7254 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2015 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

FTA Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 

Apportionments, Allocations, and 

Program Information 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On December 16, 2014, 

President Obama signed the 

Consolidated and Further Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2015 (FY 2015 

Appropriations) which provided 

$11.008 billion in new budget authority 

including a full fiscal year’s funding for 

the Federal Transit Administration’s 

(FTA) programs funded from the 

General Fund of the Treasury, which 

funds its administrative expenses as 

well as its Research, Technical 

Assistance and Training programs, 

Capital Investment Grants program, and 

Grants to the Washington Metropolitan 

Area Transit Authority. The FY 2015 

Appropriations Act follows several 

continuing resolutions that provided 

funds for these programs through 

December 15, 2014. 

The Highway and Transportation 

Funding Act of 2014 extended FTA’s 

contract (budget) authority to carry out 

its formula assistance programs only 

through May 31, 2015. The act pro-rated 

the amount of budget authority available 

for the period October 1, 2014 through 

May 31, 2015 based on an anticipated 

full FY 2015 total of $8.595 billion. As 

a result, FTA may apportion only 8/12th 

or $5.722 billion in contract authority at 

this time. When combined with the fullyear funding from the General Funded 

programs listed above, FTA is 

apportioning or allocating in this notice 

a total of $8.136 billion of the $11.008 

billion of new budget authority 

provided in the FY 2015 

Appropriations. Congress will have to 

extend the authorization for public 

transportation beyond May 31, 2015, 

before additional contract authority can 

be provided for the formula assistance 

programs. 

FTA annually publishes one or more 

notices apportioning funds appropriated 

by law. This notice apportions and 

provides information on the FY 2015 

funding currently available for FTA 

assistance programs, provides program 

guidance and requirements, and 

information on several program issues 

important in the current year. This 

notice also provides information on 

FTA’s discretionary programs and 

forthcoming program guidance. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information about this notice 

contact Jamie Pfister, Director, Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–2053. 

Please contact the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office for any specific requests 

for information or technical assistance. 

A list of FTA Regional Offices and 

contact information is available on the 

FTA Web site under the heading 

‘‘Regional Offices’’ at http:// 

www.fta.dot.gov. An FTA headquarters 

contact for each major program area is 

included in the discussion of that 

program in the text of the notice. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Overview 

II. FY 2015 Available Funding for FTA 

Programs 

A. Funding Based on the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2015 

B. Oversight Takedown 

C. FY 2015 Formula Apportionments; Data 

and Methodology 

D. FY 2015 Discretionary Program Funding 

III. FY 2015 Program Highlights and Changes 

A. MAP–21 Implementation 

B. Transitioning to a New Electronic Grant 

Management System 

C. New Common Rule 

D. The Recovery Act 

E. Vanpool In-Kind Match Provision 

F. Flood Insurance 

G. In-State or Local Geographical 

Preferences 

H. Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) Congestion Mitigation and Air 

Quality (CMAQ) Funds for Operating 

Assistance 

IV. FY 2015 Program Specific Information 

A. Metropolitan Planning Program (49 

U.S.C. 5305(d)) 

B. State Planning and Research Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5305(e)) 

C. Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 

U.S.C. 5307) 

D. Passenger Ferry Grant Program (49 

U.S.C. 5307(h)) 

E. Fixed Guideway Capital Investment 

Grant Program (49 U.S.C. 5309)—New 

and Small Starts and Core Capacity 

F. Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals With Disabilities Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5310) 

G. Rural Area Formula Program (49 U.S.C. 

5311) 

H. Rural Transportation Assistance 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5311(b)(3)) 

I. Appalachian Development Public 

Transportation Assistance Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311(c)(2)) 

J. Formula Grants for Public Transportation 

on Indian Reservations Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311(j)) 

K. Research, Development, Demonstration, 

and Deployment Projects (49 U.S.C. 

5312) 

L. Transit Cooperative Research Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5313) 

M. Technical Assistance and Standards 

Development (49 U.S.C. 5314) 

N. Human Resources and Training 

Programs (49 U.S.C. 5322) 

O. Public Transportation Emergency Relief 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5324) 

P. State Safety Oversight Grant Program (49 

U.S.C. 5329(e)(6)) 

Q. State of Good Repair Program (49 U.S.C. 

5337) 

R. Bus and Bus Facilities Formula Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5339) 

S. Growing States and High Density States 

Formula Factors (49 U.S.C. 5340) 

T. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority Grants (Section 601 of Pub. L. 

110–432) 

V. FTA Policy and Procedures for FY 2015 

Grants 

A. Automatic Pre-Award Authority To 

Incur Project Costs 

B. Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) Policy 

C. FY 2015 Annual List of Certifications 

and Assurances 

D. Civil Rights 

E. FHWA Flex Funds and Consolidated 

Planning Grants 

F. Grant Application Procedures 

G. Grant Management 

I. Overview 

On October 1, 2012, the Moving 

Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century 

Act (MAP–21) (Pub. L. 112–141) 

authorized the Federal Transit 

Administration’s (FTA) public 

transportation assistance programs for 

FYs 2013–2014. A notice announcing 

changes and implementation 

instructions in FTA programs in 

accordance with MAP–21 was 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 16, 2012. (See 77 FR 63669). On 

August 8, 2014, Congress passed the 

Highway and Transportation Funding 

Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113–159) which 

extended MAP–21 authorizations as 

well as contract authority to carry out 

FTA’s formula programs through May 

31, 2015. On December 16, 2014, the FY 

2015 Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 113- 

235) was signed into law, providing a 

full fiscal year of funding for FTA’s 

discretionary programs and its 

administrative expenses which are 

funded from the General Fund of the 

Treasury. Prior to December 16, 2014, 

Congress provided partial funding for 

FY 2015 through continuing resolutions 

(Pub. L. 113–164, Pub. L. 113–202, and 

Pub. L. 113–203). This notice apportions 

formula funds based on the Highway 

and Transportation Funding Act of 

2014, which made 8/12th or $5.722 

billion of the anticipated fiscal year 

2015 total of $8.595 billion available 

through May 31, 2015. As a result, FTA 

may only apportion $5.722 billion to 

carry out FTA’s formula programs at 

this time. Should Congress pass 

legislation that provides additional 

contract authority to support the 

formula programs for FY 2015, FTA will 

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issue a notice apportioning any amount 

above the $5.722 billion up to $8.595 

billion, which is the obligation 

limitation provided for such programs 

in the FY 2015 Appropriations Act. In 

addition, this notice provides funding 

information for FTA’s FY 2015 

discretionary programs, including $2.12 

billion in new budget authority for FY 

2015 Capital Investment Grant (CIG) 

Program allocations as well as prior year 

discretionary programs and their 

unobligated balances. 

The FY 2015 Appropriations also 

provides $150 million in new budget 

authority for FY 2015 for grants to the 

Washington Metropolitan Area 

Transportation Authority and $37.5 

million for the Research, Technical 

Assistance and Training Programs. 

Finally, this notice provides program 

information, including the status of 

MAP–21 implementation for many of 

the grant programs and other regulatory 

requirements. 

II. FY 2015 Available Funding for FTA 

Programs 

A. Funding Based on the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2015 

The FY 2015 Appropriations Act 

provides $2.41 billion in new budget 

authority for FTA’s Capital Investment 

Grants program, Research, Technical 

Assistance and Training programs, 

Grants to the Washington Metropolitan 

Transit Authority and administrative 

expenses in FY 2015. In addition to 

$2.12 billion made available to carry out 

the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) 

program, the FY 2015 Appropriations 

Act directs FTA to use $27.98 million in 

FY 2011 or prior fiscal years’ 

unobligated discretionary bus and bus 

facilities funds for new bus rapid transit 

projects recommended in the 

President’s FY 2015 budget submission 

to Congress provided that such funds 

are subject to the CIG Program 

requirements under 49 U.S.C. 5309. 

This brings the total funding available 

for CIG to $2.148 billion in FY 2015. 

In addition, the Highway and 

Transportation Funding Act of 2014 

provides $5.722 billion in contract 

authority derived from the Mass Transit 

Account of the Highway Trust Fund for 

the period October 1, 2014 through May 

31, 2015 to carry out FTA’s formula 

programs in FY 2015. This is in addition 

to over $7.92 billion in formula and bus 

funds that remain unobligated from 

prior fiscal years. FTA will issue 

another notice apportioning any 

additional FY 2015 contract authority 

for formula assistance programs 

Congress may provide beyond May 31, 

2015. 

B. Oversight Takedown 

In order to conduct oversight 

activities in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

5338(i), 0.5 percent is set aside from the 

amounts available to carry out the 

Planning Programs (section 5305); the 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Formula 

Program (section 5310); and the Rural 

Areas Formula Grants Program (section 

5311). In addition, 0.75 percent is set 

aside from amounts made available to 

carry out the Urbanized Area Formula 

Grants Programs, and the High Intensity 

Fixed Guideway State of Good Repair 

Formula Program (section 5337(c)). 

Additionally, one percent of the amount 

made available to carry out the CIG 

Program (section 5309) as well as one 

percent of the amount available for 

Grants to the Washington Metropolitan 

Area Transit Authority (section 601 of 

the Passenger Rail Investment and 

Improvement Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110– 

432)) is set aside for FTA oversight 

activities. 

C. FY 2015 Formula Apportionments; 

Data and Methodology 

FTA is publishing apportionment 

tables on its Web site for each program 

that reflects the full year appropriations 

less oversight take-downs, as applicable. 

FTA is continuing to use, as it did in 

FYs 2013 and 2014, urbanized area and 

demographic data from the 2010 

Census. Tables displaying the funds 

available to eligible states, tribes, and 

urbanized areas have been posted on 

FTA’s Web site at http:// 

www.fta.dot.gov/apportionments. 

1. National Transit Database and Census 

Data Used in the FY 2015 

Apportionments 

Consistent with past practices, the 

calculations for sections 5307, 5311, 

including 5311(j) (‘‘Tribal Transit’’), 

5329, 5337, and 5339 programs rely on 

the most-recent transit service data 

reported to the National Transit 

Database (NTD), which in this case is 

the 2013 report year. In some cases 

where an apportionment is based on the 

age of the system, the age is calculated 

as of September 30, 2014, which was the 

last day before FY 2015 began. Any 

recipient or beneficiary of either the 

section 5307 or section 5311 program 

funds is required to report to the NTD. 

Additionally, a number of transit 

operators report to the NTD on a 

voluntary basis. For the 2013 report 

year, the NTD includes data from 852 

reporters in urbanized areas, 819 of 

which reported operating transit service. 

The NTD also includes data from 1,404 

providers of rural transit service, which 

includes 124 Indian Tribes providing 

transit service. 

The tiers of the sections 5303, 5305, 

5307 and 5339 formulas that are based 

on population and population density 

continue to rely on data published by 

the 2010 Census, as required by law. 

Likewise, the tiers of the section 5311 

formula that are based on rural 

population and rural land area are 

calculated using 2010 Census data. 

The formulas for sections 5307, 5311, 

and 5311(j) include tiers where funding 

is allocated on the basis of the number 

of persons living in poverty, and the 

section 5310 formula allocates funding 

on the basis of the population of older 

adults and people with disabilities. The 

Census Bureau no longer publishes 

decennial census data on persons living 

in poverty and persons with disabilities. 

As a result, FTA uses the data for these 

populations available via the Census’ 

American Community Survey (ACS). 

The FY 2015 apportionments use data 

on low-income persons, persons with 

disabilities, and older adults from the 

2008–2012 ACS five-year data set, 

which was published in December 2013. 

This data set provides the first estimates 

that are based on the new Urbanized 

Area boundaries from the 2010 Census. 

These data represent the most recent 

five-year ACS estimates that are 

available as of October 1st for the year 

being apportioned. 

The NTD and census data that FTA 

used to calculate the apportionments 

associated with this notice can be found 

on FTA’s Web site: www.fta.dot.gov/ 

apportionments. 

D. FY 2015 Discretionary Program 

Funding 

1. Notices of Funding Availability 

MAP–21 authorized several 

discretionary grant programs, such as 

the Transit-Oriented Development 

(TOD) Planning Pilot Program, Low or 

No Emissions Bus and Facilities 

Program, Tribal Transit Discretionary 

Program, and Passenger Ferry Program. 

FTA publishes individual Notices of 

Funding Availability (NOFAs), which 

contain specific application and 

eligibility information, for its 

discretionary programs announcing the 

availability of funds. However, in 

several cases, such as for the Workforce 

Development Program and the Tribal 

Transit Discretionary Program, FTA will 

use proposals received in response to 

the previously published FY 2014 

NOFAs for purposes of allocating both 

FY 2014 and FY 2015 available funding. 

NOFAs are posted in Grants.Gov and on 

FTA’s Web site once published in the 

Federal Register. 

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2. Research, Technical Assistance, and 

Training Program Funding 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

approximately $37.5 million for 

Research, Technical Assistance and 

Training program activities of which 

$30 million is available to carry out 

Research, Development, Demonstration, 

and Development projects under 49 

U.S.C. 5312, and $3 million is available 

for Transit Cooperative Research 

Program activities under 49 U.S.C. 5313. 

In addition, $4 million is available for 

Technical Assistance and Standards 

Development under 49 U.S.C. 5314 and 

$500,000 is provided to carry out 

Human Resource and Training activities 

under 49 U.S.C. 5322(a) and (b). More 

information about these programs can 

be found in Section IV of this notice. 

3. FY 2015 Capital Investment Grant 

Program Allocations 

The Capital Investment Grant (CIG) 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5309), which 

historically authorizes the New and 

Small Starts Programs and now includes 

the Core Capacity Improvement 

Program, is excluded from the NOFA 

process because the program has an 

ongoing project development and 

review process, and funding is allocated 

consistent with information already 

available to FTA. By way of this notice, 

FTA is publishing the FY 2015 CIG 

Allocations table (Table 7) to its Web 

site for approximately $2.12 billion 

available in new budget authority to 

carry out the program. These projects 

were included in the FY 2015 Annual 

Report on Funding Recommendations 

for CIG Program published on March 3, 

2014. Pursuant to FY 2015 

appropriations, in addition to funds 

appropriated to carry out the CIG 

program, $27.98 million in FY 2011 and 

prior year unobligated or recovered 

section 5309 (Discretionary Bus and Bus 

Facilities) funds are available to carry 

out bus rapid transit (BRT) projects 

subject to the requirements of the CIG 

program. More information about this 

program can be found in Section IV of 

this notice. 

4. Unobligated Prior Year Discretionary 

Allocations 

FTA is posting tables of prior year 

discretionary allocations that remain 

unobligated as of September 30, 2014 to 

its FY 2015 Apportionments Web page. 

These tables can be found here: 

www.fta.dot.gov/apportionments and 

are numbered Tables 14–17. Each table 

contains information pertaining to the 

lapse date of these funds. 

III. FY 2015 Program Highlights and 

Changes 

A. MAP–21 Implementation 

1. Guidance 

A result of the MAP–21 authorization 

and in addition to regulatory activities, 

FTA is continuing to update program 

circulars to reflect MAP–21 changes and 

provide guidance for new and existing 

programs. Below is a chart of 

publication dates or expected 

publication dates for the program 

circulars. FTA publishes draft circulars 

for notice and comment, and takes into 

consideration all comments received 

prior to final publication. In the interim 

and until FTA publishes final program 

circulars, existing program circulars 

combined with the interim guidance in 

the October 16, 2012 apportionment 

notice can be used to administer the 

programs. FTA’s electronic grant 

management system and financial 

systems both have been updated to 

reflect new programs and new codes 

provided by MAP–21. If there are 

additional questions about the major 

formula programs or grants, please 

contact your Regional Office or the 

Headquarters program contacts listed in 

Section IV of this notice. 

Program 

Actual publication 

date 

(for notice and 

comment) 

Actual/expected 

publication of final 

circular 

Urbanized Area Formula Grant Program (Section 5307) ............................................................... April 22, 2013 ............ January 16, 2014. 

Enhanced Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities (Section 5310) ............................ July 11, 2013 ............. June 6, 2014. 

Rural Areas Formula Program (Section 5311) ................................................................................ September 26, 2013 October 24, 2014. 

State of Good Repair Formula Program (Section 5337) ................................................................ March 4, 2014 ........... January 28, 2015. 

Bus and Bus Facilities Formula Program (Section 5339) ............................................................... July 30, 2014 ............. Winter/Spring 2015. 

Research, Technical Assistance and Training Program: Application Instructions and Program 

Management Guidelines.

August 13, 2014 ........ Winter/Spring 2015. 

2. Rulemakings 

On June 2, 2014, FTA and the Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA) 

published a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM) on Statewide and 

Nonmetropolitan Transportation 

Planning: Metropolitan Transportation 

programing in the Federal Register 

requesting comment on proposed 

revisions to the regulations governing 

the development of metropolitan 

transportation plans and programs for 

urbanized areas, State transportation 

plans and programs, and the congestion 

management process. The changes 

reflect the new requirements for a 

performance based planning process 

required by MAP–21, and proposed that 

State Departments of Transportation and 

metropolitan planning organizations 

take a performance-based approach to 

planning and programming; a new 

emphasis on the nonmetropolitan 

transportation planning process; a 

structural change to the membership of 

larger Metropolitan Planning 

Organizations (MPOs); a new framework 

for voluntary scenario planning; and a 

framework for programmatic mitigation 

processes. The comment period for the 

NPRM closed on October 2, 2014. FTA 

and FHWA are currently reviewing 

approximately 160 letters from 

commenters. FTA expects to issue a 

Final Rule in 2015. 

On October 3, 2013 FTA published an 

expansive Advanced Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (ANRPM) in the Federal 

Register requesting comment on a 

number of questions related to the 

implementation of the new 

requirements under MAP–21 for a 

National Transit Safety Plan, Agency 

Safety Plans, a new Safety Certification 

Training Program, and a new National 

Transit Asset Management System. The 

comment period for this ANPRM closed 

on January 2, 2014. FTA currently is 

reviewing approximately 2,500 pages of 

comments from more than 140 

commenters. FTA expects to issue 

NPRMs on these topics in 2015. 

FTA is also continuing to work with 

States with rail fixed guideway public 

transportation systems (rail transit 

systems) to develop and carry out State 

Safety Oversight (SSO) Programs 

consistent with the requirements of 

MAP–21. On October 1, 2013, FTA 

announced the initial certification status 

of each State and is now working with 

each State to address, among other 

things, identified gaps in their SSO 

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Programs (SSO Program or SSOP) with 

MAP–21 requirements and to develop 

work plans to address these gaps as well 

as enhance a State’s SSOP. As of 

December 31, 2014, FTA had certified 

two states as having SSO Programs 

compliant with the MAP–21 statutory 

provisions and approved 25 

Certification Work Plans. FTA expects 

to issue an NPRM in FY 2015 seeking 

comment on its plan to implement the 

SSO Program. Additional information 

on FTA’s safety authority and the 

requirements under section 5329 can be 

found in Section IV of this notice. 

B. Transitioning to a New Electronic 

Grant Management System 

FTA’s Transportation Electronic 

Award and Management (TEAM) system 

was opened in October 2014 for 

awarding grants with funds 

appropriated in FY 2014 or a prior fiscal 

year. However, FTA is planning to 

transition to the Transit Award 

Management System (TrAMS) in April, 

2015 and to close TEAM for grant 

making on March 1, 2015. 

TrAMS, by design, collects and 

presents information contained in new 

grant applications differently than 

TEAM, which will make it difficult to 

migrate applications that have not yet 

been awarded by March 1, 2015 into the 

new system. FTA has previously 

provided guidance that grant 

applications needed to be in submitted 

status in TEAM as of January 1, 2015 to 

ensure award could be made by March 

1, 2015. FTA will make a concerted 

effort to award any other pending grant 

applications in TEAM by March 1, 2015. 

However, grant applications not 

awarded in TEAM by March 1 will not 

be migrated into TrAMS and the 

recipient will need to re-create their 

application in TrAMS. 

When deployed, TrAMS aims to offer 

a more efficient, user-friendly, and 

flexible tool to award and manage grants 

and cooperative agreements. It seeks to 

provide more useful information, and 

will strengthen the integrity and 

consistency of our grant award and 

management process. 

FTA has created a page on its Web 

site, http://www.fta.dot.gov/TrAMS to 

provide additional information and 

updates on our new grant making 

system. Individuals who would like 

access to this Web site should contact 

their FTA Regional Office for the 

password to use or send an email to 

fta.trams@dot.gov. 

FTA will continue to provide training 

and technical assistance on using 

TrAMS. Training will include live, 

hands-on workshops, where feasible, as 

well as training videos and guidance 

and technical assistance documents. 

More information on upcoming training 

will be posted at http://www.fta.dot.gov/ 

TrAMS. 

FTA also will migrate data, 

information, and attachments about 

current recipients and their awarded 

grants (as of March 1, 2015) from TEAM 

into TrAMS. 

In addition, in order to minimize the 

amount of data and information that 

needs to be migrated into TrAMS, FTA 

encourages its grantees to promptly 

close any awarded grants where funds 

are fully disbursed or where the 

grantees no longer plan to implement 

the projects funded in the grant. FTA 

grantees will be able to use TrAMS to 

manage active grants where work on the 

transit projects identified in the grant is 

ongoing. (These grants will be migrated 

from TEAM to TrAMS). 

C. New Common Rule 

On December 26, 2013 the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) issued 

the Uniform Administrative 

Requirements, Cost Principles, and 

Audit Requirements for Federal Awards 

in 2 CFR part 200. Part 200 replaces the 

former Uniform Administrative 

Requirements for Grants (OMB Circular 

A–102 and Circular A–110 or 2 CFR part 

215 or Circular) as well as the Cost 

Principles (Circulars A–21 or 2 CFR part 

220; Circular A–87 or 2 CFR part 225; 

and A–122, 2 CFR 230). Additionally it 

replaces Circular A–133 guidance on the 

Single Annual Audit. 

The administrative requirements and 

cost principles found in 2 CFR part 200 

(Uniform Guidance) became effective for 

new awards and additional funding to 

existing awards on December 26, 2014. 

The audit requirements will apply to 

audits of fiscal years beginning on or 

after December 26, 2014. For the most 

part 2 CFR part 200 does not 

substantially change administrative 

requirements, cost principles and audit 

requirements as experienced by FTA 

grantees. 

Except as otherwise provided in 2 

CFR part 1201, which was published as 

an interim final rule in the Federal 

Register on December 26, 2014 and 

effective that same date, the Department 

of Transportation adopted OMB’s 

Uniform Administrative Requirements, 

Cost Principles, and Audit 

Requirements for Federal Awards under 

2 CFR part 200. Part 1201 deviates from 

part 200 only with respect to standard 

application requirements, equipment, 

procurements by States, and financial 

reporting. In addition, part 1201 

supersedes and repeals the requirements 

of the Department of Transportation 

Common Rules (49 CFR part 18— 

Uniform Administrative Requirements 

for Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

to State and Local Governments and 49 

CFR part 19—Uniform Administrative 

Requirements—Uniform Administrative 

Requirements for Grants and 

Agreements with Institutions of Higher 

Education, Hospitals, and other NonProfit Organizations), except that grants 

and cooperative agreements executed 

prior to December 26, 2014 shall 

continue to be subject to 49 CFR parts 

18 and 19 as in effect on the date of such 

grants or agreements. DOT’s interim 

final rule can be viewed at https:// 

www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/ 

12/19/2014-28697/federal-awardingagency-regulatory-implementation-ofoffice-of-management-and-budgetsuniform#sec-1201-102. 

FTA is working to update its 

guidance, FTA Circular 5010.1D, ‘‘Grant 

Management Requirements’’ to ensure it 

is consistent with the new Common 

Rule. As FTA is required to issue 

revised updated guidance through a 

notice and comment process, grantees 

may continue to follow the procedures 

of FTA Circular 5010.1D. However, 

where Circular 5010 references specific 

requirements of 49 CFR 18 or 19, or the 

old Common Rule, non-Federal entities 

should follow the guidance in the 2 CFR 

part 200 and 2 CFR part 1201 for awards 

or amendments made after December 

26, 2014. As the following requirements 

are incorporated in Circular 5010 by 

reference, non-Federal recipients are 

expected to follow these requirements 

for new awards or amendments made 

after December 26, 2014: 

• Cost Principles: Where our 

Circulars reference cost principles 

found in the former Common Rule, nonfederal entities must now follow the 

Cost Principles in 2 CFR 200 Subpart E, 

unless stated otherwise in 2 CFR part 

1201, for awards made after December 

26, 2014. 

• Indirect Cost Rates: Non-federal 

entities must follow procedures for 

Indirect Cost Rates found in 2 CFR 200, 

unless stated otherwise in 2 CFR part 

1201, for awards made after December 

26, 2014. 

• Audit Requirements: Non-federal 

entities whose FY 2015 fiscal year starts 

January 1, 2015, or later, must follow 

the Single Annual Audit requirements 

of 2 CFR 200 Subpart F. 

D. The Recovery Act 

The American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (Pub. L. 111– 

5) appropriated $8.4 billion for three 

major FTA transit programs. Pursuant to 

ARRA, FTA had until September 30, 

2010 to obligate the $8.4 billion in 

grants. Additionally, as a matter of law, 

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all remaining ARRA funds MUST be 

disbursed (paid) from grants by the end 

of the 5th fiscal year (FY) after funds 

were required to be obligated. (SEE 31 

U.S.C. 1552.) For FTA ARRA projects, 

that requirement takes affect at the end 

of FY 2015. Accordingly, once ECHO 

closes for disbursements (payments) in 

late September 2015, all remaining 

unliquidated obligations within FTA 

ARRA funded grants will no longer be 

available to the grantee and will be 

deobligated from the grant. Even if a 

grantee has incurred costs or disbursed 

funds prior to the close of ECHO, if the 

grantee has not actually drawn down 

the funds by the time ECHO closes in 

late September 2015, FTA will be 

unable to reimburse the grantee. 

Therefore, grantees with open ARRA 

grants are strongly encouraged to ensure 

project activities are completed and all 

funds are draw down before late 

September 2015. For ARRA TIGER 1 

projects, the same requirement will be 

in effect for the end of FY 2016. 

E. Vanpool In-Kind Match Provision 

MAP–21 amended 49 U.S.C. 5323(i) 

‘‘Government Share of Costs for Certain 

Projects’’ to include a paragraph that 

allows a grantee to credit towards its 

local share the costs a private provider 

incurs when acquiring rolling stock to 

be used in providing public 

transportation in the grantee’s service 

area. The credit in this case will be 

handled in a similar manner as 

transportation development credits 

(formerly known as toll revenue 

credits). In order to take advantage of 

this credit, the private provider must 

exclude any amounts received from the 

federal, state or local government when 

acquiring the rolling stock. To 

determine the amount of credit available 

to a grantee and to track the application 

of the use of van pool capital acquisition 

for local share, the grantee that will 

apply the share to a grant will be 

required to supply the following 

information in the TEAM/TrAMS grant: 

Vehicle Identification Number; cost/ 

value of the van when it joined the 

program (including capital cost of 

contracting calculations if applicable); 

amount of federal, state or local 

financial assistance used to acquire the 

van (note that if any federal funds were 

used to acquire the van—then the 

required local share will also be 

deducted); amount used as credit for 

previous grants; the amount to be used 

as credit for this grant; and a copy of the 

Certified Statement to verify the van is 

being used in grantee’s service area. In 

addition, section 5323(i)(2)(B) allows a 

vanpool provider to use revenues in 

excess of its operating costs to acquire 

rolling stock if the private provider and 

the grantee enter into an agreement that 

the private provider will use the rolling 

stock in the grantee’s service area. 

Grantees should contact their 

Regional Office for assistance if they 

intend to use this provision. FTA will 

also develop additional guidance and 

frequently asked questions to assist 

grantees with using this new match 

provision. 

F. Flood Insurance 

Recipients are reminded they need to 

maintain flood insurance for any 

building located in a special flood 

hazard area that received Federal 

financial assistance. Section 102 of the 

Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 

(FDPA) prohibits the Federal 

government from providing funds for 

acquisition or construction of buildings 

located in a special flood hazard area 

(100-year flood zone) unless the owner 

of the property first has obtained flood 

insurance. FTA’s Master Agreement and 

annual Certifications and Assurances 

reference FDPA and recipients agree 

they will have flood insurance for 

buildings in a special flood hazard area. 

Specifically, Federal agencies may not 

provide any financial assistance for the 

acquisition, construction, 

reconstruction, repair, or improvement 

of a building unless the recipient has 

first acquired flood insurance under the 

National Flood Insurance Act to cover 

the buildings constructed or repaired 

with Federal funds. Consistent with the 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency’s (FEMA) definition of 

‘‘building,’’ FTA has defined ‘‘building’’ 

in its Emergency Relief program 

regulation at 49 CFR 602.5, for 

insurance purposes, as ‘‘a structure with 

two or more outside rigid walls and a 

fully secured roof, that is affixed to a 

permanent site. This includes 

manufactured or modular office trailers 

that are built on a permanent chassis, 

transported to a site in one or more 

sections, and affixed to a permanent 

foundation.’’ In addition, where 

structures are both above and below 

ground, the flood insurance requirement 

applies where at least 51 percent of the 

cash value of the structure, less land 

value, is above ground. 

This flood insurance requirement 

applies to transit facilities such as 

maintenance facilities, storage facilities, 

and above-ground stations/terminals, as 

well as equipment and fixtures in the 

facilities. It does not apply to 

underground subway stations, track, 

tunnels, ferry docks, or to any transit 

assets outside of a special flood hazard 

area. 

A covered structure must be insured 

through the NFIP or a comparable 

private policy. The policy must provide 

coverage at least equal to the project 

cost for which Federal assistance is 

provided, or to the maximum limit of 

coverage available under the National 

Flood Insurance Act (currently $500,000 

for buildings and $500,000 for 

equipment and fixtures), whichever 

amount is less. Facilities owned by state 

governments may be self-insured, but 

only where FEMA has approved the 

state’s self-insurance policy. Private 

entities, and public entities other than 

state governments, may not self-insure 

and must obtain a flood insurance 

policy before receiving Federal funds 

and maintain the policy subsequent to 

grant award. 

G. In-State or Local Geographical 

Preferences 

As part of the Appropriations Act for 

2015, Congress enacted section 418 

(Section 418 of the Consolidated and 

Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 

2015, Pub. L. 113–235), which prohibits 

FTA from using FY 2015 funds to 

implement, administer, or enforce 49 

CFR 18.36(c)(2) for construction hiring. 

Section 18.36(c)(2) prohibits the use of 

statutorily or administratively imposed 

in-State or local geographical 

preferences in the evaluation of bids or 

proposals. Effective December 26, 2014, 

49 CFR part 18 will apply only to grants 

obligated on or before December 25, 

2014. Grants obligated on or after 

December 26, 2014 will be subject to 2 

CFR part 200. This provision 

(18.36(c)(2)) is codified at 2 CFR 

200.319(b) and is substantively the same 

as 18.36(c)(2). Although Congress did 

not address the change in codification 

in section 418, FTA intends to apply 

section 418 to grants obligated on or 

after December 26, 2014 and subject to 

2 CFR 200.319(b). Accordingly, grantees 

may include in-State or local geographic 

preferences in construction contracts 

awarded or advertised in FY2015. FTA 

will provide additional guidance 

regarding the implementation and 

applicability of section 418 on its Web 

site at www.fta.dot.gov. Grantees may 

not use section 418 to alter or amend the 

requirements of the Disadvantaged 

Business Enterprise Program. 

H. Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) Congestion Mitigation and Air 

Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) 

Funds for Operating Assistance 

In response to the modifications made 

by section 125 of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2014, Public Law 

113–76, FHWA in coordination with 

FTA has clarified what is meant by the 

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provision that prohibits the imposition 

of a time limitation for operating 

assistance eligibility on a system ‘‘for 

which CMAQ funding was made 

available, obligated or expended in 

fiscal year 2012.’’ The phrase ‘‘made 

available’’ applies to projects designated 

for CMAQ operating assistance in fiscal 

year (FY) 2012 through statute or to any 

commitment by the party that by law 

selects projects for operating assistance 

funding so long as the commitment 

occurred during FY 2012. There must be 

official documentation demonstrating 

that there was a specific commitment in 

FY 2012 to provide CMAQ funding for 

operating assistance for a particular 

project or service. Such official 

documentation could include a TIP or 

STIP, or other State or MPO official 

records. The specific project or service 

for which the CMAQ funds are being 

sought for operating assistance without 

a time limitation must be clearly 

identified in this documentation. 

Transportation services expressly 

eligible for CMAQ funding under 

SAFETEA–LU sections 1808(g)–(k) and 

certain provisions in previous 

appropriations acts are eligible to use 

CMAQ funds for operating assistance 

without time limitations. ‘‘Obligated’’ 

funding occurs on the date that the 

funds were obligated and FTA awarded 

the grant. ‘‘Expended’’ funding occurs 

on the date that the grantee draws-down 

funds for eligible expenses from an FTA 

grant. FTA will work with grantees at 

the time of grant application to verify 

eligibility under this provision. 

Complete guidance regarding eligibility 

for operating assistance under the 

CMAQ Program can be found in the 

Revised Interim Guidance on CMAQ 

Operating Assistance under MAP–21, 

published in July 2014 and available at 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ 

air_quality/cmaq/. 

IV. FY 2015 Program Specific 

Information 

This section of the notice provides the 

available FY 2015 funding to date and/ 

or other important program-related 

information for 20 FTA programs that 

are contained in this notice. Funding for 

twelve programs is apportioned by 

statutory or administrative formula. 

Funding for the other eight programs 

will be allocated on a discretionary or 

competitive basis. Available funding 

and/or other important information for 

each of the programs is presented 

immediately below. This includes 

program apportionments or allocations, 

certain program requirements, length of 

time FY 2015 funding is available for 

obligation and other significant program 

information pertaining to FY 2015. For 

the formula programs, the funding 

represents the $5.722 billion available at 

this time as authorized by the Highway 

and Transportation Funding Act of 

2014. FTA expects to publish another 

notice should Congress provide 

additional contract authority for this 

fiscal year. 

A. Metropolitan Planning Program (49 

U.S.C. 5305(d)) 

Section 5305(d) authorizes Federal 

funding to support a cooperative, 

continuous, and comprehensive 

planning program for transportation 

investment decision-making at the 

metropolitan area level. The specific 

requirements of metropolitan 

transportation planning are set forth in 

49 U.S.C. 5303 and further explained in 

23 CFR part 450, as incorporated by 

reference in 49 CFR part 613, Statewide 

Transportation Planning; Metropolitan 

Transportation Planning; Final Rule. 

FTA apportions funds directly to State 

Departments of Transportation (DOTs). 

State DOTs then allocate the funds to 

Metropolitan Planning Organizations 

(MPOs), for planning activities that 

support the economic vitality of the 

metropolitan area. 

MAP–21 requires that the 

metropolitan transportation planning 

process must provide for the 

establishment of a performance-based 

approach to decision-making. Upon 

publication of a final rule on the 

metropolitan transportation planning 

program, MPOs will be required to 

establish specific performance targets 

that address transportation system 

performance measures (to be issued by 

U.S. DOT), where applicable, to use in 

tracking progress towards attaining 

critical outcomes. These performance 

targets will be established by MPOs in 

coordination with States and transit 

providers. MPOs also will be required to 

provide a system performance report 

that evaluates their progress in meeting 

the performance targets in comparison 

with the system performance identified 

in prior reports. 

This funding must support work 

elements and activities resulting in 

balanced and comprehensive 

intermodal transportation planning for 

the movement of people and goods in 

the metropolitan area. Comprehensive 

transportation planning is not limited to 

transit planning or surface 

transportation planning, but also 

encompasses the relationships among 

land use and all transportation modes, 

without regard to the programmatic 

source of Federal assistance. Eligible 

work elements or activities include, but 

are not limited to, studies relating to 

management, mobility management, 

planning, operations, capital 

requirements, and economic feasibility; 

evaluation of previously funded 

projects; peer reviews and exchanges of 

technical data, information, assistance, 

and related activities in support of 

planning and environmental analysis 

among MPOs and other transportation 

planners; work elements and related 

activities preliminary to and in 

preparation for constructing, acquiring, 

or improving the operation of facilities 

and equipment; and development of 

coordinated public transit human 

services transportation plans. 

During the spring of 2014, the Acting 

Administrators of FTA and FHWA 

issued a Planning Emphasis Area letter 

to the MPO’s requesting that they 

include work activities in their Unified 

Planning Work Programs (UPWP) to 

advance the following activities; (1) 

Transition to Performance Based 

Planning and Programming. This 

involves the development and 

implementation of a performance 

management approach to transportation 

planning and programming that 

supports the achievement of 

transportation system performance 

outcomes; (2) Models of Regional 

Planning—Promote cooperation and 

coordination across MPO boundaries 

and across State boundaries where 

appropriate to ensure a regional 

approach to transportation planning. 

This is particularly important where 

more than one MPO or State serves an 

urbanized area or adjacent urbanized 

areas. This cooperation could occur 

through the metropolitan planning 

agreements that identify how the 

planning process and planning products 

will be coordinated, through the 

development of joint planning products, 

and/or by other locally determined 

means; and (3) Ladders of 

Opportunity—Access to essential 

services—USDOT is encouraging state 

and local decision makers to plan for 

transportation investments and policies 

that provide ‘‘ladders of opportunity’’ 

connecting people safely to jobs, 

education, and health care and other 

essential services and improving their 

quality of life. 

An exhaustive list of eligible work 

activities is provided in FTA Circular 

8100.1C, Program Guidance for 

Metropolitan Planning and State 

Planning and Research Program Grants, 

dated September 1, 2008. For more 

about the Metropolitan Planning 

Program, contact Victor Austin, Office 

of Planning and Environment at (202) 

366–2996 or victor.austin@dot.gov. 

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1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $70,931,607 for the 

Metropolitan Planning Program (section 

5305(d)) to support metropolitan 

transportation planning activities set 

forth in section 5303. The total amount 

apportioned for the Metropolitan 

Planning Program to States for MPOs’ 

use in urbanized areas (UZAs) is 

$70,576,949 as shown in the table 

below, after the deduction for oversight 

(authorized by section 5338). 

METROPOLITAN PLANNING PROGRAM— 

FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $70,931,607 

Oversight Deductions ..... ¥354,658 

Total Apportioned ........ 70,576,949 

States’ apportionments for this program are 

displayed in Table 2. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

Eighty percent of the funds are 

apportioned to the States based on the 

most recent decennial Census for each 

State’s UZA population. The remaining 

20 percent is provided to the States with 

UZAs with one million or more in 

population in order to address planning 

needs in larger, more complex UZAs. 

3. Requirements 

The State allocates Metropolitan 

Planning funds to MPOs in UZAs or 

portions thereof to provide funds for 

planning projects included in a one or 

two-year program of planning work 

activities (the Unified Planning Work 

Program, or UPWP). The UPWP 

includes multimodal systems planning 

activities spanning both highway and 

transit planning topics. Each State has 

either reaffirmed or developed, in 

consultation with their MPOs, an 

allocation formula among MPOs within 

the State, based on the 2010 Census. 

The allocation formula among MPOs in 

each State may be changed annually, 

but the FTA Regional Office must 

approve any change before grant award. 

Program guidance for the Metropolitan 

Planning Program is found in FTA 

Circular 8100.1C, Program Guidance for 

Metropolitan Planning and State 

Planning and Research Program Grants, 

dated September 1, 2008. 

4. Period of Availability 

The Metropolitan Planning program 

funds apportioned in this notice are 

available for obligation during FY 2015 

plus three additional fiscal years. 

Accordingly, funds apportioned in FY 

2015 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2018. Any FY 2015 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2018, will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the 

Metropolitan Planning program. 

B. State Planning and Research Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5305(e)) 

This program provides financial 

assistance to States for statewide 

transportation planning and other 

technical assistance activities, including 

supplementing the technical assistance 

program provided through the 

Metropolitan Planning program. The 

specific requirements of Statewide 

transportation planning are set forth in 

49 U.S.C. 5304 and further explained in 

23 CFR part 450 as referenced in 49 CFR 

part 613, Statewide Transportation 

Planning; Metropolitan Transportation 

Planning; Final Rule. This funding must 

support work elements and activities 

resulting in balanced and 

comprehensive intermodal 

transportation planning for the 

movement of people and goods. 

Comprehensive transportation planning 

is not limited to transit planning or 

surface transportation planning, but also 

encompasses the relationships among 

land use and all transportation modes, 

without regard to the programmatic 

source of Federal assistance. For more 

information, contact Victor Austin, 

Office of Planning and Environment at 

(202) 366–2996 or victor.austin@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

FY 2015 Appropriations provides a 

total of $14,817,434 for the State 

Planning and Research Program (section 

5305(e)). The total amount apportioned 

for the State Planning and Research 

Program (SPRP) is $14,743,347 as 

shown in the table below, after the 

deduction for oversight (authorized by 

section 5338). 

STATEWIDE PLANNING PROGRAM—FY 

2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $14,817,434 

Oversight Deductions ..... ¥74,087 

Total Apportioned ........... 14,743,347 

States’ apportionments for this program are 

displayed in Table 2. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

FTA apportions funds to States by a 

statutory formula that is based on the 

most recent decennial Census data 

available, and the State’s UZA 

population as compared to the UZA 

population of all States. 

3. Requirements 

Funds are provided to States for 

statewide transportation planning 

programs. These funds may be used for 

a variety of purposes such as planning, 

technical studies and assistance, 

demonstrations, and management 

training. In addition, a State may 

authorize a portion of these funds to be 

used to supplement Metropolitan 

Planning funds allocated by the State to 

its UZAs, as the State deems 

appropriate. Program guidance for the 

State Planning and Research program is 

found in FTA Circular 8100.1C, 

Program Guidance for Metropolitan 

Planning and State Planning and 

Research Program Grants, dated 

September 1, 2008. 

MAP–21 requires that the statewide 

and non-metropolitan transportation 

planning process must provide for the 

establishment and use of a performancebased approach to decision-making. 

Upon publication of a final rule on the 

statewide and non-metropolitan 

transportation planning program, State 

Departments of Transportation will be 

required to establish specific 

performance targets that address 

transportation system performance 

measures (to be issued by U.S. DOT), 

where applicable, to use in tracking 

progress towards attaining critical 

outcomes. These performance targets 

will be established by States in 

coordination with MPOs and transit 

providers. States will be encouraged to 

provide a system performance report 

that evaluates their progress in meeting 

the performance targets in comparison 

with the system performance identified 

in prior reports. 

4. Period of Availability 

The State Planning and Research 

program funds apportioned in this 

notice are available for obligation during 

FY 2015 plus three additional fiscal 

years. Accordingly, funds apportioned 

in FY 2015 must be obligated in grants 

by September 30, 2018. Any FY 2015 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2018 will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the State 

Planning and Research program. 

C. Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 

U.S.C. 5307) 

Section 5307 authorizes Federal 

assistance for capital, planning, job 

access and reverse commute projects, 

and, in some cases, operating assistance 

for public transportation in urbanized 

areas. An urbanized area (UZA) is an 

area with a population of 50,000 or 

more that has been defined and 

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designated as such by the U.S. Census 

Bureau. 

FTA calculates an apportionment 

amount for each UZA based on statutory 

formulas. For UZAs with populations of 

200,000 or more, FTA apportions funds 

directly to one or more designated 

recipients, which are local or statewide 

agencies designated by the governor in 

accordance with sections 5303 and 

5304, to receive and allocate section 

5307 funds to eligible public 

transportation projects in the UZA. For 

UZAs with populations between 50,000 

and 200,000, FTA apportions funds 

directly to the governor for allocation to 

eligible public transportation projects in 

those areas of the state. Eligible funding 

recipients are limited to designated 

recipients and other local government 

authorities that a designated recipient or 

governor authorizes to apply for the 

funds directly to FTA. 

Additional detailed guidance on the 

Urbanized Area Formula Program is 

available in FTA Circular 9030.1E, 

Urbanized Area Formula Program: 

Program Guidance and Application 

Instructions, dated January 16, 2014. 

This circular is in effect for all grants 

awarded after the date of its publication. 

The circular can be accessed at 

www.fta.dot.gov/circulars. 

The circular contains guidance on 

several provisions that were established 

by MAP–21 and took effect beginning in 

FY 2013. These include a new provision 

allowing operating assistance for transit 

agencies in UZAs over 200,000 in 

population that operate a maximum of 

100 buses in fixed route service during 

peak service hours, the eligibility of job 

access and reverse commute projects 

under section 5307, changes to the 

definition of ‘‘capital project,’’ 

expanded eligibility for sources of local 

match, and the replacement of the 

‘‘transit enhancements’’ requirements 

with a similar ‘‘associated transit 

improvements’’ requirement. For more 

information about the Urbanized Area 

Formula Program contact Adam 

Schildge, Office of Program 

Management, at (202) 366–0778 or 

adam.schildge@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

FY 2015 Appropriations provides a 

total of $2,968,361,507 for the 

Urbanized Area Formula Program 

(section 5307). The total amount 

apportioned to UZAs is $3,211,537,790, 

which includes the addition of amounts 

apportioned to UZAs pursuant to the 

section 5340 Growing States and High 

Density States Formula factors. This 

amount excludes the set-aside for the 

Passenger Ferry Discretionary Program, 

apportionments under the State Safety 

Oversight Program, and funding for 

oversight (authorized by section 5338), 

as shown in the table below. 

URBANIZED AREA FORMULA

PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... a $2,968,361,507 

Ferry Discretionary Program ............................ ¥19,972,603 

State Safety Oversight 

Program ...................... ¥14,841,808 

Oversight Deduction ....... ¥22,262,711 

Section 5340 Funds 

Added .......................... 300,253,404 

Total Apportioned ........ 3,211,537,790 

a Includes 1.5 percent set-aside for Small 

Transit Intensive Cities Formula. Table 3 displays the amounts apportioned under the Urbanized Area Formula Program. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

FTA apportions Urbanized Area 

Formula Program funds based on 

statutory formulas. Congress established 

four separate formulas that are used to 

apportion portions of the available 

funding: The section 5307 Urbanized 

Area Formula Program formula, the 

Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) 

formula, the Growing States and High 

Density States formula, and a formula 

based on low-income population. 

Additional information on these 

formulas is provided in the following 

subsections. 

Consistent with prior apportionment 

notices, Table 3 shows a total section 

5307 apportionment for each UZA, 

which includes amounts apportioned 

under each of these formulas. Detailed 

information about the formulas is 

provided in Table 4. For technical 

assistance purposes, the UZAs that 

receive STIC funds are listed in Table 6. 

FTA will provide breakouts of the 

funding allocated to each UZA under 

these formulas upon request; such 

requests should be directed to your FTA 

Regional Office. 

i. Section 5307—Urbanized Area 

Formula 

For UZAs between 50,000 and 

199,999 in population, the section 5307 

formula is based on population and 

population density. For UZAs with 

populations of 200,000 and more, the 

formula is based on a combination of 

bus revenue vehicle miles, bus 

passenger miles, bus operating costs, 

fixed guideway vehicle revenue miles, 

and fixed guideway route miles, as well 

as population and population density. 

The Urbanized Area Formula is defined 

in 49 U.S.C. 5336. 

To calculate a UZA’s FY 2015 

apportionment, FTA used population 

and population density statistics from 

the 2010 Census and validated mileage 

and transit service data from transit 

providers’ 2013 National Transit 

Database (NTD) Report Year (when 

applicable). Consistent with section 

5336(b), FTA has included in the 

urbanized area formula 22.27 percent of 

the fixed guideway directional route 

miles and vehicle revenue miles from 

eligible transit systems that were 

ordinarily attributable to rural areas. 

FTA has calculated dollar unit values 

for the formula factors used in the 

Urbanized Area Formula Program 

apportionment calculations. These 

values represent the amount of money 

each unit of a factor is worth in this 

year’s apportionment. The unit values 

change each year, based on all of the 

data used to calculate the 

apportionments, as well as the amount 

appropriated by Congress. The dollar 

unit values for FY 2015 are displayed in 

Table 5. To replicate the basic formula 

component of a UZA’s apportionment, 

multiply the dollar unit value by the 

appropriate formula factor (i.e., the 

population, population × population 

density), and when applicable, data 

from the NTD (i.e., route miles, vehicle 

revenue miles, passenger miles, and 

operating cost). 

ii. Small Transit Intensive Cities 

Formula 

Under the STIC formula, FTA 

apportions funds to UZAs under 

200,000 in population that have public 

transportation service that operates at a 

level equal to or above the industry 

average for all UZAs with a population 

of at least 200,000, but not more than 

999,999. STIC funds are apportioned on 

the basis of six performance categories: 

Passenger miles traveled per vehicle 

revenue mile, passenger miles traveled 

per vehicle revenue hour, vehicle 

revenue miles per capita, vehicle 

revenue hours per capita, passenger 

miles traveled per capita, and 

passengers per capita. A UZA is granted 

a ‘‘STIC share’’ for each performance 

category in which its data exceeds the 

average of all UZAs between 200,000 

and 1 million in population. The total 

dollar amount available for 

apportionment in the STIC formula is 

then divided evenly among each of the 

STIC shares. 

The data used to determine a UZA’s 

eligibility under the STIC formula and 

to calculate the STIC apportionments 

was obtained from the NTD reports for 

the 2013 reporting year. Because 

performance data change with each 

year’s NTD reports, the UZAs eligible 

for STIC funds and the amount each 

receives may vary each year. UZAs that 

received funding through the STIC 

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formula for FY 2015 are listed in 

Table 6. 

iii. Section 5340—Growing States and 

High Density States Formula 

FTA also apportions funds to 

qualifying UZAs and States according to 

the section 5340 Growing States and 

High Density States formula. Half of the 

funds appropriated for section 5340 are 

apportioned to Growing States and half 

to High Density States. More 

information on this program and its 

formula is found in Section IV.S. of this 

notice. 

iv. Low-Income Population 

Beginning in FY 2013, the formula for 

this program has included a formula 

factor for low-income population. Of the 

amount authorized and appropriated for 

the Urbanized Area Formula Program in 

each year, 3.07 percent is apportioned 

on the basis of low income population. 

3. Requirements 

Program guidance for the Urbanized 

Area Formula Program is found in FTA 

Circular 9030.1E, Urbanized Area 

Formula Program: Program Guidance 

and Application Instructions, dated 

January 16, 2014, and is supplemented 

by additional information and changes 

that may be provided in this notice, 

otherwise published in the Federal 

Register, or posted to the Section 5307 

Web page. 

4. Period of Availability 

Section 5307 funds are available for a 

period of six years (year of 

apportionment plus five additional 

years). Accordingly, 5307 funds 

apportioned in FY 2015 must be 

obligated in grants by September 30, 

2020. Any FY 2015 apportioned funds 

that remain unobligated at the close of 

business on September 30, 2020 will 

revert to FTA for reapportionment 

under the Urbanized Area Formula 

Program. Grantees are encouraged to 

obligate funds when projects are ready 

and not wait until the last year the 

funds are available. 

5. Other Program Information 

i. Allocating Funds to Small Urbanized 

Areas and Designated Recipients 

Consistent with the definition of 

‘‘designated recipient,’’ FTA apportions 

funds according to the formula under 

section 5336 to designated recipients in 

UZAs of 200,000 or more in populations 

(large UZAs) and to the Governor of the 

State for UZAs of less than 200,000 in 

population (small UZAs). Pursuant to 

section 5336(e), the Governor of the 

State may allocate apportionments 

among the small UZAs. FTA interprets 

the legislation to allow a Governor to do 

so regardless of whether a small UZA 

has been designated as a TMA. FTA can 

make grants under this program to 

direct recipients after sub-allocation of 

funds. 

ii. State Safety Oversight Funding 

As mentioned above, under MAP–21 

there is a 0.5 percent take-down from 

the Section 5307 Urbanized Area 

program that has been made available to 

states for State Safety Oversight (SSO) 

program activities as authorized under 

49 U.S.C. 5329. More information about 

this program funding is in Section IV of 

this notice. 

iii. Eligibility for Safety Certification 

Training 

Recipients of sections 5307 funds may 

use up to 0.5 percent of those funds to 

cover up to 80 percent of the cost of 

participation by an employee who has 

direct safety oversight responsibility for 

the public transportation system. 

Likewise, participation by SSOA 

personnel with direct safety oversight 

responsibilities will be an eligible 

expense for section 5329(e)(6)(A) funds. 

iv. National Transit Database Reporting 

Section 5335 requires that each 

recipient or beneficiary under the 

Section 5307 program submit an annual 

report to the NTD containing 

information on financial, operating, and 

asset condition information. An annual 

NTD report should be a full report of all 

transit activities, regardless of funding 

source. For the 2014 Report Year, the 

reporting requirements apply to any 

recipient of a Section 5307 grant 

obligated in 2013, any recipient of a 

Section 5307 grant with outlays in 2014, 

or any entity that continued to benefit 

in 2014 from capital assets purchased 

using Section 5307 grants. Also, 

recipients or subrecipients that 

benefitted from Section 5307 grants in 

prior years, and which anticipate 

benefitting from Section 5307 grants in 

future years, should also continue to 

report to the NTD. Recipients or 

beneficiaries of Section 5307 grants that 

do not operate transit service, either 

directly or through a contract for 

purchased transportation services, are 

still required to report to the NTD on 

capital and planning expenditures, but 

have significantly reduced reporting 

requirements. Recipients or 

beneficiaries of Section 5307 grants that 

operate 30 or fewer vehicles in 

maximum service across all transit 

modes are also eligible for reduced, 

‘‘Small Systems’’ reporting 

requirements. Recipients or 

beneficiaries making full annual reports 

to the NTD are also subject to monthly 

reporting requirements on service 

operations and safety incidents. MAP– 

21 also established new requirements 

for reporting asset inventories and 

condition assessments to FTA at section 

5326(b)(3), 5335(a), and 5335(c). FTA 

previously proposed guidance for 

implementing these requirements in the 

Federal Register. FTA is currently 

reviewing and analyzing the comments 

received on this proposal, and will 

publish a future notice in the Federal 

Register with the final reporting 

requirements. The NTD Reporting 

Manuals contains detailed reporting 

instructions and are posted on the NTD 

Web site. 

D. Passenger Ferry Grant Program (49 

U.S.C. 5307(h)) 

The Passenger Ferry Grant Program 

(Ferry program) is an authorized 

discretionary program funded from the 

Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula 

Grants program and offers public ferry 

systems in urbanized areas financial 

assistance for capital projects. For more 

information about the Ferry Program, 

contact Vanessa Williams, Office of 

Program Management, at (202) 366– 

4818 or Vanessa.williams@dot.gov. 

1. Funding Available 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $19,972,603 in section 5307 

Urbanized Area Formula grant funding 

to be set-aside for the Ferry program. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

Funds are allocated by a discretionary 

competition and published in a Notice 

of Funding Availability (NOFA) in the 

Federal Register. The NOFA will 

announce the available funding, 

program description, application 

procedures, specific eligibility, and 

criteria for project selection for the Ferry 

program. Announcement of project 

selections are posted to FTA’s Web site 

and published in the Federal Register. 

3. Program Requirements 

Eligible recipients are designated 

recipients or eligible direct recipients of 

Section 5307 funds engaged in 

providing a public transportation 

passenger ferry service. Ferry systems 

that accommodate cars must also 

accommodate walk-on passengers. 

Funding may be used to support 

existing ferry service, establish new 

ferry service, repair and modernize ferry 

boats, terminals, and related facilities 

and equipment. Funds may not be used 

for operating expenses, planning, or 

preventive maintenance. 

The Federal match for this program is 

80 percent, 85 percent for net project 

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costs for acquiring vehicles (including 

clean-fuel or alternative fuel) in 

compliance with the Clean Air Act 

(CAA) or the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990; and 90 

percent for net project costs for vehiclerelated equipment or facilities 

(including clean-fuel or alternative-fuel 

vehicle-related equipment or facilities) 

in compliance CAA or ADA. 

4. Period of Availability 

Passenger Ferry funds follow the same 

period of availability as section 5307, 

and are available for a period of six 

years (year of apportionment plus five 

additional years). Accordingly, funds 

allocated in FY 2015 must be obligated 

in grants by September 30, 2020. Any of 

the funds allocated in FY 2015 that 

remain unobligated at the close of 

business on September 30, 2020 will 

revert to FTA for reallocation under the 

Ferry program. Grantees are encouraged 

to obligate funds when projects are 

ready and not wait until the last year the 

funds are available. 

5. Other Program Information 

The Ferry program grantees, the same 

as with all other FTA grantees, are 

required to comply with all applicable 

Federal statutes and regulations as a 

condition of their financial assistance. 

This includes all third party 

procurement guidance as described in 

FTA.C.4220.1F. 

E. Fixed Guideway Capital Investment 

Grant (CIG) Program (49 U.S.C. 5309)— 

New and Small Starts and Core 

Capacity 

The Fixed Guideway Capital 

Investment Grant (CIG) Program 

provides funds for construction of new 

corridor-based bus rapid transit and 

fixed guideway systems or extensions to 

existing systems and, as amended by 

MAP 21, projects that will expand the 

core capacity of an existing fixed 

guideway corridor. Eligible projects are 

new fixed-guideway systems, such as 

rapid rail (heavy rail), commuter rail, 

light rail, hybrid rail, trolleybus (using 

overhead catenary), cable car, passenger 

ferries, and bus rapid transit, or an 

extension of any of these. The Small 

Starts program also includes corridorbased bus rapid transit projects where 

the majority of the alignments do not 

operate on a separate fixed guideway 

but include features that emulate the 

services provided by rail fixed guideway 

including defined stations, traffic signal 

priority for public transit vehicles, and 

short headway bi-directional services 

for a substantial part of weekdays and 

weekend days. The addition of Core 

Capacity eligibility under the program 

provides funds for substantial, corridorbased investments in existing fixed 

guideway systems that are at capacity 

today or will be in five years. Core 

Capacity Improvement projects must 

increase the capacity of the existing 

fixed guideway system in the corridor 

by at least 10 percent. Projects become 

candidates for funding under this 

program by successfully completing 

steps in the process defined in section 

5309 and obtaining a satisfactory rating 

under the statutorily-defined criteria. 

For New Starts and Core Capacity 

Improvement projects, the steps in the 

process include project development, 

engineering, and construction. For 

Small Starts projects the steps in the 

process include project development 

and construction. New Starts and Core 

Capacity Improvement projects receive 

construction funds from the program 

through a full funding grant agreement 

(FFGA) that defines the scope of the 

project and specifies the total multi-year 

Federal commitment to the project. 

Small Starts projects receive 

construction funds through a single year 

grant or a Small Starts Grant Agreement 

(SSGA) that defines the scope of the 

project and specifies the Federal 

commitment to the project. 

For more information about the New 

or Small Starts or Core Capacity project 

development process or evaluation and 

rating process contact Elizabeth Day, 

Office of Planning and Environment, at 

(202) 366–4033 or Elizabeth.day@

dot.gov, or for information about 

published allocations contact Eric Hu, 

Office of Transit Programs, at (202) 366– 

0870 or eric.hu@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $2,120,000,000 in new budget 

authority for the section 5309 program. 

Pursuant to FY 2015 appropriations, in 

addition to funds appropriated to carry 

out the CIG program, $27.98 million in 

FY 2011 and prior year unobligated or 

recovered section 5309 (Discretionary 

Bus and Bus Facilities) funds are 

available to carry out bus rapid transit 

(BRT) projects subject to the 

requirements of the CIG program. The 

total amount available for allocation is 

$2,098,800,000, after the one percent 

deduction for oversight, as shown in the 

table below. 

CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT (CIG) 

PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation $2,120,000,000 

Oversight Deductions ................... ¥21,200,000 

CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT (CIG) 

PROGRAM—FY 2015—Continued 

Total Available .. $2,098,800,000 

2. Basis for Allocation 

Funds are allocated on a discretionary 

basis and subject to program evaluation. 

Within the amounts appropriated by the 

2015 Appropriations Act, the Act 

directed FTA to first fully fund those 

projects covered by a full funding grant 

agreement, then fully fund those 

projects whose section 5309 share is less 

than 40 percent, and then distribute the 

remaining funds so as to protect as 

much as possible the projects’ budgets 

and schedules. It is not, however, a 

requirement for projects to have a New 

Starts share of less than 40 percent to be 

eligible for federal funding under the 

CIG program or to receive an allocation. 

Rather, as section 165 of the FY 2015 

Appropriations Act states, the section 

5309 Federal share for New Starts and 

Core Capacity projects may be up to 60 

percent. 

3. Requirements 

In January 2013, FTA published a 

final rule explaining the MAP–21 

evaluation and rating process for New 

and Small Starts projects, which became 

effective in April 2013. Additionally, 

FTA published corresponding final 

policy guidance in August 2013 that 

provides additional details and 

explanations on that process. FTA will 

be completing additional rulemaking 

and guidance documents related to the 

remainder of the section 5309 MAP–21 

provisions, including: Getting into and 

through the steps in the New Starts and 

Small Starts process; the evaluation and 

rating process for the Core Capacity 

Improvement program; getting into and 

through the steps in the Core Capacity 

process; warrants; expedited technical 

capacity reviews; and Programs of InterRelated Projects. Project sponsors 

should reference the FTA Web site at 

www.fta.dot.gov for the most current 

fixed guideway capital investment grant 

program information. Grant-related 

guidance is found in FTA Circular 

9300.1B, Capital Investment Program 

Guidance and Application Instructions, 

November 1, 2008; and C5200.1A, Full 

Funding Grant Agreement Guidance, 

December 5, 2002, which will be 

updated in the future to incorporate the 

changes made by MAP–21. 

4. Period of Availability 

MAP–21 expanded the period of 

availability for section 5309 capital 

investment funds to five years, (the 

fiscal year in which the amount is made 

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available plus four additional years). 

Therefore, funds for a project identified 

in FY 2015 must be obligated for the 

project by September 30, 2019. Section 

5309 funds that remain unobligated to 

the projects for which they originally 

were designated after five fiscal years 

may be made available for other section 

5309 projects. Grantees are encouraged 

to obligate funds when projects are 

ready and not wait until the last year the 

funds are available. 

F. Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals With Disabilities Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5310) 

The Enhanced Mobility of Seniors 

and Individuals with Disabilities 

Program provides formula funding to 

States and Designated Recipients of 

large UZAs (areas with populations of 

200,000 or more) to improve mobility by 

expanding transportation options for 

seniors and individuals with 

disabilities. This program provides 

funds for: (1) Public transportation 

capital projects planned, designed, and 

carried out to meet the special needs of 

seniors and people with disabilities 

when public transportation is 

insufficient, unavailable, or 

inappropriate; (2) public transportation 

projects that exceed the requirements of 

the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(ADA) of 1990; (3) public transportation 

projects that improve access to fixed 

route service and decrease reliance by 

people with disabilities on 

complementary paratransit; and (4) 

alternatives to public transportation that 

assist seniors and individuals with 

disabilities with transportation. A 

critical component of meeting these 

goals is the development and approval 

of projects by key community 

stakeholders, including seniors and 

individuals with disabilities, of a locally 

developed coordinated plan. 

FTA apportions funds specifically for 

large UZAs, small UZAs (areas under 

200,000 in population) and rural areas 

(areas under 50,000 in population) and 

requires new designations in large 

UZAs. Additionally, MAP–21 expanded 

the eligibility provisions to include 

operating expenses. Other provisions 

include the requirement that at least 

55% of funds be used for traditional 

capital projects; up to 10% can be used 

for administrative expenses; and the 

remainder can be used for 

nontraditional projects. MAP–21 also 

reinforces the utility of interventions 

like mobility management which is 

eligible as a capital expense for both 

traditional and nontraditional projects. 

On June 6, 2014, FTA published the 

final program circular, FTA C 9070.1G, 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities: Program 

Guidance and Application Instructions, 

which reflects changes made to the 

program pursuant to MAP–21 and 

detailed guidance on its provisions. The 

circular can be accessed at 

www.fta.dot.gov/circulars. 

For more information about the 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Program, 

contact Mary Leary, Office of Transit 

Programs, at (202) 366–0224 or 

mary.leary@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

FY 2015 Appropriations provides a 

total of $171,964,110 for the section 

5310 program. The total amount 

apportioned to States and UZAs for the 

section 5310 program is $171,104,289, 

after the deduction for oversight 

(authorized by section 5338), as shown 

below in the table. 

ENHANCED MOBILITY OF SENIORS AND

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $171,964,110 

Oversight Deductions ..... ¥859,821 

Total Apportioned ........ 171,104,289 

Table 8 displays the amounts apportioned 

under the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Program. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

Based on the statutory formula, sixty 

percent of the funds are apportioned 

among Designated Recipients for large 

UZAs; twenty percent of the funds are 

apportioned among the States for their 

small UZAs; and twenty percent of the 

funds are apportioned among the States 

for their rural areas. 

3. Requirements 

Recipients and subrecipients should 

refer to the program circular, FTA C 

9070.1G, Enhanced Mobility of Seniors 

and Individuals with Disabilities: 

Program Guidance and Application 

Instructions, dated June 6, 2014, for a 

complete list of program requirements. 

Listed below are a few critical 

requirements and reminders about the 

program that can prevent award of 

funds to designated recipients. 

i. Designated Recipients 

For small UZAs and rural areas, the 

State is the Designated Recipient for 

section 5310. Current 5310 designations 

remain in effect until changed by the 

Governor of a State by officially 

notifying the appropriate FTA regional 

administrator of re-designation. 

In large UZAs, the recipient charged 

with administering the section 5310 

program must be officially designated 

through a process consistent with 

sections 5303 and 5304 prior to grant 

award. The MPO, State, or another 

public agency may be a preferred choice 

based on local circumstances. The 

designation of a recipient shall be made 

by the Governor in consultation with 

responsible local officials and publicly 

owned operators of public 

transportation, as required in sections 

5303 and 5304. Section 5310 funds 

cannot be awarded until this 

designation is on file with the FTA 

Regional Office. A State agency may be 

the Designated Recipient for section 

5310 funds for a large UZA; this 

arrangement still requires a designation 

letter to administer the program under 

MAP–21. However, if the State is 

selected as the Designated Recipient in 

a large UZA, the apportioned funds for 

the large UZA must be allocated to 

eligible subrecipients within the UZA. 

Designated Recipients are responsible 

for administering the program. 

Responsibilities include: Notifying 

eligible local entities of funding 

availability; developing project selection 

processes; determining project 

eligibility; developing the program of 

projects; obligating and managing the 

program funds; program reporting; and 

ensuring that all subrecipients comply 

with Federal requirements. 

Although FTA will only award grants 

to the States for the small urbanized and 

rural areas and Designated Recipients 

for the large urbanized areas under this 

program, there are other entities eligible 

to receive funding as a subrecipient. 

These include private nonprofit 

agencies, public bodies approved by the 

state to coordinate services for elderly 

persons and persons with disabilities, or 

public bodies which certify to the 

Governor that no nonprofit corporations 

or associations are readily available in 

an area to provide the service. 

ii. Eligible Expenses 

MAP–21 expanded eligibility of the 

funds, permitting them to be used for 

operating, in addition to capital, for 

transportation services that address the 

needs of seniors and individuals with 

disabilities. However, not less than 55 

percent of the funds available for this 

program must be used for capital 

projects planned, designed, and carried 

out to meet the special needs of seniors 

and individuals with disabilities when 

public transportation is insufficient, 

inappropriate, or unavailable. FTA 

refers to these projects as ‘‘traditional 

5310’’ projects and based on the 

statutory language, these projects must 

be carried out by the traditional 5310 

subrecipients, which are non-profits, or 

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a State or local governmental authority 

that is approved by a State to coordinate 

services for seniors and individuals 

with disabilities, or certifies that there 

are no non-profit organizations readily 

available in the area to provide the 

service. The 55 percent is a floor. 

Recipients may use more or all of their 

section 5310 funds for these types of 

projects. Remaining funds may be used 

for operating or capital projects such as: 

Public transportation projects that 

exceed the requirements of the ADA; 

public transportation projects that 

improve access to fixed-route service 

and decrease reliance by individuals 

with disabilities on complementary 

paratransit; or alternatives to public 

transportation that assist seniors and 

individuals with disabilities. Eligible 

subrecipients for these other eligible 

section 5310 activities include a State or 

local governmental authority, a private 

non-profit organization, or an operator 

of public transportation that receives a 

section 5310 grant indirectly through a 

recipient. The acquisition of public 

transportation services remains an 

eligible capital expense under this 

section. 

States and Designated Recipients may 

use up to ten percent of their annual 

apportionment to administer, plan, and 

provide technical assistance for a 

funded project. No local share is 

required for these program 

administrative funds. 

iii. Planning and Consultation 

The States and Designated Recipients 

must certify that: Projects selected for 

funding under this program are 

included in a locally developed, 

coordinated public transit-human 

services transportation plan; and the 

plan was developed and approved 

through a process that included 

participation by seniors, individuals 

with disabilities, representatives of 

public, private, nonprofit transportation 

and human services providers, and 

other members of the public. Although 

the requirement for a coordinated plan 

is not new, FTA recognizes that some 

large UZAs may need to modify existing 

coordinated plans to address the 

specific needs of the program’s target 

populations and/or be approved by 

individuals from the target populations. 

Modifications to existing plans are 

acceptable. FTA also encourages the 

integration of locally developed 

coordinated planning activities with 

other planning activities including those 

of the Department of Transportation and 

of other Federal agencies. MAP–21 

requires that to the maximum extend 

feasible, the services funded under this 

section are coordinated with 

transportation services of other Federal 

departments and agencies. 

Additional guidance for developing 

coordinated plans can be found in 

Chapter V of the FTA C 9070.1G, 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities: Program 

Guidance and Application Instructions, 

dated June 6, 2014. 

iv. State and Project Management Plans 

FTA requires States and Designated 

Recipients responsible for implementing 

the section 5310 program to document 

their approach to managing the program 

in a Program Management Plan (PMP) or 

State Management Plan (SMP). States 

and Designated Recipient are required 

to submit SMPs and PMPs to the 

Regional Office prior to grant award for 

review and approval. Approval of these 

plans must be on file before the award 

of a section 5310 grant in FY 2015. For 

assistance with developing these plans, 

recipients can use Chapter VII of the 

FTA C 9070.1G, Enhanced Mobility of 

Seniors and Individuals with 

Disabilities: Program Guidance and 

Application Instructions, dated June 6, 

2014. This chapter includes guidance on 

how to create and use SMP and can be 

used as a guide to develop a PMP for the 

large UZAs. The primary purposes of 

management plans are to serve as the 

basis for FTA management reviews of 

the program, and to provide public 

information on the administration of the 

programs. 

4. Period of Availability 

For Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Program 

funds apportioned under this notice, the 

period of availability is three years (year 

of apportionment plus two additional 

years). Accordingly, funds apportioned 

in FY 2015 must be obligated in grants 

by September 30, 2017. Any FY 2015 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2017 will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment among the States 

and UZAs. 

5. Other Program Information 

FTA recently developed frequently 

asked questions (FAQs) that are posted 

to its Web site. These questions are 

meant to assist recipients and 

stakeholders with the continued 

implementation of the program. Please 

visit: http://www.fta.dot.gov/about/

15035.html for the FAQs and other 

information about FTA’s formula 

programs. 

MAP–21 required FTA to report to 

Congress on candidate performance 

measures for the Section 5310 program. 

FTA initially sought comments on this 

topic during publication of the proposed 

program circular, and then sought 

additional comments through an Online 

Dialogue in 2014. This report will be 

provided to Congress and then made 

available in 2015. Grantees under the 

Section 5310 must still continue to 

report annually on the existing 

performance measures for this program, 

in accordance with FTA’s 

responsibilities under the Government 

Performance and Results Act. The 

following are the current quantitative 

and qualitative performance measures: 

(1) Gaps in Service Filled. Provision of 

transportation options that would not 

otherwise be available for seniors and 

individuals with disabilities measured 

in numbers of seniors and people with 

disabilities afforded mobility they 

would not have without program 

support as a result of traditional Section 

5310 projects implemented in the 

current reporting year. (2) Ridership. 

Actual or estimated number of rides (as 

measured by one-way trips) provided 

annually for individuals with 

disabilities and seniors on Section 5310- 

supported vehicles and services as a 

result of traditional Section 5310 

projects implemented in the current 

reporting year. (3) Increases or 

enhancements related to geographic 

coverage, service quality, and/or service 

times that impact availability of 

transportation services for seniors and 

individuals with disabilities as a result 

of other Section 5310 projects 

implemented in the current reporting 

year. (4) Additions or changes to 

physical infrastructure (e.g., 

transportation facilities, sidewalks, etc.), 

technology, and vehicles that impact 

availability of transportation services for 

seniors and individuals with disabilities 

as a result of other Section 5310 projects 

implemented in the current reporting 

year. (5) Actual or estimated number of 

rides (as measured by one-way trips) 

provided for seniors and individuals 

with disabilities as a result of other 

Section 5310 projects implemented in 

the current reporting year. The data for 

these five performance measures are due 

with the 4th quarter or annual report 

submitted by recipients no later than 

October 30 in FTA’s electronic award 

management system. 

G. Rural Area Formula Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311) 

The Rural Areas program provides 

formula funding to States and Indian 

tribes for the purpose of supporting 

public transportation in areas with a 

population of less than 50,000 (rural 

areas). Funding may be used for capital, 

operating, planning, job access and 

reverse commute projects, and State 

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administration expenses. Eligible subrecipients include State and local 

governmental authorities, Indian Tribes, 

private non-profit organizations, and 

private operators of public 

transportation services, including 

intercity bus companies. Indian Tribes 

are also eligible direct recipients under 

section 5311, both for funds 

apportioned to the States and for 

projects apportioned or selected to be 

funded with funds set aside for a 

separate Tribal Transit Program. One 

significant modification to section 5311 

was the inclusion of job access and 

reverse commute projects. Additionally, 

the program should coordinate public 

transportation services with rural 

transportation services by other Federal 

sources. 

On October 24, 2014, FTA published 

final guidance for the program in FTA 

Circular 9040.1G, Formula Grants for 

Rural Areas: Program Guidance and 

Application Instructions, which 

reflected updates pursuant to MAP–21. 

The circular can be accessed at 

www.fta.dot.gov/circulars. 

For more information about the 

Formula Grants for Rural Areas 

program, contact Mary Leary, Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–0224 or 

mary.leary@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

$404,644,932 for the section 5311 

program. The total amount apportioned 

to the States for the section 5311 

program is $411,107,459, after the 

deductions for the Rural Transportation 

Assistance Program (RTAP), oversight 

(authorized by section 5338), the Tribal 

Transit Program, the Appalachian 

Development Public Transportation 

Assistance Program, and the addition of 

section 5340 for Growing States, as 

shown in the table below. 

FORMULA GRANTS FOR RURAL AREAS

PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $404,644,932 

Oversight Deductions ..... ¥2,023,225 

RTAP Takedown ............ ¥8,092,899 

Tribal Takedown ............. ¥19,972,603 

Appalachian Takedown .. ¥13,315,068 

Section 5340 Funds ....... 49,866,322 

Total Apportioned ........ 411,107,459 

Table 9 displays the amounts apportioned to 

the States under the Formula Grants for Rural 

Areas Program. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

The section 5311 funds are 

apportioned pursuant to a statutory 

formula. The majority of rural formula 

funds (83.15 percent) are apportioned 

based on land area and population 

factors. In this first tier, no State may 

receive more than 5 percent of the 

amount apportioned on the basis of land 

area. The remaining rural formula funds 

(16.85 percent) are apportioned based 

on land area, vehicle revenue miles, and 

low-income individual factors. Vehicle 

revenue miles are a new service factor 

and the low-income individual factor 

reflects that job access and reverse 

commute projects are now eligible 

under the program. In this second tier, 

no State may receive more than 5 

percent of the amount apportioned on 

the basis of land area, or more than 5 

percent of the amounts apportioned for 

vehicle revenue miles. In addition to 

funds made available under section 

5311, FTA adds amounts apportioned 

based on rural population according to 

the growing States formula factors of 49 

U.S.C. 5340 to the amounts apportioned 

to the States under the section 5311 

formula. 

Data from the Rural Module of the 

National Transit Database (NTD) 2013 

Report Year was used for this 

apportionment, including data from 

directly-reporting Indian tribes. 

Other than the .5 percent takedown 

for oversight, the section 5311 program 

includes three takedowns: The 

Appalachian Development Public 

Transportation Assistance Program 

(ADTAP); the Rural Transit Assistance 

Program (RTAP); and the Tribal Transit 

Program. These separate programs are 

described in the sections that follow. 

3. Requirements 

The section 5311 program provides 

funding for capital, operating, planning, 

job access and reverse commute 

projects, and administration expenses 

for public transit service in rural areas. 

The planning activities undertaken with 

section 5311 funds are in addition to 

those awarded to the State under section 

5305 and must be used specifically for 

rural areas’ needs. States may elect to 

use 10 percent of their apportionment at 

100 percent federal share to administer 

the section 5311 program and provide 

technical assistance to subrecipients. 

Technical assistance includes project 

planning, program and management 

development, public transportation 

coordination activities, and research the 

State considers appropriate to promote 

effective delivery of public 

transportation to rural areas. 

Each State prepares an annual 

program of projects, which must 

provide for fair and equitable 

distribution of funds within the States, 

including Indian reservations, and must 

provide for maximum feasible 

coordination with transportation 

services assisted by other Federal 

sources. 

Additional program guidance for the 

Rural Areas Program is found in FTA 

Circular 9040.1G, Formula Grants for 

Rural Areas: Program Guidance and 

Application Instructions, dated October 

24, 2014. 

4. Period of Availability 

For section 5311 program funds 

apportioned under this notice, the 

period of availability is three years (year 

of apportionment plus two additional 

years). Accordingly, funds apportioned 

in FY 2015 must be obligated in grants 

by September 30, 2017. Any FY 2015 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2017 will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the Formula 

Grants to Rural Areas Program. 

5. Other Program Information 

i. National Transit Database (NTD) 

Reporting 

Section 5335 requires that each 

recipient or beneficiary under the 

section 5311 program submit an annual 

report to the NTD containing 

information on capital investments, 

operations, and service. Section 

5311(b)(4) specifies that the report shall 

include information on total annual 

revenue, sources of revenue, total 

annual operating costs, total annual 

capital costs, fleet size and type, and 

related facilities, revenue vehicle miles, 

and ridership. Annual NTD reports 

should be a complete report of all transit 

activities, regardless of funding source. 

State or Territorial DOT 5311 grant 

recipients must complete a one-page 

form of basic data for each 5311 subrecipient, unless the sub-recipient is 

already providing a full report to the 

NTD, either as a Tribal Transit direct 

recipient, or as a subrecipient of another 

State, or as an UZA reporter (without 

receiving a full reporting waiver). For 

the 2014 Report Year, State or 

Territorial DOTs must report on behalf 

of any sub-recipient included in the 

program of projects for a grant that was 

open in 2014, that received outlays of 

section 5311 grant funds in 2014, or that 

continued to benefit in 2014 from 

capital assets purchased using section 

5311 grants. State or Territorial DOTs 

should also continue to report on behalf 

of any sub-recipients that benefitted 

from section 5311 grants in prior years, 

and which anticipate benefitting from 

section 5311 grants in future years. For 

Tribal Transit direct recipients that have 

not previously reported to the NTD, 

your organization is required to report 

to the NTD if one of the following apply: 

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You obligated a grant in 2013, expended 

funds from a section 5311 grant in 2014; 

or you continued to benefit in 2014 from 

capital assets using section 5311 grants, 

unless the Tribe is already filing a full 

NTD Report as an UZA reporter or 

unless the Tribe has only received 

$50,000 or less in planning grants. 

MAP–21 also established new 

requirements for reporting asset 

inventories and condition assessments 

to FTA at sections 5326(b)(3), 5335(a), 

and 5335(c). FTA grantees and subrecipients should look for a future 

Federal Register Notice with proposed 

changes to the FTA’s NTD Reporting 

Manual for more information and an 

opportunity to comment on FTA’s 

implementation of these new statutory 

requirements. 

H. Rural Transportation Assistance 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5311(b)(2)) 

This program provides funding to 

assist in the design and implementation 

of training and technical assistance 

projects, research, and other support 

services tailored to meet the needs of 

transit operators in rural areas. For more 

information about the Rural 

Transportation Assistance Program 

(RTAP) contact Mary Leary, Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–0224 or 

mary.leary@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

$8,092,899 for the section 5311 RTAP 

Program. Of this amount, 15 percent, or 

$1,213,935 is available for the National 

RTAP program. The remainder is 

allocated to the States, as shown below. 

RURAL TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE

PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $8,092,899 

National RTAP ................ ¥1,213,935 

Total Apportioned ........ 6,878,964 

Table 9 shows the FY 2015 RTAP allocations to the States. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

FTA allocates funds to the States by 

an administrative formula. First, FTA 

allocates $65,000 to each State ($10,000 

to territories), and then allocates the 

balance based on rural population in the 

2010 Census. 

3. Requirements 

States may use the funds to undertake 

research, training, technical assistance, 

and other support services to meet the 

needs of transit operators in rural areas. 

These funds are to be used in 

conjunction with a State’s 

administration of the Rural Areas 

Formula Program, but also may support 

the rural components of the section 

5310 program. 

4. Period of Availability 

The section 5311 RTAP funds 

apportioned in this notice are available 

for obligation in FY 2015 plus two 

additional years, consistent with that 

established for the section 5311 

program. Any funds that remain 

unobligated on September 30, 2017 will 

revert to FTA for apportionment under 

the program. 

5. Other Program Information 

The National RTAP project is 

administered by cooperative agreement 

and re-competed at five-year intervals. 

In July of 2014, FTA awarded a 

cooperative agreement to Neponset 

Valley Transportation Management 

Association to administer the National 

RTAP program. The National RTAP 

projects are guided by a project review 

board that consists of managers of rural 

transit systems and State DOT RTAP 

programs. National RTAP resources also 

support the biennial TRB National 

Conference on Rural Public and 

Intercity Bus Transportation and other 

research and technical assistance 

projects of a national scope to promote 

effective delivery of public 

transportation in rural areas. 

I. Appalachian Development Public 

Transportation Assistance Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311(c)(2)) 

MAP–21 established this program as a 

take-down under the section 5311 

program to provide additional funding 

to support public transportation in the 

Appalachian region. There are sixteen 

eligible States that receive an allocation 

under this provision. The States and 

their allocation are shown in the Rural 

Areas Formula program table posted on 

FTA’s Web site under the FY 2015 

Apportionments page. For more 

information about the Appalachian 

Development Public Transportation 

Assistance Program (ADTAP), contact 

Mary Leary, Office of Transit Programs, 

at (202)366–0224 or mary.leary@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

$13,315,068 for the ADTAP, as shown 

below. 

APPALACHIAN DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC

TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $13,315,068 

Total Apportioned ........... 13,315,068 

2. Basis for Allocation 

FTA apportions the funds using 

percentages established under section 

9.5(b) of the Appalachian Regional 

Commission Code (subtitle IV of title 

40). According to this provision, 

allocations will be based in general on 

each State’s remaining estimated need 

to complete eligible sections of the 

Appalachian Development Highway 

System as determined from the latest 

percentages of available cost estimates 

for completion of the System. Such cost 

estimates shall be produced at 

approximate five year intervals. 

Allocations shall contain upper and 

lower limits in amounts to be 

determined by the Commission and 

shall be made in accordance with 

legislation. 

3. Requirements 

Funds apportioned under this 

program can be used for purposes 

consistent with section 5311 to support 

public transportation in the 

Appalachian region. Funds can be 

applied for in the State’s annual section 

5311 grant. 

MAP–21 includes a provision that 

permits the use of Appalachian program 

funds that cannot be used for operating 

to be used for a highway project under 

certain circumstances. States should 

contact their Regional Office if they 

intend to request a transfer. Additional 

information about the requirements for 

this funding can be found in Chapter VII 

of the FTA Circular 9040.1G, Formula 

Grants for Rural Areas: Program 

Guidance and Application Instructions, 

dated October 24, 2014. 

4. Period of Availability 

Section 5311 Appalachian program 

funds are available for three years (year 

of apportionment plus two additional 

years), consistent with that established 

for the section 5311 program. Funds that 

remain unobligated on September 30, 

2017 will revert to FTA for reallocation. 

J. Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations Program (49 U.S.C. 5311) 

The Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations Program (Tribal Transit 

Program) is a takedown from the section 

5311 apportionment, which allocates 

funds by both statutory formula 

consistent with 5311(j) and through a 

competitive discretionary program 

consistent with section 5311(c)(1)(A). 

The Tribal Transit formula funds are 

apportioned to Indian tribes for any 

purpose eligible under section 5311, 

which includes capital, operating, 

planning, job access and reverse 

commute projects, and administrative 

assistance for rural public transit 

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services and rural intercity bus service. 

Eligible direct recipients are federally 

recognized Indian tribes in rural areas. 

On December, 9, 2014, FTA published 

a Notice of Funding Availability 

(NOFA) soliciting proposals for the FY 

2014 discretionary resources. FTA 

intends to use this solicitation and 

proposals received in response to this 

NOFA to allocate FY 2015 discretionary 

resources. Applications are due 

February 18, 2015. Specific eligibility 

for the discretionary resources is 

outlined in the NOFA. 

For more information about the Tribal 

Transit Program contact E ́ lan Flippin, 

Office of Transit Programs at (202) 366– 

3800 or elan.flippin@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

$19,972,603 for the program, of which 

$14,972,603 is apportioned by formula 

and $5,000,000 will be allocated 

through a competitive discretionary 

program. 

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ON INDIAN

RESERVATIONS PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $19,972,603 

Total Appropriated to 

Tribes by Formula ....... 14,972,603 

Total Available for Discretionary Allocation .... 5,000,000 

2. Basis for Allocation 

The majority of the funding is 

allocated by formula, as described 

below. The remainder of the 

appropriation plus prior year 

discretionary funds that have lapsed, 

will be made available through a 

discretionary competition. 

i. Tribal Transit Formula Program 

The Tribal Transit formula program is 

distributed to eligible Indian tribes 

providing public transportation on tribal 

lands. The formula apportionment 

shown in Table 10 is based on a 

statutory formula which includes three 

tiers. Tiers 1 and 2 are based on data 

reported to NTD by Indian tribes; Tier 

3 is based on 2008–2012 American 

Community Survey data. 

The three tiers for the formula are: 

Tier 1—50 percent based on vehicle 

revenue miles reported to the NTD 

Tier 2—25 percent provided in equal 

shares to Indian tribes reporting at 

least 200,000 vehicle revenue miles to 

the NTD 

Tier 3—25 percent based on Indian 

tribes providing public transportation 

on reservations where more than 

1,000 low income individuals reside 

Tribes should continue to report 

vehicle revenue miles to the NTD for 

inclusion in future TTP formula 

apportionments. 

ii. Tribal Transit Discretionary Program 

The Tribal Transit Discretionary 

program funds are allocated annually 

based on a discretionary competition 

and as published in a NOFA in the 

Federal Register. Funds are allocated 

for grants to Indian tribes for purposes 

eligible under section 5311; however, 

FTA may limit the discretionary 

program based on funding priorities. 

FTA published a NOFA in the Federal 

Register soliciting projects for the 

available FY 2014 discretionary funds 

on December 9, 2014. FTA intends to 

use this solicitation to allocate FY 2015 

discretionary funds, as available. The 

NOFA contains information about the 

available funding, application 

procedures, specific eligibility, and 

criteria for project selection for the 

discretionary program. 

3. Requirements 

Formula funds apportioned under this 

program can be used for purposes 

consistent with section 5311 to support 

public transportation on Indian 

Reservations in rural areas. Funds 

allocated under the discretionary 

program must be used consistent with 

the tribe’s proposal and the allocation 

notice published in the Federal 

Register, which is used to announce the 

selected projects. Eligible recipients 

under both the discretionary and 

formula program include Federallyrecognized Indian tribes or Alaska 

native villages, groups, or communities 

as identified by the U.S. Department of 

the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs 

(BIA). A tribe must have the legal, 

financial and technical capabilities to 

receive and administer Federal funds. 

Section 5335 requires NTD reporting 

for all direct recipients of section 5311 

funds. This reporting requirement has 

and continues to apply to the Tribal 

Transit Program. Tribes that provide 

public transportation in rural areas are 

reminded to report annually so they are 

included in the Tribal Transit formula 

apportionments. Tribes needing 

assistance with reporting to the NTD 

should contact the NTD Helpline at 1– 

888–252–0936 or NTDHelp@dot.gov. 

4. Period of Availability 

Tribal Transit program funds are 

available for three years (year of 

apportionment or allocation plus two 

additional years), consistent with that 

established for the section 5311 

program. Any FY 2015 formula funds 

that remain unobligated at the close of 

business on September 30, 2017 will 

revert to FTA for reapportionment 

under the Tribal Transit Program. 

5. Other Program Information 

The funds set aside for the Tribal 

Transit Program are not meant to 

replace or reduce funds that Indian 

tribes receive from States through the 

section 5311 program but are to be used 

to enhance public transportation on 

Indian reservations and transit serving 

tribal communities. Funds allocated to 

Indian tribes by the States may be 

included in the State’s section 5311 

application or awarded by FTA in a 

grant directly to the Indian tribe. FTA 

encourages Indian tribes intending to 

apply to FTA as direct recipients to 

contact the appropriate FTA Regional 

Office at the earliest opportunity. 

Tribal Transit Program grantees, the 

same as with all other FTA grantees, are 

obliged to comply with applicable 

Federal requirements as a condition of 

their financial assistance. To assist 

tribes with understanding these 

requirements and the recent program 

changes, FTA conducted five Tribal 

Transit Technical Assistance 

Workshops in FY 2013 and FY 2014. 

FTA will continue similar offerings in 

FY 2015; workshops are tentatively 

planned for Santa Fe, Sacramento, and 

Denver. In addition, FTA will begin 

reviews to assess technical assistance 

needs and provide specific technical 

assistance for tribes beginning in March 

2015; these reviews will include an 

assessment of capabilities related to 

compliance areas pursuant to the Master 

Agreement, a site visit and technical 

assistance from FTA and its contractors. 

FTA will post information about 

upcoming workshops to its Web site and 

will disseminate information about the 

reviews through the Regional Offices. 

FTA has regional tribal transit liaisons 

in each of the FTA Regional Offices that 

are available to assist tribes with 

applying for and managing FTA grants. 

A list of regional tribal transit liaisons 

can be found on FTA’s Web site at 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/13094_

15845.html. Tribes are encouraged to 

work directly with their regional tribal 

transit liaison. 

Technical assistance for Indian tribes 

may also be available from the State 

DOT using the State’s allocation of 

RTAP or funds available for State 

administration under section 5311, from 

the Tribal Transportation Assistance 

Program (TTAP) Centers supported by 

FHWA, and from the Community 

Transportation Association of America 

under a program funded by the United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA). National RTAP will also be 

developing new resources for Tribal 

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Transit. For more information about 

National RTAP, contact E ́ lan Flippin, 

Program Manager at 202–366–3800 or 

visit the National RTAP Web site 

http://www.nationalrtap.org. 

K. Research, Development, 

Demonstration, and Deployment 

Projects (49 U.S.C. 5312) 

MAP–21 amended the section 5312: 

Research; Innovation and Development; 

and, Demonstration, Deployment and 

Evaluation to include a Low or No 

Emission Vehicle Deployment program 

to fund low or no emission vehicles, 

facilities, or related equipment in nonattainment or maintenance areas. 

Additionally, MAP–21 established a 

structured process for applications, 

evaluations, and reporting for the 

research programs. For more 

information contact Vincent Valdes, 

Office of Research, Demonstration and 

Innovation, at (202) 366–3052 or 

Vincent.valdes@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $30,000,000 for section 5312. 

Of this amount, $22,500,000 is allocated 

for the Low or No Emissions Vehicle 

Deployment Program. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

Topical areas are based on the 

Department’s Strategic Goals and 

projects are generally selected through 

Notices of Funding Availability 

(NOFAs). 

3. Requirements 

Application Instructions and Program 

Management Guidelines are set forth in 

FTA Circular 6100.1D, Research, 

Technical Assistance and Training 

Programs: Application Instructions and 

Program Management Guidelines. FTA 

is in the process of updating this 

circular to incorporate changes resulting 

from MAP–21 and expects to publish a 

final circular in early 2015. All research 

recipients are required to work with 

FTA to develop approved Statements of 

Work. Under MAP–21, all research 

projects now require at least a 20 

percent non-Federal share. In some 

cases, FTA may require a higher nonFederal share if FTA determines a 

recipient would obtain a clear and 

direct financial benefit from the project, 

or if non-Federal share is an evaluation 

factor under a competitive selection 

process. Projects under the Low or No 

Emission Vehicle Deployment Program 

are also subject to section 5307 

requirements. 

4. Period of Availability 

Except for the Low or No Emission 

Vehicle Deployment Program, FTA 

establishes the period in which the 

funds must be obligated to the project. 

If the funds are not obligated within that 

period of time, they revert to FTA for 

reallocation under the program. Low or 

No Emission Vehicle Deployment funds 

are available for two years in addition 

to the year the funds are made available 

to a recipient, for a total of three years. 

5. Other Program Information 

Requests for research proposals will 

be published in Grants.gov. Awards for 

Low and No Emission Vehicle 

Deployment competition with previous 

fiscal year funds will be announced on 

February 5, 2015. 

L. Transit Cooperative Research 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5313) 

The Transit Cooperative Research 

Program (TCRP) funds a variety of 

applied research efforts for practitioners 

in the transit industry. TCRP is the 

cooperative effort of three organizations: 

The FTA; the National Academies, 

acting through the Transportation 

Research Board (TRB); and the Transit 

Development Corporation, Inc. (TDC), a 

nonprofit educational and research 

organization established by the 

American Public Transportation 

Association (APTA). 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $3,000,000 for this section. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

TCRP issues annual calls for problem 

statements. For more information and 

past reports see www.tcrponline.org. 

3. Requirements 

Funds are allocated directly to the 

Transportation Research Board at the 

National Academies of Sciences. For 

application requirements for this 

program, please see www.tcrponline.org. 

4. Period of Availability 

The Transportation Research Board 

establishes the period in which funds 

must be obligated to a project. 

M. Technical Assistance and Standards 

Development (49 U.S.C. 5314) 

This section allows FTA to provide 

technical assistance to recipients to 

more effectively and efficiently provide 

transit service and to improve 

administration of Federal transit funds. 

It also authorizes the development of 

voluntary and consensus-based 

standards and best practices. 

Additionally, through a competitive 

process, FTA may enter into agreements 

with national nonprofit organizations to 

assist providers of public transportation 

to: Comply with the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA); comply with 

human services transportation 

coordination requirements and enhance 

Federal coordination; to meet the 

transportation needs of elderly 

individuals; to increase transit ridership 

in coordination with MPOs and other 

entities through development around 

public transportation stations; to 

address transportation equity needs; and 

to provide any other technical 

assistance activities deemed necessary 

by FTA. For more information contact 

Vincent Valdes, Office of Research, 

Demonstration and Innovation, at 202– 

366–3052 or vincent.valdes@dot.gov or 

Jamie Pfister, Office of Program 

Management, at 202–366–2053 or 

Jamie.pfister@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $4,000,000 for this section. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

FTA will allocate funds based on 

identified technical assistance and 

standards needs for the transit industry 

and generally selected through a 

competitive process. 

3. Requirements 

Application Instructions and Program 

Management Guidelines are set forth in 

FTA Circular 6100.1D, Research, 

Technical Assistance, and Training 

Programs: Application Instructions and 

Program Management Guidelines, dated 

May 1, 2011. FTA is in the process of 

updating this circular to incorporate 

changes resulting from language in 

MAP–21 and expects to publish the 

final circular in early 2015. All 

recipients of Technical Assistance and 

Standards funds are required to work 

with FTA to develop approved 

Statements of Work. Projects funded 

using grants require at least a 20 percent 

non-Federal share. 

4. Period of Availability 

FTA establishes the period in which 

funds must be obligated to a project. If 

the funds are not obligated within that 

period of time, they revert back to FTA 

for reallocation under the program. 

5. Other Program Information 

Requests for proposals will be 

published in Grants.gov. 

N. Human Resources and Training 

Programs (49 U.S.C. 5322) 

FTA may make grants or enter into 

contracts for human resource needs 

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including: Employment training 

programs; outreach programs to increase 

minority and female employment; 

research on public transportation 

personnel and training need; and, 

training and assistance for minority 

business opportunities. Additionally, 

the Innovative Public Transportation 

Workforce Development program is a 

competitive grant program to assist in 

the development of innovative 

workforce activities. 

A national transit institute is 

authorized under section 5322(d). The 

institute is authorized to develop 

training and education programs related 

to topics in public transportation. For 

more information contact Vincent 

Valdes, Office of Research, 

Demonstration and Innovation, at (202) 

366–3052 or vincent.valdes@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

$500,000 for this section to carry out 

human resource activities under section 

5322(a), (b) and (e). There is $3,328,767 

is available for a national transit 

institute authorized under section 

5322(d). 

2. Basis for Allocation 

On September 5, 2014, FTA published 

a Notice of Funding Availability 

(NOFA) soliciting proposals for Ladders 

of Opportunity: Public Transportation 

Workforce Development Projects. FTA 

intends to use that solicitation and 

proposals received in response to that 

NOFA to allocate FY 2015 discretionary 

resources. Applications were due 

November 17, 2014. Specific eligibility 

for the discretionary resources was 

outlined in the NOFA. FTA will allocate 

funds based on identified workforce 

development and training needs, as well 

as by an innovative workforce 

development competition or through a 

standard award process. 

3. Requirements 

Application Instructions and Program 

Management Guidelines are set forth in 

FTA Circular 6100.1D, Research, 

Technical Assistance, and Training 

Programs: Application Instructions and 

Program Management Guidelines, dated 

May 1, 2011. FTA is in the process of 

updating this circular to incorporate 

changes resulting from language in 

MAP–21. All recipients of Human 

Resources and Training funds are 

required to work with FTA to develop 

approved Statements of Work. FTA may 

award funds through contracts or grants. 

Grants funded under the Human 

Resources and Training and the 

Innovative Public Transportation 

Workforce Development Program 

require a 50 percent non-Federal share. 

4. Period of Availability 

FTA establishes the period in which 

funds must be obligated to a project. If 

the funds are not obligated within that 

period of time, they revert back to FTA 

for reallocation under the program. 

5. Other Program Information 

Requests for proposals will be 

published in Grants.gov. 

O. Public Transportation Emergency 

Relief Program (49 U.S.C. 5324) 

FTA’s Emergency Relief (ER) Program 

is authorized to provide funding for 

public transportation expenses incurred 

as a result of an emergency or major 

disaster. No funding was provided in 

the FY 2015 Appropriations Act for this 

program. Eligible expenses include 

emergency operating expenses, such as 

evacuations, rescue operations, and 

expenses incurred to protect assets in 

advance of a disaster, as well as capital 

projects to protect, repair, reconstruct, 

or replace equipment and facilities of a 

public transportation system in the 

United States or on an Indian 

reservation that the Secretary 

determines is in danger of suffering 

serious damage or has suffered serious 

damage as a result of an emergency. 

While Congress did not provide funding 

for this program in FY 2015, in the 

event of a declared emergency or major 

disaster recipients may use funds 

apportioned under sections 5307 and 

5311 for emergency purposes. However, 

recipients are advised that formula 

funds used for emergency purposes will 

not be replaced or restored in the event 

that funding is subsequently made 

available through FTA under the ER 

Program or by FEMA. 

In response to Hurricane Sandy, the 

Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 

2013 made $10.9 billion available 

(which was subsequently reduced to 

$10.2 billion by sequestration and 

intergovernmental transfers of funds to 

other bureaus and offices within DOT) 

for the Emergency Relief program for 

public transportation systems only in 

the affected areas. These funds cannot 

be used for other disasters. FTA has 

announced and allocated funding for 

affected transit agencies within the 

declared disaster area through a series of 

Federal Register notices beginning in 

2013 and continuing through 2014. 

In order for an agency to be eligible 

for Emergency Relief funding, the 

agency must have been affected by an 

emergency as defined under section 

5324. Section 5324(a)(2) defines an 

emergency as ‘‘a natural disaster 

affecting a wide area (such as a flood, 

hurricane, tidal wave, earthquake, 

severe storm) or a catastrophic failure 

from any external cause as a result of 

which (a) the Governor of a State has 

declared an emergency and the 

Secretary has concurred or (b) the 

President has declared a major disaster 

under section 401 of the Robert T. 

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

Assistance Act.’’ Expenses incurred due 

to incidents that do not rise to the level 

of a Governor’s declaration with 

concurrence by the Secretary of 

Transportation will not be eligible to be 

funded under section 5324. Further, in 

the event of a Presidential declaration of 

emergency, FTA may reimburse only 

those expenses that are not reimbursed 

under the Stafford Act. If funding is 

available under the Emergency Relief 

program for a public transportation 

system affected by an emergency, 

agencies are directed to seek emergency 

relief from FTA rather than FEMA. 

If a recipient has been affected by an 

emergency or major disaster, the 

recipient should contact the appropriate 

FTA Regional Office as soon as 

practicable to determine whether 

Emergency Relief funds are available, 

and to notify it that it plans to seek 

reimbursement for emergency 

operations and/or repairs that have 

already taken place or are in process. If 

Emergency Relief funds are unavailable 

the recipient may seek reimbursement 

from FEMA. Properly documented costs 

for which the grantee has not received 

reimbursement from FEMA may later be 

reimbursed by grants made either from 

section 5324 funding (if appropriated) 

or section 5307 and 5311 program 

funding, once the eligible recipient 

formally applies to FTA for 

reimbursement and FTA determines 

that the expenses are eligible for 

emergency relief. 

On October 7, 2014, FTA published 

final program regulations for the 

Emergency Relief Program at 49 CFR 

part 602. This final rule replaces the 

interim final rule published on March 

29, 2013. This final rule establishes and 

clarifies the procedures and eligibility 

requirements for entities seeking or 

receiving funding under this program. 

FTA solicited and responded to public 

comments in the development of these 

regulations. 

FTA anticipates publishing for notice 

and comment a program guidance 

manual for the ER Program in early 

2015. This guidance manual will 

contain additional information on the 

procedures, eligibility requirements, 

and recommended practices for entities 

that have been or may be affected by an 

emergency or disaster, including those 

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seeking or receiving funding under this 

program. FTA will solicit and respond 

to public comments on this manual. The 

publication of this guidance manual 

will be announced in a subsequent 

notice. 

Additional information about the 

Emergency Relief program and FTA’s 

response to Hurricane Sandy is 

available on the FTA Web site at 

www.fta.dot.gov/emergencyrelief. 

For more information on the ER 

Program or FTA’s response to Hurricane 

Sandy, contact Adam Schildge, Office of 

Program Management, at 202–366–0778 

or adam.schildge@dot.gov. For 

questions regarding the Final Rule, 

contact Bonnie Graves, Office of Chief 

Counsel, at 202–366–4011 or 

bonnie.graves@dot.gov. 

P. State Safety Oversight Grant Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5329(e)(6)) 

MAP–21 establishes a Public 

Transportation Safety Program (section 

5329) authorizing FTA to establish and 

enforce a new comprehensive 

framework to oversee the safety of 

public transportation throughout the 

United States. Section 5329(e)(6) of 49 

U.S.C. provides funding to support 

States with rail fixed guideway public 

transportation systems (rail transit 

systems) to develop and carry out State 

Safety Oversight (SSO) Programs 

consistent with the requirements of 

MAP–21. For more information about 

the State Safety Oversight Formula 

Grant Program, contact Maria Wright, 

Office of Safety Review, at (202)366– 

5922 or Maria1.Wright@dot.gov. 

1. Funding Available 

Under MAP–21, there is a 0.5 percent 

take-down from the section 5307 

Urbanized Area Formula grant program 

that provides the funding to be 

apportioned to States for SSO program 

activities. For the partial FY 2015 year 

apportionment, the amount available for 

the SSO program is $14,841,808. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

FTA apportions SSO grant program 

funds to eligible States using a three-tier 

formula based on statutory 

requirements: 

(a) Tier 1, the Service Tier, apportions 

sixty percent (60%) of available funds 

based on the vehicle passenger miles 

(PMT), vehicle revenue miles (VRM), 

and directional route miles (DRM) 

reported by the rail fixed guideway 

public transportation systems in each 

State. The Service Tier also includes a 

cap so that no State can receive more 

than 15% of the funding available for 

each of the above service measures (i.e. 

PMT, VRM, DRM). 

(b) Tier 2, the Base Tier, apportions 

twenty percent (20%) of available funds 

equally to each eligible State, to ensure 

a minimum funding level for each State, 

regardless of the level of service 

provided by the rail transit agencies 

overseen in the program. 

(c) FTA apportions the remaining 

twenty percent (20%) through Tier 3, 

the Modal Tier, which takes into 

account the number of separate rail 

transit systems (e.g., light rail, heavy 

rail, etc.) not regulated by the FRA in 

each State’s jurisdiction. The Modal 

Tier also includes rail transit agencies in 

engineering or construction that are 

overseen by the State. 

3. Program Requirements 

i. Eligible Recipients 

Eligible recipients include any 

eligible State or entity designated by the 

eligible State(s) with the legal capacity 

to perform all of the following 

responsibilities: (a) Receive and 

dispense Federal funds for the purposes 

of the State Safety Oversight Program 

(SSOP); (b) submit grant applications to 

FTA; and (c) enter into formal grant 

agreements with FTA. 

ii. Eligible Activities 

FTA requires each applicant to 

demonstrate in its grant application that 

its proposed grant activities will 

develop, lead to, or carry out an 

enhanced SSOP that meets the 

requirements under 49 U.S.C. 5329(e). 

Grant funds may be used for program 

operational and administrative 

expenses, including employee training 

activities. 

Grant funds under this program used 

for activities related to oversight of rail 

transit systems within an SSOA’s 

jurisdiction must meet the definition of 

a rail fixed guideway public 

transportation system, including those 

rail transit systems in operation, in the 

engineering or construction phase of 

development, and those in a planning or 

other earlier phase occurring prior to the 

engineering or construction phase as 

long as that rail transit system meets all 

applicable Federal requirements. FTA 

maintains a list of these systems based 

on documentation provided by States in 

annual reports and other submittals to 

FTA. Eligible States should contact FTA 

as soon as they become aware of a new 

rail transit system in planning, 

engineering, construction, or operations 

in their jurisdictions. 

Eligible States must detail how they 

will use SSO Formula Grant Funds in 

certification work plans and SSO grant 

applications. SSO formula grant funds 

may only be used to support activities 

that meet existing 49 CFR part 659 

requirements if those activities also 

meet 49 U.S.C. 5329(e). FTA has 

provided FAQs to further clarify eligible 

activities: http://www.fta.dot.gov/

tso.html. 

FTA is in the process of implementing 

the National Public Transportation 

Safety Program under 49 U.S.C. 5329, 

and a rulemaking on the SSO Program, 

among other things, is expected under 

49 U.S.C. 5329(e). If FTA subsequently 

establishes criteria or conditions for 

grants made under the SSO Formula 

Grant Program that are different from 

those in this notice, the different criteria 

or conditions will not be applied 

retroactively to applications submitted 

or grants awarded consistent with this 

notice, unless the change benefits the 

applicant. 

iii. SSOP Certification 

As stated in the FTA’s March 14, 2014 

Federal Register notice on the SSO 

Formula Grant Program, the SSO grant 

award and certification processes are 

considered separate and distinct from 

each other. FTA announced the initial 

certification status of each eligible State 

on October 1, 2013. To determine this 

status, FTA evaluated each eligible 

State’s submitted SSO program against 

the statutory mandates set forth in 49 

U.S.C. 5329(e). As required in 49 U.S.C. 

5329(e)(7), FTA provided each State 

with the results of this evaluation in 

writing by October 1, 2013. FTA also 

conducted teleconference calls with the 

eligible States to review these results. 

States that were certified may be 

awarded grants to cover the costs 

associated with implementing or 

carrying out their SSO programs. States 

that were not certified, but received 

FTA approval to submit grant 

applications, may be awarded grants to 

support initial development and 

implementation of enhanced SSOPs. 

To confirm States use their grant 

funds to enhance their SSOPs in ways 

that address MAP–21 requirements, 

FTA intends for States to use FTA’s 

October 1, 2013 certification 

correspondence and the supporting 

teleconference calls to develop work 

plans to supplement their applications 

to FTA’s new SSO Formula Grant 

Program. 

States that are not certified are 

required to provide these work plans as 

part of the grant application process. An 

eligible State’s work plan must be 

submitted and approved prior to 

submission of the State’s grant 

application. States that are certified are 

encouraged, but not required, to submit 

work plans that will further enhance 

their SSOPs. 

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These work plans should demonstrate 

a clear and workable transition to meet 

MAP–21 statutory requirements. They 

should identify gaps or deficiencies in 

their respective State’s authorizing 

safety legislation relative to MAP–21 

statutory requirements, articulate a clear 

end result to achieve compliance, and 

identify eligible activities with 

reasonable timeframes to accomplish 

these goals. FTA will provide States 

with a work plan template, as well as 

supporting materials for addressing 

some of the more common gaps in 

meeting MAP–21 provisions. These 

materials are available on the FTA Web 

site at: http://www.fta.dot.gov/tso.html. 

States are not required to use these 

materials and may use a format of their 

choice when developing their work 

plan. 

FTA will work with grantees to 

identify meaningful milestones to apply 

grant funding. FTA will review each 

plan to assess compliance with MAP–21 

statutory requirements and the 

reasonableness of the activities and 

timeframes proposed. FTA must accept 

each State’s work plan before the State 

may submit its grant application and the 

funds can be awarded. FTA will work 

closely with each eligible State to 

determine conformance with these 

eligibility criteria and to develop these 

transition or remedial work plans to 

address any non-compliance with these 

criteria. 

FTA will conduct quarterly 

teleconference calls and quarterly and 

annual reporting to monitor the progress 

of eligible States in meeting MAP–21 

statutory requirements. 

iv. Ineligible Activities 

The SSO Formula Grant Program 

specified in 49 U.S.C. 5329(e)(6) is 

intended to support administrative and 

operating costs for State safety oversight 

of rail transit systems. Therefore, the 

following costs are ineligible: 

(a) Project costs that cover rail transit 

system expenses; 

(b) Project costs for State activities 

unrelated to the SSOP; 

(c) Project costs that directly support 

the operation or maintenance of a rail 

transit system; 

(d) Project costs for which the 

recipient has received funding from 

another Federal agency; and 

(e) Other project costs that FTA 

determines are not appropriate for the 

SSOP. 

To find standards for determining 

eligible and ineligible expenses, see 2 

CFR part 200. 

v. Grant Application Procedures 

To receive the funds apportioned 

through this formula, each eligible State 

must be or become an FTA grantee. 

Eligible States should follow these steps 

to begin the grant application process: 

(a) Identify FTA grant recipient: Each 

Governor will need to identify the State 

agency that will be the FTA grant 

recipient for these program funds by 

sending a letter to the appropriate FTA 

Regional Administrator. A listing of 

FTA Regional Offices and full contact 

information is available at http://

www.fta.dot.gov/. 

(b) Coordinate with the FTA Regional 

Office: The identified grant recipient 

should work with the FTA Regional 

Office to determine what additional 

activities or information are required 

with respect to the new SSO Formula 

Grant Program. If the identified grant 

recipient is not an existing FTA grant 

recipient, it must work with the 

appropriate FTA Regional Office to be 

established as a new FTA recipient. The 

FTA Regional Office will identify the 

specific activities necessary to become 

established as a FTA recipient. 

(c) Identify sufficient and allowable 

matching funds: Eligible States are 

required to provide a twenty percent 

(20%) match for FTA-funded SSOP 

activities. 

vi. Grant Requirements 

Section 5329(e)(6)(B)(ii) requires that 

grant funds apportioned to eligible 

States must be subject to uniform 

administrative requirements for grants 

and cooperative agreements to State and 

local governments under part 18 of title 

49, Code of Federal Regulations, for 

grants awarded prior to December 26, 

2014 and 2 CFR part 200 and 2 CFR part 

1201 for grants awarded on or after 

December 26, 2014 and as well as 

amendments to grants after that date. 

Among these requirements, the 

following terms and conditions apply: 

(a) Work Plan Submission 

Requirements. States that have not yet 

been certified as part of FTA’s October 

1, 2013 initial certification 

determination must submit a work plan. 

The work plan must identify and 

address gaps and deficiencies in the 

State’s SSOP to meet 49 U.S.C. 5329(e) 

requirements. 

(b) 49 CFR part 659. Until three years 

after a final rule issued by FTA, 49 

U.S.C. 5330 and its implementing 

regulations at 49 CFR part 659 will stay 

effective. In order to receive FTA 

funding for its SSOP, recipients in 

compliance with 49 CFR part 659 as of 

October 1, 2013, must, at a minimum, 

maintain compliance until these 

provisions are repealed. However, as 

stated above, SSO Formula Grant 

Program funds may not be used to 

support activities that meet 49 CFR part 

659 requirements unless those activities 

also meet 49 U.S.C. 5329(e) 

requirements. 

(c) Local Share. FTA’s formula 

provides a Federal share covering up to 

eighty percent (80%) of the eligible 

project costs of an SSOP grant 

developed or carried out under MAP– 

21. Eligible States must provide at least 

a twenty percent (20%) local share. The 

twenty percent (20%) local share may 

not include other Federal funds, any 

funds received by the State from a rail 

transit agency, or any revenues earned 

by a rail transit agency. Section 

5329(e)(4)(A)(i) requires each SSOA to 

be financially and legally independent 

from any public transportation entity it 

oversees. States that currently rely 

entirely upon fees, assessments, or 

funding from rail transit systems in their 

jurisdiction to fund SSO activities are 

unable to use those funds for any SSO 

Formula Grant Program activities and 

will need to address this issue of 

financial and legal independence as part 

of their work plan. FTA will work with 

these States on an individual basis, to 

the extent necessary, to identify 

permissible local share sources. States 

overseeing multi-state operations may 

include funds collected from partner 

States as part of their local share as long 

as those funds are not otherwise 

prohibited under this Grant Program. As 

part of the grant application, States need 

to include the source of the local match. 

In addition, for those States overseeing 

multi-state operations must show 

evidence of agreement regarding how 

the local share will be met among the 

States. 

4. Period of Availability 

SSO Formula Grant Program funds are 

available for three years (year of 

apportionment plus two additional 

years). Any FY 2015 funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2017 will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the SSO 

Formula Grant Program. 

5. Other Program Requirements 

i. Pre-Award Authority 

Grantees may be reimbursed for 

eligible activities incurred as of the date 

of publication of this notice, provided 

the grantee has been certified or upon 

approval of a certification work plan. A 

grant marked for pre-award authority 

cannot be executed unless the Initial 

Federal Financial Report (FFR) has been 

completed in TEAM-Web. Please see the 

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most current version of FTA Circular 

5010, ‘‘Grants Management Guidelines’’ 

found on FTA’s Circular Web page. 

(http://www.fta.dot.gov/circulars) or 

contact your Regional Office for more 

information. 

ii. Procurement and Contracting 

Guidelines 

FTA procurement and contracting 

requirements apply to projects funded 

by the SSO Formula Grant Program. For 

additional information, please see the 

latest version of FTA Circular 4220.1, 

‘‘Third Party Contracting Guidance.’’ 

(http://www.fta.dot.gov/circulars) 

iii. Grant Management 

FTA Circular 5010, ‘‘Grants 

Management Guidelines’’ (http://

www.fta.dot.gov/circulars) provides 

FTA’s grant management requirements. 

All recipients need to affirm the current 

version of FTA’s Master Agreement, 

which contains the terms and 

conditions applicable to awards of 

Federal financial assistance. The Master 

Agreement will be incorporated by 

reference and made part of the 

underlying Grant Agreement when 

executed. The latest Master Agreement 

can be found on FTA’s Web site 

(http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/

15072.html). 

iv. Annual Certifications and 

Assurances 

Each Applicant for (and later 

Recipient of) SSO grant funds must sign 

and submit the required Certifications 

and Assurances and submit updated 

Certifications and Assurances annually 

thereafter. Submissions may be made 

electronically through TEAM-Web (or 

its successor, TrAMS). The latest 

Certifications and Assurances can be 

found on FTA’s Web site at http://

www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13071.html. 

v. Planning Requirements 

Projects funded by the SSO Formula 

Grant Program may, but are not required 

to, be included in the Statewide 

Transportation Improvement Program 

(STIP) or a Metropolitan Transportation 

Improvement Plan (TIP). Inclusion of 

such projects in the STIP or TIP is not 

a prerequisite in order to be reimbursed 

by FTA. 

vi. Cost Principles (2 CFR Part 200 

Subpart E) 

Cost principles established in 2 CFR 

part 200 subpart E must be used as 

guidelines for determining the eligibility 

of specific types of expenses. Grantees 

should exercise care when incurring 

costs to confirm all expenditures meet 

the criteria of eligible costs. Failure to 

comply with these requirements may 

result in expenditures for which use of 

project funds cannot be authorized. For 

further information on allowable costs 

and FTA financial grant management 

expectations, please refer to the most 

current version of FTA Circular 5010, 

‘‘Grants Management Guidelines’’ 

Chapter VI, ‘‘Financial Management.’’ 

The document can be found at the 

following web address: http://

www.fta.dot.gov/documents/C_5010_

1D_Finalpub.pdf. 

Q. State of Good Repair Program (49 

U.S.C. 5337) 

The State of Good Repair (SGR) Grant 

program provides capital assistance for 

maintenance, rehabilitation, and 

replacement projects of existing fixed 

guideway and high intensity motorbus 

systems to maintain a state of good 

repair. FTA estimates that a backlog of 

$86 billion of transit assets need to be 

replaced or repaired and that number 

continues to grow. Additionally, SGR 

grants are eligible for developing and 

implementing Transit Asset 

Management plans. This program 

provides funding for the following 

transit modes: Rapid rail (heavy rail), 

commuter rail, light rail, hybrid rail, 

monorail, automated guideway, 

trolleybus (using overhead catenary), 

aerial tramway, cable car, inclined plane 

(funicular), passenger ferries, bus rapid 

transit, and fixed-route bus services 

operating on high-occupancy-vehicle 

(HOV) facilities. 

MAP–21 replaces and modifies 

elements of the fixed guideway 

modernization program (section 5309) 

with this program. Projects, including 

new maintenance facilities or 

maintenance equipment, that solely 

expand capacity or service are not 

eligible projects. However, FTA will 

permit expansion of capacity within 

replacement projects to meet current or 

projected short-term service needs (e.g., 

replacing a maintenance facility with a 

larger facility, or replacing a bus with a 

larger bus). The SGR program is 

intended to fund projects to maintain, 

replace or rehabilitate transit assets of 

existing fixed guideway and high 

intensity motorbus systems. 

FTA published the State of Good 

Repair program guidance, FTA Circular 

5300.1, State of Good Repair Grants 

Program: Guidance and Application 

Instructions, dated January 28, 2015. 

The circular can be accessed at 

www.fta.dot.gov/circulars. 

For more information about the SGR 

program, contact Eric Hu, Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–0870 or 

eric.hu@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $1,441,955,342 for the SGR 

program. After a 0.75 percent oversight 

takedown from the amount apportioned 

to the fixed guideway tier, the total 

amount allocated for the SGR program 

is $1,431,448,895, as shown in the table 

below. 

STATE OF GOOD REPAIR FORMULA

GRANT PROGRAM—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... a$1,441,955,342 

Oversight Deductions ..... ¥10,506,447 

Total Apportioned ........ 1,431,448,895 

aTotal Appropriation includes 

$1,400,859,615 for the High Intensity Fixed 

Guideway tier and $41,095,727 for the High 

Intensity Motorbus tier. 

Table 11 shows the FY 2015 SGR 

Program formula apportionments to 

eligible UZAs. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

FTA allocates SGR program funds 

according to a statutory formula. Funds 

are apportioned to UZAs with fixed 

guideway and high intensity motorbus 

systems that have been in operation for 

at least seven years. This means that 

only segments of fixed guideway and 

high intensity motorbus systems that 

entered into revenue service on or 

before September 30, 2007 are included 

in the formula, as identified in the NTD. 

The law requires that 97.15 percent of 

the total amount authorized for the SGR 

program be apportioned to UZAs with 

‘‘high intensity fixed guideway’’ 

systems. The apportionments to UZAs 

with ‘‘high intensity fixed guideway’’ 

systems are determined by two equal 

elements: (1) The proportion a recipient 

would have received of the fiscal year 

2011 apportionment for 49 U.S.C. 5337, 

as it then existed, if calculated using the 

current version of 49 U.S.C. 5336(b)(1) 

and the current definition of ‘‘fixed 

guideway’’ at 49 U.S.C. 5337(a); (2) the 

proportion of vehicle revenue miles of 

an UZA to the total vehicle revenue 

miles of all UZAs and the proportion of 

directional route miles of an UZA to the 

total directional route miles of all UZAs. 

High Intensity Motorbus systems will 

receive the remaining 2.85 percent of 

the total amount authorized for the SGR 

program, and the apportionments to 

UZAs are based on vehicle revenue 

miles and directional route miles. 

Apportionment changes resulting from 

the exclusion of vehicle revenue and 

directional miles reported from bus 

service provided other than on High 

Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes will 

take effect in FY 2016. 

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Vehicle revenue miles and directional 

route miles that are attributable to an 

UZA must be placed in revenue service 

at least 7 years before the first day of the 

fiscal year. FTA will apportion section 

5337 funds to the section 5307 

Designated Recipient for the UZA with 

fixed guideway transportation systems 

operating at least 7 years. The 

Designated Recipients will then allocate 

funds as appropriate to recipients that 

are public entities in the UZA and 

provide split letters to the FTA. FTA 

can make grants to direct recipients after 

sub-allocation of funds. 

3. Requirements 

In addition to the program guidance 

found in the circular, all recipients will 

need to certify that they will comply 

with the forthcoming rule issued under 

section 5326 for the Transit Asset 

Management plan, and SGR projects 

will need to be included in recipients’ 

Transit Asset Management plans. This 

requirement is subject to FTA 

rulemaking and will become effective 

only after the rule is issued. 

While funds are apportioned based 

only on fixed guideway and high 

intensity motorbus segments that have 

been in operation seven years or longer, 

a recipient may use the funds 

apportioned to it for eligible 

maintenance, replacement, and 

rehabilitation projects on any part of its 

existing fixed guideway system. Eligible 

capital projects are those necessary to 

maintain fixed guideway systems in a 

state of good repair, including projects 

to replace and rehabilitate: 

i. Rolling stock; 

ii. Track; 

iii. Line equipment and structures; 

iv. Signals and communications; 

v. Power equipment and substations; 

vi. Passenger stations and terminals; 

vii. Security equipment and systems; 

viii. Maintenance facilities and 

equipment; 

ix. Operational support equipment, 

including computer hardware and 

software; 

x. Development and implementation 

of a transit asset management plan; and 

xi. Other replacement and 

rehabilitation projects FTA determines 

appropriate. 

Allowable activities within eligible 

replacement projects include the 

replacement of older features with new 

ones. Allowable activities within 

eligible rehabilitation projects include 

the incorporation of current design 

standards and additional features 

required by Federal law. Equipment, 

vehicles, and facilities to be replaced 

must have reached or exceeded its 

minimum useful life to be eligible for 

SGR funds. 

In addition to replacement and 

rehabilitation, new maintenance 

facilities or maintenance equipment are 

eligible if needed to maintain the 

existing fixed guideway system or 

equipment in a state of good repair. 

Also, preventive maintenance activities 

are eligible. 

FTA will permit expansion of 

capacity within eligible replacement 

projects to meet current or projected 

short-term service needs (e.g., replacing 

a maintenance facility with a larger 

facility, or replacing a bus with a larger 

bus). For any expansion elements 

included in a replacement project, the 

grantee will need to address how the 

project meets current or short term 

service levels. FTA will review the 

reasonableness of such expansion 

elements when reviewing the grant. 

4. Period of Availability 

The SGR funds apportioned in this 

notice are available for obligation during 

FY 2015 plus three additional years. 

Accordingly, funds apportioned in FY 

2015 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2018. Any FY 2015 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2018 will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the SGR 

Program. 

5. Other Program Information 

Projects that maintain and rehabilitate 

capital assets used for bus service other 

than on High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) 

lanes, such as High Occupancy Toll 

(HOT) lanes, are not eligible for high 

intensity motorbus funds. High intensity 

motorbus funds may be used for public 

transportation service provided on HOV 

lanes during peak hours. 

Apportionment changes resulting from 

the exclusion of bus service other than 

on HOV will take effect in FY 2016. 

R. Bus and Bus Facilities Formula 

Grants (49 U.S.C. 5339) 

MAP–21 established the Bus and Bus 

Facilities Formula program, replacing 

some of the elements of the former Bus 

and Bus Facilities discretionary program 

under SAFETEA–LU. The program 

provides funding to replace, 

rehabilitate, and purchase buses and 

related equipment as well as construct 

bus-related facilities. 

Eligible recipients are designated 

recipients and States that operate or 

allocate funding to fixed-route bus 

operators. Eligible subrecipients include 

public agencies or private nonprofit 

organizations engaged in public 

transportation, including those 

providing services open to a segment of 

the general public, as defined by age, 

disability, or low income. While the 

statute limits eligible recipients to fixed 

route bus operators or those entities that 

allocate funding to fixed route bus 

operators, eligible projects are not 

restricted to fixed route bus capital 

projects. 

FTA is in the process of finalizing the 

program circular (FTA Circular 5100.1), 

which was published for notice and 

comment in July 2014. In the meantime, 

recipients should review the sections 

below for interim program guidance 

combined with the previously 

published interim guidance contained 

in the FY 2013 Apportionment Notice, 

dated October 16, 2012. For more 

information about the Bus and Bus 

Facilities program, contact Sam Snead, 

Office of Transit Programs, at (202) 366– 

1089 or samuel.snead@dot.gov. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

a total of $284,809,315 for the Bus and 

Bus Facilities program. After the takedown for the States and Territories 

(National Distribution), $241,202,466 is 

available to be apportioned to the UZAs, 

as shown below. 

BUS AND BUS FACILITIES—FY 2015 

Total Appropriation ......... $284,809,315 

State and Territory Allocation ........................... ¥43,606,849 

Total Apportioned ........ 241,202,466 

Table 12 shows the FY 2015 Bus and Bus 

Facilities formula apportionments to States, 

Territories, and UZAs. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

Funds are apportioned according to a 

statutory formula. However, State and 

Territories (including the District of 

Columbia and Puerto Rico) receive a 

fixed allocation before FTA applies the 

formula. This fixed allocation, referred 

to as the National Distribution 

allocation, provides each State $832,192 

and each territory $332,877. These 

funds are available for use anywhere in 

the State or Territory. The remainder of 

the funding is apportioned for UZAs 

based on population, vehicle revenue 

miles and passenger miles and is 

specifically for use in UZAs. 

For large UZAs, the Designated 

Recipient(s) work with interested 

parties, including the MPO, to allocate 

amounts among eligible subrecipients. 

The Designated Recipient in 

consultation with interested parties 

should determine the subarea allocation 

fairly and rationally through a process 

based on local needs. 

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Pursuant to section 5339(c)(2), except 

for the funds set aside for distribution 

to each state, funds available to carry 

out section 5339 are apportioned 

consistent with the formula set forth in 

section 5336 other than subsection (b). 

Pursuant to section 5336(e), the 

Governor exercises the authority to 

allocate section 5339 formula 

apportionments to all small UZAs 

within the State—including those that 

lie within the planning areas of MPOs 

serving TMAs. Federal law clearly states 

that it is up to the State to determine the 

distribution method for section 5339 

funds among small UZAs, and inclusion 

of small UZAs within the planning area 

of an MPO that serves a transportation 

management area (TMA) does not 

change the status of those small UZAs. 

They are still small UZAs and subject to 

the Governor’s allocation. There is no 

legal prohibition to the Governor 

allocating the apportioned funds 

through competition. Regardless of how 

the State decides to allocate the section 

5339 bus funds, the MPO, the State, and 

the transportation operators are 

reminded that, with exceptions not 

relevant in this case, projects not 

included in a federally-approved 

Statewide Transportation Improvement 

Program (STIP) will not be eligible to 

receive those program funds. (See 23 

CFR 450.330(d)). 

3. Requirements 

Eligible capital projects include 

projects to replace, rehabilitate, and 

purchase buses and related equipment, 

and projects to construct bus-related 

facilities. This includes the acquisition 

of buses for fleet and service expansion, 

bus maintenance and administrative 

facilities, transfer facilities, bus malls, 

transportation centers, intermodal 

terminals, park-and-ride stations, 

acquisition of replacement vehicles, bus 

rebuilds, passenger amenities such as 

passenger shelters and bus stop signs, 

accessory and miscellaneous equipment 

such as mobile radio units, supervisory 

vehicles, fare boxes, computers, and 

shop and garage equipment. While bus 

rehabilitation activities (e.g. rebuilds to 

extend the useful life) are eligible, 

preventive maintenance is not eligible 

under this program. The draft circular 

included language that stated that midlife overhauls are not eligible as they are 

a form of preventive maintenance. FTA 

is reviewing comments related to this 

topic as well as others and will address 

those comments in the Federal Register 

notice accompanying the publication of 

the final circular. The grant 

requirements of section 5307, such as 

the requirement for Department of Labor 

Certification, apply to recipients of 

grants made under this section. 

Section 5339 limits eligible direct 

(grant) recipients under this program to 

the Designated Recipients in large UZAs 

and States for all areas under 200,000 in 

population (small UZAs and rural 

areas). States are expected to be the 

grant recipient for the National 

Distribution amounts, unless the funds 

are transferred to a 5307 recipient. 

Please see additional guidance for 

permissible transfers in ‘‘Other Program 

Information’’ section below. 

A grant for a capital project under this 

section shall be for 80 percent of the net 

capital costs of the project, unless a 

recipient of a grant provides additional 

local matching amounts. The local 

match shall be provided in cash from 

non-Government sources other than 

revenues from providing public 

transportation services; from revenues 

derived from the sale of advertisement 

or concessions; from undistributed cash 

surplus, a replacement or depreciation 

cash fund or reserve, or new capital; or 

from amounts received under a service 

agreement with a State or local social 

service agency or private social service 

organization. 

FTA is in the process of finalizing the 

circular for this formula program. In the 

meantime, grantees can utilize program 

guidance and requirements found in 

this notice along with the interim 

guidance published in the Federal 

Register on October 16, 2012 (See 77 FR 

63669), combined with the FTA circular 

for the former discretionary Bus 

program, which can be found in FTA 

Circular 9300.1B, Bus and Bus Facilities 

Instructions. 

4. Period of Availability 

The Bus and Bus Facilities Formula 

Program funds apportioned in this 

notice are available for obligation during 

FY 2015 plus three additional years. 

Accordingly, funds apportioned in FY 

2015 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2018. Any FY 2015 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2018 will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the Bus and 

Bus Facilities Formula Program. 

5. Other Program Information 

The only allowable transfer provision 

for these program funds to another FTA 

program applies to the National 

Distribution allocation. The Governor of 

a State may transfer any part of the 

State’s National Distribution amounts to 

supplement funding under the rural 

areas (section 5311) or urbanized areas 

(5307) formula programs. If transferred 

to a 5307 direct recipient (in a large or 

small UZA), FTA will permit the 

recipient to apply directly for the funds 

in a 5307 grant. However, the funds can 

only be used for purposes eligible under 

Section 5339. 

As for the funding apportioned by 

formula, for small UZAs, the Governor 

has flexibility to allocate the funds 

among the small UZAs to meet the 

capital bus needs in those areas. 

S. Growing States and High Density 

States Formula Factors (49 U.S.C. 5340) 

FTA continues to use formula factors 

(established under 49 U.S.C. 5340) to 

distribute additional funds to the 

section 5307 and section 5311 programs 

for Growing States and High Density 

States. FTA publishes single UZA and 

rural apportionments that show the total 

amount for 5307 and 5311 programs that 

includes apportionments for these 

programs together with section 5340. 

1. FY 2015 Funding Availability 

The FY 2015 Appropriation provides 

$350,119,726 to be apportioned using 

the formula factors prescribed for 

Growing States and High Density States 

set forth in section 5340. 

2. Basis for Allocation 

Under the Growing States portion of 

the section 5340 formula, 50 percent of 

funds are allocated to States on the basis 

of their projected population growth. 

FTA projects each State’s 2025 

population by comparing each State’s 

apportionment year population (as 

determined by the Census Bureau) to 

the State’s 2010 Census population and 

extrapolating to 2025 based on each 

State’s rate of population growth 

between 2010 and the apportionment 

year. Each State receives a share of 

Growing States funds on the basis of its 

projected 2025 population relative to 

the nationwide projected 2025 

population. 

Once each State’s share is calculated, 

funds attributable to that State are 

divided into an UZA allocation and a 

non-UZA allocation on the basis of the 

percentage of each State’s 2010 Census 

population that resides in UZA and 

non-UZA areas. Urbanized areas receive 

portions of their State’s urbanized area 

allocation on the basis of the 2010 

Census population in that UZA relative 

to the total 2010 Census population in 

all UZAs in the State. These amounts 

are added to the UZA’s section 5307 

apportionment. 

The States’ rural area allocation is 

added to the allocation that each State 

receives under the section 5311 Formula 

Grants for Rural Areas program. 

The remaining 50 percent of the 

section 5340 funds are allocated under 

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the High Density States portion of the 

section 5340 formula. These funds are 

allocated to UZAs in States with a 

population density equal to or greater 

than 370 persons per square mile. Based 

on this threshold and 2010 Census data, 

the States that qualify are Maryland, 

Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, 

Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey 

(these are the same States that qualified 

under SAFETEA–LU). The amount of 

funds provided to each of these seven 

States is allocated on the basis of the 

population density of the individual 

State relative to the population density 

of all seven States. Once funds are 

allocated to each State, funds are then 

allocated to UZAs within the States on 

the basis of an individual UZA’s 

population relative to the population of 

all UZAs in that State. 

FTA cannot provide unit values for 

the Growing States or High Density 

formulas because the apportionments to 

individual States and UZAs are based 

on their relative population data, rather 

than on a national per capita basis. 

T. Washington Metropolitan Area 

Transit Authority Grants 

The FY 2015 Appropriations provides 

$150,000,000 for grants to the 

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority (WMATA). Such funding is 

authorized under section 601 of the 

Passenger Rail Investment and 

Improvement Act of 2008. See Public 

Law 110–432, Division B, Title VI. 

Grants may be provided for capital 

and preventive maintenance 

expenditures for WMATA after (1) FTA 

certifies that WMATA is making 

significant progress in eliminating the 

material weaknesses, significant 

deficiencies, and minor control 

deficiencies in the most recent Financial 

Management Oversight Review; and (2) 

FTA determines that WMATA has 

placed the highest priority on 

investments that will improve the safety 

of the system. 

FTA will communicate further 

program requirements directly to 

WMATA. 

V. FTA Policy and Procedures for FY 

2015 Grants 

A. Automatic Pre-Award Authority To 

Incur Project Costs 

This section includes some changes to 

automatic pre-award authority 

published in previous notices, 

particularly in light of the new 

authorization and several new formula 

programs, some of which will require 

new Designated Recipients before 

projects costs can be reimbursed. 

1. Caution to New Grantees and for New 

Formula Programs 

While FTA provides pre-award 

authority to incur expenses before grant 

award for formula programs, it 

recommends that first-time grant 

recipients and recipients of grants under 

new formula programs NOT utilize this 

automatic pre-award authority without 

verifying with the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office that all pre-requisite 

requirements have been met. As a new 

grantee, it is easy to misunderstand preaward authority conditions and be 

unaware of all of the applicable FTA 

requirements that must be met in order 

to be reimbursed for project 

expenditures incurred in advance of 

grant award. FTA programs have 

specific statutory requirements that are 

often different from those for other 

Federal grant programs with which new 

grantees may be familiar. If funds are 

expended for an ineligible project or 

activity, or for an eligible activity but at 

an inappropriate time (e.g., prior to 

NEPA completion), FTA will be unable 

to reimburse the project sponsor and, in 

certain cases, the entire project may be 

rendered ineligible for FTA assistance. 

2. Policy 

FTA provides pre-award authority to 

incur expenses before grant award for 

certain program areas described below. 

This pre-award authority allows 

grantees to incur certain project costs 

before grant approval and retain the 

eligibility of those costs for subsequent 

reimbursement after grant approval. The 

grantee assumes all risk and is 

responsible for ensuring that all 

conditions are met to retain eligibility. 

This pre-award spending authority 

permits an eligible grantee to incur costs 

on an eligible transit capital, operating, 

planning, or administrative project 

without prejudice to possible future 

Federal participation in the cost of the 

project. In this notice, FTA provides 

pre-award authority until September 30, 

2017 for capital assistance under all 

formula programs, so long as the 

conditions described below are met. 

Historically, FTA provides pre-award 

authority until the end of the 

authorization period and then extends it 

in one to two year increments. 

Recipients entering into any contracts 

that assume federal funding beyond 

September 30, 2017, should contact 

their Regional Office to request a letter 

of no prejudice (see section below). FTA 

provides pre-award authority for 

planning and operating assistance under 

the formula programs without regard to 

the period of the authorization. For a 

discretionary program in which FTA 

publishes a Notice of Funding 

Availability (NOFA), recipients should 

refer to the specific NOFA or notice of 

award for specific details as to the 

eligibility of pre-award authority for that 

funding opportunity. Additional 

information pertaining to specific uses 

of pre-award authority is below: 

i. Operating, Planning, or 

Administrative Assistance. FTA does 

not impose additional conditions on 

pre-award authority for operating, 

planning, or administrative assistance 

under the formula grant programs. 

Grantees may be reimbursed for 

expenses incurred before grant award so 

long as funds have been expended in 

accordance with all Federal 

requirements, and the grantee is 

otherwise eligible to receive the 

funding. In addition to cross-cutting 

Federal grant requirements, program 

specific requirements must be met. For 

example, a planning project must have 

been included in a Unified Planning 

Work Program (UPWP); a 5310 project 

must have been included in a 

coordinated public transit-human 

services transportation plan 

(coordinated plan) and selected by the 

Designated Recipient before incurring 

expenses; expenditure on State 

Administration expenses under State 

Administered programs must be 

consistent with the State Management 

Plan (as defined in the most current 

version of FTA Circular 9040.1, Chapter 

6). Designated Recipients for section 

5310 have pre-award authority for the 

ten percent of the apportionment they 

may use for program administration. 

ii. Transit Capital Projects. For transit 

capital projects, the date that costs may 

be incurred is: (1) For design and 

environmental review, the date of the 

authorization of formula funds or the 

date of the announcement of the 

discretionary allocation of funds for the 

project; (2) for property acquisition, 

demolition, construction, and 

acquisition of vehicles, equipment, or 

construction materials for projects that 

qualify for a categorical exclusion 

pursuant to 23 CFR 771.118(c), the date 

of the authorization of formula funds or 

the date of the announcement of the 

discretionary allocation of funds for the 

project; and (3) for property acquisition, 

demolition, construction, and 

acquisition of vehicles, equipment, or 

construction materials for projects that 

require a categorical exclusion pursuant 

to 23 CFR 771.118(d), an environmental 

assessment, or an environmental impact 

statement, the date that FTA completes 

the environmental review process 

required by NEPA and its implementing 

regulations by its issuance of a Section 

771.118(d) categorical exclusion 

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determination, a Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI), or a Record 

of Decision (ROD). For projects that 

qualify for a categorical exclusion 

pursuant to 23 CFR 771.118(c), if a 

project is subsequently found not to 

qualify for this CE, it will be ineligible 

for FTA assistance. FTA recommends 

that any grant applicant that is 

concerned that a larger project may not 

clearly qualify for the CEs at 23 CFR 

771.118(c)(8), (c)(9), (c)(10), (c)(12), and 

(c)(13), contact FTA’s Regional Office 

for assistance in determining the 

appropriate environmental review 

process and level of documentation 

necessary before incurring costs for 

property acquisition, demolition, 

construction, and acquisition of 

vehicles, equipment, or construction 

materials. 

iii. New Starts, Small Starts and Core 

Capacity Projects. The pre-award 

authority described above does not 

apply to section 5309 Fixed Guideway 

Capital Investment Grant Program (CIG) 

projects. Specific instances of pre-award 

authority for CIG Program projects are 

described in paragraph 4 below. If preaward authority has not been granted for 

a particular type of work on a CIG 

program project, the project sponsor 

must obtain a written Letter of No 

Prejudice (LONP) from FTA before 

starting that work. To obtain an LONP 

for a CIG program project, a grantee 

must submit a written request 

accompanied by adequate information 

and justification to the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office, as described in Section 

4. below. 

iv. Research, Technical Assistance, 

and Training. Unless provided for in an 

announcement of project selections, preaward authority does not apply to 

section 5312 Research, development, 

demonstration, and deployment 

projects, section 5314 Technical 

Assistance and Standards Development, 

or section 5322 Human Resources and 

Training. Before an applicant may incur 

costs for activities under these 

programs, it must first obtain a written 

Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) from 

FTA. To obtain an LONP for a Research, 

Technical Assistance or Training 

project, a grantee must submit a written 

request accompanied by adequate 

information and justification to the 

appropriate FTA headquarters office. 

Information about LONP procedures 

may be obtained from the appropriate 

headquarters office. 

3. Conditions 

Before incurring costs, grantees are 

strongly encouraged to consult with the 

appropriate FTA Regional Office 

regarding the eligibility of the project for 

future FTA funds and for questions on 

environmental requirements, or any 

other Federal requirements that must be 

met. 

The conditions under which preaward authority may be utilized are 

specified below: 

i. Pre-award authority is not a legal or 

implied commitment that the subject 

project will be approved for FTA 

assistance or that FTA will obligate 

Federal funds. Furthermore, it is not a 

legal or implied commitment that all 

items undertaken by the applicant will 

be eligible for inclusion in the project. 

ii. All FTA statutory, procedural, and 

contractual requirements must be met. 

iii. No action will be taken by the 

grantee that prejudices the legal and 

administrative findings that the Federal 

Transit Administrator must make in 

order to approve a project. 

iv. Local funds expended by the 

grantee after the date of the pre-award 

authority will be eligible for credit 

toward local match or reimbursement if 

FTA later makes a grant or grant 

amendment for the project. Local funds 

expended by the grantee before the date 

of the pre-award authority will not be 

eligible for credit toward local match or 

reimbursement. Furthermore, the 

expenditure of local funds or 

undertaking of project implementation 

activities such as land acquisition, 

demolition, or construction before the 

date of pre-award authority for those 

activities (i.e., the completion of the 

NEPA process) would compromise 

FTA’s ability to comply with Federal 

environmental laws and may render the 

project ineligible for FTA funding. 

v. The Federal amount of any future 

FTA assistance awarded to the grantee 

for the project will be determined on the 

basis of the overall scope of activities 

and the prevailing statutory provisions 

with respect to the Federal/local match 

ratio at the time the funds are obligated. 

vi. For funds to which the pre-award 

authority applies, the authority expires 

with the lapsing of the fiscal year funds. 

vii. When a grant for the project is 

subsequently awarded, the initial 

Federal Financial Report, in TEAM-Web 

(or, its successor, TrAMS), must 

indicate the use of pre-award authority. 

viii. Planning, Environmental, and 

Other Federal requirements. 

All Federal grant requirements must 

be met at the appropriate time for the 

project to remain eligible for Federal 

funding. The growth of the Federal 

transit program has resulted in a 

growing number of inexperienced 

grantees who find compliance with 

Federal planning and environmental 

laws increasingly challenging. 

FTA has modified its approach to preaward authority, and the date that costs 

may be incurred is as follows. For 

design and environmental review, costs 

may be incurred as of the date of the 

authorization of formula funds or the 

date of the announcement of the 

discretionary allocation of funds for the 

project. For property acquisition, 

demolition, construction, and 

acquisition of vehicles, equipment, or 

construction materials for projects that 

qualify for a categorical exclusion 

pursuant to 23 CFR 771.118(c), costs 

may be incurred as of the date of the 

authorization of formula funds or the 

date of the announcement of the 

discretionary allocation of funds for the 

project. For property acquisition, 

demolition, construction, and 

acquisition of vehicles, equipment, or 

construction materials for projects that 

require a categorical exclusion pursuant 

to 23 CFR 771.118(d), an environmental 

assessment, or an environmental impact 

statement, costs may be incurred as of 

the date that FTA completes the 

environmental review process required 

by NEPA and its implementing 

regulations (i.e., through issuance of a 

Section 771.118(d) categorical exclusion 

determination, a Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI), or a Record 

of Decision (ROD)). For pre-award 

authority triggered by the completion of 

the NEPA process, the completion of 

planning and air quality requirements is 

a prerequisite, as those activities are 

completed prior to conclusion of the 

environmental review process. 

The requirement that a project be 

included in a locally-adopted 

Metropolitan Transportation Plan, the 

metropolitan transportation 

improvement program and federally 

approved statewide transportation 

improvement program (23 CFR part 450) 

must be satisfied before the grantee may 

advance the project beyond planning 

and preliminary design with nonFederal funds under pre-award 

authority triggered by the completion of 

the NEPA process. If the project is 

located within an EPA-designated nonattainment or maintenance area for air 

quality, the conformity requirements of 

the Clean Air Act, 40 CFR part 93, must 

also be met before the project may be 

advanced into implementation-related 

activities under pre-award authority 

triggered by the completion of the NEPA 

process. For projects that qualify for a 

categorical exclusion pursuant to 23 

CFR 771.118(c), if a project is 

subsequently found not to qualify for 

this CE, it will be ineligible for FTA 

assistance. For all other projects, 

compliance with NEPA and other 

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environmental laws and executive 

orders (e.g., protection of parklands, 

wetlands, and historic properties) must 

be completed before State or local funds 

are spent on implementation activities, 

such as site preparation, construction, 

and acquisition, for a project that is 

expected to be subsequently funded 

with FTA funds. 

For a planning project to have preaward authority, the planning project 

must be included in a MPO-approved 

Unified Planning Work Program 

(UPWP). 

ix. Federal procurement procedures, 

as well as the whole range of applicable 

Federal requirements (e.g., Buy 

America, Davis-Bacon Act, 

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 

(DBE)) must be followed for projects in 

which Federal funding will be sought in 

the future. Failure to follow any such 

requirements could make the project 

ineligible for Federal funding. In short, 

this increased administrative flexibility 

requires a grantee to make certain that 

no Federal requirements are 

circumvented through the use of preaward authority. 

x. Recipients exercising pre-award 

authority to update, repair, or 

modernize stations, must be mindful 

that the DOT ADA regulations at 49 CFR 

37.161(b) provide that an accessibility 

feature must be repaired promptly if it 

is damaged or out of order. When the 

accessibility feature is out of order, a 

Recipient must take reasonable steps to 

accommodate individuals with 

disabilities who would otherwise use 

the feature. The rule does not, and 

probably could not, state a time limit for 

making particular repairs, given the 

variety of circumstances involved. 

However, repairing accessible features 

must be made a high priority. Allowing 

obstructions or out of order accessibility 

equipment to persist beyond a 

reasonable period of time would violate 

part 37, as would mechanical failures 

due to improper or inadequate 

maintenance. Failure of the entity to 

ensure that accessible routes are free of 

obstruction and properly maintained, or 

failure to arrange prompt repair of 

inoperative elevators, lifts, or other 

accessibility-related equipment, would 

also violate part 37. 

xi. All program specific requirements 

must be met. For example, projects 

under section 5310 must comply with 

specific program requirements, 

including coordinated planning. 

xii. Recipients exercising pre-award 

authority are expected to comply with 

the DBE regulations. The Department of 

Transportation’s DBE program helps 

small businesses owned by socially and 

economically disadvantaged individuals 

to compete in the marketplace, and is 

designed to support the people who 

create jobs—our nation’s entrepreneurs. 

When procuring vehicles, recipients are 

reminded of the requirements of 49 CFR 

26.49(a), which requires ‘‘if you are a 

transit vehicle manufacturer, you must 

establish and submit for FTA’s approval 

an annual overall percentage goal’’ and 

‘‘as a transit vehicle manufacturer, you 

may make the certification required by 

this section if you have submitted the 

goal this section requires and FTA has 

approved it or not disapproved it.’’ 

Recipients are advised that it is not 

enough to accept a certification stating 

that ‘‘FTA has not disapproved’’ of a 

TVMs DBE goal. Rather, Recipients 

must ensure that the TVM has 

submitted a goal to FTA and FTA has 

either approved it or not disapproved it. 

A recipient may request from FTA 

verification that a TVM has submitted a 

DBE goal to FTA for its review. Please 

email your Regional Civil Rights Officer 

regarding your request and FTA will 

respond via email within five business 

days. Furthermore, to assist with TVM 

certification compliance, FTA maintains 

a web posting of all certified TVMs 

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

12326_5626.html. Finally, FTA takes 

the position that failure by a Recipient 

to verify a TVM’s eligibility to bid on an 

FTA-assisted contract prior to award 

cannot be cured after award of the 

contract and will likely result in FTA 

declining to provide Federal funding for 

the vehicle procurement. 

4. Pre-Award Authority for the Fixed 

Guideway Capital Investment Program 

(New and Small Starts Projects and Core 

Capacity Projects) 

Projects proposed for section 5309 

Capital Investment Grants (CIG) 

program funds are required to follow a 

process defined in law. For New Starts 

and Core Capacity projects, this process 

includes three phases—project 

development (PD), engineering, and 

construction. For Small Starts projects, 

this process includes two phases—PD 

and construction. After receiving a letter 

from the project sponsor requesting 

entry into the PD phase, FTA must 

respond in writing within 45 days 

whether the information was sufficient 

for entry. If FTA’s correspondence 

indicates the information was sufficient 

and the New Starts, Small Starts or Core 

Capacity project may enter PD, FTA 

extends pre-award authority to the 

project sponsor to incur costs for PD 

activities. PD activities include the work 

necessary to complete the 

environmental review process and as 

much engineering and design activities 

as the project sponsor believes are 

necessary to support the environmental 

review process. Upon completion of the 

environmental review process for a New 

Starts, Small Starts, or Core Capacity 

Improvement project with a ROD, 

FONSI, or CE determination by FTA, 

FTA extends pre-award authority to 

project sponsors in PD to incur costs for 

as much engineering and design as 

needed to develop a reasonable cost 

estimate and financial plan for the 

project, utility relocation, and real 

property acquisition and associated 

relocations for any property acquisitions 

not already accomplished as a separate 

project for hardship or protective 

purposes or right-of-way under 49 

U.S.C. 5323(q). Upon receipt of a letter 

notifying a New Starts or Core Capacity 

project sponsor of the project’s approval 

into the engineering phase, FTA extends 

pre-award authority for any remaining 

engineering and design, demolition, 

vehicle purchases, and procurement of 

long lead items for which market 

conditions play a significant role in the 

acquisition price. The long lead items 

include, but are not limited to, 

procurement of rails, ties, and other 

specialized equipment, and 

commodities. Please contact the FTA 

Regional Office for a determination of 

activities not listed here, but which 

meet the intent described above. FTA 

provides this pre-award authority in 

recognition of the long-lead time and 

complexity involved with purchasing 

vehicles as well as their relationship to 

the ‘‘critical path’’ project schedule. 

FTA cautions grantees that do not 

currently operate the type of vehicle 

proposed in the project about exercising 

this pre-award authority. FTA 

encourages these sponsors to wait until 

later in the process when project plans 

are more fully developed. FTA reminds 

project sponsors that the procurement of 

vehicles must comply with all Federal 

requirements including, but not limited 

to, competitive procurement practices, 

the Americans with Disabilities Act, and 

Buy America. FTA encourages project 

sponsors to discuss the procurement of 

vehicles with FTA in regards to Federal 

requirements before exercising preaward authority. Because there is not a 

formal engineering phase for Small 

Starts projects, FTA does not extend 

pre-award authority for demolition, 

vehicle purchases and procurement of 

long lead items. Instead, this work must 

await receipt of a construction grant 

award. 

i. Real Property Acquisition 

As noted above, FTA extends preaward authority for the acquisition of 

real property and real property rights for 

fixed guideway capital investment 

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projects (New or Small Starts or Core 

Capacity) upon completion of the 

environmental review process for that 

project. The environmental review 

process is completed when FTA signs 

an environmental Record of Decision 

(ROD) or Finding of No Significant 

Impact (FONSI), or makes a Categorical 

Exclusion (CE) determination. With the 

limitations and caveats described below, 

real estate acquisition may commence, 

at the project sponsor’s risk. For FTAassisted projects, any acquisition of real 

property or real property rights must be 

conducted in accordance with the 

requirements of the Uniform Relocation 

Assistance and Real Property 

Acquisition Policies Act (URA) and its 

implementing regulations, 49 CFR part 

24. This pre-award authority is strictly 

limited to costs incurred: (i) To acquire 

real property and real property rights in 

accordance with the URA regulation, 

and (ii) to provide relocation assistance 

in accordance with the URA regulation. 

This pre-award authority is limited to 

the acquisition of real property and real 

property rights that are explicitly 

identified in the final environmental 

impact statement (FEIS), environmental 

assessment (EA), or CE document, as 

needed for the selected alternative that 

is the subject of the FTA-signed ROD or 

FONSI, or CE determination. This preaward authority regarding property 

acquisition that is granted at the 

completion of the environmental review 

process does not cover site preparation, 

demolition, or any other activity that is 

not strictly necessary to comply with 

the URA, with one exception. That 

exception is when a building that has 

been acquired, has been emptied of its 

occupants, and delaying demolition 

poses a potential fire safety hazard or 

other hazard to the community in which 

it is located, or is susceptible to 

reoccupation by vagrants. Demolition of 

the building is also covered by this preaward authority upon FTA’s written 

agreement that the adverse condition 

exists. Pre-award authority for property 

acquisition is also provided when FTA 

makes a CE determination for a 

protective buy or hardship acquisition 

in accordance with 23 CFR 

771.117(d)(12). Pre-award authority for 

property acquisition is also provided 

when FTA completes the environmental 

review process for the acquisition of 

right-of-way as a separate project in 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(q). 

Guidance on this approach to property 

acquisition is available on FTA’s Web 

site. 

When a tiered environmental review 

in accordance with 23 CFR 771.111(g) is 

used, pre-award authority is NOT 

provided upon completion of the first 

tier environmental document except 

when FTA signs the Tier-1 ROD or 

FONSI and explicitly provides such preaward authority for a particular 

identified acquisition. Project sponsors 

should use pre-award authority for real 

property acquisition relocation 

assistance with a clear understanding 

that it does not constitute a funding 

commitment by FTA. FTA provides preaward authority upon completion of the 

environmental review process for real 

property acquisition and relocation 

assistance to maximize the time 

available to project sponsors to move 

people out of their homes and places of 

business, in accordance with the 

requirements of the URA, but also with 

maximum sensitivity to the 

circumstances of the people so affected. 

ii. Reimbursement of Costs Incurred 

Under Pre-Award Authority 

Although FTA provides pre-award 

authority for property acquisition, long 

lead items, and vehicle purchases upon 

completion of the environmental review 

process, FTA will not make a grant to 

reimburse the sponsor for real estate 

activities, vehicle purchases or 

purchases of long lead items conducted 

under pre-award authority until the 

project receives its construction grant. 

This is to ensure that Federal funds are 

not risked on a project whose 

advancement into construction is still 

not yet assured. 

iii. National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) Activities 

NEPA requires that major projects 

proposed for FTA funding assistance be 

subjected to a public and interagency 

review of the need for the project, its 

environmental and community impacts, 

and alternatives to avoid and reduce 

adverse impacts. Projects of more 

limited scope also need a level of 

environmental review, either to support 

an FTA finding of no significant impact 

(FONSI) or to demonstrate that the 

action is categorically excluded (i.e., CE) 

from the more rigorous level of NEPA 

review. FTA’s regulation titled 

‘‘Environmental Impact and Related 

Procedures,’’ at 23 CFR part 771 states 

that a grant applicant’s costs for the 

preparation of environmental 

documents requested by FTA are 

eligible for FTA financial assistance (23 

CFR 771.105(e)). Accordingly, FTA 

extends pre-award authority for costs 

incurred to comply with NEPA 

regulations and to conduct NEPArelated activities, effective as of the 

earlier of the following two dates: (1) 

The date of the Federal approval of the 

relevant STIP or STIP amendment that 

includes the project or any phase of the 

project, or that includes a project 

grouping under 23 CFR 450.216(j) 

which includes the project; or (2) the 

date that FTA approves the project into 

project development. The grant 

applicant must notify the FTA Regional 

Office upon initiation of the Federal 

environmental review process in 

accordance with the FTA 

Administrator’s ‘‘Dear Colleague’’ letter 

the dated February 24, 2011. NEPArelated activities include, but are not 

limited to, public involvement 

activities, historic preservation reviews, 

section 4(f) evaluations, wetlands 

evaluations, endangered species 

consultations, and biological 

assessments. This pre-award authority is 

strictly limited to costs incurred to 

conduct the NEPA process and 

associated engineering, and to prepare 

environmental, historic preservation 

and related documents. When a New 

Starts, Small Starts, or Core Capacity 

project is granted pre-award authority 

for the environmental review process, 

the reimbursement for NEPA activities 

conducted under pre-award authority 

may be sought at any time through 

section 5307 (Urbanized Area Formula 

Program), section 5309, or the flexible 

highway programs (STP and CMAQ). As 

with any pre-award authority, FTA 

reimbursement for costs incurred is not 

guaranteed. 

iv. Other New and Small Starts and Core 

Capacity Project Activities Requiring 

Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) 

Except as discussed in paragraphs i 

through iii above, a major capital 

investment project sponsor must obtain 

a written LONP from FTA before 

incurring costs for any activity. To 

obtain an LONP, an applicant must 

submit a written request accompanied 

by adequate information and 

justification to the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office, as described in B 

below. 

B. Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) Policy 

1. Policy 

LONP authority allows an applicant 

to incur costs on a project utilizing nonFederal resources, with the 

understanding that the costs incurred 

subsequent to the issuance of the LONP 

may be reimbursable as eligible 

expenses or eligible for credit toward 

the local match should FTA approve the 

project at a later date. LONPs are 

applicable to projects and project 

activities not covered by automatic preaward authority. The majority of LONPs 

will be for section 5309 Capital 

Investment Grant (CIG) program (New or 

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Small Starts or Core Capacity) projects 

undertaking activities not covered under 

automatic pre-award authority. LONPs 

may be issued for formula and 

discretionary funds beyond the life of 

the current authorization or FTA’s 

extension of automatic pre-award 

authority, which, by way of this notice, 

has been extended until September 30, 

2017; however, the LONP is limited to 

a five-year period, unless otherwise 

authorized in the LONP. Recipients 

preparing to enter into contracts that 

assume federal funding beyond 

September 30, 2017, should contact 

their Regional Office to pursue a LONP. 

2. Conditions and Federal Requirements 

The conditions and requirements for 

pre-award authority specified in Section 

V.A.2 and V.A.3. above apply to all 

LONPs. Because project implementation 

activities may not be initiated before 

completion of the environmental review 

process, FTA will not issue an LONP for 

such activities until the environmental 

review process has been completed with 

a ROD, FONSI, or CE determination. 

3. Request for LONP 

Before incurring costs for project 

activities not covered by automatic preaward authority, the project sponsor 

must first submit a written request for 

an LONP, accompanied by adequate 

information and justification, to the 

appropriate Regional Office and obtain 

FTA’s written approval. FTA approval 

of an LONP is determined on a case-bycase basis. Receipt of Federal funding 

under the capital investment program is 

not implied or guaranteed by an LONP. 

C. FY 2015 Annual List of Certifications 

and Assurances 

On October 31, 2014, FTA published 

a Notice of Availability in the Federal 

Register stating that the FY 2015 

Certifications and Assurances are 

available on the FTA Web site at 

http://www.fta.dot.gov and in TEAMWeb at http://ftateamweb.fta.dot.gov. 

The FY 2015 Certifications and 

Assurances must be used for all grants 

and cooperative agreements awarded in 

FY 2015. All recipients with active 

projects are required to sign the FY 2015 

Certifications and Assurances within 90 

days after its publication. 

D. Civil Rights Requirements 

1. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 

(DBE) 

The Department of Transportation’s 

(DOT) Disadvantaged Business 

Enterprise (DBE) program is an 

affirmative action program designed to 

combat discrimination and its 

continuing effects by providing 

contracting opportunities on Federallyfunded highway, transit, and airport 

projects for small businesses owned and 

controlled by socially and economically 

disadvantaged individuals. Over the 

years, the Department has met or 

exceeded the national aspirational goal 

established by Congress in the statutes 

authorizing the program since 1983 and 

has made continuous program 

improvements. The Department’s 2014 

Final Rule, which went into effect on 

November 5, 2014, contains important 

improvements to the implementation 

and administration of the DBE program 

regulations. 

First, the Department revised its 

standard Uniform Certification 

application to remove unnecessary 

details (e.g., the phone number and 

address of applicant’s bank). The 

application now includes new items 

useful to certifiers such as State 

departments of transportation, transit 

authorities, and airports. For example, 

the Personal Net Worth form is an 

adaptation of the SBA Form 413 tailored 

to DBE program requirements. All 

applicants must use this simplified form 

to document the economic status of the 

disadvantaged owner(s). The spouse of 

a disadvantaged owner who is involved 

in the operation of the firm must also 

submit a personal net worth form with 

the application. 

Second, the Uniform Report of DBE 

Awards or Commitments and Payments 

captures data on minority womenowned DBEs and actual payments to 

DBEs during the reporting period. FTA 

recipients will continue reporting in 

TEAM until the new DBE reporting 

module is finalized in TrAMS, which 

we expect to be completed by the June 

1, 2015 reporting cycle. 

Third, MAP–21 requires State 

Departments of Transportation, on 

behalf of the Unified Certification 

Program, submit the percentage of DBEs 

in the state owned by non-minority 

women, minority women, and minority 

men. All reports must be submitted by 

January 1, 2015 to the USDOT 

Departmental Office of Civil Rights at 

DBE@dot.gov. 

Fourth, bidders/offerors that are 

required to submit DBE information for 

a DOT-assisted contract that contains a 

DBE goal must provide the information 

at the time of bid (as a matter of 

responsiveness) or no later than seven 

days after bid opening (as a matter of 

responsibility). The seven days period 

will be reduced to five days beginning 

January 1, 2017. The DBE information 

submitted must include the North 

American Industrial Classification 

System code applicable to the kind of 

work the DBE will perform on the 

contract, and, when a non-DBE 

subcontractor is selected over a DBE, 

copies of the quotes from each DBE and 

non-DBE subcontractor. The bidder/

offeror shall make copies of DBE 

subcontracts available upon request. In 

addition, the Final Rule provides 

additional examples of the ways to 

evaluate good faith efforts. A bidder/

offeror will not be deemed to 

demonstrate good faith if it rejects a 

DBE simply because it is not the low 

bidder, or if it is unable to find a 

replacement DBE at the original price, 

without more. When evaluating the 

efforts of the low bidder to meet the 

contract goal, recipients should review 

the performance of other bidders. 

Fifth, regarding transit vehicle 

manufacturers (TVMs), the Final Rule 

adds a definition for TVM that includes 

ferry boat manufacturers. Recipients 

purchasing ferries must ensure that they 

purchase from entities that have been 

approved by FTA and are therefore on 

FTA’s TVM Web page (http:// 

www.fta.dot.gov/12326_5626.html) or 

they have submitted a goal that has not 

been disapproved by FTA. Please 

contact your Regional Civil Rights 

Officers if you are unsure that the entity 

has submitted a DBE goal to FTA. FTA 

will develop a Memorandum of 

Understanding with the Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA) so 

ferry purchases with FHWA funding 

will also be subject to the TVM 

provisions (i.e., approved by FTA and 

listed on FTA’s TVM Web site). 

Sixth, recipients are advised that 

including DBE goals on federally 

assisted vehicle purchases, without 

FTA’s prior approval, is impermissible. 

All requests should be submitted to 

Britney Berry at britney.berry@dot.gov 

for FTA approval. 

Lastly, in order to provide appropriate 

flexibility in implementing TVM DBE 

provisions, FTA reminds recipients that 

overly prescriptive contract 

specifications on vehicle procurements 

eliminate opportunities for DBEs in 

vehicle manufacturing and counter the 

intent of the DBE program. FTA is 

acutely aware that recipients identify 

specific major system suppliers in the 

request for proposals (RFPs), which 

effectively excludes small businesses 

and DBEs from the most lucrative 

portion of the vehicle contract: The 

major systems. FTA urges recipients to 

explore ways that encourage TVMs and 

major systems suppliers to implement 

supplier diversity and development 

programs, which will assist TVMs in 

achieving their DBE goals. 

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2. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964 

The U.S. DOT’s Title VI implementing 

regulations are found in 49 CFR part 21. 

FTA’s Title VI Circular (4702.1B) 

provides guidance on carrying out the 

regulatory requirements. For recipients 

in urbanized areas of 200,000 or more in 

population and with 50 or more fixedroute vehicles in peak service, the 

recipient must conduct a service equity 

analysis for all service changes that 

meet the recipient’s definition of ‘‘major 

service change’’ prior to implementing 

the service change. Recipients also must 

conduct a fare equity analysis for all fare 

increases or decreases prior to 

implementing a fare change. 

Furthermore, an environmental justice 

analysis is not a substitute for a Title VI 

service equity analysis triggered by a 

major service change or fare change. As 

recipients prepare their budgets, it is 

vitally important that an appropriate 

major service change or fare change 

analysis is completed prior to taking the 

proposed action. Should you have any 

questions, please contact your Regional 

Civil Rights Officer. 

3. Americans With Disabilities Act 

(ADA) 

FTA has developed a 12 chapter 

Circular regarding recipient compliance 

with ADA requirements. A notice was 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 12, 2014, regarding the 

availability of seven chapters that are 

open for public comment. The comment 

period for these seven chapters was 

originally set to close on January 12, 

2015. At the request of the American 

Public Transit Association, FTA has 

extended the comment period for 

another 30 days or until February 12, 

2015. 

E. FHWA ‘‘Flex Funding’’ and 

Consolidated Planning Grants 

Certain Federal-aid highway program 

funds under the title 23 may be 

transferred or ‘‘flexed’’ to FTA for 

eligible Title 49, Chapter 53 purposes. 

These Title 23 programs include the 

Surface Transportation Program (23 

U.S.C. 133) (STP), the Transportation 

Alternatives Program (23 U.S.C. 101) 

(TAP), the Congestion Mitigation and 

Air Quality Improvement Program (23 

U.S.C. 149) (CMAQ), the National 

Highway Performance Program (23 

U.S.C. 119) (NHPP). 

1. Transferring Title 23 Funds From 

FHWA to FTA 

Section 104(f) of title 23 U.S.C. allows 

FHWA, at the request of the State, to 

transfer funds for transit capital projects 

and eligible operating activities that 

have been designated as part of the 

metropolitan and statewide planning 

and programming process. The project 

must be included in an approved STIP 

before the funds can be transferred. The 

State DOT may request, by letter, that 

the FHWA Division Office transfer 

highway funds for a transit project. The 

letter should include a description of 

the project as contained in the STIP, the 

amount to be transferred, the 

apportionment year, State, urbanized 

area, Federal-aid apportionment 

category (i.e., STP, CMAQ, TAP, NHPP) 

or other funding source, indication of 

the intended recipient and the FTA 

formula program (i.e., section 5307, 

5310, or 5311). As noted in the CMAQ 

paragraph below, requests to transfer 

CMAQ funding from FHWA to FTA 

must also clearly identify the amount to 

be used for operating assistance. 

Once a written request for transfer is 

received (using FHWA transfer request 

form 1576), if, upon review, the FHWA 

Division Office concurs in the transfer, 

it provides written confirmation to the 

State DOT and FTA that the 

apportionment amount is available for 

transfer. The FHWA Division Office 

provides the transfer request to the 

FHWA Office of Budget which transfers 

the funds to FTA. 

FHWA funds transferred to FTA will 

be administered under one of the three 

FTA formula programs (i.e., Urbanized 

Area Formula (section 5307), Formula 

Grants for the Enhanced Mobility of 

Seniors and Individuals with 

Disabilities (section 5310), or Formula 

Grants for Rural Areas (section 5311)). 

Unobligated balances for High Priority 

projects under Section 1702 of 

SAFETEA–LU or Transportation 

Improvement projects under Section 

1934 of SAFETEA–LU and other such 

funds for which Congress has identified 

a particular project that are transferred 

to FTA will be aligned with and 

administered through FTA’s Urbanized 

Area Formula Grant Program (section 

5307). Under 23 U.S.C. 104(f), FHWA 

funds transferred to FTA retain the same 

matching share that the funds would 

have if used for highway purposes and 

administered by FHWA. 

Transferred funds may be used for a 

capital transit purpose eligible under 

the FTA formula program to which they 

are transferred. MAP–21 revised the 

operating assistance eligibilities under 

CMAQ as described in Section 3 below. 

The FTA grantee’s application for the 

project must specify the program in 

which the funds will be used, and the 

application must be prepared in 

accordance with the requirements and 

procedures governing that program. 

Upon review and approval of the 

grantee’s application, FTA obligates 

funds for the project. 

In the event that the transferred funds 

are not obligated for the intended 

purpose within the period of availability 

of the formula program to which they 

were transferred, in most instances, they 

become available to the State for any 

eligible capital transit project under the 

program to which they were transferred. 

2. Matching Share for FHWA Transfers 

Pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 104(f)(1)(B), 

FHWA funds transferred to FTA retain 

the same matching share that the funds 

would have if used for highway 

purposes and administered by FHWA. 

For the STP, CMAQ, and TAP programs, 

this Federal share is generally 80 

percent, subject to upward adjustment 

in sliding scale States as noted below. 

For a period of time under SAFETEA– 

LU, CMAQ funds were available at a 

100 percent Federal share. Starting on 

October 1, 2012, the CMAQ Federal 

share generally will be 80 percent. 

There are a few instances in which a 

Federal share on funds transferred from 

FHWA can be higher than 80 percent. In 

States with large areas of Indian and 

certain public domain lands and 

national forests, parks and monuments, 

the local share for highway projects is 

determined by a sliding scale rate, 

calculated based on the percentage of 

public lands within that State. This 

sliding scale, which permits a greater 

Federal share, but not to exceed 95 

percent, is applicable to transfers used 

to fund transit projects in these public 

land States. FHWA develops the sliding 

scale matching ratios for the increased 

Federal share. Also, there may be 

instances where the applicable Federal 

share may be reduced to a lower Federal 

share than is generally applicable, such 

as under the NHPP where the Federal 

share must be reduced to a maximum of 

65 percent if the State DOT does not 

develop and implement an asset 

management plan. 

Certain safety projects or projects that 

include an air quality or congestion 

relief component such as commuter 

carpooling and vanpooling projects 

using FHWA transfer funds 

administered by FTA may retain the 

same 100 percent Federal share; 

however, these projects are subject to a 

limitation for each State of an amount 

equal to 10 percent of the sums 

apportioned for programs under 23 

U.S.C 104. 

For further guidance, please see 

FHWA Order, issued on August 12, 

2013 on ‘‘Fund Transfers to Other 

Agencies and Among Title 23 

Programs’’, which is available at 

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http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/ 

directives/orders/45511.pdf. 

3. CMAQ Funds for Operating 

Assistance 

The CMAQ program, at 23 U.S.C. 149, 

continues to provide a flexible funding 

source to State and local governments 

for transportation projects and programs 

to help achieve the goals of the Clean 

Air Act. Funding is available for 

projects that reduce congestion and 

improve air quality for areas that do not 

meet the National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards (NAAQS) for ozone, carbon 

monoxide, or particulate matter— 

nonattainment areas—and for areas that 

were out of compliance but have now 

met the standards—maintenance areas. 

Transit investments, including transit 

vehicle acquisitions and construction of 

new facilities or improvements to 

facilities that increase transit capacity 

may be eligible for CMAQ funds. For 

additional information on this program, 

refer to the Interim CMAQ Program 

Guidance under MAP–21 available at 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ 

air_quality/cmaq/. FHWA is 

considering comments received on its 

Notice of Interim Guidance issued in the 

Federal Register on November 12, 2013 

and will issue final guidance in the near 

future. (See 78 FR 67442–02.) 

Under limited circumstances, funds 

may also be used for operating 

assistance. Refer to the Revised Interim 

Guidance on CMAQ Operating 

Assistance under MAP–21 available at 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/

air_quality/cmaq, as well as the 

discussion in Section III.H in this 

notice, for additional information. 

As a reminder, all CMAQ transfer 

requests initiated by grantees to the 

MPO and State, and ultimately 

processed from FHWA to FTA, must 

clearly identify whether the CMAQ 

funds will be used for operating 

assistance or capital projects. Grantees 

must clearly identify the operating 

assistance amounts in the grant budget 

and, also, when requesting expenditures 

in ECHO-Web. 

4. Consolidated Planning Grants 

FTA and FHWA planning funds 

under both the Metropolitan Planning 

and State Planning and Research 

Programs can be consolidated into a 

single consolidated planning grant 

(CPG), awarded by either FTA or 

FHWA. The CPG eliminates the need to 

monitor individual fund sources, if 

several have been used, and ensures that 

the oldest funds will always be used 

first. Under the CPG, States can report 

metropolitan planning program 

expenditures (to comply with the Single 

Audit Act) for both FTA and FHWA 

under the Catalogue of Federal Domestic 

Assistance number for FTA’s 

Metropolitan Planning Program 

(20.505). Additionally, for States with 

an FHWA Metropolitan Planning (PL) 

fund-matching ratio greater than 80 

percent, FTA’s 20 percent local share 

requirement can be waived to allow 

FTA funds used for metropolitan 

planning in a CPG to be granted at the 

higher FHWA rate. For some States, this 

Federal match rate can exceed 90 

percent. 

States interested in transferring 

planning funds between FTA and 

FHWA should contact the FTA Regional 

Office or FHWA Division Office for 

more detailed procedures. Current 

guidelines are included in FHWA’s 

Order dated August 12, 2013, on ‘‘Fund 

Transfers to Other Agencies and Among 

Title 23 Programs’’, which is available at 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/

directives/orders/45511.pdf. 

For further information on CPGs, 

contact Ann Souvandara, Office of 

Budget and Policy, FTA, at (202) 366– 

0649. 

F. Grant Application Procedures 

All applications for FTA funds should 

be submitted to the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office. FTA utilizes TEAMWeb, an Internet-accessible electronic 

grant application system, and all 

applications are filed electronically. As 

noted in Section III of this notice, 

beginning in April, FTA will use the 

TrAMS system as a replacement to 

TEAM. 

FTA regional staff is responsible for 

working with grantees to review and 

process grant applications. In order for 

an application to be considered 

complete and for FTA to assign a grant 

number, enabling submission in TEAMWeb and submitted to Department of 

Labor (when applicable), the following 

requirements must be met: 

• Recipient’s contact information, 

including Dun and Bradstreet Data 

Universal Numbering System (DUNS), is 

correct and up-to-date. If requested by 

phone (1–866–705–5711), DUNS is 

provided immediately. If your 

organization does not have one, you will 

need to go to the Dun & Bradstreet Web 

site at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform 

to obtain the number. 

• Recipient has registered in the 

System for Award Management (SAM) 

and its registration is current. (https://

www.sam.gov) 

• Recipient has properly submitted 

its annual certifications and assurances. 

• Recipient’s Civil Rights 

submissions are current and approved. 

• Documentation is on file to support 

recipient’s status as either a designated 

recipient (for the program and area) or 

a direct recipient. 

• Funding is available, including any 

flexible funds included in the budget, 

and split letters or suballocation letters 

on file (where applicable) to support 

amount being applied for in grant 

application. 

• The project is listed in a currently 

approved Transportation Improvement 

Program (TIP); Statewide Transportation 

Improvement Program (STIP), or 

Unified Planning Work Program 

(UPWP). 

• All eligibility issues are resolved. 

• Required environmental findings 

are made. 

• The project budget’s Activity Line 

Items (ALI), scope, and project 

description meet FTA requirements. 

• Local share funding source(s) is 

identified. 

• For projects involving new 

construction (using at least $100 million 

in New Starts or formula funds), FTA 

has reviewed the project management 

plan and given approval. 

• Milestone information is complete, 

or FTA determines that milestone 

information can be finalized before the 

grant is ready for award. FTA will also 

review status of other open grants’ 

reports to confirm financial and 

milestone information is current on 

other open grants and projects. 

Before FTA can award grants for 

discretionary projects and activities, 

notification must be given to the House 

and Senate authorizing and 

appropriations committees. 

Other important issues that impact 

FTA grant processing activities are 

discussed below. 

1. Dun and Bradstreet Universal 

Numbering System (DUNS) Number and 

System for Award Management (SAM) 

Registration 

Each applicant or recipient of Federal 

Funds is required to: (1) Be registered in 

SAM before submitting its application; 

(2) provide a valid DUNS number in its 

application; and (3) continue to 

maintain an active SAM registration 

with current information at all times 

during which it has an active award or 

an application or plan under 

consideration by the Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA). FTA will not 

make an award to an applicant until the 

applicant has complied with all 

applicable DUNS and SAM 

requirements and, if an applicant has 

not fully complied with the 

requirements by the time the FTA is 

ready to make a Federal award, FTA 

may determine that the applicant is not 

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qualified to receive a Federal award and 

use that determination as a basis for 

making a Federal award to another 

applicant. 

The System for Award Management 

(SAM) https://www.sam.gov/portal/

SAM/ is the Official U.S. Government 

system that consolidated the capabilities 

of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS. There 

is no fee to register or use this site. 

Entities may register and update their 

information at no cost directly from the 

above site.’’ Your SAM registration 

(formerly CCR registration) needs to be 

renewed at least annually. 

2. Grant Budgets—SCOPE and ALI 

Codes; Financial Purpose Codes 

FTA uses the SCOPE and Activity 

Line Item (ALI) Codes in the grant 

budgets to track program trends, to 

report to Congress, and to respond to 

requests from the Inspector General and 

the Government Accountability Office 

(GAO), as well as to manage grants. The 

accuracy of the data is dependent on the 

careful and correct use of codes. FTA is 

in the process of revising the SCOPE 

and ALI table to include new codes for 

the newly eligible capital items, to 

better track certain expenditures, and to 

accommodate the new programs. FTA 

encourages grantees to review the table 

before selecting codes from the dropdown menus in TEAM-Web while 

creating a grant budget. Additional 

information about how to use the 

SCOPE and ALI codes to accurately 

code budgets will be added to the 

resources available through TEAM-Web. 

Under sections 5307 and 5311, FTA 

will continue to use the SCOPE 

established for job access and reverse 

projects (646–00) in order to track the 

use of these program funds for this 

eligible purpose. Similarly, for section 

5310 grants made with FY 2013 and 

later funds, FTA will continue to use 

the SCOPE established for ‘‘newfreedom’’ type projects (647–00). 

In addition to SCOPE and ALI codes, 

FTA uses financial purpose codes 

(FPCs) in TEAM to identify specific 

funding uses and track the actual 

obligations and expenditures of funds to 

a specific use, such as capital, planning, 

or operating. FPCs are identified at the 

time program funds are reserved and 

must be identified when a grantee 

requests a draw-down in ECHO-web. 

The available FPCs differ by program, 

based on the programs eligibility. For 

example, in a grant for a capital-only 

program (e.g. section 5337 or 5339), the 

funds would be obligated using FPC 00. 

Grantees should be aware that several 

new FPCs were introduced for MAP–21 

grants, particularly for section 5307, 

5310, and 5311 to track eligible uses like 

job access and reverse commute projects 

(FPC 03) and new-freedom projects (FPC 

03). Grantees should pay close attention 

to the FPCs used when their grants are 

obligated so they use the correct FPCs 

in their ECHO-Web requests. FTA will 

no longer use FPC codes in TRAMS. 

3. Designated and Direct Recipients, 

Documentation and Supplemental 

Agreements 

For its formula programs, FTA 

primarily apportions funds to the 

Designated Recipient in the large UZAs 

(areas over 200,000), or for areas under 

200,000 (small UZAs and rural areas), it 

apportions the funds to the Governor, or 

its designee (e.g., State DOT). 

Depending on the program and as 

described in the individual program 

sections found in Section IV of this 

notice, further suballocation of funds 

may be permitted to eligible recipients 

who can then apply directly to FTA for 

the funding (‘‘direct recipients’’), so 

long as the required documentation is 

on file. However, there are certain 

programs under MAP–21 whereby FTA 

will only award grants to the designated 

recipients for the area or program. These 

include sections 5310 and 5339. 

For the programs in which FTA can 

make grants to eligible direct recipients, 

other than the Designated Recipient(s), 

recipients are reminded that 

documentation must be on file to 

support the (1) status of the recipient 

either as a Designated Recipient or 

direct recipient; and (2) the allocation of 

funds to the direct recipient. 

Additionally, FTA requires a 

supplemental agreement to be pinned to 

the grant in TEAM-Web prior to grant 

execution. The supplemental agreement 

is required when the recipient of the 

funds is not the Designated Recipient. It 

permits the grant recipient (e.g., direct 

recipient) to receive and dispense the 

Federal funds and sets forth that the 

grant recipient is assuming all 

responsibilities of the grant agreement. 

Under MAP–21, with the exception of 

the new UZAs resulting from the 2010 

Census under the section 5307 program, 

the only program for which NEW 

designations are needed in the large 

urbanized areas before a grant can be 

made is section 5310. Before the first 

grant application in a large UZAs under 

section 5310 is submitted to FTA, the 

Governor must designate an agency 

charged with administering the 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities funds. This 

designation must be on file with the 

Regional Office prior to the award of 

any section 5310 grants in large UZAs. 

For all other programs, 

documentation to support existing 

designated recipients for the UZA must 

also be on file at the time of the first 

application in FY 2015. Further, split 

letters and/or suballocation letters 

(Governor’s Apportionment letters), 

must also be on file to support grant 

applications from direct recipients. 

4. Payments 

Once a grant has been awarded and 

executed, requests for payment can be 

processed. To process payments FTA 

uses ECHO-Web, an Internet accessible 

system that provides grantees the 

capability to submit payment requests 

on-line, as well as receive user-IDs and 

passwords via email. New applicants 

should contact the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office to obtain and submit the 

registration package necessary for set-up 

under ECHO-Web. 

5. Oversight 

FTA is responsible for conducting 

oversight activities to help ensure that 

grants recipients use FTA federal 

financial assistance in a manner 

consistent with their intended purpose 

and in compliance with regulatory and 

statutory requirements. FTA conducts 

periodic oversight reviews to assess 

grantee compliance with applicable 

Federal requirements. Each Urbanized 

Area Formula Program recipient is 

reviewed every three years, (also known 

as FTA’s Triennial Review); and States 

and state-wide public transportation 

agencies are reviewed periodically to 

assess the management practices and 

program implementation of FTA statewide programs (e.g., Planning, Rural 

Areas, Enhanced Mobility of Seniors 

and Individuals with Disabilities 

Programs). Other more detailed reviews 

are scheduled based on an annual 

grantee oversight assessment. Important 

objectives of FTA’s oversight program 

include, but are not limited to: 

Determining grantee compliance with 

Federal requirements; identifying 

technical assistance needs, and 

delivering technical assistance to meet 

those needs; spotting emerging issues 

with grantees in a forward-looking 

fashion; recognizing when there is a 

need for more in-depth reviews in the 

areas of procurement, financial 

management, and civil rights; and 

identifying grantees with recurring or 

systemic issues. 

6. Technical Assistance 

As noted throughout the notice, FTA 

continues to rely on several of the 

existing program circulars for general 

program guidance. FTA is continuing to 

update the program circulars, with an 

opportunity for notice and comment, to 

reflect changes under MAP–21. In the 

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7284 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2015 / Notices 

meantime, if you have any questions, 

please do not hesitate to contact FTA. 

FTA headquarters and regional staff will 

be pleased to answer your questions and 

provide any technical assistance you 

may need to apply for FTA program 

funds and manage the grants you 

receive. At its discretion, FTA may also 

use program oversight consultants to 

provide technical assistance to grantees 

on a case by case basis. This notice and 

the program guidance circulars 

previously identified in this document 

may be accessed via the FTA Web site 

at www.fta.dot.gov. 

G. Grant Management 

Recipients of FTA funds are reminded 

that all FTA grantees require some level 

of grant reporting and that it is critical 

to ensure reports demonstrate 

reasonable progress is being made on 

the project. At a minimum, all grants 

require a Federal Financial Report (FFR) 

and a Milestone Progress Report (MPR) 

on an annual basis, with some reports 

required quarterly depending on the 

recipient and the type of projects 

funded under the grant. The 

requirements for these reports and other 

reporting requirements can be found in 

FTA Circular 5010.1D, Grant 

Management Requirements, dated 

August 27, 2012. FTA staff, auditors, 

and contractors rely on the information 

provided in the FFR and MPR to review 

and report on the status of both 

financial and project-level activities 

contained in the grant. It is critical that 

recipients provide accurate and 

complete information in these reports 

and submit them by the required due 

date. Failure to report and/or 

demonstrate reasonable progress on 

projects can result in suspension or 

close-out of a grant. 

In FY 2015, FTA will continue to 

focus on inactive grants and grants that 

do not comply with reporting 

requirements and, if appropriate, will 

take action to close out and deobligate 

funds from these grants if reasonable 

progress is not being made. The efficient 

use of funds will further FTA’s 

fulfillment of its mission to provide 

efficient and effective public 

transportation systems for the nation. 

Furthermore, inactive grants continue 

to be a major audit finding within the 

Department of Transportation and FTA 

must take action to ensure its grants do 

not impact the Department not receiving 

a ‘‘clean audit’’ opinion on its annual 

financial statement audit. 

In October of 2014 FTA identified a 

list of grants that were awarded on or 

prior to September 30, 2011 and have 

had no funds disbursed since September 

30, 2012 or have never had a 

disbursement. 

FTA Regional Offices will be 

contacting grant recipients with one or 

more grants that meet this criteria to 

notify them that FTA intends to close 

the grant and deobligate any remaining 

funds unless the grantee can provide 

information that demonstrates that the 

projects funded by the grant remain 

active and the grantee has a realistic 

schedule to expedite completion of the 

projects funded in the grant. 

In addition, recipients of open 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act (ARRA) grants should be aware that, 

as a matter of law, all remaining ARRA 

funds MUST be disbursed from grants 

by the end of the 5th fiscal year (FY) 

after funds were required to be 

obligated. (SEE 31 U.S.C. 1552.) For 

FTA ARRA projects, that requirement 

takes affect at the end of FY 2015. 

Accordingly, once ECHO closes for 

disbursements in late September 2015, 

all remaining funds within FTA ARRA 

funded grants will no longer be 

available to the grantee and will be 

deobligated from the grant. Even if a 

grantee has incurred costs or disbursed 

funds prior to the close of ECHO, if the 

grantee has not actually drawn down 

the funds by the time ECHO closes in 

late September, FTA will be unable to 

reimburse the grantee. Therefore, 

grantees with open ARRA grants must 

ensure project activities are completed 

and all funds are drawdown before 

ECHO closes by late September 2015. 

For ARRA TIGER 1 projects, the same 

requirement will be in effect for the end 

of FY 2016. 

Therese McMillan, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02555 Filed 2–6–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

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