Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 69983 

claim, then that shorter time period still 

applies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

FHWA: Ms. Sabrina David, Division 

Administrator, Georgia Division, 

Federal Highway Administration, 75 

Ted Turner Drive, Suite 1000, Atlanta, 

Georgia 30303; telephone 404–562– 

3630; email: Sabrina.David@dot.gov. 

FHWA’s normal business hours are 8 

a.m. to 5 p.m. (eastern time) Monday 

through Friday. For Georgia Department 

of Transportation (GDOT): Mr. Russell 

McMurray, Commissioner, Georgia 

Department of Transportation, 600 West 

Peachtree Street, 22nd Floor, Atlanta, 

Georgia 30308; telephone (404) 631– 

1990; email: RMcMurray@dot.ga.gov. 

GDOT’s normal business hours are 8 

a.m. to 5 p.m. (eastern time) Monday 

through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that FHWA has taken a 

final agency action on GDOT Project PI 

0018361 by issuing a FONSI for the 

following new interchange project in the 

State of Georgia: The I–20 at Old Mill 

Road Interchange Construction Project 

located in Morgan and Walton Counties, 

Georgia. The Selected Alternative will 

construct a new interchange along I–20 

at Old Mill Road. Old Mill Road in the 

vicinity of the new interchange will be 

widened from a two-lane section to a 

four-lane section with a 20-foot grassed 

median with bike lanes (north of I–20) 

and sidewalks and realigned to the west 

of its current location. The project will 

begin approximately 0.38 mile south of 

I–20 on Old Mill Road, construct a new 

bridge over I–20 to the west of the 

existing bridge, and terminate 

approximately 0.27 mile north of I–20 at 

a signalized intersection with a newly 

constructed frontage road. The length of 

the proposed construction is 

approximately 0.73 mile. The purpose 

of the project is listed below: 

• Provide new, direct vehicular 

access to I–20, which will serve current 

and projected future vehicular and truck 

traffic; 

• Provide congestion relief for the 

existing I–20/US 278 interchange to the 

west, which is not anticipated to have 

sufficient capacity to accommodate 

projected traffic volumes by 2045; 

• Accelerate project delivery. 

The FHWA’s action, related actions 

by other Federal Agencies, and the laws 

under which such actions were taken 

are described in the Environmental 

Assessment (EA) for the project, 

approved on March 8, 2023, the FONSI 

issued on October 3, 2023, and other 

documents in the project file. The EA, 

FONSI and other project records are 

available by contacting FHWA or GDOT 

at the addresses listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this notice. The EA and FONSI can also 

be reviewed and downloaded from the 

project website at https://

us278andoldmillroadgdot.hub.arcgis.com/. 

This notice applies to all Federal 

agency decisions as of the issuance date 

of this notice and all laws under which 

such actions were taken, including but 

not limited to: 

1. General: National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321– 

4351]; Federal-Aid Highway Act [23 

U.S.C. 109 and 23 U.S.C. 128]. 

2. Air: Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401– 

7671(q)]. 

3. Noise: Noise Control Act of 1972 

[42 U.S.C. 4901–4918]; 23 CFR part 772. 

4. Land: Section 4(f) of the 

Department of Transportation Act of 

1966 [49 U.S.C. 303]. 

5. Wildlife: Endangered Species Act 

(ESA) [16 U.S.C. 1531–1544 and Section 

1536]; Fish and Wildlife Coordination 

Act [16 U.S.C. 661–667d]; Migratory 

Bird Treaty Act [16 U.S.C. 703–712]. 

6. Historic and Cultural Resources: 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, as amended 

[16 U.S.C. 470(f) et seq.]; Archeological 

Resources Protection Act of 1977 [16 

U.S.C. 470(aa)–470(ll)]; Archeological 

and Historic Preservation Act [16 U.S.C. 

469–469c]; Native American Grave 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA) [25 U.S.C. 3001–3013]. 

7. Social and Economic: Civil Rights 

Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)– 

2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious 

Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland 

Protection Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 

4201–4209]. 

8. Wetlands and Water Resources: 

Coastal Zone Management Act [16 

U.S.C. 1451–1465]; Land and Water 

Conservation Fund (LWCF) [16 U.S.C. 

4601–4604]; Safe Drinking Water Act 

(SDWA) [42 U.S.C. 300(f)–300(j)(6)]; 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act [16 U.S.C. 

1271–1287]; Flood Disaster Protection 

Act [42 U.S.C. 4001–4128]. 

9. Hazardous Materials: 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act (CERCLA) [42 U.S.C. 9601–9675]; 

Superfund Amendments and 

Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Act (RCRA) [42 U.S.C. 6901–6992(k)]. 

10. Executive Orders: E.O. 14096 

Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment 

to Environmental Justice for All; E.O. 

E.O. 11988 Floodplain Management; 

E.O. 12898, Federal Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low Income 

Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and 

Enhancement of Cultural Resources; 

E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 

13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments; E.O. 11514 

Protection and Enhancement of 

Environmental Quality; E.O. 13045 

Protection of Children From 

Environmental Health Risks and Safety 

Risks; E.O. 13112 Invasive Species. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). 

Issued on: October 3, 2023. 

Sabrina S. David, 

Division Administrator, Atlanta, Georgia. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22354 Filed 10–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

FY 2024 Competitive Funding 

Opportunity: Competitive Grants for 

Rail Vehicle Replacement Program 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity 

(NOFO). 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) announces the 

opportunity to apply for $196,906,663 

in competitive grants under the fiscal 

year (FY) 2024 Competitive Grants for 

Rail Vehicle Replacement Program (Rail 

Vehicle Replacement Program). As 

required by Federal public 

transportation law, Rail Vehicle 

Replacement Program funds will be 

allocated competitively to assist in the 

funding of capital projects to replace rail 

rolling stock. FTA may allocate 

additional funding made available to the 

program prior to the announcement of 

project selections. 

DATES: Complete proposals must be 

submitted electronically through the 

GRANTS.GOV ‘‘APPLY’’ function by 

11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, 

December 18, 2023. Prospective 

applicants should initiate the process by 

promptly registering on the 

GRANTS.GOV website to ensure 

completion of the application process 

before the submission deadline. 

Instructions for applying can be found 

on FTA’s website at https://

www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/ 

applying/applying-fta-funding and in 


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the ‘‘FIND’’ module of GRANTS.GOV. 

The funding opportunity ID is FTA– 

2024–002–TPM–RAIL. Mail and fax 

submissions will not be accepted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donna Iken, Competitive Grants for Rail 

Vehicle Replacement Program Manager, 

FTA Office of Program Management, 

202–366–0876, or donna.iken@dot.gov. 

Table of Contents 

A. Program Description 

B. Federal Award Information 

C. Eligibility Information 

D. Application and Submission Information 

E. Application Review Information 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

H. Other Information 

A. Program Description 

Federal public transportation law (49 

U.S.C. 5337(f)) authorizes FTA to award 

grants for the replacement of rail rolling 

stock through a competitive process, as 

described in this notice. The Rail 

Vehicle Replacement Program provides 

funding to State and local governmental 

authorities. The Federal Assistance 

Listing for the program is 20.525. 

Passenger rail service provides critical 

and cost-effective transportation links 

throughout the United States and faces 

a critical backlog of state of good repair 

and safety investments. FTA seeks to 

fund projects to all populations in a 

project area that create proportional 

impacts, remove transportation related 

disparities, and increase equitable 

access to project benefits, consistent 

with Executive Order 13985, Advancing 

Racial Equity and Support for 

Underserved Communities Through the 

Federal Government (86 FR 7009). 

B. Federal Award Information 

Federal public transportation law (49 

U.S.C. 5338(a)(2)(L)) authorizes 

$300,000,000 in contract authority 

funds for FY 2024 for competitive grants 

under the Rail Vehicle Replacement 

Program. A portion of this FY 2024 

funding was committed in the FY 2022 

and FY 2023 Competitive Grants for Rail 

Vehicle Replacement Program Project 

Selections, thus the remaining funding 

available for FY 2024 totals 

$196,906,663. FTA may also commit up 

to $600,000,000 in FY 2025 and FY 

2026 funding towards projects selected 

in FY 2024. 

For the FY 2023 NOFO, FTA received 

18 eligible proposals from 13 states 

requesting over $3.5 billion in Federal 

funds. FTA selected six projects in six 

states, allocating $703,093,337. 

FTA will grant pre-award authority to 

incur costs for selected projects 

beginning on the date this FY 2024 

NOFO is published in the Federal 

Register. Applicants that utilize preaward authority to incur eligible 

expenses prior to project selection 

announcement will be responsible for 

any costs incurred if the application is 

not selected. Funds are available for 

obligation for three years after the fiscal 

year in which the awards are 

announced. For multi-year grant 

agreements, subsequent obligations 

must be made in the following year for 

a two-year agreement, and each of the 

two consecutive fiscal years for a threeyear agreement, following the fiscal year 

from which the first obligation is made. 

Per Federal public transportation law 

(49 U.S.C. 5337(f)(3)), FTA intends to 

fund up to three new awards each fiscal 

year. 

FTA may select projects to receive 

multi-year grant agreements. If a project 

is selected to receive a multi-year grant 

agreement, that agreement will establish 

the maximum amount of Federal 

financial assistance for the project that 

may be provided in not more than three 

consecutive fiscal years. A multi-year 

grant agreement will obligate an amount 

of available budget authority and 

include a contingent commitment to 

obligate an additional amount from 

future available budget authority. The 

contingent commitment under a multiyear agreement is not an obligation of 

the Federal Government. 

C. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants 

Eligible applicants for the 

Competitive Grants for Rail Vehicle 

Replacement Program are States and 

local governmental authorities. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching 

Per 49 U.S.C. 5337(f)(5), the 

Competitive Grants for Rail Vehicle 

Replacement funding may be up to 50 

percent of the total eligible project cost. 

Other Federal funding, including FTA 

funding, such as State of Good Repair 

Program formula funding, may be 

applied for the project up to a maximum 

80 percent Federal share of eligible 

project costs, per 49 U.S.C. 5337(f)(6). 

For example, a rail vehicle replacement 

project with a total eligible cost of 

$100,000,000 may receive up to 

$50,000,000 from this program. The 

remaining $50,000,000 could be 

provided from a combination of nonFederal and other Federal funds, up to 

$30,000,000 of which could be other 

Federal funding. For a $100,000,000 

project, at least $20,000,000 (20 percent) 

must be non-Federal funds. 

Eligible sources of non-Federal 

matching funds include: 

i. Cash from non-governmental 

sources other than revenues from 

providing transit services (such as fare 

revenues); 

ii. Non-farebox revenues from the 

operation of public transportation 

service, such as the sale of advertising 

and concession. 

iii. Monies received under a service 

agreement with a State or local social 

service agency or private social service 

organization; 

iv. Undistributed cash surpluses, 

replacement or depreciation cash funds, 

reserves available in cash, or new 

capital; 

v. In-kind contributions integral to the 

project. Revenue bond proceeds for a 

capital project, with prior FTA 

approval; and 

vi. Transportation Development 

Credits (formerly referred to as Toll 

Revenue Credits). 

3. Eligible Projects 

The focus of the grant program is to 

modernize America’s transit system, 

focusing on maintaining a State of Good 

Repair for fixed-guideway rail transit. 

Under the Competitive Grants for Rail 

Vehicle Replacement Program (49 

U.S.C. 5337(f)), eligible projects are the 

replacement of rail rolling stock. For the 

purposes of this program, rail rolling 

stock is defined as revenue service, 

passenger carrying vehicles, or 

propulsion (locomotives) vehicles 

necessary for the provision of rail public 

transportation. Replacement is defined 

as the number of vehicles required to 

replace the number of vehicles to be 

removed from service that are 

substantially the same type. If changing 

vehicle type (e.g., a commuter rail 

switching from single level to doubledecker cars), the eligible project is the 

number of cars necessary to carry an 

equivalent number of passengers as the 

substantially same type of replacement 

would. These rail vehicles can include, 

but are not limited to, commuter rail, 

heavy rail, and light rail vehicles. Up to 

0.5 percent of the Federal request may 

be used to pay for project-related 

workforce development activities, as 

long as the Federal share under this 

program of those workforce 

development activities is not more than 

80 percent. Up to 0.5 percent of the 

Federal request may be used to pay for 

project related training from the 

National Transit Institute (NTI), as long 

as the Federal share under this program 

for the related training from NTI is not 

more than 80 percent. Applicants must 

identify the proposed use of funds for 

these activities in the project proposal 

and identify them separately in the 

project budget. Vehicles that do not 


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operate on rails, including rubber tire 

support vehicles, as well as 

maintenance and other non-revenue 

vehicles that do operate on rails, are not 

eligible under this program. Fleet 

expansion projects are also not eligible 

under this program. If a procurement 

includes both expansion and 

replacement vehicles, only the cost of 

the replacement vehicles may be 

included in the total eligible project cost 

under this program. 

As required by Federal public 

transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5337(f)(4)), 

FTA will consider the size of the rail 

system of the applicant, the amount of 

funds available to the applicant from 

this program, the age and condition of 

the rail rolling stock of the applicant 

that has exceeded or will exceed the 

useful service life in the five-year period 

following a grant award, and whether 

the applicant has identified replacement 

of the rail vehicles as a priority in the 

investment prioritization portion of the 

transit asset management plan of the 

recipient pursuant to part 625 of title 49 

of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

Evaluation criteria are described in 

detail in Section E of this notice. 

D. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address To Request Application 

Package 

Applications may be accessed, and 

must be submitted, electronically 

through GRANTS.GOV. General 

information for accessing and 

submitting applications through 

GRANTS.GOV can be found at https:// 

www.fta.dot.gov/howtoapply along with 

specific instructions for the forms and 

attachments required for submission. A 

complete proposal submission for the 

program consists of two forms: the SF– 

424 Application for Federal Assistance 

(available at GRANTS.GOV) and the 

supplemental form for the FY 2024 Rail 

Vehicle Replacement Program 

(downloaded from GRANTS.GOV or the 

FTA website at: https://

www.transit.dot.gov/grant-programs/ 

rail-vehicle-replacement-grants. Mail or 

fax submissions will not be accepted. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

(i) Proposal Submission 

A complete proposal submission 

consists of two forms: (1) the SF–424 

Application for Federal Assistance; and 

(2) the supplemental form for the FY 

2024 Rail Vehicle Replacement 

Program. The supplemental form and 

any supporting documents must be 

attached to the ‘‘Attachments’’ section 

of the SF–424. The application must 

include responses to all sections of the 

SF–424 Application for Federal 

Assistance and the supplemental form, 

unless designated as optional. The 

information on the supplemental form 

will be used to determine applicant and 

project eligibility for the program, and 

to evaluate the proposal against the 

selection criteria described in part E of 

this notice. Failure to submit the 

information as requested can delay 

review or disqualify the application. 

FTA will accept only one 

supplemental form per SF–424 

submission. FTA encourages applicants 

to consider submitting a single 

supplemental form that includes 

multiple activities as one project to be 

evaluated as a consolidated proposal. If 

an applicant chooses to submit separate 

proposals for individual consideration 

by FTA, each proposal must be 

submitted using a separate SF–424 and 

supplemental form. 

Applicants may attach additional 

supporting information to the SF–424 

submission, including but not limited to 

documentation supporting the 

applicant’s eligibility for the grant 

programs, letters of support, project 

budgets, fleet status reports, or excerpts 

from relevant planning documents. 

Supporting documentation should be 

described and referenced by file name 

in the appropriate response section of 

the supplemental form, or it may not be 

reviewed. 

Information such as applicant name, 

Federal amount requested, local match 

amount, and description of areas served 

may be requested in varying degrees of 

detail on both the SF–424 and 

supplemental form. Applicants must fill 

in all fields unless otherwise stated on 

the forms. Applicants should not place 

N/A or ‘‘refer to attachment’’ in lieu of 

typing in responses in the field sections. 

If information is copied into the 

supplemental form from another source, 

applicants should verify that pasted text 

is fully captured on the supplemental 

form and has not been truncated by the 

character limits built into the form. 

Applicants should use both the ‘‘Check 

Package for Errors’’ and the ‘‘Validate 

Form’’ validation buttons on both forms 

to check all required fields on the forms, 

and to ensure that the Federal and local 

amounts specified are consistent. 

Applicants should enter their 

information in the supplemental form 

(fillable PDF) that is made available on 

FTA’s website or through the 

GRANTS.GOV application package and 

should attach this to the application in 

its original format. Applicants should 

not use scanned versions of the form, 

‘‘print’’ the form to PDF, convert or 

create a version using another text 

editor, etc. 

(ii) Application Content 

The SF–424 Application for Federal 

Assistance and the supplemental form 

will prompt applicants for the required 

information: 

a. Applicant name 

b. Unique entity identifier (generated by 

SAM.GOV) 

c. Key contact information (including 

contact name, address, email address, 

and phone) 

d. Congressional district(s) in which 

project is located 

e. Project information (including title, 

executive summary, and type) 

f. A detailed description of the need for 

the project 

g. A detailed description of how the 

project will support the program 

objectives 

h. Evidence that the project is consistent 

with local and regional planning 

objectives 

i. Evidence that the applicant can 

provide the non-Federal cost share 

j. A description of the technical, legal, 

and financial capacity of the applicant 

k. A detailed project budget 

l. An explanation of the scalability of 

the project 

m. Details on the non-Federal matching 

funds 

n. A detailed project timeline, including 

the date the rail vehicle procurement 

Notice to Proceed (NTP) has been or 

is intended to be issued to the 

manufacturer if proposing to utilize 

an existing contract—Note, the NTP 

date must be after the date of the 

publication of this NOFO for the 

project to be eligible. 

o. The applicant’s Transit Asset 

Management Plan (or, if lengthy, 

applicable sections sufficient to 

determine the project is consistent 

with the plan) 

p. Information related to priority 

considerations in Subsection E.2. 

Applicants should reference the 

criteria described in Section E of this 

NOFO for further description of the 

content applicants should address in 

their applications. 

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System 

for Award Management (SAM) 

Each applicant is required to: (1) be 

registered in SAM.GOV before 

submitting an application; (2) provide a 

valid unique entity identifier in its 

application; and (3) continue to 

maintain an active SAM registration 

with current information at all times 

during which the applicant has an 

active Federal award or an application 


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under consideration by FTA. FTA may 

not make an award until the applicant 

has complied with all applicable unique 

entity identifier and SAM requirements. 

If an applicant has not fully complied 

with the requirements by the time FTA 

is ready to make an award, FTA may 

determine that the applicant is not 

qualified to receive an award and use 

that determination as a basis for making 

a Federal award to another applicant. 

These requirements do not apply if the 

applicant has an exception approved by 

FTA or the U.S. Office of Management 

and Budget under 2 CFR 25.110(c) or 

(d). 

All applicants must provide a unique 

entity identifier provided by SAM. 

Registration in SAM may take as little 

as 3–5 business days, but since there 

could be unexpected steps or delays (for 

example, if there is a need to obtain an 

Employer Identification Number), FTA 

recommends allowing ample time, up to 

several weeks, for completion of all 

steps. For additional information on 

obtaining a unique entity identifier, 

please visit https://www.sam.gov. 

4. Submission Dates and Times 

Project proposals must be submitted 

electronically through GRANTS.GOV by 

11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, 

December 18, 2023. GRANTS.GOV 

attaches a time stamp to each 

application at the time of submission. 

Mail and fax submissions will not be 

accepted. 

FTA urges applicants to submit 

applications at least 72 hours prior to 

the deadline to allow time to correct any 

problems that may have caused either 

GRANTS.GOV or FTA systems to reject 

the submission. Proposals submitted 

after the deadline will be considered 

only if lateness was due to extraordinary 

circumstances not under the applicant’s 

control. Deadlines will not be extended 

due to scheduled website maintenance. 

GRANTS.GOV scheduled maintenance 

and outage times are announced on the 

GRANTS.GOV website. 

Within 48 hours after submitting an 

electronic application, the applicant 

should receive an email message from 

GRANTS.GOV with confirmation of 

successful transmission to 

GRANTS.GOV. If a notice of failed 

validation or incomplete materials is 

received, the applicant must address the 

reason for the failed validation, as 

described in the email notice, and 

resubmit before the submission 

deadline. If making a resubmission for 

any reason, include all original 

attachments regardless of which 

attachments were updated and check 

the box on the supplemental form 

indicating this is a resubmission. 

Applicants are encouraged to begin 

the process of registration on the 

GRANTS.GOV site well in advance of 

the submission deadline. Registration is 

a multi-step process, which may take 

several weeks to complete before an 

application can be submitted. Registered 

applicants may still be required to take 

steps to keep their registration up to 

date before submissions can be made 

successfully: (1) registration in SAM is 

renewed annually; and (2) persons 

making submissions on behalf of the 

Authorized Organization Representative 

(AOR) must be authorized in 

GRANTS.GOV by the AOR to make 

submissions. 

5. Funding Restrictions 

Funds made available under this 

NOFO cannot be used to reimburse 

applicants for otherwise eligible 

expenses incurred prior to the 

publication of this NOFO in the Federal 

Register, which is when Pre-Award 

authority begins (see Section F.2.a). 

Allowable direct and indirect expenses 

must be consistent with the 

Government-wide Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards (2 CFR part 200) and 

FTA Circular 5010.1E. 

6. Other Submission Requirements 

Applicants are encouraged to identify 

scaled funding options in case 

insufficient funding is available to fund 

a project at the full requested amount. 

If an applicant advises that a project is 

scalable, the applicant must provide an 

appropriate minimum funding amount 

that will fund an eligible project that 

achieves the objectives of the program 

and meets all relevant program 

requirements. The applicant must 

provide a clear explanation of how the 

project budget would be affected by a 

reduced award. FTA may award a lesser 

amount whether or not a scalable option 

is provided. FTA may award funds 

using a multi-year grant agreement of up 

to three years, as described in Section B 

of this notice. 

E. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria 

Projects will be evaluated primarily 

on the responses provided in the 

supplemental form. Additional 

information may be provided to support 

the responses; however, any additional 

documentation must be directly 

referenced on the supplemental form, 

including the file name where the 

additional information can be found. 

FTA will evaluate project proposals 

based on the criteria described in this 

notice. 

a. Demonstration of Need 

As the purpose of this program is to 

fund rail rolling stock and maintain 

public transportation systems in a state 

of good repair, applications will be 

evaluated based on the quality and 

extent to which they demonstrate how 

the proposed project will address an 

unmet need for capital investment in 

rail vehicles. 

Applicants must provide information 

on the age, condition, and performance 

of the rail vehicles to be replaced. The 

law requires FTA to consider the age 

and condition of the rail rolling stock of 

the applicant that has exceeded or will 

exceed the useful service life of the rail 

rolling stock in the 5-year period 

following the grant. FTA will define that 

five years as starting one year after the 

date applications are due. FTA will 

provide higher priority for rolling stock 

already past its useful life. The proposal 

must address how the project conforms 

to the applicant’s spare ratio guidelines 

and provide the rationale. 

b. Demonstration of Benefits 

FTA will evaluate the potential for 

projects to improve the condition of the 

transit system by replacing rail vehicles 

that are in poor condition or have 

surpassed their minimum or intended 

useful life benchmarks. Additionally, 

applicants should specifically identify 

and address in their application one or 

more of the following: 

Safety: FTA will evaluate the 

potential for projects to improve the 

safety of the transit system. Applicants 

may describe the benefits of increased 

safety of replacement vehicles and how 

that may impact the broader safety of 

their transportation system. 

Performance: FTA will evaluate the 

benefits of reducing breakdowns and 

service interruptions, increasing service 

performance and reliability, and 

reducing the cost of maintaining 

outdated vehicles. 

Enhanced Access and Mobility for 

People with Disabilities: FTA will 

evaluate the potential for projects to 

improve access and mobility for persons 

with disabilities. 

Combatting Climate Change: FTA will 

evaluate the benefits of any otherwise 

eligible project that is proposing to 

replace a locomotive or self-propelled 

passenger cars with a locomotive or selfpropelled passenger cars that produces 

fewer harmful emissions at the point of 

service. 


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c. Planning and Local/Regional 

Prioritization 

Applicants must demonstrate how the 

proposed project is consistent with local 

and regional planning documents and 

identified priorities. This will involve 

assessing whether the project is 

consistent with the transit priorities 

identified in the long-range 

transportation plan and the State and 

Metropolitan Transportation 

Improvement Program (STIP/TIP). 

Applicants should note if the project 

could not be included in the financially 

constrained STIP or TIP due to lack of 

funding, and if selected that the project 

can be added to the federally approved 

STIP before grant award. 

FTA will evaluate applications based 

on the quality and extent to which they 

assess whether the project is consistent 

with the investment priorities identified 

in the applicant’s Transit Asset 

Management (TAM) Plan, pursuant to 

49 CFR part 625. Applicants should also 

describe how replacing the vehicle will 

help them meet the state of good repair 

performance targets set in their Transit 

Asset Management (TAM) Plan. 

FTA encourages applicants to 

demonstrate State or local support by 

including letters of support from State 

departments of transportation, local 

transit agencies, local government 

officials and public agencies, local nonprofit or private sector organizations, 

and other relevant stakeholders. 

Applications that include letters of 

support will be viewed more favorably 

than those that do not. For FTA to fully 

consider a letter of support, the letter 

must be included in the application 

package. In an area with both rail and 

other public transit operators, FTA will 

evaluate whether project proposals 

demonstrate coordination with and 

support of other related projects within 

the applicant’s Metropolitan Planning 

Organization (MPO) or the geographic 

region within which the proposed 

project will operate. 

d. Local Financial Commitment 

Applicants must identify the sources 

of funding for the total eligible vehicle 

replacement project cost, including 

other Federal funding if applicable, and 

the non-Federal cost share, and describe 

whether such funds are currently 

available for the project or will need to 

be secured if the project is selected for 

funding. FTA will consider the 

availability of the non-Federal cost 

share as evidence of local financial 

commitment to the project. Additional 

consideration will be given to those 

projects for which non-Federal funds 

have already been made available or 

reserved. Applicants should submit 

evidence of the availability of funds for 

the project, by including, for example, a 

board resolution, letter of support from 

the State, a budget document 

highlighting the line item or section 

committing funds to the proposed 

project, or other documentation of the 

source of other non-Federal funds. 

An applicant may provide 

documentation of previous and recent 

local investments in the project, which 

cannot be used to satisfy non-Federal 

matching requirements, as evidence of 

local financial commitment. 

e. Project Implementation Strategy 

Projects will be evaluated based on 

the extent to which the project is ready 

to implement within a reasonable 

period of time and whether the 

applicant’s proposed implementation 

plans are reasonable and complete. 

Applicants should discuss and include 

any supporting information 

demonstrating that the proposed project 

is compatible with the existing system 

and takes into account any adjustments 

that need to be made to complete 

successful implementation. 

In assessing whether the project is 

ready to implement within a reasonable 

period of time, FTA will consider 

whether the project qualifies for a 

Categorical Exclusion, or whether the 

required environmental work has been 

initiated or completed for projects that 

require an Environmental Assessment or 

Environmental Impact Statement under 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969. As such, applicants should 

submit information describing the 

project’s anticipated path and timeline 

through the environmental review 

process. If the project will qualify as a 

Categorical Exclusion, the applicant 

must say so explicitly in the 

application. The proposal must also 

state whether grant funds can be 

obligated within 12 months from time of 

award, if selected, and if necessary, the 

timeframe under which the 

Metropolitan TIP and STIP can be 

amended to include the proposed 

project. Additional consideration will 

be given to projects for which grant 

funds can be obligated within 12 

months from time of award. The 

applicant must also include the date the 

rail vehicle procurement Notice to 

Proceed has been or is intended to be 

issued to the manufacturer if proposing 

to utilize an existing contract. 

In assessing whether the proposed 

implementation plans are reasonable 

and complete, FTA will review the 

proposed project implementation plan, 

including all necessary project 

milestones and the overall project 

timeline. For projects that will require 

formal coordination, approvals, or 

permits from other agencies or project 

partners, the applicant must 

demonstrate coordination with these 

organizations and their support for the 

project, such as through letters of 

support. 

f. Technical, Legal, and Financial 

Capacity 

Applicants must demonstrate that 

they have the technical, legal, and 

financial capacity to undertake the 

project. FTA will review relevant 

oversight assessments and records to 

determine whether there are any 

outstanding legal, technical, or financial 

issues with the applicant that would 

affect the outcome of the proposed 

project. Additional information on the 

compliance requirements for these 

grants appears later in this notice. 

Applicants with outstanding legal, 

technical, or financial compliance 

issues from an FTA compliance review 

or FTA grant-related Single Audit 

finding must explain how corrective 

actions taken will mitigate negative 

impacts on the project. 

2. Review and Selection Process 

FTA technical evaluation committees 

will evaluate proposals using the project 

evaluation criteria. FTA staff may 

request additional information from 

applicants, if necessary. After 

consideration of the findings of the 

technical evaluation committees, the 

FTA Administrator will determine the 

final selection of projects for program 

funding. In determining the allocation 

of program funds, FTA may consider 

geographic diversity, the age and 

condition of the vehicles to be replaced, 

diversity in the size of the transit 

systems receiving funding, and the 

availability to the applicant of State of 

Good Repair Formula funding or other 

competitive awards. FTA may consider 

capping the amount a single applicant 

may receive. 

3. Integrity and Performance Review 

Prior to making an award with a total 

amount of Federal share greater than the 

simplified acquisition threshold 

(currently $250,000), FTA is required to 

review and consider any information 

about the applicant that is in the Federal 

Awardee Performance and Integrity 

Information Systems (FAPIIS) accessible 

through SAM. An applicant may review 

and comment on information about 

itself that a Federal awarding agency 

previously entered. FTA will consider 

any comments by the applicant, in 

addition to the other information in 

FAPIIS, in making a judgment about the 


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69988 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 

applicant’s integrity, business ethics, 

and record of performance under 

Federal awards when completing the 

review of risk posed by applicants as 

described in 2 CFR 200.206. 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

1. Federal Award Notices 

Final project selections will be posted 

on the FTA website. Only proposals 

from eligible recipients for eligible 

activities will be considered for funding. 

There is no minimum or maximum 

grant award amount; however, FTA 

intends to fund up to three meritorious 

projects per year of funding. FTA may 

also award multi-year grant agreements 

of up to three years. Due to funding 

limitations, projects that are selected for 

funding may receive less than the 

amount originally requested. In those 

cases, applicants must be able to 

demonstrate that the proposed projects 

are still viable and can be completed 

with the amount awarded. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

a. Pre-Award Authority 

Pre-award authority for the selected 

projects is available beginning on the 

date that this Rail Vehicle Replacement 

Program NOFO is published in the 

Federal Register. There is no blanket 

pre-award authority for these projects 

before publication of this NOFO. For 

more information about FTA’s policy on 

pre-award authority, please see FTA’s 

2023 Apportionment Notice (88 FR 

23117). 

b. Grant Requirements 

If selected, awardees will apply for a 

grant through FTA’s Transit Award 

Management System (TrAMS). All 

recipients are subject to the grant 

requirements of the State of Good Repair 

program (49 U.S.C. 5337), FTA’s Master 

Agreement for financial assistance 

awards, the annual Certifications and 

Assurances required of applicants, and 

FTA Circular ‘‘State of Good Repair 

Grant Program’’ (FTA.C.5300.1E). All 

recipients must also follow the Award 

Management Requirements 

(FTA.C.5010.1) and the labor 

protections required by Federal public 

transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5333(b)). 

All of these documents are available on 

FTA’s website. Technical assistance 

regarding these requirements is 

available from each FTA regional office. 

c. Made in America 

A project funded under this NOFO 

must comply with FTA’s Buy America 

(49 U.S.C. 5323(j)) and the Build 

America, Buy America Act’s domestic 

preference requirements for 

infrastructure projects (§§ 70901–70953 

of the Infrastructure Investment and 

Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117–58), which 

together require that all iron, steel, 

manufactured goods, and construction 

materials used in the project be 

produced in the United States and set 

minimum domestic content and final 

assembly requirements for rolling stock. 

Any proposal that will require a 

waiver of any domestic preference 

standard must identify the items for 

which a waiver will be sought in the 

application. Applicants should not 

proceed with the expectation that 

waivers will be granted. 

d. Civil Rights Requirements 

Applications should demonstrate that 

the recipient has a plan for compliance 

with civil rights obligations and 

nondiscrimination laws, including Title 

VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 

and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

Act, and accompanying regulations. 

This should include a current Title VI 

program plan and a completed 

Community Participation Plan 

(alternatively called a Public 

Participation Plan), if applicable. 

Applicants who have not sufficiently 

demonstrated the conditions of 

compliance with civil rights 

requirements will be required to do so 

before receiving funds. 

Recipients of Federal transportation 

funding will be required to comply fully 

with regulations and guidance for the 

ADA, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

Act of 1973, and all other civil rights 

requirements. The Department’s and 

FTA’s Office of Civil Rights may work 

with awarded grant recipients to ensure 

full compliance with Federal civil rights 

requirements. 

e. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 

Projects for railcar acquisitions are 

subject to the transit vehicle 

manufacturer (TVM) rule of the 

USDOT’s Disadvantaged Business 

Enterprise (DBE) program regulation (49 

CFR 26.49). The TVM rule requires 

recipients procuring transit vehicles to 

limit eligible bidders to certified TVMs. 

To become a certified TVM, a 

manufacturer of transit vehicles must 

submit a DBE program plan and annual 

goal to FTA for approval. A list of 

certified TVMs is posted on FTA’s web 

page at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ 

TVM. Recipients should contact FTA 

before accepting bids from entities not 

listed on this web page. 

In lieu of restricting eligibility to 

certified TVMs, a recipient may, with 

FTA’s approval, establish projectspecific goals for DBE participation in 

the procurement of transit vehicles. 

Planning 

FTA encourages applicants to notify 

the appropriate State Departments of 

Transportation and MPOs in areas likely 

to be served by the project funds made 

available under these initiatives and 

programs. Selected projects must be 

incorporated into the long-range plans 

and transportation improvement 

programs of States and metropolitan 

areas before they are eligible for FTA 

funding. As described under the 

evaluation criteria, FTA may consider 

whether a project is consistent with or 

already included in these plans when 

evaluating a project. 

f. Standard Assurances 

The applicant assures that it will 

comply with all applicable Federal 

statutes, regulations, executive orders, 

directives, FTA circulars, and other 

Federal administrative requirements in 

carrying out any project supported by 

the FTA grant. The applicant 

acknowledges that it is under a 

continuing obligation to comply with 

the terms and conditions of the grant 

agreement issued for its project with 

FTA. The applicant understands that 

Federal laws, regulations, policies, and 

administrative practices might be 

modified from time to time and may 

affect the implementation of the project. 

The applicant agrees that the most 

recent Federal requirements will apply 

to the project, unless FTA issues a 

written determination otherwise. The 

applicant must submit the Certifications 

and Assurances before receiving a grant 

if it does not have current certifications 

on file. 

g. Performance and Program Evaluation 

As a condition of grant award, grant 

recipients may be required to participate 

in an evaluation undertaken by DOT or 

another agency or partner. The 

evaluation may take different forms 

such as an implementation assessment 

across grant recipients, an impact and/ 

or outcomes analysis of all or selected 

sites within or across grant recipients, or 

a benefit/cost analysis or assessment of 

return on investment. As a part of the 

evaluation, as a condition of award, 

grant recipients must agree to: (1) make 

records available to the evaluation 

contractor or DOT staff; (2) provide 

access to program records, and any 

other relevant documents to calculate 

costs and benefits; (3) in the case of an 

impact analysis, facilitate the access to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 69989 

relevant information as requested; and 

(4) follow evaluation procedures as 

specified by the evaluation contractor or 

DOT staff. 

Recipients and subrecipients are also 

encouraged to incorporate program 

evaluation including associated data 

collection activities from the outset of 

their program design and 

implementation to meaningfully 

document and measure their progress 

towards meeting an agency priority 

goal(s). Title I of the Foundations for 

Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 

2018 (Evidence Act), (Pub. L. 115–435) 

urges Federal awarding agencies and 

Federal assistance recipients and 

subrecipients to use program evaluation 

as a critical tool to learn, to improve 

equitable delivery, and to elevate 

program service and delivery across the 

program lifecycle. Evaluation means ‘‘an 

assessment using systematic data 

collection and analysis of one or more 

programs, policies, and organizations 

intended to assess their effectiveness 

and efficiency.’’ 5 U.S.C. 311. Credible 

program evaluation activities are 

implemented with relevance and utility, 

rigor, independence and objectivity, 

transparency, and ethics (OMB Circular 

A–11, Part 6, Section 290). 

3. Reporting 

Post-award reporting requirements 

include the electronic submission of 

Federal Financial Reports and Milestone 

Progress Reports. Applicant should 

include goals, targets, and indicators 

referenced in their application to the 

project in the Executive Summary of the 

TrAMS application. Recipients or 

beneficiaries of funds made available 

through this NOFO are also required to 

regularly submit data to the National 

Transit Database. National Transit 

Database reports include total sources of 

revenue and complete expenditure 

reports for all public transportation 

operations, not just those funded by this 

project. 

FTA is committed to making 

evidence-based decisions guided by the 

best available science and data. In 

accordance with the Evidence Act, FTA 

may use information submitted in 

discretionary funding applications; 

information in FTA’s Transit Award 

Management System (TrAMS), 

including grant applications, Milestone 

Progress Reports (MPRs), Federal 

Financial Reports (FFRs); transit service, 

ridership and operational data 

submitted in FTA’s National Transit 

Database; documentation and results of 

FTA oversight reviews, including 

triennial and state management reviews; 

and other publicly available sources of 

data to build evidence to support policy, 

budget, operational, regulatory, and 

management processes and decisions 

affecting FTA’s grant programs. 

As part of completing the annual 

certifications and assurances required of 

FTA grant recipients, a successful 

applicant must report on the suspension 

or debarment status of itself and its 

principals. If the award recipient’s 

active grants, cooperative agreements, 

and procurement contracts from all 

Federal awarding agencies exceeds 

$10,000,000 for any period of time 

during the period of performance of an 

award made pursuant to this Notice, the 

recipient must comply with the 

Recipient Integrity and Performance 

Matters reporting requirements 

described in Appendix XII to 2 CFR part 

200. 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

For further information concerning 

this notice, please contact the 

Competitive Grants for Rail Vehicle 

Replacement Program manager, Donna 

Iken, by phone at 202–366–8076, or by 

email at Donna.Iken@dot.gov. A TDD is 

available for individuals who are deaf or 

hard of hearing at 800–877–8339. To 

ensure receipt of accurate information 

about eligibility or the program, the 

applicant is encouraged to contact FTA 

directly, rather than through 

intermediaries or third parties. Contact 

information for FTA’s regional offices 

can be found on FTA’s website at 

https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/ 

regional-offices/regional-offices/about/ 

regional-offices/regional-offices. For 

issues with GRANTS.GOV, please 

contact GRANTS.GOV by phone at 1– 

800–518–4726 or by email at support@

grants.gov. 

H. Other Information 

This program is not subject to 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ FTA will consider 

applications for funding only from 

eligible recipients for eligible projects 

listed in Section C. 

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 

an applicant submits information the 

applicant considers to be a trade secret 

or confidential commercial or financial 

information, the applicant must provide 

that information in a separate 

document, which the applicant may 

reference from the application narrative 

or other portions of the application. For 

the separate document containing 

confidential information, the applicant 

must do the following: (1) state on the 

cover of that document that it ‘‘Contains 

Confidential Business Information 

(CBI);’’ (2) mark each page that contains 

confidential information with ‘‘CBI;’’ (3) 

highlight or otherwise denote the 

confidential content on each page; and 

(4) at the end of the document, explain 

how disclosure of the confidential 

information would cause substantial 

competitive harm. FTA will protect 

confidential information complying 

with these requirements to the extent 

required under applicable law. If FTA 

receives a Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) request for the information that 

the applicant has marked in accordance 

with this section, FTA will follow the 

procedures described in DOT’s FOIA 

regulations at 49 CFR 7.29. Only 

information that is in the separate 

document, marked in accordance with 

this section, and ultimately determined 

to be confidential will be exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA. 

Nuria I. Fernandez, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22419 Filed 10–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

Notice of OFAC Sanctions Action 

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets 

Control, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the 

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) is publishing the name 

of 11 individuals that have been placed 

on OFAC’s Specially Designated 

Nationals and Blocked Persons List 

based on OFAC’s determination that one 

or more applicable legal criteria were 

satisfied. All property and interests in 

property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of 

these individuals are blocked, and U.S. 

persons are generally prohibited from 

engaging in transactions with these 

individuals. 

DATES: See Supplementary Information 

section for effective date(s). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OFAC: Andrea Gacki, Director, tel.: 

202–622–2490; Associate Director for 

Global Targeting, tel.: 202–622–2420; 

Assistant Director for Licensing, tel.: 

202–622–2480; Assistant Director for 

Regulatory Affairs, tel.: 202–622–4855; 

or the Assistant Director for 

Compliance, tel.: 202–622–2490. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1