11572 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

The index was based on the liability 

cap established on December 2, 1997, 

and the last full month prior to the 

enactment of the FAST Act on 

December 4, 2015. The FAST Act also 

directs the Secretary to update the 

liability cap every fifth year after the 

date of enactment. The table below 

shows the Index and inflator the Federal 

Railroad Administration used to 

calculate an inflation adjusted amount 

of $322,864,228. 

PASSENGER LIABILITY CAP INFLATION ADJUSTED INDEX AND INFLATION FACTOR

Month Index Inflator Liability cap 

December 1997 ..................................................................................................................... 161.30 1.00 $200,000,000 

October 2020 ......................................................................................................................... 260.39 1.61 322,864,228 

The adjustment of the rail passenger 

transportation liability cap to 

$322,864,228 shall be effective 30 days 

after the date of publication of this 

notice. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22, 

2021. 

Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03886 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

Notice of Funding Opportunity for the 

Department of Transportation’s 

Infrastructure for Rebuilding America 

(INFRA) Program for Fiscal Year 2021 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation, U.S. Department of 

Transportation (USDOT). 

ACTION: Notice of funding opportunity. 

SUMMARY: The Infrastructure for 

Rebuilding America (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 fiscal year (FY) 2021 

funding, subject to the availability of 

appropriated funds. 

DATES: Applications must be submitted 

by 11:59 p.m. EST on March 19, 2021. 

The Grants.gov ‘‘Apply’’ function will 

open by February 17, 2021. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information regarding this 

notice, please contact the Office of the 

Secretary via email at INFRAgrants@

dot.gov, or call 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 website at 

https://www.transportation.gov/ 

buildamerica/INFRAgrants. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

organization of this notice is based on 

an outline set in 2 CFR part 200 to 

ensure consistency across Federal 

financial assistance programs. However, 

that format is designed for locating 

specific information, not for linear 

reading. For readers seeking to 

familiarize themselves with the INFRA 

program, the Department encourages 

them to begin with Section A (Program 

Description), which describes the 

Department’s goals for the INFRA 

program and purpose in making awards, 

and Section E (Application Review 

Information), which describes how the 

Department will select among eligible 

applications. Those two sections will 

provide appropriate context for the 

remainder of the notice: Section B 

(Federal Award Information) describes 

information about the size and nature of 

awards; Section C (Eligibility 

Information) describes eligibility 

requirements for applicants and 

projects; Section D (Application and 

Submission Information) describes in 

detail how to apply for an award; 

Section F (Federal Award 

Administration Information) describes 

administrative requirements that will 

accompany awards; and Sections G 

(Federal Awarding Agency Contacts) 

and H (Other Information) provide 

additional administrative information. 

Table of Contents 

A. Program Description 

1. Overview 

2. Key Program Objectives 

3. Changes From the FY 2020 NOFO 

4. Additional Information 

B. Federal Award Information 

1. Amount Available 

2. Restrictions on Award Portfolio 

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. Protection of Confidential Business 

Information 

2. Publication of Application Information 

3. Department Feedback on Applications 

4. INFRA Extra, Eligibility, and 

Designation 

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 2021 INFRA funds for all Americans, 

the Department is focusing the 

competition on transportation 

infrastructure projects that support six 

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) Addressing climate change and 

environmental justice impacts; 

(3) Advancing racial equity and 

Reducing barriers to opportunity; 

(4) Leveraging Federal funding to 

attract non-Federal sources of 

infrastructure investment; 

(5) Deploying innovative technology, 

encouraging innovative approaches to 

project delivery, and incentivizing the 

use of innovative financing; and 

(6) Holding grant recipients 

accountable for their performance. 

This notice’s focus on the six key 

objectives does not supplant the 

Department’s focus on safety as our top 

priority. Consistent with the 

R.O.U.T.E.S. initiative, the Department 

seeks rural projects that address 

deteriorating conditions and 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11573 

1The U.S. Department of Transportation Strategic 

Plan for FY 2018–2022 (Feb. 2018) is available at 

https://www.transportation.gov/dot-strategic-plan. 

disproportionately high fatality rates on 

rural transportation infrastructure. 

2. Key Program Objectives 

This section of the notice describes 

the six key program objectives that the 

Department intends to advance with FY 

2021 INFRA funds. Section E.1 

describes how the Department will 

evaluate applications to advance these 

objectives, and section D.2.b describes 

how applicants should address the six 

objectives in their applications. 

a. Key Program Objective #1: Supporting 

Economic Vitality 

A strong transportation network is 

critical to the functioning and growth of 

the American economy. The nation’s 

industry depends on the transportation 

network to move the goods that it 

produces, and 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. 

Infrastructure investment also 

provides opportunities for workers to 

find good-paying jobs with the choice to 

join a union and supports American 

industry through the application of 

domestic preference requirements. 

Projects that use project labor 

agreements and deploy local hiring 

provisions also contribute to economic 

vitality. 

This objective aligns with the 

Department’s strategic goals 1 of (1) 

investing in infrastructure to ensure 

mobility accessibility and to stimulate 

economic growth, productivity, and 

competitiveness for American workers 

and businesses and (2) reducing 

transportation-related fatalities and 

serious injuries across the transportation 

system. 

b. Key Program Objective #2: Climate 

Change and Environmental Justice 

Impacts 

The Department seeks to select 

projects that have considered climate 

change and environmental justice in the 

planning stage and were designed with 

specific elements to address climate 

change impacts. Projects should directly 

support Climate Action Plans or apply 

environmental justice screening tools in 

the planning stage. Projects should 

include components that reduce 

emissions, promote energy efficiency, 

incorporate electrification or zero 

emission vehicle infrastructure, increase 

resiliency, and recycle or redevelop 

existing infrastructure. A list of 

planning activities and project 

components that address this objective 

and the Department will consider 

during application evaluations is in 

Section E.1.a (Criterion #2). This 

objective aligns with the Department’s 

Infrastructure Objective #1: Project 

Delivery, Planning, Environment, 

Funding, and Finance Partnerships and 

Infrastructure Objective #2: Life Cycle 

and Preventative Maintenance. 

c. Key Program Objective #3: Racial 

Equity and Barriers to Opportunity 

The Department seeks to use the 

INFRA program to encourage racial 

equity in two areas: (1) Planning and 

policies related to racial equity and 

barriers to opportunity; and (2) project 

investments that either proactively 

address racial equity and barriers to 

opportunity, including automobile 

dependence as a form of barrier, or 

redress prior inequities and barriers to 

opportunity. This objective supports the 

Department’s strategic goal related to 

infrastructure, with the potential for 

significantly enhancing environmental 

stewardship and community 

partnerships, and reflects Executive 

Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity 

and Support for Underserved 

Communities Through the Federal 

Government (86 FR 7009). See section 

E.1.a (Criterion #3) for additional 

information. This objective aligns with 

the Department’s Infrastructure 

Objective #1: Project Delivery, Planning, 

Environment, Funding, and Finance 

Partnerships and Innovation Strategic 

Objective #2: Deployment of Innovation. 

d. Key Program Objective #4: Leveraging 

of Federal Funding 

The Department is committed to 

supporting increased investment in 

infrastructure from all levels of 

government. The Department recognizes 

that the COVID–19 pandemic has 

exacerbated infrastructure funding 

challenges faced by State and local 

governments. However, the Department 

continues to seek to maximize all 

available Federal and non-Federal 

funding for investment in infrastructure 

as a critical contribution to the 

economy. This objective aligns with the 

Department’s Infrastructure Strategic 

Objective #1: Project Delivery, Planning, 

Environment, Funding, and Finance. 

e. Key Program Objective #5: Innovation 

The Department seeks to use the 

INFRA program to encourage innovation 

in three areas, to build transformative 

projects: (1) The deployment of 

innovative technology and expanded 

access to broadband; (2) use of 

innovative permitting, contracting, and 

other project delivery practices; and (3) 

innovative financing. This objective 

supports the Department’s strategic goal 

of innovation, with the potential for 

significantly enhancing the safety, 

efficiency, and performance of the 

transportation network. The USDOT 

anticipates INFRA projects will support 

the integration of new technology and 

practices and demonstrate how those 

technologies and practices will 

contribute to the goals of the program as 

described in 23 U.S.C. 117. In section 

E.1.a (Criterion #5), the Department 

provides many examples of innovative 

technologies, practices, and financing. It 

encourages applicants to identify those 

that are suitable for their projects and 

local constraints. This objective aligns 

with the Department’s strategic goal to 

lead in the development and 

deployment of innovative practices and 

technologies that improve the safety and 

performance of the nation’s 

transportation system. 

f. Key Program Objective #6: 

Performance and Accountability 

The Department seeks to increase 

project sponsor accountability and 

performance by evaluating each INFRA 

applicant’s plans to address the full 

lifecycle costs of their project and 

willingness to condition award funding 

on achieving specific Departmental 

goals. 

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 construction and project 

completion in a timely manner; or (2) 

achieving transportation performance 

targets that support economic vitality or 

improve safety. This objective aligns 

with the Department’s Infrastructure 

Strategic Objective #2: Life Cycle and 

Preventative Maintenance, and 

Infrastructure Strategic Objective #3: 

System Operations and Performance. 

In section E.1.d (Criterion #6), the 

Department provides a framework for 

accountability measures and encourages 

applicants to voluntarily identify those 

that are most appropriate for their 

projects and local constraints. 

11574 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

2Contracts awarded with geographic hiring 

preferences are eligible for assistance under DOT 

financial assistance programs only if the recipient 

makes the certifications required under section 

199B of division L of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 116–260. 

3. Changes From the FY 2020 NOFO 

The FY2021 INFRA Notice is updated 

to reflect priorities around creating 

good-paying jobs, ensuring safety, 

advancing racial equity, addressing 

climate change, and building 

innovative, transformative projects. 

There are also two new program 

objectives that are incorporated into the 

merit evaluation process as described in 

Section E. These are Climate Change 

and Environmental Justice Impacts, and 

Racial Equity and Barriers to 

Opportunity. The NOFO reflects the 

importance of creating good-paying jobs. 

Innovative project delivery contracting 

and procurement related to project labor 

agreements and inclusive local 

participation goals will be considered to 

the extent permitted by Federal law and 

DOT regulations.2

Section D.2.b.vii of this notice 

provides additional information 

explaining how the Department will 

evaluate whether applications meet the 

statutory Large Project Requirements. 

Section H of this Notice provides 

additional detail on the INFRA Extra 

initiative. The INFRA Extra initiative 

provides certain INFRA applicants the 

opportunity to apply for TIFIA credit 

assistance for up to 49% of eligible 

project costs. The INFRA Extra initiative 

does not impact how applications will 

be considered for an INFRA grant nor 

how applications for TIFIA credit 

assistance will be evaluated (other than 

in respect of eligibility to apply for 

credit assistance for up to 49% of 

eligible project costs). 

Applicants who are planning to reapply using materials prepared for prior 

competitions should ensure that their 

FY 2021 application fully addresses the 

criteria and considerations described in 

this Notice and that all relevant 

information is up to date. 

Section H of this NOFO provides 

additional detail on the INFRA Extra 

initiative. The INFRA Extra initiative 

provides certain INFRA applicants the 

opportunity to apply for TIFIA credit 

assistance for up to 49% of eligible 

project costs. The INFRA Extra initiative 

does not impact how applications will 

be considered for an INFRA grant nor 

how applications for TIFIA credit 

assistance will be evaluated (other than 

in respect of eligibility to apply for 

credit assistance for up to 49% of 

eligible project costs). 

4. Additional Information 

The INFRA program is authorized at 

23 U.S.C. 117. It is described in the 

Federal Assistance Listings under the 

assistance listing program title 

‘‘Nationally Significant Freight and 

Highway Projects’’ and assistance listing 

number 20.934. 

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, and the 

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 

and Other Extensions Act authorizes $1 

billion for FY 2021, 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 the $889 million in FY 

2021 INFRA funds available for awards. 

In addition to the FY 2021 INFRA 

funds, amounts from prior year 

authorizations, presently estimated at 

up to $150 million, may be made 

available and awarded under this 

solicitation. Any award under this 

notice will be subject to the availability 

of appropriated 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.c 

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 program statute specifies that not 

more than $600 million in aggregate of 

the $5.5 billion authorized for INFRA 

grants over fiscal years 2016 to 2021 

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 2016–2020 INFRA selections, as 

much as $146 million may be available 

within this constraint. Only the nonhighway portion(s) of multimodal 

projects count toward this limit. Grade 

crossing and grade separation projects 

do not count toward the limit for freight 

rail, port, and intermodal projects. The 

Department’s awards may not exhaust 

this limitation. 

The program statute requires 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.e. The 

Department may elect to go above that 

threshold. The USDOT must consider 

geographic diversity among grant 

recipients, including the need for a 

balance in addressing the needs of 

urban and rural areas. 

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 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 (Criterion #4). 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 future eligible 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11575 

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 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. See Sections D.2.b.iv, 

D.2.b.vii.5a, and E.1.b.v.5 for 

information about documenting cost 

sharing in the application. 

For the purpose of evaluating 

eligibility under the statutory limit on 

total Federal assistance, funds from 

TIFIA and Railroad Rehabilitation & 

Improvement Financing (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 Projects 

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 

meaning development phase activities 

are less competitive by nature of the 

evaluation structure described in 

Section E. 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 credit assistance. 

All INFRA projects are subject to the 

Buy America requirement at 23 U.S.C. 

313. The Department expects all INFRA 

applicants to comply with that 

requirement without needing a waiver. 

To obtain a waiver, a recipient must be 

prepared to demonstrate how they will 

maximize the use of domestic goods, 

products, and materials in constructing 

their project. If you anticipate requiring 

a waiver, you must state so in your 

application. 

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 2020 Federal-aid 

apportionment if the project is located 

in one State; or 50 percent of the larger 

participating State’s FY 2020 

apportionment for projects located in 

more than one State. The following 

chart identifies the minimum total 

project cost, rounded up to the nearest 

million, for projects for FY 2021 for both 

single and multi-State projects. 

State 

FY21 NSFHP 

(30% of FY20 

apportionment) 

one-state 

minimum 

(millions) 

FY21 NSFHP 

(50% of FY20 

apportionment) 

multi-state 

minimum * 

(millions) 

Alabama .............. $100 $100 

Alaska .................. 100 100 

Arizona ................ 100 100 

Arkansas ............. 100 100 

California ............. 100 100 

Colorado .............. 100 100 

Connecticut ......... 100 100 

Delaware ............. 56 94 

Dist. of Col. ......... 53 88 

Florida ................. 100 100 

Georgia ................ 100 100 

Hawaii .................. 56 94 

Idaho ................... 95 100 

Illinois .................. 100 100 

Indiana ................. 100 100 

Iowa ..................... 100 100 

Kansas ................ 100 100 

Kentucky .............. 100 100 

Louisiana ............. 100 100 

Maine ................... 62 100 

Maryland .............. 100 100 

Massachusetts .... 100 100 

Michigan .............. 100 100 

Minnesota ............ 100 100 

Mississippi ........... 100 100 

Missouri ............... 100 100 

Montana .............. 100 100 

Nebraska ............. 96 100 

Nevada ................ 100 100 

New Hampshire ... 55 92 

New Jersey ......... 100 100 

New Mexico ......... 100 100 

New York ............. 100 100 

North Carolina ..... 100 100 

North Dakota ....... 83 100 

Ohio ..................... 100 100 

Oklahoma ............ 100 100 

Oregon ................ 100 100 

Pennsylvania ....... 100 100 

Rhode Island ....... 73 100 

South Carolina .... 100 100 

South Dakota ...... 94 100 

Tennessee ........... 100 100 

Texas ................... 100 100 

Utah ..................... 100 100 

Vermont ............... 68 100 

Virginia ................ 100 100 

Washington ......... 100 100 

West Virginia ....... 100 100 

Wisconsin ............ 100 100 

Wyoming ............. 85 100 

* For multi-State projects, the minimum project size 

is the largest of the multi-State minimums from the 

participating States. 

11576 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

3For 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 website at http://

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. 

4See www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/ 

InFRAgrants for a list of Urbanized Areas with a 

population of 200,000 or more. 

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 meets seven requirements 

described in 23 U.S.C. 117(g) and below. 

If your project consists of multiple 

components with independent utility, 

the Department must determine that 

each component meets each 

requirement, to select it for an award. 

The requirements are listed below and 

further described in Section E.1.b.v and 

Section D.2.b.vii: 

Large Project Requirement #1: The 

project will generate national or regional 

economic, mobility, or safety benefits. 

Large Project Requirement #2: The 

project will be cost effective. 

Large Project Requirement #3: The 

project will contribute to the 

accomplishment of one or more of the 

goals described in 23 U.S.C. § 150. 

Large Project Requirement #4: The 

project is based on the results of 

preliminary engineering. 

Large Project Requirement #5: With 

respect to related non-Federal financial 

commitments, one or more stable and 

dependable funding or financing 

sources are available to construct, 

maintain, and operate the project, and 

contingency amounts are available to 

cover unanticipated cost increases. 

Large Project Requirement #6: The 

project cannot be easily and efficiently 

completed without other Federal 

funding or financial assistance available 

to the project sponsor. 

Large Project Requirement #7 The 

project is reasonably expected to begin 

construction no 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 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. 

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.b.i. 

The INFRA statute defines a rural area 

as an area outside an Urbanized Area 3

with a population of over 200,000. In 

this notice, urban area is defined as 

inside an Urbanized Area, as a 

designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, 

with a population of 200,000 or more.4

Rural and urban definitions differ in 

some other USDOT programs, including 

TIFIA. 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. 

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 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11577 

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 

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: 

Basic Project Information: 

What is the Project Name? 

Who is the Project Sponsor? 

Was an INFRA application for this project submitted previously? (If Yes, please include title) 

Project Costs: 

INFRA Request Amount ............................................................ Exact Amount in year-of-expenditure dollars. 

Estimated Federal funding (excl. INFRA), anticipated to be 

used in INFRA funded future project.

Estimate in year-of-expenditure dollars. 

Estimated non-Federal funding anticipated to be used in 

INFRA funded future project.

Estimate in year-of-expenditure dollars. 

Future Eligible Project Cost (Sum of previous three rows) ....... Estimate in year-of-expenditure dollars. 

Previously incurred project costs (if applicable) ........................ Estimate in year-of-expenditure dollars. 

Total Project Cost (Sum of ‘previous incurred’ and ‘future eligible’).Estimate in year-of-expenditure dollars. 

Are matching funds restricted to a specific project component? 

If so, which one? 

Project Eligibility To be eligible, all future eligible project costs must fall 

into at least one of the following four categories: 

Approximately how much of the estimated future eligible 

project costs will be spent on components of the project currently located on National Highway Freight Network 

(NHFN)? 

Please provide an estimate, in year-of-expenditure dollars, of the costs 

that meet this definition. 

Approximately how much of the estimated future eligible 

project costs will be spent on components of the project currently located on the National Highway System (NHS)? 

Please provide an estimate, in year-of-expenditure dollars, of the costs 

that meet this definition. Maps can be found here: https://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/nhs_maps/. 

Approximately how much of the estimated future eligible 

project costs will be spent on components constituting railway-highway grade crossing or grade separation projects? 

Please provide an estimate, in year-of-expenditure dollars, of the costs 

that meet this definition. 

Approximately how much of the estimated future eligible 

project costs will be spent on components constituting intermodal or freight rail projects, or freight projects within the 

boundaries of a public or private freight rail, water (including 

ports), or intermodal facility? 

Please provide an estimate, in year-of-expenditure dollars, of the costs 

that meet this definition. 

Project Location: 

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 (According to 2010 Census): 

Is the project located (entirely or partially) in Federally designated community development zones.Yes/No. If yes, please describe which of the four Federally designated 

community development zones in which your project is located. 

Opportunity Zones: (https://opportunityzones.hud.gov/). 

Empowerment Zones: (https://www.hud.gov/hudprograms/empowerment_zones). 

Promise Zones: (https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/field_policy_mgt/ 

fieldpolicymgtpz). 

Choice Neighborhoods: (https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_

indian_housing/programs/ph/cn). 

Is the project currently programmed in the: ............................... Yes/no (please specify in which plans the project is currently pro- 

• TIP ............................................................................ grammed, and provide the identifying number if applicable). 

• STIP.

• MPO Long Range Transportation Plan.

• State Long Range Transportation Plan.

• State Freight Plan?.

11578 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

5Lists of Urbanized Areas are available on the 

Census Bureau website at http://www2.census.gov/ 

geo/maps/dc10map/UAUC_RefMap/ua/ and maps 

are available at https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/ 

tigerweb/. For the purposes of the INFRA program, 

Urbanized Areas with populations fewer than 

200,000 will be considered rural. 

b. Project Narrative 

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 Project Funding ........................................................... See D.2.b.iv. 

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 and C.3.d. 

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, website 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 

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 2010 Censusdesignated Urbanized Area, the 

application should identify the 

Urbanized Area.5

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. 

• 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. 

• For Federal funds to be used for 

future eligible project costs, the amount, 

nature, and source of any required nonFederal match for those funds. 

(D) 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 costsharing requirements described in 

Section C.2. 

(E) Information showing that the 

applicant has budgeted sufficient 

contingency amounts to cover 

unanticipated cost increases. 

(F) The amount of the requested 

INFRA funds that would be subject to 

the limit on freight rail, port, and 

intermodal infrastructure 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 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 source of funds is 

available for expenditure only during a 

fixed period, the application should 

describe that restriction. Complete 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11579 

6The EJSCREEN tool can be referenced on the 

EPA site: https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/. 

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 datasupported benefits that are not included 

in the benefit-cost analysis, such as how 

their project creates good-paying jobs 

with the choice to join a union and will 

support American industry by 

complying with domestic preference 

laws without need for a waiver. If you 

are pursuing innovative project delivery 

strategies related to economic vitality, 

such as using project labor agreements 

to local hiring requirements, include 

that information in the Innovation 

section. For the purposes of considering 

whether the project primarily serves 

freight and goods movement, the 

application should include estimates of 

the volume and share of freight (trucks, 

rail carloads, TEUs, tonnage, or other 

relevant measure) that travels through 

the project area and identify the sources 

for those estimates. 

Consistent with the Department’s 

ROUTES Initiative, the Department 

encourages applicants to describe how 

the project would address the unique 

challenges of rural transportation 

networks in safety, infrastructure 

condition, and passenger and freight 

usage, should the project serve a rural 

location. 

The benefit-cost analysis calculation 

file(s) should be provided as an 

appendix to the project narrative, as 

described in Section D.2.c. of this 

notice. 

Criterion #2: Climate Change and 

Environmental Justice Impacts 

This section of the application should 

demonstrate whether the project has 

incorporated climate change and 

environmental justice in terms of (a) 

planning and policy or (b) design 

components with outcomes that address 

climate change. To address the planning 

and policies element of this criterion, 

the application should describe what 

specific climate change or 

environmental justice activities have 

been completed for this project. The 

application should state whether a 

project is incorporated in a climate 

action plan, whether an equitable 

development plan has been prepared, 

and whether tools such as EPA’s 

EJSCREEN have been applied in project 

planning.6 To address the design 

components element of this criterion, 

the application should describe specific 

and direct ways that the project will 

mitigate or reduce climate change 

impacts. This may include a description 

of how the project encourages modal 

shift, temporal changes in asset 

utilization to reduce congestion, or 

incorporates multimodal infrastructure 

to reduce vehicle miles traveled, other 

ways that the project reduces emissions 

or uses technology to increase energy 

efficiency, incorporates resiliency 

measures for disaster preparedness, or 

recycles and enhances existing idle or 

dilapidated infrastructure. See Section 

E.1.a for additional information related 

to evaluation of Climate Change and 

Environmental Justice. 

Criterion #3: Racial Equity and Barriers 

to Opportunity 

This section of the application should 

include sufficient information to 

evaluate how the applicant will advance 

the Racial Equity and Barriers to 

Opportunity program objective. The 

applicant should indicate which (if any) 

planning and policies related to racial 

equity and barriers to opportunity they 

are implementing or have implemented, 

along with the specific project 

investment details necessary for the 

Department to evaluate if the 

investments are being made to either 

proactively advance racial equity and 

barriers to opportunity or redress prior 

inequities and barriers to opportunity. 

All project investment costs for the 

project that are related to racial equity 

and barriers to opportunity should be 

summarized here, even if those project 

costs are ineligible for the INFRA grant. 

See Section E.1.a for additional 

information. Any relevant racial equity 

and barriers to opportunity related 

policies, plans and outreach 

documentation as described in Section 

E.1.a, should be provided as an 

appendix to the project narrative. 

Criterion #4: Leveraging of Federal 

Funding 

The Leveraging Criterion will be 

assessed according to the methodology 

described in Section E.1.a., referencing 

information provided in the 

application’s Grant Funds, Sources and 

Uses of Project Funds section. Please 

describe the source of all non-INFRA 

funds in the project’s financial plan. 

Please state the share of non-INFRA 

funds coming from Federal funds, 

including Federal formula funds that 

may be passed through a State entity. 

Please provide evidence that funding is 

stable, dependable, and will be available 

to complete the project. 

Criterion #5: Potential for Innovation 

This section of the application should 

contain sufficient information to 

evaluate how the project can be 

transformative in achieving program 

goals, and includes or enables 

innovation in: (1) The accelerated 

deployment of innovative technology, 

including expanded access to 

broadband; (2) use of innovative 

permitting, contracting, and other 

project delivery practices; and (3) 

innovative financing. If the project does 

not address a particular innovation area, 

the application should state this fact. 

Please see Section E.1.a for additional 

information. 

Criterion #6: Performance and 

Accountability 

This section of the application should 

include sufficient information to 

11580 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

7Projects 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. 

8 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., 

evaluate how the applicant will advance 

the Performance and Accountability 

program objective. In general, the 

applicant should indicate which (if any) 

accountability measures they are willing 

to implement or have implemented, 

along with the specific details necessary 

for the Department to evaluate their 

accountability measure. The applicant 

should also address the lifecycle cost 

component of this criterion in this 

section. See Section E.1.a for additional 

information. 

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. 

(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, 2024 

for FY 2021 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 

website 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 

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,7

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 website link or other 

reference to copies of any reviews, 

approvals, and permits prepared. 

(c) Environmental studies or other 

documents—preferably through a 

website 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,8

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11581 

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 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. 

9Projects 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. 

including intermodal projects located at 

airport facilities.9 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. 

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 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 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—as a whole, as well as each 

independent component of 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 for both the project 

as a whole and for each independent 

component of the project. Applicants 

should use this section of the 

application to summarize how their 

project and, if present, each 

independent project component, 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. Supporting 

information provided in appendices 

may be referenced. 

Large project determination Guidance 

1. Does the project generate national or regional economic, mobility, or 

safety benefits? 

Summarize the economic, mobility, and safety benefits of the project 

and independent project components, and describe the scale of their 

impact in national or regional terms. The Department will base its determination on the project’s benefits as assessed according to the 

Economic Vitality criterion. 

2. Is the project cost effective? Highlight the results of the benefit cost analysis, as well as the analyses of independent project components if applicable. The Department will base its determination on the ratio of project benefits to 

project costs as assessed according to the Economic Vitality criterion. 

3. Does the project contribute to one or more of the Goals listed under 

23 U.S.C. 150 (and shown below)? 

Specify the Goal(s) and summarize how the project and independent 

project components contributes to that goal(s). 

(1) National Goals.—It is in the interest of the United States to 

focus the Federal-aid highway program on the following national 

goals: 

The Department will base its determination on the project’s benefits as 

assessed according to the Economic Vitality criterion. 

(2) Safety.—To achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities 

and serious injuries on all public roads.

(3) Infrastructure condition.—To maintain the highway infrastructure asset system in a state of good repair.

(4) Congestion reduction.—To achieve a significant reduction in 

congestion on the National Highway System.

(5) System reliability.—To improve the efficiency of the surface 

transportation system.

11582 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

Large project determination Guidance 

(6) 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.

(7) Environmental sustainability.—To enhance the performance of 

the transportation system while protecting and enhancing the 

natural environment.

(8) 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? For a project or independent project component to be based on the results of preliminary engineering, please indicate which of the following activities have been completed as of the date of application 

submission: 

• Environmental Assessments. 

• Topographic Surveys. 

• Metes and Bounds Surveys. 

• Geotechnical Investigations. 

• Hydrologic Analysis. 

• Utility Engineering. 

• Traffic Studies. 

• Financial Plans. 

• Revenue Estimates. 

• Hazardous Materials Assessments. 

• General estimates of the types and quantities of materials. 

• Other work needed to establish parameters for the final design. 

If one or more of these studies was included in a larger plan or document not described above, please explicitly state that and reference 

the document. The Department will base its determination on an assessment of this information by the INFRA program evaluators. 

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? 

Please indicate funding source(s) and amounts that will account for all 

project costs, broken down by independent project component, if applicable. Demonstrate that the funding is stable, dependable, and 

dedicated to this specific project by referencing the STIP/TIP, a letter 

of commitment, a local government resolution, memorandum of understanding, or similar documentation. The Department will base its 

determination on an assessment of this information by INFRA program evaluators. 

5b. Are contingency amounts available to cover unanticipated cost increases? Please state the contingency amount available for the project. The Department will base its determination on an assessment of this information by INFRA program evaluators. 

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? 

Describe the potential negative impacts on the proposed project if the 

INFRA grant (or other Federal funding) was not awarded. Respond 

to the following: 

1. How would the project scope be affected if INFRA (or other Federal 

funds) were not received? 

2. How would the project schedule be affected if INFRA (or other Federal funds) were not received? 

3. How would the project cost be affected if INFRA (or other Federal 

funds) were not received? 

If there are no negative impacts to the project scope, schedule, or 

budget if INFRA funds are not received, state that explicitly. Impacts 

to a portfolio of projects will not satisfy this requirement; please describe only project-specific impacts. Re-stating the project’s importance for national or regional economic, mobility, or safety will not 

satisfy this requirement. The Department will base its determination 

on an assessment of this information by INFRA program evaluators. 

7. Is the project reasonably expected to begin construction not later 

than 18 months after the date of obligation of funds for the project? 

Please provide expected obligation date 10 and construction start date, 

referencing project budget and schedule as needed. If the project 

has multiple independent components, or will be obligated and constructed in multiple phases, please provide sufficient information to 

show that each component meets this requirement. 

The Department will base its determination on the project risk rating as 

assessed according to the Project Readiness consideration. The Department will base its determination on the project risk rating as assessed according to the Project Readiness consideration. 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11583 

10Obligation 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. 

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 

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, the applicant 

should submit a BCA that quantifies the 

expected benefits and costs of the 

project against a no-build baseline. 

Applicants should use a real discount 

rate (i.e., the discount rate net of the 

inflation rate) of 7 percent per year to 

discount streams of benefits and costs to 

their present value in their BCA. 

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 

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 

(including both previously incurred and 

future costs), 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/office-policy/ 

transportation-policy/benefit-costanalysis-guidance). 

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 

11:59 p.m. EST March 19, 2021. The 

Grants.gov ‘‘Apply’’ function will open 

by February 17, 2021. 

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 http://www.grants.gov/ 

web/grants/applicants/applicantfaqs.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. 

11584 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

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 website; (3) failure to follow all 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 

contacts 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 

The Department will consider the 

extent to which the project addresses 

the following 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) climate change and environmental 

justice impacts; (3) racial equity and 

barriers to opportunity; (4) leveraging of 

Federal funding; (5) potential for 

innovation; and (6) 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 six 

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. For 2021, the 

Department is relying on the Benefit 

Cost Analysis to assess this criterion. 

Other factors important to economic 

vitality, including how a project 

contributes to the creation of jobs with 

a choice to join a union, support for 

American industry through compliance 

with domestic preference laws, the use 

of project labor agreements and local 

hiring requirements, will be considered 

in other ways. 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.c., The 

Department will consider estimates of 

the project’s benefit-cost ratio. 

Based on the Department’s 

assessment, the Department will group 

projects into ranges based on their 

estimated benefit costs ratio (BCR) and 

assign a level of confidence associated 

with each project’s assigned BCR. The 

Department will use these ranges for 

BCR: Less than 1; 1–1.5; 1.5–3; and 

greater than 3. The confidence levels are 

high, medium, and low. 

Criterion #2: Climate Change and 

Environmental Justice Impacts 

The Department encourages 

applicants to (1) consider climate 

change and environmental justice in 

project planning efforts and (2) to 

incorporate project elements dedicated 

to mitigating or reducing impacts of 

climate change, as described in Section 

A.2.b of this NOFO. The project will be 

assigned a Climate Change and 

Environmental Justice rating based on 

how it addresses these areas. 

Applications that incorporate climate 

change or environmental justice in both 

planning activities and specific project 

elements will receive a high rating. 

Applications that incorporate climate 

change or environmental justice in 

planning activities or project elements, 

but not both, will receive a medium 

rating. Applications that address this 

criterion in neither planning activities 

nor project elements will receive a low 

rating. 

Applicants intending to address the 

planning portion of the climate change 

and environmental justice criterion 

should describe in detail, provide 

supporting documentation, or otherwise 

demonstrate how they meet at least one 

of the options below: 

(1) A Local/Regional/State Climate 

Action Plan which results in lower 

greenhouse gas emissions has been 

prepared and the project directly 

supports that Climate Action Plan; 

(2) A Local/Regional/State Equitable 

Development Plan has been prepared 

and the project directly supports that 

Equitable Development Plan; 

(3) The project sponsor has used 

environmental justice tools such as the 

EJSCREEN to minimize impacts to 

environmental justice communities 

(https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/); or 

(4) A Local/Regional/State Energy 

Baseline Study has been prepared and 

the project directly supports that study. 

Applicants intending to address the 

project components portion of the 

climate change and environmental 

justice criterion should describe how 

they meet at least one of the options 

below: 

(1) The project supports a modal shift 

in freight or passenger movement to 

reduce vehicle miles traveled; 

(2) The project incorporates 

electrification infrastructure, zeroemission vehicle infrastructure, or both; 

(3) The project utilizes one or more 

demand management strategies to 

reduce congestion and greenhouse gas 

emissions, 

(4) The project supports the 

installation of electric vehicle charging 

stations along the NHS; 

(5) The project promotes energy 

efficiency, for example through 

reduction in vessel dwell time or use of 

cold ironing technology at ports; 

(6) The project serves the renewable 

energy supply chain; 

(7) The project improves disaster 

preparedness and resiliency; 

(8) The project supports bringing 

existing idle or dilapidated 

infrastructure that is currently causing 

environmental harm into a state of good 

repair (e.g. brownfield redevelopment); 

(9) The project supports or 

incorporates the construction of energyand location-efficient buildings; 

(10) The project includes new or 

improved pedestrian/cycling 

connections or multi-modalism as part 

of a highway or grade separation project; 

or 

(11) The project proposes recycling of 

materials, use of materials known to 

reduce or reverse carbon emissions, or 

both. 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11585 

Criterion #3: Racial Equity and Barriers 

to Opportunity 

The Department encourages 

applicants to describe credible planning 

and actions to address potential 

inequities and barriers to equal 

opportunity in the project as reflected in 

Executive Order 13985, Advancing 

Racial Equity and Support for 

Underserved Communities Through the 

Federal Government, and Section A.2.c 

of this NOFO. 

The application will be assigned a 

Racial Equity and Barriers to 

Opportunity rating based on how it 

addresses racial equity and barriers to 

equal opportunity in (1) planning and 

policies and (2) project investments. 

Applications that address both planning 

and policies and project investments 

will receive a high rating. Applications 

that address either planning and 

policies or project investment receive a 

medium rating. Applications that do not 

address racial equity and barriers to 

opportunity in either their sponsors’ 

planning and policies or project 

investment will receive a low rating. 

In Racial Equity and Barriers to 

Opportunity #1: Planning and Policies, 

the application will be determined to 

have addressed this area if the INFRA 

application incorporates any of the 

following, but these are not the only 

bases that the Department may use to 

determine an application addresses this 

area: 

• A racial equity impact analysis for 

the project; 

• Documentation of equity-focused 

community outreach and public 

engagement in the project’s planning in 

underserved communities; 

• The project’s sponsor has adopted 

an equity and inclusion program/plan or 

has otherwise instituted equity-focused 

policies related to project procurement, 

material sourcing, construction, 

inspection, or other activities designed 

to ensure racial equity in the overall 

project delivery and implementation. 

In Racial Equity and Barriers to 

Opportunity #2: Project Investment, the 

Department will assess if the project 

investments either proactively address 

racial equity and barriers to opportunity 

or redress prior inequities and barriers 

to opportunity, and whether those 

investments are documented by 

previously incurred and/or future costs 

of the project. Examples of Racial Equity 

and Barriers to Opportunity Project 

Investment include, but are not limited 

to: 

• Project investments that improve or 

newly connect underserved 

communities to proactively address 

barriers to opportunity or redress past 

inequities and barriers to opportunity. 

For example: 

Æ Physical-barrier-mitigating land 

bridges, caps, lids, linear parks, and 

multimodal mobility investments that 

are directly related to the project and 

either redress past barriers to 

opportunity or that proactively create 

new connections and opportunities for 

underserved communities; 

Æ New or improved walking, biking, 

and rolling access for the disabled to 

reverse the disproportional impacts of 

crashes on people of color, and mitigate 

neighborhood bifurcation; and 

Æ New or improved freight access to 

underserved communities to increase 

access to goods and job opportunities 

for those underserved communities. 

• Project investments that directly 

partner with underserved communities 

to proactively address barriers to 

opportunity or redress past inequities 

and barriers to opportunity. For 

example: 

Æ Project sponsor partnerships with 

land banks or land trusts for equitable 

and fair transfer of excess right-of-way, 

and other properties directly related to 

the project; 

Æ Project sponsor partnerships with, 

or investments in, multimodal mobility 

providers to proactively address 

potential racial equity and barriers to 

opportunity or redress past inequities 

and barriers to opportunity directly 

related to the project; 

Æ Project that result in hiring from 

local communities. 

Definitions for ‘‘racial equity’’ and 

‘‘underserved communities’’ are found 

in Executive Order 13985, Advancing 

Racial Equity and Support for 

Underserved Communities Through the 

Federal Government, Sections 2 (a) and 

(b). 

Criterion #4: Leveraging of Federal 

Funding 

To maximize the impact of INFRA 

awards, the Department seeks to 

leverage INFRA funding with nonFederal contributions. To evaluate this 

criterion, the Department will assign a 

rating to each project based on how the 

calculated non-Federal share of the 

project’s future eligible project costs 

compares with other projects proposed 

for INFRA funding. The Department 

will sort large and small project 

applications’ non-Federal leverage 

percentage from high to low, and the 

assigned ratings will be based on 

quintile: projects in the 80th percentile 

and above receive the highest rating; the 

60th –79th percentile receive the second 

highest rating; 40th–59th, the third 

highest; 20th–39th, the fourth highest; 

and 0–19th, the lowest rating. 

USDOT recognizes that applicants 

have varying abilities and resources to 

contribute non-Federal contributions. 

To help applicants gauge 

competitiveness of proposed nonFederal contributions, the Department 

has published information about the 

non-Federal leverage proposed in 

applications from the prior INFRA 

round at this link: https://

www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/ 

financing/infra-grants/additionalresources. 

This evaluation criterion is separate 

from the statutory cost share 

requirements for INFRA grants, which 

are described in Section C.2. Those 

statutory requirements establish the 

minimum permissible non-Federal 

share; they do not define a competitive 

INFRA project. For the purposes of 

evaluating leverage as a competitive 

selection criterion, the Department will 

consider the proceeds of Federal 

assistance under chapter 6 of Title 23, 

United States Code or sections 501 

through 504 of the Railroad and 

Revitalization and Regulatory Reform 

Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94–210), as 

amended, to be part of the Federal share 

of project costs. Applications that 

require other discretionary funding from 

the Department to complete the project’s 

funding package will be considered less 

competitive. 

Criterion #5: Potential for Innovation 

The Department seeks to use the 

INFRA program to encourage innovation 

and be transformative in achieving 

program goals in three areas: (1) The 

accelerated deployment of innovative 

technology and expanded access to 

broadband; (2) use of innovative 

permitting, contracting, and other 

project delivery practices; and (3) 

innovative financing. The Department 

expects these innovations to contribute 

to the goals for the program established 

in 23 U.S.C. 117 § (a)(2) or align with 

one of the key objectives of (1) 

Supporting economic vitality, (5) 

Addressing climate change and 

environmental justice impacts, or (6) 

Advancing racial equity and reducing 

barriers to opportunity: 

• Improve the safety, efficiency and 

reliability of the movement of freight 

and people 

• Generate national or regional 

economic benefits and an increase in 

the global economic competitiveness of 

the United States 

• Reduce highway congestion and 

bottlenecks 

• Improve connectivity between 

modes of transportation 

11586 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

• Enhance the resiliency critical 

highway infrastructure and help protect 

the environment 

• Improve roadways vital to national 

energy security 

• Address the impact of population 

growth on the movement of people and 

freight 

The project will be assigned an 

innovation rating based on how it 

cumulatively addresses these areas. For 

an application to receive credit for 

addressing an Innovation area, it must 

demonstrate both that the project 

incorporates an innovative technology 

or approach and that said technology or 

approach addresses one of the goals 

above. Applications that satisfy at least 

two of these three areas will be assigned 

a high rating. Applications that address 

one of these areas will be assigned a 

medium rating. Applications that 

address none of these areas will be 

assigned a low rating. 

In Innovation Area #1: Technology, 

the application will be determined to 

have addressed the Technology 

Innovation Area if the INFRA project 

incorporates any of the following 

technologies and demonstrates how 

such technologies will improve 

transportation outcomes described 

above: 

• Conflict detection and mitigation 

technologies (e.g., intersection alerts, 

signal prioritization, or smart traffic 

signals), 

• Automated enforcement; 

• Dynamic signaling or pricing 

systems to reduce congestion; 

• Signage and design features that 

facilitate autonomous or semiautonomous vehicle technologies, 

provided users outside of autonomous 

vehicles have also been considered; 

• Applications to automatically 

capture and report safety-related issues 

(e.g., identifying and documenting nearmiss incidents); 

• Vehicle-to-Everything V2X 

Technologies (e.g. technology that 

facilitates passing of information 

between a vehicle and any entity that 

may affect the vehicle); 

• Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) 

Technologies (e.g., digital, physical, 

coordination, and other infrastructure 

technologies and systems that allow 

vehicles to interact with transportation 

infrastructure in ways that improve 

their mutual performance); 

• Vehicle-to-Grid Technologies (e.g., 

technologies and infrastructure that 

encourage electric vehicle charging, and 

broader sustainability of the power 

grid); 

• Cybersecurity elements to protect 

safety-critical systems; 

• Technology at land and sea ports of 

entry that reduces congestion, wait 

times, and delays, while maintaining or 

enhancing the integrity of our border; 

• Work Zone data exchanges or 

related data exchanges 

• Other Intelligent Transportation 

Systems (ITS) that directly benefit the 

project’s users. 

The application will also address the 

Technology Innovation Area if the 

project facilitates broadband 

deployment and the installation of highspeed networks concurrent with project 

construction, including broadband 

deployment in rural areas, per Executive 

Order 13821 Streamlining and 

Expediting Requests to Locate 

Broadband Facilities in Rural America. 

In Innovation Area #2: Project 

Delivery, the Department will assess 

whether the applicant intends to pursue 

an innovative strategy to improve 

project design and delivery and 

demonstrates how such strategy will 

improve transportation outcomes 

described above and will result in more 

efficient project implementation. 

Innovative project delivery contracting 

and procurement will be considered to 

the extent permitted by DOT 

regulations. Some of these strategies 

may require the use of a SEP–14 or SEP– 

15 waiver, but many do not: an 

application can address this innovation 

area without requiring a waiver. 

Examples of innovative project delivery 

include: 

• Planning and Engagement 

Æ Scenario Planning 

Æ Access to Destinations Analysis 

Æ Robust Community Engagement 

• Contracting/Procurement: 

Æ Indefinite Quantity/Indefinite 

Delivery Contracting 

Æ Alternative Pavement Type Bidding 

Æ No Excuse Bonuses 

Æ Lump Sum Bidding 

Æ Best Value Procurement 

Æ System Integrator Contracts 

Æ Progressive Design-Build 

Æ P3 DBFOM Procurements 

Æ Pay-for-Performance and/or 

Outcomes-based Procurement 

Æ P3 with Minority-owned Business 

Participation 

Æ Local Contracting Plans 

Æ Local and Inclusive Participation 

Goals 

Æ Project Labor Agreements 

Æ Construction Inclusion Plans 

• Environmental Requirements 

Æ NEPA/Section 404 Merger 

Æ Use of Permitting/Authorization 

Agency Liaisons 

Æ Establishment of State/Local ‘‘OneStop-Shop’’ for Permitting 

Æ Programmatic Agreements 

• Every Day Counts Initiative 

Æ Use of proven technologies and 

innovations to shorten and enhance 

project delivery listed at https://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/ 

everydaycounts/edc_innovation.cfm 

• Environmentally Friendly Design 

Æ Recycling and reuse of construction 

debris, especially if processed on 

site to reduce transport VMT. 

Æ Green street treatments, including 

the treatment of stormwater run-off 

and localized flooding within the 

transportation project, especially 

considering methods of carbon 

capture 

Æ Innovative, regenerative, or 

permeable pavement 

Æ Adaptive Lighting Installation 

• Safety-Oriented Design 

Æ Improving DOT and Railroad 

Coordination, specifically at-grade 

crossings to reduce death and 

injury 

Æ Data-Driven Safety Analysis 

Æ Demonstration of Vision Zero. 

Towards Zero Deaths, and Road to 

Zero crash reduction outcomes 

Æ Use of high visibility/durability 

pavement treatments for pedestrian 

and bicycling infrastructure 

Æ High Friction Surface Treatment 

Æ Intersection and Interchange 

Geometrics that improve safety for 

all users 

Æ Road Diets, lane conversions, or 

other geometric safety 

modifications 

Æ Pedestrian push-button 

automation, recall 

Æ Application of bicycle specific 

signal systems 

Æ ADA enhancements to intersections 

Æ Pedestrian-scale lighting and/or 

adaptive lighting systems 

Æ Safety EdgeSM 

Æ Safe Transportation for Every 

Pedestrian (STEP) 

Finally, in Innovation Area #3, 

Innovative Financing, the Department 

will consider if the project financial 

plan incorporates funding or financing 

from innovative sources, if the applicant 

describes recent or pending efforts to 

raise significant new revenue for 

transportation investment across its 

program, and if the innovative financing 

approach improves the transportation 

outcomes described in the beginning of 

this section. 

Examples of innovative sources in a 

financial plan include: 

• Private Sector contributions, 

excluding donated right-of-way, 

amounting to at least $5 million, 

• Revenue from the competitive sale or 

lease of publicly owned or operated 

asset, or 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11587 

• Financing supported by direct project 

user fees 

Examples of significant new 

revenue—provided it is dedicated to 

transportation investment across an 

applicant’s program—include: 

• Revenue resulting from recent or 

pending increases to sales or fuel 

taxes 

• Revenue resulting from the recent or 

pending implementation of tolling 

• Revenue resulting from the recent or 

pending adoption of value capture 

strategies such as tax-increment 

financing 

Criterion #6: Performance and 

Accountability 

The Department encourages 

applicants to describe a credible plan to 

address the full lifecycle costs 

associated with the project and 

implement an accountability measure as 

described in Section A.2.f of this NOFO. 

A credible plan to address full 

lifecycle costs should include, at a 

minimum, (1) an estimate of the 

lifecycle costs of the project; (2) an 

identified source of funding that will be 

sufficient to pay for operation and 

maintenance of the project; and (3) a 

description of controls in place to 

ensure the identified funding will not be 

diverted away from operation and 

maintenance. Examples of such controls 

include if a private sector entity is 

contractually obligated to maintain the 

project, if a project sponsor has a 

demonstrated history of fully funding 

maintenance on its assets, or if the 

sponsor describes an asset management 

plan or strategy. For a plan to be 

considered credible, the applicant 

should show that they have considered 

the impact of climate change on their 

plan. 

Applicants intending to address the 

accountability measure portion of this 

criterion should describe how they meet 

at least one of the three options below: 

(1) The applicant should state in the 

application that it agrees to meet a 

specific construction start and 

completion date and state those dates in 

the application. If the project sponsor 

does not meet these deadlines, the 

project will be subject to forfeit or return 

of up to 10% of the awarded funds, or 

$10 million, whichever is lower. 

(2) The applicant should propose a 

specific indicator of project success that 

will be evident within 12 months of 

project completion. The indicator 

should relate to a benefit estimated in 

the BCA (e.g., travel time savings), and 

the level of performance should be 

consistent with the estimates in the 

BCA. If the project fails to produce this 

specific outcome in the time allotted, it 

will be subject to forfeit or return of up 

to 10% of the awarded funds, or $10 

million, whichever is lower. 

(3) The applicant should show that 

they will meet a negotiated Community 

Benefit Agreement or have completed 

an Equitable Project Assessment and 

will be monitoring compliance. 

The project will be assigned a 

Performance and Accountability rating 

based on how it addresses these areas. 

Applications that address both lifecycle 

costs and accountability measures will 

receive a high rating. Applications that 

address either lifecycle costs or 

accountability measures, but not both, 

will receive a medium rating. 

Applications that address neither area 

will receive a low rating. 

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. 

The Department will also consider 

whether the project is located in a 

Federally designated community 

development zones such as a qualified 

opportunity zone, Empowerment Zone, 

Promise Zone, or Choice Neighborhood. 

Applicants can find additional 

information about each of the 

designated zones at the sites below: 

• Opportunity Zones: (https://

opportunityzones.hud.gov/) 

• Empowerment Zones: (https://

www.hud.gov/hudprograms/ 

empowerment_zones) 

• Promise Zones: (https://

www.hud.gov/program_offices/field_

policy_mgt/fieldpolicymgtpz) 

• Choice Neighborhoods: (https://

www.hud.gov/program_offices/ 

public_indian_housing/programs/ph/ 

cn) 

A project located in a Federally 

designated community development 

zone is more competitive than a similar 

project that is not located in a Federally 

designated community development 

zone. The Department will rely on 

applicant-supplied information to make 

this determination and will only 

consider this if the applicant expressly 

identifies the designation in their 

application. 

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 obligation 

of funding for 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. The Department will assign each 

application one of three risk ratings 

based on the likelihood of the project 

meeting the statutory obligation 

deadline: (1) High risk; (2) moderate 

risk; and (3) low risk. A project is 

assigned high risk if, based on the 

available information, there is a high 

likelihood that project will not be able 

to reach obligation within the statutory 

timeframe. It is moderate risk if, based 

on the available information, there is 

some possibility that the project will not 

be able to reach obligation within the 

statutory timeframe. It is low risk if, 

based on the available information, it is 

highly likely that the project will be able 

to be reach obligation within the 

statutory timeframe. 

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 2021 

funds, the Department will determine 

that large projects with an anticipated 

obligation date beyond September 30, 

2024 are not reasonably expected to 

begin construction within 18 months of 

obligation. 

iii. Freight Rating 

Projects that primarily serve freight 

and goods movement play an important 

11588 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

role in supporting economic vitality. 

Accordingly, the significance of freight 

benefits for a project will be rated. The 

rating will be three tiered, based on the 

share of quantifiable benefits which are 

attributable project impacts to freight 

movement. A project for which 20% or 

more of the quantifiable benefits are 

attributable to project impacts on freight 

movement will be designated as having 

substantial freight benefits; for projects 

in which those benefits within a 5–20% 

range will be designated as a project 

with moderate freight benefits; leaving 

projects for which less than 5% of the 

quantifiable benefits fall into this 

category to be designated as having 

incidental freight benefits. 

iv. Non-Motorized Multimodal Rating 

Projects that expand or maintain 

options for non-motorized users are 

important to ensuring an equitable 

transportation system. The Department 

will determine, for each application, 

whether the project includes 

improvements for multimodal nonmotorized users. Accordingly, the 

Department anticipates awarding some 

INFRA funding to projects that include 

improvements for non-motorized 

multimodal users to advance the 

objective of Racial Equity and Barriers 

to Opportunity. 

v. Evaluation of Large Project 

Requirements 

The following describes how the 

Department will evaluate the statutory 

Large Project requirements. 

1. The project will generate national 

or regional economic, mobility, or safety 

benefits. 

A project meets this determination if 

the Economic Vitality review 

documents national or regional 

economic, mobility, or safety benefits. 

2. The project will be cost effective. 

The Department’s determination will 

be based on its estimate of the project’s 

benefit-cost ratio: A project is 

determined to be cost effective if the 

Department estimates that the project’s 

benefit-cost ratio is equal to or greater 

than one. 

3. The project will contribute to the 

accomplishment of one or more of the 

goals described in 23 U.S.C § 150. 

A project meets this requirement if 

the Economic Vitality review 

documents benefits related to one of the 

following: 

(1) National Goals.—It is in the interest of 

the United States to focus the Federal-aid 

highway program on the following national 

goals: 

(2) Safety.—To achieve a significant 

reduction in traffic fatalities and serious 

injuries on all public roads. 

(3) Infrastructure condition.—To maintain 

the highway infrastructure asset system in a 

state of good repair. 

(4) Congestion reduction.—To achieve a 

significant reduction in congestion on the 

National Highway System. 

(5) System reliability.—To improve the 

efficiency of the surface transportation 

system. 

(6) 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. 

(7) Environmental sustainability.—To 

enhance the performance of the 

transportation system while protecting and 

enhancing the natural environment. 

(8) 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. The project is based on the results 

of preliminary engineering. 

A project meets this requirement if 

the application provides evidence that 

at least one of the following activities 

has been completed at the time of 

application submission: Environmental 

assessments, topographic surveys, metes 

and bounds surveys, geotechnical 

investigations, hydrologic analysis, 

hydraulic analysis, utility engineering, 

traffic studies, financial plans, revenue 

estimates, hazardous materials 

assessments, general estimates of the 

types and quantities of materials, or 

other work needed to establish 

parameters for the final design. 

5. With respect to related non-Federal 

financial commitments, one or more 

stable and dependable funding or 

financing sources are available to 

construct, maintain, and operate the 

project, and contingency amounts are 

available to cover unanticipated cost 

increases. 

A project meets this requirement if 

the application demonstrates that 

financing sources are dedicated to the 

proposed project and are highly likely to 

be available within the proposed project 

schedule, and if it provides evidence of 

contingency funding in the project 

budget. 

6. The project cannot be easily and 

efficiently completed without other 

Federal funding or financial assistance 

available to the project sponsor. 

A project meets this requirement if 

the application demonstrates one or 

more of the following: 

(1) The project scope would be negatively 

affected if INFRA or other Federal funds were 

not received. 

(2) The project schedule would be 

negatively affected if INFRA or other Federal 

funds were not received. 

(3) The project cost would materially 

increase if INFRA or other Federal funds 

were not received. 

7. The project is reasonably expected 

to begin construction no later than 18 

months after the date of obligation of 

funds for the project. 

A project meets this requirement if 

the proposed project schedule and the 

evaluation of the project readiness 

evaluation team indicate that it is 

reasonably expected to begin 

construction not later than 18 months 

after obligation. 

vi. Previous Awards 

The Department may consider 

whether the project has previously 

received an award from the BUILD, 

INFRA, or other departmental 

discretionary grant programs. 

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. 

The selections identify the applications 

that best address program requirements 

and are most worthy of funding. 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 

200.206. 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 that a Federal 

awarding agency previously entered. 

The Department will consider 

comments by the applicant, in addition 

to the other information in FAPIIS, in 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 11589 

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/. 

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 

appropriate safety-related activities that 

the Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) has identified as ‘‘proven safety 

countermeasures’’ due to their history of 

demonstrated effectiveness.12

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. 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 http://

www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Freight/ 

infrastructure/nsfhp/fy2016_gr_exhbt_c/ 

index.htm. 

As expressed in Executive Order 

14005, Ensuring the Future Is Made in 

All of America by All of America’s 

Workers (86 FR 7475), it is the policy of 

the executive branch to maximize, 

consistent with law, the use of goods, 

products, and materials produced in, 

and services offered in, the United 

States. All INFRA projects are subject to 

the Buy America requirement at 23 

U.S.C. 313. The Department expects all 

INFRA applicants to comply with that 

requirement without needing a waiver. 

To obtain a waiver, a recipient must be 

prepared to demonstrate how they will 

maximize the use of domestic goods, 

products, and materials in constructing 

their project. 

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. 

In connection with any program or 

activity conducted with or benefiting 

from funds awarded under this notice, 

recipients of funds must comply with 

all applicable requirements of Federal 

law, including, without limitation, the 

Constitution of the United States; the 

conditions of performance, 

nondiscrimination requirements, and 

other assurances made applicable to the 

award of funds in accordance with 

regulations of the Department of 

Transportation; and applicable Federal 

financial assistance and contracting 

principles promulgated by the Office of 

Management and Budget. In complying 

with these requirements, recipients, in 

particular, must ensure that no 

concession agreements are denied or 

other contracting decisions made on the 

basis of speech or other activities 

protected by the First Amendment. If 

the Department determines that a 

recipient has failed to comply with 

applicable Federal requirements, the 

Department may terminate the award of 

funds and disallow previously incurred 

costs, requiring the recipient to 

reimburse any expended award funds. 

INFRA projects involving vehicle 

acquisition must involve only vehicles 

that comply with applicable Federal 

Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Regulations, or vehicles that are exempt 

from Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Standards or Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Regulations in a manner that 

allows for the legal acquisition and 

deployment of the vehicle or vehicles. 

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 other INFRA program 

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, 

11590 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Notices 

up to the application deadline, the 

Department will post answers to 

common questions and requests for 

clarifications on USDOT’s website 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. DOT staff may also conduct 

briefings on the INFRA Transportation 

grant selection and award process upon 

request. 

H. Other Information 

1. 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. 

2. 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. Except for the 

information properly marked as 

described in Section H.1., the 

Department may make application 

narratives publicly available or share 

application information within the 

Department or with other Federal 

agencies if the Department determines 

that sharing is relevant to the respective 

program’s objectives. 

3. Department Feedback on 

Applications 

The Department strives to provide as 

much information as possible to assist 

applicants with the application process. 

The Department will not review 

applications in advance, but Department 

staff are available for technical 

questions and assistance. To efficiently 

use Department resources, the 

Department will prioritize interactions 

with applicants who have not already 

received a debrief on their FY 2020 

INFRA application. Program staff will 

address questions to INFRAgrants@

dot.gov throughout the application 

period. 

4. INFRA Extra, Eligibility and 

Designation 

Due to overwhelming demand, the 

Department is unable to provide an 

INFRA award to every competitive 

project that applies. The INFRA Extra 

initiative is aimed at encouraging 

sponsors with competitive projects that 

do not receive an INFRA award to 

consider applying for TIFIA credit 

assistance. 

Projects for which an INFRA 

application is advanced by the Senior 

Review Team on the List of Projects for 

Consideration, but that are not awarded, 

are automatically designated INFRA 

Extra Projects, unless the Department 

determines that they are not reasonably 

likely to satisfy the TIFIA project type 

(23 U.S.C. 601(a)(12)) and project size 

(23 U.S.C. 602(a)(5)) eligibilities. This is 

a novel designation that provides the 

sponsors of these projects the 

opportunity to apply for TIFIA credit 

assistance for up to 49% of eligible 

project costs. Under current policy, 

TIFIA credit assistance is limited to 

33% of eligible project costs unless the 

applicant provides strong rationale for 

requiring additional assistance. Projects 

for which an INFRA application is 

advanced by the Senior Review Team 

on the List of Projects for Consideration, 

but that are not awarded, are 

automatically deemed to have 

demonstrated a strong rationale for such 

additional assistance. 

Projects designated as INFRA Extra 

Projects will be announced by the 

Secretary after INFRA award 

announcements are made. 

For further information about the 

TIFIA program in general, including 

details about the types of credit 

assistance available, eligibility 

requirements and the creditworthiness 

review process, please refer to the Build 

America Bureau Credit Programs Guide, 

available on the Build America Bureau 

website: https://

www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/ 

financing/program-guide. 

Disclaimer: An INFRA Extra Project 

designation does not guarantee that an 

applicant will receive TIFIA credit 

assistance nor does it guarantee that any 

award of TIFIA credit assistance will be 

equal to 49% of eligible project costs. 

Receipt of TIFIA credit assistance is 

contingent on the applicant’s ability to 

satisfy applicable creditworthiness 

standards and other Federal 

requirements. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22, 

2021. 

Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg, 

Secretary of Transportation. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03885 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Information Collection 

Renewal; Fiduciary Activities 

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency (OCC), Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to comment on the renewal of 

an information collection, as required 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA). An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a 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 renewal 

of its information collection titled 

‘‘Fiduciary Activities.’’ The OCC also is 

giving notice that it has submitted the 

collection to OMB for review. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted by 

March 29, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged 

to submit comments by email, if 

possible. You may submit comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Email: prainfo@occ.treas.gov. 

• Mail: Chief Counsel’s Office, 

Attention: Comment Processing, 1557– 

0140, Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E– 

218, Washington, DC 20219. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th 

Street SW, Suite 3E–218, Washington, 

DC 20219. 

• Fax: (571) 465–4326.