12528 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 

without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Please 

see the Privacy Act heading in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document for Privacy Act 

information related to any submitted 

comments or materials. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read the proposed FRA Guidance, 

background documents, or comments 

received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin MacWhorter, Attorney Advisor, 

Office of the Chief Counsel, telephone: 

(202) 641–8727, email: 

kevin.macwhorter@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1976, 

pursuant to the Railroad Revitalization 

and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (4R 

Act), representatives of the railroads and 

their employees agreed on ‘‘[f]air and 

equitable arrangements’’ to protect 

employees impacted by certain projects 

financed by the Federal Government. 

The Secretary of Labor adopted these 

protections in a letter to the Secretary of 

Transportation dated July 6, 1976. FRA 

has placed a copy of this letter and the 

accompanying protections in the docket 

for this guidance. In general, these 

protections provided that a railroad 

employee who is adversely affected by 

a project receiving certain financing 

from the Federal Government was 

entitled to receive a displacement 

allowance, and/or a dismissal 

allowance, among other benefits. 

Many of FRA’s current discretionary 

grant programs, including the 

Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and 

Safety Improvements Program and the 

Federal-State Partnership for State of 

Good Repair Program, are subject to the 

grant conditions described in section 

22905(c) of title 49, U.S.C. As relevant 

here, section 22905(c)(2)(B), requires 

grant applicants, for any grant for a 

project that uses rights-of-way owned by 

a railroad, to agree to comply with ‘‘the 

protective arrangements that are 

equivalent to the protective 

arrangements established under’’ the 4R 

Act. While this requirement is a 

condition of many FRA grants, it is not 

often applicable (as FRA’s grants do not 

typically cause an adverse impact to 

railroad employees). With that said, 

FRA developed the FRA Guidance to 

assist grantees and to facilitate 

compliance with these important 

protections. Once final, FRA intends to 

include the FRA Guidance as an 

appendix to all new grant and 

cooperative agreements subject to 

section 22905(c)(2)(B), and grantees will 

be required to ensure the inclusion of 

the FRA Guidance, as applicable, in all 

contracts for the FRA-funded project. 

Costs incurred to comply with the FRA 

Guidance and in a manner consistent 

with 2 CFR part 200 are eligible for 

reimbursement under the applicable 

grant. 

Section 22905(c)(2)(B) specifically 

requires protective arrangements 

‘‘equivalent’’ to those established under 

the 4R Act. As such, in the FRA 

Guidance, FRA did not deviate from the 

protections adopted by the Secretary of 

Labor in 1976. The FRA Guidance only 

seeks to clarify the protections and to 

ensure grant applicants understand 

them. FRA did not create new, or 

remove existing, protections. As noted, 

FRA has included a copy of the 

Secretary of Labor’s letter and the 

accompanying protections in the docket 

to facilitate review of the FRA 

Guidance. 

The FRA Guidance describes both 

procedural and substantive protections. 

The substantive protections include 

dismissal and displacement allowances 

and moving assistance, among other 

items included in the original 4R Act 

protections. The procedural protections 

include opportunities for employees (or 

their representatives) to engage in 

negotiations with respect to application 

of the protections. 

Privacy Act 

FRA may solicit comments from the 

public to better inform its guidance 

process. FRA posts these comments, 

without edit, including any personal 

information the commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

www.dot.gov/privacy. In order to 

facilitate comment tracking and 

response, we encourage commenters to 

provide their name, or the name of their 

organization; however, submission of 

names is completely optional. Whether 

or not commenters identify themselves, 

all timely comments will be fully 

considered. If you wish to provide 

comments containing proprietary or 

confidential information, please contact 

the agency for alternate submission 

instructions. 

Allison Ishihara Fultz, 

Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04530 Filed 3–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

FY 2022 Competitive Funding 

Opportunity: Low or No Emission 

Grant Program and the Grants for 

Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive 

Program 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity 

(NOFO). 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) announces the 

opportunity to apply for approximately 

$1.1 billion in competitive grants under 

the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Low or No 

Emission Grant Program (Low-No 

Program) (Federal Assistance Listing: 

20.526) and approximately $372 million 

in FY 2022 funds under the Grants for 

Buses and Bus Facilities Program (Buses 

and Bus Facilities Program) (Federal 

Assistance Listing 20.526), subject to 

availability of appropriated funding. 

DATES: Complete proposals must be 

submitted electronically through the 

GRANTS.GOV ‘‘APPLY’’ function by 

11:59 p.m. Eastern time on May 31, 

2022. Prospective applicants should 

initiate the process by registering on the 

GRANTS.GOV website promptly to 

ensure completion of the application 

process before the submission deadline. 

ADDRESSES: Instructions for applying 

can be found on FTA’s website at 

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

and in the ‘‘FIND’’ module of 

GRANTS.GOV. The funding 

opportunity ID is FTA–2022–001–TPM– 

LWNO for Low-No applications and 

FTA–2022–002–TPM–BUSC for Buses 

and Bus Facilities applications. Please 

note, if an application is choosing to 

apply to both programs, the applicant 

must submit a GRANTS.GOV package to 

each opportunity ID. Mail and fax 

submissions will not be accepted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information concerning this 

notice, please contact the Low-No/Bus 

grant program staff via email at 

ftalownobusnofo@dot.gov, or call Amy 

Volz at 202–366–7484. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

required by Federal public 

transportation law, Low or No Emission 

Grant Program funds will be awarded 

competitively for the purchase or lease 

of low or no emission vehicles that use 

advanced technologies for transit 

revenue operations, including related 

equipment or facilities. As required by 

Federal public transportation law, Buses 

and Bus Facilities Program funds will be 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 12529 

awarded competitively to assist in the 

financing of capital projects to replace, 

rehabilitate, purchase or lease buses and 

related equipment, and to rehabilitate, 

purchase, construct or lease bus-related 

facilities. Zero-emission projects will 

include costs for workforce 

development, unless the applicant 

certifies funds are not needed. In 

general, projects may include costs 

incidental to the acquisition of buses or 

to the construction of facilities, such as 

the costs of related workforce 

development and training activities, and 

project administration expenses. As 

these two programs have overlapping 

eligibilities and must be implemented 

on the same timeline as required by 

changes made by the Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law (enacted as the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), 

FTA is publishing this joint NOFO. Per 

Federal public transportation law, FTA 

will award grants for these programs 

within 75 days after the date this 

solicitation expires from funds available 

for award at that time. FTA may extend 

the application deadline, and may 

award additional funding that is made 

available to the programs prior to the 

announcement of project selections. If 

during FY2022, additional funding is 

made available for these programs after 

announcement of project selections, 

FTA may make additional awards under 

a separate NOFO. 

Table of Contents 

A. Program Description 

B. Federal Award Information 

C. Eligibility Information 

D. Application and Submission Information 

E. Application Review Information 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

H. Other Information 

A. Program Description 

This is a combined NOFO and 

announces the availability of FY 2022 

funding for both the Low-No and the 

Buses and Bus Facilities Program. 

Federal public transportation law (49 

U.S.C. 5339(c)) authorizes FTA to award 

grants for low or no emission bus 

projects through a competitive process, 

as described in this notice. The Low-No 

Program provides funding to State 

(including territories and Washington 

DC), local governmental authorities, and 

tribal governments for the purchase or 

lease of zero-emission and low-emission 

transit buses, including acquisition, 

construction, and leasing of required 

supporting facilities such as recharging, 

refueling, and maintenance facilities. 

Federal public transportation law (49 

U.S.C. 5339(b)) authorizes FTA to award 

grants for the Buses and Bus Facilities 

Program through a competitive process, 

as described in this notice. Grants under 

this program are for capital projects to 

replace, rehabilitate, purchase, or lease 

buses and related equipment, or to 

rehabilitate, purchase, construct, or 

lease bus-related facilities. 

These programs support FTA’s 

priorities and objectives through 

investments that (1) renew our transit 

systems; (2) reduce greenhouse gas 

emissions from public transportation, 

(3) advance racial equity, (4) maintain 

and create good-paying jobs with a free 

and fair choice to join a union, and (5) 

connect communities. These programs 

also support the President’s Building a 

Better America initiative to mobilize 

American ingenuity to build a modern 

infrastructure and an equitable, clean 

energy future. In addition, this NOFO 

will advance the goals of the President’s 

January 20, 2021, Executive Order 

14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at 

Home and Abroad and Executive Order 

13985, Advancing Racial Equity and 

Support for Underserved Communities 

Through the Federal Government. 

B. Federal Award Information 

Federal public transportation law (49 

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

$71,561,189 in FY 2022 for the Low-No 

Program. The 2021 Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law (BIL) (enacted as the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 

Pub. L. 117–58) appropriated an 

additional $1,029,000,000 for FY 2022 

grants, for a total of $1,100,561,189 for 

grants under the Low-No program, 

subject to the availability of FY 2022 

appropriated funding. Additional funds 

made available prior to project selection 

may be allocated to eligible projects. If 

during FY2022, additional funding is 

made available for this program after 

announcement of project selections, 

FTA may issue another NOFO and make 

additional awards. 

As required by Federal public 

transportation law (49 U.S.C. 

5339(c)(5)), a minimum of 25 percent of 

the amount awarded under the Low-No 

Program will be awarded to low 

emission projects other than zero 

emission vehicles and related facilities. 

In FY 2021, the program received 

applications for 187 projects requesting 

a total of $917 million. Forty-nine 

projects were funded at a total of $182 

million. 

Federal public transportation law (49 

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

$375,696,244 in FY 2022 funds for the 

Buses and Bus Facilities Program. After 

the oversight takedown of $3,354,431, 

FTA is announcing the availability of 

$372,341,813 for the Buses and Bus 

Facilities Program through this notice, 

subject to availability of FY 2022 

appropriated funding. Additional funds 

made available prior to project selection 

may be allocated to eligible projects. If 

during FY2022, additional funding is 

made available for this program after 

announcement of project selections, 

FTA may make additional awards under 

a separate NOFO. 

As required by Federal public 

transportation law at 49 U.S.C. 

5339(b)(5), a minimum of 15 percent of 

the amount awarded under the Buses 

and Bus Facilities Program will be 

awarded to projects located in rural 

areas. As required by 49 U.S.C. 

5339(b)(8), no single grant recipient will 

be awarded more than 10 percent of the 

amount made available. In FY 2020, the 

program received applications for 282 

projects requesting a total of $1.8 

billion. Ninety-six projects were funded 

at a total of $464 million. 

An applicant may submit a low or no 

emissions project to both the Buses and 

Bus Facilities Program and the Low-No 

Program, or submit the project only to 

the Low-No Program or only to the 

Buses and Bus Facilities Program. If a 

project submitted for consideration 

under both programs is selected for 

funding, FTA will exercise its discretion 

to determine under which program the 

project will receive an award. Please 

note if submitting to both programs, a 

separate application package must be 

submitted to each opportunity ID for the 

respective program listed on 

GRANTS.GOV. 

FTA may cap the amount a single 

recipient or State may receive as part of 

the selection process for either program. 

FTA will grant pre-award authority to 

incur costs for selected projects 

beginning on the date FY 2022 project 

selections are announced on FTA’s 

website. Funds are available for 

obligation for three fiscal years after the 

fiscal year in which the competitive 

awards are announced. Funds are 

available only for eligible costs incurred 

after announcement of project 

selections. FTA intends to fund as many 

meritorious projects as possible. 

C. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants 

Eligible applicants for the Low or No 

Emission Program include designated 

recipients, States (including territories 

and Washington DC), local 

governmental authorities, and Indian 

tribes. Proposals for funding projects in 

rural (non-urbanized) areas, defined as 

an area encompassing a population of 

less than 50,000 people that has not 

been designated in the most recent 

decennial census as an ‘‘urbanized area’’ 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
12530 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 

by the Secretary of Commerce may be 

submitted as part of a consolidated State 

proposal. To be considered eligible, 

applicants must be able to demonstrate 

the requisite legal, financial, and 

technical capabilities to receive and 

administer Federal funds under this 

program. Assistance on this requirement 

is available from FTA’s Regional 

Offices. 

Eligible applicants for the Buses and 

Bus Facilities Program include 

designated recipients that allocate funds 

to fixed route bus operators, States 

(including territories and Washington 

DC) or local governmental entities that 

operate fixed route bus service, and 

Indian tribes. Eligible subrecipients 

include all otherwise eligible applicants 

and also private nonprofit organizations 

engaged in public transportation. 

Except for projects proposed by 

Indian tribes, all proposals for projects 

in rural (non-urbanized) areas must be 

submitted by a State, either individually 

or as a part of a statewide application. 

States and other eligible applicants also 

may submit consolidated proposals for 

projects in urbanized areas. The 

submission of a statewide or 

consolidated urbanized area application 

does not preclude any other eligible 

recipients in an urbanized area or in a 

State from also submitting a separate 

application. Proposals may contain 

projects to be implemented by the 

recipient or its subrecipients. 

As permitted under Federal public 

transportation law (49 U.S.C. 

5339(b)(10), (c)(8)), an applicant 

proposing a low or no emission project 

under both the Buses and Bus Facilities 

Program and the Low-No Program, or an 

applicant proposing only a low or no 

emission project under the Low-No 

program, may include partnerships with 

other entities that intend to participate 

in the implementation of the project, 

including, but not limited to, specific 

vehicle manufacturers, equipment 

vendors, owners or operators of related 

facilities, or project consultants. If an 

application that involves such a 

partnership is selected for funding, the 

project will be deemed to satisfy the 

requirement for a competitive 

procurement under 49 U.S.C. 5325(a) for 

the named entities. Applicants are 

advised that any changes to the 

proposed partnership will require FTA 

written approval, must be consistent 

with the scope of the approved project, 

and may necessitate a competitive 

procurement. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching 

The maximum Federal share for 

projects that involve leasing or 

acquiring transit buses (including clean 

fuel or alternative fuel vehicles) for 

purposes of complying with or 

maintaining compliance with the Clean 

Air Act (CAA) or the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is 85 

percent of the net project cost. 

The maximum Federal share for the 

cost of acquiring, installing, or 

constructing vehicle-related equipment 

or facilities (including clean fuel or 

alternative fuel vehicle-related 

equipment or facilities) for purposes of 

complying with or maintaining 

compliance with the CAA or ADA is 90 

percent of the net project cost of such 

equipment or facilities that are 

attributable to compliance with the CAA 

or ADA. The award recipient must 

itemize the cost of specific, discrete, 

vehicle-related equipment associated 

with compliance with the CAA to be 

eligible for the maximum 90 percent 

Federal share for these costs. 

The Federal share of the cost of other 

projects shall not exceed 80 percent. 

Eligible sources of match include the 

following: Cash from non-Government 

sources other than revenues from 

providing public transportation 

services; revenues derived from the sale 

of advertising and concessions; amounts 

received under a service agreement with 

a State or local social service agency or 

private social service organization; 

revenues generated from value capture 

financing mechanisms; funds from an 

undistributed cash surplus; replacement 

or depreciation cash fund or reserve; 

new capital; or in-kind contributions. 

Transportation development credits or 

in-kind match may be used for local 

match if identified and documented in 

the application. 

3. Eligible Projects 

Under the Low-No Program (49 U.S.C. 

5339(c)), eligible projects include 

projects or programs of projects in an 

eligible area for: (1) Purchasing or 

leasing low or no emission buses; (2) 

acquiring low or no emission buses with 

a leased power source; (3) constructing 

or leasing facilities and related 

equipment for low or no emission buses; 

(4) constructing new public 

transportation facilities to accommodate 

low or no emission buses; or (5) 

rehabilitating or improving existing 

public transportation facilities to 

accommodate low or no emission buses 

(49 U.S.C. 5339(c)(1)(B)). As required by 

Federal public transportation law (49 

U.S.C. 5339(c)(5)), FTA will consider 

only eligible projects relating to the 

acquisition or leasing of low or no 

emission buses or bus facilities that 

make greater reductions in energy 

consumption and harmful emissions 

than comparable standard buses or other 

low or no emission buses. A single 

application may include both vehicle 

and facility components, along with 

associated equipment and workforce 

development plans. 

A low or no emission bus is defined 

as a passenger vehicle used to provide 

public transportation that sufficiently 

reduces energy consumption or harmful 

emissions, including direct carbon 

emissions, when compared to a 

standard vehicle. The statutory 

definition includes zero emission transit 

buses, which are defined as buses that 

produce no direct carbon emissions and 

no particulate matter emissions under 

any and all possible operational modes 

and conditions. Examples of zero 

emission bus technologies include, but 

are not limited to, hydrogen fuel-cell 

buses, battery-electric buses, and rubber 

tire trolley buses powered by overhead 

catenaries. All new transit bus models 

must successfully complete FTA bus 

testing for production transit buses 

pursuant to FTA’s Bus Testing 

regulation (49 CFR part 665) in order to 

be procured with funds awarded under 

the Low-No Program. All transit 

vehicles must be procured from certified 

transit vehicle manufacturers in 

accordance with the Disadvantaged 

Business Enterprise (DBE) regulations 

(49 CFR part 26). The development or 

deployment of prototype vehicles is not 

eligible for funding under the Low-No 

Program. 

Eligible projects for the Buses and Bus 

Facilities Program include capital 

projects to replace, rehabilitate, 

purchase, or lease buses, vans, or related 

equipment; or to rehabilitate, purchase, 

construct, or lease bus-related facilities 

regardless of propulsion type or 

emissions. A single application may 

include both vehicle and facility 

components, along with associated 

equipment and workforce development 

activities. 

Recipients are permitted to use up to 

0.5 percent of their requested grant 

award for workforce development 

activities eligible under Federal public 

transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5314(b)), 

including on-the-job training, labormanagement partnership training, and 

registered apprenticeships, and an 

additional 0.5 percent for costs 

associated with training at the National 

Transit Institute. 

For applicants proposing projects 

related to zero-emission vehicles for 

either program, 5 percent of the 

requested Federal award must be used 

for workforce development to retrain the 

existing workforce and develop the 

workforce of the future, including 

registered apprenticeships and other 

joint labor-management training 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 12531 

programs, as outlined in the applicant’s 

Zero-Emission Transition Plan (see 

Section E(1)(c) of this notice), unless the 

applicant certifies via the application 

that less funding is needed to carry out 

the Plan. Applicants must identify the 

proposed use of funds for these 

activities in the project proposal and 

identify them separately in the project 

budget. These amounts are additional, 

not a take-down, from other eligible 

project expenses. For example, if the 

total capital costs of the vehicles and 

equipment was $95,000, an additional 

$5,000 should be included in the budget 

for these expenses for a total project cost 

of $100,000. Applicants are encouraged 

to discuss training needs with their 

workforce and to develop training plans 

in collaboration with unions and other 

workforce representatives, as well as 

with workforce boards, community 

colleges, and other workforce 

organizations. Applicants that propose 

not to use the full five percent available 

must include an explanation as to why 

the funds are not needed. Absent an 

explanation, a zero-emission application 

that does not include 5 percent of its 

project budget for workforce 

development will be deemed ineligible. 

If a single project proposal involves 

multiple public transportation 

providers, such as when an agency 

acquires vehicles that will be operated 

by another agency, the proposal must 

include a detailed statement regarding 

the role of each public transportation 

provider in the implementation of the 

project. 

D. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address To Request Application 

Package 

Applications must be submitted 

electronically through GRANTS.GOV. 

General information for accessing and 

submitting applications through 

GRANTS.GOV can be found at 

www.fta.dot.gov/howtoapply along with 

specific instructions for the forms and 

attachments required for submission. 

Mail or fax submissions of completed 

proposals will not be accepted. A 

complete proposal submission for each 

program consists of two forms: The SF– 

424 Application for Federal Assistance 

(available at GRANTS.GOV) and the 

supplemental form for the FY 2022 

Low-No and Buses and Bus Facilities 

Programs (downloaded from 

GRANTS.GOV or the FTA website at 

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

grants/lowno). The same supplemental 

form will be used to apply to either 

program or both programs. However, 

please note that if an applicant is 

applying to both programs they must 

submit the materials through each of the 

GRANTS.GOV opportunity ID’s listed 

for each program. Failure to submit the 

information as requested can delay 

review or disqualify the application. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

a. Proposal Submission 

A complete proposal submission for 

each program consists of two forms: (1) 

The SF–424 Application for Federal 

Assistance; and (2) the supplemental 

form for the FY 2022 Low-No and Buses 

and Bus Facilities Programs. The 

supplemental form and any supporting 

documents must be attached to the 

‘‘Attachments’’ section of the SF–424. 

The application must include responses 

to all sections of the SF–424 

Application for Federal Assistance and 

the supplemental form, unless indicated 

as optional. The information on the 

supplemental form will be used to 

determine applicant and project 

eligibility for the program, and to 

evaluate the proposal against the 

selection criteria described in part E of 

this notice. 

FTA will accept only one 

supplemental form per SF–424 

submission. FTA encourages States and 

other applicants to consider submitting 

a single supplemental form that 

includes multiple activities to be 

evaluated as a consolidated proposal. If 

a State or other applicant chooses to 

submit separate proposals for individual 

consideration by FTA, each proposal 

must be submitted using a separate SF– 

424 and supplemental form. 

Applicants may attach additional 

supporting information to the SF–424 

submission, including but not limited to 

letters of support, project budgets, fleet 

status reports, or excerpts from relevant 

planning documents. Applicants for 

zero-emission projects must attach the 

fleet transition plan. Any supporting 

documentation must be described and 

referenced by file name in the 

appropriate response section of the 

supplemental form, or it may not be 

reviewed. 

Information such as applicant name, 

Federal amount requested, local match 

amount, description of areas served, etc. 

may be requested in varying degrees of 

detail on both the SF–424 and 

supplemental form. Applicants must fill 

in all fields unless stated otherwise on 

the forms. If information is copied into 

the supplemental form from another 

source, applicants should verify that 

pasted text is fully captured on the 

supplemental form and has not been 

truncated by the character limits built 

into the form. Applicants should use 

both the ‘‘Check Package for Errors’’ and 

the ‘‘Validate Form’’ validation buttons 

on both forms to check all required 

fields on the forms, and ensure that the 

Federal and local amounts specified are 

consistent. Applicants should enter 

their information in the supplemental 

form (fillable PDF) that is made 

available on FTA’s website or through 

the GRANTS.GOV application package, 

and should attach this to the application 

in its original format. Applicants should 

not use scanned versions of the form, 

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

create a version using another text 

editor, etc. 

b. Application Content 

The SF–424 Application for Federal 

Assistance and the supplemental form 

will prompt applicants for the required 

information, including: 

i. Applicant name 

ii. Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data 

Universal Numbering System 

(DUNS) number 

iii. Key contact information (including 

contact name, address, email 

address, and phone) 

iv. Congressional district(s) where 

project will take place 

v. Project information (including title, 

an executive summary, and type) 

vi. A detailed description of the need for 

the project 

vii. A detailed description on how the 

project will support either 

Program’s objectives 

viii. Evidence that the project is 

consistent with local and regional 

planning documents 

ix. Evidence that the applicant can 

provide the local cost share 

x. A description of the technical, legal, 

and financial capacity of the 

applicant 

xi. A detailed project budget 

xii. An explanation of the scalability of 

the project 

xiii. Details on the local matching funds 

xiv. A detailed project timeline 

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System 

for Award Management (SAM) 

Each applicant is required to: (1) Be 

registered in SAM before submitting an 

application; (2) provide a valid unique 

entity identifier in its application; and 

(3) continue to maintain an active SAM 

registration with current information at 

all times during which the applicant has 

an active Federal award or an 

application or plan under consideration 

by FTA. These requirements do not 

apply if the applicant has an exemption 

approved by FTA pursuant to 2 CFR 

25.110(c), or is otherwise excepted from 

registration requirements. FTA may not 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
12532 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 

make an award until the applicant has 

complied with all applicable unique 

entity identifier and SAM requirements. 

If an applicant has not fully complied 

with the requirements by the time FTA 

is ready to make an award, FTA may 

determine that the applicant is not 

qualified to receive an award and use 

that determination as a basis for making 

a Federal award to another applicant. 

All applicants must provide a unique 

entity identifier provided by SAM. 

Registration in SAM may take as little 

as 3–5 business days, but since there 

could be unexpected steps or delays (for 

example, if there is a need to obtain an 

Employer Identification Number), FTA 

recommends allowing ample time, up to 

several weeks, for completion of all 

steps. For additional information on 

obtaining a unique entity identifier, 

please visit www.sam.gov. 

4. Submission Dates and Times 

Project proposals must be submitted 

electronically through GRANTS.GOV by 

11:59 p.m. Eastern time on May 31, 

2022. GRANTS.GOV attaches a time 

stamp to each application at the time of 

submission. Proposals submitted after 

the deadline will only be considered 

under extraordinary circumstances not 

under the applicant’s control. Mail and 

fax submissions will not be accepted. 

Within 48 hours after submitting an 

electronic application, the applicant 

should receive an email message from 

GRANTS.GOV with confirmation of 

successful transmission to 

GRANTS.GOV. If a notice of failed 

validation or incomplete materials is 

received, the applicant must address the 

reason for the failed validation, as 

described in the email notice, and 

resubmit before the submission 

deadline. If making a resubmission for 

any reason, include all original 

attachments regardless of which 

attachments were updated and check 

the box on the supplemental form 

indicating this is a resubmission. 

FTA urges applicants to submit 

applications at least 72 hours prior to 

the due date to allow time to receive the 

validation messages and to correct any 

problems that may have caused a 

rejection notification. GRANTS.GOV 

scheduled maintenance and outage 

times are announced on the 

GRANTS.GOV website. Deadlines will 

not be extended due to scheduled 

website maintenance. 

Applicants are encouraged to begin 

the process of registration on the 

GRANTS.GOV site well in advance of 

the submission deadline. Registration is 

a multi-step process, which may take 

several weeks to complete before an 

application can be submitted. Registered 

applicants may still be required to take 

steps to keep their registrations up to 

date before submissions can be made 

successfully. For example, (1) 

registration in SAM is renewed 

annually, and (2) persons making 

submissions on behalf of the Authorized 

Organization Representative (AOR) 

must be authorized in GRANTS.GOV by 

the AOR to make submissions. 

5. Funding Restrictions 

Funds under this NOFO cannot be 

used to reimburse applicants for 

otherwise eligible expenses incurred 

prior to FTA award of a grant agreement 

until FTA has issued pre-award 

authority for selected projects. FTA will 

issue pre-award authority to incur costs 

for selected projects beginning on the 

date that project selections are 

announced. FTA does not provide preaward authority for competitive funds 

until projects are selected, and even 

then, there are Federal requirements 

that must be met before costs are 

incurred. FTA will issue specific 

guidance to awardees regarding preaward authority at the time of selection. 

For more information about FTA’s 

policy on pre-award authority, please 

see the most recent Apportionment 

Notice on FTA’s website. Refer to 

Section C.3., Eligible Projects, for 

information on activities that are 

allowable in this grant program. 

Allowable direct and indirect expenses 

must be consistent with the 

Governmentwide Uniform 

Administrative Requirements and Cost 

Principles (2 CFR part 200) and FTA 

Circular 5010.1E. Funds may not be 

used to support or oppose union 

organizing. 

6. Other Submission Requirements 

All applications must be submitted 

via the GRANTS.GOV website. FTA 

does not accept applications on paper, 

by fax machine, email, or other means. 

For information on application 

submission requirements, please see 

Section D.1. of this notice, Address to 

Request Application. 

E. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria 

Projects will be evaluated primarily 

on the responses provided in the 

supplemental form. Additional 

information may be provided to support 

the responses; however, any additional 

documentation must be directly 

referenced on the supplemental form, 

including the file name where the 

additional information can be found. 

FTA will evaluate proposals based on 

the criteria described in this notice. 

Applicants are encouraged to identify 

scaled funding options in case 

insufficient funding is available to fund 

a project at the full requested amount. 

If an applicant indicates that a project 

is scalable, the applicant must provide 

an appropriate minimum funding 

amount that will fund an eligible project 

that achieves the objectives of the 

program and meets all relevant program 

requirements. The applicant must 

provide a clear explanation of how the 

project budget would be affected by a 

reduced award. FTA may award a lesser 

amount regardless of whether a scalable 

option is provided. 

If an applicant is proposing to deploy 

autonomous vehicles or other 

innovative motor vehicle technology, 

the application should demonstrate that 

all vehicles will comply with applicable 

safety requirements, including those 

administered by the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 

and Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA). Specifically, 

the application should show that 

vehicles acquired for the proposed 

project will comply with applicable 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 

(FMVSS) and Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Regulations (FMCSR). If the 

vehicles may not comply, the 

application should either (1) show that 

the vehicles and their proposed 

operations are within the scope of an 

exemption or waiver that has already 

been granted by NHTSA, FMCSA, or 

both agencies or (2) directly address 

whether the project will require 

exemptions or waivers from the FMVSS, 

FMCSR, or any other regulation and, if 

the project will require exemptions or 

waivers, present a plan for obtaining 

them. FTA will also consider the extent 

to which the application presents a plan 

to address workforce impacts of 

autonomous vehicles or other 

innovative motor vehicle technology. 

a. Demonstration of Need 

Since the purpose of these programs 

is to fund vehicles and facilities, 

applications will be evaluated based on 

the quality and extent to which they 

demonstrate how the proposed project 

will address an unmet need for capital 

investment in vehicles and/or 

supporting facilities. For example, an 

applicant may demonstrate that it 

requires additional or improved 

charging or maintenance facilities for 

low or no emission vehicles, that it 

intends to replace existing vehicles that 

have exceeded their minimum useful 

life, or that it requires additional 

vehicles to meet current ridership 

demands or expand services to better 

connect underserved communities. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 12533 

FTA will consider an applicant’s 

responses to the following criteria when 

assessing the need for capital 

investment underlying the proposed 

project: 

For bus projects (replacement or 

expansion): For replacement requests, 

applicants must provide information on 

the age, condition, and performance of 

the vehicles to be replaced by the 

proposed project. Vehicles to be 

replaced must have met their minimum 

useful life at the time of project 

completion. For service expansion 

requests, applicants must provide 

information on the proposed service 

expansion and the benefits for transit 

riders and the community from the new 

service. For all vehicle projects, the 

proposal must address whether the 

project conforms to FTA’s spare ratio 

guidelines. Vehicles funded under these 

programs are not exempt from FTA’s 

standard spare ratio requirements, 

which apply to and are calculated based 

on the agency’s entire fleet. Applicants 

that are introducing zero emission 

vehicles into their fleet may consider 

including vehicles that have already met 

their minimum useful life in a 

contingency fleet, which is not included 

in the spare ratio calculation. 

Additionally, applicants who may need 

to exceed the spare ratio for a temporary 

period are encouraged to work with 

their FTA Regional Office to determine 

what flexibilities may be afforded to 

them and include reference to that in 

their application. 

For bus facility and equipment 

projects (replacement, rehabilitation, or 

expansion): For replacement requests, 

applicants must provide information on 

the age and condition of the asset to be 

rehabilitated or replaced relative to its 

minimum useful life. For expansion 

requests, applicants must provide 

information on the proposed expansion 

and the reason that transit riders and the 

community need the expansion. 

b. Demonstration of Benefits 

i. Low or No Emissions Program 

Applicants to the Low-No Program 

must demonstrate how the proposed 

project will support the statutory 

requirements of the Low-No Program 

(See 49 U.S.C. 5339(c)(5)(A)). In 

particular, FTA will consider the quality 

and extent to which applications 

demonstrate how the proposed project 

will: (1) Reduce Energy Consumption; 

(2) Reduce Harmful Emissions; and (3) 

Reduce Direct Carbon Emissions. 

Reduce Energy Consumption: 

Applicants must describe how the 

proposed project will reduce energy 

consumption. FTA will evaluate 

applications based on the degree to 

which the proposed technology reduces 

energy consumption as compared to 

comparable standard vehicle propulsion 

technologies. 

Reduce Harmful Emissions: 

Applicants must demonstrate how the 

proposed vehicles or facility will reduce 

the emission of particulates that create 

local air pollution, which leads to local 

environmental health concerns, smog, 

and unhealthy ozone concentrations. 

FTA will evaluate the rate of particulate 

emissions by the proposed vehicles or 

vehicles to be supported by the 

proposed facility, compared to the 

emissions from the vehicles that will be 

replaced or moved to the contingency 

fleet as a result of the proposed project, 

as well as comparable standard buses. 

Reduce Direct Carbon Emissions: 

Applicants should demonstrate how the 

proposed vehicles or facility will reduce 

emissions of greenhouse gases from 

transit vehicle operations. FTA will 

evaluate the rate of direct carbon 

emissions by the proposed vehicles or 

vehicles to be supported by the 

proposed facility, compared to the 

emissions from the vehicles that will be 

replaced or moved to the contingency 

fleet as a result of the proposed project, 

as well as comparable standard buses. 

ii. Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities 

Program 

Applicants to the Buses and Bus 

Facilities Program will be evaluated 

based on how well they describe how 

the proposed project will improve the 

condition of, or otherwise modernize, 

the transit system; improve the 

reliability of transit service for its riders; 

improve the resilience of transit 

facilities, enhance access and mobility 

within the service area, particularly for 

low-income or underserved 

communities; and expand accessibility 

for people with disabilities. 

System Condition: FTA will evaluate 

the potential for replacement projects to 

improve the condition of the transit 

system by repairing or replacing assets 

that are in poor condition or have 

surpassed their minimum or intended 

useful life benchmarks. Applicants may 

describe the benefits of reducing 

breakdowns and service interruptions, 

mitigating safety risks, increasing 

service performance, improving 

resilience, and/or reducing the cost of 

maintaining outdated vehicles, facilities 

and equipment. 

Enhanced Access and Mobility: FTA 

will evaluate the potential for expansion 

projects to improve access and mobility 

for the transit riding public, particularly 

for low-income and underserved 

communities and people with 

disabilities, including improved 

headways, creation of new 

transportation choices, or eliminating 

gaps in the current route network. 

Proposed benefits should be based on 

documented ridership demand, based 

on indicators like area population 

density, employment served, and 

existing and planned affordable housing 

in the corridor, and be well-described or 

documented through a study or route 

planning proposal. 

Applicants that intend to apply to 

both programs must submit information 

that addresses the requirements of both 

programs as described above. 

c. Planning and Local or Regional 

Prioritization 

Applicants must demonstrate how the 

proposed project is consistent with local 

and regional long-range planning 

documents and local government 

priorities. FTA will evaluate 

applications based on the quality and 

extent to which they assess whether the 

project is consistent with the transit 

priorities identified in the long-range 

plan for all proposals; contingency or 

illustrative projects included in that 

plan; or the locally developed human 

services public transportation 

coordinated plan. Applicants may 

submit copies of the relevant pages of 

such plans to support their application. 

FTA will consider how the project will 

support regional goals and applicants 

may submit support letters from local 

and regional planning organizations 

attesting to the consistency of the 

proposed project with these plans. 

Evidence of additional local or 

regional prioritization may include 

letters of support for the project from 

local government officials, public 

agencies, and non-profit or private 

sector supporters. 

Applicants may also address how the 

proposed project will impact overall 

system performance, asset management 

performance, or specific performance 

measures tracked and monitored by the 

applying entity to demonstrate how the 

proposed project will address local and 

regional planning priorities. 

For applications related to zeroemission vehicles under either the LowNo or Buses and Bus Facilities 

programs, applicants are required by 

law (49 U.S.C. 5339(c)(3)(D)) to submit 

a Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan. 

This plan must be a separate document 

from other local or regional planning 

documents and must: (1) Demonstrate a 

long-term fleet management plan with a 

strategy for how the applicant intends to 

use the current application and future 

acquisitions; (2) address the availability 

of current and future resources to meet 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
12534 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 

costs for the transition and 

implementation; (3) consider policy and 

legislation impacting relevant 

technologies; (4) include an evaluation 

of existing and future facilities and their 

relationship to the technology 

transition; (5) describe the partnership 

of the applicant with the utility or 

alternative fuel provider; and (6) 

examine the impact of the transition on 

the applicant’s current workforce by 

identifying skill gaps, training needs, 

and retraining needs of the existing 

workers of the applicant to operate and 

maintain zero emission vehicles and 

related infrastructure and avoid the 

displacement of the existing workforce. 

FTA intends to continue to develop 

technical assistance resources to assist 

transit agencies in developing fleet 

transition plans. As a first step, FTA has 

worked with the Transit Workforce 

Center to develop a template that transit 

agencies may use related to the 

workforce section of the fleet transition 

plan. That template will be available at: 

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

grants/lowno. For agencies with smaller 

fleets, a fleet transition plan need not be 

complex and should be tailored as 

applicable, but it still must address all 

six elements. For applications from 

State departments of transportation, the 

state may either provide a fleet 

transition plan that covers some or all 

of the subrecipients, attach individual 

plans developed by the subrecipients, or 

a combination of both. FTA will rate a 

zero-emission project higher than other 

zero-emission projects if the applicant is 

able to demonstrate how the proposed 

project and fleet transition plan support 

the conversion of the agency’s overall 

fleet to zero emissions. 

d. Local Financial Commitment 

Applicants must identify the source of 

the local cost share and describe 

whether such funds are currently 

available for the project or will need to 

be secured if the project is selected for 

funding. FTA will consider the 

availability of the local cost share as 

evidence of local financial commitment 

to the project. Applicants should submit 

evidence of the availability of funds for 

the project; for example, by including a 

board resolution, letter of support from 

the State, a budget document 

highlighting the line item or section 

committing funds to the proposed 

project, or other documentation of the 

source of local funds. FTA will 

favorably view an applicant that 

proposes to use grant funds only for the 

incremental cost of new technologies 

over the cost of replacing vehicles with 

standard propulsion technologies. 

e. Project Implementation Strategy 

FTA will rate projects higher if grant 

funds can be obligated within 12 

months of selection and the project can 

be implemented within a reasonable 

time frame. In assessing when funds can 

be obligated, FTA will consider whether 

the project qualifies for a Categorical 

Exclusion (CE), or whether the required 

environmental work has been initiated 

or completed for projects that require an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) or 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). As such, 

applicants should submit information 

describing the project’s anticipated path 

and timeline through the environmental 

review process for all proposals. The 

proposal must state when grant funds 

can be obligated and indicate the 

timeframe under which the 

Metropolitan Transportation 

Improvement Program (TIP) and 

Statewide Transportation Improvement 

Program (STIP) can be amended to 

include the proposed project. 

In assessing whether the proposed 

implementation plans are reasonable 

and complete, FTA will review the 

proposed project implementation plan, 

including all necessary project 

milestones and the overall project 

timeline. For projects that will require 

formal coordination, approvals, or 

permits from other agencies or project 

partners, the applicant must 

demonstrate coordination with these 

organizations and their support for the 

project, such as through letters of 

support. 

Applicants that have identified a 

cooperative procurement strategy listed 

in Section 3019 of the Fixing America’s 

Surface Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 

5325), are encouraged to describe the 

method chosen as part of their 

implementation plans and how such a 

cooperative procurement will reduce 

costs. 

For proposals that involve a 

partnership with a manufacturer, 

vendor, consultant, or other third party, 

applicants must identify by name any 

project partners, including, but not 

limited to, other transit agencies, bus 

manufacturers, owners or operators of 

related facilities, or any expert 

consultants. Such partnerships are 

permitted under Federal public 

transportation law (49 U.S.C. 

5339(b)(10), (c)(8)) only for applicants 

proposing a low or no emission project 

under both the Buses and Bus Facilities 

Program and the Low-No Program, or for 

applicants proposing only a low or no 

emission project under the Low-No 

program. FTA will evaluate the 

experience and capacity of the named 

project partners to successfully 

implement the proposed project based 

on the partners’ experience and 

qualifications. Applicants are advised to 

submit information on the partners’ 

qualifications and experience as a part 

of the application. Entities to be 

involved in the project that are not 

named in the application must be 

selected through ordinary procurement 

processes. 

f. Technical, Legal, and Financial 

Capacity 

Applicants must demonstrate that 

they have the technical, legal, and 

financial capacity to undertake the 

project. 

FTA will review relevant oversight 

assessments and records to determine 

whether there are any outstanding legal, 

technical, or financial issues with the 

applicant that would affect the outcome 

of the proposed project. Applicants with 

outstanding legal, technical, or financial 

compliance issues from an FTA 

compliance review or Federal Transit 

grant-related Single Audit finding must 

explain how corrective actions taken 

will mitigate negative impacts on the 

proposed project. 

2. Review and Selection Process 

A technical evaluation committee will 

evaluate proposals based on the 

published evaluation criteria. FTA may 

request additional information from 

applicants, if necessary. Based on the 

review of the technical evaluation 

committee, the FTA Administrator will 

determine the final selection of projects 

for program funding. In determining the 

allocation of program funds, FTA may 

consider geographic diversity, diversity 

in the size of the transit systems 

receiving funding, and the applicant’s 

receipt of other competitive awards. 

FTA may also consider capping the 

amount a single applicant may receive. 

After applying the above criteria, and 

in support of Executive Order 14008, 

Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and 

Abroad, and Executive Order 14052, 

Implementation of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act, FTA will give 

priority to additional considerations. 

In further support of Executive Order 

14008, FTA will give priority 

consideration to applications under the 

Buses and Bus Facilities Program that 

are expected to create significant 

community benefits relating to the 

environment, including those projects 

that incorporate low or no emission 

technology or specific elements to 

address greenhouse gas emissions and 

climate change impacts. FTA 

encourages applicants to demonstrate 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 12535 

whether they have considered climate 

change and environmental justice in 

terms of the transportation planning 

process or anticipated design 

components with outcomes that address 

climate change (e.g., resilience or 

adaptation measures). The application 

should describe what specific climate 

change or environmental justice 

activities have been incorporated, 

including whether a project supports a 

Climate Action Plan, whether an 

equitable development plan has been 

prepared, and whether tools such as 

EPA’s EJSCREEN at: https://

www.epa.gov/ejscreen or DOT’s 

Historically Disadvantaged Community 

tool at Transportation Disadvantaged 

Census Tracts (arcgis.com) have been 

applied in project planning. Applicants 

could also address how a project is 

related to housing or land use reforms 

to increase density to reduce climate 

impacts. The application should also 

describe specific and direct ways the 

project will mitigate or reduce climate 

change impacts including any 

components that reduce emissions, 

promote energy efficiency, incorporate 

electrification or low emission or zero 

emission vehicle infrastructure, increase 

resiliency, recycle or redevelop existing 

infrastructure, or if located in a 

floodplain be constructed or upgraded 

consistent with the Federal Flood Risk 

Management Standard, to the extent 

consistent with current law. 

FTA also will give priority 

consideration to applications that 

advance racial equity in two areas: (1) 

Planning and policies related to racial 

equity and overcoming barriers to 

opportunity; and (2) project investments 

that either proactively address racial 

equity and barriers to opportunity, 

including automobile dependence as a 

form of barrier, or redress prior 

inequities and barriers to opportunity. 

Applicants could also address how a 

project is related to housing or land use 

reforms to address historic barriers to 

opportunity. This objective has the 

potential to enhance environmental 

stewardship and community 

partnerships, and reflects Executive 

Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity 

and Support for Underserved 

Communities Through the Federal 

Government. FTA encourages the 

applicant to include sufficient 

information to evaluate how the 

applicant will advance racial equity and 

address barriers to opportunity. The 

applicant should describe any 

transportation plans or policies related 

to equity and barriers to opportunity 

they are implementing or have 

implemented in relation to the proposed 

project, along with the specific project 

investment details necessary for FTA to 

evaluate if the investments are being 

made either proactively to advance 

racial equity and address barriers to 

opportunity or redress prior inequities 

and barriers to opportunity. All project 

investment costs for the project that are 

related to racial equity and barriers to 

opportunity should be summarized. 

Applicants for facility projects should 

also describe whether and how project 

delivery and implementation create 

good-paying jobs with the free and fair 

choice to join a union to the greatest 

extent possible, the use of demonstrated 

strong labor standards, practices and 

policies (including for direct employees, 

contractors, and sub-contractors); 

distribution of workplace rights notices; 

the use of local and economic hiring 

provisions; registered apprenticeships; 

or other similar standards or practices; 

or, for facility projects over $35 million, 

the use of Project Labor Agreements. 

Applicants should describe how 

planned methods of project delivery and 

implementation (for example, use of 

Project Labor Agreements and/or local 

and economic hiring provisions, and 

training and placement programs for 

underrepresented workers) provides 

opportunities for all workers, including 

workers underrepresented in 

construction jobs to be trained and 

placed in good-paying jobs directly 

related to the project. FTA will give 

priority consideration to projects that 

create good paying jobs with the free 

and fair choice to join a union and these 

strong labor protections. 

Amongst zero-emission applications, 

FTA will give priority consideration to 

zero-emission applicants that in the 

development of the workforce section of 

the fleet transition plan have consulted 

with workforce representatives AND 

identify the use of at least one of the 

following in their plan (1) use of labormanagement partnerships for training; 

(2) use of registered apprenticeship 

training to support skilling of 

incumbent and entry-level workers with 

focus on using registered apprenticeship 

to advance Black, Hispanic, Asian 

American Native Hawaiian and Pacific 

Islanders, tribal, women, and other 

groups facing systemic barriers to 

employment that may be 

underrepresented in the current 

workforce, especially in higher-paying 

jobs; or (3) identification of how 

reskilling workers for new fleets 

advances broader strategy to retain, 

retrain and recruit employees into good 

paying jobs, with the choice to join a 

union and equitable access to training 

and support that helps workers to stay 

retained in jobs. 

In support of Executive Order 14008, 

DOT has been developing a geographic 

definition of Historically Disadvantaged 

Communities as part of its 

implementation of the Justice40 

Initiative. Consistent with OMB’s 

Interim Guidance for the Justice40 

Initiative, Historically Disadvantaged 

Communities include (a) certain 

qualifying census tracts, (b) any Tribal 

land, or (c) any territory or possession 

of the United States. DOT is providing 

a mapping tool to assist applicants in 

identifying whether a project is located 

in a Historically Disadvantaged 

Community Transportation 

Disadvantaged Census Tracts 

(arcgis.com). Use of this map tool is 

optional; applicants may provide an 

image of the map tool outputs, or 

alternatively, consistent with OMB’s 

Interim Guidance, applicants can 

supply quantitative, demographic data 

of their ridership demonstrating the 

percentage of their ridership that meets 

the criteria described in Executive Order 

14008 for disadvantage. Examples of 

Historically Disadvantaged 

Communities that an applicant could 

address using geographic or 

demographic information include low 

income, high and/or persistent poverty, 

high unemployment and 

underemployment, racial and ethnic 

residential segregation, linguistic 

isolation, or high housing cost burden 

and substandard housing. Additionally, 

in support of the Justice40 Initiative, the 

applicant also should provide evidence 

of strategies that the applicant has used 

in the planning process to seek out and 

consider the needs of those historically 

disadvantaged and underserved by 

existing transportation systems. For 

technical assistance using the mapping 

tool, please contact GMO@dot.gov. 

Due to funding limitations, projects 

that are selected for funding may receive 

less than the amount originally 

requested, even if an application did not 

present a scaled project option. In those 

cases, applicants must be able to 

demonstrate that the proposed projects 

are still viable and can be completed 

with the amount awarded. 

3. Integrity and Performance Review 

Prior to making an award with a total 

amount of Federal share greater than the 

simplified acquisition threshold 

(currently $10,000), FTA is required to 

review and consider any information 

about the applicant that is in the Federal 

Awardee Performance and Integrity 

Information Systems (FAPIIS) accessible 

through SAM. An applicant may review 

and comment on information about 

itself that a Federal awarding agency 

previously entered. FTA will consider 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
12536 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 

any comments by the applicant, in 

addition to the other information in 

FAPIIS, in making a judgment about the 

applicant’s integrity, business ethics, 

and record of performance under 

Federal awards when completing the 

review of risk posed by applicants as 

described in 2 CFR 200.206. 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

1. Federal Award Notices 

FTA will announce the final project 

selections on the FTA website. Selectees 

should contact their FTA Regional 

Offices for additional information 

regarding allocations for projects. At the 

time the project selections are 

announced, FTA will extend pre-award 

authority for the selected projects (see 

Section D.5 of this notice for more 

information). There is no blanket preaward authority for these projects before 

announcement. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

a. Grant Requirements 

If selected, awardees will apply for a 

grant through FTA’s Transit Award 

Management System (TrAMS). 

Recipients of funding in urban areas are 

subject to the grant requirements of the 

Urbanized Area Formula Grants 

program (49 U.S.C. 5307), including 

those of FTA Circular ‘‘Urbanized Area 

Formula Program: Program Guidance 

and Application Instructions’’ 

(FTA.C.9030.1E). Recipients of funding 

in rural areas are subject to the grant 

requirements of the Formula Grants for 

Rural Areas Program (49 U.S.C. 5311), 

including those of FTA Circular 

‘‘Formula Grants for Rural Areas: 

Program Guidance and Application 

Instructions’’ (FTA.C.9040.1G). All 

recipients must accept the FTA Master 

Agreement and follow FTA Circular 

‘‘Award Management Requirements’’ 

(FTA.C.5010.1E) and the labor 

protections required by Federal public 

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

Technical assistance regarding these 

requirements is available from each FTA 

regional office. 

By submitting a grant application, the 

applicant assures that it will comply 

with all applicable Federal statutes, 

regulations, executive orders, directives, 

FTA circulars and other Federal 

administrative requirements in carrying 

out any project supported by the FTA 

grant, including the Davis-Bacon Act (40 

U.S.C. 3141–3144, and 3146–3148) as 

supplemented by Department of Labor 

regulations (29 CFR part 5, ‘‘Labor 

Standards Provisions Applicable to 

Contracts Covering Federally Financed 

and Assisted Construction’’). Further, 

the applicant acknowledges that it is 

under a continuing obligation to comply 

with the terms and conditions of the 

grant agreement issued for its project 

with FTA. The applicant understands 

that Federal laws, regulations, policies, 

and administrative practices might be 

modified from time to time and may 

affect the implementation of the project. 

The applicant agrees that the most 

recent Federal requirements will apply 

to the project, unless FTA issues a 

written determination otherwise. The 

applicant must submit the Certifications 

and Assurances before receiving a grant 

if it does not have current certifications 

on file. 

Applicants for the Buses and Bus 

Facilities Program are encouraged to 

utilize the innovative procurement 

practices found in Section 3019 of the 

Fixing America’s Surface Transportation 

Act (49 U.S.C. 5325). Please see details 

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

grants/innovative-procurement-leasingfact-sheet-section-3019. If selected for 

funding, any project that purchases 

fewer than five buses through a 

standalone procurement must provide a 

written explanation why the tools 

authorized under Section 3019 were not 

utilized. 

As authorized by Section 25019 of the 

BIL, applicants are encouraged to 

implement a local or other geographical 

or economic hiring preference relating 

to the use of labor for construction of a 

project funded by the grant, including 

prehire agreements, subject to any 

applicable State and local laws, policies, 

and procedures. 

b. Buy America and Domestic 

Preferences for Infrastructure Projects 

All capital procurements must 

comply with FTA’s Buy America 

requirements (49 U.S.C. 5323(j)), which 

require that all iron, steel, and 

manufactured products be produced in 

the United States, and imposes 

minimum domestic content and final 

assembly requirements for rolling stock. 

The cost of rolling stock components 

and subcomponents produced in the 

United States must be more than 70 

percent of the cost of all components, 

and final assembly of rolling stock must 

occur in the United States. Any 

proposal that will require a waiver must 

identify the items for which a waiver 

will be sought in the application. 

Applicants should not proceed with the 

expectation that waivers will be granted. 

c. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 

Recipients of planning, capital, or 

operating assistance that will award 

prime contracts (excluding transit 

vehicle purchases), the cumulative total 

of which exceeds $250,000 in FTA 

funds in a Federal fiscal year, must 

comply with the Disadvantaged 

Business Enterprise (DBE) program 

regulations (49 CFR part 26). 

To be eligible to bid on any FTAassisted vehicle procurement, entities 

that manufacture transit vehicles or 

perform post-production alterations or 

retrofitting must be certified Transit 

Vehicle Manufacturers (TVM). If a 

vehicle remanufacturer is responding to 

a solicitation for new or remanufactured 

vehicles with a vehicle to which the 

remanufacturer has provided postproduction alterations or retro-fitting 

(e.g., replacing major components such 

as engine to provide a ‘‘like new’’ 

vehicle), the vehicle remanufacturer 

must be a certified TVM. 

The TVM rule requires that, prior to 

bidding on any FTA-assisted vehicle 

procurement, manufacturers of transit 

vehicles submit a DBE Program plan 

and annual goal methodology to FTA. 

FTA then will issue a TVM concurrence 

and certification letter. Grant recipients 

must verify each manufacturer’s TVM 

status before accepting its bid. A list of 

compliant, certified TVMs is posted on 

FTA’s website at www.transit.dot.gov/ 

TVM. Recipients should contact FTA 

before accepting a bid from a 

manufacturer not on this list. In lieu of 

using a certified TVM, a recipient may 

establish project-specific DBE goals for 

its vehicle procurement. FTA will 

provide additional guidance as grants 

are awarded. For more information on 

DBE requirements, please contact 

Monica McCallum, FTA Office of Civil 

Rights, 206–220–7519, 

Monica.McCallum@dot.gov. 

d. Planning 

FTA encourages applicants to notify 

the appropriate State Departments of 

Transportation and Metropolitan 

Planning Organizations (MPOs) in areas 

likely to be served by the project funds 

made available under this program. 

Selected projects must be incorporated 

into the long-range plans and 

transportation improvement programs of 

States and metropolitan areas before 

they are eligible for FTA funding. 

3. Reporting 

Post-award reporting requirements 

include the electronic submission of 

Federal Financial Reports and Milestone 

Progress Reports in FTA’s electronic 

grants management system. Recipients 

of funds made available through this 

NOFO are also required to regularly 

submit data to the National Transit 

Database. Recipients should include any 

goals, targets, and indicators referenced 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / Notices 12537 

in their applications in the Executive 

Summary of the TrAMS application. 

FTA is committed to making 

evidence-based decisions guided by the 

best available science and data. In 

accordance with the Foundations for 

Evidence-based Policymaking Act of 

2018 (Evidence Act), FTA may use 

information submitted in discretionary 

funding applications; information in 

FTA’s Transit Award Management 

System (TrAMS), including grant 

applications, Milestone Progress Reports 

(MPRs), Federal Financial Reports 

(FFRs); transit service, ridership and 

operational data submitted in FTA’s 

National Transit Database; 

documentation and results of FTA 

oversight reviews, including triennial 

and state management reviews; and 

other publicly available sources of data 

to build evidence to support policy, 

budget, operational, regulatory, and 

management processes and decisions 

affecting FTA’s grant programs. 

As part of completing the annual 

certifications and assurances required of 

FTA grant recipients, a successful 

applicant must report on the suspension 

or debarment status of itself and its 

principals. If the award recipient’s 

active grants, cooperative agreements, 

and procurement contracts from all 

Federal awarding agencies exceeds 

$10,000,000 for any period of time 

during the period of performance of an 

award made pursuant to this Notice, the 

recipient must comply with the 

Recipient Integrity and Performance 

Matters reporting requirements 

described in Appendix XII to 2 CFR part 

200. 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

For further information concerning 

this notice, please contact the Low-No/ 

Bus grant program staff via email at 

ftalownobusnofo@dot.gov, or call Amy 

Volz, by phone at 202–366–7484. A 

TDD is available for individuals who are 

deaf or hard of hearing at 800–877– 

8339. In addition, FTA will post 

answers to questions and requests for 

clarifications on FTA’s website at 

https://www.transit.dot.gov. To ensure 

applicants receive accurate information 

about eligibility or the program, 

applicants are encouraged to contact 

FTA with questions directly, rather than 

through intermediaries or third parties. 

For issues with GRANTS.GOV, please 

contact GRANTS.GOV by phone at 1– 

800–518–4726 or by email at support@

grants.gov. Contact information for 

FTA’s regional offices can be found on 

FTA’s website at www.fta.dot.gov. 

H. Other Information 

User-friendly information and 

resources regarding DOT’s discretionary 

grant programs relevant to rural 

applicants can be found on the Rural 

Opportunities to Use Transportation for 

Economic Success (ROUTES) website at 

www.transportation.gov/rural. 

This program is not subject to 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ 

Nuria I. Fernandez, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04621 Filed 3–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

Notice of Funding Opportunity for 

America’s Marine Highway Projects 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of funding opportunity. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

availability of funding for grants and 

establishes selection criteria and 

application requirements for the 

America’s Marine Highway Program 

(‘‘AMHP’’). The purpose of this program 

is to make grants available to previously 

designated Marine Highway Projects 

that support the development and 

expansion of documented vessels or 

port and landside infrastructure. The 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

(‘‘DOT’’ or ‘‘Department’’) also seeks 

eligible grant projects that will 

strengthen American supply chains. The 

Department will award Marine Highway 

Grants to implement projects or 

components of projects previously 

designated by the Secretary of 

Transportation (‘‘Secretary’’) under the 

AMHP. Only Marine Highway Projects 

the Secretary designates before the 

Notice of Funding Opportunity 

(‘‘NOFO’’) closing date are eligible for 

funding as described in this notice. 

DATES: Grant applications must be 

received by the Maritime 

Administration (‘‘MARAD’’) by 5:00 

p.m. E.D.T. on April 29, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Grant applications must be 

submitted electronically using 

Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov). 

Please be aware that you must complete 

the Grants.gov registration process 

before submitting your application and 

that the registration process usually 

takes 2 to 4 weeks to complete. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to 

make submissions in advance of the 

deadline. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred 

Jones, Office of Ports & Waterways 

Planning, Room W21–311, Maritime 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 

phone 202–366–1123, or email 

Fred.Jones@dot.gov. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

to contact the above individual during 

business hours. The FIRS is available 

twenty-four hours a day, seven days a 

week, to leave a message or question 

with the above individual. You will 

receive a reply during regular business 

hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each 

section of this notice contains 

information and instructions relevant to 

the Marine Highway Grants application 

process. All applicants should read this 

notice in its entirety so that they have 

the information they need to submit 

eligible and competitive applications. 

Applications received after the deadline 

will not be considered except in the 

case of unforeseen technical difficulties 

as outlined below in Section D.6. 

Table of Contents 

A. Program Description 

B. Federal Award Information 

C. Eligibility Information 

D. Application and Submission Information 

E. Application Review Information 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

A. Program Description 

The Secretary, in accordance with 46 

U.S.C. 55601, established a marine 

highway transportation grant program to 

implement projects or components of 

designated Marine Highway Projects 

that provide a coordinated and capable 

alternative to landside transportation or 

that promote marine highway 

transportation. The primary goal of the 

AMHP is to expand the use of the 

nation’s navigable waters to relieve 

landside congestion, reduce air 

emissions, and generate other public 

benefits by increasing the efficiency of 

the surface transportation system, and 

Marine Highway Grants will be awarded 

to further this purpose. 

The Infrastructure Investment and 

Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117–58, November 15, 

2021) (‘‘Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’’ 

or ‘‘BIL’’) appropriated $25,000,000 to 

be awarded by the Department for 

Marine Highway Grants. The grant 

funds currently available are for projects 

related to vessels documented under 46 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1