Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28755 

Articles 1, 2.1, 2.4, 2.4.2, 9.1, 9.3, 11.2, 

and 18.4 of the Agreement on 

Implementation of Article VI of the 

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 

1994 (the Anti-Dumping Agreement); 

and Article XVI:4 of the WTO 

Agreement. 

Public Comment: Requirements for 

Submissions 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written comments concerning 

the issues raised in this dispute. Persons 

may submit their comments 

electronically to www.regulations.gov 

docket number USTR–2008–0044. If you 

are unable to provide submissions by 

www.regulations.gov, please contact 

Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395–9483 to 

arrange for an alternative method of 

transmission. 

To submit comments via 

www.regulations.gov, enter docket 

number USTR–2008–0044 on the home 

page and click ‘‘go’’. The site will 

provide a search-results page listing all 

documents associated with this docket. 

Find a reference to this notice by 

selecting ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document 

Type’’ on the left side of the searchresults page, and click on the link 

entitled ‘‘Send a Comment or 

Submission.’’ (For further information 

on using the www.regulations.gov Web 

site, please consult the resources 

provided on the website by clicking on 

‘‘How to Use This Site’’ on the left side 

of the home page.) 

The www.regulations.gov site 

provides the option of providing 

comments by filling in a ‘‘General 

Comments’’ field, or by attaching a 

document. It is expected that most 

comments will be provided in an 

attached document. If a document is 

attached, it is sufficient to type ‘‘See 

attached’’ in the ‘‘General Comments’’ 

field. 

A person requesting that information 

contained in a comment submitted by 

that person be treated as confidential 

business information must certify that 

such information is business 

confidential and would not customarily 

be released to the public by the 

submitter. Confidential business 

information must be clearly designated 

as such and the submission must be 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

at the top and bottom of the cover page 

and each succeeding page. Any 

comment containing business 

confidential information must be 

submitted by fax to Sandy McKinzy at 

(202) 395–3640. A non-confidential 

summary of the confidential 

information must be submitted to 

www.regulations.gov. The nonconfidential summary will be placed in 

the docket and open to public 

inspection. 

Information or advice contained in a 

comment submitted, other than business 

confidential information, may be 

determined by USTR to be confidential 

in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of 

the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that 

information or advice may qualify as 

such, the submitter— 

(1) Must clearly so designate the 

information or advice; 

(2) Must clearly mark the material as 

‘‘SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE’’ at the 

top and bottom of the cover page and 

each succeeding page; and 

(3) Must provide a non-confidential 

summary of the information or advice. 

Any comment containing confidential 

information must be submitted by fax. A 

non-confidential summary of the 

confidential information must be 

submitted to www.regulations.gov. The 

non-confidential summary will be 

placed in the docket and open to public 

inspection. USTR will maintain a 

docket on this dispute settlement 

proceeding, accessible to the public. 

The public file will include nonconfidential comments received by 

USTR from the public with respect to 

the dispute; if a dispute settlement 

panel is convened or in the event of an 

appeal from such a panel, the U.S. 

submissions, any non-confidential 

submissions, or non-confidential 

summaries of submissions, received 

from other participants in the dispute; 

the report of the panel; and, if 

applicable, the report of the Appellate 

Body. 

Comments will be placed in the 

docket and open to public inspection 

pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except 

confidential business information 

exempt from public inspection in 

accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15 or 

information determined by USTR to be 

confidential in accordance with 19 

U.S.C. 2155(g)(2). Comments may be 

viewed on the www.regulations.gov Web 

site by entering docket number USTR– 

2008–0044 in the search field on the 

home page. 

Daniel Brinza, 

Assistant United States Trade Representative 

for Monitoring and Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. E9–14256 Filed 6–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W9–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation 

[Docket No. OST–2009–0115] 

Notice of Funding Availability for 

Supplemental Discretionary Grants for 

Capital Investments in Surface 

Transportation Infrastructure Under 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of 

Transportation (‘‘OST’’). 

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability. 

SUMMARY: On May 18, 2009, the 

Department of Transportation published 

an interim notice announcing the 

availability of funding for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants (as defined below), 

project selection criteria, application 

requirements and the deadline for 

submitting applications. Because this is 

a new program, the interim notice also 

requested comments on the proposed 

selection criteria and guidance for 

awarding TIGER Discretionary Grants. 

The Department considered the 

comments that were submitted in 

accordance with the interim notice and 

has decided to publish this notice 

revising some elements of the interim 

notice. Each of the substantive revisions 

made in this notice are described below 

in ‘‘Supplemental Information.’’ In the 

event that this solicitation does not 

result in the award and obligation of all 

available funds, the Department may 

decide to publish an additional 

solicitation. 

DATES: Complete applications for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants must be submitted 

by September 15, 2009 (the 

‘‘Application Deadline’’). While 

applicants are encouraged to submit 

applications in advance of the 

Application Deadline, applications will 

not be evaluated, and awards will not be 

made, until after the Application 

Deadline. Due to the need to expedite 

the grant award process to meet the 

requirements and purposes of the 

Recovery Act (as defined below), the 

Department will evaluate all 

applications and announce the projects 

that have been selected to receive Grant 

Funds (as defined below) as soon as 

possible after the Application Deadline, 

but no later than February 17, 2010. In 

addition, in the event that this 

solicitation does not result in the award 

and obligation of all available funds, the 

Department may decide to publish an 

additional solicitation. 

ADDRESSES: Applications must be 

submitted to the TIGER Discretionary 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
28756 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

Grants program manager electronically 

via e-mail at TIGERGrants@dot.gov. 

Applicants should receive a 

confirmation e-mail, but are advised to 

request a return receipt to confirm 

transmission. Only applications 

received via e-mail as provided above 

shall be deemed properly filed. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further 

information concerning this notice 

please contact the TIGER Discretionary 

Grants program manager via e-mail at 

TIGERGrants@dot.gov. A TDD is 

available for individuals who are deaf or 

hard of hearing at 202–366–7687. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 

18, 2009, the Department published an 

interim notice announcing funding 

availability, project selection criteria, 

application requirements and the 

deadline for submitting applications. 

Because this is a new program, the 

interim notice also requested comments 

on the proposed selection criteria and 

guidance for awarding TIGER 

Discretionary Grants. The Department 

considered the comments that were 

submitted in accordance with the 

interim notice and has decided to 

publish this notice revising some 

elements of the interim notice. Each of 

the substantive revisions made in this 

notice are described in the following 

paragraph. In the event that this 

solicitation does not result in the award 

and obligation of all available funds, the 

Department may decide to publish an 

additional solicitation. 

This notice revises the interim notice 

published on May 18, 2009, as follows: 

1. The notice is no longer an interim 

notice, and the Department is no longer 

considering comments on the proposed 

selection criteria and guidance for 

awarding TIGER Discretionary Grants. 

This notice is the operative notice of 

funding availability for the TIGER 

Discretionary Grants program. 

2. This notice provides additional 

guidance at the end of Section II(B)(1)(a) 

(Long-Term Outcomes) regarding the 

required evaluation of expected project 

costs and benefits. This notice (i) 

provides a discount rate for discounting 

future benefits and costs to present 

values, (ii) identifies guidance on the 

value of time and statistical lives, (iii) 

provides sources of information on the 

social benefits of reducing crash costs, 

pollutant emissions and other 

externalities, and (iv) provides 

economic values for various benefits, 

including the cost of a metric ton of 

carbon emissions. This notice also 

revises this section to clarify that the 

required evaluation of expected project 

costs and benefits for any applicant 

seeking a TIGER Discretionary Grant in 

excess of $100 million should present a 

robust assessment of a project’s net 

benefits, in addition to the project’s 

benefit-cost ratio. 

3. This notice revises the definition of 

‘‘Eligible Applicants’’ to clarify that 

Metropolitan Planning Organizations 

(MPOs) are Eligible Applicants, and 

requests in Section II(B)(1)(b)(iv) (Job 

Creation & Economic Stimulus) that 

MPOs provide evidence that the owner 

of the project supports the application 

and will cooperate in carrying out the 

activities to be supported by the TIGER 

Discretionary Grant. 

4. This notice includes a footnote in 

Section II(A)(1)(b) (Job Creation & 

Economic Stimulus) regarding the 

Department’s application of the 

definition of ‘‘Economically Distressed 

Areas’’ from section 301 of the Public 

Works and Economic Development Act 

of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161) as a matter of 

policy. While ‘‘Economically Distressed 

Areas’’ are typically identified under the 

Act at the county level, for the purposes 

of this program the Department will 

consider municipalities or other similar 

political subdivisions of a State to be 

Economically Distressed Areas if an 

applicant can demonstrate that any such 

area otherwise meets the requirements 

for an ‘‘Economically Distressed Area’’ 

as defined in section 301 of the Public 

Works and Economic Development Act 

of 1965. 

5. This notice includes a footnote in 

Section II(B)(1)(b)(iv) (Job Creation & 

Economic Stimulus) providing 

additional guidance about the 

requirements for a project’s inclusion in 

State and local planning documents. 

6. This notice revises Section III(B) 

(Evaluation Process) to clarify that the 

Department will consider whether a 

project has a negative effect on any of 

the selection criteria, and that any such 

effect may negatively impact the 

project’s likelihood of being selected for 

a TIGER Discretionary Grant. 

7. This notice revises Section 

II(B(1)(a)(ii) (Economic 

Competitiveness) to clarify that the 

Economic Competitiveness criterion is 

targeting investments that facilitate net 

new private sector expansion, hiring, or 

growth, rather than those that result 

only in moving existing jobs or 

economic activity to different locations. 

8. This notice revises the Section 

entitled ‘‘Dates’’ to clarify that while 

applications may be submitted prior to 

the Application Deadline, the 

Department will not evaluate 

applications or announce projects 

selected to receive TIGER Discretionary 

Grants until after the Application 

Deadline. 

9. This notice revises Section VII 

(Contents of Application) to (i) request 

that applicants include certain 

information on the first page of their 

applications, and (ii) clarify that 

recipients of TIGER Discretionary 

Grants and their first-tier sub-awardees 

are required to have a DUNS number 

(http://www.dnb.com) and a current 

registration in the Central Contractor 

Registration (http://www.ccr.gov) prior 

to award of a TIGER Discretionary 

Grant. 

10. This notice revises Section III(A) 

(Ensuring Responsible Spending of 

Recovery Act Funds) to include 

requirements guiding the Department’s 

communications with registered 

lobbyists which were promulgated by 

the memorandum from the President of 

the United States dated March 20, 2009. 

11. This notice revises the Section 

entitled ‘‘For Further Information’’ to 

clarify that the TDD number is provided 

for individuals who are deaf or hard of 

hearing. 

12. In Section II(C)(1) (ProgramSpecific Criteria), this notice corrects 

the citation to the Code of Federal 

Regulations from ‘‘23 CFR 707’’ to ‘‘23 

CFR 650.707.’’ 

13. In the first cell of the last row of 

the table in Section III(B) (Evaluation 

Process), this notice replaces the words 

‘‘Project-Specific Criteria’’ with the 

words ‘‘Program-Specific Criteria.’’ 

14. Section X (Certifications) was 

amended to delete Section 1201(a) and 

Section 1607 Certification requirements 

because submissions of such 

Certifications are not direct 

requirements for potential grantees 

under the TIGER Discretionary Grants 

program. 

These substantive changes to the 

interim notice published on May 18, 

2009, have been included in this notice. 

All comments received prior to the June 

1, 2009, deadline were received and 

considered by the Department. 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Selection Criteria and Guidance on 

Application of Selection Criteria 

III. Evaluation and Selection Process 

IV. Grant Administration 

V. Waiver of Minimum Grant Size 

Requirement 

VI. TIGER TIFIA Payments 

VII. Contents of Application 

VIII. Project Benefits 

IX. Reporting Requirements 

X. Certification Requirements 

XI. Questions and Clarifications 

I. Background 

On February 17, 2009, the President 

of the United States signed the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28757 

Act of 2009 (the ‘‘Recovery Act’’) to, 

among other purposes, (1) preserve and 

create jobs and promote economic 

recovery, (2) invest in transportation 

infrastructure that will provide longterm economic benefits, and (3) assist 

those most affected by the current 

economic downturn. The Recovery Act 

appropriated $1.5 billion of 

discretionary grant funds to be awarded 

by the Department of Transportation for 

capital investments in surface 

transportation infrastructure. The 

Department is referring to these grants 

as ‘‘Grants for Transportation 

Investment Generating Economic 

Recovery’’ or ‘‘TIGER Discretionary 

Grants.’’ This notice requests that 

applications for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants be submitted by September 15, 

2009, from State and local governments, 

including U.S. territories, tribal 

governments, transit agencies, port 

authorities, metropolitan planning 

organizations (MPOs), other political 

subdivisions of State or local 

governments, and multi-State or multijurisdictional applicants (‘‘Eligible 

Applicants’’). The funds provided by 

TIGER Discretionary Grants (‘‘Grant 

Funds’’) are available for obligation 

until September 30, 2011, and will be 

awarded on a competitive basis to 

projects that have a significant impact 

on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a 

region. 

Projects that are eligible for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants under the Recovery 

Act (‘‘Eligible Projects’’) include, but are 

not limited to: (1) Highway or bridge 

projects eligible under title 23, United 

States Code, including interstate 

rehabilitation, improvements to the 

rural collector road system, the 

reconstruction of overpasses and 

interchanges, bridge replacements, 

seismic retrofit projects for bridges, and 

road realignments; (2) public 

transportation projects eligible under 

chapter 53 of title 49, United States 

Code, including investments in projects 

participating in the New Starts or Small 

Starts programs that will expedite the 

completion of those projects and their 

entry into revenue service; (3) passenger 

and freight rail transportation projects; 

and (4) port infrastructure investments, 

including projects that connect ports to 

other modes of transportation and 

improve the efficiency of freight 

movement. Federal wage rate 

requirements included in subchapter IV 

of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

Code, apply to all projects receiving 

funds. 

The Recovery Act specifies that grants 

funded under the program may be no 

less than $20 million and no greater 

than $300 million. However, the 

Recovery Act gives the Department 

discretion to waive the $20 million 

minimum grant size for the purpose of 

funding significant projects in smaller 

cities, regions, or States (‘‘Smaller 

Projects’’). The term ‘‘grant’’ in this 

provision of the Recovery Act does not 

include TIGER TIFIA Payments. 

Pursuant to the Recovery Act, no 

more than 20 percent of the funds made 

available under this program may be 

awarded to projects in a single State. 

The Department must take measures to 

ensure an equitable geographic 

distribution of funds and an appropriate 

balance in addressing the needs of 

urban and rural communities. TIGER 

Discretionary Grants may be used for up 

to 100 percent of project costs, but 

priority must be given to projects for 

which Federal funding is required to 

complete an overall financing package 

that includes non-Federal sources of 

funds. Priority must also be given to 

projects that can be completed by 

February 17, 2012. 

The Recovery Act allows for up to 

$200 million of the $1.5 billion to be 

used to pay the subsidy and 

administrative costs of the 

Transportation Infrastructure Finance 

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

program, a Federal credit assistance 

program, if it would further the 

purposes of the TIGER Discretionary 

Grants program. The Department is 

referring to these payments as ‘‘TIGER 

TIFIA Payments.’’ The Department 

estimates that $200 million of TIGER 

TIFIA Payments could support 

approximately $2 billion in TIFIA credit 

assistance. Applicants for TIGER TIFIA 

Payments will be required to submit an 

application pursuant to this notice and 

a separate TIFIA loan application. 

Additional details are included below in 

Section VI (TIGER TIFIA Payments). 

Unless otherwise noted, or the context 

requires otherwise, references in this 

notice to TIGER Discretionary Grants 

includes TIGER TIFIA Payments. 

On March 20, 2009, the President of 

the United States signed a memorandum 

for the heads of executive departments 

and agencies on ensuring responsible 

spending of Recovery Act funds. The 

memorandum directs all Federal 

agencies responsible for administering 

Recovery Act funds, including the 

Department, to develop transparent, 

merit-based selection criteria to guide 

the commitment, obligation and 

expenditure of the Recovery Act funds 

for which they are responsible, 

including TIGER Discretionary Grant 

funds. 

The memorandum directs the 

Department to award all Recovery Act 

funds, including TIGER Discretionary 

Grants, to projects with a demonstrated 

or potential ability to: ‘‘(i) deliver 

programmatic results; (ii) achieve 

economic stimulus by optimizing 

economic activity and the number of 

jobs created or saved in relation to the 

Federal dollars obligated; (iii) achieve 

long-term public benefits by, for 

example, investing in technological 

advances in science and health to 

increase economic efficiency and 

improve quality of life; investing in 

transportation, environmental 

protection, and other infrastructure that 

will provide long-term economic 

benefits; fostering energy independence; 

or improving educational quality; and 

(iv) satisfy the Recovery Act’s 

transparency and accountability 

objectives.’’ 

The memorandum also directs 

Department officials not to consider the 

views of a registered lobbyist 

concerning particular projects, 

applications, or applicants for funding 

under the Recovery Act unless such 

views are in writing and made publicly 

available. For additional guidance on 

the lobbying disclosure requirements of 

the memorandum, please see the Office 

of Management and Budget’s Interim 

Guidance Regarding Communications 

with Registered Lobbyists about 

Recovery Act Funds (available at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/ 

memoranda_fy2009/m-09-16.pdf) and 

any subsequent guidance issued by 

OMB. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

applications from Eligible Applicants 

interested in receiving funds under this 

program. 

II. Selection Criteria and Guidance on 

Application of Selection Criteria 

This section specifies the criteria that 

the Department will use to evaluate 

applications. The criteria incorporate 

the limited statutory eligibility 

requirements for this program, which 

are specified in this notice as relevant. 

This section is split into three parts. 

Section A (Selection Criteria) specifies 

the criteria that the Department will use 

to rate projects. Additional guidance 

about how the Department will apply 

these criteria, including illustrative 

metrics and examples, is provided in 

Section B (Additional Guidance on 

Selection Criteria). Section C (ProgramSpecific Criteria) explains how the 

Department is going to use certain 

program-specific criteria to help 

differentiate between similar projects 

(for example, multiple bridge 

replacement projects, or multiple New 

Starts projects). The program-specific 

criteria will not be rated as the selection 

criteria are rated, but rather will be used 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
28758 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

1While Economically Distressed Areas are 

typically identified under the Act at the county 

level, for the purposes of this program the 

Department will consider municipalities or other 

similar political subdivisions of a State to be 

Economically Distressed Areas if an applicant can 

demonstrate that any such area otherwise meets the 

requirements of an Economically Distressed Area as 

defined in section 301 of the Public Works and 

Economic Development Act of 1965. 

to assign priority among similar projects 

during the evaluation and selection 

process. As stated below in Section 

VII(F) (Contents of Application, 

Selection Criteria), applicants should 

address both the selection criteria and 

the program-specific criteria in their 

applications. 

A. Selection Criteria 

TIGER Discretionary Grants will be 

awarded based on the selection criteria 

as outlined below. There are two 

categories of selection criteria, ‘‘Primary 

Selection Criteria’’ and ‘‘Secondary 

Selection Criteria.’’ 

The Primary Selection Criteria 

include (1) Long-Term Outcomes and 

(2) Jobs Creation & Economic Stimulus. 

The Secondary Selection Criteria 

include (1) Innovation and (2) 

Partnership. The Primary Selection 

Criteria are intended to capture the 

primary objectives of the TIGER 

Discretionary Grants provision of the 

Recovery Act, which include near-term 

economic recovery and job creation, 

maximization of long-term economic 

benefits and impacts on the Nation, a 

region, or a metropolitan area, and 

assistance for those most affected by the 

current economic downturn. The 

Secondary Selection Criteria are 

intended to capture the benefits of new 

and/or innovative approaches to 

achieving programmatic objectives. 

1. Primary Selection Criteria 

(a) Long-Term Outcomes. 

The Department will give priority to 

projects that have a significant impact 

on desirable long-term outcomes for the 

Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. 

Applications that do not demonstrate a 

likelihood of significant long-term 

benefits in this criterion will not 

proceed in the evaluation process. The 

following types of long-term outcomes 

will be given priority: 

(i) State of Good Repair: Improving 

the condition of existing transportation 

facilities and systems, with particular 

emphasis on projects that minimize lifecycle costs. 

(ii) Economic Competitiveness: 

Contributing to the economic 

competitiveness of the United States 

over the medium- to long-term. 

(iii) Livability: Improving the quality 

of living and working environments and 

the experience for people in 

communities across the United States. 

(iv) Sustainability: Improving energy 

efficiency, reducing dependence on oil, 

reducing greenhouse gas emissions and 

benefitting the environment. 

(v) Safety: Improving the safety of 

U.S. transportation facilities and 

systems. 

(b) Job Creation & Economic Stimulus. 

Consistent with the purposes of the 

Recovery Act, the Department will give 

priority to projects that are expected to 

quickly create and preserve jobs and 

stimulate rapid increases in economic 

activity, particularly jobs and activity 

that benefit economically distressed 

areas as defined by section 301 of the 

Public Works and Economic 

Development Act of 1965, as amended 

(42 U.S.C. 3161) (‘‘Economically 

Distressed Areas’’).1

2. Secondary Selection Criteria 

(a) Innovation. 

The Department will give priority to 

projects that use innovative strategies to 

pursue the long-term outcomes outlined 

above. 

(b) Partnership. 

The Department will give priority to 

projects that demonstrate strong 

collaboration among a broad range of 

participants and/or integration of 

transportation with other public service 

efforts. 

B. Additional Guidance on Selection 

Criteria 

The following additional guidance 

explains how the Department will 

evaluate each of the selection criteria 

identified above in Section II(A) 

(Selection Criteria). Applicants are 

encouraged to demonstrate the 

responsiveness of a project to any and 

all of the selection criteria with the most 

relevant information that applicants can 

provide, regardless of whether such 

information has been specifically 

requested, or identified, in this notice. 

Any such information shall be 

considered part of the application, not 

supplemental, for purposes of the 

application size limits specified below 

in Section VII(A) (Length of 

Application). 

1. Primary Selection Criteria 

(a) Long-Term Outcomes. 

In order to measure a project’s 

alignment with this criterion, the 

Department will assess the public 

benefits generated by the project, as 

measured by the extent to which a 

project produces one or more of the 

following outcomes. 

(i) State of Good Repair: In order to 

determine whether the project will 

improve the condition of existing 

transportation facilities or systems, 

including whether life-cycle costs will 

be minimized, the Department will 

assess (i) whether the project is part of, 

or consistent with, relevant State, local 

or regional efforts to maintain 

transportation facilities or systems in a 

state of good repair, (ii) whether an 

important aim of the project is to 

rehabilitate, reconstruct or upgrade 

surface transportation projects that 

threaten future economic growth and 

stability due to their poor condition, (iii) 

whether the project is appropriately 

capitalized up front and uses asset 

management approaches that optimize 

its long-term cost structure, and (iv) the 

extent to which a sustainable source of 

revenue is available for long-term 

operations and maintenance of the 

project. The application should include 

any quantifiable metrics of the facility 

or system’s current condition and 

performance and, to the extent possible, 

projected condition and performance, 

with an explanation of how the project 

will improve the facility or system’s 

condition, performance and/or longterm cost structure. 

(ii) Economic Competitiveness: In 

order to determine whether a project 

promotes the economic competitiveness 

of the United States, the Department 

will assess whether the project will 

measurably contribute over the longterm to growth in employment, 

production or other high value 

economic activity. For purposes of 

aligning a project with this outcome, 

applicants should provide evidence of 

the long-term economic benefits that are 

provided by the completed project, not 

the near-term economic benefits of 

construction that are captured in the 

Jobs Creation & Economic Stimulus 

criterion. In weighing long-term 

employment benefits, the quality of jobs 

supported will be considered as well as 

number of jobs and whether these jobs 

are expected to provide employment in 

Economically Distressed Areas. Priority 

consideration will be given to projects 

that: (i) Improve long-term efficiency, 

reliability or cost-competitiveness in the 

movement of workers or goods, or (ii) 

make improvements that allow for net 

new investments in expansion, hiring, 

or other growth of private sector 

production at specific locations, 

particularly Economically Distressed 

Areas. Applicants may propose other 

methods of demonstrating a project’s 

contribution to the economic 

competitiveness of the country and such 

methods will be reviewed on a case by 

case basis. 

Economic competitiveness may be 

demonstrated by the project’s ability to 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28759 

increase the efficiency and effectiveness 

of the transportation system through 

integration or better use of all existing 

transportation infrastructure (which 

may be evidenced by the project’s 

involvement with or benefits to more 

than one mode and/or its compatibility 

with and preferably augmentation of the 

capacities of connecting modes and 

facilities), but only to the extent that 

these enhancements lead to the 

economic benefits that are identified in 

the preceding paragraph. 

(iii) Livability: Livability investments 

are projects that not only deliver 

transportation benefits, but are also 

designed and planned in such a way 

that they have a positive impact on 

qualitative measures of community life. 

This element of long-term outcomes 

delivers benefits that are inherently 

difficult to measure. However, it is 

implicit to livability that its benefits are 

shared and therefore magnified by the 

number of potential users in the affected 

community. Therefore, descriptions of 

how projects enhance livability should 

include a description of the affected 

community and the scale of the project’s 

impact. In order to determine whether a 

project improves the quality of the 

living and working environment of a 

community, the Department will 

qualitatively assess whether the project: 

(1) Will significantly enhance user 

mobility through the creation of more 

convenient transportation options for 

travelers; 

(2) will improve existing 

transportation choices by enhancing 

points of modal connectivity or by 

reducing congestion on existing modal 

assets; 

(3) will improve accessibility and 

transport services for economically 

disadvantaged populations, non-drivers, 

senior citizens, and persons with 

disabilities, or to make goods, 

commodities, and services more readily 

available to these groups; and/or 

(4) is the result of a planning process 

which coordinated transportation and 

land-use planning decisions and 

encouraged community participation in 

the process. 

Livability improvements may include 

projects for new or improved biking and 

walking infrastructure. Particular 

attention will be paid to the degree to 

which such projects contribute 

significantly to broader traveler mobility 

through intermodal connections, or 

improved connections between 

residential and commercial areas. 

(iv) Sustainability: In order to 

determine whether a project promotes a 

more environmentally sustainable 

transportation system, the Department 

will assess its ability to: 

(1) Improve energy efficiency, reduce 

dependence on oil and/or reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions; applicants 

are encouraged to provide quantitative 

information regarding expected 

reductions in emissions of CO2 or fuel 

consumption as a result of the project, 

or expected use of clean or alternative 

sources of energy; projects that 

demonstrate a projected decrease in the 

movement of people or goods by less 

energy-efficient vehicles or systems will 

be given priority under this factor; and 

(2) Maintain, protect or enhance the 

environment, as evidenced by its 

avoidance of adverse environmental 

impacts (for example, adverse impacts 

related to air quality, wetlands, and 

endangered species) and/or by its 

environmental benefits (for example, 

improved air quality, wetlands creation 

or improved habitat connectivity). 

Applicants are encouraged to provide 

quantitative information that validates 

the existence of substantial 

transportation-related costs related to 

energy consumption and adverse 

environmental effects and evidence of 

the extent to which the project will 

reduce or mitigate those costs. 

(v) Safety. 

In order to determine whether the 

project improves safety, the Department 

will assess the project’s ability to reduce 

the number, rate and consequences of 

surface transportation-related crashes, 

and injuries and fatalities among drivers 

and/or non-drivers in the United States 

or in the affected metropolitan area or 

region, and/or its contribution to the 

elimination of highway/rail grade 

crossings, the protection of pipelines, or 

the prevention of unintended release of 

hazardous materials. 

Evaluation of Expected Project Costs 

and Benefits: The Department believes 

that benefit-cost analysis (‘‘BCA’’), 

including the monetization and 

discounting of costs and benefits to a 

common unit of measurement in 

present-day dollars, is an important 

discipline. For BCA to yield useful 

results, full consideration of costs and 

benefits is necessary. These include 

traditionally quantified fuel and travel 

time savings as well as greenhouse gas 

emissions, water quality impacts, public 

health effects, and other costs and 

benefits that are more remotely 

connected to vehicle-miles or are harder 

to measure. In addition, BCA should 

attempt to capture the dynamic effects 

of transportation investments on land 

use and household budgets. The 

systematic process of comparing 

expected benefits and costs helps 

decision-makers organize information 

about, and evaluate trade-offs between, 

alternative transportation investments. 

The Department has a responsibility 

under Executive Order 12893, 

Principles for Federal Infrastructure 

Investments, 59 FR 4233, to base 

infrastructure investments on systematic 

analysis of expected benefits and costs, 

including both quantitative and 

qualitative measures. 

Therefore, applicants for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants are generally 

required to identify, quantify, and 

compare expected benefits and costs, 

subject to the following qualifications: 

This requirement will be waived for 

applicants seeking waivers of the $20 

million minimum grant size 

requirement for Smaller Projects. 

Any applicant seeking a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant of more than $20 

million but less than $100 million must 

include in its application estimates of 

the project’s expected benefits in the 

five long-term outcomes identified in 

this Section II(A)(1)(a). The lack of a 

useful analysis of expected project 

benefits may be ground for denying 

award of a TIGER Discretionary Grant to 

any such applicant. 

Any applicant seeking a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant in excess of $100 

million must provide a well-developed 

analysis of expected benefits and costs, 

including a calculation of net benefits 

and a description of input data and 

methodological standards used for the 

analysis. The analysis should indicate 

the values that were assigned for 

qualitative measures, in addition to 

quantitative measures. Where 

information on costs and benefits, 

including consideration of externalities, 

is of sufficient quality and completeness 

to allow for a robust assessment of a 

project’s net benefits and benefit-cost 

ratio, these analyses should be 

presented. Applicants should discount 

future benefits and costs to present 

values using a discount rate of 7 

percent, following guidance provided by 

OMB in Circulars A–4 and A–94 

(http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ 

circulars/). Applicants may also provide 

an alternative analysis using a discount 

rate of 3 percent. Applicants should 

follow the Department’s guidance on the 

values of time and statistical lives 

(http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/policy/

reports.htm). Sources of information on 

the social benefits of reducing crash 

costs, pollutant emissions, and other 

externalities are discussed in Chapter 

VIII of the Final Regulatory Impact 

Analysis of the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration’s 

rulemaking on Corporate Average Fuel 

Economy for MY 2011 Passenger Cars 

and Light Trucks (http:// 

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/

menuitem.d0b5a45b55


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
28760 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

bfbe582f57529cdba046a0/). The 

economic values of various benefits are 

summarized in Table VIII–5 on page 

VIII–60. 

The estimate of $33 per metric ton of 

carbon cited on page VIII–45 of 

NHTSA’s analysis may be used as a 

placeholder to measure the global 

benefits of reducing U.S. CO2 emissions. 

The Administration is currently 

developing interim guidance on the 

social cost of carbon that may result in 

a different determination of the 

appropriate assumption for per metric 

ton global benefits achieved by 

emissions reductions. Following this 

determination, the Department may 

adjust the level of economic benefits of 

anticipated emissions reductions for 

applications that cite such benefits. As 

such, applicants should clearly indicate 

how and to what degree calculations of 

benefits in their analyses are based on 

this assumed value of CO2 emissions 

reduction. 

The Department recognizes that some 

costs and benefits are more difficult to 

quantify or monetize than others. In 

presenting benefit-cost analyses, 

applicants may include qualitative 

discussion of the likely effects of better 

or more complete information on the net 

benefits presented and the reasons such 

information was not available for 

analysis. Where quality or completeness 

of data are not sufficient to allow a 

meaningful assessment of whether a 

project’s net benefits are positive or 

negative, applicants should discuss the 

data limitations that lead to this 

conclusion and present a qualitative 

comparison of costs and benefits. 

Should the Department agree that 

quantitative measures of the values of 

significant costs and benefits are not 

available or not reliable, the Department 

will do its best to weight qualitative 

assessments of the costs and benefits 

provided by the applicant. However, in 

the event of an unreasonable absence of 

data and analysis or poor applicant 

effort to put forth a robust quantification 

of net benefits, the application is 

unlikely to receive further 

consideration. In general, the lack of a 

useful analysis comparing expected 

benefits and costs for any such project 

is ground for denying award of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant. 

In all cases, if it is clear to the 

Department that the total benefits of a 

project are not reasonably likely to 

outweigh the project’s costs, the 

Department will not award a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant to the project. 

Consistent with the broader goals of the 

Recovery Act and the specific 

appropriation for the TIGER 

Discretionary Grants program, the 

Department can consider some factors 

that do not readily lend themselves to 

quantification or monetization, 

including distributional and geographic 

equity. 

Evaluation of Project Performance: 

The Department also encourages 

applicants with the requisite 

wherewithal to provide a plan for 

evaluating the success of the project (or 

a program of projects) and measuring 

short- and long-term performance, 

specifically with respect to the 

economic recovery measures and longterm outcomes specified in this notice. 

(b) Job Creation & Economic Stimulus. 

In order to measure a project’s 

alignment with this criterion, the 

Department will assess whether the 

project promotes the short- or long-term 

creation or preservation of jobs and 

whether the project rapidly promotes 

new or expanded business opportunities 

during construction of the project or 

thereafter. Demonstration of a project’s 

rapid economic impact is critical to a 

project’s alignment with this criterion. 

Applicants are encouraged to provide 

information to assist the Department in 

making these assessments, including the 

total amount of funds that will be 

expended on construction and 

construction-related activities by all of 

the entities participating in the project 

and, to the extent measurable, the 

number and type of jobs to be created 

and/or preserved by the project during 

construction and thereafter. Applicants 

should also identify any business 

enterprises to be created or benefited by 

the project during its construction and 

once it becomes operational. 

Consistent with the Recovery Act, the 

Updated Implementing Guidance for the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 issued by the Office of 

Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) on 

April 3, 2009 (the ‘‘OMB Guidance’’), 

and Federal laws guaranteeing equal 

opportunity, applicants are encouraged 

to provide information to assist the 

Department in assessing (1) whether the 

project will promote the creation of job 

opportunities for low-income workers 

through the use of best practice hiring 

programs and utilization of 

apprenticeship (including preapprenticeship) programs; (2) whether 

the project will provide maximum 

practicable opportunities for small 

businesses and disadvantaged business 

enterprises, including veteran-owned 

small businesses and service disabled 

veteran-owned small businesses; (3) 

whether the project will make effective 

use of community-based organizations 

in connecting disadvantaged workers 

with economic opportunities; (4) 

whether the project will support entities 

that have a sound track record on labor 

practices and compliance with Federal 

laws ensuring that American workers 

are safe and treated fairly; and (5) 

whether the project implements best 

practices, consistent with our nation’s 

civil rights and equal opportunity laws, 

for ensuring that all individuals— 

regardless of race, gender, age, 

disability, and national origin—benefit 

from the Recovery Act. 

To the extent possible, applicants 

should indicate whether the 

populations most likely to benefit from 

the creation or preservation of jobs or 

new or expanded business opportunities 

are from Economically Distressed Areas. 

In addition, to the extent possible, 

applicants should indicate whether the 

project’s procurement plan is likely to 

create follow-on jobs and economic 

stimulus for manufacturers and 

suppliers that support the construction 

industry. A key consideration in 

assessing projects under this criterion 

will be how quickly jobs are created. 

Consistent with Section 1602 of the 

Recovery Act (Preference for QuickStart Activities), the Department will 

assess whether a project is ready to 

proceed rapidly upon receipt of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant, as evidenced by: 

(i) Project Schedule: A feasible and 

sufficiently detailed project schedule 

demonstrating that the project can begin 

construction quickly upon receipt of a 

TIGER Discretionary Grant and that the 

Grant Funds will be spent steadily and 

expeditiously once construction starts; 

the schedule should show how many 

direct, on-project jobs are expected to be 

created or sustained during each 

calendar quarter after the project is 

underway; 

(ii) Environmental Approvals: Receipt 

(or reasonably anticipated receipt) of all 

environmental approvals necessary for 

the project to proceed to construction on 

the timeline specified in the project 

schedule, including satisfaction of all 

Federal, State and local requirements 

and completion of the National 

Environmental Policy Act process; 

(iii) Legislative Approvals: Receipt of 

all necessary legislative approvals (for 

example, legislative authority to charge 

user fees or set toll rates), and evidence 

of support from State and local officials, 

including relevant governor(s) and/or 

mayors. Evidence of support from all 

relevant State and local officials is not 

required, however, the evidence should 

demonstrate that the project is broadly 

supported; 

(iv) State and Local Planning: The 

inclusion of the project in the relevant 

State, metropolitan, and local planning 

documents, or a certification from the 

appropriate agency that the project will 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28761 

2All regionally significant projects requiring an 

action by the FHWA or the FTA must be in the 

metropolitan transportation plan, TIP and STIP. 

Further, in air quality non-attainment and 

maintenance areas, all regionally significant 

projects, regardless of the funding source, must be 

included in the conforming metropolitan 

transportation plan and TIP. To the extent a project 

is required to be on a metropolitan transportation 

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

Discretionary Grant until it is included in such 

plans. Projects that are not required to be in long 

range transportation plans, STIPs and TIPs will not 

need to be included in such plans in order to 

receive a TIGER Discretionary Grant. Freight and 

passenger rail projects are not required to be on the 

State Rail Plans called for in the Passenger Rail 

Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. This is 

consistent with the exemption for high speed and 

intercity passenger rail projects under the Recovery 

Act. However, applicants seeking funding for 

freight and passenger rail projects are encouraged 

to demonstrate that they have done sufficient 

planning to ensure that projects fit into a prioritized 

list of capital needs and are consistent with longrange goals. 

be included in the relevant planning 

document prior to award of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant; 2 any MPO that is 

applying for a TIGER Discretionary 

Grant should provide evidence that the 

owner of the project supports the 

application and will cooperate in 

carrying out the activities to be 

supported by the TIGER Discretionary 

Grant; 

(v) Technical Feasibility: The 

technical feasibility of the project, 

including completion of substantial 

preliminary engineering work; and 

(vi) Financial Feasibility: The viability 

and completeness of the project’s 

financing package (assuming the 

availability of the requested TIGER 

Discretionary Grant funds), including 

evidence of stable and reliable financial 

commitments and contingency reserves, 

as appropriate, and evidence of the 

grant recipient’s ability to manage 

grants. 

The Department reserves the right to 

revoke any award of TIGER 

Discretionary Grant funds and to award 

such funds to another project to the 

extent that such funds are not timely 

expended and/or construction does not 

begin in accordance with the project 

schedule. Because projects have 

different schedules the Department will 

consider on a case-by-case basis how 

much time after award of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant each project has 

before funds must be expended and 

construction started. This deadline will 

be specified for each TIGER 

Discretionary Grant in the projectspecific grant agreements signed by the 

grant recipients and will be based on 

critical path items identified by 

applicants in response to items (i) 

through (vi) above. For example, if an 

applicant reasonably anticipates that 

National Environmental Policy Act 

requirements will be completed and 

final documentation received within 30 

to 60 days of award of a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant, this timeframe will 

be taken into account in evaluating the 

application, but also in establishing a 

deadline for expenditure of funds and 

commencement of construction. The 

Department’s ability to obligate funds 

for TIGER Discretionary Grants expires 

on September 30, 2011. 

In compliance with the Recovery Act, 

the Department will give priority to 

projects that are expected to be 

completed on or before February 17, 

2012. For purposes of this solicitation, 

‘‘completed’’ means that all of the 

TIGER Discretionary Grant funds 

awarded to the project have been 

obligated and expended and 

construction of the project is 

substantially complete. 

The ability of the grant recipient to 

complete the project by this date must 

be clearly demonstrated in the project 

schedule. The Department will give 

priority to projects that utilize 

innovative contracting approaches that 

encourage accelerated project delivery. 

The Department will consider projects 

that are not expected to be completed by 

February 17, 2012, but these projects 

will not be rated as highly under this 

criterion. 

2. Secondary Selection Criteria 

(a) Innovation. 

In order to measure a project’s 

alignment with this criterion, the 

Department will assess the extent to 

which the project uses innovative 

technology (including, for example, 

intelligent transportation systems, 

dynamic pricing, rail wayside or onboard energy recovery, smart cards, realtime dispatching, active traffic 

management, radio frequency 

identification (RFID), or others) to 

pursue one or more of the long-term 

outcomes outlined above and/or to 

significantly enhance the operational 

performance of the transportation 

system. The Department will also assess 

the extent to which the project 

incorporates innovations that 

demonstrate the value of new 

approaches to, among other things, 

transportation funding and finance, 

contracting, project delivery, congestion 

management, safety management, asset 

management, or long-term operations 

and maintenance. The applicant should 

clearly demonstrate that the innovation 

is designed to pursue one or more of the 

long-term outcomes outlined above and/ 

or significantly enhance the 

transportation system. 

(b) Partnership. 

(i) Jurisdictional & Stakeholder 

Collaboration: In order to measure a 

project’s alignment with this criterion, 

the Department will assess the project’s 

involvement of non-Federal entities and 

the use of non-Federal funds, including 

the scope of involvement and share of 

total funding. The Department will give 

priority to projects that receive financial 

commitments from, or otherwise 

involve, State and local governments, 

other public entities, or private or 

nonprofit entities, including projects 

that engage parties that are not 

traditionally involved in transportation 

projects, such as nonprofit community 

groups. Pursuant to the OMB Guidance, 

the Department will give priority to 

projects that make effective use of 

community-based organizations in 

connecting disadvantaged people with 

economic opportunities. 

In compliance with the Recovery Act, 

the Department will give priority to 

projects for which a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant will help to 

complete an overall financing package. 

An applicant should clearly 

demonstrate the extent to which the 

project cannot be readily and efficiently 

completed without Federal assistance, 

and the extent to which other sources of 

Federal assistance are or are not readily 

available for the project, including other 

funds made available pursuant to the 

Recovery Act. The Department will 

assess the amount of private debt and 

equity to be invested in the project or 

the amount of co-investment from State, 

local or other non-profit sources. 

The Department will also assess the 

extent to which the project 

demonstrates collaboration among 

neighboring or regional jurisdictions to 

achieve National, regional or 

metropolitan benefits. Multiple States or 

jurisdictions may submit a joint 

application and should identify a lead 

State or jurisdiction as the primary 

point of contact. Where multiple States 

are submitting a joint application, the 

application should demonstrate how the 

project costs are apportioned between 

the States to assist the Department in 

making the distributional 

determinations described below in 

Section III(C) (Distribution of Funds). 

(ii) Disciplinary Integration: In order 

to demonstrate the value of partnerships 

across government agencies that serve 

the various public service missions 

forwarded by the Recovery Act and to 

promote collaboration on the objectives 

outlined in this notice, the Department 

will give priority to projects that are 

supported, financially or otherwise, by 

non-transportation public agencies that 

are pursuing similar objectives. For 

example, the Department will give 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
28762 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

priority to transportation projects that 

create more livable communities and are 

supported by relevant public housing 

agencies, or transportation projects that 

encourage energy efficiency or improve 

the environment and are supported by 

relevant public agencies with energy or 

environmental missions. 

C. Program-Specific Criteria 

The Department will use certain 

program-specific criteria in the 

evaluation and selection process to help 

differentiate between similar projects. 

Similar projects are those that have 

similar characteristics and satisfy the 

eligibility requirements of existing 

programmatic structures (for example, 

two urban light rail projects eligible to 

participate in the New Starts program). 

To the extent two or more similar 

projects have similar ratings based on 

the selection criteria outlined in Section 

II(A) (Selection Criteria) the programspecific criteria will be used to assign 

priority among these projects. 

Projects will not be given specific 

ratings of ‘‘highly recommended,’’ 

‘‘recommended’’ or ‘‘not recommended’’ 

for applicable program-specific criteria; 

rather, the Department will use the 

program-specific criteria to rank similar 

projects. To the extent otherwise similar 

projects can be differentiated based on 

the selection criteria, program-specific 

criteria will not be given any weight. 

The program-specific criteria are not 

intended to limit the number of similar 

projects that can receive TIGER 

Discretionary Grants. 

Program-specific criteria will only be 

applied to the types of projects 

identified below. Any other type of 

project will be differentiated from other 

similar projects solely based on the 

selection criteria outlined in Section 

II(A) (Selection Criteria). The 

Department will use the following 

program-specific criteria, where 

applicable, to assign priority among 

similar projects: 

1. For bridge replacement projects, 

program-specific criteria are the 

following criteria found in 23 CFR 

650.707: total daily truck and non-truck 

traffic, bridge sufficiency ratings, and 

bridges with load or geometric 

restrictions. 

2. For transit projects, programspecific criteria are as follows: bus and 

rail fleet purchases that are within 

established FTA spare ratio policies, 

rehabilitation and replacement of assets 

that have exceeded the useful life span 

as identified in FTA policy, and/or the 

proposed project’s rating under the New 

Starts and Small Starts program criteria, 

as applicable (a copy of the criteria used 

for this program is available at http:// 

www.fta.dot.gov/planning/newstarts/ 

planning_environment_5615.html). 

3. For projects involving port 

infrastructure investments, programspecific criteria are, for both current 

state and post-project completion, the 

port or system’s: 

(a) Passenger and/or freight 

throughput, storage or processing 

capacity, including but not limited to, 

capacity movement (in tonnage, TEU 

(twenty-foot equivalent unit), barrels, 

etc.) across the dock, storage capacity on 

the terminal, and gate throughput; 

(b) Demand for services or demand for 

capacity (in the case of post-project 

completion, projections or estimates); 

(c) Efficiency (e.g. time savings, 

including vessel turnaround, gate and 

dwell times, and/or cost savings); 

(d) Reliability and/or resiliency, 

including but not limited to, ability of 

the facility or system to recover from 

natural or man-made disasters and 

provide necessary services; 

(e) National security or National 

interest aspects of items (a) through (d) 

above including but not limited to 

movement of Department of Defense 

assets and strategic location; and 

(f) External factors that may influence 

or limit items (a) through (e) above 

(channel or berth maintenance or 

deepening and other navigation issues, 

road, rail or waterway factors that could 

represent bottlenecks and backups, etc.). 

4. For TIGER TIFIA Payments, 

program-specific criteria are the eight 

statutory selection criteria used by the 

Department’s TIFIA Joint Program 

Office to evaluate and select projects 

(these criteria have been assigned 

weights through regulation, as indicated 

below): 

(a) The extent to which the project is 

nationally or regionally significant, in 

terms of generating economic benefits, 

supporting international commerce, or 

otherwise enhancing the national 

transportation system (20 percent); 

(b) The extent to which the project 

helps maintain or protect the 

environment (20 percent); 

(c) The extent to which TIFIA 

assistance would foster innovative 

public-private partnerships and attract 

private debt or equity investment (20 

percent); 

(d) The creditworthiness of the 

project, including a determination by 

the Secretary that any financing for the 

project has appropriate security 

features, such as a rate covenant, to 

ensure repayment (12.5 percent); 

(e) The likelihood that TIFIA 

assistance would enable the project to 

proceed at an earlier date than the 

project would otherwise be able to 

proceed (12.5 percent); 

(f) The extent to which the project 

uses new technologies, including 

Intelligent Transportation Systems 

(ITS), that enhance the efficiency of the 

project (5 percent); 

(g) The amount of budget authority 

required to fund the Federal credit 

instrument made available (5 percent); 

and 

(h) The extent to which TIFIA 

assistance would reduce the 

contribution of Federal grant assistance 

to the project (5 percent). 

In addition, approval for TIFIA credit 

assistance requires the receipt of a 

preliminary rating opinion letter 

indicating that the project’s senior debt 

obligations have the potential to attain 

an investment-grade rating. Complete 

details regarding the TIFIA selection 

process can be found in the program 

guide, which can be downloaded from 

http://tifia.fhwa.dot.gov/. 

III. Evaluation and Selection Process 

A. Ensuring Responsible Spending of 

Recovery Act Funds 

On March 20, 2009, the President of 

the United States signed a memorandum 

for the heads of executive departments 

and agencies on ensuring responsible 

spending of Recovery Act funds. The 

memorandum directs all Federal 

agencies responsible for administering 

Recovery Act funds, including the 

Department, to develop transparent, 

merit-based selection criteria to guide 

the commitment, obligation and 

expenditure of the Recovery Act funds 

for which they are responsible, 

including TIGER Discretionary Grant 

funds. 

In accordance with the memorandum, 

the criteria specified in this notice help 

ensure that TIGER Discretionary Grants 

will be awarded to projects with a 

demonstrated or potential ability to: ‘‘(i) 

Deliver programmatic results; (ii) 

achieve economic stimulus by 

optimizing economic activity and the 

number of jobs created or saved in 

relation to the Federal dollars obligated; 

(iii) achieve long-term public benefits 

by, for example, investing in 

technological advances in science and 

health to increase economic efficiency 

and improve quality of life; investing in 

transportation, environmental 

protection, and other infrastructure that 

will provide long-term economic 

benefits; fostering energy independence; 

or improving educational quality; and 

(iv) satisfy the Recovery Act’s 

transparency and accountability 

objectives.’’ 

In accordance with the memorandum, 

the Department will not award TIGER 

Discretionary Grants to any project that 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28763 

is imprudent or does not further the job 

creation, economic recovery and other 

purposes of the Recovery Act. In 

addition, Department officials will not 

consider the views of a registered 

lobbyist concerning particular projects, 

applications, or applicants for funding 

under the Recovery Act unless such 

views are in writing and made publicly 

available. For additional guidance on 

the lobbying disclosure requirements of 

the President’s Memorandum, please 

see the Office of Management and 

Budget’s Interim Guidance Regarding 

Communications with Registered 

Lobbyists about Recovery Act Funds 

(available at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/ 

memoranda_fy2009/m-09–16.pdf) and 

any subsequent guidance issued by 

OMB. 

B. Evaluation Process 

The Department will establish an 

evaluation team to review each 

application that is received by the 

Department prior to the Application 

Deadline. The evaluation team will be 

organized and led by the Office of the 

Secretary and will include members 

from each of the Cognizant Modal 

Administrations (as defined below). 

These representatives will include 

technical and professional staff with 

relevant experience and/or expertise. 

The evaluation team will be responsible 

for evaluating and rating all of the 

projects and making funding 

recommendations to the Secretary. The 

evaluation process will require team 

members to evaluate and rate 

applications individually before 

convening with other members to 

discuss ratings. The composition of the 

evaluation team will be finalized after 

the Application Deadline, based on the 

number and nature of applications 

received. 

The Department will not assign 

specific numerical scores to projects 

based on the selection criteria outlined 

above in Section II(A) (Selection 

Criteria). Rather, ratings of ‘‘highly 

recommended,’’ ‘‘recommended,’’ or 

‘‘not recommended’’ will be assigned to 

projects for each of the selection criteria. 

The Department will award TIGER 

Discretionary Grants to projects that are 

‘‘highly recommended’’ in one or more 

of the selection criteria, with projects 

that are ‘‘highly recommended’’ in 

multiple selection criteria being more 

likely to receive TIGER Discretionary 

Grants. In addition, the Department will 

consider whether a project has a 

negative effect on any of the selection 

criteria, and any such negative effect 

may reduce the likelihood that the 

project will receive a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant. To the extent the 

initial evaluation process does not 

sufficiently differentiate among highly 

rated projects, the Department will use 

a similar three-tiered rating process to 

re-assess the projects that were highly 

rated and identify those that should be 

most highly rated. 

The Department will give more 

weight to the two Primary Selection 

Criteria (Long-Term Outcomes and Jobs 

Creation & Economic Stimulus) than to 

the two Secondary Selection Criteria 

(Innovation and Partnership). Projects 

that are unable to demonstrate a 

likelihood of significant long-term 

benefits in any of the five long-term 

outcomes identified in Section 

II(A)(1)(a) (Long-Term Outcomes) will 

not proceed in the evaluation process. A 

project need not be well aligned with 

each of the long-term outcomes in order 

to be successful in the long-term 

outcomes criterion overall. However, to 

be successful in the long-term outcomes 

criterion a project must be ‘‘highly 

recommended’’ for at least one of the 

long-term outcomes or ‘‘recommended’’ 

for multiple long-term outcomes. 

Projects that are strongly aligned with 

multiple long-term outcomes will be the 

most successful in this criterion. 

For the Jobs Creation & Economic 

Stimulus criterion, projects need not 

receive a rating of ‘‘highly 

recommended’’ in order to be 

recommended for funding, although a 

project that is not ready to proceed 

quickly, as evidenced by the items 

requested in Section II(B)(1)(b)(i)–(vi) 

(Project Schedule, Environmental 

Approvals, Legislative Approvals, State 

and Local Planning, Technical 

Feasibility, and Financial Feasibility), is 

less likely to be successful in this 

criterion. 

The Department will give less weight 

to the two Secondary Selection Criteria 

(Innovation and Partnership) than to the 

two Primary Selection Criteria (LongTerm Outcomes and Jobs Creation & 

Economic Stimulus). The two 

Secondary Selection Criteria will be 

rated equally. 

As noted above in Section II(C) 

(Program-Specific Criteria), the 

Program-Specific Criteria will not be 

given ratings and will only be used to 

the extent the Department needs to 

differentiate and assign priority among 

similar projects that have similar ratings 

based on the selection criteria outlined 

above in Section II(A) (Selection 

Criteria). 

The following table summarizes the 

weighting of the selection criteria, as 

described in the preceding paragraphs: 

Long-Term Outcomes ......................................... The Department will give more weight to this criterion than to either of the Secondary Selection Criteria. In addition, this criterion has a minimum threshold requirement. Projects that 

are unable to demonstrate a likelihood of significant long-term benefits in any of the five 

long-term outcomes identified in this criterion will not proceed in the evaluation process. 

Jobs Creation & Economic Stimulus .................. The Department will give more weight to this criterion than to either of the Secondary Selection Criteria. This criterion will be considered after it is determined that a project demonstrates a likelihood of significant long-term benefits in at least one of the five long-term 

outcomes identified in the long-term outcomes criterion. 

Innovation & Partnership .................................... The Department will give less weight to these criteria than to the Primary Selection Criteria. 

Program-Specific Criteria .................................... The Department will only give weight to these criteria to the extent the Department needs to 

differentiate multiple similar projects that are rated similarly based on the Primary and Secondary Selection Criteria. 

To be selected for a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant, a project must be 

an Eligible Project and the applicant 

must be an Eligible Applicant. The 

Department may consider one or more 

components of a large project to be an 

Eligible Project, but only to the extent 

that the components themselves, not the 

project of which they are a part, are 

Eligible Projects and satisfy the 

selection criteria specified in this 

notice. For these projects, the benefits 

described in an application must be 

related to the components of the project 

for which funding is requested, not the 

full project of which they are a part. 

C. Distribution of Funds 

As noted above in Section I 

(Background), the Recovery Act 

prohibits the award of more than 20 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
28764 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

percent of the funds made available 

under this program to projects in any 

one State. The Recovery Act also 

requires that the Department take 

measures to ensure an equitable 

geographic distribution of funds and an 

appropriate balance in addressing the 

needs of urban and rural communities. 

The Department will apply an initial 

unconstrained competitive rating 

process based on the selection criteria 

and program-specific criteria identified 

above in Section II(A) (Selection 

Criteria) and Section II(C) (ProgramSpecific Criteria) to determine a 

preliminary list of projects 

recommended for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants. The Department will then 

analyze the preliminary list and 

determine whether the purely 

competitive ratings are consistent with 

distributional requirements of the 

Recovery Act. If necessary, the 

Department will adjust the list of 

recommended projects to satisfy the 

statutory distributional requirements 

while remaining as consistent as 

possible with the competitive ratings. 

As noted above in Section 

II(B)(2)(b)(i) (Jurisdictional & 

Stakeholder Collaboration), applications 

submitted jointly by multiple States 

should include an allocation of project 

costs to assist the Department in making 

these determinations. In addition, the 

Department will use the subsidy and 

administrative cost estimate, not the 

principal amount of credit assistance, to 

determine any TIGER TIFIA Payment’s 

effect on these distributional 

requirements. 

D. Transparency of Process 

In the interest of transparency, the 

Department will disclose as much of the 

information related to its evaluation 

process as is practical. The Department 

expects that the TIGER Discretionary 

Grants program may be reviewed and/or 

audited by Congress, the U.S. 

Government Accountability Office, the 

Department’s Inspector General, or 

others, and has and will continue to 

take steps to document its decision 

making process. 

IV. Grant Administration 

The Department expects that each 

TIGER Discretionary Grant will be 

administered by the modal 

administration in the Department with 

the most experience and/or expertise in 

the relevant project area (the ‘‘Cognizant 

Modal Administration’’), pursuant to a 

grant agreement between the TIGER 

Discretionary Grant recipient and the 

Cognizant Modal Administration. In 

accordance with the Recovery Act, the 

Secretary has the discretion to delegate 

such responsibilities. 

Applicable Federal laws, rules and 

regulations will apply to projects that 

receive TIGER Discretionary Grants, 

including all of the requirements 

included in the Recovery Act. 

As noted above in Section II(B)(1)(b) 

(Jobs Creation & Economic Stimulus), 

how soon after award a project is 

expected to expend Grant Funds and 

start construction will be considered on 

a case-by-case basis and will be 

specified in the project-specific grant 

agreements. The Department reserves 

the right to revoke any award of TIGER 

Discretionary Grant funds and to award 

such funds to another project to the 

extent that such funds are not timely 

expended and/or construction does not 

begin in accordance with the project 

schedule. The Department’s ability to 

obligate funds for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants expires on September 30, 2011. 

V. Waiver of Minimum Grant Size 

Requirement 

The Department has discretion under 

the Recovery Act to waive the $20 

million minimum grant size 

requirement for Smaller Projects. 

Applicants for TIGER Discretionary 

Grants of less than $20 million for 

Smaller Projects are encouraged to 

apply and should address the same 

criteria as applicants for TIGER 

Discretionary Grants in excess of $20 

million. The term ‘‘grant’’ in this 

provision of the Recovery Act does not 

include TIGER TIFIA Payments. 

VI. TIGER TIFIA Payments 

Up to $200 million of the $1.5 billion 

available for TIGER Discretionary Grants 

may be used for TIGER TIFIA Payments. 

Given the average subsidy cost of the 

existing TIFIA portfolio, $200 million in 

TIGER TIFIA Payments could support 

approximately $2 billion in Federal 

credit assistance. Applicants seeking 

TIGER TIFIA Payments should apply in 

accordance with all of the criteria and 

guidance specified in this notice for 

TIGER Discretionary Grant applicants 

and will be evaluated concurrently with 

all other applications. Any applicant 

seeking a TIGER TIFIA Payment is 

required to comply with all of the TIFIA 

program’s standard application and 

approval requirements, including 

submission of a Letter of Interest prior 

to submission of a TIFIA application 

(the TIFIA program guide can be 

downloaded from http:// 

tifia.fhwa.dot.gov/). The Letter of 

Interest must be submitted at least six 

weeks prior to the Application 

Deadline. 

The Department does not expect 

applicants for TIGER TIFIA Payments to 

have received an instrument from TIFIA 

obligating Federal credit assistance for 

the project before the application is 

submitted; however, applicants should 

demonstrate that they are ready to 

proceed rapidly upon receipt of a TIGER 

TIFIA Payment in accordance with the 

guidance specified above in Section 

II(B)(1)(b) (Job Creation & Economic 

Stimulus). The Department’s TIFIA Joint 

Program Office will assist the 

Department in determining a project’s 

readiness to proceed rapidly upon 

receipt of a TIGER TIFIA Payment. 

Applicants seeking TIGER TIFIA 

Payments may also apply for a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant for the same project 

and must indicate the type(s) of funding 

for which they are applying clearly on 

the face of their applications. An 

applicant for a TIGER TIFIA Payment 

must submit an application pursuant to 

this notice for a TIGER TIFIA Payment 

even if it does not wish to apply for a 

TIGER Discretionary Grant. 

Unless otherwise expressly noted 

herein, any and all requirements that 

apply to TIGER Discretionary Grants 

pursuant to the Recovery Act, this 

notice, or otherwise, including all 

reporting and Recovery Act related 

requirements, apply to TIGER TIFIA 

Payments. TIFIA applicants that do not 

receive TIGER TIFIA Payments will not 

be required to comply with any of these 

requirements. 

VII. Contents of Application 

An applicant for a TIGER 

Discretionary Grant should include all 

of the information requested below in 

its application. The Department reserves 

the right to ask any applicant to 

supplement the data in its application, 

but expects applications to be complete 

upon submission. To the extent 

practical, the Department encourages 

applicants to provide data and evidence 

of project merits in a form that is 

publicly available or verifiable. For 

TIGER TIFIA Payments, these 

requirements apply only to the 

applications required under this notice; 

the standard TIFIA loan application 

requirements, including the standard 

$30,000.00 application fee, are 

separately described in the Program 

Guide and Application Form found at 

http://tifia.fhwa.dot.gov/. 

A. Length of Applications 

The narrative portion of an 

application should not exceed 25 pages 

in length. Documentation supporting 

the assertions made in the narrative 

portion may also be provided, but 

should be limited to relevant 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28765 

information. If possible, Web site links 

to supporting documentation should be 

provided rather than copies of these 

materials. At the applicant’s discretion, 

relevant materials provided previously 

to a Cognizant Modal Administration (as 

defined below) in support of a different 

DOT discretionary program (for 

example, New Starts or TIFIA) may be 

referenced and described as unchanged. 

To the extent referenced, this 

information need not be resubmitted for 

the TIGER Discretionary Grant 

application. 

B. Contact Information 

An application should include the 

name, phone number, e-mail address 

and organization address of the primary 

point of contact for the applicant. The 

Department will use this information to 

inform parties of the Department’s 

decision regarding selection of projects, 

as well as to contact parties in the event 

that the Department needs additional 

information about an application. 

C. Project Description 

An application should include a 

detailed description of the proposed 

project and geospatial data for the 

project, including a map of the project’s 

location and its connections to existing 

transportation infrastructure. An 

application should also include a 

description of how the project addresses 

the needs of an urban and/or rural area. 

An application should clearly describe 

the transportation challenges that the 

project aims to address, and how the 

project will address these challenges. 

This description should include 

relevant data such as, for example, 

passenger or freight volumes, congestion 

levels, infrastructure condition, or safety 

experience. 

D. Project Parties 

An application should include 

information about the grant recipient 

and other project parties. 

E. Grant Funds and Sources and Uses of 

Project Funds 

An application should include 

information about the amount of grant 

funding requested, sources and uses of 

all project funds, total project costs, 

percentage of project costs that would 

be paid for with TIGER Discretionary 

Grant funds, and the identity and 

percentage shares of all parties 

providing funds for the project 

(including Federal funds provided 

under other programs). 

F. Selection Criteria 

An application must include 

information required for the Department 

to assess each of the criteria specified in 

Section II(A) (Selection Criteria), as 

such criteria are explained in Section 

II(B) (Additional Guidance on Selection 

Criteria), and each of the relevant 

criteria specified in Section II(C) 

(Program-Specific Criteria). Applicants 

are encouraged to demonstrate the 

responsiveness of a project to any and 

all of the selection criteria with the most 

relevant information that applicants can 

provide, regardless of whether such 

information has been specifically 

requested, or identified, in this notice. 

Any such information shall be 

considered part of the application, not 

supplemental, for purposes of the 

application size limits identified above 

in item A (Length of Applications). If an 

applicant is unsure whether any of the 

program-specific criteria apply to its 

project and should be addressed in its 

application the applicant should contact 

the Department pursuant to the 

procedures specified below in Section X 

(Questions and Clarifications). 

Information provided pursuant to this 

paragraph must be quantified, to the 

extent possible, to describe the project’s 

impacts on the Nation, a metropolitan 

area, or a region. Information provided 

pursuant to this paragraph should 

include projections for both the build 

and no-build scenarios for the project 

for a point in time at least 20 years 

beyond the project’s completion date or 

the lifespan of the project, whichever is 

closest to the present. 

G. Federal Wage Rate Requirement 

An application must include a 

certification, signed by the applicant, 

stating that it will comply with the 

requirements of subchapter IV of 

chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

Code (Federal wage rate requirements), 

as required by the Recovery Act. 

H. National Environmental Policy Act 

Requirement 

An application must detail whether 

the project will significantly impact the 

natural, social and/or economic 

environment. If the NEPA process is 

completed, an applicant must indicate 

the date of, and provide a Web site link 

or other reference to, the final 

Categorical Exclusion, Finding of No 

Significant Impact or Record of 

Decision. If the NEPA process is 

underway but not complete, the 

application must detail where the 

project is in the process, indicate the 

anticipated date of completion and 

provide a Web site link or other 

reference to copies of any NEPA 

documents prepared. 

I. Environmentally Related Federal, 

State and Local Actions 

An application must indicate whether 

the proposed project is likely to require 

actions by other agencies (e.g., permits), 

indicate the status of such actions and 

provide a Web site link or other 

reference to materials submitted to the 

other agencies, and/or demonstrate 

compliance with other Federal, State 

and local regulations as applicable, 

including, but not limited to, Section 

4(f) Parklands, Recreation Areas, 

Refuges, & Historic Properties; Section 

106 Historic and Culturally Significant 

Properties; Clean Water Act Wetlands 

and Water; Executive Orders Wetlands, 

Floodplains, Environmental Justice; 

Clean Air Act Air Quality (specifically 

note if the project is located in a 

nonattainment area); Endangered 

Species Act Threatened and 

Endangered Biological Resources; 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Essential Fish Habitat; The Bald and 

Golden Eagle Protection Act; and/or any 

State and local requirements. 

J. Protection of Confidential Business 

Information 

All information submitted as part of 

or in support of an application shall use 

publicly available data or data that can 

be made public and methodologies that 

are accepted by industry practice and 

standards, to the extent possible. If the 

application includes information that 

the applicant considers to be a trade 

secret or confidential commercial or 

financial information, the applicant 

should do the following: (1) Note on the 

front cover that the submission 

‘‘Contains Confidential Business 

Information (CBI);’’ (2) mark each 

affected page ‘‘CBI;’’ and (3) highlight or 

otherwise denote the CBI portions. The 

Department protects such information 

from disclosure to the extent allowed 

under applicable law. In the event the 

Department receives a Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) request for the 

information, the Department will follow 

the procedures described in its FOIA 

regulations at 49 CFR § 7.17. Only 

information that is ultimately 

determined to be confidential under that 

procedure will be exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA. 

K. First Page of Application 

The first page of an application 

should clearly identify (i) what type of 

project is the proposed project 

(highway, transit, rail, port or other), (ii) 

information about the location of the 

project, including State, city, county 

and congressional district, (iii) whether 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
28766 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 

the project is in an urban or rural area, 

and (iv) the amount in dollars of Grant 

Funds that the applicant is seeking. 

Recipients of TIGER Discretionary 

Grants and their first-tier sub-awardees 

will be required to have a DUNS 

number (http://www.dnb.com) and a 

current registration in the Central 

Contractor Registration (http:// 

www.ccr.gov). While these items do not 

need to be provided as part of the 

application, a TIGER Discretionary 

Grant will not be awarded if a recipient 

or first-tier sub-awardee does not have 

these items. 

VIII. Project Benefits 

The Department expects to identify 

and report on the benefits of the projects 

that it funds with TIGER Discretionary 

Grants. To this end, the Department may 

request that recipients of TIGER 

Discretionary Grants cooperate in 

Departmental efforts to collect and 

report on information related to the 

benefits produced by the projects that 

receive TIGER Discretionary Grants. 

In addition to the creation and 

preservation of jobs and other benefits 

that the Department is required to track 

and report pursuant to the Recovery 

Act, the benefits that the Department 

reports on may include the following: 

(1) Improved condition of existing 

transportation facilities and systems; (2) 

long-term growth in employment, 

production or other high-value 

economic activity; (3) improved 

livability of communities across the 

United States; (4) improved energy 

efficiency, reduced dependence on oil 

and reduced greenhouse gas emissions; 

(5) reduced adverse impacts of 

transportation on the natural 

environment; (6) reduced number, rate 

and consequences of surface 

transportation-related crashes, injuries 

and fatalities; (7) greater use of 

innovative technology and innovative 

approaches to transportation funding 

and project delivery; (8) greater 

collaboration with State and local 

governments, other public entities, 

private entities, nonprofit entities, or 

other non-traditional partners; or (9) 

greater integration of transportation 

decision making with decision making 

by other public agencies with similar 

public service objectives. 

Because of the limited nature of this 

program, these benefits are likely to be 

reported on a project-by-project basis 

and trends across projects that were 

selected for TIGER Discretionary Grants 

may not be readily available. In 

addition, because many of these benefits 

are long-term outcomes, it may be years 

before the value of the investments can 

be quantified and fully reported. The 

Department is considering the most 

appropriate way to collect and report 

information about these potential 

project benefits. 

IX. Reporting Requirements 

A. Section 1201(c): Maintenance of 

Effort: Reporting Requirements 

Pursuant to the Recovery Act, entities 

receiving TIGER Discretionary Grants 

will be required to report on grant 

activities on a routine basis. Section 

1201(c) of the Recovery Act 

(Maintenance of Effort: Reporting 

Requirements), under General 

Provision—Department of 

Transportation—imposes an obligation 

on entities receiving TIGER 

Discretionary Grants, along with other 

Department grantees receiving funds 

from the Department’s Covered 

Programs, to submit periodic reports to 

the agency from which funds were 

received. Section 1201(c)(2) requires 

that such reports include, for each 

Covered Program (which includes the 

TIGER Discretionary Grant program) the 

following information: the amount of 

Grant Funds appropriated, allocated, 

obligated, and outlayed under the 

appropriation; the number of projects 

put out to bid under the appropriation 

and the amount of Grant Funds 

associated with these contracts; the 

number of projects for which contracts 

have been awarded under the 

appropriation and the amount of Grant 

Funds associated with these contracts; 

the number of projects for which work 

has begun under these contracts and the 

associated amount of Grant Funds; the 

number of projects for which work has 

been completed and the associated 

amount of Grant Funds; the number of 

direct, on-project jobs created or 

sustained by the Grant Funds for 

projects under the appropriation and, to 

the extent possible, the estimated 

indirect jobs created or sustained in 

associated supplying industries, 

including the number of job-years 

created and total increase in 

employment since February 17, 2009; 

and the actual aggregate expenditures by 

each recipient from State sources for 

projects eligible for funding under the 

program between February 17, 2009, 

and September 30, 2010, compared to 

the level of such expenditures planned 

to occur during this period as of 

February 17, 2009. 

According to the statute, grant 

recipients must submit the first of these 

reports not later than 90 days from 

February 17, 2009, and must submit 

updated reports not later than 180 days, 

1 year, 2 years, and 3 years after that 

date. Due to the unique timeframe for 

TIGER Discretionary Grant awards, 

TIGER Discretionary Grant recipients 

should submit the first of such reports 

on the first due date following the 

award of Grant Funds and on each 

subsequent due date thereafter. 

B. Section 1512: Reports on Use of 

Funds 

Section 1512 of the Recovery Act 

(Reports on Use of Funds) requires any 

entity that received TIGER Discretionary 

Grants to submit a report not later than 

10 days after the end of each calendar 

quarter as a condition of receiving 

funding under the Recovery Act. 

Pursuant to the OMB Guidance (which 

is available at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/ 

memoranda_fy2009/m09-15.pdf), 

recipients must report to OMB 

beginning 10 days after the end of the 

first calendar quarter after funds are 

awarded. Recipients should refer to the 

OMB Guidance for more detailed 

instructions on such reports. OMB is 

currently developing a governmentwide central reporting system. Detailed 

instructions for centrally reporting the 

required information will be made 

available at http:// 

www.FederalReporting.gov. 

C. Section 1609: Environmental 

Reporting 

Section 1609(c) of the Recovery Act 

requires that Federal agencies report via 

the President (specifically, to the White 

House Council on Environmental 

Quality) every 90 days following 

enactment of the Recovery Act on the 

status of projects funded under the 

Recovery Act with respect to 

compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act. 

To satisfy the purposes of the 

Recovery Act, grant recipients may be 

required to provide additional 

information in response to requests from 

OMB, the Congressional Budget Office, 

the Government Accountability Office, 

or the Department’s Inspector General. 

The Department will inform grant 

recipients if and when such additional 

reports are required. 

Further information about how grant 

recipients will be expected to comply 

with the reporting requirements of the 

Recovery Act will be provided in the 

individual grant agreements signed by 

recipients of TIGER Discretionary 

Grants. 

X. Certification Requirements 

To the extent applicable, grantees 

must comply with the Certification 

requirements of the Recovery Act. These 

include the Certification requirement in 

Section 1511 (Transparency and 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 17, 2009 / Notices 28767 

Oversight), requiring the Governor, 

mayor, or other chief executive, as 

appropriate, to certify that the 

infrastructure investment has received 

the full review and vetting required by 

law and accepting responsibility that 

the infrastructure investment is an 

appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. 

Certification under Section 1511 is a 

condition for award of TIGER 

Discretionary Grants to State or local 

agencies. On February 27, 2009, 

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood 

sent a letter to the Governors of each 

State providing guidance and a template 

for the Certifications required by the 

Recovery Act, a copy of which is 

available on the Department’s Recovery 

Act Web site, at http://www.dot.gov/ 

recovery/. 

Pursuant to Section 1511, for funds 

made available to State or local 

governments for transportation 

infrastructure investments, including 

Grant Funds under the TIGER 

Discretionary Grants program, the 

Governor, mayor, or other chief 

executive, as appropriate, must certify 

that the infrastructure investment (1) 

received the full review and vetting 

required by law; and (2) that the chief 

executive accepts responsibility that it 

is an appropriate use of taxpayer 

dollars. This Certification must be 

executed and posted on a Web site and 

linked to Recovery.gov prior to the 

recipient of a TIGER Discretionary Grant 

receiving Grant Funds. If the potential 

project is a highway or transit project 

and it is included in the Statewide 

Transportation Improvement Program 

(STIP) with the specific information 

required by Section 1511 (a description 

of the investment, the estimated total 

cost, and the amount of ARRA funds to 

be used), it may be included in the 

Governor’s Section 1511 Certification 

covering highway and transit projects in 

a State. One way for the Governor’s 

Certification to satisfy the Section 1511 

requirement, is for the Certification to 

state that the project is included in the 

STIP and therefore has completed the 

TIP/STIP planning process. In this case, 

the Governor’s Certification must also 

provide a link to the public web posting 

of the STIP that includes (or will 

include) any highway and transit project 

designated to receive Recovery Act 

funding. If the project is not included in 

the STIP, a separate Certification for the 

potential TIGER Discretionary Grant 

project must be executed, attaching the 

relevant information or linking to a 

public Web site where the information 

may be obtained. This Certification 

must include a description of the 

investment, the estimated total cost, and 

the amount of covered funds to be used, 

and must be posted online and linked 

to the Web site Recovery.gov. The 

Certification must also state that the 

projects have been properly reviewed 

and vetted and are an appropriate use of 

taxpayer dollars. 

All Certifications, once executed, 

shall be submitted to the Secretary of 

Transportation, c/o Joel Szabat, Deputy 

Assistant Secretary for Transportation 

Policy, at TigerTeam.Leads@dot.gov. 

Certifications may be submitted via email as electronic, scanned copies, with 

original signed versions to follow via 

U.S. mail. As required by the Recovery 

Act, Certifications under Section 1511 

shall be immediately posted on a Web 

site and linked to the Web site 

Recovery.gov. 

XI. Questions and Clarifications 

Questions about this notice should be 

submitted to the TIGER Discretionary 

Grants program manager via e-mail at 

TIGERGrants@dot.gov. The Department 

will regularly post answers to these 

questions and other important 

clarifications on the Department’s Web 

site at http://www.dot.gov/recovery/ost/. 

Issued On: June 12, 2009. 

Ray LaHood, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–14262 Filed 6–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2009–0001–N–13] 

Notice and Request for Comments 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice 

announces that the Information 

Collection Requirements (ICRs) 

abstracted below have been forwarded 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and comment. The 

ICRs describe the nature of the 

information collections and their 

expected burdens. The Federal Register 

notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on the following 

collections of information was 

published on April 6, 2009 (74 FR 

15588). 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before July 17, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Robert Brogan, Office of Safety, 

Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS– 

21, Federal Railroad Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Mail Stop 

17, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 

(202) 493–6292), or Ms. Nakia Jackson, 

Office of Information Technology, RAD– 

20, Federal Railroad Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Mail Stop 

35, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: 

(202) 493–6073). (These telephone 

numbers are not toll-free.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), Public Law 104–13, Section 2, 

109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised 

at 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part 

1320, require Federal agencies to issue 

two notices seeking public comment on 

information collection activities before 

OMB may approve paperwork packages. 

44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 

1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On April 6, 2009, 

FRA published a 60-day notice in the 

Federal Register soliciting comment on 

ICRs that the agency was seeking OMB 

approval. 74 FR 15588. FRA received no 

comments after issuing this 60-day 

notice. Accordingly, DOT announces 

that these information collection 

activities have been re-evaluated and 

certified under 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 

forwarded to OMB for review and 

approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12(c). 

Before OMB decides whether to 

approve these proposed collections of 

information, it must provide 30 days for 

public comment. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5 

CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires 

OMB to approve or disapprove 

paperwork packages between 30 and 60 

days after the 30 day notice is 

published. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b)–(c); 5 CFR 

1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983, 

Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the 30 

day notice informs the regulated 

community to file relevant comments 

and affords the agency adequate time to 

digest public comments before it 

renders a decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug. 

29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should 

submit their respective comments to 

OMB within 30 days of publication to 

best ensure having their full effect. 5 

CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983, 

Aug. 29, 1995. 

The summaries below describe the 

nature of the information collection 

requirements (ICRs) and the expected 

burden. The current requirements are 

being submitted for clearance by OMB 

as required by the PRA. 

Title: Stenciling Reporting Mark on 

Freight Cars. 

OMB Control Number: 2130–0520. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Railroads. 

Abstract: Title 49, Section 215.301 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations, sets 

forth certain requirements that must be 

followed by railroad carriers and private 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES