11854 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 41 / Monday, March 3, 2014 / Notices 

Type of respondent Number of 

respondents 

Frequency of 

response 

Average 

burden per 

response 

(minutes) 

Estimated total 

annual burden 

(hours) 

State/Local/Tribal Government ........................................................................ 150 1 3 8 

Totals ........................................................................................................ 300 ........................ ........................ 28 

Grand Total ....................................................................................... 200,000 ........................ ........................ 18,334 

2. Work History Report—20 CFR 

404.1515, 404.1560, 404.1565, 416.960 

and 416.3965—0960–0578. Under 

certain circumstances, SSA asks 

individuals applying for disability about 

work they have performed in the past. 

Applicants use Form SSA–3369, Work 

History Report, to provide detailed 

information about jobs held prior to 

becoming unable to work. State 

Disability Determination Services 

evaluate the information, together with 

medical evidence, to determine 

eligibility for disability payments. 

Respondents are disability applicants 

and third parties assisting applicants. 

Type of Request: Revision of an OMBapproved information collection. 

Modality of collection Number of 

respondents 

Frequency of 

response 

Average 

burden per 

response 

(minutes) 

Estimated total 

annual burden 

(hours) 

SSA–3369 (Paper form) .................................................................................. 1,553,900 1 60 1,553,900

Electronic Disability Collect System 3369 ....................................................... 38,049 1 60 38,049 

Totals ........................................................................................................ 1,591,949 ........................ ........................ 1,591,949 

Dated: February 28, 2014. 

Naomi Sipple, 

Management Analyst, Reports Clearance, 

Social Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–04577 Filed 2–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2014–XXXX] 

Notice of Funding Availability for the 

Department of Transportation’s 

National Infrastructure Investments 

under the Consolidated Appropriations 

Act, 2014 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

availability of funding and requests 

proposals for the Department of 

Transportation’s National Infrastructure 

Investments. This notice is addressed to 

organizations that are interested in 

applying and provides guidance on 

selection criteria and application 

requirements for the National 

Infrastructure Investments. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2014 (Pub. L. 113–76, January 17, 2014) 

(‘‘FY 2014 Appropriations Act’’) 

appropriated $600 million to be 

awarded by the Department of 

Transportation (‘‘DOT’’) for National 

Infrastructure Investments. This 

appropriation is similar, but not 

identical, to the program funded and 

implemented pursuant to the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(the ‘‘Recovery Act’’) known as the 

Transportation Investment Generating 

Economic Recovery, or ‘‘TIGER 

Discretionary Grants,’’ program. Because 

of the similarity in program structure, 

DOT will continue to refer to the 

program as ‘‘TIGER Discretionary 

Grants.’’ As with previous rounds of 

TIGER, funds for the FY 2014 TIGER 

program (‘‘TIGER FY 2014’’) are to be 

awarded on a competitive basis for 

projects that will have a significant 

impact on the Nation, a metropolitan 

area, or a region. 

Through this notice, DOT is soliciting 

applications for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants. In the event that this solicitation 

does not result in the award and 

obligation of all available funds, DOT 

may decide to publish an additional 

solicitation(s). 

DATES: You must submit final 

applications through Grants.gov by 

April 28, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. EDT (the 

‘‘Application Deadline’’). The 

Grants.gov ‘‘Apply’’ function will open 

on April 3, 2014, allowing applicants to 

submit applications. You are strongly 

encouraged to submit applications in 

advance of the deadline. Please be 

aware that you must complete the 

registration process before submitting an 

application, and that this process 

usually takes 2–4 weeks to complete. If 

interested parties experience difficulties 

at any point during the registration or 

application process, please call the 

Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 

1–800–518–4726, Monday-Friday from 

7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EDT. Additional 

information on applying through 

Grants.gov is available in Information 

about Applying for Federal Grants 

through Grants.gov at www.dot.gov/

TIGER. 

ADDRESSES: You must submit 

applications electronically through 

Grants.gov. Only applications received 

electronically through Grants.gov will 

be deemed properly filed. Instructions 

for submitting applications through 

Grants.gov can be found on the TIGER 

Web site (www.dot.gov/TIGER). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information concerning this 

notice please contact the TIGER 

Discretionary Grant program staff via 

email at TIGERGrants@dot.gov, or call 

Howard Hill at 202–366–0301. A TDD is 

available for individuals who are deaf or 

hard of hearing at 202–366–3993. In 

addition, DOT will regularly post 

answers to questions and requests for 

clarifications on DOT’s Web site at 

www.dot.gov/TIGER. Applicants are 

encouraged to contact DOT directly 

rather than rely on third parties to 

receive information about TIGER 

Discretionary Grants. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is substantially similar to the 

final notice published for the TIGER 

Discretionary Grant program in the 

Federal Register on April 26, 2013. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 41 / Monday, March 3, 2014 / Notices 11855 

1Consistent with the FY 2014 Appropriations 

Act, DOT will apply the following principles in 

determining whether a project is eligible as a capital 

investment or a planning study in surface 

transportation: (1) Surface transportation facilities 

generally include roads, highways and bridges, 

marine ports, freight and passenger railroads, transit 

systems, and projects that connect transportation 

facilities to other modes of transportation; and (2) 

surface transportation facilities also include any 

highway or bridge project eligible under title 23, 

U.S.C., or public transportation project eligible 

under chapter 53 of title 49, U.S.C. Please note that 

the Department may use a TIGER Discretionary 

Grant to pay for the surface transportation 

components of a broader project that has nonsurface transportation components, and applicants 

are encouraged to apply for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants to pay for the surface transportation 

components of these projects. 

However, there are a few significant 

differences: 

1. Across the Federal Government, the 

Administration is dedicated to 

enhancing opportunity for all 

Americans by investing in 

transportation projects that better 

connect communities to centers of 

employment, education, and services 

(including for non-drivers) and that 

hold promise to stimulate long-term job 

growth, especially in economically 

distressed areas. Additional 

consideration will be given to proposals 

that seek to strengthen opportunities to 

expand the middle class. While the 

Department will award funds to a 

variety of project types, priority 

consideration will be given to 

applications that address this objective. 

2. TIGER FY 2014 is authorized to 

award up to $35 million (of the 

program’s $600 million total) for 

planning grants. Planning grant 

applications must identify themselves 

as project-level or regional plan 

applications. 

3. In the previous round of TIGER, 

funding was available for obligation for 

a very short time. Therefore, DOT used 

project readiness as a primary criterion 

in awarding that funding. TIGER FY 

2014 funds, in contrast, are available for 

obligation until the statutory deadline of 

September 30, 2016. This extended 

schedule allows DOT to encourage the 

submission of applications for complex 

and multimodal projects that may 

require slightly longer schedules. 

However, all applicants should provide 

schedules and evidence that they will 

be able to obligate funds, if awarded, by 

June of 2016 and expend such funds by 

September 30, 2021 (31 U.S.C. 1552). 

4. Applications that identify project 

co-applicants or project partners in 

addition to a lead applicant must be 

signed by each co-applicant and/or 

partner organization. 

Other than the differences above, and 

minor edits for clarification and those 

made to conform the notice to the 

statutory circumstances of this round of 

TIGER Discretionary Grant funding, 

there have been no material changes 

made to the notice. Each section of this 

notice contains information and 

instructions relevant to the application 

process for these TIGER Discretionary 

Grants, and you should read this notice 

in its entirety so that you have the 

information you need to submit eligible 

and competitive applications. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background and Outlook 

II. Selection Criteria and Guidance on 

Application of Selection Criteria 

III. Evaluation and Selection Process 

IV. Grant Administration 

V. Projects in Rural Areas 

VI. TIGER Planning Grants 

VII. Application Cycle 

VIII. Performance Management 

IX. Questions and Clarifications 

I. Background and Outlook 

The Transportation Investment 

Generating Economic Recovery or 

‘‘TIGER Discretionary Grants’’ program 

was first created in the Recovery Act of 

2009. Through the Recovery Act and 

subsequent four appropriations acts, 

Congress provided DOT with funding 

for five rounds of competitive grants 

totaling more than $4.1 billion for 

capital investments in surface 

transportation infrastructure. See DOT’s 

Web site at www.dot.gov/TIGER for 

further background on the disbursement 

of past rounds of TIGER Discretionary 

Grants. 

The FY 2014 Appropriations Act 

appropriated $600 million to be 

awarded by DOT for the TIGER 

Discretionary Grants program. As in 

previous rounds, the FY 2014 TIGER 

Discretionary Grants are for capital 

investments in surface transportation 

infrastructure, and are to be awarded on 

a competitive basis for projects that will 

have a significant impact on the Nation, 

a metropolitan area, or a region. 

Additionally, as in the 2010 round, the 

Act allows for up to $35 million (of the 

$600 million) to be awarded as grants 

for the planning of eligible 

transportation facilities. DOT is 

referring to these TIGER Discretionary 

Grants for planning as TIGER Planning 

Grants. The Act also allows DOT to use 

a small portion of the $600 million for 

oversight of grants. 

‘‘Eligible Applicants’’ for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants are State, local, 

and tribal governments, including U.S. 

territories, transit agencies, port 

authorities, metropolitan planning 

organizations (MPOs), other political 

subdivisions of State or local 

governments, and multi-State or multijurisdictional groups applying through a 

single lead applicant (for multijurisdictional groups, each member of 

the group, including the lead applicant, 

must be an otherwise Eligible Applicant 

as defined in this paragraph). 

To ensure applicants receive the most 

accurate information possible, you must 

contact DOT directly, rather than 

through intermediaries, to get answers 

to questions, set up briefings on the 

TIGER Discretionary Grants selection 

and award process, or receive other 

assistance. Assistance can be obtained 

by simply contacting the TIGER 

Discretionary Grant program staff via 

email at TIGERGrants@dot.gov, or by 

calling Howard Hill at 202–366–0301. 

Projects that are eligible for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants (‘‘Eligible 

Projects’’) for capital projects include, 

but are not limited to: (1) Highway or 

bridge projects eligible under title 23, 

United States Code (including bicycle 

and pedestrian related projects); (2) 

public transportation projects eligible 

under chapter 53 of title 49, United 

States Code; (3) passenger and freight 

rail transportation projects; (4) port 

infrastructure investments; and (5) 

intermodal projects. Projects that are 

eligible for TIGER Planning Grants 

include, but are not limited to: 

Activities related to the planning, 

preparation, or design of a single surface 

transportation project, or activities 

related to regional transportation 

investment planning, including 

transportation planning that is 

coordinated with interdisciplinary 

factors including housing, economic 

development, stormwater and other 

infrastructure investments, and/or that 

addresses future risks and 

vulnerabilities, including extreme 

weather and climate change. Federal 

wage rate requirements included in 

subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 

United States Code, apply to all projects 

receiving funds under this program, and 

apply to all parts of the project, whether 

funded with TIGER Discretionary Grant 

funds, other Federal funds, or nonFederal funds. This description of 

Eligible Projects is identical to the 

description of eligible projects under 

earlier rounds of the TIGER 

Discretionary Grant program.1

As was the case in earlier rounds of 

the TIGER Discretionary Grant program, 

Eligible Projects do not include 

research, demonstration, or pilot 

projects that do not result in publicly 

accessible surface transportation 

infrastructure. To be funded, projects or 

elements of a project must have 

independent utility, which means that 

the project provides transportation 

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11856 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 41 / Monday, March 3, 2014 / Notices 

2http://obs.rc.fas.harvard.edu/chetty/mobility_

geo.pdf 

benefits and is ready for its intended use 

upon completion of project 

construction. 

Each applicant may submit no more 

than three applications in each category 

(3 capital applications and 3 planning 

applications). You should focus on 

applications that are most likely to align 

well with DOT’s selection criteria. 

While applications may include 

requests to fund more than one project, 

you may not bundle together unrelated 

projects in the same application for 

purposes of avoiding the threeapplication limit that applies to each 

applicant. Please note that the threeapplication limit applies only to 

applications where the applicant is the 

lead applicant, and there is no limit on 

applications for which an applicant can 

be listed as a partnering agency. If you 

submit more than three applications as 

the lead applicant, only the first three 

received in each category will be 

considered. 

The FY 2014 Appropriations Act 

specifies that TIGER Discretionary 

Grants may not be less than $10 million 

(except in rural areas) and not greater 

than $200 million. For projects located 

in rural areas (as defined in Section V, 

Projects in Rural Areas), the minimum 

TIGER Discretionary Grant size is $1 

million. For TIGER Planning Grants, 

there is no statutory minimum grant 

size, regardless of location. 

DOT reserves the right to award funds 

for a part of the project included in an 

application, if a part of the project has 

independent utility and aligns well with 

the selection criteria specified in this 

notice. 

Pursuant to the FY 2014 

Appropriations Act, no more than 25 

percent of the funds made available for 

TIGER Discretionary Grants (or $150 

million) may be awarded to projects in 

a single State. 

The FY 2014 Appropriations Act 

directs that not less than 20 percent of 

the funds provided for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants (or $120 million) 

shall be used for projects located in 

rural areas. Further, pursuant to the FY 

2014 Appropriations Act, DOT must 

take measures to ensure an equitable 

geographic distribution of grant funds, 

an appropriate balance in addressing the 

needs of urban and rural areas, and 

investment in a variety of transportation 

modes. 

TIGER Discretionary Grants may be 

used for up to 80 percent of the costs of 

a project. DOT may increase the Federal 

share above 80 percent only for projects 

located in rural areas, in which case 

DOT may fund up to 100 percent of the 

costs of a project. However, priority will 

be given to projects that use Federal 

funds to complete an overall financing 

package, and both urban and rural 

projects can increase their 

competitiveness for purposes of the 

TIGER program by demonstrating 

significant non-Federal financial 

contributions. In the first five rounds, 

on average, projects attracted more than 

3.5 additional non-Federal dollars for 

every TIGER grant dollar. DOT will 

consider any non-Federal funds, as well 

as funds from the Tribal Transportation 

Program (formerly known as Indian 

Reservation Roads), as a local match for 

purposes of this program, whether such 

funds are contributed by the public 

sector (State or local) or the private 

sector. However, DOT cannot consider 

any funds already expended (or 

otherwise encumbered) towards the 

matching requirement. Federal 

requirements also apply to any 

matching funds in your application. 

Therefore, the extent that a project is 

already underway or money intended to 

be matching funds is already 

encumbered, DOT will not consider 

those funds to be matching funds for the 

purposes of the TIGER Discretionary 

Grant program. You should also take 

note that even though ‘‘matching’’ 

funding may be provided by a State 

DOT or transit agency, DOT will not 

consider those funds to be matching 

funds if the source of those funds is 

ultimately a Federal program. 

The FY 2014 Appropriations Act 

requires that TIGER funds are only 

available for obligation through 

September 30, 2016. DOT will, 

therefore, consider whether or not a 

project is ready to proceed with 

obligation of grant funds within the time 

provided. Under the FY 2014 

Appropriations Act, TIGER funding 

expires automatically after the deadline 

of September 30, 2016, if grant funds are 

not obligated. There is no waiver 

possible under the statute for this 

deadline. 

The FY 2014 Appropriations Act 

allows for an amount not to exceed 35 

percent of the available funds (or $210 

million of the $600 million) to be used 

by the Department to pay the subsidy 

and administrative costs for a project 

receiving credit assistance under the 

Transportation Infrastructure Finance 

and Innovation Act of 1998 (‘‘TIFIA’’) 

program, if it would further the 

purposes of the TIGER Discretionary 

Grant program. 

Recipients of TIGER Discretionary 

Grants and TIGER Planning Grants in 

prior rounds may apply for funding to 

support additional phases of a project 

awarded funds in earlier rounds of this 

program. However, to be competitive, 

the applicant should demonstrate the 

extent to which the previously funded 

project phase has been able to meet 

estimated project schedules and budget, 

including the ability to realize the 

benefits expected for the project. 

Transportation plays a critical role in 

expanding opportunities for every 

American. Recent research has found 

that economic mobility varies by 

geography, and poor transportation 

connections are a factor preventing 

some Americans from gaining access to 

the middle class.2 This lack of access 

limits labor mobility and can be a drag 

on local and regional economic growth. 

Improving transportation infrastructure 

can be one of the easiest ways to address 

this problem. 

Recognizing economic mobility as a 

defining trait of America’s promise, the 

2014 TIGER program will, in part, seek 

to improve access to reliable, safe, and 

affordable transportation for 

disconnected communities in urban, 

suburban, and rural areas. Providing 

opportunity to all Americans is a 

connecting theme that weaves together 

all of DOT’s primary criteria. The 

concept can be found in the 

explanations of the primary criteria in 

this NOFA and should be addressed in 

applications through the description of 

how a proposed project addresses the 

primary criteria. This may include, but 

is not limited to, capital projects that 

better connect people to jobs, remove 

physical barriers to access, and 

strengthen communities through 

neighborhood redevelopment. 

Additionally, this objective may include 

capital projects with training 

opportunities that focus on 

strengthening human capital and 

workforce opportunities. 

The above examples are not intended 

to be exhaustive, and project sponsors 

are strongly encouraged to highlight in 

their applications how their proposed 

capital projects will promote 

opportunities in ways not cited above. 

DOT may consider the extent to 

which a proposed project strengthens 

access to opportunities through 

transportation improvements—in 

addition to the statutory requirements 

for an appropriate geographic, modal, 

and urban/rural distribution—as a factor 

to differentiate meritorious applications 

from one another. That said, the 2014 

TIGER program will continue to fund 

innovative and significant projects of all 

types, and applications of all types are 

encouraged. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

applications for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants. This is a final notice. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 41 / Monday, March 3, 2014 / Notices 11857 

3The Executive Office of the President, Council 

of Economic Advisers (CEA), issued a 

memorandum in May 2009 on ‘‘Estimates of Job 

Creation from the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009.’’ That memorandum 

provided a simple rule for estimating job-years 

created by government spending, which is that 

$92,000 of government spending creates one jobyear (or 10,870 job-years per billion dollars of 

spending). More recently, in September 2011, based 

on further analysis both of actual job-creation 

experience from transportation projects under the 

Recovery Act and on further macroeconomic 

analysis, the CEA determined that a job-year is 

created by every $76,923 in transportation 

infrastructure spending (or 13,000 job-years per 

billion dollars of transportation infrastructure 

spending). This figure can be used in place of the 

earlier $92,000/job-year estimate. Applicants can 

use this estimate as an appropriate indicator of 

direct, indirect and induced job-years created by 

TIGER Discretionary Grant spending, but are 

encouraged to supplement or modify this estimate 

to the extent they can demonstrate that such 

modifications are justified. However, since this 

guidance makes job creation purely a function of 

the level of expenditure, applicants should also 

demonstrate how quickly jobs will be created under 

the proposed project. 

4http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/

index.html. 

5 In full, this principle reads: ‘‘Provide more 

transportation choices. Develop safe, reliable and 

economical transportation choices to decrease 

household transportation costs, reduce our nations’ 

dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote 

public health.’’ 

II. Selection Criteria and Guidance on 

Application of Selection Criteria 

This section specifies the criteria that 

DOT will use to evaluate applications 

for TIGER Discretionary Grants for 

capital projects. The criteria for TIGER 

Planning Grants are described in 

Section VI (D) of this notice. The criteria 

incorporate the statutory eligibility 

requirements for this program, which 

are specified in this notice as relevant. 

This section is divided into two parts. 

Part A (Selection Criteria) specifies the 

criteria that DOT will use to rate 

projects. Additional guidance about 

how DOT will apply these criteria, 

including illustrative metrics and 

examples, is provided in Part B 

(Additional Guidance on Selection 

Criteria). 

TIGER Discretionary Grants will be 

awarded based on the selection criteria 

as outlined below. There are two 

categories of selection criteria, ‘‘Primary 

Selection Criteria’’ and ‘‘Secondary 

Selection Criteria.’’ 

A. Primary Selection Criteria: The five 

primary selection criteria are based on 

the priorities included in DOT’s 

Strategic Plan for FY 2012–FY 2016. 

Applications that do not demonstrate a 

likelihood of significant long-term 

benefits based on these criteria will not 

proceed in the evaluation process. For 

more detail on DOT’s long-term 

priorities, please refer to the Strategic 

Plan, which can be found at: http://

www.dot.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/

990_355_DOT_StrategicPlan_

508lowres.pdf. DOT does not consider 

any primary selection criterion more 

important than the others. The primary 

selection criteria, which will receive 

equal consideration, are: 

1. State of Good Repair: Improving 

the condition of existing transportation 

facilities and systems, with particular 

emphasis on projects that minimize lifecycle costs and improve resilience. DOT 

will assess whether and to what extent 

(i) the project is consistent with relevant 

plans to maintain transportation 

facilities or systems in a state of good 

repair and address current and projected 

vulnerabilities; (ii) if left unimproved, 

the poor condition of the asset will 

threaten future transportation network 

efficiency, mobility of goods or 

accessibility and mobility of people, or 

economic growth; (iii) the project is 

appropriately capitalized up front and 

uses asset management approaches that 

optimize its long-term cost structure; 

(iv) a sustainable source of revenue is 

available for operations and 

maintenance of the project; and (v) the 

project improves the transportation 

asset’s ability to withstand probable 

occurrence or recurrence of an 

emergency or major disaster or other 

impacts of climate change. Additional 

consideration will be given to the 

project’s contribution to improvement 

in the overall reliability of a multimodal 

transportation system that serves all 

users. 

2. Economic Competitiveness: 

Contributing to the economic 

competitiveness of the United States 

over the medium- to long-term, and 

creating and preserving jobs. DOT will 

assess whether the project will (i) 

improve long-term efficiency, reliability 

or cost-competitiveness in the 

movement of workers or goods, with a 

particular focus on projects that have a 

significant effect on reducing the costs 

of transporting export cargoes; (ii) 

increase the economic productivity of 

land, capital, or labor at specific 

locations, particularly in Economically 

Distressed Areas; (iii) result in long-term 

job creation and other economic 

opportunities, particularly for lowincome workers or for people in 

Economically Distressed Areas, and 

opportunities for small businesses and 

disadvantaged business enterprises, 

including veteran-owned small 

businesses and service-disabled veteranowned small businesses,3 and (iv) 

improve economic mobility through 

enhanced multimodal connections to 

centers of employment, education, and 

services or the stimulation of such 

centers in Economically Distressed 

Areas. 

3. Quality of Life: Like the livability 

criterion in past rounds, quality of life 

is focused on increasing transportation 

choices and access to transportation 

services for people in communities 

across the United States. DOT will 

consider whether the project furthers 

the six ‘‘Livability Principles’’ 

developed by DOT with the Department 

of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) and the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the 

Partnership for Sustainable 

Communities.4 DOT will focus on the 

first principle, the creation of affordable 

and convenient transportation choices.5

Projects that demonstrate this principle 

by providing transportation choices to 

connect economically disadvantaged 

populations, non-drivers, senior 

citizens, and persons with disabilities 

with employment, training and 

education will receive particular 

consideration. Further, DOT will 

prioritize projects developed in 

coordination with land-use planning 

and economic development decisions, 

including through programs like TIGER 

II Planning Grants, the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development’s 

Regional Planning Grants, or the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Brownfield Area-Wide Planning Pilot 

Program, as well as technical assistance 

programs focused on quality of life or 

economic development planning. 

4. Environmental Sustainability: 

Improving energy efficiency, reducing 

dependence on oil, reducing greenhouse 

gas emissions, addressing stormwater 

through natural means, avoiding and 

mitigating environmental impacts and 

otherwise benefitting the environment. 

DOT will assess the project’s ability to 

(i) reduce energy use and air or water 

pollution; (ii) avoid adverse 

environmental impacts to air or water 

quality, wetlands, and endangered 

species; (iii) provide environmental 

benefits, such as brownfield 

redevelopment, ground water recharge 

in areas of water scarcity, wetlands 

creation or improved habitat 

connectivity, and stormwater 

mitigation, including green 

infrastructure or (iv) improve the 

resilience of a transportation asset or the 

transportation system. Applicants are 

encouraged to provide quantitative 

information, including baseline 

information, that demonstrates how the 

project will reduce energy consumption, 

stormwater runoff, or achieve other 

benefits for the environment. 

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5. Safety: Improving the safety of U.S. 

transportation facilities and systems for 

all modes of transportation and users. 

DOT will assess the project’s ability to 

reduce the number, rate, and 

consequences of surface transportationrelated accidents, serious injuries, and 

fatalities among operators, drivers and/ 

or non-drivers in the United States or in 

the affected metropolitan area or region, 

and/or the project’s contribution to the 

elimination of highway/rail grade 

crossings, or the prevention of 

unintended releases of hazardous 

materials. DOT will consider the 

project’s ability to foster a safe, 

connected, accessible transportation 

system for the multimodal movement of 

goods and people. 

B. Secondary Selection Criteria 

1. Innovation: Use of innovative 

strategies to pursue the long-term 

outcomes outlined above. DOT will 

assess the extent to which the project 

uses innovative technology (such as 

intelligent transportation systems, 

dynamic pricing, value capture, rail 

wayside or on-board energy recovery, 

smart cards, active traffic management 

or radio frequency identification) to 

pursue one or more of the long-term 

outcomes outlined above and/or to 

significantly enhance the operational 

performance of the transportation 

system. DOT will also assess the extent 

to which the project incorporates 

innovations in transportation funding 

and finance and leverages both existing 

and new sources of funding through 

both traditional and innovative means. 

Further, DOT will consider the extent to 

which the project utilizes innovative 

practices in contracting, congestion 

management, safety management, asset 

management, or long-term operations 

and maintenance. DOT is particularly 

interested in projects that apply 

innovative strategies to improve the 

efficiency of project development or 

improve overall project delivery in the 

area. 

2. Partnership: Demonstrating strong 

collaboration among a broad range of 

participants, integration of 

transportation with other public service 

efforts, and/or projects that are the 

product of a robust planning process. 

(a) Jurisdictional and Stakeholder 

Collaboration: DOT will consider the 

extent to which projects involve 

multiple partners in project 

development and funding, such as State 

and local governments, other public 

entities, and/or private or nonprofit 

entities. DOT will also assess the extent 

to which the project application 

demonstrates collaboration among 

neighboring or regional jurisdictions to 

achieve national, regional, or 

metropolitan benefits. In the context of 

public private partnerships, DOT will 

assess the extent to which partners are 

incentivized to ensure long-term asset 

performance, such as through pay for 

success approaches. Multiple States or 

jurisdictions may submit a joint 

application and must identify a lead 

applicant as the primary point of 

contact. Joint applications must include 

a description of the roles and 

responsibilities of each project party 

and must be signed by each project 

party. 

(b) Disciplinary Integration: DOT will 

consider the extent to which projects 

include partnerships that bring together 

diverse transportation agencies and/or 

are supported, financially or otherwise, 

by non-transportation public agencies 

that are pursuing similar objectives. For 

example, DOT will give priority to 

transportation projects that are 

coordinated with economic 

development, housing, water 

infrastructure, and land use plans and 

policies; similarly, DOT will give 

priority to transportation projects that 

encourage energy efficiency or improve 

the environment and are supported by 

relevant public agencies with energy or 

environmental missions. Projects that 

grow out of a robust planning process— 

such as those conducted with DOT’s 

various planning programs and 

initiatives, the Department of Housing 

and Urban Development’s Regional 

Planning Grants and Choice 

Neighborhood Planning Grants, or the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Brownfield Area-Wide Planning Pilot 

Program, as well as technical assistance 

programs focused on livability or 

economic development planning—will 

also be given priority. 

C. Demonstrated Project Readiness 

Projects that receive funding in this 

round of TIGER will have to obligate 

funds by September 30, 2016, or the 

funding will expire. Therefore, DOT 

will assess every application to 

determine whether the project is likely 

to proceed to obligation within the 

statutory deadline upon receipt of a 

TIGER Discretionary Grant (see 

Additional Information on Project 

Readiness Guidelines located at 

www.dot.gov/TIGER for further details), 

as evidenced by: 

1. Technical Feasibility: The technical 

feasibility of the project should be 

demonstrated by 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 TIGER application, 

including the identification of 

contingency levels appropriate to its 

level of design; and any scope, 

schedule, and budget risk-mitigation 

measures. Applicants must 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; 

2. Financial Feasibility: The viability 

and completeness of the project’s 

financing package (assuming the 

availability of the requested TIGER 

Discretionary Grant funds) should be 

demonstrated including evidence of 

stable and reliable capital and (as 

appropriate) operating fund 

commitments sufficient to cover 

estimated costs; the availability of 

contingency reserves should planned 

capital or operating revenue sources not 

materialize; evidence of the financial 

condition of the project sponsor; and 

evidence of the grant recipient’s ability 

to manage grants. You must include a 

detailed project budget in this section of 

your application or applications 

containing a detailed breakdown of how 

the funds will be spent that provides 

estimates—both dollar amount and 

percentage of cost—of how much each 

activity would cost—e.g., preparation, 

grading, asphalt, etc. If the project will 

be completed in individual segments or 

phases, a budget for each individual 

segment or phase must be included. 

Budget spending categories must be 

broken down between TIGER, other 

Federal, and non-Federal sources, and 

identify how each funding source will 

share in each activity. 

3. Project Schedule: You must include 

a detailed project schedule that includes 

all major project milestones—such as 

start and completion of environmental 

reviews and approvals; design; right of 

way acquisition; approval of plan, 

specification and estimate (PS&E); 

procurement; and construction—in this 

section of your application with 

sufficiently detailed information to 

demonstrate that: 

(a) all necessary pre-construction 

activities will be complete to allow for 

any potential grant funding awarded to 

be obligated no later than June 30, 2016, 

to give DOT reasonable assurance that 

the TIGER Discretionary Grant funds 

will likely to be obligated sufficiently in 

advance of the September 30, 2016, 

statutory deadline, and that any 

unexpected delays will not put TIGER 

Discretionary Grant funds at risk of 

expiring before they are obligated; 

(b) the project can begin construction 

quickly upon receipt of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant, and that the grant 

funds will be spent steadily and 

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6The schedule should show how many direct, 

on-project jobs are expected to be created or 

sustained during each calendar quarter after the 

project is underway. 

7 DOT has a responsibility under Executive Order 

12893, Principles for Federal Infrastructure 

Investments, 59 FR 4233, to base infrastructure 

investments on systematic analysis of expected 

benefits and costs, including both quantitative and 

qualitative measures. 

8http://www.dot.gov/policy-initiatives/tiger/

tribal-tiger-bca-examples. 

expeditiously once construction starts; 6

and 

(c) any applicant that is applying for 

a TIGER Discretionary Grant and does 

not own all of the property or right-ofway required to complete the project 

should provide evidence that the 

property and/or right-of-way acquisition 

can and will be completed 

expeditiously. 

4. Assessment of Project Risks and 

Mitigation Strategies: You should 

identify the material risks to the project 

and the strategies that the lead applicant 

and any project partners have 

undertaken or will undertake in order to 

mitigate those risks. In past rounds of 

TIGER Discretionary Grants, certain 

projects have been affected by 

procurement delays, environmental 

uncertainties, and increases in real 

estate acquisition costs. You must assess 

the greatest risks to your projects and 

identify how those risks will be 

mitigated by the project parties. 

Applicants, to the extent they are 

unfamiliar with the Federal program, 

should contact DOT modal field or 

headquarters offices for information on 

what steps are pre-requisite to the 

obligation of Federal funds in order to 

ensure that their project schedule is 

reasonable and that there are no risks of 

delays in satisfying federal 

requirements. Contacts for the Federal 

Highway Administration Division 

offices—which are located in all 50 

States, Washington, DC, and Puerto 

Rico—can be found at http://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/about/field.cfm. 

Contacts for the ten Federal Transit 

Administration regional offices can be 

found at http://www.fta.dot.gov/

12926.html. 

D. Additional Guidance on Evaluation 

1. Project Costs and Benefits 

Applicants for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants are generally required to identify, 

quantify, and compare expected benefits 

and costs, subject to the following 

qualifications: 7

Applicants will be expected to 

prepare and submit an analysis of 

benefits and costs; however, DOT 

understands that the level of detail of 

analysis that should be expected (for 

items such as surveys, travel demand 

forecasts, market forecasts, and 

statistical analyses) is less for smaller 

projects than for larger projects. The 

level of sophistication of the benefit-cost 

analysis (BCA) should be reasonably 

related to the size of the overall project 

and the amount of grant funds requested 

in the application. Any subjective 

estimates of benefits and costs should 

still be quantified, and applicants 

should provide appropriate evidence to 

lend credence to their subjective 

estimates. Estimates of benefits should 

be presented in monetary terms 

whenever possible; if a monetary 

estimate is not possible, then at least 

another quantitative estimate (in 

physical, non-monetary terms, such as 

crash rates, ridership estimates, 

emissions levels, energy efficiency 

improvements, etc.) should be provided. 

Based on feedback over previous 

rounds of TIGER, DOT recognizes that 

the benefit-cost analysis can be 

particularly burdensome on Tribal 

governments. Therefore, the Department 

is providing additional flexibility to 

Tribal governments for the purposes of 

this notice. At their discretion, Tribal 

applicants may elect to provide raw data 

to support the need for a project (such 

as crash rates, ridership estimates, and 

the number of people who will benefit 

from the project), without additional 

analysis. This data will then be used to 

allow DOT economists to make the best 

estimates they can develop (given the 

data provided) of benefits and costs. 

Examples of BCAs by successful Tribal 

applicants are also available online.8

The lack of a useful analysis of 

expected project benefits and costs may 

be the basis for not selecting a project 

for award of a TIGER Discretionary 

Grant. If it is clear to DOT that the total 

benefits of a project are not reasonably 

likely to justify the project’s costs, DOT 

will not award a TIGER Discretionary 

Grant to the project. 

Detailed guidance for the preparation 

of benefit-cost analyses is provided in 

the 2014 Benefit-Cost Analyses 

Guidance for TIGER Grant Applicants 

and in the BCA Resource Guide 

(available at www.dot.gov/TIGER). A 

recording of the Benefit-Cost Analysis 

Practitioner’s Workshop (2010) and two 

BCA-related webinars are also available 

for viewing at www.dot.gov/TIGER, 

along with examples of benefit-cost 

analyses that have been submitted in 

previous rounds of TIGER. 

Benefits should be presented, 

whenever possible, in a tabular form 

showing benefits and costs in each year 

for the useful life of the project. Benefits 

and costs should both be discounted to 

the year 2014, and calculations should 

be presented for discounted values of 

both the stream of benefits and the 

stream of costs. If the project has 

multiple parts, each of which has 

independent utility, the benefits and 

costs of each part should be estimated 

and presented separately. The results of 

the benefit-cost analysis should be 

summarized in the Project Narrative 

section of the application itself, but the 

details may be presented in an 

attachment to the application if the full 

analysis cannot be included within the 

page limit for the project narrative. The 

requirement to conduct an economic 

analysis is not applicable to applicants 

seeking TIGER Planning Grants; 

however, such applicants should 

describe the expected benefits of the 

underlying project(s) that the planning 

activities will help advance. 

2. Other Environmental Reviews and 

Approvals 

(a) National Environmental Policy 

Act: An application for a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant must detail whether 

the project will significantly impact the 

natural, social and/or economic 

environment. 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 National Environmental Policy Act 

(‘‘NEPA’’) process. You should submit 

the information listed below with your 

application: 

(i) Information about the NEPA status 

of the project. If the NEPA process is 

completed, an applicant must indicate 

the date of, and provide a Web site link 

or other reference to, the final 

Categorical Exclusion, Finding of No 

Significant Impact or Record of 

Decision. If the NEPA process is 

underway but not complete, the 

application must detail the type of 

NEPA review underway, where the 

project is in the process, and indicate 

the anticipated date of completion. You 

must provide a Web site link or other 

reference to copies of any NEPA 

documents prepared. 

(ii) Information on reviews by other 

agencies. An application for a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant must indicate 

whether the proposed project requires 

reviews or approval actions by other 

agencies, indicate the status of such 

actions, and provide detailed 

information about the status of those 

reviews or approvals and/or 

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9All regionally significant projects requiring an 

action by the Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) or the Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA) must be in the 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. To the extent a project 

is required to be on a metropolitan transportation 

plan, TIP, and/or STIP, it will not receive a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant until it is included in such 

plans. Projects not currently included in these plans 

can be amended by the State and metropolitan 

planning organization (MPO). Projects that are not 

required to be in long range transportation plans, 

STIPs, and TIPs will not need to be included in 

such plans in order to receive a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant. Freight and passenger rail 

projects are not required to be on the State Rail 

Plans called for in the Passenger Rail Investment 

and Improvement Act of 2008. This is consistent 

with the exemption for high-speed and intercity 

passenger rail projects under the Recovery Act. 

However, applicants seeking funding for freight and 

passenger rail 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. 

demonstrate compliance with any other 

applicable Federal, State, or local 

requirements. 

(iii) Environmental studies or other 

documents—preferably by way of a Web 

site link—that describe in detail known 

project impacts, and possible mitigation 

for those impacts. 

(iv) A description of discussions with 

the appropriate DOT modal 

administration field or headquarters 

office regarding compliance with NEPA 

and other applicable environmental 

reviews and approvals. 

(b) Legislative Approvals: Receipt of 

all necessary legislative approvals (for 

example, legislative authority to charge 

user fees or set toll rates), and evidence 

of support from State and local elected 

officials. Support from all relevant State 

and local officials is not required; 

however, you should demonstrate that 

the project is broadly supported. 

(c) State and Local Planning: The 

planning requirements of the operating 

administration administering the TIGER 

project will apply.9 You 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. 

If the project is not included in the 

relevant planning documents at the time 

the application is submitted, you should 

submit a certification from the 

appropriate planning agency that 

actions are underway to include the 

project in the relevant planning 

document. DOT reserves the right to 

revoke any award of TIGER 

Discretionary Grant funds and to award 

such funds to another project to the 

extent either that such funds cannot be 

timely expended and/or that 

construction does not begin in 

accordance with the project schedule. 

Because projects have different 

schedules, DOT will consider on a caseby-case basis how much time after 

selection for award of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant each project has 

before funds must be obligated 

(consistent with law) and construction 

started through an executed grant 

agreement between the selected 

applicant and the relevant modal 

administration administering the grant. 

This deadline will be specified for each 

TIGER Discretionary Grant in the 

project-specific grant agreements signed 

by the grant recipients and will be based 

on critical path items identified by 

applicants in response to items (a)(i) 

through (iv) above. 

III. Evaluation and Selection Process 

A. Evaluation Process 

TIGER Discretionary Grant 

applications will be evaluated in 

accordance with the evaluation process 

discussed below. DOT will establish 

application evaluation teams to review 

each application that is received by 

DOT prior to the Application Deadline. 

These evaluation teams will be 

organized and led by the Office of the 

Secretary of Transportation and will 

include members from each of the 

Relevant Modal Administrations and, in 

some cases, staff from other Federal 

agencies with relevant expertise, 

including freight, resilience, quality of 

life, environmental review, and 

permitting expertise. The evaluation 

teams will be responsible for evaluating 

and rating all of the projects and making 

funding recommendations to the 

Secretary. 

DOT will not assign specific 

numerical scores to projects based on 

the selection criteria outlined above in 

Section II(A) (Selection Criteria). Rather, 

ratings of ‘‘highly recommended,’’ 

‘‘recommended,’’ ‘‘acceptable,’’ or ‘‘not 

recommended’’ will be assigned to 

projects. DOT will award TIGER 

Discretionary Grants to projects that are 

well-aligned with one or more of the 

selection criteria. In addition, DOT will 

consider whether a project has a 

negative effect on any of the selection 

criteria, and any such negative effect 

may reduce the likelihood that the 

project will receive a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant. 

DOT will give more consideration to 

the Primary Selection Criteria than to 

the two Secondary Selection Criteria 

(Innovation and Partnership), which 

will also be considered equally 

Projects that are recommended by the 

evaluation teams for further review will 

have their benefit-cost analyses 

evaluated by an Economic Analysis 

Team, and will have their project 

readiness evaluated by a Project 

Readiness Team. The Economic 

Analysis Team will assess the 

likelihood that the project’s benefits will 

exceed its costs, and the Project 

Readiness Team will assess the 

likelihood that the project will be able 

to obligate any grant awarded to it by 

the obligation deadline of September 30, 

2016. The results of these evaluations 

will also be taken into account in the 

recommendations made to the 

Secretary. 

Upon completion of this rating 

process, DOT will analyze the 

preliminary list and determine whether 

highly-rated projects are consistent with 

the distributional requirements of the 

FY 2014 Appropriations Act, including 

an equitable geographic distribution of 

grant funds, an appropriate balance in 

addressing the needs of urban and rural 

areas, and investment in a variety of 

transportation modes. If necessary, DOT 

will adjust the list of recommended 

projects to satisfy the statutory 

distributional requirements while 

remaining as consistent as possible with 

the competitive ratings. The Secretary of 

Transportation will make the final 

project selections. 

B. Evaluation of Eligibility 

To be selected for a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant, a project must be 

an Eligible Project and the applicant 

must be an Eligible Applicant. DOT may 

consider one or more components of a 

large project to be an Eligible Project, 

but only to the extent that the 

components have independent utility, 

meaning the components themselves, 

not the project of which they are a part, 

are Eligible Projects and satisfy the 

selection criteria identified above in 

Section II(A) (Selection Criteria). For 

these projects, the benefits described in 

an application must be related to the 

components of the project for which 

funding is requested, not the full project 

of which they are a part. DOT will not 

fund individual phases of a project if 

the benefits of completing only these 

phases would not align well with the 

selection criteria specified in this notice 

because the overall project would still 

be incomplete. 

IV. Grant Administration 

DOT expects that each TIGER 

Discretionary Grant will be 

administered by one of the Relevant 

Modal Administrations, pursuant to a 

grant agreement between the TIGER 

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10For Census 2010, the Census Bureau defined an 

Urbanized Area (UA) as an area that consists of 

densely settled territory that contains 50,000 or 

more people. Updated lists of UAs are available on 

the Census Bureau Web site. Urban Clusters (UCs) 

will be considered rural areas for purposes of the 

TIGER Discretionary Grant program. 

Discretionary Grant recipient and the 

Relevant Modal Administration. Service 

Outcome Agreements, Stakeholder 

Agreements, Buy America compliance, 

and other requirements under DOT’s 

other highway, transit, rail, and port 

grant programs will be incorporated into 

the TIGER grant agreements, where 

appropriate. The Secretary has the 

discretion to delegate such 

responsibilities to the appropriate 

Relevant Modal Administration. 

Applicable Federal laws, rules, and 

regulations of the Relevant Modal 

Administration administering the 

project will apply to projects that 

receive TIGER Discretionary Grants. 

V. Projects in Rural Areas 

The FY 2014 Appropriations Act 

directs that not less than $120 million 

of the funds provided for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants are to be used for 

projects in rural areas. For purposes of 

this notice, DOT is defining ‘‘rural area’’ 

as any area not in an Urbanized Area, 

as such term is defined by the Census 

Bureau,10 and will consider a project to 

be in a rural area if all or the majority 

of a project (determined by geographic 

location(s) where the majority of project 

money is to be spent) is located in a 

rural area. Therefore, if all or the 

majority of a project is located in a rural 

area, such a project is eligible to apply 

for less than $10 million, but at least $1 

million in TIGER Discretionary Grant 

funds, and up to 100 percent of the 

project’s costs may be paid for with 

Federal funds. To the extent more than 

a de minimis portion of a project is 

located in an Urbanized Area, you 

should identify the estimated 

percentage of project costs that will be 

spent in Urbanized Areas and the 

estimated percentage that will be spent 

in rural areas. 

VI. TIGER Planning Grants 

A. Background 

On December 16, 2009, the President 

signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

which appropriated $600 million to 

DOT for National Infrastructure 

Investments, including up to $35 

million for planning. 

That round of planning grants was 

conducted in conjunction with $40 

million in HUD Community Challenge 

grants. Thirty-three total DOT planning 

grants were made, including 14 joint 

grants with HUD. In this round, DOT 

will not be able to pair TIGER planning 

grants with HUD Community Challenge 

grants due to the lack of available HUD 

funds. However, those applicants 

seeking to fund regional transportation 

planning grants should show strong 

coordination with housing, land use, 

economic development, stormwater, 

and other infrastructure needs, 

including identifying risks from extreme 

weather and climate change, and plans 

to mitigate that risk. 

B. Eligible Planning Activities 

Activities eligible for funding under 

TIGER Planning Grants are related to the 

planning, preparation, or design— 

including environmental analysis, 

feasibility studies, and other preconstruction activities—of surface 

transportation projects, including, but 

not limited to: 

(1) Highway or bridge projects eligible 

under Title 23, United States Code 

(including bicycle and pedestrian 

related projects); 

(2) Public transportation projects 

eligible under Chapter 53 of Title 49, 

United States Code; 

(3) Passenger and freight rail 

transportation projects; 

(4) Port infrastructure investments; 

and 

(5) Intermodal projects. 

In addition, eligible activities related 

to multidisciplinary projects or regional 

planning may include: 

(1) Development of master plans, 

comprehensive plans, or corridor plans 

that will provide connection to jobs for 

disadvantaged populations, or include 

affordable housing components. 

(2) Planning activities related to the 

development of a multimodal freight 

corridor, including those that seek to 

reduce conflicts with residential areas 

and with passenger and non-motorized 

traffic. 

(3) Development of port and regional 

port planning grants, including Statewide or multi-port planning within a 

single jurisdiction or region. 

(4) Planning to encourage multiple 

projects within a common area to 

engage in programmatic mitigation in 

order to increase efficiency and improve 

outcomes for communities and the 

environment. 

(5) Risk assessments and planning to 

identify vulnerabilities and address the 

transportation system’s ability to 

withstand probable occurrence or 

recurrence of an emergency or major 

disaster or impacts of climate change. 

C. Selection Criteria 

Planning grant applications will be 

evaluated against the same criteria as 

capital grants. For project-level 

planning, this means considering how 

the project resulting from the plan will 

ultimately further the five primary and 

two secondary criteria. For regional 

transportation planning efforts, 

applications should demonstrate how 

the regional plan will help lead to these 

outcomes. 

Similar to capital grant applications, 

planning applications will be more 

competitive if they can demonstrate 

funding support above the 20 percent 

match requirement for urban areas, and 

the 0 percent match requirement for 

rural areas. 

Additionally, applicants should show 

the capacity to successfully implement 

the proposed activities in a timely 

manner. 

VII. Application Cycle 

A. Contents of Applications 

You must include all of the 

information requested below in your 

application. DOT reserves the right to 

ask any applicant to supplement data in 

its application, but expects applications 

to be complete upon submission. To the 

extent practical, you should provide 

data and evidence of project merits in a 

form that is publicly available or 

verifiable. 

1. Standard Form 424, Application for 

Federal Assistance 

Additional clarifying guidance and 

FAQs to assist you in completing the 

SF–424 will be available at 

www.dot.gov/TIGER by April 3, 2014, 

when the ‘‘Apply’’ function within 

Grants.gov opens to accept applications 

under this notice. 

2. Title Page 

The title page must include the 

project title, location (city, State, 

district), type of application (capitol, 

project planning, or regional planning), 

the applicant organization name, the 

type of eligible applicant (State 

government, local government, U.S. 

territory, Tribal government, transit 

agency, port authority, MPO, RDO, other 

unit of government), and the amount of 

TIGER funding being applied for. The 

information may be presented in a table 

or formatted list. 

3. Project Narrative (Attachment to SF 

424) 

The project narrative must respond to 

the application requirements outlined 

below. DOT 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). 

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Your application must include 

information required for DOT to assess 

each of the criteria specified in Section 

II (A) (Selection Criteria), as such 

criteria are explained in Section II(B) 

(Additional Guidance on Selection 

Criteria). You must demonstrate the 

responsiveness of a project to any 

pertinent selection criteria with the 

most relevant information that you can 

provide, regardless of whether such 

information has been specifically 

requested, or identified, in this notice. 

You should provide concrete evidence 

of the feasibility of achieving project 

milestones, and of financial capacity 

and commitment in order to support 

project readiness. DOT will give priority 

to projects for which a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant will help to 

complete an overall funding package, so 

you should clearly demonstrate the 

extent to which the project cannot be 

readily and efficiently completed 

without a TIGER Discretionary Grant, 

and the extent to which other sources of 

funds, including Federal, State, or local 

funding, may or may not be readily 

available for the project. Any such 

information shall be considered part of 

the application, not supplemental, for 

purposes of the application size limits 

identified below in Part B (Length of 

Applications). Information provided 

pursuant to this paragraph must be 

quantified, to the extent possible, to 

describe the project’s benefits to the 

Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. 

Information provided pursuant to this 

paragraph should include projections 

for both the build and no-build 

scenarios for the project for each year 

between the completion of the project 

and a point in time at least 20 years 

beyond the project’s completion date or 

the lifespan of the project, whichever is 

closer to the present. 

All applications should include a 

detailed description of the proposed 

project and geospatial data for the 

project, including a map of the project’s 

location and its connections to existing 

transportation infrastructure. An 

application should also include a 

description of how the project addresses 

the needs of an urban and/or rural area. 

An application should clearly describe 

the transportation challenges that the 

project aims to address, the project’s 

potential vulnerabilities to extreme 

weather and climate change throughout 

its projected life, and how the project 

will address these challenges. The 

description should include relevant 

data, such as passenger or freight 

volumes, congestion levels, 

infrastructure condition, and safety 

experience. 

DOT recommends that the project 

narrative generally adhere to the 

following basic outline and, in addition 

to a detailed statement of work, detailed 

project schedule, and detailed project 

budget, you should include a table of 

contents, maps, and graphics that make 

the information easier to review: 

I. Project Description (including 

information on the expected users of the 

project, a description of the 

transportation challenges that the 

project aims to address, and how the 

project will address these challenges); 

II. Project Parties (information about 

the grant recipient and other project 

parties); 

III. Grant Funds and Sources/Uses of 

Project Funds (information about the 

amount of grant funding requested, 

availability/commitment of funds 

sources and uses of all project funds, 

total project costs, percentage of project 

costs that would be paid for with TIGER 

Discretionary Grant funds, and the 

identity and percentage shares of all 

parties providing funds for the project 

(including any other pending or past 

Federal funding requests for the project 

as well as Federal funds already 

provided under other programs and 

required match for those funds); 

IV. Selection Criteria (information 

about how the project aligns with each 

of the primary and secondary selection 

criteria and a description of the results 

of the benefit-cost analysis): 

a. Primary Selection Criteria 

i. State of Good Repair 

ii. Economic Competitiveness 

iii. Quality of Life 

iv. Environmental Sustainability 

v. Safety 

b. Secondary Selection Criteria 

i. Innovation 

ii. Partnership 

c. Results of Benefit-Cost Analysis 

V. Project readiness, including 

planning approvals, NEPA and other 

environmental reviews/approvals, 

(including information about 

permitting, legislative approvals, State 

and local planning, and project 

partnership and implementation 

agreements); and 

VI. Federal Wage Rate Certification 

(an application must include a 

certification, signed by the applicant(s), 

stating that it will comply with the 

requirements of subchapter IV of 

chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

Code (Federal wage rate requirements), 

as required by the FY 2014 Continuing 

Appropriations Act). 

The purpose of this recommended 

format is to ensure that applications 

clearly address the program 

requirements and make critical 

information readily apparent. 

B. Length of Applications 

The project narrative may not exceed 

30 pages in length. Documentation 

supporting the assertions made in the 

narrative portion may also be provided, 

but should be limited to relevant 

information. If possible, Web site links 

to supporting documentation (including 

a more detailed discussion of the 

benefit-cost analysis) should be 

provided rather than copies of these 

materials. Spreadsheets supporting the 

benefit-cost analysis should be original 

Excel spreadsheets, not PDFs of those 

spreadsheets. At your discretion, 

relevant materials provided previously 

to a Relevant Modal Administration in 

support of a different DOT discretionary 

program (for example, New Starts or 

TIFIA) may be referenced and described 

as unchanged. To the extent referenced, 

this information need not be 

resubmitted for the TIGER Discretionary 

Grant application (although provision of 

a Web site link would facilitate DOT’s 

consideration of the information). DOT 

recommends use of appropriately 

descriptive file names (e.g., ‘‘Project 

Narrative,’’ ‘‘Maps,’’ ‘‘Memoranda of 

Understanding and Letters of Support,’’ 

etc.) for all attachments. Cover pages 

and tables of contents do not count 

towards the 30-page limit for the 

narrative portion of the application, and 

the federal wage rate certification may 

also be outside of the 30-page narrative. 

Otherwise, the only substantive portions 

of the application that should exceed 

the 30-page limit are any supporting 

documents (including a more detailed 

discussion of the benefit-cost analysis) 

provided to support assertions or 

conclusions made in the 30-page 

narrative section. 

C. Contact Information 

Contact information for a direct 

employee of the lead applicant 

organization is required as part of the 

SF–424. DOT will use this information 

to inform parties of DOT’s decision 

regarding selection of projects, as well 

as to contact parties in the event that 

DOT needs additional information about 

an application. Contact information for 

a contractor, agent, or consultant of the 

lead applicant organization is 

insufficient for DOT’s purposes. 

D. 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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 41 / Monday, March 3, 2014 / Notices 11863 

you consider to be a trade secret or 

confidential commercial or financial 

information, you 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. DOT protects 

such information from disclosure to the 

extent allowed under applicable law. In 

the event DOT receives a Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) request for the 

information, DOT 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. 

VIII. Performance Management 

Each applicant selected for TIGER 

Discretionary Grant capital grant 

funding will be required to work with 

DOT on the development and 

implementation of a plan to collect 

information and report on the project’s 

performance with respect to the relevant 

long-term outcomes that are expected to 

be achieved through construction of the 

project. Each recipient of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant will, in accordance 

with its grant agreement, report on 

specified performance indicators for its 

project. Performance indicators will be 

negotiated for each project, considerate 

of the individual project’s stated goals 

as well as resource constraints of 

applicants. Performance indicators will 

not include formal goals or targets, but 

will include baseline measures as well 

as post-project outcomes for an agreedupon timeline, and will inform the 

TIGER Discretionary Grant program in 

working towards best practices, 

programmatic performance measures, 

and future decisionmaking guidelines. 

IX. Questions and Clarifications 

For further information concerning 

this notice please contact the TIGER 

Discretionary Grant program staff via 

email at TIGERGrants@dot.gov, or call 

Howard Hill at 202–366–0301. A TDD is 

available for individuals who are deaf or 

hard of hearing at 202–366–3993. DOT 

will regularly post answers to these 

questions and other important 

clarifications on DOT’s Web site at 

www.dot.gov/TIGER. 

Issued on February 25, 2014. 

Anthony R. Foxx, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2014–04627 Filed 2–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Nineteenth Meeting: RTCA Special 

Committee 217—Aeronautical 

Databases Joint With EUROCAE WG– 

44—Aeronautical Databases 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special 

Committee 217—Aeronautical Databases 

Joint with EUROCAE WG–44— 

Aeronautical Databases. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice 

to advise the public of a meeting of 

RTCA Special Committee 217— 

Aeronautical Databases being held 

jointly with EUROCAE WG–44— 

Aeronautical Databases. 

DATES: The meeting will be held March 

17–21, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be hosted 

by AIRBUS, Site de Saint Martin du 

Touch, 316 route de Bayonne, 1060 

Toulouse Cedex 9 FRANCE. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sophie Bousquet, SBousquet@rtca.org, 

202–330–0663 or The RTCA Secretariat, 

1150 18th Street NW., Suite 910, 

Washington, DC 20036, or by telephone 

at (202) 833–9339, fax at (202) 833– 

9434, or Web site at http://www.rtca.org. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a) (2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92– 

463, 5 U.S.C., App.), notice is hereby 

given for a meeting of RTCA Special 

Committee 217—Aeronautical Databases 

held jointly with EUROCAE WG–44— 

Aeronautical Databases. The agenda will 

include the following: 

Monday, March 17, Opening Plenary 

• Co-Chairmen’s remarks and 

introductions 

• Approve minutes from 18th meeting 

• Review and approve meeting agenda 

for 19th meeting 

• Review of joint WG–1/WG–2 Action 

Items 

• ToR Update 

• SC–216/SC–217 ISRA Update 

• SWIM, Presentations and Discussion 

• Continuation, ‘‘Data Terms 

Definitions’’ Review 

Monday Thru Thursday, March 17– 

20—Working Group One (WG1)–DO– 

200A/ED–76 

• Review of WG–1 Action Items Status 

• Discussion and progress on ED76/

DO200A update 

• Process to develop a first mature draft 

update to ED76/DO200A 

Working Group Two (WG2)–DO–272/

DO–291 

• WG–2 Action Item Status Review 

• Sub-Group Status Reports (Content, 

Connectivity, Consistency, etc) 

• Document Editor, Introduction and 

Status 

• Review of Working Papers, Discussion 

Papers, Information Papers 

• New Presentations, not related to 

WPs, DPs or IPs. 

Closing Plenary Session (9:00 a.m. to 

Noon) 

• Presentation of WG1 and WG2 

conclusions 

• Working arrangements for the 

remaining work 

• Review of action items 

• Next meetings, dates and locations 

• Any other business and Adjourn 

Attendance is open to the interested 

public but limited to space availability. 

With the approval of the chairman, 

members of the public may present oral 

statements at the meeting. 

Persons wishing to present statements 

or obtain information should contact the 

person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. Members 

of the public may present a written 

statement to the committee at any time. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 25, 

2014. 

Paige L. Williams, 

Management Analyst, Business Operations 

Group, ANG–A12, Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–04635 Filed 2–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Sixtieth Meeting: RTCA Special 

Committee 186, Automatic Dependent 

Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS–B) 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Meeting Notice of RTCA Special 

Committee 186, Automatic Dependent 

Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS–B). 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice 

to advise the public of the sixtieth 

meeting of the RTCA Special Committee 

186, Automatic Dependent 

Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS–B) 

DATES: The meeting will be held March 

17–20, 2014 from 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the RTCA Headquarters, 1150 18th 

Street NW., Suite 910, Washington, DC 

20036. 

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