FY 2021 American Rescue Plan Additional Assistance

Published date09 September 2021
Citation86 FR 50590
Record Number2021-19397
SectionNotices
CourtFederal Transit Administration,Transportation Department
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 172 (Thursday, September 9, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 172 (Thursday, September 9, 2021)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 50590-50594]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-19397]
                [[Page 50590]]
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                DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
                Federal Transit Administration
                FY 2021 American Rescue Plan Additional Assistance
                AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of
                Transportation (DOT).
                ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
                -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the
                opportunity to apply for $2,207,561,294 in discretionary grants under
                the American Rescue Plan Act's Additional Assistance Funding
                (Additional Assistance Funding). As required by the American Rescue
                Plan Act, funds will be awarded to eligible recipients or eligible
                subrecipients of Urbanized Area Formula funds or Rural Area Formula
                funds that, as a result of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),
                require additional assistance for costs related to operations,
                personnel, cleaning, and sanitization combating the spread of pathogens
                on transit systems, and debt service payments incurred to maintain
                operations and avoid layoffs and furloughs. FTA may award additional
                funding made available to the program prior to the announcement of
                project selections.
                DATES: Complete proposals must be submitted electronically through the
                GRANTS.GOV ``APPLY'' function by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, November 8,
                2021. Prospective applicants should initiate the process by promptly
                registering on the GRANTS.GOV website to ensure completion of the
                application process before the submission deadline. Instructions for
                applying can be found on FTA's website at https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/applying/applying-fta-funding and in the ``FIND'' module
                of GRANTS.GOV. The funding opportunity ID is 2021-012-TPM-AAF. Mail and
                fax submissions will not be accepted.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions regarding this notice,
                please email [email protected]. If you need immediate assistance
                you may call Sarah Clements, FTA Office of Program Management, (202)
                366-3062.
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                Table of Contents
                A. Program Description
                B. Federal Award Information
                C. Eligibility Information
                D. Application and Submission Information
                E. Application Review Information
                F. Federal Award Administration Information
                G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)
                H. Other Information
                A. Program Description
                 The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), Public Law 117-2 (March 11,
                2021), appropriated funding to award grants for additional assistance
                to transit agencies in response to COVID-19 through a discretionary
                process, as described in this notice. The Federal Assistance Listing
                numbers for this opportunity are 20.507 and 20.509. Additional
                Assistance Funding is made available to eligible recipients or
                subrecipients of Urbanized Area Formula funds (49 U.S.C. 5307) or Rural
                Area Formula funds (49 U.S.C. 5311). Eligible expenses are operating
                costs related to operations, personnel, cleaning, and sanitization
                combating the spread of pathogens on transit systems, and debt service
                payments incurred to maintain operations and avoid layoffs and
                furloughs as a result of COVID-19. Additional Assistance Funding
                supports FTA's strategic goals and objectives through timely and
                efficient investment in public transportation.
                B. Federal Award Information
                 ARP appropriated $ 2,207,561,294 in FY 2021 funds for Additional
                Assistance grants. FTA may award additional funding made available to
                the program prior to the announcement of project selections.
                 There is no minimum or maximum grant award amount, although FTA may
                cap the amount a single recipient or State may receive as part of the
                selection process. FTA intends to fund as many eligible projects as
                possible. FTA does not expect there to be sufficient funding to support
                shortfalls beyond September 30, 2023.
                C. Eligibility Information
                1. Eligible Applicants
                 Eligible applicants include eligible recipients of Urbanized Area
                Formula funds (49 U.S.C. 5307) or Rural Area Formula funds (49 U.S.C.
                5311) who, as a result of COVID-19, require additional assistance. This
                includes Indian tribes that are eligible recipients of Urbanized Area
                Formula funds or Rural Area Formula funds.
                 FTA will administer applications and awards under this NOFO in a
                manner similar to the Urbanized Area and Rural Area Formula funding
                programs. Only designated and direct recipients under those programs,
                including States and Indian tribes, may apply directly to FTA under
                this NOFO, and FTA will make awards under this NOFO only to applicants
                that are designated or direct recipients of those programs. A
                designated or direct recipient may apply on behalf of one or more
                public transportation subrecipients of Urbanized Area and Rural Area
                Formula funding.
                 Eligible applicants that do not currently have an active grant with
                FTA will, upon selection, be required to work with the FTA regional
                office to establish their organization as an active grant recipient.
                This process may require additional documentation to support the
                organization's technical, financial, and legal capacity to receive and
                administer Federal funds under this program. Traditional subrecipients
                of FTA funding are strongly encouraged to work with their direct/
                designated recipient on a consolidated application to assist with the
                quick obligation of these funds.
                2. Cost Sharing or Matching
                 The Federal share is 100 percent of the net project cost.
                Applicants will not provide match.
                3. Eligible Projects
                 Eligible projects are operating costs related to operations,
                personnel, cleaning, and sanitization combating the spread of pathogens
                on transit systems, and debt service payments incurred to maintain
                operations and avoid layoffs and furloughs as a result of COVID-19. As
                required by ARP, amounts made available for Additional Assistance
                Funding are available only for operating expenses.
                 In general, operating expenses are those costs necessary to
                operate, maintain, and manage a public transportation system. Operating
                expenses usually include such costs as driver salaries, fuel, and items
                having a useful life of less than one year, including personal
                protective equipment and cleaning supplies. Preventive maintenance is
                considered an operating expense for the purposes of Additional
                Assistance Funding. For more information, please see Frequently Asked
                Question ``CA2: What is eligible as an operating expense?'' on FTA's
                website at https://www.transit.dot.gov/frequently-asked-questions-fta-grantees-regarding-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19#CARES.
                 Actual and anticipated expenses incurred on or after January 20,
                2020, are eligible for this funding. However, FTA does not expect there
                to be sufficient funding to support shortfalls beyond September 30,
                2023.
                [[Page 50591]]
                D. Application and Submission Information
                1. Address to Request Application Package
                 The application package can be downloaded from GRANTS.GOV or the
                FTA website at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/american-rescue-plan-act-2021.
                2. Content and Form of Application Submission
                a. Proposal Submission
                 A complete proposal submission consists of two forms: (1) The SF-
                424 Application for Federal Assistance; and (2) the Additional
                Assistance Funding supplemental form. The supplemental form and any
                supporting documents must be attached to the ``Attachments'' section of
                the SF-424. The application must include responses to all sections of
                the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance and the supplemental
                form, unless indicated as optional. The information on the supplemental
                form will be used to determine applicant and project eligibility for
                the program, and to evaluate the proposal against the selection
                criteria described in Section E of this notice.
                 FTA will only accept one supplemental form per SF-424 submission.
                FTA encourages States and other applicants to consider submitting a
                single supplemental form that includes multiple activities to be
                evaluated as a consolidated proposal. If a State or other applicant
                chooses to submit separate proposals for individual consideration by
                FTA, each proposal must be submitted using a separate SF-424 and
                supplemental form.
                 Applicants may attach additional supporting documents to the SF-424
                submission, including but not limited to estimates of financial need,
                data on reduction in farebox or other sources of local revenue for
                sustained operations, a spending plan for such funds, and demonstration
                of expenditure of greater than 90 percent of CARES Act funding
                allocated to the applicant. Supporting documentation should be
                described and referenced by file name in the appropriate response
                section of the supplemental form, or it may not be reviewed.
                 Information such as applicant name, Federal amount requested,
                description of areas served, etc. may be requested in varying degrees
                of detail on both the SF-424 and supplemental form. Applicants must
                fill in all fields unless stated otherwise on the forms. Applicants
                should not place N/A or ``refer to attachment'' in lieu of typing in
                responses in the field sections. If information is copied into the
                supplemental form from another source, applicants should verify that
                the pasted text is fully captured on the supplemental form and has not
                been truncated by the character limits built into the form. Applicants
                should use both the ``Check Package for Errors'' and the ``Validate
                Form'' validation buttons on both forms to check all required fields
                and ensure that the Federal and local amounts specified are consistent.
                b. Application Content
                 The SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance and the supplemental
                form will prompt applicants for the required information, including:
                a. Applicant name
                b. Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
                number
                c. Key contact information (including contact name, address, email
                address, and phone)
                d. Congressional district(s) where project will take place
                e. Project information (including title, executive summary, and type)
                f. A detailed description of the need for additional funding
                g. Data on 2018 operating expenses
                h. Data on reductions in farebox revenue and other sources of state or
                local funding
                i. Information on CARES Act allocations and expenditures as of the
                application deadline
                j. Information on CRRSAA and ARP formula funding allocations and
                expenditures
                k. Information on other Federal sources of funding for operating
                expenses
                l. A detailed project budget
                m. A detailed implementation timeline
                3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)
                 Each applicant is required to: (1) Be registered in SAM before
                submitting an 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 the
                applicant has an active Federal award or an application or plan under
                consideration by FTA. FTA may not make an award until the applicant has
                complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM
                requirements. If an applicant has not fully complied with the
                requirements by the time FTA is ready to make an award, FTA may
                determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive an award and
                use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another
                applicant. These requirements do not apply if the applicant has an
                exception approved by FTA or the U.S. Office of Management and Budget
                under 2 CFR 25.110(c) or (d)
                 All applicants must provide a unique entity identifier provided by
                SAM. Registration in SAM may take as little as 3-5 business days, but
                since there could be unexpected steps or delays (for example, if there
                is a need to obtain an Employee Identification Number), FTA recommends
                allowing ample time, up to several weeks, for completion of all steps.
                For additional information on obtaining a unique entity identifier,
                please visit www.sam.gov.
                4. Submission Dates and Times
                 Project proposals must be submitted electronically through
                GRANTS.GOV by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 8, 2021. GRANTS.GOV
                attaches a time stamp to each application at the time of submission.
                Mail and fax submissions will not be accepted.
                 FTA urges applicants to submit applications at least 72 hours prior
                to the due date to allow time to correct any problems that may have
                caused either GRANTS.GOV or FTA systems to reject the submission.
                 Deadlines will not be extended due to scheduled website
                maintenance. GRANTS.GOV scheduled maintenance and outage times are
                announced on the GRANTS.GOV website.
                 Within 48 hours after submitting an electronic application, the
                applicant should receive an email message from GRANTS.GOV with
                confirmation of successful transmission to GRANTS.GOV. If a notice of
                failed validation or incomplete materials is received, the applicant
                must address the reason for the failed validation, as described in the
                email notice, and resubmit before the submission deadline. If making a
                resubmission for any reason, include all original attachments
                regardless of which attachments were updated, and check the box on the
                supplemental form indicating this is a resubmission.
                 Applicants are encouraged to begin the process of registration on
                the GRANTS.GOV site well in advance of the submission deadline.
                Registration is a multi-step process, which may take several weeks to
                complete before an application can be submitted. Registered applicants
                may still be required to take steps to keep their registration up to
                date before submissions can be made successfully: (1) Registration in
                SAM is renewed annually; and (2) persons making submissions on behalf
                of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must be authorized
                in
                [[Page 50592]]
                GRANTS.GOV by the AOR to make submissions.
                 Failure to submit the required information as requested may delay
                review or disqualify the application.
                5. Funding Restrictions
                 ARP Additional Assistance funds may be used only for operating
                costs. Allowable direct and indirect expenses must be consistent with
                the Governmentwide Uniform Administrative Requirements and Cost
                Principles (2 CFR part 200) and FTA Circular 5010.1E. Funding is being
                made available for reimbursement of costs normally covered by fare
                revenue or other non-Federal sources of funding and is not intended to
                support new initiatives to reduce or eliminate fares, except for
                temporary fare policy changes implemented to improve safety in response
                to the COVID-19 pandemic.
                6. Other Submission Requirements
                 FTA may award a lesser amount than the applicant requests.
                 All applications must be submitted via the GRANTS.GOV website. FTA
                does not accept applications on paper, by fax machine, email, or other
                means. For information on application submission requirements, please
                see Section D.1., Address to Request Application Package.
                E. Application Review Information
                1. Criteria
                 Applications will be reviewed primarily based on the responses
                provided in the supplemental form. Additional information may be
                provided to support the responses; however, any additional
                documentation must be directly referenced on the supplemental form,
                including the file name where the additional information can be found.
                FTA will review funding proposals for Additional Assistance Funding
                based on the criteria described in this notice.
                a. Reduction in Farebox or Other Sources of Revenue
                 Responses will be reviewed based on the extent to which the
                applicant has suffered a reduction in farebox revenue or other sources
                of revenue from any non-Federal source. Applicants must provide totals
                for their 2018 fare revenue and 2018 non-Federal revenue that supported
                operations. The narrative section should detail the sources of these
                funds. Applicants also must provide their actual or projected farebox
                and non-Federal revenue used or needed for operations for each of the
                given Federal fiscal years (FFYs) identified in the supplemental form,
                beginning with the eligible timeframe for FFY 2020 (January 20, 2020,
                or a date later in 2020 if the applicant's accounting system cannot
                provide the data as of January 20, 2020, through September 30, 2020)
                and for each FFY for which the applicant is requesting funding, ending
                with FFY 2023 (October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023).
                Additionally, should the applicant choose to submit a request for
                funding for shortfalls for FFY 2024 through FFY 2029, the applicant may
                provide a narrative describing the anticipated reduction in revenue.
                 The narrative response should identify the reason for any
                differences between the 2018 amounts and the actual or projected
                amounts for the time period for which you are requesting assistance.
                b. Estimate of Financial Need
                 Responses will be reviewed based on the financial need demonstrated
                by the applicant, including actual or projected financial need to
                maintain service that has not been replaced by funds allocated to the
                applicant under the CARES Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief
                Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA), and other ARP funding, as a
                percentage of 2018 operating costs.
                 The applicant must provide their 2018 operating expense total as
                reported to the National Transit Database (NTD) to establish a baseline
                for the request. The applicant also must provide the amount of CARES
                Act, CRRSAA, and ARP funding allocated to it. Applicants then must
                provide their operating expense total for each FFY for which they are
                requesting funding. Applicants should also provide the amount of
                Federal funding used or projected to be used toward operating expenses
                in each year. Note that Urbanized Area providers should be sure to
                provide their total operating expenses from the F-40 form of their NTD
                Report, which is inclusive of all operating expenses, including those
                that are not used for apportionment purposes. States should submit all
                relevant operating expense reports for any urbanized area or rural area
                subrecipients to which they would allocate Additional Assistance
                Funding.
                 The applicant must attach completed CARES Act, CRRSAA, and ARP
                split letters or allocation announcements to the application. Failure
                to include this information will result in the total amount of CARES
                Act, CRRSAA, and ARP funding allocated to the urbanized area(s) or
                state being considered available to the applicant or its subrecipients
                to address the additional funding needs identified in the application.
                 In the narrative section of the report, the applicant must describe
                (1) how actual and/or projected revenues have fallen short of 2018
                revenues, as a percentage of 2018 operating expenses; (2) how much of
                the lost revenues has been or will be replaced by CARES Act, CRRSAA,
                and ARP funding; (3) how the requested assistance will support unmet
                operating expense needs, after fully using CARES Act, CRRSAA, and ARP
                funding; and (4) how the requested assistance will not displace regular
                formula grant assistance from FTA.
                c. Demonstration of Expenditure of CARES Act Funding
                 Per ARP, the applicant must demonstrate that it has expended 90
                percent of the CARES Act funding allocated to the applicant no later
                than the application deadline in order to receive ARP Additional
                Assistance Funding. The applicant must include the amount of CARES Act
                funding it received or was allocated and documentation supporting
                disbursement of at least 90 percent of its CARES Act allocations.
                d. Project Spending Plan
                 Responses will be reviewed based on the extent to which the funding
                is ready to be obligated by September 30, 2023, and disbursed by
                September 30, 2029, as well as whether the applicant's proposed
                spending plans are reasonable and complete.
                 In assessing whether the proposed spending plan is reasonable and
                complete, FTA will review the description of the amounts needed and
                activities performed in each of FFYs 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, as
                well as the period of FFY 2024 through 2029. Although FTA does not
                expect there to be sufficient funding to support shortfalls after FFY
                2023, this does not preclude applicants from submitting such requests.
                For projects that will require formal coordination, approvals, or
                permits from other agencies or project partners, the applicant must
                demonstrate coordination with these organizations and their support for
                the project, such as through letters of support.
                2. Review and Selection Process
                 A technical evaluation committee will evaluate proposals based on
                the published criteria. Members of the technical evaluation committee
                and other FTA staff may request additional information from applicants,
                if necessary. Based on the findings of the technical evaluation
                committee, the FTA Administrator will determine the final allocation of
                funding based on the
                [[Page 50593]]
                level of financial need demonstrated by an eligible recipient or
                subrecipient, including projections of future financial need to
                maintain service, as a percentage of the 2018 operating costs, that has
                not been replaced by the funds made available from CARES Act, CRRSAA,
                or ARP to the eligible recipient or subrecipient for the operating
                expenses of transit agencies. FTA intends to fund projects with
                financial needs before September 30, 2023, before funding projects with
                needs after that date. In determining the allocation of funds, FTA may
                consider geographic diversity, diversity in the size of the transit
                systems receiving funding, and an applicant's immediate funding need.
                 Prior to making an award, FTA is required to review and consider
                any information about the applicant that is in the Federal Awardee
                Performance and Integrity Information Systems accessible through SAM.
                An applicant may review and comment on information about itself that a
                Federal awarding agency previously entered. FTA may consider any
                comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the
                designated integrity and performance system, 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 as described in the Office of Management and Budget's
                Uniform Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200.205).
                F. Federal Award Administration Information
                1. Federal Award Notices
                 Final project allocations will be posted on the FTA website. Only
                proposals from eligible applicants for eligible activities will be
                considered for funding. There is no minimum or maximum grant award
                amount; however, FTA intends to fund as many meritorious projects as
                possible. Due to funding limitations, projects that are selected for
                funding may receive less than the amount originally requested.
                 Recipients should contact their FTA regional offices for additional
                information regarding allocations for projects under the Additional
                Assistance Funding.
                2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
                i. Pre-Award Authority
                 At the time the project selections are announced, FTA will extend
                pre-award authority for the selected projects back to January 20, 2020.
                For more information about FTA's policy on pre-award authority, please
                see the FTA Fiscal Year 2021 Apportionments, Allocations and Program
                Information Notice at https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-guidance/notices/2021-15576.
                ii. Grant Requirements
                 If selected, awardees will apply for a grant through FTA's Transit
                Award Management System (TrAMS). All Additional Assistance Funding
                recipients are subject to the grant requirements of the Urbanized Area
                Formula Grant program (49 U.S.C. 5307), including those of FTA Circular
                ``Urbanized Area Formula Program: Program Guidance and Application
                Instructions'' (FTA.C.9030.1E), or the Rural Area Formula Grant program
                (49 U.S.C. 5311), including those of FTA Circular ``Formula Grants for
                Rural Areas'' (FTA.C.9040.1G). All recipients must also follow FTA
                Circular ``Award Management Requirements'' (FTA.C.5010.1E) and the
                labor protections required by Federal public transportation law (49
                U.S.C. 5333(b)). Technical assistance regarding these requirements is
                available from each FTA regional office.
                iii. Buy America
                 FTA requires that all procurements meet FTA's Buy America
                requirements (49 U.S.C. 5323(j)), which require all iron, steel, and
                manufactured products be produced in the United States. Applicants
                should read the policy guidance carefully to determine the applicable
                domestic content requirement for their projects. Any proposal that will
                require a waiver must identify the items for which a waiver will be
                sought in the application. Applicants should not proceed with the
                expectation that waivers will be granted.
                iv. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
                 Projects that include acquisitions are subject to the Disadvantaged
                Business Enterprise (DBE) program regulations (49 CFR part 26). FTA
                will provide additional guidance as grants are awarded. For more
                information on DBE requirements, please contact Monica McCallum, Office
                of Civil Rights, 206-220-7519, email: [email protected].
                v. Planning
                 FTA encourages applicants to notify the appropriate State
                Departments of Transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organizations
                in areas likely to be served by the project funds made available under
                these initiatives and programs.
                vi. Standard Assurances
                 The applicant assures that it will comply with all applicable
                Federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, directives, FTA
                circulars, and other Federal administrative requirements in carrying
                out any project supported by the FTA grant. The applicant acknowledges
                that it is under a continuing obligation to comply with the terms and
                conditions of the grant agreement issued for its project with FTA. The
                applicant understands that Federal laws, regulations, policies, and
                administrative practices might be modified from time to time and may
                affect the implementation of the project. The applicant agrees that the
                most recent Federal requirements will apply to the project, unless FTA
                issues a written determination otherwise. The applicant must submit the
                Certifications and Assurances before receiving a grant if it does not
                have current certifications on file.
                3. Reporting
                 Post-award reporting requirements include the electronic submission
                of Federal Financial Reports and Milestone Progress Reports. Applicant
                should include any goals, targets, and indicators referenced in their
                application to the project in the Executive Summary of the TrAMS
                application. Recipients of funds made available through this NOFO are
                also required to regularly submit data to the NTD.
                 As part of completing the annual Certifications and Assurances
                required of FTA grant recipients, a successful applicant must report on
                the suspension or debarment status of itself and its principals. If the
                award recipient's 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
                an award made pursuant to this Notice, the recipient must comply with
                the Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters reporting requirements
                described in Appendix XII to 2 CFR part 200.
                G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
                 For further information concerning this notice, please contact
                [email protected]. If you require immediate assistance please
                contact the Additional Assistance Program manager, Sarah Clements, by
                phone at (202) 366-3062. A TDD is available for individuals who are
                deaf or hard of hearing at 800-877-8339. In addition, FTA will post
                additional
                [[Page 50594]]
                information about this NOFO as it becomes available on FTA's website
                at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/american-rescue-plan-act-2021.
                To ensure receipt of accurate information about eligibility or the
                program, the applicant is encouraged to contact FTA directly, rather
                than through intermediaries or third parties.
                 For issues with GRANTS.GOV, please contact GRANTS.GOV by phone at
                1-800-518-4726 or by email at [email protected]. Contact information
                for FTA's regional offices can be found on FTA's website at http://www.transit.dot.gov/.
                H. Other Information
                 This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372,
                ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
                Nuria I. Fernandez,
                Administrator.
                [FR Doc. 2021-19397 Filed 9-8-21; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 4910-57-P
                

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