[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29754-29755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13785]
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 2, 1999 /
Notices
[[Page 29754]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
Federal Transit Administration
Office of the Secretary
Fiscal Year 1999 Applications for TIFIA Credit Assistance
AGENCIES: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Office of
the Secretary of Transportation (OST), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds inviting applications for
credit assistance for major surface transportation projects.
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SUMMARY: The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21),
Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, created the Transportation
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA). The TIFIA,
as amended by section 9007, Pub. L. 105-206, 112 Stat. 685, 849 and
codified at 23 U.S.C. 181-189, authorizes the Department of
Transportation (DOT) to provide credit assistance in the form of
secured (direct) loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees to public
and private sponsors of eligible surface transportation projects. The
TIFIA rule (49 CFR Part 80) provides specific guidance on the program
requirements. Additionally, the DOT will make available a TIFIA program
guide for more general information. Funding for this program is
limited, and projects obtaining assistance will be evaluated and
selected by the DOT on a competitive basis. Following selections,
individual credit agreements will be developed through negotiations
between the project sponsors and the DOT. The DOT has available
$70,640,000 in budget authority in fiscal year 1999 to cover the
subsidy costs of up to $1.6 billion in Federal credit assistance.
DEADLINES AND SUBMISSIONS: For consideration in the fiscal year 1999
funding cycle, letters of interest must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. EDT
on June 23, 1999. Formal applications may be submitted at any time
after July 7, 1999. The deadline for receipt of the formal application
(20 copies plus original) and the non-refundable $5,000 application
initiation charge is 4:30 p.m. EDT on August 2, 1999. Applications
received in the offices of the DOT after that date and time will not be
considered. Applications sent to the DOT electronically or by facsimile
will not be accepted. Both the letters of interest and completed
applications should be submitted to the attention of Ms. Stephanie
Kaufman, Office of Budget and Program Performance, Department of
Transportation, Room 10105, B-10, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington
D.C., 20590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FHWA: Mr. Max Inman, Office of Budget
and Finance, Federal-Aid Financial Management Division, (202) 366-0673;
FRA: Ms. JoAnne McGowan, Office of Passenger and Freight Services,
Freight Program Division, (202) 493-6390; FTA: Mr. Paul Marx, Office of
Policy Development, (202) 366-1734; OST: Ms. Stephanie Kaufman, Office
of Budget and Program Performance, (202) 366-9649; Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, D.C., 20590.
Hearing-and speech-impaired persons may use TTY by calling the Federal
Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339. Additional information,
including the TIFIA program guide and application materials, can be
obtained from the TIFIA web site at http://tifia.fhwa.dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Program Funding and Limitations on Assistance
The TIFIA provides annual funding levels for both total credit
amounts (i.e., the total principal amounts that may be disbursed in the
form of direct loans, guaranteed loans, or lines of credit) and subsidy
amounts (i.e., the amounts of budget authority available to cover the
estimated present value of expected losses associated with the
provision of credit instruments, net of any fee income). Funding for
the subsidy amounts is provided in the form of budget authority funded
from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account). For
fiscal year 1999, the TIFIA authorizes $80 million in budget authority
to fund the subsidy costs associated with a total nominal amount of
direct loans, loan guarantees, and lines of credit that is limited to
$1.6 billion. Depending on the individual risk assessments made for
each of the projects receiving assistance, the total amount of credit
assistance provided in fiscal year 1999 may be less than the $1.6
billion limitation.
Total Federal credit assistance authorized for the TIFIA program is
limited to $1.6 billion in fiscal year 1999; $1.8 billion in fiscal
year 2000; $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2001; $2.4 billion in fiscal
year 2002; and $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2003. These amounts lapse if
not awarded by the end of the fiscal year for which they are provided.
To support this assistance by funding the required subsidy amounts,
the TIFIA provides budget authority of $80 million in fiscal year 1999;
$90 million in fiscal year 2000; $110 million in fiscal year 2001; $120
million in fiscal year 2002; and $130 million in fiscal year 2003. Of
these amounts, the Secretary may use up to $2 million for each of the
fiscal years for administrative expenses. Any budget authority not
obligated in the fiscal year for which it is authorized remains
available for obligation in subsequent years.
The TIFIA budget authority is subject to an annual obligation
limitation that may be established in appropriations law. Like the
funding for certain other administrative or allocated programs (not
apportioned to the States) that are subject to the annual Federal-aid
obligation ceiling, the amount of TIFIA budget authority that is
available to fund credit instruments in a given year may be less than
the amount originally authorized for that year. The extent of any
budget authority reduction will depend on the ratio of the obligation
ceiling, which is determined annually in the appropriations process, to
the contract authority for the Federal-aid highway program, which was
established in TEA-21. For fiscal year 1999, this reduction was 11.7
percent, which left $70,640,000 in TIFIA budget authority instead of
the $80 million originally authorized. Future annual reductions of like
amount would result in a cumulative amount of budget authority
available in fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to fund TIFIA subsidy costs
of about $470 million instead of the $530 million originally
authorized. The credit amounts authorized in TIFIA are not subject to
this annual reduction.
The amount of credit assistance that may be provided to a project
under TIFIA is limited to not more than 33 percent of eligible project
costs.
Types of Credit Assistance Available
The DOT may provide credit assistance in the form of secured
(direct) loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees. These types of
credit assistance are defined in 23 U.S.C. 181 and 49 CFR 80.3.
Eligible Projects
Highway, rail, transit, and ``intermodal'' projects may receive
credit assistance under the TIFIA. See the definition of ``project'' in
23 U.S.C. 181(9) and 49 CFR 80.3 for a description of eligible
projects.
[[Page 29755]]
Threshold Criteria
Certain threshold criteria must be met by projects seeking TIFIA
assistance. These eligibility criteria are detailed in 23 U.S.C. 182(a)
and 49 CFR 80.13.
Application and Selection Process
Each applicant for TIFIA assistance will be required to submit a
letter of interest and a formal application to the DOT in order to be
considered for approval. The DOT anticipates that there will be fewer
than ten applicants annually. The following describes the application
process:
1. Letter of Interest. Initially, any applicant seeking assistance
in fiscal year 1999 must submit a brief letter of interest to the DOT
by June 23, 1999. The letter of interest should include a brief project
description (including its purpose, basic design features, and
estimated capital cost), basic information about the proposed financing
for the project (including a summary of sources and uses of funds and
the type and amount of credit assistance requested from the DOT), and a
description of the proposed project participants. The letter of
interest should not exceed five pages. A multi-agency DOT Credit
Program Working Group will review this preliminary submission to ensure
that the project meets the most basic requirements for participation in
the TIFIA program. The Working Group will then designate a lead modal
agency (FHWA, FRA, or FTA) for the project.
2. Formal Application. Once approved for further review, the
applicant will be notified by a representative from the designated
modal agency of its eligibility to submit a formal application. The
applicant must submit all required materials (generally described in 49
CFR 80.7 and detailed in the TIFIA application) to the DOT by August 2,
1999. The TIFIA application and additional program information may be
obtained from the TIFIA web site at http://tifia.fhwa.dot.gov or
through one of the program contacts listed in this notice.
3. Sponsor Presentation. Each applicant that passes an initial
screening of the formal application for completeness and satisfaction
of the eligibility threshold criteria will be invited to make an oral
presentation to the DOT on behalf of its project. The DOT plans to
schedule presentations within two weeks of the application deadline,
and will discuss the structure and content of the presentation with the
applicant at the time of the invitation.
4. Project Selection. Based on the formal application and oral
presentation, the DOT shall evaluate each project's distinct public
benefits and contribution to program goals according to each of the
selection criteria described in 23 U.S.C. 182(b) and 49 CFR 80.15. The
Secretary of Transportation plans to make final selections of projects
within four to six weeks of the application deadline.
Charges
For fiscal year 1999, the DOT will require each TIFIA applicant to
pay an application initiation charge of $5,000. The project sponsor
applying for TIFIA assistance must submit this payment by the
application deadline August 2, 1999. There will be no credit processing
charge for the fiscal year 1999 application and approval cycle. For
each application and approval cycle in fiscal year 2000 and beyond, the
DOT may adjust the amount of the application initiation charge and will
determine the appropriate amount of the credit processing charge
(established to equal a portion of the costs to the DOT of evaluating
applications, selecting projects to receive assistance, and negotiating
credit agreements) on the basis of its program implementation
experience. The DOT will publish these amounts in each Federal Register
solicitation for applications.
Applicants shall not include application initiation or credit
processing charges or any other expenses associated with the
application process (such as charges associated with obtaining the
required preliminary rating opinion letter) among eligible project
costs for the purpose of calculating the maximum 33 percent credit
amount.
If there is insufficient budget authority to fund the credit
instrument for a qualified project that has been selected to receive
assistance under TIFIA, the DOT and the approved applicant may agree
upon a supplemental charge to be paid by or on behalf of the approved
applicant at the time of execution of a term sheet to reduce the
subsidy cost of that project. No such charge may be included among
eligible project costs for the purpose of calculating the maximum 33
percent credit amount.
Dated: May 25, 1999.
Rodney E. Slater,
Secretary, Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 99-13785 Filed 6-1-99; 8:45 am]
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