[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14772-14775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4208]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability; Solicitation of Proposals for 
Funding through the Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public 
Lands Program.

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SUMMARY: This solicitation is for proposals for fiscal year 2006 
funding through the new Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public 
Lands program, administered by the Federal Transit Administration in 
partnership with the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture's Forest Service. The purpose of the program is to 
enhance the protection of national parks and Federal lands, and 
increase the enjoyment of those visiting them. The program funds 
capital and planning expenses for alternative transportation systems in 
parks and public lands.

[[Page 14773]]

Federal land management agencies and State, tribal and local 
governments acting with the consent of a Federal land management agency 
are eligible to apply.

DATES: Complete proposals must be received by the designated Federal 
land management agency contact listed in this notice by the close of 
business May 5, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Project proposals must be submitted to the designated 
contact person at the headquarters office of the Federal land 
management agency that manages the park or public land involved. If the 
project involves more than one Federal land management agency, a 
project proposal template must be submitted to all agencies involved. 
The required project proposal template is available at http://www.fta.dot.gov. E-mail submission is preferred. Mail and fax 
submission will also be accepted.
     National Park Service: Kevin Percival, [email protected], tel: 303-969-2429, fax: 303-987-6675, mail: 12795 W. 
Alameda Parkway, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287.
     Fish and Wildlife Service: Nathan Caldwell, [email protected], tel: 703-358-2376, fax: 703-358-2517, mail: 4401 N. 
Fairfax Drive, Suite 634; Arlington, VA 22203.
     Forest Service: Ellen LaFayette, [email protected], 
tel: 703-605-4509, fax: 703-605-1542, mail: 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250-1101.
     Bureau of Land Management: Linda Force, [email protected], tel: 202-557-3567, fax: 202-452-5046, mail: 1849 C 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact David Vozzolo, Deputy Associate 
Administrator for Planning and Environment, 202-366-4033, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. General Program Information
II. Guidelines for Preparing and Submitting Proposals
III. Proposal Review, Selection, and Notification
IV. Additional Program Information

I. General Program Information

A. Authority

    Section 3021 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users of 2005 (SAFETEA-LU) 
establishes a new program called the Alternative Transportation in 
Parks and Public Lands program (49 U.S.C. 5320). SAFETEA-LU authorizes 
$98 million in funding for the program for fiscal years 2006 through 
2009. For fiscal year 2006, Congress appropriated $21,780,000 for this 
program. No one project may receive more than 25 percent of funds.

B. Background

    Congestion in and around parks and public lands causes traffic 
delays and noise and air pollution that substantially detract from the 
visitor's experience and the protection of natural resources. In August 
2001, the Department of Transportation and the Department of the 
Interior published a comprehensive study of alternative transportation 
needs in national parks and related Federal lands. The study identified 
significant alternative transportation needs at sites managed by the 
National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service. Additionally, a supplement to this report 
identified Forest Service sites that would benefit from such services.
    Section 3021 of SAFETEA-LU (49 U.S.C. Sec.  5320) addresses these 
needs by establishing a new program to fund alternative transportation 
projects in national parks and public lands. The goals of the program 
are to ensure access to all, including persons with disabilities; 
improve conservation and park and public land opportunities in urban 
areas through partnering with State and local governments; improve park 
and public land transportation infrastructure; enhance the environment 
and prevent or mitigate adverse impacts on natural resources; reduce 
congestion and pollution; improve visitor mobility and accessibility 
and the visitor experience; improve Federal land management agency 
resource management; and conserve natural, historical, and cultural 
resources.

C. Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants are:
    (1) The following Federal land management agencies: The National 
Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land 
management, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation; and
    (2) State, tribal and local governments with jurisdiction over land 
in the vicinity of an eligible area acting with the consent of a 
Federal land management agency, alone or in partnership with a Federal 
land management agency or other governmental or non-governmental 
participant.

D. Eligible Expenses

    SAFETEA-LU defines alternative transportation as ``transportation 
by bus, rail, or any other publicly or privately owned conveyance that 
provides to the public general or special service on a regular basis, 
including sightseeing service. Such term also includes a non-motorized 
transportation system (including the provision of facilities for 
pedestrians, bicycles, and non-motorized watercraft).''
    A qualified project is a planning or capital project in or in the 
vicinity of a Federally-owned or managed park, refuge, or recreational 
area that is open to the general public and meets the goals of the 
program. Project evaluation will be based on the considerations listed 
in the law and explained in part F of this notice. The following types 
of projects are eligible:
    (1) Planning Projects: Activities to comply with metropolitan and 
statewide planning provisions. (49 U.S.C. 5320(b)(5)(A) referencing 49 
U.S.C. 5303, 5304, and 5305). Activities include planning studies for 
an alternative transportation system including evaluation of no-build 
and all other reasonable alternatives, traffic studies, visitor 
utilization studies, transportation analysis, feasibility studies, and 
environmental studies.
    (2) Capital projects for ``acquiring, constructing, supervising, or 
inspecting equipment or a facility for use in public transportation, 
expenses incidental to the acquisition or construction (including 
designing, engineering, location surveying, mapping, and acquiring 
rights-of-way), payments for the capital portions of rail trackage 
rights agreements, transit-related intelligent transportation systems, 
relocation assistance, acquiring replacement housing sites, and 
acquiring, constructing, relocating, and rehabilitating replacement 
housing;'' (49 U.S.C. 5320(b)(5)(A) referencing 49 U.S.C. 
5302(a)(1)(A).)
    (3) Fixed Guideway and Bus Projects:
    (i) New fixed guideway capital projects including the acquisition 
of real property, the initial acquisition of rolling stock for the 
systems, the acquisition of rights-of-way, and relocation, for fixed 
guideway corridor development for projects in the advanced stages of 
alternatives analysis or preliminary engineering;
    (ii) Capital projects to modernize existing fixed guideway systems;
    (iii) Capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses 
and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities, 
including programs of bus and bus-related projects for

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assistance to subrecipients that are public agencies, private companies 
engaged in public transportation, or private non-profit organizations; 
and
    (iv) The development of corridors to support new fixed guideway 
capital projects, including protecting rights-of-way through 
acquisition, construction of dedicated bus and high occupancy vehicle 
lanes and park and ride lots, and other nonvehicular capital 
improvements that the Secretary may decide would result in increased 
public transportation usage in the corridor. (49 U.S.C. 5320(b)(5)(A) 
referencing 49 U.S.C. 5309(b).)
    (4) Purchase of rolling stock that incorporates clean fuel 
technology or the replacement of buses of a type in use on August 10, 
2005, with clean fuel vehicles;
    (5) The deployment of alternative transportation vehicles that 
introduce innovative technologies or methods;
    (6) The capital costs of coordinating Federal land management 
agency public transportation systems with other public transportation 
systems;
    (7) Non-motorized transportation systems (including the provision 
of facilities for pedestrians, bicycles and non-motorized watercraft); 
and
    (8) Any other alternative transportation project that:
     Enhances the environment;
     Prevents or mitigates an adverse impact on a natural 
resource;
     Improves Federal land management agency resource 
management;
     Improves visitor mobility and accessibility and the 
visitor experience;
     Reduces congestion and pollution (including noise 
pollution and visual pollution); or
     Conserves a natural, historical, or cultural resource 
(excluding rehabilitation or restoration of a non-transportation 
facility).

E. Planning and Coordination Requirements

(1) Planning Requirements
    Section 5320(e) specifies that if the participant is a Federal land 
management agency, the project must be consistent with the metropolitan 
and statewide planning and public participation requirements found in 
49 U.S.C. 5303, 5304, and 5307(d). If the qualified participant is a 
State or local government, or more than one State or local governmental 
authority in more than one State, the qualified participant must comply 
with the metropolitan and statewide planning provisions and public 
participation requirements. FTA cannot award funds to an implementation 
project if it is not in the metropolitan Transportation Improvement 
Program (TIP) or State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). If an 
implementation project is not in the TIP or STIP at the time of 
submitting a proposal, it can still be selected, but will not receive 
funds until it is incorporated into the TIP or STIP. In addition, 
implementation projects not in the TIP or STIP at the time of 
submitting a proposal should demonstrate intent to be included, such as 
through a copy of correspondence with the metropolitan or state 
planning organization.
    Projects must also be consistent with Federal land management 
agency plans.
(2) Coordination With Federal Land Management Agency
    If the applicant is a State, tribal, or local government authority, 
the applicant must have the consent of the Federal land management 
agency or agencies to be affected. A letter from the unit(s) of the 
Federal land management agency or agencies affected expressing support 
for the project should be submitted with the project proposal.

F. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

    Consistent with the considerations identified in Section 
5320(g)(2), proposed projects will be evaluated based on the following 
criteria:
     Demonstration of need
    [cir] Documentation of problem in plans and other reports
    [cir] Severity of problem
     Protection of natural and cultural resources
    [cir] Protection or improvement of cultural, historical, scenic, 
and natural resources
    [cir] Environmental benefits--reduction of pollution (including air 
pollution, noise pollution, and visual pollution)
     Operational efficiency and financial sustainability
    [cir] Evaluation of costs and benefits of all reasonable 
alternatives
    [cir] Financial planning (including for capital, operations, 
maintenance, and equipment replacement expenses; and revenues, 
including user fees)
    [cir] Cost effectiveness
    [cir] Innovative financing or joint development strategies
    [cir] Deferred maintenance issues
     Public benefits
    [cir] Enhancing visitor experience
    [cir] Mobility issues (reduces congestion, improves intermodal 
connectivity, improves public access, including access for persons with 
disabilities)
    [cir] Safety
    [cir] Partnership with public and private entities, and benefits to 
gateway communities.
    Additional consideration will be given to projects based upon 
geographic diversity, balance between urban and rural projects, and 
balance in size of projects. Finally, projects that demonstrate 
innovative funding mechanisms or partnerships will be given extra 
consideration. The application template contains specific questions 
related to each of these areas to guide the applicant in justifying the 
project.

II. Guidelines for Preparing and Submitting Proposals

    Project proposal templates for the Alternative Transportation in 
Parks and Public Lands program are available at http://www.fta.dot.gov. 
Click on the navigational tab for Grant Programs on the right hand 
side, then click on the Grant Programs link, and then click on the link 
for the Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program. 
To receive a proposal template by e-mail, please send an e-mail to 
[email protected]. There are separate proposal templates for planning 
and capital projects. A synopsis of this announcement will also be 
posted in the FIND module of the government-wide electronic grants Web 
site at http://www.grants.gov.
    Project proposals must be submitted to the designated contact 
person at the headquarters office of the Federal land management agency 
that manages the park or public land involved. This list can be found 
in the Addresses section of this notice. If the project involves more 
than one Federal land management agency, a proposal template must be 
submitted to all agencies involved. The project proposal must be ten or 
fewer pages in length at ten point font or larger. If a proposal is 
greater than ten pages, only the first ten pages will be considered 
during the evaluation process. Submission by e-mail is preferred. Mail 
and fax submissions will also be accepted.
    If applicants would like to apply for funds appropriated for future 
fiscal years, applicants must reapply each year.

III. Proposal Review, Selection and Notification

    Proposals will first be reviewed and screened by the headquarters 
office of the relevant Federal land management agency (or agencies if 
the project involves more than one). Following this initial review, 
proposals will be evaluated by an interagency team which includes 
representatives from FTA, each of the Federal land management agencies, 
and the Department of the Interior. After evaluating the projects

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based on the criteria in the law and further explained in part F of 
this notice, the team will provide a recommendation to the Secretary of 
the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with 
and in cooperation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 
determine the final selection and amount of funding for each project.
    The Department of the Interior plans to announce the projects 
selected by summer 2006. The Department of the Interior will notify 
each Federal land management agency of projects awarded for sites under 
the agency's jurisdiction. FTA will publish the list of all selected 
projects and funding levels in the Federal Register, as well as in its 
annual report to Congress on the Alternative Transportation in Parks 
and Public Lands program submitted as part of its Annual Report on New 
Starts in early February 2007. Criteria and application procedures may 
be reassessed for subsequent years.

IV. Additional Program Information

A. Funds Administration and Oversight

    Once proposals have been reviewed and projects have been chosen 
based on selection criteria, the cognizant federal agency (or 
agencies), will award funds to the proposing entity to implement the 
project. These funds will be administered according to federal 
requirements as well as the appropriate policies, guidelines and rules 
of the pertinent agencies.
    For projects directly administered by a Federal land management 
agency, these funds will be administered by interagency agreement 
between the FTA and the respective agency. For programs administered by 
a State, tribal, or local governmental authority, these funds will be 
administered through a grant administered by FTA. With regard to 
interagency agreement and grant requirements, 49 U.S.C. 5320(i) 
authorizes the Secretary to apply the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5307 
(Urbanized Area Formula Grant) and 5333(a) (Prevailing Wages 
Requirement) ``to the extent the Secretary deems appropriate.'' FTA is 
in the process of developing the interagency agreement and grant 
requirements for this program and will make these available for public 
notice and comment in the Federal Register prior to award of program 
funds.
    Additionally, each recipient (federal land management agency, and 
State, tribal, and local governments) of federal funds must comply with 
requisite federal guidelines governing the management of federal funds 
and specific program requirements. Program Oversight, as defined by 
FTA, will ensure that projects meet the basic statutory, 
administrative, and regulatory requirements as stipulated by the 
conditions for accepting Federal funds.

B. Performance Measures

    Participants may be asked to compile data for use in measuring 
program performance.

C. Technical Assistance, Planning, and Research

    The Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public lands program 
allows the Department of Transportation to spend not more than ten 
percent of program funds to carry out planning, research, and technical 
assistance activities. FTA will oversee the funds allocated to 
technical assistance to assist program participants in planning, 
implementing, and evaluating alternative transportation projects. In 
addition, FTA will be responsible for the provision of planning 
guidance and dissemination of research findings.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 17th day of March, 2006.
Sandra K. Bushue,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-4208 Filed 3-22-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P