Grants and cooperative agreements; availability, etc.: Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program,

[Federal Register: October 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 198)]

[Notices]

[Page 58365-58370]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr15oc07-88]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Announcement of Project Selections.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects to be funded under Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 appropriations for the Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands (ATPPL) program, authorized by Section 3021 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users of 2005 (SAFETEA-LU) and codified in 49 U.S.C. 5320. The ATPPL program funds capital and planning expenses for alternative transportation systems in parks and public lands. Federal land management agencies and State, tribal and local governments acting with the consent of a Federal land management agency are eligible recipients.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project sponsors who are State, local, or tribal entities may contact the appropriate FTA Regional Administrator (See Appendix A) for grant-specific issues. Project sponsors who are a Federal land management agency or a specific unit of a Federal land management agency should work with the contact listed below at their headquarters office to coordinate the availability of funds to that unit.

Bureau of Land Management: Linda Force, Linda_Force@blm.gov, 202-557-3567.

Fish and Wildlife Service: Nathan Caldwell, nathan_caldwell@fws.gov, 703-358-2376.

Forest Service: Ellen LaFayette, elafayette@fs.fed.us, 703-605-4509.

National Park Service: Kevin Percival, Kevin_Percival@nps.gov, 303-969-2429.

For general information about the Alternative Transportation in the Parks and Public Lands program, please contact Scott Faulk, Office of Program Management, Federal Transit Administration, scott.faulk@fdot.gov, 202-366-1660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A total of $23,000,000 was appropriated for FTA's ATPPL program in FY 2007. Of this amount, a maximum of $20,596,500 was available for project awards; $115,000 was reserved for oversight activities; and up to $2,300,000 was available for planning, research, and technical assistance. A total of 81 applicants requested $55 million, more than twice the amount available for projects, indicating strong competition for funds. An interagency technical review committee evaluated the project proposals based on the criteria defined in 49 U.S.C. 5320(g)(2). Then, as specified in Section 5320(g), the Secretary of the Interior's designee determined the final selection of projects after consultation with and in cooperation with the Secretary of Transportation's designee. For FY 2007, the program will fund 46 projects totaling $19,788,840.

The goals of the program are to conserve natural, historical, and cultural resources; reduce congestion and pollution; improve visitor mobility and accessibility; enhance visitor experience; and ensure access to all, including persons with disabilities through alternative transportation projects. The projects selected for funding in FY 2007 represent a diverse

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set of capital and planning projects across the country, ranging from bus purchases to a ferry dock.

FY2007 ATPPL Project Selection

Project State Land unit/agency description

Project type Funding recipient Amount ($)

AK............ Glacier Bay NP and Replace the

Boat/Ferry/Dock... Direct Grant to $3,000,000 Preserve/National existing Gustavus

Alaska Park Service. passenger and

Department of freight dock.

Transportation (D2007-ATPL-001). AK............ Tongass National Design, procure, Other............. Interagency

500,000 Forest/United and implement an

Agreement with States Forest Intelligent

United States Service.

Transportation

Forest Service. System (ITS). AZ............ Grand Canyon

Implement an ITS Other............. Interagency

193,000 National Park/ that promotes

Agreement with National Park transit use and

National Park Service.

reduced

Service. congestion. AZ............ Coronado National Fund a

Planning.......... Interagency

180,000 Forest, Santa transportation

Agreement with Catalina Ranger analysis and

United States District, Sabino feasibility study.

Forest Service. Canyon Recreation Area/United States Forest Service. CA............ Muir Woods

Lease ten clean Bus............... Interagency

492,500 National Monument fuel shuttle

Agreement with of the Golden buses for Muir

National Park Gate National Woods shuttle

Service. Recreation Area/ service and National Park improve the Muir Service.

Woods Centennial transit stop. CA............ Sequoia and Kings Lease five 30' Bus............... Interagency

225,000 Canyon National shuttle buses for

Agreement with Parks/National the Giant Forest

National Park Park Service. Shuttle System in

Service. Sequoia National Park. CA............ Inyo National Capital cost of Bus............... Interagency

100,000 Forest Devils leasing ten buses

Agreement with Postpile National for the Red

United States Monument/United Meadows-Devils

Forest Service. States Forest Postpile transit Service and

system Funds also National Park to be used for Service.

visitor information on the transit system. CA............ Yosemite National Lease Yosemite Bus............... Interagency

264,600 Park/National Area Regional

Agreement with Park Service. Transportation

National Park System (YARTS)

Service. Vehicles. CA............ Yosemite National Complete park wide Planning.......... Interagency

621,600 Park/National Integrated

Agreement with Park Service. Transportation

National Park Capacity

Service. Assessment. CA............ Golden Gate

Prepare

Planning.......... Interagency

70,000 National

operational plan

Agreement with Recreation Area/ for the Fort

National Park National Park Baker Shuttle.

Service. Service. CA............ San Francisco Prepare

Planning.......... Interagency

493,000 Maritime National Environmental

Agreement with Historical Park, Impact Statement

National Park Golden Gate

for the extension

Service. National

of the San Recreation Area/ Francisco National Park Municipal Railway Service.

Historic Streetcar Route/ Line. CO............ The Maroon Bells-- Purchase 2 hybrid Bus............... Direct Grant to 1,300,000 Snowmass

electric low-

Roaring Fork Wilderness Area, floor buses and

Alternative White River

advance ITS

Transportation National Forest/ technology

Authority (D2007- United States initiatives to

ATPL-002). Forest Service. make transit within Maroon Bells, Snowmass Wilderness Area, and White River National Forest more efficient and user-friendly. CO............ U.S. Fish and Bus acquisition to Bus............... Interagency

171,720 Wildlife Service facilitate

Agreement with Rocky Mountain/ alternative

Fish and Fish and Wildlife transportation

Wildlife Service. Service.

within Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. CO............ Rocky Mountain Model the effects Planning.......... Interagency

298,817 National Park/ of alternative

Agreement with National Park transportation on

National Park Service.

resource

Service. protection and visitor experience in Rocky Mountain National Park.

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FL............ Gulf Islands

Fund the Fort Planning.......... Interagency

250,000 National Seashore/ Pickens/Gateway

Agreement with National Park Community

National Park Service.

Alternative

Service. Transportation Plan. MA............ Cape Cod National Purchase five 30' Vehicle

Interagency

1,850,000 Seashore/National low-floor mini- replacement.

Agreement with Park Service. buses.

National Park Service. MA............ Cape Cod National Purchase a tram to Tram/Trolley...... Interagency

450,000 Seashore/National facilitate

Agreement with Park Service. alternative

National Park transportation.

Service. MA............ Lowell National Fund maintenance Tram/Trolley...... Interagency

409,650 Historic Park/ and safety

Agreement with National Park improvements to

National Park Service.

the existing 1.5-

Service. mile trolley system. MA............ Monomoy National Fund a planning Planning.......... Interagency

100,000 Wildlife Refuge, study that

Agreement with Cape Cod National focuses on the

Fish and Seashore/National expansion of

Wildlife Service. Park Service and alternative Fish and Wildlife transportation in Service.

Outer and Lower Cape Cod. MA............ Cape Cod National Fund a study that Planning.......... Interagency

250,000 Seashore/National develops an

Agreement with Park Service. integrated

National Park parking and

Service. transit plan. MA............ Boston Harbor Rehabilitate the Planning.......... Interagency

100,000 Islands National Ferry Hub Pier at

Agreement with Recreation Area/ Georges Island.

National Park National Park

Service. Service. MD............ Fort McHenry

Reconfigure a Other............. Interagency

292,500 National Monument transit vehicle

Agreement with and Historic Site/ node, which will

National Park National Park provide a safe

Service. Service.

visitor access point to the park. MD............ Fort McHenry

Conduct a

Planning.......... Interagency

72,000 National Monument feasibility study

Agreement with and Historic Site/ to evaluate a

National Park National Park circular trolley/

Service. Service.

transit system connecting Baltimore's Inner Harbor with Fort McHenry National Park. MD etc........ Multiple Wildlife Research and

Planning.......... Interagency

248,000 Refuges in

design of a low

Agreement with Northeast (Region environmental

Fish and 5)/Fish and

impact tram.

Wildlife Service. Wildlife Service. MD/VA......... Chincoteague

Conduct a

Planning.......... Interagency

270,000 National Wildlife comprehensive

Agreement with Refuge,

transportation

Fish and Assateague Island planning study.

Wildlife Service. National Seashore/ Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service. ME............ Acadia National Purchase six

Vehicle

Direct Grant to 1,096,500 Park/National propane buses. replacement.

Maine Department Park Service.

of Transportation (D2007-ATPL-003). ME............ Acadia National Fund a study that Planning.......... Interagency

80,000 Park/National evaluates

Agreement with Park Service. existing

National Park conditions at all

Service. bus stops within Acadia National Park, and identify alternative designs and strategies to improve bus stops that pose a risk to visitor safety. MI............ Hiawatha National Replace a

Bus............... Interagency

575,000 Forest--Alger passenger ferry,

Agreement with County Public purchase a tour

United States Transit/United bus, rehabilitate

Forest Service. States Forest a ferry dock, and Service.

construct a terminal facility. MT............ Glacier National Purchase transit Bus............... Interagency

1,200,000 Park and

vehicles for

Agreement with Blackfeet Indian Glacier National

National Park Reservation/

Park Transit

Service. National Park System. Service. NJ............ Sandy Hook Unit of Fund feasibility Planning.......... Interagency

50,000 Gateway National study on

Agreement with Recreation Area/ upgrading the

National Park National Park Sandy Hook

Service. Service.

National Park's shuttle bus service.

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NV............ Humboldt-Toiyabe Fund a pilot ski Bus............... Interagency

168,300 National Forest/ season shuttle

Agreement with Spring Mountain project and

United States National

provide

Forest Service. Recreation Area/ operational data United States for bus service Forest Service. between Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort. NY............ Roosevelt-

Fund a multi-year, Bus............... Interagency

226,800 Vanderbilt

seasonal field

Agreement with National Historic test at Roosevelt-

National Park Site/National Vanderbilt

Service. Park Service. National Historic Site. NY............ Fire Island

Redesign and

Boat/Ferry/Dock... Interagency

200,000 National Seashore/ construct a ferry

Agreement with National Park terminal/visitor

National Park Service.

transportation

Service. center. OH............ Cuyahoga Valley Upgrade Rockside Planning.......... Interagency

187,000 National Park/ Railroad Boarding

Agreement with National Park Station Area.

National Park Service.

Service. OR............ Lewis and Clark Fund shuttle bus Bus............... Interagency

43,000 National

leasing from

Agreement with Historical Park/ Sunset Empire

National Park National Park Transit District.

Service. Service. PA............ Gettysburg

Procure three Bus............... Direct Grant to 787,353 National Military trolleys and

Adams County Park; Eisenhower construct eight

Transit National Historic bus stops.

Authority (D2007- Site and the

ATPL-004). Soldiers National Cemetery/National Park Service. PA............ Valley Forge

Fund a pilot

Planning.......... Interagency

168,000 National

shuttle bus

Agreement with Historical Park/ program at Valley

National Park National Park Forge National

Service. Service.

Historical Park. TN............ Kennesaw Mountain Conduct a

Planning.......... Interagency

25,000 National

technical review

Agreement with Battlefield Park/ of Kennesaw

National Park National Park Mountain National

Service. Service.

Battlefield Park shuttle bus service. TX............ Lower Rio Grande Purchase 10

Tram/Trolley...... Interagency

400,000 Valley National transit vehicles

Agreement with Wildlife Refuge. to facilitate

Fish and ecotourism at

Wildlife Service. Texas parks, wildlife refuges, and the World Birding Center. UT............ Bureau of Land Construct transit Other............. Direct Grant to 774,000 Management Moab hub to be located

Grand County, Field Office, on the north end

Utah (D2007-ATPL- Arches National of Moab near the

005). Park/Bureau of banks of the Land Management Colorado River. and National Park Service. UT............ Zion National Park/ Expansion of the Other............. Interagency

151,500 National Park Zion shuttle

Agreement with Service.

system's Visitor

National Park Center shuttle

Service. bus stop. UT............ Wasatch-Cache Fund a

Planning.......... Interagency

204,000 National Forest, transportation

Agreement with Salt Lake Ranger feasibility study

United States District/United for the Salt Lake

Forest Service. States Forest City Tri-Canyons, Service.

Albion Basin area. UT............ Zion National Park/ Fund Zion National Planning.......... Interagency

150,000 National Park Park Shuttle

Agreement with Service.

Service Planning

National Park Study.

Service. VA............ Colonial National Conduct visitor Planning.......... Interagency

95,000 Park/National survey and

Agreement with Park Service. enhance

National Park operations for

Service. current transit system. WA............ Wenatachee

Redesign the Lake Planning.......... Interagency

5,000 National Forest/ Chelan Dock

Agreement with United States infrastructure.

United States Forest Service

Forest Service and National Park

and National Service.

Park Service. WY............ National Elk

Construct a 4.2 Non-motorized..... Direct Grant to 1,000,000 Refuge and Grand mile trail system

Teton County Teton National from National Elk

(D2007-ATPL-006). Park/Fish and Refuge Visitor Wildlife Service Center to the end and National Park of the National Service.

Elk Refuge.

Total..... .................. .................. .................. ................. 19,788,840

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Applying for Funds

Recipients who are State or local government entities will be required to apply for ATPPL funds electronically through FTA's electronic grant award and management system, TEAM. The content of these grant applications must reflect the approved proposal. (Note: Applications for the ATPPL program do not require Department of Labor Certification.) Upon grant award, payments to grantees will be made by electronic transfer to the grantee's financial institution through the Electronic Clearing House Operation (ECHO) system. Staff in FTA's Regional offices are available to assist applicants.

Recipients who are Federal land management agencies will be required to enter into an interagency agreement with FTA. FTA will administer one interagency agreement with each Federal land management agency receiving funding through the program for all of that agency's projects. Individual units of Federal land management agencies should work with the contact at their headquarters office listed above to coordinate the availability of funds to that unit.

Program Requirements

Section 5320 requires funding recipients to meet certain requirements. Program requirements can be found in the document ``Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program: Requirements for Recipients of FY 2007 Funding'' available at http://www.fta.dot.gov/atppl. These requirements are incorporated into the

grant agreements and inter-agency agreements used to fund the selected projects.

Pre-Award Authority

Pre-award authority allows an agency that will receive a grant or interagency agreement to incur certain project costs prior to receipt of the grant or interagency agreement and retain eligibility of the costs for subsequent reimbursement after the grant or agreement is approved. The recipient assumes all risk and is responsible for ensuring that all conditions are met to retain eligibility, including compliance with federal requirements such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), SAFETEA-LU planning requirements, and provisions established in the grant contract or Interagency Agreement. This automatic pre-award spending authority, when triggered, permits a grantee to incur costs on an eligible transit capital or planning project without prejudice to possible future Federal participation in the cost of the project or projects. Under the authority provided in 49 U.S.C. 5320(h), FTA is extending pre-award authority for FY 2007 ATTPL projects effective as of October 15, 2007, when the projects were publicly announced.

The conditions under which pre-award authority may be utilized are specified below:

1. Pre-award authority is not a legal or implied commitment that the project(s) will be approved for FTA assistance or that FTA will obligate Federal funds. Furthermore, it is not a legal or implied commitment that all items undertaken by the applicant will be eligible for inclusion in the project(s).

2. All FTA statutory, procedural, and contractual requirements must be met.

3. No action will be taken by the grantee that prejudices the legal and administrative findings that the Federal Transit Administrator must make in order to approve a project.

4. Local funds expended pursuant to this pre-award authority will be eligible for reimbursement if FTA later makes a grant or interagency agreement for the project(s). Local funds expended by the grantee prior to October 15, 2007 will not be eligible for credit toward local match or reimbursement. Furthermore, the expenditure of local funds on activities such as land acquisition, demolition, or construction, prior to the completion of the NEPA process, would compromise FTA's ability to comply with Federal environmental laws and may render the project ineligible for FTA funding.

5. When a grant for the project is subsequently awarded, the Financial Status Report, in TEAM-Web, must indicate the use of pre- award authority, and the pre-award item in the project information section of TEAM should be marked ``yes.''

Reporting Requirements

All recipients must submit quarterly milestone/progress reports to FTA containing the following information:

(1) Narrative description of project(s); and,

(2) Discussion of all budget and schedule changes.

State and local government entities should submit this information through FTA's TEAM grants management system.

The headquarters office for each federal land management agency should collect a quarterly report for each of the projects delineated in the interagency agreement and then send these reports (preferably by e-mail) to Scott Faulk, FTA Office of Transit Programs, scott.faulk@dot.gov; 202-366-1660; 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.; E44-

417; Washington, DC 20590. Examples can be found on the program Web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov/atppl. The quarterly reports are due to

FTA on the dates noted below:

Quarter

Covering

Due date

1st Quarter Report.............. October 1-December January 31. 31. 2nd Quarter Report.............. January 1-March 31 April 30. 3rd Quarter Report.............. April 1-June 30... July 31. 4th Quarter Report.............. July 1-September October 31. 31.

In order to allow FTA to compute aggregate program performance measures as required by the President's Management Agenda, FTA requests that all recipients of funding for capital projects under the ATPPL program submit the following information annually:

Annual visitation to the land unit;

Annual number of persons who use the alternative transportation system (ridership/usage);

An estimate of the number of vehicle trips mitigated based on alternative transportation system usage and the typical number of passengers per vehicle;

Cost per passenger; and,

A note of any special services offered for those systems with higher costs per passenger but more amenities.

State and local government entities should submit this information as part of their fourth quarter report through FTA's TEAM grants management system.

Federal land management agencies should also send this information as part of their fourth quarter report (preferably by e-mail), to Scott Faulk, FTA, scott.faulk@dot.gov; 202-366-1660; 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.; E44-417; Washington, DC 20590. Examples can be found on the program Web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov/atppl.

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Oversight

Recipients of FY 2007 ATPPL funds will be required to certify that they will comply with all applicable Federal and FTA programmatic requirements. FTA direct grantees will complete this certification as part of the annual Certification and Assurances package, and Federal Land Management Agency recipients will complete the certification by signing the interagency agreement. This certification is the basis for oversight reviews conducted by FTA.

The Secretary of Transportation and FTA have elected not to apply the triennial review requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5307(h)(2) to ATPPL recipients that are other Federal agencies. Instead, working with the existing oversight systems at the Federal Land Management Agencies, FTA will perform periodic reviews of specific projects funded by the ATPPL program. These reviews will ensure that projects meet the basic statutory, administrative, and regulatory requirements as stipulated by this notice and the certification. To the extent possible, these reviews will be coordinated with other reviews of the project. FTA direct grantees of ATPPL funds (State, local and tribal government entities) will be subject to all applicable triennial, State management, civil rights, and other reviews.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 5th day of October, 2007. James S. Simpson, Administrator.

Appendix A--FTA Regional Offices

Region I

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Richard Doyle, FTA Regional Administrator, Kendall Square, 55 Broadway, Suite 920, Cambridge, MA 02142-1093, (617) 494- 2055.

Region II

New Jersey and New York. Brigid Hynes-Cherin, FTA Regional Administrator, One Bowling Green, Room 429, New York, NY 10004-1415, (212) 668-2170.

Region III

Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Letitia Thompson, FTA Regional Administrator, 1760 Market Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19103-4124, (215) 656-7100.

Region IV

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virgin Islands. Yvette Taylor, FTA Regional Administrator, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Suite 17T50, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 865-5600.

Region V

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Marisol Simon, FTA Regional Administrator, 200 West Adams Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60606-5232, (312) 353-2789.

Region VI

Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Robert Patrick, FTA Regional Administrator, 819 Taylor Street, Room 8A36, Ft. Worth, TX 76102, (817) 978-0550.

Region VII

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Mokhtee Ahmad, FTA Regional Administrator, 901 Locust Street, Suite 404, Kansas City, MO 64106, (816) 329-3920.

Region VIII

Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Terry Rosapep, FTA Regional Administrator, 12300 West Dakota, Suite 310, Lakewood, CO 80228-2583, (720) 963-3300.

Region IX

American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Leslie Rogers, FTA Regional Administrator, 201 Mission Street, Suite 2210, San Francisco, CA 94105-1839, (415) 744-3133.

Region X

Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Richard F. Krochalis, FTA Regional Administrator, Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Avenue, Suite 3142, Seattle, WA 98174-1002, (206) 220-7954.

[FR Doc. E7-20213 Filed 10-12-07; 8:45 am]

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