contact Crystal
Jones at (202) 366–2976. For more
information about maritime projects,
please contact Robert Bouchard at (202)
366–5076. For more information about
rail projects, please contact Stephanie
Lawrence at (202) 493–1376. For more
information about railway-highway
grade crossing projects, please contact
Karen McClure at (202) 493–6417. For
all other questions, please contact Paul
Baumer at (202) 366–1092. A TDD is
available for individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing at 202–366–3993. In
addition, up to the application deadline,
the Department will post answers to
common questions and requests for
clarifications on USDOT’s Web site at
https://www.transportation.gov/
buildamerica/INFRAgrants.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Table of Contents
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A. Program Description
1. Overview
2. Key Program Objectives
3. Program Name
B. Federal Award Information
1. Amount Available
2. Restrictions on Award Portfolio
3. Repeat Applications
C. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
3. Other
D. Application and Submission Information
1. Address
2. Content and Form of Application
3. Unique entity identifier and System for
Award Management (SAM)
4. Submission Dates and Timelines
E. Application Review Information
1. Criteria
2. Review and Selection Process
3. Additional Information
F. Federal Award Administration
Information
1. Federal Award Notices
2. Administrative and National Policy
Requirements
3. Reporting
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
H. Other Information
1. Invitation for Public Comment on the FY
2017–2018 Notice
2. Protection of Confidential Business
Information
3. Publication of Application Information
A. Program Description
1. Overview
The INFRA program provides Federal
financial assistance to highway and
freight projects of national or regional
significance. To maximize the value of
FY 2017–2018 INFRA funds for all
Americans, the Department is focusing
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the competition on transportation
infrastructure projects that support four
key objectives, each of which is
discussed in greater detail in section
A.2:
(1) Supporting economic vitality at
the national and regional level;
(2) Leveraging Federal funding to
attract other, non-Federal sources of
infrastructure investment, as well as
accounting for the life-cycle costs of the
project;
(3) Using innovative approaches to
improve safety and expedite project
delivery; and
(4) Holding grant recipients
accountable for their performance and
achieving specific, measurable
outcomes identified by grant applicants.
This notice’s focus on the four key
objectives does not compromise the
Department’s position that safety is our
top priority. The Department is
committed to reducing traffic fatalities
and serious injuries on the surface
transportation system. To reinforce the
Department’s safety priority, the USDOT
will require projects that receive INFRA
awards to consider and effectively
respond to data-driven transportation
safety concerns. Section F.2.a describes
related requirements that the
Department will impose on each INFRA
project. These requirements focus on
performing detailed, data-driven safety
analyses and the incorporating project
elements that respond to State-specific
safety priority areas.
2. Key Program Objectives
This section of the notice describes
the four key program objectives that the
Department intends to advance with FY
2017–2018 INFRA funds. These four
objectives are reflected in later portions
of the notice, including section E.1,
which describes how the Department
will evaluate applications to advance
these objectives, and section D.2.b,
which describes how applicants should
address the four objectives in their
applications.
a. Key Program Objective #1: Supporting
Economic Vitality
A strong transportation network is
absolutely critical to the functioning
and growth of the American economy.
The nation’s industry depends on the
transportation network not only to move
the goods that it produces, but also to
facilitate the movements of the workers
who are responsible for that production.
When the nation’s highways, railways,
and ports function well, that
infrastructure connects people to jobs,
increases the efficiency of delivering
goods and thereby cuts the costs of
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doing business, reduces the burden of
commuting, and improves overall wellbeing. When the transportation network
fails—whether due to increasing
bottlenecks, growing connectivity gaps,
or unsafe, crumbling conditions—our
economy suffers. Projects that address
congestion in our major urban areas,
particularly those that do so through the
use of congestion pricing or the
deployment of advanced technology,
projects that bridge gaps in service in
our rural areas, and projects that attract
private economic development, all
support national or regional economic
vitality. Therefore, the INFRA program
seeks these types of infrastructure
projects.
b. Key Program Objective #2: Leveraging
of Federal Funding
The Department is committed to
supporting the President’s call for more
infrastructure investment. That goal will
not be achieved through Federal
investment alone, but rather requires
States, local governments, and the
private sector to share responsibility
and accountability, and to maximize
their own contributions. The Federal
government provided about 25%, or
about $100 billion of the estimated $416
billion of public investment in
transportation and water infrastructure
in 2014,1 but more infrastructure
investment is possible if the significant
Federal contribution is a smaller portion
of a larger total.
To increase the leveraging of Federal
funding, the INFRA program will give
priority consideration to projects that
use all available non-Federal resources
for development, construction,
operations, and maintenance. (As
described further in E.1.a (Criterion #2),
the Department will also consider the
level at which these resources are in fact
available, particularly for rural areas).
These projects include projects that
maximize State, local, and private sector
funding, projects that raise revenue
directly, projects that benefit from local
self-help, and projects that pair INFRA
grants with broader-scale innovative
financing, including Federal credit
assistance such as Transportation
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation
Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans.
By emphasizing leveraging of Federal
funding, the Department expects to
expand the total resources being used to
build and restore infrastructure, rather
than have Federal dollars merely
1 https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114thcongress-2015-2016/reports/49910Infrastructure.pdf.
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displace or substitute for State, local,
and private funds.
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c. Key Program Objective #3: Innovation
The Department seeks to use the
INFRA program to encourage innovation
in three areas: (1) Environmental review
and permitting; (2) use of experimental
project delivery authorities; and (3)
safety and technology. The Department
anticipates making awards that advance
each innovation area, but it does not
necessarily expect each INFRA project
to address all three innovation areas.
Instead, the Department expects
applicants to identify the innovation
areas that provide benefit to their
project and propose activities in those
areas.
Innovation Area #1: Environmental
Review and Permitting
Some project sponsors indicate that
Federal law and regulations impose
requirements on transportation projects
that delay the timely delivery of
infrastructure. Some claim that the
current approach to environmental
review and permitting can lead to costly
delays that are not justified by
environmental benefits. Others note that
excessive spending for permitting and
studies diverts resources from
environmental mitigation. Fortunately,
recent transportation authorizations,
including the FAST Act, have
introduced a number of reforms
intended to reduce project timelines and
costs without compromising the
integrity of crucial environmental
protections. The Department is eager to
use the INFRA program to expand and
improve upon these reforms.
Under the INFRA program the
Department seeks to test new
approaches to the environmental review
and permitting process for infrastructure
projects. This approach has four
objectives: (1) Accelerating the
environmental permitting and review
process; (2) improving outcomes for
communities and the environment; (3)
facilitating concurrent and consistent
environmental permitting and review,
analysis and decision making across
Federal agencies and geographic
regions; and (4) establishing a shared
vision of permitting success among all
Federal agencies.
In the current practice, the resource
agencies that are responsible for
environmental review and permitting,
including U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, and the Environmental
Protection Agency, operate
independently and collaborate as
necessary. This independent and
distributed operation can frustrate
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efficient project delivery. Under the
approach, the Department will aim to
identify ‘‘liaisons’’ within each relevant
resource agency. These liaisons will
work closely and collaboratively with
each other, project sponsors, and local
field offices to steward projects
participating in the effort through the
environmental review process in a
timely manner. The liaisons will be
responsible for making consistent and
timely permit determinations, while
ensuring compliance with the purposes
and procedures of the environmental
permitting and review statutes. They
will also have easy access to their
counterparts throughout the
Department, including in the
Department’s operating administrations,
the Infrastructure Permitting
Improvement Center, and the Build
America Bureau.
The Department’s aim is for liaisons
to have active and defined roles early in
the project development process to
define potential permitting risks as early
as the project scoping and the
development of alternatives stages. They
will coordinate activity to reduce risks,
and will have specific responsibilities
(e.g., dispute resolution) that are
triggered when a project is at risk for
missing a permit deadline. Additionally,
to ensure consistency across Federal
agency jurisdictions, liaisons will
coordinate permitting activities between
Agency-specific districts for projects
that cross jurisdictional boundaries.
The Department’s aim is to achieve
timely and consistent environmental
review and permit decisions. Liaisons’
work will be tracked on the Federal
Infrastructure Project Permitting
Dashboard, an online tool for tracking
the environmental review and
authorization process for large or
complex infrastructure projects.
Participation in this new approach
will not remove any statutory
requirements affecting project delivery,
and INFRA award recipients are not
required to participate. However, the
Department seeks INFRA applications
for projects that could benefit from this
approach, which are likely larger, more
complex projects, and encourages those
applicants to indicate whether they are
interested in participating. Because the
Department views this as a potential
model for future environmental review
and permitting, it seeks projects that
will allow it to evaluate that model.
Innovation Area #2: Special
Experimental Authorities
By statute, all INFRA awards are
subject to Federal requirements
associated with the Federal-aid
Highways program under title 23 of the
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United States Code. However, the
Department is interested in ensuring
that those requirements do not
unnecessarily impede project delivery.
The Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) has long encouraged increasing
private sector participation in the
project development, finance, design,
construction, maintenance, and
operations. Since 1990, FHWA has
experimented with innovative
contracting practices under its Special
Experimental Project No. 14 (SEP–14).
In 2004, FHWA established Special
Experimental Project No. 15 (SEP–15),
which encouraged tests and
experimentation throughout the entire
project development process. SEP–15
was specifically aimed at attracting
private investment, leading to increased
project management flexibility, more
innovation, improved efficiency, timely
project implementation, and new
revenue streams. Under SEP–14 and
SEP–15, FHWA may waive statutory
and regulatory requirements under title
23 on a project-by-project basis to
explore innovative processes that could
be adopted through legislation. This
experimental authority is available to
test changes that would improve the
efficiency of project delivery in a
manner that is consistent with the
purposes underlying existing
requirements; it is not available to
frustrate the purposes of existing
requirements.
The Department encourages
applicants for INFRA funding to
consider whether their project is eligible
for and would benefit from an
experimental authority or waiver under
SEP–14, SEP–15, or some other
experimental authority program. For
appropriate projects, applicants should
propose to use experimental authority
and describe their expected benefits. In
particular, the Department is interested
in proposals that will substantially
accelerate the pace of project
deployment.
The Department is not replacing the
application processes for SEP–14, SEP–
15, or other experimental programs,
with this notice or the INFRA program
application. Instead, it seeks detailed
expressions of interest in those
programs. If selected for an INFRA
award, the applicant would need to
satisfy the relevant programs’
requirements and complete the
appropriate application processes.
Selection for an INFRA award does not
mean a project’s SEP–14 or SEP–15
proposal has been approved. The
Department will make a separate
determination in accordance with those
programs’ processes on the
appropriateness of a waiver.
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Innovation Area #3: Safety and
Technology
In addition to these cross-cutting
safety-related requirements previously
mentioned (and detailed in section F.2.a
of this Notice), USDOT seeks
opportunities under the INFRA program
to experiment with innovative
approaches to transportation safety,
particularly projects which incorporate
innovative design solutions, enhance
the environment for automated vehicles,
or use technology to improve the
detection, mitigation, and
documentation of safety risks.
Illustrative examples include:
• Innovative designs that inherently
reduce safety risk;
• Conflict detection and mitigation
technologies for freight and non-freight
interaction (e.g., intersection alerts and
signal prioritization);
• Dynamic signaling or pricing
systems to reduce congestion;
• Connected vehicle technology,
including systems for vehicle-to-vehicle
and vehicle-to-infrastructure
communications;
• Signage and design features that
facilitate autonomous technologies;
• Applications to automatically
capture and report safety-related issues
(e.g., identifying and documenting nearmiss incidents); and
• Cybersecurity elements to protect
safety-critical systems.
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d. Key Program Objective #4:
Performance and Accountability
To maximize public benefits from
INFRA funds and promote local activity
that will provide benefits beyond the
INFRA-funded projects, the Department
seeks projects that allow it to condition
funding on specific, measurable
outcomes. For appropriate projects, the
Department may use one or more of the
following types of events to trigger
availability of some or all INFRA funds:
(1) Reaching project delivery milestones
in a timely manner; (2) making specific
State or local policy changes that
advance desirable transportation
outcomes; and (3) achieving
transportation performance objectives
that support economic vitality or
improve safety.
Each of these three types of events
encourages accountability from project
sponsors. First, project milestones can
make a project sponsor accountable for
timely project delivery. For example, to
ensure that planning activities will not
delay construction, the Department may
condition construction funds on the
sponsor completing those planning
activities by a specific date. Second,
INFRA funds can provide an additional
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incentive to make specific policy
changes. For example, in some
jurisdictions, administrative barriers to
public-private partnerships prevent
project sponsors from using an effective
and proven method of project delivery.
In such jurisdictions, the Department
can help dismantle those barriers by
conditioning INFRA funds on local
policy changes. Finally, the Department
can improve overall performance of the
transportation system by tying funding
to specific performance targets. For
example, if an INFRA project is awarded
to improve freight movement through a
corridor, the Department may condition
some of the INFRA funds to be used to
improve one interchange in the corridor
on the project sponsor’s ability to
demonstrate satisfactory levels of
service at other points in the corridor.
Improvements at those other points on
the corridor to reach the target level of
service could be made with other, nonconditioned INFRA funds or with nonFederal funds.
These examples are illustrative, but
the Department encourages applicants
to identify other, creative ways to
condition funding to advance INFRA
program goals. The Department does not
intend to impose these conditions on
unwilling or uninterested INFRA
recipients, nor does it intend to limit the
types of projects that should consider
accountability mechanisms. Instead, the
Department encourages applicants to
voluntarily identify measures through
which the Department may hold them
accountable, describe, in their
application, how the Department could
structure any conditions on funding,
and detail how the structure advances
INFRA program goals. As described in
section E.1, an applicant-directed
approach to accountability will allow
the Department to differentiate among
INFRA applications.
3. Program Name
The INFRA grant program is
authorized as the Nationally Significant
Freight and Highway Projects program
at 23 U.S.C. 117. The Department
formerly referred to INFRA grants as
Fostering Advancements in Shipping
and Transportation for the Long-term
Achievement of National Efficiencies
(FASTLANE) grants. The Department
has renamed the program Infrastructure
For Rebuilding America (INFRA), to call
attention to new priorities: Rebuilding
and revitalizing our economy through
infrastructure investment.
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B. Federal Award Information
1. Amount Available
The FAST Act authorizes the INFRA
program at $4.5 billion for fiscal years
(FY) 2016 through 2020, including $850
million 2 for FY 2017 and $900 million
for FY 2018, to be awarded by USDOT
on a competitive basis to projects of
national or regional significance that
meet statutory requirements. This notice
solicits applications for up to $1.56
billion in FY 2017–2018 INFRA funds.
Approximately $710 million of FY 2017
funds are available for INFRA awards.3
The Department anticipates that
approximately $810–855 million of FY
2018 funds will be available for awards,
but that total is uncertain because the
Department is issuing this notice before
appropriations legislation has been
enacted for FY 2018. The estimate may
be higher or lower than the final
amount, which is dependent on future
appropriations legislation. Any award
under this notice will be subject to the
availability of funds.
2. Restrictions on Award Portfolio
The Department will make awards
under the INFRA program to both large
and small projects. (Refer to section
C.3.ii.for a definition of large and small
projects.) For a large project, the FAST
Act specifies that an INFRA grant must
be at least $25 million. For a small
project, including both construction
awards and project development
awards, the grant must be at least $5
million. For each fiscal year of INFRA
funds, 10 percent of available funds are
reserved for small projects, and 90
percent of funds are reserved for large
projects. The Department intends to use
10 percent of the available FY 2017
funding to make small project selections
under the Notice of Funding
Opportunity published in November of
2016. The FY 2017 funds made
available under this notice are for large
projects. The anticipated FY 2018 funds
will be for both large and small
projects.4 In summary, the estimated
funding available for FY 2017 and FY
2018 under this notice is approximately
2 Funds are subject to the overall Federal-aid
highway obligation limitation, and funds in excess
of the obligation limitation provided to the program
are distributed to the States. While $850 million is
authorized for FY 2017, $788.8 million is available
for award. For additional information see FAST Act
§ 1102(f) and the Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2016, Pub. L. 114–113, div. L
§ 120.
3 The Department intends to award the 10 percent
of the FY 2017 funding reserved for small projects
to applications received under the Notice published
in November, 2016. $709.92 million of FY 2017
funds is available under the terms of this Notice.
4 Subject to availability of FY 2018 funding.
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$81 million–$85.5 million for small
projects and $1.44 billion–$1.48 billion
for large projects.
The FAST Act specifies that not more
than $500 million in aggregate of the
$4.5 billion authorized for INFRA grants
over fiscal years 2016 to 2020 may be
used for grants to freight rail, water
(including ports), or other freight
intermodal projects that make
significant improvements to freight
movement on the National Highway
Freight Network. After accounting for
FY 2016 and previous FY 2017 INFRA
selections, approximately $326 million
within this constraint remains available.
Only the non-highway portion(s) of
multimodal projects count toward the
$500 million maximum. Grade crossing
and grade separation projects do not
count toward the $500 million
maximum for freight rail, port, and
intermodal projects.
The FAST Act directs that at least 25
percent of the funds provided for INFRA
grants must be used for projects located
in rural areas, as defined in Section
C.3.iv. The Department may elect to go
above that threshold if the appropriate
projects are submitted. The USDOT
must consider geographic diversity
among grant recipients, including the
need for a balance in addressing the
needs of urban and rural areas.
3. Repeat Applications
The selection criteria described in
Section E. of this Notice changed
substantially from previous INFRA
solicitations. Applicants who elect to
resubmit an application from a previous
solicitation should include a
supplementary appendix which
describes how their project aligns with
the new selection criteria.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
C. Eligibility Information
To be selected for an INFRA grant, an
applicant must be an Eligible Applicant
and the project must be an Eligible
Project that meets the Minimum Project
Size Requirement.
1. Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants for INFRA grants
are: (1) A State or group of States; (2) a
metropolitan planning organization that
serves an Urbanized Area (as defined by
the Bureau of the Census) with a
population of more than 200,000
individuals; (3) a unit of local
government or group of local
governments; (4) a political subdivision
of a State or local government; (5) a
special purpose district or public
authority with a transportation function,
including a port authority; (6) a Federal
land management agency that applies
jointly with a State or group of States;
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(7) a tribal government or a consortium
of tribal governments; or (8) a multiState or multijurisdictional group of
public entities.
Multiple States or jurisdictions that
submit a joint application should
identify a lead applicant as the primary
point of contact. Joint applications
should include a description of the roles
and responsibilities of each applicant
and should be signed by each applicant.
The applicant that will be responsible
for financial administration of the
project must be an eligible applicant.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
This section describes the statutory
cost share requirements for an INFRA
award. Cost share will also be evaluated
according to the ‘‘Leveraging of Federal
Funding’’ evaluation criterion described
in Section E.1.a.ii. That section clarifies
that the Department seeks applications
for projects that exceed the minimum
non-Federal cost share requirement
described here.
INFRA grants may be used for up to
60 percent of future eligible project
costs. Other Federal assistance may
satisfy the non-Federal share
requirement for an INFRA grant, but
total Federal assistance for a project
receiving an INFRA grant may not
exceed 80 percent of the future eligible
project costs. Non-Federal sources
include State funds originating from
programs funded by State revenue, local
funds originating from State or local
revenue-funded programs, private funds
or other funding sources of non-Federal
origins. If a Federal land management
agency applies jointly with a State or
group of States, and that agency carries
out the project, then Federal funds that
were not made available under titles 23
or 49 of the United States Code may be
used for the non-Federal share. Unless
otherwise authorized by statute, local
cost-share may not be counted as nonFederal share for both the INFRA and
another Federal program. For any
project, the Department cannot consider
previously-incurred costs or previouslyexpended or encumbered funds towards
the matching requirement. Matching
funds are subject to the same Federal
requirements described in Section F.2.b
as awarded funds.
For the purpose of evaluating
eligibility under the statutory cost share
requirements, funds from the TIFIA and
RRIF credit assistance programs are
considered Federal assistance and,
combined with other Federal assistance,
may not exceed 80 percent of the future
eligible project costs.
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3. Other
a. Eligible Project
Eligible projects for INFRA grants are:
Highway freight projects carried out on
the National Highway Freight Network
(23 U.S.C. 167); highway or bridge
projects carried out on the National
Highway System (NHS), including
projects that add capacity on the
Interstate System to improve mobility or
projects in a national scenic area;
railway-highway grade crossing or grade
separation projects; or a freight project
that is (1) an intermodal or rail project,
or (2) within the boundaries of a public
or private freight rail, water (including
ports), or intermodal facility. A project
within the boundaries of a freight rail,
water (including ports), or intermodal
facility must be a surface transportation
infrastructure project necessary to
facilitate direct intermodal interchange,
transfer, or access into or out of the
facility and must significantly improve
freight movement on the National
Highway Freight Network. Improving
freight movement on the National
Highway Freight Network may include
shifting freight transportation to other
modes, thereby reducing congestion and
bottlenecks on the National Highway
Freight Network. For a freight project
within the boundaries of a freight rail,
water (including ports), or intermodal
facility, Federal funds can only support
project elements that provide public
benefits.
b. Eligible Project Costs
INFRA grants may be used for the
construction, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, acquisition of property
(including land related to the project
and improvements to the land),
environmental mitigation, construction
contingencies, equipment acquisition,
and operational improvements directly
related to system performance.
Statutorily, INFRA grants may also fund
development phase activities, including
planning, feasibility analysis, revenue
forecasting, environmental review,
preliminary engineering, design, and
other preconstruction activities,
provided the project meets statutory
requirements. However, the Department
is seeking to use INFRA funding on
projects that result in construction.
Public-private partnership assessments
for projects in the development phase
are also eligible costs.
INFRA grant recipients may use
INFRA funds to pay the subsidy and
administrative costs necessary to receive
TIFIA.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 5, 2017 / Notices
c. Minimum Project Size Requirement
For the purposes of determining
whether a project meets the minimum
project size requirement, the
Department will count all future eligible
project costs under the award and some
related costs incurred before selection
for an INFRA grant. Previously-incurred
costs will be counted toward the
minimum project size requirement only
if they were eligible project costs under
Section C.3.b. and were expended as
part of the project for which the
applicant seeks funds. Although those
previously-incurred costs may be used
for meeting the minimum project size
thresholds described in this Section,
they cannot be reimbursed with INFRA
grant funds, nor will they count toward
the project’s required non-Federal share.
i. Large Projects
The minimum project size for large
projects is the lesser of $100 million; 30
FY17 NSFHP
(30% of FY16
apportionment)
One-State
minimum
(millions)
State
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
percent of a State’s FY 2016 Federal-aid
apportionment if the project is located
in one State; or 50 percent of the larger
participating State’s FY 2016
apportionment for projects located in
more than one State. The following
chart identifies the minimum total
project cost for projects for FY 2017 for
both single and multi-State projects.
Alabama ...................................................................................
Alaska ......................................................................................
Arizona .....................................................................................
Arkansas ..................................................................................
California ..................................................................................
Colorado ..................................................................................
Connecticut ..............................................................................
Delaware ..................................................................................
Dist. of Col. ..............................................................................
Florida ......................................................................................
Georgia ....................................................................................
Hawaii ......................................................................................
Idaho ........................................................................................
Illinois .......................................................................................
Indiana .....................................................................................
Iowa .........................................................................................
Kansas .....................................................................................
Kentucky ..................................................................................
Louisiana ..................................................................................
Maine .......................................................................................
Maryland ..................................................................................
Massachusetts .........................................................................
Michigan ...................................................................................
Minnesota ................................................................................
Mississippi ................................................................................
Missouri ....................................................................................
Montana ...................................................................................
Nebraska ..................................................................................
Nevada .....................................................................................
New Hampshire .......................................................................
New Jersey ..............................................................................
New Mexico .............................................................................
New York .................................................................................
North Carolina ..........................................................................
North Dakota ............................................................................
Ohio .........................................................................................
Oklahoma .................................................................................
Oregon .....................................................................................
Pennsylvania ............................................................................
Puerto Rico ..............................................................................
Rhode Island ............................................................................
South Carolina .........................................................................
South Dakota ...........................................................................
Tennessee ...............................................................................
Texas .......................................................................................
Utah .........................................................................................
Vermont ...................................................................................
Virginia .....................................................................................
Washington ..............................................................................
West Virginia ............................................................................
Wisconsin .................................................................................
Wyoming ..................................................................................
$100
100
100
100
100
100
100
51
49
100
100
51
87
100
100
100
100
100
100
56
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
88
100
50
100
100
100
100
76
100
100
100
100
44
67
100
86
100
100
100
62
100
100
100
100
78
FY17 NSFHP
(50% of FY16
apportionment)
Multi-State
minimum *
(millions)
FY18 NSFHP
(30% of FY17
apportionment)
One-State
minimum
(millions)
$100
100
100
100
100
100
100
86
81
100
100
86
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
94
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
84
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
74
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
$100
100
100
100
100
100
100
52
49
100
100
52
88
100
100
100
100
100
100
57
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
89
100
51
100
100
100
100
77
100
100
100
100
44
67
100
87
100
100
100
63
100
100
100
100
79
* For multi-State projects, the minimum project size is the largest of the multi-State minimums from the participating States.
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FY18 NSFHP
(50% of FY17
apportionment)
Multi-State
minimum *
(millions)
$100
100
100
100
100
100
100
87
82
100
100
87
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
95
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
85
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
74
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 5, 2017 / Notices
ii. Small Projects
A small project is an eligible project
that does not meet the minimum project
size described in Section C.3.c.i.
d. Large/Small Project Requirements
For a large project to be selected, the
Department must determine that the
project generates national or regional
economic, mobility, or safety benefits; is
cost-effective; contributes to one or
more of the goals described in 23 U.S.C
150; is based on the results of
preliminary engineering; has one or
more stable and dependable funding or
financing sources available to construct,
maintain, and operate the project, and
contingency amounts are available to
cover unanticipated cost increases;
cannot be easily and efficiently
completed without other Federal
funding or financial assistance; and is
reasonably expected to begin
construction no later than 18 months
after the date of obligation. These
requirements are discussed in greater
detail in section D.2.b.vii.
For a small project to be selected, the
Department must consider the costeffectiveness of the proposed project
and the effect of the proposed project on
mobility in the State and region in
which the project is carried out.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
e. Rural/Urban Area
This section describes the statutory
definition of urban and rural areas and
the minimum statutory requirements for
projects that meet those definitions. For
more information on how the
Department consider projects in urban,
rural, and low population areas as part
of the selection process, see Section
E.1.a. Criterion #2, and E.1.c.
The INFRA statute defines a rural area
as an area outside an Urbanized Area 5
with a population of over 200,000. In
this notice, urban area is defined as
inside an Urbanized Area, as designated
by the U.S. Census Bureau, with a
population of 200,000 or more.6 Rural
and urban definitions differ in some
other USDOT programs, including
TIFIA and the FY 2016 TIGER
Discretionary Grants program. Cost
share requirements and minimum grant
awards are the same for projects located
in rural and urban areas. The
5 For Census 2010, the Census Bureau defined an
Urbanized Area (UA) as an area that consists of
densely settled territory that contains 50,000 or
more people. Updated lists of UAs are available on
the Census Bureau Web site at https://
www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/UAUC_
RefMap/ua/. For the purposes of the INFRA
program, Urbanized Areas with populations fewer
than 200,000 will be considered rural.
6 See www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/
InFRAgrants for a list of Urbanized Areas with a
population of 200,000 or more.
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Department will consider a project to be
in a rural area if the majority of the
project (determined by geographic
location(s) where the majority of the
money is to be spent) is located in a
rural area. However, if a project consists
of multiple components, as described
under section C.3.f or C.3.g., then for
each separate component the
Department will determine whether that
component is rural or urban. In some
circumstances, including networks of
projects under section C.3.g that cover
wide geographic regions, this
component-by-component
determination may result in INFRA
awards that include urban and rural
funds.
f. Project Components
An application may describe a project
that contains more than one component.
The USDOT may award funds for a
component, instead of the larger project,
if that component (1) independently
meets minimum award amounts
described in Section B and all eligibility
requirements described in Section C,
including the requirements for large
projects described in sections C.3.d and
D.2.b.vii; (2) independently aligns well
with the selection criteria specified in
Section E; and (3) meets National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
requirements with respect to
independent utility. Independent utility
means that the component will
represent a transportation improvement
that is usable and represents a
reasonable expenditure of USDOT funds
even if no other improvements are made
in the area, and will be ready for
intended use upon completion of that
component’s construction. If an
application describes multiple
components, the application should
demonstrate how the components
collectively advance the purposes of the
INFRA program. An applicant should
not add multiple components to a single
application merely to aggregate costs or
avoid submitting multiple applications.
Applicants should be aware that,
depending upon applicable Federal law
and the relationship among project
components, an award funding only
some project components may make
other project components subject to
Federal requirements as described in
Section F.2.b. For example, under 40
CFR 1508.25, the NEPA review for the
funded project component may need to
include evaluation of all project
components as connected, similar, or
cumulative actions.
The Department strongly encourages
applicants to identify in their
applications the project components
that meet independent utility standards
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31141
and separately detail the costs and
INFRA funding requested for each
component. If the application identifies
one or more independent project
components, the application should
clearly identify how each independent
component addresses selection criteria
and produces benefits on its own, in
addition to describing how the full
proposal of which the independent
component is a part addresses selection
criteria.
g. Network of Projects
An application may describe and
request funding for a network of
projects. A network of projects is one
INFRA award that consists of multiple
projects addressing the same
transportation problem. For example, if
an applicant seeks to improve efficiency
along a rail corridor, then their
application might propose one award
for four grade separation projects at four
different railway-highway crossings.
Each of the four projects would
independently reduce congestion but
the overall benefits would be greater if
the projects were completed together
under a single award.
The USDOT will evaluate
applications that describe networks of
projects similar to how it evaluates
projects with multiple components.
Because of their similarities, the
guidance in section C.3.f is applicable to
networks of projects, and applicants
should follow that guidance on how to
present information in their application.
As with project components, depending
upon applicable Federal law and the
relationship among projects within a
network of projects, an award that funds
only some projects in a network may
make other projects subject to Federal
requirements as described in Section
F.2.
h. Application Limit
To encourage applicants to prioritize
their INFRA submissions, each eligible
applicant may submit no more than
three applications. The threeapplication limit applies only to
applications where the applicant is the
lead applicant. There is no limit on
applications for which an applicant can
be listed as a partnering agency. If a lead
applicant submits more than three
applications as the lead applicant, only
the first three received will be
considered.
D. Application and Submission
Information
1. Address
Applications must be submitted
through www.Grants.gov. Instructions
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for submitting applications can be found
at https://www.transportation.gov/
buildamerica/InFRAgrants.
2. Content and Form of Application
The application must include the
Standard Form 424 (Application for
Federal Assistance), Standard Form
424C (Budget Information for
Construction Programs), cover page, and
the Project Narrative. More detailed
information about the cover pages and
Project Narrative follows.
a. Cover Page
Each application should contain a
cover page with the following chart:
Project name
Was an INFRA application for this project submitted previously? ....................................................................
If yes, what was the name of the project in the previous application?
Previously Incurred Project Cost .......................................................................................................................
Future Eligible Project Cost ...............................................................................................................................
Total Project Cost (This should be the sum of the previous two rows) ............................................................
INFRA Request ..................................................................................................................................................
Total Federal Funding (including INFRA) ..........................................................................................................
Are matching funds restricted to a specific project component? If so, which one? ..........................................
Is the project or a portion of the project currently located on National Highway Freight Network? .................
Is the project or a portion of the project located on the NHS? .........................................................................
• Does the project add capacity to the Interstate system?
• Is the project in a national scenic area?
Do the project components include a railway-highway grade crossing or grade separation project? .............
• If so, please include the grade crossing ID.
Do the project components include an intermodal or freight rail project, or freight project within the boundaries of a public or private freight rail, water (including ports), or intermodal facility?.
If answered yes to either of the two component questions above, how much of requested INFRA funds will
be spent on each of these projects components?
State(s) in which project is located.
Small or large project .........................................................................................................................................
Urbanized Area in which project is located, if applicable.
Population of Urbanized Area.
Is the project currently programmed in the: .......................................................................................................
• TIP
• STIP
• MPO Long Range Transportation Plan
• State Long Range Transportation Plan
• State Freight Plan?
If selected, would you be interested in participating in a new environmental review and permitting approach?.
b. Project Narrative for Construction
Projects
The Department recommends that the
project narrative follow the basic outline
below to address the program
requirements and assist evaluators in
locating relevant information.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
I. Project Description ....
II. Project Location ........
III. Project Parties ..........
IV. Grant Funds,
Sources and Uses of
all Project Funding.
V. Merit Criteria ............
VI. Project Readiness ....
VII. Large/Small Project
Requirements.
See
See
See
See
D.2.b.i.
D.2.b.ii.
D.2.b.iii.
D.2.b.iv.
See D.2.b.v.
See D.2.b.vi and E.1.c.ii.
See D.2.b.vii.
The project narrative should include
the information necessary for the
Department to determine that the
project satisfies project requirements
described in Sections B and C and to
assess the selection criteria specified in
Section E.1. To the extent practicable,
applicants should provide supporting
data and documentation in a form that
is directly verifiable by the Department.
The Department may ask any applicant
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to supplement data in its application,
but expects applications to be complete
upon submission.
In addition to a detailed statement of
work, detailed project schedule, and
detailed project budget, the project
narrative should include a table of
contents, maps, and graphics, as
appropriate to make the information
easier to review. The Department
recommends that the project narrative
be prepared with standard formatting
preferences. (i.e., a single-spaced
document, using a standard 12-point
font such as Times New Roman, with 1inch margins.) The project narrative
may not exceed 25 pages in length,
excluding cover pages and table of
contents. The only substantive portions
that may exceed the 25-page limit are
documents supporting assertions or
conclusions made in the 25-page project
narrative. If possible, Web site links to
supporting documentation should be
provided rather than copies of these
supporting materials. If supporting
documents are submitted, applicants
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Yes/no.
$.
$.
$.
$.
$.
Yes/no.
Yes/no.
Yes/no (for each question).
Yes/no.
Yes/no.
Small/Large.
Yes/no (please specify in which
plans the project is currently programmed).
Yes/No.
should clearly identify within the
project narrative the relevant portion of
the project narrative that each
supporting document supports. At the
applicant’s discretion, relevant
materials provided previously to a
modal administration in support of a
different USDOT financial assistance
program may be referenced and
described as unchanged. The
Department recommends using
appropriately descriptive final names
(e.g., ‘‘Project Narrative,’’ ‘‘Maps,’’
‘‘Memoranda of Understanding and
Letters of Support,’’ etc.) for all
attachments. The USDOT recommends
applications include the following
sections:
i. Project Summary
The first section of the application
should provide a concise description of
the project, the transportation
challenges that it is intended to address,
and how it will address those
challenges. This section should discuss
the project’s history, including a
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description of any previously incurred
costs. The applicant may use this
section to place the project into a
broader context of other infrastructure
investments being pursued by the
project sponsor.
ii. Project Location
This section of the application should
describe the project location, including
a detailed geographical description of
the proposed project, a map of the
project’s location and connections to
existing transportation infrastructure,
and geospatial data describing the
project location. If the project is located
within the boundary of a Censusdesignated Urbanized Area, the
application should identify the
Urbanized Area.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
iii. Project Parties
This section of the application should
list all project parties, including details
about the proposed grant recipient and
other public and private parties who are
involved in delivering the project, such
as port authorities, terminal operators,
freight railroads, shippers, carriers,
freight-related associations, third-party
logistics providers, and freight industry
workforce organizations.
iv. Grant Funds, Sources and Uses of
Project Funds
This section of the application should
describe the project’s budget. At a
minimum, it should include:
(A) Previously-incurred expenses, as
defined in Section C.3.c.
(B) Future eligible costs, as defined in
Section C.3.c.
(C) For all funds to be used for future
eligible project costs, the source and
amount of those funds.
(D) For non-Federal funds to be used
for future eligible project costs,
documentation of funding commitments
should be referenced here and included
as an appendix to the application.
(E) For Federal funds to be used for
future eligible project costs, the amount,
nature, and source of any required nonFederal match for those funds.
(F) A budget showing how each
source of funds will be spent. The
budget should show how each funding
source will share in each major
construction activity, and present that
data in dollars and percentages.
Funding sources should be grouped into
three categories: Non-Federal; INFRA;
and other Federal. If the project contains
components, the budget should separate
the costs of each project component. If
the project will be completed in phases,
the budget should separate the costs of
each phase. The budget should be
detailed enough to demonstrate that the
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project satisfies the statutory costsharing requirements described in
Section C.2.
(G) Information showing that the
applicant has budgeted sufficient
contingency amounts to cover
unanticipated cost increases.
(H) The amount of the requested
INFRA funds that would be subject to
the $500 million maximum described in
Section B.2.
In addition to the information
enumerated above, this section should
provide complete information on how
all project funds may be used. For
example, if a particular source of funds
is available only after a condition is
satisfied, the application should identify
that condition and describe the
applicant’s control over whether it is
satisfied. Similarly, if a particular
source of funds is available for
expenditure only during a fixed time
period, the application should describe
that restriction. Complete information
about project funds will ensure that the
Department’s expectations for award
execution align with any funding
restrictions unrelated to the Department,
even if an award differs from the
applicant’s request.
v. Merit Criteria
This section of the application should
demonstrate how the project aligns with
the Merit Criteria described in section
E.1 of this notice. The Department
encourages applicants to address each
criterion or expressly state that the
project does not address the criterion.
Applicants are not required to follow a
specific format, but the following
organization, which addresses each
criterion separately, promotes a clear
discussion that assists project
evaluators. To minimize redundant
information in the application, the
Department encourages applicants to
cross-reference from this section of their
application to relevant substantive
information in other sections of the
application.
The guidance here is about how the
applicant should organize their
application. Guidance describing how
the Department will evaluate projects
against the Merit Criteria is in section
E.1 of this notice. Applicants also
should review that section before
considering how to organize their
application.
Criterion #1: Support for National or
Regional Economic Vitality
This section of the application should
describe the anticipated outcomes of the
project that support the Economic
Vitality criterion (described in Section
E.1.a of this notice). The applicant
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should summarize the conclusions of
the project’s benefit-cost analysis,
including estimates of the project’s
benefit-cost ratio and net benefits. The
applicant should also describe
economic impacts and other datasupported benefits that are not included
in the benefit-cost analysis.
The benefit-cost analysis itself should
be provided as an appendix to the
project narrative, as described in D.2.d.
of this Notice.
Criterion #2: Leveraging of Federal
Funding
This section of the application should
include information that, when
considered with the project budget
information presented elsewhere in the
application, is sufficient for the
Department to evaluate how the project
addresses the Leverage criterion,
including:
(A) A description of the applicant’s
activities to maximize the non-Federal
share of the project funding;
(B) a description of all evaluations of
the project for private funding, the
outcome of those evaluations, and all
activities undertaken to pursue private
funding for the project;
(C) a description of any fiscal
constraints that affect the applicant’s
ability to use non-Federal contributions;
and
(D) a description of the non-Federal
share across the applicant’s
transportation program, if the applicant
is a regular recipient of federal
transportation funding; and
(E) a description of the applicant’s
plan to address the full life-cycle costs
associated with the project, including a
description of operations and
maintenance funding commitments
made by the applicant.
Criterion #3: Potential for Innovation
This section of the application should
contain sufficient information to
evaluate how the project includes or
enables innovation in: (1)
Environmental review and permitting;
(2) use of experimental project delivery
authorities; and (3) safety and
technology. If the project does not
address a particular innovation area, the
application should state this fact.
If an applicant is proposing to
participate in the environmental review
and permitting approach described in
section A.2.c, the application should
describe how the project would benefit
from participation, identify significant
anticipated permitting challenges, and
identify coordination that might be
necessary to complete the
environmental and permitting review
process.
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If an applicant is proposing to use
SEP–14, SEP–15, or some other
experimental authority program, the
applicant should describe that proposal
and their expected benefits. The
applicant should also provide sufficient
information for evaluators to confirm
that the applicant’s proposal would
meet the requirements of the specific
experimental authority program.7
If an applicant is proposing to adopt
innovative safety approaches or
technology, the application should
demonstrate the applicant’s capacity to
implement those innovations, the
applicant’s understanding of whether
the innovations will require
extraordinary permitting, approvals, or
other procedural actions, and the effects
of those innovations on the project
delivery timeline.
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Criterion #4: Performance and
Accountability
This section of the application should
include sufficient information to
evaluate how the applicant will advance
the Performance and Accountability
program objective. In general, the
applicant should describe mechanisms
that will allow the Department to hold
it accountable for advancing INFRA
program goals. Additional details for
three approaches are provided in the
following paragraphs, but these
examples are not exhaustive. As
described in greater detail in section
A.2.d, the Department encourages
applicants to identify other creative
ways to condition funding to advance
INFRA program goals and describe
those mechanisms in this section of the
application.
If the applicant is proposing to
condition funding availability on timely
completion of project milestones, the
applicant should identify specific
milestone events, provide target dates
for those milestones, and propose a
relationship between some or all of the
requested INFRA funding and the
milestones.
If the applicant is proposing to adopt
a specific policy change, the applicant
should provide sufficient information
for evaluators to understand the existing
policy, how changing the policy would
advance the Department’s goals, and
how feasible the change will be for the
applicant to complete within the
project’s delivery timeframe. The
applicant should propose a relationship
between some or all of the requested
7 SEP–14 information is available at https://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/contracts/sep_
a.cfm. SEP–15 information is available at https://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/p3/tools_programs/sep15_
procedures.aspx.
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INFRA funding and its completion of
the change.
If the applicant is proposing to
condition funding availability on
reaching specific performance targets,
the applicant should detail those
performance targets in detail, describe
the feasibility of tracking and achieving
the target within the project’s delivery
timeframe, and propose a relationship
between some or all of the requested
INFRA funding and the performance
objective.
vi. Project Readiness
This section of the application should
include information that, when
considered with the project budget
information presented elsewhere in the
application, is sufficient for the
Department to evaluate whether the
project is reasonably expected to begin
construction in a timely manner. To
assist the Department’s project readiness
assessment, the applicant should
provide the information requested on
technical feasibility, project schedule,
project approvals, and project risks,
each of which is described in greater
detail in the following sections.
Applicants are not required to follow
the specific format described here, but
this organization, which addresses each
relevant aspect of project readiness,
promotes a clear discussion that assists
project evaluators. To minimize
redundant information in the
application, the Department encourages
applicants to cross-reference from this
section of their application to relevant
substantive information in other
sections of the application.
The guidance here is about what
information applicants should provide
and how the applicant should organize
their application. Guidance describing
how the Department will evaluate a
project’s readiness is described in
section E.1 of this notice. Applicants
also should review that section before
considering how to organize their
application.
(A) Technical Feasibility. The
applicant should demonstrate the
technical feasibility of the project with
engineering and design studies and
activities; the development of design
criteria and/or a basis of design; the
basis for the cost estimate presented in
the INFRA application, including the
identification of contingency levels
appropriate to its level of design; and
any scope, schedule, and budget riskmitigation measures. Applicants should
include a detailed statement of work
that focuses on the technical and
engineering aspects of the project and
describes in detail the project to be
constructed.
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(B) Project Schedule. The applicant
should include a detailed project
schedule that identifies all major project
milestones. Examples of such
milestones include State and local
planning approvals (programming on
the Statewide Transportation
Improvement Program), start and
completion of NEPA and other Federal
environmental reviews and approvals
including permitting; design
completion; right of way acquisition;
approval of plans, specifications and
estimates (PS&E); procurement; State
and local approvals; project partnership
and implementation agreements
including agreements with railroads;
and construction. The project schedule
should be sufficiently detailed to
demonstrate that:
(1) All necessary activities will be
complete to allow INFRA funds to be
obligated sufficiently in advance of the
statutory deadline (September 30, 2020
for FY 2017 funds, September 30, 2021
for FY 2018 funds), and that any
unexpected delays will not put the
funds at risk of expiring before they are
obligated;
(2) the project can begin construction
quickly upon obligation of INFRA
funds, and that the grant funds will be
spent expeditiously once construction
starts; and
(3) all real property and right-of-way
acquisition will be completed in a
timely manner in accordance with 49
CFR part 24, 23 CFR part 710, and other
applicable legal requirements or a
statement that no acquisition is
necessary.
(C) Required Approvals.
(1) Environmental Permits and
Reviews. The application should
demonstrate receipt (or reasonably
anticipated receipt) of all environmental
approvals and permits necessary for the
project to proceed to construction on the
timeline specified in the project
schedule and necessary to meet the
statutory obligation deadline, including
satisfaction of all Federal, State and
local requirements and completion of
the NEPA process. Specifically, the
application should include:
(a) Information about the NEPA status
of the project. If the NEPA process is
complete, an applicant should indicate
the date of completion, and provide a
Web site link or other reference to the
final Categorical Exclusion, Finding of
No Significant Impact, Record of
Decision, and any other NEPA
documents prepared. If the NEPA
process is underway, but not complete,
the application should detail the type of
NEPA review underway, where the
project is in the process, and indicate
the anticipated date of completion of all
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milestones and of the final NEPA
determination. If the last agency action
with respect to NEPA documents
occurred more than three years before
the application date, the applicant
should describe why the project has
been delayed and include a proposed
approach for verifying and, if necessary,
updating this material in accordance
with applicable NEPA requirements.
(b) Information on reviews, approvals,
and permits by other agencies. An
application should indicate whether the
proposed project requires reviews or
approval actions by other agencies,8
indicate the status of such actions, and
provide detailed information about the
status of those reviews or approvals and
should demonstrate compliance with
any other applicable Federal, State, or
local requirements, and when such
approvals are expected. Applicants
should provide a Web site link or other
reference to copies of any reviews,
approvals, and permits prepared.
(c) Environmental studies or other
documents—preferably through a Web
site link—that describe in detail known
project impacts, and possible mitigation
for those impacts.
(d) A description of discussions with
the appropriate USDOT modal
administration field or headquarters
office regarding the project’s compliance
with NEPA and other applicable Federal
environmental reviews and approvals.
(e) A description of public
engagement about the project that has
occurred, including details on the
degree to which public comments and
commitments have been integrated into
project development and design.
(2) State and Local Approvals. The
applicant should demonstrate receipt of
State and local approvals on which the
project depends, such as State and local
environmental and planning approvals
and STIP or TIP funding. Additional
support from relevant State and local
officials is not required; however, an
applicant should demonstrate that the
project has broad public support.
(3) Federal Transportation
Requirements Affecting State and Local
Planning. The planning requirements
applicable to the Federal-aid highway
program apply to all INFRA projects,
but for port, freight, and rail projects
planning requirements of the operating
8 Projects that may impact protected resources
such as wetlands, species habitat, cultural or
historic resources require review and approval by
Federal and State agencies with jurisdiction over
those resources.
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administration that will administer the
INFRA project will also apply,9
including intermodal projects located at
airport facilities.10 Applicants should
demonstrate that a project that is
required to be included in the relevant
State, metropolitan, and local planning
documents has been or will be included
in such documents. If the project is not
included in a relevant planning
document at the time the application is
submitted, the applicant should submit
a statement from the appropriate
planning agency that actions are
underway to include the project in the
relevant planning document.
To the extent possible, freight projects
should be included in a State Freight
Plan and supported by a State Freight
Advisory Committee (49 U.S.C. 70201,
70202). Applicants should provide links
or other documentation supporting this
consideration.
9 In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 134 and 135, all
projects requiring an action by the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) must be in the applicable
plan and programming documents (e.g.,
metropolitan transportation plan, transportation
improvement program (TIP) and statewide
transportation improvement program (STIP)).
Further, in air quality non-attainment and
maintenance areas, all regionally significant
projects, regardless of the funding source, must be
included in the conforming metropolitan
transportation plan and TIP. Inclusion in the STIP
is required under certain circumstances. To the
extent a project is required to be on a metropolitan
transportation plan, TIP, and/or STIP, it will not
receive an INFRA grant until it is included in such
plans. Projects not currently included in these plans
can be amended by the State and metropolitan
planning organization (MPO). Projects that are not
required to be in long range transportation plans,
STIPs, and TIPs will not need to be included in
such plans in order to receive an INFRA grant. Port,
freight rail, and intermodal projects are not required
to be on the State Rail Plans called for in the
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of
2008. However, applicants seeking funding for
freight projects are encouraged to demonstrate that
they have done sufficient planning to ensure that
projects fit into a prioritized list of capital needs
and are consistent with long-range goals. Means of
demonstrating this consistency would include
whether the project is in a TIP or a State Freight
Plan that conforms to the requirements Section
70202 of Title 49 prior to the start of construction.
Port planning guidelines are available at
StrongPorts.gov.
10 Projects at grant obligated airports must be
compatible with the FAA-approved Airport Layout
Plan (ALP), as well as aeronautical surfaces
associated with the landing and takeoff of aircraft
at the airport. Additionally, projects at an airport:
Must comply with established Sponsor Grant
Assurances, including (but not limited to)
requirements for non-exclusive use facilities,
consultation with users, consistency with local
plans including development of the area
surrounding the airport, and consideration of the
interest of nearby communities, among others; and
must not adversely affect the continued and
unhindered access of passengers to the terminal.
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Because projects have different
schedules, the construction start date for
each INFRA grant will be specified in
the project-specific agreements signed
by relevant modal administration and
the grant recipients, based on critical
path items that applicants identify in
the application and will be consistent
with relevant State and local plans.
(D) Assessment of Project Risks and
Mitigation Strategies. Project risks, such
as procurement delays, environmental
uncertainties, increases in real estate
acquisition costs, uncommitted local
match, or lack of legislative approval,
affect the likelihood of successful
project start and completion. The
applicant should identify all material
risks to the project and the strategies
that the lead applicant and any project
partners have undertaken or will
undertake in order to mitigate those
risks. The applicant should assess the
greatest risks to the project and identify
how the project parties will mitigate
those risks.
To the extent it is unfamiliar with the
Federal program, the applicant should
contact USDOT modal field or
headquarters offices as found at
www.transportation.gov/infragrants for
information on what steps are prerequisite to the obligation of Federal
funds in order to ensure that their
project schedule is reasonable and that
there are no risks of delays in satisfying
Federal requirements.
vii. Large/Small Project Requirements
To select a large project for award, the
Department must determine that the
project satisfies several statutory
requirements enumerated at 23 U.S.C.
117(g) and restated in the table below.
The application must include sufficient
information for the Department to make
these determinations. Applicants should
use this section of the application to
summarize how their project meets each
of the following requirements.
Applicants are not required to
reproduce the table below in their
application, but following this format
will help evaluators identify the
relevant information that supports each
large project determination. To
minimize redundant information in the
application, the Department encourages
applicants to cross-reference from this
section of their application to relevant
substantive information in other
sections of the application.
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Large project determination
Guidance
1. Does the project generate national or regional economic, mobility,
safety benefits?
Summarize the economic, mobility, and safety benefits described in
Section V of the application, and describe the scale of their impact in
national or regional terms.
Highlight the results of the benefit cost analysis described in Section V
of the application.
Specify the Goal(s) and summarize how the project contributes to that
goal(s). This information may also be found in Section I or Section V.
2. Is the project cost effective?
3. Does the project contribute to one or more of the Goals listed under
23 U.S.C. 150 (and shown below)?
(b) National Goals.—It is in the interest of the United States to
focus the Federal-aid highway program on the following national
goals:
(1) Safety.—To achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities
and serious injuries on all public roads.
(2) Infrastructure condition.—To maintain the highway infrastructure asset system in a state of good repair.
(3) Congestion reduction.—To achieve a significant reduction in
congestion on the National Highway System.
(4) System reliability.—To improve the efficiency of the surface
transportation system.
(5) Freight movement and economic vitality.—To improve the national freight network, strengthen the ability of rural communities
to access national and international trade markets, and support
regional economic development.
(6) Environmental sustainability.—To enhance the performance of
the transportation system while protecting and enhancing the
natural environment.
(7) Reduced project delivery delays.—To reduce project costs, promote jobs and the economy, and expedite the movement of people and goods by accelerating project completion through eliminating delays in the project development and delivery process,
including reducing regulatory burdens and improving agencies’
work practices.
4. Is the project based on the results of preliminary engineering?
5a. With respect to non-Federal financial commitments, does the
project have one or more stable and dependable funding or financing
sources to construct, maintain, and operate the project?
5b. Are contingency amounts available to cover unanticipated cost increases?
6. Is it the case that the project cannot be easily and efficiently completed without other Federal funding or financial assistance available
to the project sponsor?
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7. Is the project reasonably expected to begin construction not later
than 18 months after the date of obligation of funds for the project?
For a small project to be selected, the
Department must consider the cost
effectiveness of the proposed project
and the effect of the proposed project on
mobility in the State and region in
which the project is carried out. If an
applicant seeks an award for a small
project, it should use this section to
provide information on the project’s
cost effectiveness and the project’s effect
on the mobility in its State and region,
or refer to where else the information
can be found in the application.
c. Guidance for Benefit-Cost Analysis
This section describes the
recommended approach for the
completion and submission of a benefitcost analysis (BCA) as an appendix to
the Project Narrative. The results of the
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Yes/No. Please provide evidence of preliminary engineering. For more
information on preliminary engineering activities, please see: https://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/federalaid/150311.cfm.
Please indicate funding source(s) and amounts. Historical trends, current policy, or future feasibility analyses can be used as evidence to
substantiate the stable and dependable nature of the non-Federal
funding or financing.
Contingency amounts are often, but not always, expressly shown in
project budgets or the SF–424C. If your project cost estimates include an implicit contingency calculation, please say so directly.
Discussion of the impact that not having any Federal funding, including
an INFRA grant, would have on project’s schedule, cost, or likelihood
of completion, can help convey whether a project can be completed
as easily or efficiently without Federal funding available to the project
sponsor.
Please reference project budget and schedule when providing evidence.
analysis should be summarized in the
Project Narrative directly, as described
in Section D.2.b.v.
Applicants should delineate each of
their project’s expected outcomes in the
form of a complete BCA to enable the
Department to consider costeffectiveness (small projects), determine
whether the project will be cost effective
(large projects), estimate a benefit-cost
ratio and calculate the magnitude of net
benefits and costs for the project. In
support of each project for which an
applicant seeks funding, that applicant
should submit a BCA that quantifies the
expected benefits of the project against
a no-build baseline, provides monetary
estimates of the benefits’ economic
value, and compares the properly-
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discounted present values of these
benefits to the project’s estimated costs.
The primary economic benefits from
projects eligible for INFRA grants are
likely to include savings in travel time
costs, vehicle operating costs, and safety
costs for both existing users of the
improved facility and new users who
may be attracted to it as a result of the
project. Reduced damages from vehicle
emissions and savings in maintenance
costs to public agencies may also be
quantified. Applicants may describe
other categories of benefits in the BCA
that are more difficult to quantify and
value in economic terms, such as
improving the reliability of travel times
or improvements to the existing human
and natural environments (such as
increased connectivity, improved public
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health, storm water runoff mitigation,
and noise reduction), while also
providing numerical estimates of the
magnitude and timing of each of these
additional impacts wherever possible.
Any benefits claimed for the project,
both quantified and unquantified,
should be clearly tied to the expected
outcomes of the project.
The BCA should include the full costs
of developing, constructing, operating,
and maintaining the proposed project,
as well as the expected timing or
schedule for costs in each of these
categories. The BCA may also consider
the present discounted value of any
remaining service life of the asset at the
end of the analysis period (net of future
maintenance and rehabilitation costs) as
a deduction from the estimated costs.
The costs and benefits that are
compared in the BCA should also cover
the same project scope.
The BCA should carefully document
the assumptions and methodology used
to produce the analysis, including a
description of the baseline, the sources
of data used to project the outcomes of
the project, and the values of key input
parameters. Applicants should provide
all relevant files used for their BCA,
including any spreadsheet files and
technical memos describing the analysis
(whether created in-house or by a
contractor). The spreadsheets and
technical memos should present the
calculations in sufficient detail and
transparency to allow the analysis to be
reproduced by USDOT evaluators.
Detailed guidance for estimating some
types of quantitative benefits and costs,
together with recommended economic
values for converting them to dollar
terms and discounting to their present
values, are available in the Department’s
guidance for conducting BCAs for
projects seeking funding under the
INFRA program (see https://
www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/
infragrants).
Applicants for freight projects within
the boundaries of a freight rail, water
(including ports), or intermodal facility
should also quantify the benefits of their
proposed projects for freight movements
on the National Highway Freight
Network, and should demonstrate that
the Federal share of the project funds
only elements of the project that provide
public benefits.
3. Unique Entity Identifier and System
for Award Management (SAM)
Each applicant must: (1) Be registered
in SAM before submitting its
application; (2) provide a valid unique
entity identifier in its application; and
(3) continue to maintain an active SAM
registration with current information at
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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 an INFRA 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 an
INFRA grant, the Department may
determine that the applicant is not
qualified to receive an INFRA grant and
use that determination as a basis for
making an INFRA grant to another
applicant.
31147
c. Late Applications
Applications received after the
deadline will not be considered except
in the case of unforeseen technical
difficulties outlined in Section D.4.d.
d. Late Application Policy
Applicants experiencing technical
issues with Grants.gov that are beyond
the applicant’s control must contact
INFRAgrants@dot.gov prior to the
application deadline with the user name
of the registrant and details of the
technical issue experienced. The
applicant must provide:
(1) Details of the technical issue
experienced;
(2) Screen capture(s) of the technical
4. Submission Dates and Timelines
issues experienced along with
a. Deadline
corresponding Grants.gov ‘‘Grant
tracking number’’;
Applications must be submitted by
(3) The ‘‘Legal Business Name’’ for the
8:00 p.m. EST November 2, 2017. The
applicant that was provided in the SF–
Grants.gov ‘‘Apply’’ function will open
424;
by August 1, 2017.
(4) The AOR name submitted in the
To submit an application through
SF–424;
Grants.gov, applicants must:
(5) The DUNS number associated with
(1) Obtain a Data Universal
the application; and
Numbering System (DUNS) number:
(6) The Grants.gov Help Desk
(2) Register with the System Award
for Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov; Tracking Number.
To ensure a fair competition of
and
limited discretionary funds, the
(3) Create a Grants.gov username and
following conditions are not valid
password;
reasons to permit late submissions: (1)
(4) The E-business Point of Contact
Failure to complete the registration
(POC) at the applicant’s organization
process before the deadline; (2) failure
must also respond to the registration
to follow Grants.gov instructions on
email from Grants.gov and login at
how to register and apply as posted on
Grants.gov to authorize the POC as an
Authorized Organization Representative its Web site; (3) failure to follow all of
the instructions in this notice of funding
(AOR). Please note that there can only
opportunity; and (4) technical issues
be one AOR per organization.
experienced with the applicant’s
Please note that the Grants.gov
computer or information technology
registration process usually takes 2–4
environment. After the Department
weeks to complete and that the
reviews all information submitted and
Department will not consider late
applications that are the result of failure contact the Grants.gov Help Desk to
validate reported technical issues,
to register or comply with Grants.gov
USDOT staff will contact late applicants
applicant requirements in a timely
manner. For information and instruction to approve or deny a request to submit
a late application through Grants.gov. If
on each of these processes, please see
the reported technical issues cannot be
instructions at https://www.grants.gov/
validated, late applications will be
web/grants/applicants/applicantrejected as untimely.
faqs.html. If interested parties
experience difficulties at any point
E. Application Review Information
during the registration or application
1. Criteria
process, please call the Grants.gov
Customer Service Support Hotline at
a. Merit Criteria for Construction
1(800) 518–4726, Monday–Friday from
Projects
7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST.
To differentiate among applications
b. Consideration of Application
for construction projects under this
notice, the Department will consider the
Only applicants who comply with all
extent to which the project addresses
submission deadlines described in this
the follow criteria, which are explained
notice and submit applications through
in greater detail below and reflect the
Grants.gov will be eligible for award.
key program objectives described in
Applicants are strongly encouraged to
section A.2: (1) Support for national or
make submissions in advance of the
regional economic vitality; (2)
deadline.
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leveraging of Federal funding; (3)
potential for innovation; and (4)
performance and accountability. The
Department is neither weighting these
criteria nor requiring that each
application address every criterion, but
the Department expects that competitive
applications will substantively address
all four criteria.
Criterion #1: Support for National or
Regional Economic Vitality
The Department will consider the
extent to which a project would support
the economic vitality of either the
nation or a region. To the extent
possible, the Department will rely on
quantitative, data-supported analysis to
assess how well a project addresses this
criterion, including an assessment of the
applicant-supplied benefit-cost analysis
described in section D.2.d. In addition
to considering the anticipated outcomes
of the project that align with this
criterion, the Department will consider
estimates of the project’s benefit-cost
ratio and net quantifiable benefits.
There are several different types of
projects that the Department anticipates
will successfully support national or
regional economic vitality, including
projects that:
• Achieve a significant reduction in
traffic fatalities and serious injuries on
the surface transportation system;
• Improve interactions between
roadway users, reducing the likelihood
of derailments or high consequence
events;
• Eliminate bottlenecks in the freight
supply chain;
• Ensure or restore the good
condition of infrastructure that supports
commerce and economic growth;
• Sustain or advance national or
regional economic development in areas
of need, including projects that provide
or improve connections to the Nation’s
transportation network to support the
movement of freight and people; and
• Reduce barriers separating workers
from employment centers, including
projects that are primarily oriented
toward reducing traffic congestion and
corridor projects that reduce
transportation network gaps to connect
peripheral regions to urban centers or
job opportunities.
The Department anticipates that
applications for networks of projects are
likely to align well with this evaluation
criterion because networks of projects
often are able to address problems on a
broader scale.
Criterion #2: Leveraging of Federal
Funding
To maximize the impact of INFRA
awards, the Department seeks to
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leverage INFRA funding with nonFederal contributions. Therefore, the
Department will consider the extent to
which an applicant proposes to use nonFederal funding. For example, an
application that proposes a 20 percent
Federal share will be more competitive
than an otherwise identical application
proposing 50 percent Federal share. For
the purposes of this criterion, funds
from Federal credit programs, including
TIFIA and RRIF, will be considered
non-Federal funding.
There are three additional types of
information that the Department will
consider when evaluating an applicant’s
non-Federal contributions. First, DOT
recognizes that applicants have varying
abilities and resources to contribute
non-Federal contributions. If an
applicant describes broader fiscal
constraints that affect its ability to
generate or draw on non-Federal
contributions, the Department will
consider those constraints. Relevant
constraints may include the size of the
population taxed to supply the
matching funds, the wealth of that
population, or other constraints on the
raising of funds. In practice, the
Department expects that projects that
come from rural or less-wealthy
applicants will have to meet a lower
standard for leverage than projects
coming from urban or more wealthy
applicants; however, the Department
still expects all applicants’ projects to
maximize leverage to the extent they are
able. Second, the Department recognizes
that some applicants consolidate
Federal funding into a minimum
number of projects to simplify their
burden complying with Federal
administrative requirements. For those
applicants, the Federal share on specific
projects may be much higher than the
overall Federal share of their overall
transportation program. If an applicant
follows that practice, explains their
practice in their application, and
provides evidence establishing the
Federal share of their overall
transportation program, the Department
will consider that information. Third,
the Department will consider how well
the applicant has prepared for future
operations and maintenance costs
associated with their project’s life-cycle.
Applicants should demonstrate a
credible plan to maintain their asset
without having to rely on future federal
funding. This plan should include a
description of the applicant’s approach
to ensuring operations and maintenance
will not be underfunded in future years.
In addition, the Department seeks to
increase the sources of infrastructure
funding by encouraging private
infrastructure investment. Therefore,
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projects that incorporate private sector
contributions, including through a
public-private partnership structure, are
likely to be more competitive than those
that rely solely on public non-Federal
funding. Likewise, applicants who have
pursued private funds for appropriate
projects are likely to be more
competitive under this program than
applicants who have not. If an applicant
omits information on the applicability
and pursuit of private funds, the
Department may conclude that the
applicant has not considered viable
non-Federal funding alternatives and an
INFRA award would be premature.
This evaluation criterion is separate
from the statutory cost share
requirements for INFRA grants, which
are described Section C.2. Those
statutory requirements establish the
minimum permissible non-Federal
share; they do not define a competitive
INFRA project.
Criterion #3: Potential for Innovation
The Department seeks to use INFRA
program to encourage innovation in
three areas: (1) Environmental review
and permitting; (2) use of experimental
project delivery authorities; and (3)
safety and technology. Under this
criterion, the Department will consider
the extent to which a project includes or
enables innovation in each of those
areas.
In Innovation Area #1, as described in
section A.2.c, the Department seeks to
establish a new approach to the process
of Federal environmental review and
permitting. When making INFRA award
decisions, the Department will consider
an applicant’s interest in the
participating in this new approach and
the extent to which the project could
benefit from that participation. The
Department will also consider the
degree to which the results of a project’s
participation might be representative
and reproducible to other departmental
or government-wide projects or
programs.
In Innovation Area #2, as described in
section A.2.c, the Department seeks
innovative approaches to project
delivery under the auspices of the
FHWA SEP–14 and SEP–15 programs
and any other applicable experimental
programs. When making INFRA award
decisions, the Department will consider
the applicant’s proposals to use those
programs, whether the proposals are
consistent with the objectives and
requirements of those programs, the
potential benefits that experimental
authorities or waivers might provide to
the project, and the broader
applicability of potential results.
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Finally, in Innovation Area #3, as
described in section A.2.c, the
Department seeks to experiment with
innovative approaches to transportation
safety, particularly in relation to
automated vehicles and the detection,
mitigation, and documentation of safety
risks. When making INFRA award
decisions, the Department will consider
any innovative safety approaches
proposed by the applicant, the safety
benefits that those approaches could
produce, and the broader applicability
of the potential results. As described in
section F.2.a, the Department expects all
projects to implement baseline safety
improvements consistent with FHWA’s
list of ‘‘Proven Countermeasures’’ and
will not consider those improvements
under this criterion.
Criterion #4: Performance and
Accountability
The Department intends to award
INFRA funding to projects that will be
delivered on agreed-upon schedules,
that will generate clear, quantifiable,
results, and that will advance the
Department’s transportation policy
goals. The Department expects all
applicants to provide accurate estimates
of benefits of their project, its delivery
schedule, and total costs. However, the
Department will consider the extent to
which the applicant proposes specific
measures and conditions allowing the
Department to ensure accountability, as
described in section A.2.d. Instead of
rewarding unrealistic promises, the
Department intends to reward
thoughtful planning, efficient delivery,
and effective policy.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
b. Additional Considerations
i. Geographic Diversity
By statute, when selecting INFRA
projects, the Department must consider
contributions to geographic diversity
among recipients, including the need for
a balance between the needs of rural
and urban communities. However, the
Department also recognizes that it can
better balance the needs of rural and
urban communities if it does not take a
binary view of urban and rural.
Accordingly, in addition to considering
whether a project is ‘‘rural’’ as defined
by the INFRA statute and described in
section C.3.e, when balancing the needs
of rural and urban communities, the
Department will consider the actual
population of the community that each
project serves.
ii. Project Readiness
During application evaluation, the
Department considers project readiness
in two ways: To assess the likelihood of
successful project delivery and to
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confirm that a project will satisfy
statutory readiness requirements.
First, the Department will consider
significant risks to successful
completion of a project, including risks
associated with environmental review,
permitting, technical feasibility,
funding, and the applicant’s capacity to
manage project delivery. Risks do not
disqualify projects from award, but
competitive applications clearly and
directly describe achievable risk
mitigation strategies. A project with
mitigated risks is more competitive than
a comparable project with unaddressed
risks.
Second, by statute, the Department
cannot award a large project unless that
project is reasonably expected to begin
construction within 18 months of
obligation of funds for the project.
Obligation occurs when a selected
applicant enters a written, projectspecific agreement with the Department
and is generally after the applicant has
satisfied applicable administrative
requirements, including transportation
planning and environmental review
requirements. Depending on the nature
of pre-construction activities included
in the awarded project, the Department
may obligate funds in phases.
Preliminary engineering and right-ofway acquisition activities, such as
environmental review, design work, and
other preconstruction activities, do not
fulfill the requirement to begin
construction within 18 months of
obligation for large projects. By statute,
INFRA funds must be obligated within
three years of the end of the fiscal year
for which they are authorized.
Therefore, for awards with FY 2017
funds, the Department will determine
that large projects with an anticipated
obligation date beyond September 30,
2020 are not reasonably expected to
begin construction within 18 months of
obligation. For awards with FY 2018
funds, that deadline is one year later:
September 30, 2021.
2. Review and Selection Process
The USDOT will review all eligible
applications received before the
application deadline. The INFRA
process consists of a Technical
Evaluation phase and Senior Review. In
the Technical Evaluation phase, teams
will, for each project, determine
whether the project satisfies statutory
requirements and rate how well it
addresses the selection criteria. The
Senior Review Team will consider the
applications and the technical
evaluations to determine which projects
to advance to the Secretary for
consideration. The Secretary will
ultimately select the projects for award.
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31149
A Quality Control and Oversight Team
will ensure consistency across project
evaluations and appropriate
documentation throughout the review
and selection process.
3. Additional Information
Prior to award, each selected
applicant will be subject to a risk
assessment as 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
Following the evaluation outlined in
section E, the Secretary will announce
awarded projects by posting a list of
selected projects at https://
www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/
INFRAgrants. Following the
announcement, the Department will
contact the point of contact listed in the
SF 424 to initiate negotiation of a
project-specific agreement.
2. Administrative and National Policy
Requirements
a. Safety Requirements
The Department will require INFRA
projects to meet two general
requirements related to safety. First,
INFRA projects must be part of a
thoughtful, data-driven approach to
safety. Each State maintains a strategic
highway safety plan.11 INFRA projects
will be required to incorporate
appropriate elements that respond to
priority areas identified in that plan and
are likely to yield safety benefits.
Second, INFRA projects will incorporate
two categories of safety-related
activities. The first category
encompasses activities that the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) has
identified as ‘‘proven safety
countermeasures’’ due to their history of
11 Information on State-specific strategic highway
safety plans is available at https://
safety.fhwa.dot.gov/shsp/other_resources.cfm.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 5, 2017 / Notices
demonstrated effectiveness.12 The
second category encompasses safetyrelated tools, technologies, and practices
from FHWA’s Every Day Counts
initiative.13
After selecting INFRA recipients, the
Department will work with those
recipients on a project-by-project basis
to determine the specific safety
requirements that are appropriate for
each award.
b. Other Administrative and Policy
Requirements
All INFRA 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 USDOT at 2 CFR part
1201. A project carried out under the
INFRA program will be treated as if the
project is located on a Federal-aid
highway. All INFRA projects are subject
to the Buy America requirement at 23
U.S.C. 313. Additionally, applicable
Federal laws, rules and regulations of
the relevant operating administration
administering the project will apply to
the projects that receive INFRA grants,
including planning requirements,
Stakeholder Agreements, and other
requirements under the Department’s
other highway, transit, rail, and port
grant programs. For an illustrative list of
the applicable laws, rules, regulations,
executive orders, policies, guidelines,
and requirements as they relate to an
INFRA grant, please see https://
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Freight/
infrastructure/nsfhp/fy2016_gr_exhbt_c/
index.htm.
The applicability of Federal
requirements to a project may be
affected by the scope of the NEPA
reviews for that project. For example,
under 23 U.S.C. 313(g), Buy America
requirements apply to all contracts that
are eligible for assistance under title 23,
United States Code, and are carried out
within the scope of the NEPA finding,
determination, or decision regardless of
the funding source of such contracts if
at least one contract is funded with Title
23 funds.
3. Reporting
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
a. Progress Reporting on Grant Activity
Each applicant selected for an INFRA
grant must submit the Federal Financial
Report (SF–425) on the financial
condition of the project and the project’s
12 Information on FHWA proven safety
countermeasures is available at: https://
safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/.
13 Information of the FHWA Everyday Counts
Initiative is available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/
innovation/everydaycounts/.
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progress, 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 INFRA program.
b. Reporting of Matters Related to
Integrity and Performance
If the total value of a selected
applicant’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 currency of
information reported to the System for
Award Management (SAM) that is made
available in the designated integrity and
performance system (currently the
Federal Awardee Performance and
Integrity Information System (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 Contacts
For further information concerning
this notice, please contact the Office of
the Secretary via email at InFRAgrants@
dot.gov. For more information about
highway projects, please contact Crystal
Jones at (202) 366–2976. For more
information about maritime projects,
please contact Robert Bouchard at (202)
366–5076. For more information about
rail projects, please contact Stephanie
Lawrence at (202) 493–1376. For more
information about railway-highway
grade crossing projects, please contact
Karen McClure at (202) 493–6417. For
all other questions, please contact Paul
Baumer at (202) 366–1092. A TDD is
available for individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing at 202–366–3993. In
addition, up to the application deadline,
the Department will post answers to
common questions and requests for
clarifications on USDOT’s Web site at
https://www.transportation.gov/
buildamerica/InFRAgrants. To ensure
applicants receive accurate information
about eligibility or the program, the
applicant is encouraged to contact
USDOT directly, rather than through
intermediaries or third parties, with
questions.
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H. Other Information
1. Invitation for Public Comment on the
FY 2017–2018 Notice
The FAST Act authorized the INFRA
program through FY 2020. This notice
solicits applications for FY 2017 and FY
2018 only. The Department invites
interested parties to submit comments
about this notice’s contents, and the
Department’s implementation choices,
as well as suggestions for clarification in
future INFRA rounds. The Department
may consider the submitted comments
and suggestions when developing
subsequent INFRA solicitations and
guidance, but submitted comments will
not affect the selection criteria for the
FY 2017–FY 2018 round. Applications
or comments about specific projects
should not be submitted to the docket.
Any application submitted to the docket
will not be reviewed. Comments should
be sent to DOT–OST–0090 by November
2, 2017, but, to the extent practicable,
the Department will consider late filed
comments.
2. 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 methodologies
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 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 Department protects such
information from disclosure to the
extent allowed under applicable law. In
the event the Department receives a
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request for the information, USDOT will
follow the 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.
3. Publication of Application
Information
Following the completion of the
selection process and announcement of
awards, the Department intends to
publish a list of all applications
received along with the names of the
applicant organizations and funding
amounts requested.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 5, 2017 / Notices
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 28,
2017.
Elaine L. Chao,
Secretary of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2017–14042 Filed 7–3–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Information Collection
Renewal; Comment Request; OCC
Guidelines Establishing Heightened
Standards for Certain Large Insured
National Banks, Insured Federal
Savings Associations, and Insured
Federal Branches
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency (OCC), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
AGENCY:
The OCC, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites the
general public and other federal
agencies to take this opportunity to
comment on a continuing information
collection, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
In accordance with the requirements
of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct
or sponsor, and the respondent is not
required to respond to, an information
collection unless it displays a currently
valid Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) control number.
The OCC is soliciting comment
concerning its information collection
titled, ‘‘OCC Guidelines Establishing
Heightened Standards for Certain Large
Insured National Banks, Insured Federal
Savings Associations, and Insured
Federal Branches.’’
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before September 5, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Because paper mail in the
Washington, DC area and at the OCC is
subject to delay, commenters are
encouraged to submit comments by
email, if possible. Comments may be
sent to: Legislative and Regulatory
Activities Division, Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, Attention:
1557–0321, 400 7th Street SW., Suite
3E–218, Washington, DC 20219. In
addition, comments may be sent by fax
to (571) 465–4326 or by electronic mail
to prainfo@occ.treas.gov. You may
personally inspect and photocopy
comments at the OCC, 400 7th Street
SW., Washington, DC 20219. For
security reasons, the OCC requires that
visitors make an appointment to inspect
comments. You may do so by calling
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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17:57 Jul 03, 2017
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(202) 649–6700 or, for persons who are
deaf or hard of hearing, TTY, (202) 649–
5597. Upon arrival, visitors will be
required to present valid governmentissued photo identification and submit
to security screening in order to inspect
and photocopy comments.
All comments received, including
attachments and other supporting
materials, are part of the public record
and subject to public disclosure. Do not
include any information in your
comment or supporting materials that
you consider confidential or
inappropriate for public disclosure.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance
Officer, (202) 649–5490 or, for persons
who are deaf or hard of hearing, TTY,
(202) 649–5597, Legislative and
Regulatory Activities Division, Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th
Street SW., Suite 3E–218, Washington,
DC 20219.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), federal
agencies must obtain approval from
OMB for each collection of information
that they conduct or sponsor.
‘‘Collection of information’’ is defined
in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR
1320.3(c) to include agency requests or
requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or provide
information to a third party. Section
3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires federal
agencies to provide a 60-day notice in
the Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information,
including each proposed extension of an
existing collection of information,
before submitting the collection to OMB
for approval. To comply with this
requirement, the OCC is publishing
notice of the proposed collection of
information set forth in this document.
Title: OCC Guidelines Establishing
Heightened Standards for Certain Large
Insured National Banks, Insured Federal
Savings Associations, and Insured
Federal Branches.
OMB Control No.: 1557–0321.
Description: The OCC’s guidelines
codified in 12 CFR part 30, appendix D
establish minimum standards for the
design and implementation of a risk
governance framework for insured
national banks, insured federal savings
associations, and insured federal
branches of a foreign bank (bank). The
guidelines apply to a bank with average
total consolidated assets:
(i) Equal to or greater than $50 billion;
(ii) less than $50 billion if that bank’s
parent company controls at least one
insured national bank or insured federal
savings association that has average
total consolidated assets of $50 billion
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31151
or greater; or (iii) less than $50 billion,
if the OCC determines such bank’s
operations are highly complex or
otherwise present a heightened risk as
to warrant the application of the
guidelines (covered banks). The
guidelines also establish minimum
standards for a board of directors in
overseeing the framework’s design and
implementation. These guidelines were
finalized on September 11, 2014.1 The
OCC is now seeking to renew the
information collection associated with
these guidelines.
The standards contained in the
guidelines are enforceable under section
39 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
(FDIA),2 which authorizes the OCC to
prescribe operational and managerial
standards for insured national banks,
insured federal savings associations,
and insured federal branches of a
foreign bank.
The guidelines formalize the OCC’s
heightened expectations program. The
guidelines also further the goal of the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to
strengthen the financial system by
focusing management and boards of
directors on improving and
strengthening risk management
practices and governance, thereby
minimizing the probability and impact
of future financial crises.
The standards for the design and
implementation of the risk governance
framework, which contain collections of
information, are as follows:
Standards for Risk Governance
Framework
Covered banks should establish and
adhere to a formal, written risk
governance framework designed by
independent risk management. The
framework should include delegations
of authority from the board of directors
to management committees and
executive officers as well as risk limits
established for material activities. The
framework should be approved by the
board of directors or the board’s risk
committee, and it should be reviewed
and updated, at least annually, by
independent risk management.
Front Line Units
Front line units should take
responsibility and be held accountable
by the chief executive officer (CEO) and
the board of directors for appropriately
assessing and effectively managing all of
1 79
FR 51518.
U.S.C. 1831p–1. Section 39 was enacted as
part of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Improvement Act of 1991, Public Law 102–242,
section 132(a), 105 Stat. 2236, 2267–70 (Dec. 19,
1991).
2 12
E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31135-31151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14042]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary of Transportation
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2017-0090]
Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Department of
Transportation's Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects
(INFRA Grants) for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of funding opportunity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects
(INFRA) program provides Federal financial assistance to highway and
freight projects of national or regional significance. This notice
solicits applications for awards under the program's FY 2017 and FY
2018 funding, subject to future appropriations.
DATES: Applications must be submitted by 8:00 p.m. EST November 2,
2017. The Grants.gov ``Apply'' function will open by August 1, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Applications must be submitted through www.Grants.gov. Only
applicants who comply with all submission requirements described in
this notice and submit applications through www.Grants.gov will be
eligible for award.
[[Page 31136]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding this
notice, please contact the Office of the Secretary via email at
INFRAgrants@dot.gov. For more information about highway projects,
please contact Crystal Jones at (202) 366-2976. For more information
about maritime projects, please contact Robert Bouchard at (202) 366-
5076. For more information about rail projects, please contact
Stephanie Lawrence at (202) 493-1376. For more information about
railway-highway grade crossing projects, please contact Karen McClure
at (202) 493-6417. For all other questions, please contact Paul Baumer
at (202) 366-1092. A TDD is available for individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing at 202-366-3993. In addition, up to the application
deadline, the Department will post answers to common questions and
requests for clarifications on USDOT's Web site at https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/INFRAgrants.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
A. Program Description
1. Overview
2. Key Program Objectives
3. Program Name
B. Federal Award Information
1. Amount Available
2. Restrictions on Award Portfolio
3. Repeat Applications
C. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
3. Other
D. Application and Submission Information
1. Address
2. Content and Form of Application
3. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management
(SAM)
4. Submission Dates and Timelines
E. Application Review Information
1. Criteria
2. Review and Selection Process
3. Additional Information
F. Federal Award Administration Information
1. Federal Award Notices
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
3. Reporting
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
H. Other Information
1. Invitation for Public Comment on the FY 2017-2018 Notice
2. Protection of Confidential Business Information
3. Publication of Application Information
A. Program Description
1. Overview
The INFRA program provides Federal financial assistance to highway
and freight projects of national or regional significance. To maximize
the value of FY 2017-2018 INFRA funds for all Americans, the Department
is focusing the competition on transportation infrastructure projects
that support four key objectives, each of which is discussed in greater
detail in section A.2:
(1) Supporting economic vitality at the national and regional
level;
(2) Leveraging Federal funding to attract other, non-Federal
sources of infrastructure investment, as well as accounting for the
life-cycle costs of the project;
(3) Using innovative approaches to improve safety and expedite
project delivery; and
(4) Holding grant recipients accountable for their performance and
achieving specific, measurable outcomes identified by grant applicants.
This notice's focus on the four key objectives does not compromise
the Department's position that safety is our top priority. The
Department is committed to reducing traffic fatalities and serious
injuries on the surface transportation system. To reinforce the
Department's safety priority, the USDOT will require projects that
receive INFRA awards to consider and effectively respond to data-driven
transportation safety concerns. Section F.2.a describes related
requirements that the Department will impose on each INFRA project.
These requirements focus on performing detailed, data-driven safety
analyses and the incorporating project elements that respond to State-
specific safety priority areas.
2. Key Program Objectives
This section of the notice describes the four key program
objectives that the Department intends to advance with FY 2017-2018
INFRA funds. These four objectives are reflected in later portions of
the notice, including section E.1, which describes how the Department
will evaluate applications to advance these objectives, and section
D.2.b, which describes how applicants should address the four
objectives in their applications.
a. Key Program Objective #1: Supporting Economic Vitality
A strong transportation network is absolutely critical to the
functioning and growth of the American economy. The nation's industry
depends on the transportation network not only to move the goods that
it produces, but also to facilitate the movements of the workers who
are responsible for that production. When the nation's highways,
railways, and ports function well, that infrastructure connects people
to jobs, increases the efficiency of delivering goods and thereby cuts
the costs of doing business, reduces the burden of commuting, and
improves overall well-being. When the transportation network fails--
whether due to increasing bottlenecks, growing connectivity gaps, or
unsafe, crumbling conditions--our economy suffers. Projects that
address congestion in our major urban areas, particularly those that do
so through the use of congestion pricing or the deployment of advanced
technology, projects that bridge gaps in service in our rural areas,
and projects that attract private economic development, all support
national or regional economic vitality. Therefore, the INFRA program
seeks these types of infrastructure projects.
b. Key Program Objective #2: Leveraging of Federal Funding
The Department is committed to supporting the President's call for
more infrastructure investment. That goal will not be achieved through
Federal investment alone, but rather requires States, local
governments, and the private sector to share responsibility and
accountability, and to maximize their own contributions. The Federal
government provided about 25%, or about $100 billion of the estimated
$416 billion of public investment in transportation and water
infrastructure in 2014,\1\ but more infrastructure investment is
possible if the significant Federal contribution is a smaller portion
of a larger total.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/49910-Infrastructure.pdf.
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To increase the leveraging of Federal funding, the INFRA program
will give priority consideration to projects that use all available
non-Federal resources for development, construction, operations, and
maintenance. (As described further in E.1.a (Criterion #2), the
Department will also consider the level at which these resources are in
fact available, particularly for rural areas). These projects include
projects that maximize State, local, and private sector funding,
projects that raise revenue directly, projects that benefit from local
self-help, and projects that pair INFRA grants with broader-scale
innovative financing, including Federal credit assistance such as
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and
Railroad Rehabilitation Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans.
By emphasizing leveraging of Federal funding, the Department
expects to expand the total resources being used to build and restore
infrastructure, rather than have Federal dollars merely
[[Page 31137]]
displace or substitute for State, local, and private funds.
c. Key Program Objective #3: Innovation
The Department seeks to use the INFRA program to encourage
innovation in three areas: (1) Environmental review and permitting; (2)
use of experimental project delivery authorities; and (3) safety and
technology. The Department anticipates making awards that advance each
innovation area, but it does not necessarily expect each INFRA project
to address all three innovation areas. Instead, the Department expects
applicants to identify the innovation areas that provide benefit to
their project and propose activities in those areas.
Innovation Area #1: Environmental Review and Permitting
Some project sponsors indicate that Federal law and regulations
impose requirements on transportation projects that delay the timely
delivery of infrastructure. Some claim that the current approach to
environmental review and permitting can lead to costly delays that are
not justified by environmental benefits. Others note that excessive
spending for permitting and studies diverts resources from
environmental mitigation. Fortunately, recent transportation
authorizations, including the FAST Act, have introduced a number of
reforms intended to reduce project timelines and costs without
compromising the integrity of crucial environmental protections. The
Department is eager to use the INFRA program to expand and improve upon
these reforms.
Under the INFRA program the Department seeks to test new approaches
to the environmental review and permitting process for infrastructure
projects. This approach has four objectives: (1) Accelerating the
environmental permitting and review process; (2) improving outcomes for
communities and the environment; (3) facilitating concurrent and
consistent environmental permitting and review, analysis and decision
making across Federal agencies and geographic regions; and (4)
establishing a shared vision of permitting success among all Federal
agencies.
In the current practice, the resource agencies that are responsible
for environmental review and permitting, including U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Environmental
Protection Agency, operate independently and collaborate as necessary.
This independent and distributed operation can frustrate efficient
project delivery. Under the approach, the Department will aim to
identify ``liaisons'' within each relevant resource agency. These
liaisons will work closely and collaboratively with each other, project
sponsors, and local field offices to steward projects participating in
the effort through the environmental review process in a timely manner.
The liaisons will be responsible for making consistent and timely
permit determinations, while ensuring compliance with the purposes and
procedures of the environmental permitting and review statutes. They
will also have easy access to their counterparts throughout the
Department, including in the Department's operating administrations,
the Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center, and the Build America
Bureau.
The Department's aim is for liaisons to have active and defined
roles early in the project development process to define potential
permitting risks as early as the project scoping and the development of
alternatives stages. They will coordinate activity to reduce risks, and
will have specific responsibilities (e.g., dispute resolution) that are
triggered when a project is at risk for missing a permit deadline.
Additionally, to ensure consistency across Federal agency
jurisdictions, liaisons will coordinate permitting activities between
Agency-specific districts for projects that cross jurisdictional
boundaries.
The Department's aim is to achieve timely and consistent
environmental review and permit decisions. Liaisons' work will be
tracked on the Federal Infrastructure Project Permitting Dashboard, an
online tool for tracking the environmental review and authorization
process for large or complex infrastructure projects.
Participation in this new approach will not remove any statutory
requirements affecting project delivery, and INFRA award recipients are
not required to participate. However, the Department seeks INFRA
applications for projects that could benefit from this approach, which
are likely larger, more complex projects, and encourages those
applicants to indicate whether they are interested in participating.
Because the Department views this as a potential model for future
environmental review and permitting, it seeks projects that will allow
it to evaluate that model.
Innovation Area #2: Special Experimental Authorities
By statute, all INFRA awards are subject to Federal requirements
associated with the Federal-aid Highways program under title 23 of the
United States Code. However, the Department is interested in ensuring
that those requirements do not unnecessarily impede project delivery.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has long encouraged
increasing private sector participation in the project development,
finance, design, construction, maintenance, and operations. Since 1990,
FHWA has experimented with innovative contracting practices under its
Special Experimental Project No. 14 (SEP-14). In 2004, FHWA established
Special Experimental Project No. 15 (SEP-15), which encouraged tests
and experimentation throughout the entire project development process.
SEP-15 was specifically aimed at attracting private investment, leading
to increased project management flexibility, more innovation, improved
efficiency, timely project implementation, and new revenue streams.
Under SEP-14 and SEP-15, FHWA may waive statutory and regulatory
requirements under title 23 on a project-by-project basis to explore
innovative processes that could be adopted through legislation. This
experimental authority is available to test changes that would improve
the efficiency of project delivery in a manner that is consistent with
the purposes underlying existing requirements; it is not available to
frustrate the purposes of existing requirements.
The Department encourages applicants for INFRA funding to consider
whether their project is eligible for and would benefit from an
experimental authority or waiver under SEP-14, SEP-15, or some other
experimental authority program. For appropriate projects, applicants
should propose to use experimental authority and describe their
expected benefits. In particular, the Department is interested in
proposals that will substantially accelerate the pace of project
deployment.
The Department is not replacing the application processes for SEP-
14, SEP-15, or other experimental programs, with this notice or the
INFRA program application. Instead, it seeks detailed expressions of
interest in those programs. If selected for an INFRA award, the
applicant would need to satisfy the relevant programs' requirements and
complete the appropriate application processes. Selection for an INFRA
award does not mean a project's SEP-14 or SEP-15 proposal has been
approved. The Department will make a separate determination in
accordance with those programs' processes on the appropriateness of a
waiver.
[[Page 31138]]
Innovation Area #3: Safety and Technology
In addition to these cross-cutting safety-related requirements
previously mentioned (and detailed in section F.2.a of this Notice),
USDOT seeks opportunities under the INFRA program to experiment with
innovative approaches to transportation safety, particularly projects
which incorporate innovative design solutions, enhance the environment
for automated vehicles, or use technology to improve the detection,
mitigation, and documentation of safety risks. Illustrative examples
include:
Innovative designs that inherently reduce safety risk;
Conflict detection and mitigation technologies for freight
and non-freight interaction (e.g., intersection alerts and signal
prioritization);
Dynamic signaling or pricing systems to reduce congestion;
Connected vehicle technology, including systems for
vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications;
Signage and design features that facilitate autonomous
technologies;
Applications to automatically capture and report safety-
related issues (e.g., identifying and documenting near-miss incidents);
and
Cybersecurity elements to protect safety-critical systems.
d. Key Program Objective #4: Performance and Accountability
To maximize public benefits from INFRA funds and promote local
activity that will provide benefits beyond the INFRA-funded projects,
the Department seeks projects that allow it to condition funding on
specific, measurable outcomes. For appropriate projects, the Department
may use one or more of the following types of events to trigger
availability of some or all INFRA funds: (1) Reaching project delivery
milestones in a timely manner; (2) making specific State or local
policy changes that advance desirable transportation outcomes; and (3)
achieving transportation performance objectives that support economic
vitality or improve safety.
Each of these three types of events encourages accountability from
project sponsors. First, project milestones can make a project sponsor
accountable for timely project delivery. For example, to ensure that
planning activities will not delay construction, the Department may
condition construction funds on the sponsor completing those planning
activities by a specific date. Second, INFRA funds can provide an
additional incentive to make specific policy changes. For example, in
some jurisdictions, administrative barriers to public-private
partnerships prevent project sponsors from using an effective and
proven method of project delivery. In such jurisdictions, the
Department can help dismantle those barriers by conditioning INFRA
funds on local policy changes. Finally, the Department can improve
overall performance of the transportation system by tying funding to
specific performance targets. For example, if an INFRA project is
awarded to improve freight movement through a corridor, the Department
may condition some of the INFRA funds to be used to improve one
interchange in the corridor on the project sponsor's ability to
demonstrate satisfactory levels of service at other points in the
corridor. Improvements at those other points on the corridor to reach
the target level of service could be made with other, non-conditioned
INFRA funds or with non-Federal funds.
These examples are illustrative, but the Department encourages
applicants to identify other, creative ways to condition funding to
advance INFRA program goals. The Department does not intend to impose
these conditions on unwilling or uninterested INFRA recipients, nor
does it intend to limit the types of projects that should consider
accountability mechanisms. Instead, the Department encourages
applicants to voluntarily identify measures through which the
Department may hold them accountable, describe, in their application,
how the Department could structure any conditions on funding, and
detail how the structure advances INFRA program goals. As described in
section E.1, an applicant-directed approach to accountability will
allow the Department to differentiate among INFRA applications.
3. Program Name
The INFRA grant program is authorized as the Nationally Significant
Freight and Highway Projects program at 23 U.S.C. 117. The Department
formerly referred to INFRA grants as Fostering Advancements in Shipping
and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National
Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grants. The Department has renamed the program
Infrastructure For Rebuilding America (INFRA), to call attention to new
priorities: Rebuilding and revitalizing our economy through
infrastructure investment.
B. Federal Award Information
1. Amount Available
The FAST Act authorizes the INFRA program at $4.5 billion for
fiscal years (FY) 2016 through 2020, including $850 million \2\ for FY
2017 and $900 million for FY 2018, to be awarded by USDOT on a
competitive basis to projects of national or regional significance that
meet statutory requirements. This notice solicits applications for up
to $1.56 billion in FY 2017-2018 INFRA funds. Approximately $710
million of FY 2017 funds are available for INFRA awards.\3\ The
Department anticipates that approximately $810-855 million of FY 2018
funds will be available for awards, but that total is uncertain because
the Department is issuing this notice before appropriations legislation
has been enacted for FY 2018. The estimate may be higher or lower than
the final amount, which is dependent on future appropriations
legislation. Any award under this notice will be subject to the
availability of funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Funds are subject to the overall Federal-aid highway
obligation limitation, and funds in excess of the obligation
limitation provided to the program are distributed to the States.
While $850 million is authorized for FY 2017, $788.8 million is
available for award. For additional information see FAST Act Sec.
1102(f) and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016, Pub. L. 114-113, div. L
Sec. 120.
\3\ The Department intends to award the 10 percent of the FY
2017 funding reserved for small projects to applications received
under the Notice published in November, 2016. $709.92 million of FY
2017 funds is available under the terms of this Notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Restrictions on Award Portfolio
The Department will make awards under the INFRA program to both
large and small projects. (Refer to section C.3.ii.for a definition of
large and small projects.) For a large project, the FAST Act specifies
that an INFRA grant must be at least $25 million. For a small project,
including both construction awards and project development awards, the
grant must be at least $5 million. For each fiscal year of INFRA funds,
10 percent of available funds are reserved for small projects, and 90
percent of funds are reserved for large projects. The Department
intends to use 10 percent of the available FY 2017 funding to make
small project selections under the Notice of Funding Opportunity
published in November of 2016. The FY 2017 funds made available under
this notice are for large projects. The anticipated FY 2018 funds will
be for both large and small projects.\4\ In summary, the estimated
funding available for FY 2017 and FY 2018 under this notice is
approximately
[[Page 31139]]
$81 million-$85.5 million for small projects and $1.44 billion-$1.48
billion for large projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Subject to availability of FY 2018 funding.
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The FAST Act specifies that not more than $500 million in aggregate
of the $4.5 billion authorized for INFRA grants over fiscal years 2016
to 2020 may be used for grants to freight rail, water (including
ports), or other freight intermodal projects that make significant
improvements to freight movement on the National Highway Freight
Network. After accounting for FY 2016 and previous FY 2017 INFRA
selections, approximately $326 million within this constraint remains
available. Only the non-highway portion(s) of multimodal projects count
toward the $500 million maximum. Grade crossing and grade separation
projects do not count toward the $500 million maximum for freight rail,
port, and intermodal projects.
The FAST Act directs that at least 25 percent of the funds provided
for INFRA grants must be used for projects located in rural areas, as
defined in Section C.3.iv. The Department may elect to go above that
threshold if the appropriate projects are submitted. The USDOT must
consider geographic diversity among grant recipients, including the
need for a balance in addressing the needs of urban and rural areas.
3. Repeat Applications
The selection criteria described in Section E. of this Notice
changed substantially from previous INFRA solicitations. Applicants who
elect to resubmit an application from a previous solicitation should
include a supplementary appendix which describes how their project
aligns with the new selection criteria.
C. Eligibility Information
To be selected for an INFRA grant, an applicant must be an Eligible
Applicant and the project must be an Eligible Project that meets the
Minimum Project Size Requirement.
1. Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants for INFRA grants are: (1) A State or group of
States; (2) a metropolitan planning organization that serves an
Urbanized Area (as defined by the Bureau of the Census) with a
population of more than 200,000 individuals; (3) a unit of local
government or group of local governments; (4) a political subdivision
of a State or local government; (5) a special purpose district or
public authority with a transportation function, including a port
authority; (6) a Federal land management agency that applies jointly
with a State or group of States; (7) a tribal government or a
consortium of tribal governments; or (8) a multi-State or
multijurisdictional group of public entities.
Multiple States or jurisdictions that submit a joint application
should identify a lead applicant as the primary point of contact. Joint
applications should include a description of the roles and
responsibilities of each applicant and should be signed by each
applicant. The applicant that will be responsible for financial
administration of the project must be an eligible applicant.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
This section describes the statutory cost share requirements for an
INFRA award. Cost share will also be evaluated according to the
``Leveraging of Federal Funding'' evaluation criterion described in
Section E.1.a.ii. That section clarifies that the Department seeks
applications for projects that exceed the minimum non-Federal cost
share requirement described here.
INFRA grants may be used for up to 60 percent of future eligible
project costs. Other Federal assistance may satisfy the non-Federal
share requirement for an INFRA grant, but total Federal assistance for
a project receiving an INFRA grant may not exceed 80 percent of the
future eligible project costs. Non-Federal sources include State funds
originating from programs funded by State revenue, local funds
originating from State or local revenue-funded programs, private funds
or other funding sources of non-Federal origins. If a Federal land
management agency applies jointly with a State or group of States, and
that agency carries out the project, then Federal funds that were not
made available under titles 23 or 49 of the United States Code may be
used for the non-Federal share. Unless otherwise authorized by statute,
local cost-share may not be counted as non-Federal share for both the
INFRA and another Federal program. For any project, the Department
cannot consider previously-incurred costs or previously-expended or
encumbered funds towards the matching requirement. Matching funds are
subject to the same Federal requirements described in Section F.2.b as
awarded funds.
For the purpose of evaluating eligibility under the statutory cost
share requirements, funds from the TIFIA and RRIF credit assistance
programs are considered Federal assistance and, combined with other
Federal assistance, may not exceed 80 percent of the future eligible
project costs.
3. Other
a. Eligible Project
Eligible projects for INFRA grants are: Highway freight projects
carried out on the National Highway Freight Network (23 U.S.C. 167);
highway or bridge projects carried out on the National Highway System
(NHS), including projects that add capacity on the Interstate System to
improve mobility or projects in a national scenic area; railway-highway
grade crossing or grade separation projects; or a freight project that
is (1) an intermodal or rail project, or (2) within the boundaries of a
public or private freight rail, water (including ports), or intermodal
facility. A project within the boundaries of a freight rail, water
(including ports), or intermodal facility must be a surface
transportation infrastructure project necessary to facilitate direct
intermodal interchange, transfer, or access into or out of the facility
and must significantly improve freight movement on the National Highway
Freight Network. Improving freight movement on the National Highway
Freight Network may include shifting freight transportation to other
modes, thereby reducing congestion and bottlenecks on the National
Highway Freight Network. For a freight project within the boundaries of
a freight rail, water (including ports), or intermodal facility,
Federal funds can only support project elements that provide public
benefits.
b. Eligible Project Costs
INFRA grants may be used for the construction, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, acquisition of property (including land related to the
project and improvements to the land), environmental mitigation,
construction contingencies, equipment acquisition, and operational
improvements directly related to system performance. Statutorily, INFRA
grants may also fund development phase activities, including planning,
feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review,
preliminary engineering, design, and other preconstruction activities,
provided the project meets statutory requirements. However, the
Department is seeking to use INFRA funding on projects that result in
construction. Public-private partnership assessments for projects in
the development phase are also eligible costs.
INFRA grant recipients may use INFRA funds to pay the subsidy and
administrative costs necessary to receive TIFIA.
[[Page 31140]]
c. Minimum Project Size Requirement
For the purposes of determining whether a project meets the minimum
project size requirement, the Department will count all future eligible
project costs under the award and some related costs incurred before
selection for an INFRA grant. Previously-incurred costs will be counted
toward the minimum project size requirement only if they were eligible
project costs under Section C.3.b. and were expended as part of the
project for which the applicant seeks funds. Although those previously-
incurred costs may be used for meeting the minimum project size
thresholds described in this Section, they cannot be reimbursed with
INFRA grant funds, nor will they count toward the project's required
non-Federal share.
i. Large Projects
The minimum project size for large projects is the lesser of $100
million; 30 percent of a State's FY 2016 Federal-aid apportionment if
the project is located in one State; or 50 percent of the larger
participating State's FY 2016 apportionment for projects located in
more than one State. The following chart identifies the minimum total
project cost for projects for FY 2017 for both single and multi-State
projects.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY17 NSFHP (50% FY18 NSFHP (50%
FY17 NSFHP (30% of FY16 FY18 NSFHP (30% of FY17
of FY16 apportionment) of FY17 apportionment)
State apportionment) Multi-State apportionment) Multi-State
One-State minimum minimum * One-State minimum minimum *
(millions) (millions) (millions) (millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama............................. $100 $100 $100 $100
Alaska.............................. 100 100 100 100
Arizona............................. 100 100 100 100
Arkansas............................ 100 100 100 100
California.......................... 100 100 100 100
Colorado............................ 100 100 100 100
Connecticut......................... 100 100 100 100
Delaware............................ 51 86 52 87
Dist. of Col........................ 49 81 49 82
Florida............................. 100 100 100 100
Georgia............................. 100 100 100 100
Hawaii.............................. 51 86 52 87
Idaho............................... 87 100 88 100
Illinois............................ 100 100 100 100
Indiana............................. 100 100 100 100
Iowa................................ 100 100 100 100
Kansas.............................. 100 100 100 100
Kentucky............................ 100 100 100 100
Louisiana........................... 100 100 100 100
Maine............................... 56 94 57 95
Maryland............................ 100 100 100 100
Massachusetts....................... 100 100 100 100
Michigan............................ 100 100 100 100
Minnesota........................... 100 100 100 100
Mississippi......................... 100 100 100 100
Missouri............................ 100 100 100 100
Montana............................. 100 100 100 100
Nebraska............................ 88 100 89 100
Nevada.............................. 100 100 100 100
New Hampshire....................... 50 84 51 85
New Jersey.......................... 100 100 100 100
New Mexico.......................... 100 100 100 100
New York............................ 100 100 100 100
North Carolina...................... 100 100 100 100
North Dakota........................ 76 100 77 100
Ohio................................ 100 100 100 100
Oklahoma............................ 100 100 100 100
Oregon.............................. 100 100 100 100
Pennsylvania........................ 100 100 100 100
Puerto Rico......................... 44 74 44 74
Rhode Island........................ 67 100 67 100
South Carolina...................... 100 100 100 100
South Dakota........................ 86 100 87 100
Tennessee........................... 100 100 100 100
Texas............................... 100 100 100 100
Utah................................ 100 100 100 100
Vermont............................. 62 100 63 100
Virginia............................ 100 100 100 100
Washington.......................... 100 100 100 100
West Virginia....................... 100 100 100 100
Wisconsin........................... 100 100 100 100
Wyoming............................. 78 100 79 100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For multi-State projects, the minimum project size is the largest of the multi-State minimums from the
participating States.
[[Page 31141]]
ii. Small Projects
A small project is an eligible project that does not meet the
minimum project size described in Section C.3.c.i.
d. Large/Small Project Requirements
For a large project to be selected, the Department must determine
that the project generates national or regional economic, mobility, or
safety benefits; is cost-effective; contributes to one or more of the
goals described in 23 U.S.C 150; is based on the results of preliminary
engineering; has one or more stable and dependable funding or financing
sources available to construct, maintain, and operate the project, and
contingency amounts are available to cover unanticipated cost
increases; cannot be easily and efficiently completed without other
Federal funding or financial assistance; and is reasonably expected to
begin construction no later than 18 months after the date of
obligation. These requirements are discussed in greater detail in
section D.2.b.vii.
For a small project to be selected, the Department must consider
the cost-effectiveness of the proposed project and the effect of the
proposed project on mobility in the State and region in which the
project is carried out.
e. Rural/Urban Area
This section describes the statutory definition of urban and rural
areas and the minimum statutory requirements for projects that meet
those definitions. For more information on how the Department consider
projects in urban, rural, and low population areas as part of the
selection process, see Section E.1.a. Criterion #2, and E.1.c.
The INFRA statute defines a rural area as an area outside an
Urbanized Area \5\ with a population of over 200,000. In this notice,
urban area is defined as inside an Urbanized Area, as designated by the
U.S. Census Bureau, with a population of 200,000 or more.\6\ Rural and
urban definitions differ in some other USDOT programs, including TIFIA
and the FY 2016 TIGER Discretionary Grants program. Cost share
requirements and minimum grant awards are the same for projects located
in rural and urban areas. The Department will consider a project to be
in a rural area if the majority of the project (determined by
geographic location(s) where the majority of the money is to be spent)
is located in a rural area. However, if a project consists of multiple
components, as described under section C.3.f or C.3.g., then for each
separate component the Department will determine whether that component
is rural or urban. In some circumstances, including networks of
projects under section C.3.g that cover wide geographic regions, this
component-by-component determination may result in INFRA awards that
include urban and rural funds.
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\5\ For Census 2010, the Census Bureau defined an Urbanized Area
(UA) as an area that consists of densely settled territory that
contains 50,000 or more people. Updated lists of UAs are available
on the Census Bureau Web site at https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/UAUC_RefMap/ua/. For the purposes of the INFRA program,
Urbanized Areas with populations fewer than 200,000 will be
considered rural.
\6\ See www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/InFRAgrants for a
list of Urbanized Areas with a population of 200,000 or more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
f. Project Components
An application may describe a project that contains more than one
component. The USDOT may award funds for a component, instead of the
larger project, if that component (1) independently meets minimum award
amounts described in Section B and all eligibility requirements
described in Section C, including the requirements for large projects
described in sections C.3.d and D.2.b.vii; (2) independently aligns
well with the selection criteria specified in Section E; and (3) meets
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements with respect to
independent utility. Independent utility means that the component will
represent a transportation improvement that is usable and represents a
reasonable expenditure of USDOT funds even if no other improvements are
made in the area, and will be ready for intended use upon completion of
that component's construction. If an application describes multiple
components, the application should demonstrate how the components
collectively advance the purposes of the INFRA program. An applicant
should not add multiple components to a single application merely to
aggregate costs or avoid submitting multiple applications.
Applicants should be aware that, depending upon applicable Federal
law and the relationship among project components, an award funding
only some project components may make other project components subject
to Federal requirements as described in Section F.2.b. For example,
under 40 CFR 1508.25, the NEPA review for the funded project component
may need to include evaluation of all project components as connected,
similar, or cumulative actions.
The Department strongly encourages applicants to identify in their
applications the project components that meet independent utility
standards and separately detail the costs and INFRA funding requested
for each component. If the application identifies one or more
independent project components, the application should clearly identify
how each independent component addresses selection criteria and
produces benefits on its own, in addition to describing how the full
proposal of which the independent component is a part addresses
selection criteria.
g. Network of Projects
An application may describe and request funding for a network of
projects. A network of projects is one INFRA award that consists of
multiple projects addressing the same transportation problem. For
example, if an applicant seeks to improve efficiency along a rail
corridor, then their application might propose one award for four grade
separation projects at four different railway-highway crossings. Each
of the four projects would independently reduce congestion but the
overall benefits would be greater if the projects were completed
together under a single award.
The USDOT will evaluate applications that describe networks of
projects similar to how it evaluates projects with multiple components.
Because of their similarities, the guidance in section C.3.f is
applicable to networks of projects, and applicants should follow that
guidance on how to present information in their application. As with
project components, depending upon applicable Federal law and the
relationship among projects within a network of projects, an award that
funds only some projects in a network may make other projects subject
to Federal requirements as described in Section F.2.
h. Application Limit
To encourage applicants to prioritize their INFRA submissions, each
eligible applicant may submit no more than three applications. The
three-application limit applies only to applications where the
applicant is the lead applicant. There is no limit on applications for
which an applicant can be listed as a partnering agency. If a lead
applicant submits more than three applications as the lead applicant,
only the first three received will be considered.
D. Application and Submission Information
1. Address
Applications must be submitted through www.Grants.gov. Instructions
[[Page 31142]]
for submitting applications can be found at https://
www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/InFRAgrants.
2. Content and Form of Application
The application must include the Standard Form 424 (Application for
Federal Assistance), Standard Form 424C (Budget Information for
Construction Programs), cover page, and the Project Narrative. More
detailed information about the cover pages and Project Narrative
follows.
a. Cover Page
Each application should contain a cover page with the following
chart:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project name
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Was an INFRA application for this project submitted previously?............ Yes/no.
If yes, what was the name of the project in the previous application?
Previously Incurred Project Cost........................................... $.
Future Eligible Project Cost............................................... $.
Total Project Cost (This should be the sum of the previous two rows)....... $.
INFRA Request.............................................................. $.
Total Federal Funding (including INFRA).................................... $.
Are matching funds restricted to a specific project component? If so, which Yes/no.
one?.
Is the project or a portion of the project currently located on National Yes/no.
Highway Freight Network?.
Is the project or a portion of the project located on the NHS?............. Yes/no (for each question).
Does the project add capacity to the Interstate system?...........
Is the project in a national scenic area?.........................
Do the project components include a railway-highway grade crossing or grade Yes/no.
separation project?.
If so, please include the grade crossing ID.......................
Do the project components include an intermodal or freight rail project, or Yes/no.
freight project within the boundaries of a public or private freight rail,
water (including ports), or intermodal facility?.
If answered yes to either of the two component questions above, how much of
requested INFRA funds will be spent on each of these projects components?
State(s) in which project is located.
Small or large project..................................................... Small/Large.
Urbanized Area in which project is located, if applicable.
Population of Urbanized Area.
Is the project currently programmed in the:................................ Yes/no (please specify in which
TIP............................................................... plans the project is currently
STIP.............................................................. programmed).
MPO Long Range Transportation Plan................................
State Long Range Transportation Plan..............................
State Freight Plan?...............................................
If selected, would you be interested in participating in a new Yes/No.
environmental review and permitting approach?.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Project Narrative for Construction Projects
The Department recommends that the project narrative follow the
basic outline below to address the program requirements and assist
evaluators in locating relevant information.
I. Project Description.................... See D.2.b.i.
II. Project Location...................... See D.2.b.ii.
III. Project Parties...................... See D.2.b.iii.
IV. Grant Funds, Sources and Uses of all See D.2.b.iv.
Project Funding.
V. Merit Criteria......................... See D.2.b.v.
VI. Project Readiness..................... See D.2.b.vi and E.1.c.ii.
VII. Large/Small Project Requirements..... See D.2.b.vii.
The project narrative should include the information necessary for
the Department to determine that the project satisfies project
requirements described in Sections B and C and to assess the selection
criteria specified in Section E.1. To the extent practicable,
applicants should provide supporting data and documentation in a form
that is directly verifiable by the Department. The Department may ask
any applicant to supplement data in its application, but expects
applications to be complete upon submission.
In addition to a detailed statement of work, detailed project
schedule, and detailed project budget, the project narrative should
include a table of contents, maps, and graphics, as appropriate to make
the information easier to review. The Department recommends that the
project narrative be prepared with standard formatting preferences.
(i.e., a single-spaced document, using a standard 12-point font such as
Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins.) The project narrative may not
exceed 25 pages in length, excluding cover pages and table of contents.
The only substantive portions that may exceed the 25-page limit are
documents supporting assertions or conclusions made in the 25-page
project narrative. If possible, Web site links to supporting
documentation should be provided rather than copies of these supporting
materials. If supporting documents are submitted, applicants should
clearly identify within the project narrative the relevant portion of
the project narrative that each supporting document supports. At the
applicant's discretion, relevant materials provided previously to a
modal administration in support of a different USDOT financial
assistance program may be referenced and described as unchanged. The
Department recommends using appropriately descriptive final names
(e.g., ``Project Narrative,'' ``Maps,'' ``Memoranda of Understanding
and Letters of Support,'' etc.) for all attachments. The USDOT
recommends applications include the following sections:
i. Project Summary
The first section of the application should provide a concise
description of the project, the transportation challenges that it is
intended to address, and how it will address those challenges. This
section should discuss the project's history, including a
[[Page 31143]]
description of any previously incurred costs. The applicant may use
this section to place the project into a broader context of other
infrastructure investments being pursued by the project sponsor.
ii. Project Location
This section of the application should describe the project
location, including a detailed geographical description of the proposed
project, a map of the project's location and connections to existing
transportation infrastructure, and geospatial data describing the
project location. If the project is located within the boundary of a
Census-designated Urbanized Area, the application should identify the
Urbanized Area.
iii. Project Parties
This section of the application should list all project parties,
including details about the proposed grant recipient and other public
and private parties who are involved in delivering the project, such as
port authorities, terminal operators, freight railroads, shippers,
carriers, freight-related associations, third-party logistics
providers, and freight industry workforce organizations.
iv. Grant Funds, Sources and Uses of Project Funds
This section of the application should describe the project's
budget. At a minimum, it should include:
(A) Previously-incurred expenses, as defined in Section C.3.c.
(B) Future eligible costs, as defined in Section C.3.c.
(C) For all funds to be used for future eligible project costs, the
source and amount of those funds.
(D) For non-Federal funds to be used for future eligible project
costs, documentation of funding commitments should be referenced here
and included as an appendix to the application.
(E) For Federal funds to be used for future eligible project costs,
the amount, nature, and source of any required non-Federal match for
those funds.
(F) A budget showing how each source of funds will be spent. The
budget should show how each funding source will share in each major
construction activity, and present that data in dollars and
percentages. Funding sources should be grouped into three categories:
Non-Federal; INFRA; and other Federal. If the project contains
components, the budget should separate the costs of each project
component. If the project will be completed in phases, the budget
should separate the costs of each phase. The budget should be detailed
enough to demonstrate that the project satisfies the statutory cost-
sharing requirements described in Section C.2.
(G) Information showing that the applicant has budgeted sufficient
contingency amounts to cover unanticipated cost increases.
(H) The amount of the requested INFRA funds that would be subject
to the $500 million maximum described in Section B.2.
In addition to the information enumerated above, this section
should provide complete information on how all project funds may be
used. For example, if a particular source of funds is available only
after a condition is satisfied, the application should identify that
condition and describe the applicant's control over whether it is
satisfied. Similarly, if a particular source of funds is available for
expenditure only during a fixed time period, the application should
describe that restriction. Complete information about project funds
will ensure that the Department's expectations for award execution
align with any funding restrictions unrelated to the Department, even
if an award differs from the applicant's request.
v. Merit Criteria
This section of the application should demonstrate how the project
aligns with the Merit Criteria described in section E.1 of this notice.
The Department encourages applicants to address each criterion or
expressly state that the project does not address the criterion.
Applicants are not required to follow a specific format, but the
following organization, which addresses each criterion separately,
promotes a clear discussion that assists project evaluators. To
minimize redundant information in the application, the Department
encourages applicants to cross-reference from this section of their
application to relevant substantive information in other sections of
the application.
The guidance here is about how the applicant should organize their
application. Guidance describing how the Department will evaluate
projects against the Merit Criteria is in section E.1 of this notice.
Applicants also should review that section before considering how to
organize their application.
Criterion #1: Support for National or Regional Economic Vitality
This section of the application should describe the anticipated
outcomes of the project that support the Economic Vitality criterion
(described in Section E.1.a of this notice). The applicant should
summarize the conclusions of the project's benefit-cost analysis,
including estimates of the project's benefit-cost ratio and net
benefits. The applicant should also describe economic impacts and other
data-supported benefits that are not included in the benefit-cost
analysis.
The benefit-cost analysis itself should be provided as an appendix
to the project narrative, as described in D.2.d. of this Notice.
Criterion #2: Leveraging of Federal Funding
This section of the application should include information that,
when considered with the project budget information presented elsewhere
in the application, is sufficient for the Department to evaluate how
the project addresses the Leverage criterion, including:
(A) A description of the applicant's activities to maximize the
non-Federal share of the project funding;
(B) a description of all evaluations of the project for private
funding, the outcome of those evaluations, and all activities
undertaken to pursue private funding for the project;
(C) a description of any fiscal constraints that affect the
applicant's ability to use non-Federal contributions; and
(D) a description of the non-Federal share across the applicant's
transportation program, if the applicant is a regular recipient of
federal transportation funding; and
(E) a description of the applicant's plan to address the full life-
cycle costs associated with the project, including a description of
operations and maintenance funding commitments made by the applicant.
Criterion #3: Potential for Innovation
This section of the application should contain sufficient
information to evaluate how the project includes or enables innovation
in: (1) Environmental review and permitting; (2) use of experimental
project delivery authorities; and (3) safety and technology. If the
project does not address a particular innovation area, the application
should state this fact.
If an applicant is proposing to participate in the environmental
review and permitting approach described in section A.2.c, the
application should describe how the project would benefit from
participation, identify significant anticipated permitting challenges,
and identify coordination that might be necessary to complete the
environmental and permitting review process.
[[Page 31144]]
If an applicant is proposing to use SEP-14, SEP-15, or some other
experimental authority program, the applicant should describe that
proposal and their expected benefits. The applicant should also provide
sufficient information for evaluators to confirm that the applicant's
proposal would meet the requirements of the specific experimental
authority program.\7\
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\7\ SEP-14 information is available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/contracts/sep_a.cfm. SEP-15 information is available at
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/p3/tools_programs/sep15_procedures.aspx.
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If an applicant is proposing to adopt innovative safety approaches
or technology, the application should demonstrate the applicant's
capacity to implement those innovations, the applicant's understanding
of whether the innovations will require extraordinary permitting,
approvals, or other procedural actions, and the effects of those
innovations on the project delivery timeline.
Criterion #4: Performance and Accountability
This section of the application should include sufficient
information to evaluate how the applicant will advance the Performance
and Accountability program objective. In general, the applicant should
describe mechanisms that will allow the Department to hold it
accountable for advancing INFRA program goals. Additional details for
three approaches are provided in the following paragraphs, but these
examples are not exhaustive. As described in greater detail in section
A.2.d, the Department encourages applicants to identify other creative
ways to condition funding to advance INFRA program goals and describe
those mechanisms in this section of the application.
If the applicant is proposing to condition funding availability on
timely completion of project milestones, the applicant should identify
specific milestone events, provide target dates for those milestones,
and propose a relationship between some or all of the requested INFRA
funding and the milestones.
If the applicant is proposing to adopt a specific policy change,
the applicant should provide sufficient information for evaluators to
understand the existing policy, how changing the policy would advance
the Department's goals, and how feasible the change will be for the
applicant to complete within the project's delivery timeframe. The
applicant should propose a relationship between some or all of the
requested INFRA funding and its completion of the change.
If the applicant is proposing to condition funding availability on
reaching specific performance targets, the applicant should detail
those performance targets in detail, describe the feasibility of
tracking and achieving the target within the project's delivery
timeframe, and propose a relationship between some or all of the
requested INFRA funding and the performance objective.
vi. Project Readiness
This section of the application should include information that,
when considered with the project budget information presented elsewhere
in the application, is sufficient for the Department to evaluate
whether the project is reasonably expected to begin construction in a
timely manner. To assist the Department's project readiness assessment,
the applicant should provide the information requested on technical
feasibility, project schedule, project approvals, and project risks,
each of which is described in greater detail in the following sections.
Applicants are not required to follow the specific format described
here, but this organization, which addresses each relevant aspect of
project readiness, promotes a clear discussion that assists project
evaluators. To minimize redundant information in the application, the
Department encourages applicants to cross-reference from this section
of their application to relevant substantive information in other
sections of the application.
The guidance here is about what information applicants should
provide and how the applicant should organize their application.
Guidance describing how the Department will evaluate a project's
readiness is described in section E.1 of this notice. Applicants also
should review that section before considering how to organize their
application.
(A) Technical Feasibility. The applicant should demonstrate the
technical feasibility of the project with engineering and design
studies and activities; the development of design criteria and/or a
basis of design; the basis for the cost estimate presented in the INFRA
application, including the identification of contingency levels
appropriate to its level of design; and any scope, schedule, and budget
risk-mitigation measures. Applicants should include a detailed
statement of work that focuses on the technical and engineering aspects
of the project and describes in detail the project to be constructed.
(B) Project Schedule. The applicant should include a detailed
project schedule that identifies all major project milestones. Examples
of such milestones include State and local planning approvals
(programming on the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program),
start and completion of NEPA and other Federal environmental reviews
and approvals including permitting; design completion; right of way
acquisition; approval of plans, specifications and estimates (PS&E);
procurement; State and local approvals; project partnership and
implementation agreements including agreements with railroads; and
construction. The project schedule should be sufficiently detailed to
demonstrate that:
(1) All necessary activities will be complete to allow INFRA funds
to be obligated sufficiently in advance of the statutory deadline
(September 30, 2020 for FY 2017 funds, September 30, 2021 for FY 2018
funds), and that any unexpected delays will not put the funds at risk
of expiring before they are obligated;
(2) the project can begin construction quickly upon obligation of
INFRA funds, and that the grant funds will be spent expeditiously once
construction starts; and
(3) all real property and right-of-way acquisition will be
completed in a timely manner in accordance with 49 CFR part 24, 23 CFR
part 710, and other applicable legal requirements or a statement that
no acquisition is necessary.
(C) Required Approvals.
(1) Environmental Permits and Reviews. The application should
demonstrate receipt (or reasonably anticipated receipt) of all
environmental approvals and permits necessary for the project to
proceed to construction on the timeline specified in the project
schedule and necessary to meet the statutory obligation deadline,
including satisfaction of all Federal, State and local requirements and
completion of the NEPA process. Specifically, the application should
include:
(a) Information about the NEPA status of the project. If the NEPA
process is complete, an applicant should indicate the date of
completion, and provide a Web site link or other reference to the final
Categorical Exclusion, Finding of No Significant Impact, Record of
Decision, and any other NEPA documents prepared. If the NEPA process is
underway, but not complete, the application should detail the type of
NEPA review underway, where the project is in the process, and indicate
the anticipated date of completion of all
[[Page 31145]]
milestones and of the final NEPA determination. If the last agency
action with respect to NEPA documents occurred more than three years
before the application date, the applicant should describe why the
project has been delayed and include a proposed approach for verifying
and, if necessary, updating this material in accordance with applicable
NEPA requirements.
(b) Information on reviews, approvals, and permits by other
agencies. An application should indicate whether the proposed project
requires reviews or approval actions by other agencies,\8\ indicate the
status of such actions, and provide detailed information about the
status of those reviews or approvals and should demonstrate compliance
with any other applicable Federal, State, or local requirements, and
when such approvals are expected. Applicants should provide a Web site
link or other reference to copies of any reviews, approvals, and
permits prepared.
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\8\ Projects that may impact protected resources such as
wetlands, species habitat, cultural or historic resources require
review and approval by Federal and State agencies with jurisdiction
over those resources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) Environmental studies or other documents--preferably through a
Web site link--that describe in detail known project impacts, and
possible mitigation for those impacts.
(d) A description of discussions with the appropriate USDOT modal
administration field or headquarters office regarding the project's
compliance with NEPA and other applicable Federal environmental reviews
and approvals.
(e) A description of public engagement about the project that has
occurred, including details on the degree to which public comments and
commitments have been integrated into project development and design.
(2) State and Local Approvals. The applicant should demonstrate
receipt of State and local approvals on which the project depends, such
as State and local environmental and planning approvals and STIP or TIP
funding. Additional support from relevant State and local officials is
not required; however, an applicant should demonstrate that the project
has broad public support.
(3) Federal Transportation Requirements Affecting State and Local
Planning. The planning requirements applicable to the Federal-aid
highway program apply to all INFRA projects, but for port, freight, and
rail projects planning requirements of the operating administration
that will administer the INFRA project will also apply,\9\ including
intermodal projects located at airport facilities.\10\ Applicants
should demonstrate that a project that is required to be included in
the relevant State, metropolitan, and local planning documents has been
or will be included in such documents. If the project is not included
in a relevant planning document at the time the application is
submitted, the applicant should submit a statement from the appropriate
planning agency that actions are underway to include the project in the
relevant planning document.
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\9\ In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 134 and 135, all projects
requiring an action by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
must be in the applicable plan and programming documents (e.g.,
metropolitan transportation plan, transportation improvement program
(TIP) and statewide transportation improvement program (STIP)).
Further, in air quality non-attainment and maintenance areas, all
regionally significant projects, regardless of the funding source,
must be included in the conforming metropolitan transportation plan
and TIP. Inclusion in the STIP is required under certain
circumstances. To the extent a project is required to be on a
metropolitan transportation plan, TIP, and/or STIP, it will not
receive an INFRA grant until it is included in such plans. Projects
not currently included in these plans can be amended by the State
and metropolitan planning organization (MPO). Projects that are not
required to be in long range transportation plans, STIPs, and TIPs
will not need to be included in such plans in order to receive an
INFRA grant. Port, freight rail, and intermodal projects are not
required to be on the State Rail Plans called for in the Passenger
Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. However, applicants
seeking funding for freight projects are encouraged to demonstrate
that they have done sufficient planning to ensure that projects fit
into a prioritized list of capital needs and are consistent with
long-range goals. Means of demonstrating this consistency would
include whether the project is in a TIP or a State Freight Plan that
conforms to the requirements Section 70202 of Title 49 prior to the
start of construction. Port planning guidelines are available at
StrongPorts.gov.
\10\ Projects at grant obligated airports must be compatible
with the FAA-approved Airport Layout Plan (ALP), as well as
aeronautical surfaces associated with the landing and takeoff of
aircraft at the airport. Additionally, projects at an airport: Must
comply with established Sponsor Grant Assurances, including (but not
limited to) requirements for non-exclusive use facilities,
consultation with users, consistency with local plans including
development of the area surrounding the airport, and consideration
of the interest of nearby communities, among others; and must not
adversely affect the continued and unhindered access of passengers
to the terminal.
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To the extent possible, freight projects should be included in a
State Freight Plan and supported by a State Freight Advisory Committee
(49 U.S.C. 70201, 70202). Applicants should provide links or other
documentation supporting this consideration.
Because projects have different schedules, the construction start
date for each INFRA grant will be specified in the project-specific
agreements signed by relevant modal administration and the grant
recipients, based on critical path items that applicants identify in
the application and will be consistent with relevant State and local
plans.
(D) Assessment of Project Risks and Mitigation Strategies. Project
risks, such as procurement delays, environmental uncertainties,
increases in real estate acquisition costs, uncommitted local match, or
lack of legislative approval, affect the likelihood of successful
project start and completion. The applicant should identify all
material risks to the project and the strategies that the lead
applicant and any project partners have undertaken or will undertake in
order to mitigate those risks. The applicant should assess the greatest
risks to the project and identify how the project parties will mitigate
those risks.
To the extent it is unfamiliar with the Federal program, the
applicant should contact USDOT modal field or headquarters offices as
found at www.transportation.gov/infragrants for information on what
steps are pre-requisite to the obligation of Federal funds in order to
ensure that their project schedule is reasonable and that there are no
risks of delays in satisfying Federal requirements.
vii. Large/Small Project Requirements
To select a large project for award, the Department must determine
that the project satisfies several statutory requirements enumerated at
23 U.S.C. 117(g) and restated in the table below. The application must
include sufficient information for the Department to make these
determinations. Applicants should use this section of the application
to summarize how their project meets each of the following
requirements. Applicants are not required to reproduce the table below
in their application, but following this format will help evaluators
identify the relevant information that supports each large project
determination. To minimize redundant information in the application,
the Department encourages applicants to cross-reference from this
section of their application to relevant substantive information in
other sections of the application.
[[Page 31146]]
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Large project determination Guidance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Does the project generate national Summarize the economic,
or regional economic, mobility, safety mobility, and safety benefits
benefits? described in Section V of the
application, and describe the
scale of their impact in
national or regional terms.
2. Is the project cost effective? Highlight the results of the
benefit cost analysis
described in Section V of the
application.
3. Does the project contribute to one Specify the Goal(s) and
or more of the Goals listed under 23 summarize how the project
U.S.C. 150 (and shown below)? contributes to that goal(s).
(b) National Goals.--It is in the This information may also be
interest of the United States to focus found in Section I or Section
the Federal-aid highway program on the V.
following national goals:.
(1) Safety.--To achieve a
significant reduction in traffic
fatalities and serious injuries on
all public roads.
(2) Infrastructure condition.--To
maintain the highway
infrastructure asset system in a
state of good repair.
(3) Congestion reduction.--To
achieve a significant reduction in
congestion on the National Highway
System.
(4) System reliability.--To improve
the efficiency of the surface
transportation system.
(5) Freight movement and economic
vitality.--To improve the national
freight network, strengthen the
ability of rural communities to
access national and international
trade markets, and support
regional economic development.
(6) Environmental sustainability.--
To enhance the performance of the
transportation system while
protecting and enhancing the
natural environment.
(7) Reduced project delivery
delays.--To reduce project costs,
promote jobs and the economy, and
expedite the movement of people
and goods by accelerating project
completion through eliminating
delays in the project development
and delivery process, including
reducing regulatory burdens and
improving agencies' work
practices.
4. Is the project based on the results Yes/No. Please provide evidence
of preliminary engineering? of preliminary engineering.
For more information on
preliminary engineering
activities, please see: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/federalaid/150311.cfm.
5a. With respect to non-Federal Please indicate funding
financial commitments, does the source(s) and amounts.
project have one or more stable and Historical trends, current
dependable funding or financing policy, or future feasibility
sources to construct, maintain, and analyses can be used as
operate the project? evidence to substantiate the
stable and dependable nature
of the non-Federal funding or
financing.
5b. Are contingency amounts available Contingency amounts are often,
to cover unanticipated cost increases? but not always, expressly
shown in project budgets or
the SF-424C. If your project
cost estimates include an
implicit contingency
calculation, please say so
directly.
6. Is it the case that the project Discussion of the impact that
cannot be easily and efficiently not having any Federal
completed without other Federal funding, including an INFRA
funding or financial assistance grant, would have on project's
available to the project sponsor? schedule, cost, or likelihood
of completion, can help convey
whether a project can be
completed as easily or
efficiently without Federal
funding available to the
project sponsor.
7. Is the project reasonably expected Please reference project budget
to begin construction not later than and schedule when providing
18 months after the date of obligation evidence.
of funds for the project?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a small project to be selected, the Department must consider
the cost effectiveness of the proposed project and the effect of the
proposed project on mobility in the State and region in which the
project is carried out. If an applicant seeks an award for a small
project, it should use this section to provide information on the
project's cost effectiveness and the project's effect on the mobility
in its State and region, or refer to where else the information can be
found in the application.
c. Guidance for Benefit-Cost Analysis
This section describes the recommended approach for the completion
and submission of a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) as an appendix to the
Project Narrative. The results of the analysis should be summarized in
the Project Narrative directly, as described in Section D.2.b.v.
Applicants should delineate each of their project's expected
outcomes in the form of a complete BCA to enable the Department to
consider cost-effectiveness (small projects), determine whether the
project will be cost effective (large projects), estimate a benefit-
cost ratio and calculate the magnitude of net benefits and costs for
the project. In support of each project for which an applicant seeks
funding, that applicant should submit a BCA that quantifies the
expected benefits of the project against a no-build baseline, provides
monetary estimates of the benefits' economic value, and compares the
properly-discounted present values of these benefits to the project's
estimated costs.
The primary economic benefits from projects eligible for INFRA
grants are likely to include savings in travel time costs, vehicle
operating costs, and safety costs for both existing users of the
improved facility and new users who may be attracted to it as a result
of the project. Reduced damages from vehicle emissions and savings in
maintenance costs to public agencies may also be quantified. Applicants
may describe other categories of benefits in the BCA that are more
difficult to quantify and value in economic terms, such as improving
the reliability of travel times or improvements to the existing human
and natural environments (such as increased connectivity, improved
public
[[Page 31147]]
health, storm water runoff mitigation, and noise reduction), while also
providing numerical estimates of the magnitude and timing of each of
these additional impacts wherever possible. Any benefits claimed for
the project, both quantified and unquantified, should be clearly tied
to the expected outcomes of the project.
The BCA should include the full costs of developing, constructing,
operating, and maintaining the proposed project, as well as the
expected timing or schedule for costs in each of these categories. The
BCA may also consider the present discounted value of any remaining
service life of the asset at the end of the analysis period (net of
future maintenance and rehabilitation costs) as a deduction from the
estimated costs. The costs and benefits that are compared in the BCA
should also cover the same project scope.
The BCA should carefully document the assumptions and methodology
used to produce the analysis, including a description of the baseline,
the sources of data used to project the outcomes of the project, and
the values of key input parameters. Applicants should provide all
relevant files used for their BCA, including any spreadsheet files and
technical memos describing the analysis (whether created in-house or by
a contractor). The spreadsheets and technical memos should present the
calculations in sufficient detail and transparency to allow the
analysis to be reproduced by USDOT evaluators. Detailed guidance for
estimating some types of quantitative benefits and costs, together with
recommended economic values for converting them to dollar terms and
discounting to their present values, are available in the Department's
guidance for conducting BCAs for projects seeking funding under the
INFRA program (see https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/
infragrants).
Applicants for freight projects within the boundaries of a freight
rail, water (including ports), or intermodal facility should also
quantify the benefits of their proposed projects for freight movements
on the National Highway Freight Network, and should demonstrate that
the Federal share of the project funds only elements of the project
that provide public benefits.
3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)
Each applicant must: (1) Be registered in SAM before submitting its
application; (2) provide a valid unique entity identifier in its
application; and (3) 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 an INFRA 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 an INFRA grant, the Department may determine that the
applicant is not qualified to receive an INFRA grant and use that
determination as a basis for making an INFRA grant to another
applicant.
4. Submission Dates and Timelines
a. Deadline
Applications must be submitted by 8:00 p.m. EST November 2, 2017.
The Grants.gov ``Apply'' function will open by August 1, 2017.
To submit an application through Grants.gov, applicants must:
(1) Obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number:
(2) Register with the System Award for Management (SAM) at
www.sam.gov; and
(3) Create a Grants.gov username and password;
(4) The E-business Point of Contact (POC) at the applicant's
organization must also respond to the registration email from
Grants.gov and login at Grants.gov to authorize the POC as an
Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Please note that there
can only be one AOR per organization.
Please note that the Grants.gov registration process usually takes
2-4 weeks to complete and that 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
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html. If
interested parties 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
7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST.
b. Consideration of Application
Only applicants who comply with all submission deadlines described
in this notice and submit applications through Grants.gov will be
eligible for award. Applicants are strongly encouraged to make
submissions in advance of the deadline.
c. Late Applications
Applications received after the deadline will not be considered
except in the case of unforeseen technical difficulties outlined in
Section D.4.d.
d. Late Application Policy
Applicants experiencing technical issues with Grants.gov that are
beyond the applicant's control must contact INFRAgrants@dot.gov prior
to the application deadline with the user name of the registrant and
details of the technical issue experienced. The applicant must provide:
(1) Details of the technical issue experienced;
(2) Screen capture(s) of the technical issues experienced along
with corresponding Grants.gov ``Grant tracking number'';
(3) The ``Legal Business Name'' for the applicant that was provided
in the SF-424;
(4) The AOR name submitted in the SF-424;
(5) The DUNS number associated with the application; and
(6) The Grants.gov Help Desk Tracking Number.
To ensure a fair competition of limited discretionary funds, the
following conditions are not valid reasons to permit late submissions:
(1) Failure to complete the registration process before the deadline;
(2) failure to follow Grants.gov instructions on how to register and
apply as posted on its Web site; (3) failure to follow all of the
instructions in this notice of funding opportunity; and (4) technical
issues experienced with the applicant's computer or information
technology environment. After the Department reviews all information
submitted and contact the Grants.gov Help Desk to validate reported
technical issues, USDOT staff will contact late applicants to approve
or deny a request to submit a late application through Grants.gov. If
the reported technical issues cannot be validated, late applications
will be rejected as untimely.
E. Application Review Information
1. Criteria
a. Merit Criteria for Construction Projects
To differentiate among applications for construction projects under
this notice, the Department will consider the extent to which the
project addresses the follow criteria, which are explained in greater
detail below and reflect the key program objectives described in
section A.2: (1) Support for national or regional economic vitality;
(2)
[[Page 31148]]
leveraging of Federal funding; (3) potential for innovation; and (4)
performance and accountability. The Department is neither weighting
these criteria nor requiring that each application address every
criterion, but the Department expects that competitive applications
will substantively address all four criteria.
Criterion #1: Support for National or Regional Economic Vitality
The Department will consider the extent to which a project would
support the economic vitality of either the nation or a region. To the
extent possible, the Department will rely on quantitative, data-
supported analysis to assess how well a project addresses this
criterion, including an assessment of the applicant-supplied benefit-
cost analysis described in section D.2.d. In addition to considering
the anticipated outcomes of the project that align with this criterion,
the Department will consider estimates of the project's benefit-cost
ratio and net quantifiable benefits.
There are several different types of projects that the Department
anticipates will successfully support national or regional economic
vitality, including projects that:
Achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and
serious injuries on the surface transportation system;
Improve interactions between roadway users, reducing the
likelihood of derailments or high consequence events;
Eliminate bottlenecks in the freight supply chain;
Ensure or restore the good condition of infrastructure
that supports commerce and economic growth;
Sustain or advance national or regional economic
development in areas of need, including projects that provide or
improve connections to the Nation's transportation network to support
the movement of freight and people; and
Reduce barriers separating workers from employment
centers, including projects that are primarily oriented toward reducing
traffic congestion and corridor projects that reduce transportation
network gaps to connect peripheral regions to urban centers or job
opportunities.
The Department anticipates that applications for networks of
projects are likely to align well with this evaluation criterion
because networks of projects often are able to address problems on a
broader scale.
Criterion #2: Leveraging of Federal Funding
To maximize the impact of INFRA awards, the Department seeks to
leverage INFRA funding with non-Federal contributions. Therefore, the
Department will consider the extent to which an applicant proposes to
use non-Federal funding. For example, an application that proposes a 20
percent Federal share will be more competitive than an otherwise
identical application proposing 50 percent Federal share. For the
purposes of this criterion, funds from Federal credit programs,
including TIFIA and RRIF, will be considered non-Federal funding.
There are three additional types of information that the Department
will consider when evaluating an applicant's non-Federal contributions.
First, DOT recognizes that applicants have varying abilities and
resources to contribute non-Federal contributions. If an applicant
describes broader fiscal constraints that affect its ability to
generate or draw on non-Federal contributions, the Department will
consider those constraints. Relevant constraints may include the size
of the population taxed to supply the matching funds, the wealth of
that population, or other constraints on the raising of funds. In
practice, the Department expects that projects that come from rural or
less-wealthy applicants will have to meet a lower standard for leverage
than projects coming from urban or more wealthy applicants; however,
the Department still expects all applicants' projects to maximize
leverage to the extent they are able. Second, the Department recognizes
that some applicants consolidate Federal funding into a minimum number
of projects to simplify their burden complying with Federal
administrative requirements. For those applicants, the Federal share on
specific projects may be much higher than the overall Federal share of
their overall transportation program. If an applicant follows that
practice, explains their practice in their application, and provides
evidence establishing the Federal share of their overall transportation
program, the Department will consider that information. Third, the
Department will consider how well the applicant has prepared for future
operations and maintenance costs associated with their project's life-
cycle. Applicants should demonstrate a credible plan to maintain their
asset without having to rely on future federal funding. This plan
should include a description of the applicant's approach to ensuring
operations and maintenance will not be underfunded in future years.
In addition, the Department seeks to increase the sources of
infrastructure funding by encouraging private infrastructure
investment. Therefore, projects that incorporate private sector
contributions, including through a public-private partnership
structure, are likely to be more competitive than those that rely
solely on public non-Federal funding. Likewise, applicants who have
pursued private funds for appropriate projects are likely to be more
competitive under this program than applicants who have not. If an
applicant omits information on the applicability and pursuit of private
funds, the Department may conclude that the applicant has not
considered viable non-Federal funding alternatives and an INFRA award
would be premature.
This evaluation criterion is separate from the statutory cost share
requirements for INFRA grants, which are described Section C.2. Those
statutory requirements establish the minimum permissible non-Federal
share; they do not define a competitive INFRA project.
Criterion #3: Potential for Innovation
The Department seeks to use INFRA program to encourage innovation
in three areas: (1) Environmental review and permitting; (2) use of
experimental project delivery authorities; and (3) safety and
technology. Under this criterion, the Department will consider the
extent to which a project includes or enables innovation in each of
those areas.
In Innovation Area #1, as described in section A.2.c, the
Department seeks to establish a new approach to the process of Federal
environmental review and permitting. When making INFRA award decisions,
the Department will consider an applicant's interest in the
participating in this new approach and the extent to which the project
could benefit from that participation. The Department will also
consider the degree to which the results of a project's participation
might be representative and reproducible to other departmental or
government-wide projects or programs.
In Innovation Area #2, as described in section A.2.c, the
Department seeks innovative approaches to project delivery under the
auspices of the FHWA SEP-14 and SEP-15 programs and any other
applicable experimental programs. When making INFRA award decisions,
the Department will consider the applicant's proposals to use those
programs, whether the proposals are consistent with the objectives and
requirements of those programs, the potential benefits that
experimental authorities or waivers might provide to the project, and
the broader applicability of potential results.
[[Page 31149]]
Finally, in Innovation Area #3, as described in section A.2.c, the
Department seeks to experiment with innovative approaches to
transportation safety, particularly in relation to automated vehicles
and the detection, mitigation, and documentation of safety risks. When
making INFRA award decisions, the Department will consider any
innovative safety approaches proposed by the applicant, the safety
benefits that those approaches could produce, and the broader
applicability of the potential results. As described in section F.2.a,
the Department expects all projects to implement baseline safety
improvements consistent with FHWA's list of ``Proven Countermeasures''
and will not consider those improvements under this criterion.
Criterion #4: Performance and Accountability
The Department intends to award INFRA funding to projects that will
be delivered on agreed-upon schedules, that will generate clear,
quantifiable, results, and that will advance the Department's
transportation policy goals. The Department expects all applicants to
provide accurate estimates of benefits of their project, its delivery
schedule, and total costs. However, the Department will consider the
extent to which the applicant proposes specific measures and conditions
allowing the Department to ensure accountability, as described in
section A.2.d. Instead of rewarding unrealistic promises, the
Department intends to reward thoughtful planning, efficient delivery,
and effective policy.
b. Additional Considerations
i. Geographic Diversity
By statute, when selecting INFRA projects, the Department must
consider contributions to geographic diversity among recipients,
including the need for a balance between the needs of rural and urban
communities. However, the Department also recognizes that it can better
balance the needs of rural and urban communities if it does not take a
binary view of urban and rural. Accordingly, in addition to considering
whether a project is ``rural'' as defined by the INFRA statute and
described in section C.3.e, when balancing the needs of rural and urban
communities, the Department will consider the actual population of the
community that each project serves.
ii. Project Readiness
During application evaluation, the Department considers project
readiness in two ways: To assess the likelihood of successful project
delivery and to confirm that a project will satisfy statutory readiness
requirements.
First, the Department will consider significant risks to successful
completion of a project, including risks associated with environmental
review, permitting, technical feasibility, funding, and the applicant's
capacity to manage project delivery. Risks do not disqualify projects
from award, but competitive applications clearly and directly describe
achievable risk mitigation strategies. A project with mitigated risks
is more competitive than a comparable project with unaddressed risks.
Second, by statute, the Department cannot award a large project
unless that project is reasonably expected to begin construction within
18 months of obligation of funds for the project. Obligation occurs
when a selected applicant enters a written, project-specific agreement
with the Department and is generally after the applicant has satisfied
applicable administrative requirements, including transportation
planning and environmental review requirements. Depending on the nature
of pre-construction activities included in the awarded project, the
Department may obligate funds in phases. Preliminary engineering and
right-of-way acquisition activities, such as environmental review,
design work, and other preconstruction activities, do not fulfill the
requirement to begin construction within 18 months of obligation for
large projects. By statute, INFRA funds must be obligated within three
years of the end of the fiscal year for which they are authorized.
Therefore, for awards with FY 2017 funds, the Department will determine
that large projects with an anticipated obligation date beyond
September 30, 2020 are not reasonably expected to begin construction
within 18 months of obligation. For awards with FY 2018 funds, that
deadline is one year later: September 30, 2021.
2. Review and Selection Process
The USDOT will review all eligible applications received before the
application deadline. The INFRA process consists of a Technical
Evaluation phase and Senior Review. In the Technical Evaluation phase,
teams will, for each project, determine whether the project satisfies
statutory requirements and rate how well it addresses the selection
criteria. The Senior Review Team will consider the applications and the
technical evaluations to determine which projects to advance to the
Secretary for consideration. The Secretary will ultimately select the
projects for award. A Quality Control and Oversight Team will ensure
consistency across project evaluations and appropriate documentation
throughout the review and selection process.
3. Additional Information
Prior to award, each selected applicant will be subject to a risk
assessment as 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
Following the evaluation outlined in section E, the Secretary will
announce awarded projects by posting a list of selected projects at
https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/INFRAgrants. Following the
announcement, the Department will contact the point of contact listed
in the SF 424 to initiate negotiation of a project-specific agreement.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
a. Safety Requirements
The Department will require INFRA projects to meet two general
requirements related to safety. First, INFRA projects must be part of a
thoughtful, data-driven approach to safety. Each State maintains a
strategic highway safety plan.\11\ INFRA projects will be required to
incorporate appropriate elements that respond to priority areas
identified in that plan and are likely to yield safety benefits.
Second, INFRA projects will incorporate two categories of safety-
related activities. The first category encompasses activities that the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has identified as ``proven safety
countermeasures'' due to their history of
[[Page 31150]]
demonstrated effectiveness.\12\ The second category encompasses safety-
related tools, technologies, and practices from FHWA's Every Day Counts
initiative.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ Information on State-specific strategic highway safety
plans is available at https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/shsp/other_resources.cfm.
\12\ Information on FHWA proven safety countermeasures is
available at: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/.
\13\ Information of the FHWA Everyday Counts Initiative is
available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
After selecting INFRA recipients, the Department will work with
those recipients on a project-by-project basis to determine the
specific safety requirements that are appropriate for each award.
b. Other Administrative and Policy Requirements
All INFRA 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 USDOT at 2 CFR
part 1201. A project carried out under the INFRA program will be
treated as if the project is located on a Federal-aid highway. All
INFRA projects are subject to the Buy America requirement at 23 U.S.C.
313. Additionally, applicable Federal laws, rules and regulations of
the relevant operating administration administering the project will
apply to the projects that receive INFRA grants, including planning
requirements, Stakeholder Agreements, and other requirements under the
Department's other highway, transit, rail, and port grant programs. For
an illustrative list of the applicable laws, rules, regulations,
executive orders, policies, guidelines, and requirements as they relate
to an INFRA grant, please see https://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Freight/infrastructure/nsfhp/fy2016_gr_exhbt_c/index.htm.
The applicability of Federal requirements to a project may be
affected by the scope of the NEPA reviews for that project. For
example, under 23 U.S.C. 313(g), Buy America requirements apply to all
contracts that are eligible for assistance under title 23, United
States Code, and are carried out within the scope of the NEPA finding,
determination, or decision regardless of the funding source of such
contracts if at least one contract is funded with Title 23 funds.
3. Reporting
a. Progress Reporting on Grant Activity
Each applicant selected for an INFRA grant must submit the Federal
Financial Report (SF-425) on the financial condition of the project and
the project's progress, 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 INFRA program.
b. Reporting of Matters Related to Integrity and Performance
If the total value of a selected applicant'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 currency of
information reported to the System for Award Management (SAM) that is
made available in the designated integrity and performance system
(currently the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information
System (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 Contacts
For further information concerning this notice, please contact the
Office of the Secretary via email at InFRAgrants@dot.gov. For more
information about highway projects, please contact Crystal Jones at
(202) 366-2976. For more information about maritime projects, please
contact Robert Bouchard at (202) 366-5076. For more information about
rail projects, please contact Stephanie Lawrence at (202) 493-1376. For
more information about railway-highway grade crossing projects, please
contact Karen McClure at (202) 493-6417. For all other questions,
please contact Paul Baumer at (202) 366-1092. A TDD is available for
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing at 202-366-3993. In
addition, up to the application deadline, the Department will post
answers to common questions and requests for clarifications on USDOT's
Web site at https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/InFRAgrants. To
ensure applicants receive accurate information about eligibility or the
program, the applicant is encouraged to contact USDOT directly, rather
than through intermediaries or third parties, with questions.
H. Other Information
1. Invitation for Public Comment on the FY 2017-2018 Notice
The FAST Act authorized the INFRA program through FY 2020. This
notice solicits applications for FY 2017 and FY 2018 only. The
Department invites interested parties to submit comments about this
notice's contents, and the Department's implementation choices, as well
as suggestions for clarification in future INFRA rounds. The Department
may consider the submitted comments and suggestions when developing
subsequent INFRA solicitations and guidance, but submitted comments
will not affect the selection criteria for the FY 2017-FY 2018 round.
Applications or comments about specific projects should not be
submitted to the docket. Any application submitted to the docket will
not be reviewed. Comments should be sent to DOT-OST-0090 by November 2,
2017, but, to the extent practicable, the Department will consider late
filed comments.
2. 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 methodologies 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 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 Department protects such information from disclosure to the
extent allowed under applicable law. In the event the Department
receives a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the
information, USDOT will follow the 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.
3. Publication of Application Information
Following the completion of the selection process and announcement
of awards, the Department intends to publish a list of all applications
received along with the names of the applicant organizations and
funding amounts requested.
[[Page 31151]]
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2017.
Elaine L. Chao,
Secretary of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2017-14042 Filed 7-3-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P