[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 213 (Monday, November 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67236-67238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-27995]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Job Access and Reverse Commute Program Announcement of Project 
Selection

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects to be funded 
under Fiscal Year 2002 appropriations for the Job Access and Reverse 
Commute (JARC) Program, authorized by Section 3037 of the 
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). A total of 
$125 million was available for the JARC Program in FY 2002, the 
guaranteed funding level under TEA-21. In the Congressional conference 
committee report language accompanying the appropriations bill, $109.3 
million was designated for projects in specific areas. However, the 
General Accounting Office, in a December 2001 report to Congress, 
concluded that FTA could only select and fund projects through a 
national competition as specified in the JARC legislation. Accordingly, 
FTA required all applicants for FY 2002 JARC funding, including those 
designated in Congressional report language, to submit a project 
proposal application to be evaluated, scored, and ranked against all 
others. Subsequently, however, in the FY 2003 Supplemental 
Appropriations Act (H.R. 4775), signed into law on August 2, 2002, 
Congress authorized and instructed FTA to fund all projects designated 
in the report language upon receipt of an application. A number of 
applications for projects in congressionally-designated areas were 
submitted in FY 2002 and FTA has obligated $13 million for those 
projects. The list of congressionally-designated areas was included in 
FTA's 2002 Annual Apportionment Notice, published in the Federal 
Register on January 2, 2002. That notice can be found at: http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/legal/federalregister/2002/fr1202a.pdf.
    Because FTA solicited applications for both 2002 and 2003 funding, 
we will be prepared to announce projects selected for FY 2003 funds as 
soon as these funds become available.
    Local agencies and authorities and private non-profit organizations 
are eligible to apply for JARC Program funds. Local agencies and 
authorities include states, local governments, metropolitan planning 
organizations, public transit agencies and tribal organizations. A Job 
Access project is one that provides new or expanded transportation 
service designed to fill gaps that exist for welfare recipients and 
other low-income individuals to and from jobs and other employment-
related services. A Reverse Commute project facilitates the provision 
of new or expanded public mass transportation services for the general 
public from urban, suburban, and rural areas to suburban work sites. 
Capital and operating costs for such projects are eligible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The appropriate FTA Regional 
Administrator for grant-specific issues; or Sue Masselink, Office of 
Program Management, 202-366-2053 for general information about the JARC 
Program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: After setting aside the $109.3 million for 
Congressional earmarks, a total of $15.7 million was available for 
allocation by FTA. In FY 2002, the total amount requested from 
applicants other than those with Congressional earmarks was $43 
million. Among these applicants, 49 requested $23 million for 108 
continuation projects and 39 requested $20 million for 77 new projects. 
In order to encourage the creation of partnerships at the local level 
and afford a reasonable period in which to establish and sustain 
service, FTA announced in the solicitation notice that it would give 
funding priority to continuation projects. Because of the limited 
funding available for competitive allocation by FTA, only 76 of the 108 
proposed continuation projects were selected for funding, and none of 
the 77 proposed new projects were funded. The 76 projects selected were 
submitted by 39 applicants, and are being funded at a total of 
$16,765,367. The $15.7 million in available FY 2002 funds, together 
with a small balance of unobligated and uncommitted funds from prior 
years, will be used to fund the selected projects. The following 
continuation projects rated most meritorious in the evaluation process 
have been selected for funding:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Region           State               Agency               Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I               MA              Massachusetts Office of       $1,064,223
                                 Transportation and
                                 Construction.
                MA              Massachusetts Bay                803,810
                                 Transportation
                                 Authority.
                MA              Pioneer Valley                   300,000
                                 Transportation
                                 Authority.
                NH              City of Nashua..........         149,302
II              NY              New York Metropolitan            396,941
                                 Transportation Council.
                NY              Central NY Regional              104,167
                                 Transportation
                                 Authority.
                NY              Capital District                 232,250
                                 Transportation
                                 Authority.
III             PA              Southeastern PA Transit          116,300
                                 Authority (SEPTA).
IV              FL              Jacksonville                   1,569,750
                                 Transportation
                                 Authority.
                GA              Georgia Department of            200,000
                                 Transportation.
                NC              North Carolina                   122,000
                                 Department of
                                 Transportation.

[[Page 67237]]

 
V               IL              Chicago Transit                1,128,000
                                 Authority.
                IL              Metra Commuter Rail               75,000
                                 Board.
                IL              Regional Transportation          100,000
                                 Authority.
                IL              Sparta-Monroe Randolph           113,000
                                 Co. Transit Consortium.
                IN              Muncie Public Transit            106,722
                                 Corporation.
                MI              City of Detroit                1,436,482
                                 Employment and Training
                                 Dept..
                MI              Michigan Department of           814,408
                                 Transportation.
                OH              Lorain County Transit...         114,475
                OH              Western Reserve Transit          750,000
                                 Authority.
VI              LA              Louisiana Dept. of             1,234,492
                                 Transportation &
                                 Development.
                TX              City of Abilene--                100,000
                                 CityLink.
                TX              City of El Paso Mass             250,000
                                 Transit Dept. (Sun
                                 Metro).
                TX              City of Lubbock/Citibus.         460,000
                TX              Fort Worth                       200,000
                                 Transportation
                                 Authority.
VII             IL              Rock Island County               184,625
                                 Metropolitan Transit
                                 District.
                MO              City Utilities of                643,000
                                 Springfield (CUS).
                MO              East-West Gateway                305,197
                                 Coordinating Council.
                MO              Missouri Department of           750,000
                                 Transportation.
VIII            CO              City of Loveland........          97,355
                CO              City of Ft. Collins.....         130,981
                CO              Mesa County.............         200,000
                CO              Archuleta County                  85,887
                                 Department of Social
                                 Services.
                ND              Standing Rock Public              63,500
                                 Transportation.
IX              AZ              Maricopa Association of        1,500,000
                                 Governments (MAG).
                CA              Mendocino Transit                 80,000
                                 Authority.
                CA              Metropolitan Transit             388,500
                                 Development Board.
                CA              Napa County TPA.........          20,000
                CA              San Luis Obispo Council           25,000
                                 of Governments.
X               OR              Central Oregon Commuter          350,000
                                 Network.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pre-Award Authority

    JARC costs may be incurred for eligible projects before grants are 
made without prejudice to possible Federal participation in the cost of 
the project(s). However, in exercising pre-award authority, applicants 
must comply with all Federal requirements. Failure to do so will render 
a project ineligible for FTA financial assistance. Applicants must 
consult the appropriate FTA regional office regarding the eligibility 
of the project for future FTA funds or the applicability of the 
conditions and Federal requirements. Pre-award spending authority is 
provided effective December 18, 2001, the date on which the Department 
of Transportation (DOT) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 
Fiscal Year 2002 was signed into law by President Bush.

Certifications and Assurances

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(n), certifications and assurances 
have been compiled for the various FTA programs. Before FTA may award a 
Federal grant, each successful applicant must provide to FTA all 
certifications and assurances required by Federal laws and regulations 
applicable to itself and its project. A state providing certifications 
and assurances on behalf of its prospective subrecipients should obtain 
sufficient documentation from those subrecipients needed to provide 
informed certifications and assurances.
    The signature page accompanying the Certifications and Assurances 
contains the current fiscal year's certifications assurances and, when 
properly attested to and submitted to FTA, assures FTA that the 
applicant intends to comply with the requirements for the specific 
program involved. FTA will not award any federal assistance until the 
successful applicant provides assurance of compliance by selecting 
Category I on the signature page and all other categories applicable to 
itself and its project.
    FTA's (FY) 2003 Certifications and Assurances Notice is expected to 
be published in the Federal Register soon. The document is already 
available on the opening page of the TEAM Website. Copies may also be 
obtained from FTA regional offices. Applicants that need further 
assistance should contact the appropriate FTA regional office (see 
Appendix A) for further information.

U.S. Department of Labor Certification

    As a condition of release of Federal funds for this program, 
Federal Transit law requires that applicants must comply with 49 U.S.C. 
5333(b), administered under the Department of Labor's (DOL) Mass 
Transit Employee Protection Program. These employee protections include 
the preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits under existing 
collective bargaining agreements, the continuation of collective 
bargaining rights, the protection of individual employees against a 
worsening of their positions related to employment, assurances of 
employment to employees of acquired mass transportation systems, 
priority of reemployment, and paid training or retraining. Generally, 
DOL processes the employee protection certification required under 
Section 5333(b) in accordance with the procedural guidelines published 
at 29 CFR 215.3. However, for the Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants 
program, DOL has proposed to apply appropriate protections without 
referral for Job Access and Reverse Commute Grant applications serving 
populations under 200,000 and to utilize the guidelines for Job Access 
and Reverse Commute Grant applications serving populations of 200,000 
or more. FTA will submit the grant application to DOL for 
certification. Grant funds will NOT be released without DOL 
certification. Where there are questions regarding the DOL 
certification process and/or information needed by DOL to obtain a 
labor certification, successful applicants must contact the appropriate 
FTA regional office (See Appendix A). Additional guidance is provided 
on the World Wide Web at http://www.fta.dot.gov/wtw/labor.htm.

[[Page 67238]]

Completed Applications

    All successful applicants must now proceed to complete their grant 
application by fully documenting all the Job Access and Reverse Commute 
Grant program requirements that were not fully documented when the 
original grant proposal was submitted. In a few cases, not all projects 
in the applicant's proposal were selected. FTA regional offices will 
advise applicants by letter of any conditions relative to the selection 
or remaining outstanding items, as well as stipulations specific to the 
Job Access and Reverse Commute Grant projects that need to be addressed 
and/or fully documented prior to grant approval. Successful applicants 
will be notified in writing by the FTA regional offices with further 
guidance.

    Issued on October 23, 2002.
Jennifer L. Dorn,
Administrator.

Appendix A--FTA Regional Offices

Region I

    Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and 
Massachusetts. Richard Doyle, FTA Regional Administrator, Volpe 
National Transportation Systems Center, Kendall Square, 55 Broadway, 
Suite 920, Cambridge, MA 02142-1093, (617) 494-2055.

Region II

    New York, New Jersey, and Virgin Islands. Letitia Thompson, FTA 
Regional Administrator, One Bowling Green, Room 429, New York, NY 
10004-1415, (212) 668-2170.

Region III

    Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and 
District of Columbia. Susan Schruth, FTA Regional Administrator, 1760 
Market Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19103-4124, (215) 656-7100.

Region IV

    Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 
Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico. Jerry Franklin, FTA 
Regional Administrator, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Suite 17T50, Atlanta, 
GA 30303, (404) 562-3500.

Region V

    Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Joel 
Ettinger, FTA Regional Administrator, 200 West Adams Street, Suite 
2410, Chicago, IL 60606-5232, (312) 353-2789.

Region VI

    Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Robert 
Patrick, FTA Regional Administrator, 819 Taylor Street, Room 8A36, Ft. 
Worth, TX 76102, (817) 978-0550.

Region VII

    Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Mokhtee Ahmad, FTA Regional 
Administrator, 901 Locust Street, Suite 404, Kansas City, MO 64106, 
(816) 329-3920.

Region VIII

    Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota. Lee 
Waddleton, FTA Regional Administrator, Columbine Place, 216 16th 
Street, Suite 650, Denver, CO 80202-5120, (303) 844-3242.

Region IX

    California, Hawaii, Guam, Arizona, Nevada, American Samoa, and the 
Northern Mariana Islands. Leslie Rogers, FTA Regional Administrator, 
201 Mission Street, Suite 2210, San Francisco, CA 94105-1839, (415) 
744-3133.

Region X

    Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Richard F. Krochalis, FTA 
Regional Administrator, Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Avenue, 
Suite 3142, Seattle, WA 98174-1002, (206) 220-7954.
[FR Doc. 02-27995 Filed 11-1-02; 8:45 am]
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