[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 123 (Monday, June 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31049-31051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15258]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration


Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of funding and priorities for fiscal year 2009.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health 
Administration (MSHA), is making $500,000 available in grant funds in 
FY 2009 for educational and training programs to help identify, avoid, 
and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines. The focus of 
these grants for FY 2009 will be on training and training materials for 
mine emergency preparedness and haulage safety for mines. MSHA is 
expanding this grant opportunity to cover all mines, both surface and 
underground metal and nonmetal and coal mines. Applicants for the 
grants may be States

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and nonprofit (private or public) entities. MSHA could award as many as 
10 separate grants with a 12-month period of performance. The amount of 
each individual grant will be at least $50,000.00. MSHA provides 
background information on these grants at http://www.msha.gov. MSHA 
will post the actual solicitation for grant applications (SGA) at 
http://www.grants.gov. Applications should not be submitted at this 
time.

DATES: MSHA expects to post its SGA by June 30, 2009, on http://www.grants.gov and the closing date for applications will be July 31, 
2009. MSHA will award grants on or before September 30, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Glatter at 
[email protected], at 202-693-9570 (voice), or 202-693-9571 
(facsimile). These are not toll-free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Overview of the Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grant Program

    Responding to several coal mine disasters, Congress enacted the 
Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act). 
Section 14 of the MINER Act requires the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) 
to establish a discretionary competitive grant program called the 
Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants (Brookwood-Sago grants). This program 
provides funding to educate and train miners to better identify, avoid, 
and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines. This program 
will use grant funds to establish and implement education and training 
programs or to create training materials and programs. The MINER Act 
requires the Secretary to give priority to mine safety demonstrations 
and pilot projects with broad applicability. It also mandates that the 
Secretary shall emphasize programs and materials that target workers in 
smaller mines, to include training on new MSHA standards, high-risk 
activities, and other identified health and safety priorities.

B. Educational and Training Program Priorities

    MSHA priorities for the FY 2009 funding of the Brookwood-Sago 
grants will focus on training and training materials for mine emergency 
preparedness and haulage safety. MSHA is expanding this grant 
opportunity to cover all mines, surface and underground metal and 
nonmetal and coal mines. MSHA expects Brookwood-Sago grantees to 
develop training materials or to develop and provide mine safety and 
health training and/or educational programs, recruit miners and mine 
operators for the training, and conduct and evaluate the training on 
one of the MSHA-selected priorities. Grantees are also required to 
conduct follow-up evaluations of persons trained under the grantee's 
program. If the Brookwood-Sago applicant is not the entity operating an 
MSHA-approved State training grant, MSHA expects the applicant to 
contact the State grantee(s) and coordinate any proposed training or 
educational program with the applicable State(s) in order not to 
duplicate any training or educational program offered. An applicant's 
proposed area for the grant may cover more than one State.

II. Award Information

A. Award Amount for FY 2009

    MSHA is providing $500,000 total for the FY 2009 Brookwood-Sago 
grants, which could be divided into as many as 10 separate grants. The 
amount of each individual grant will be at least $50,000.00.

B. Period of Performance

    The period of performance will be 12 months from the date of 
execution of the grant documents. This performance period must include 
all necessary implementation and start-up activities as well as follow-
up for the grantee to provide information on how it met the Brookwood-
Sago grant performance outcomes. MSHA may approve a request for a no-
cost extension to grantees for an additional period of time based on 
the success of the project and other relevant factors.

III. Eligibility Information

    Applicants for the grants may be States and nonprofit (private or 
public) entities. Eligible entities may apply for funding independently 
or in partnership with other eligible organizations. For partnerships, 
a lead organization must be identified.

IV. Other Program Provisions

    The following are selected provisions for interested parties 
considering applying for the Brookwood-Sago grants:

A. Educational Materials

    MSHA will review all grantee-produced educational and training 
materials for technical accuracy and suitability of content during 
development and before final publication.
    When grantees produce training materials, they must provide copies 
of completed materials to MSHA in hard copy and a digital format (CD-
ROM/DVD) for posting on the Agency's internet. All grantees must 
acknowledge the Department of Labor (DOL) funding with a standard 
statement, which will be provided in the SGA.

B. Matching and Cost-Sharing

    Matching and cost-sharing funds are not required in this grant 
program. The leveraging of public and private resources to achieve 
project sustainability, however, is highly encouraged and will be 
awarded points in the evaluation criteria. Any funds leveraged must be 
from non-Federal resources. Applicants must include a description of 
any non-Federal resource contribution, including the source of funds 
and the estimated amount.

C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

    All grantees, including faith-based organizations, will be subject 
to applicable Federal laws and regulations (including provisions of 
appropriations law) and applicable Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) Circulars. The grants awarded under this competitive grant 
program will be subject to the following administrative standards and 
provisions, if applicable:
     29 CFR part 2, subpart D, Equal Treatment for Religious 
Organizations.
     29 CFR parts 31, 32, 35 and 36, Nondiscrimination.
     29 CFR part 93, Restrictions on Lobbying.
     29 CFR part 94, Drug-free workplace.
     29 CFR part 95, Uniform Grant Requirements for Nonprofit 
organizations.
     29 CFR parts 96 and 99, Audits.
     29 CFR part 97, Uniform Grant Requirements for States.
     29 CFR part 98, Debarment and suspension.
     2 CFR part 220, Cost Principles for Educational 
Institutions.
     2 CFR part 225, Cost Principles for State and Local 
Governments.
     2 CFR part 230, Cost Principles for Other Nonprofit 
Organizations.
    Administrative costs for these grants may not exceed 15%.

V. Overview of the Grant Process

    Below is a general synopsis of MSHA's competitive grant process.

A. Pre-Award Process

    MSHA will post the SGA at http://www.grants.gov and http://www.msha.gov providing detailed information about how to apply for 
MSHA's grant program. For this Brookwood-Sago grant, applicants will

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be given 30 days to apply. The SGA will provide a description of the 
projects, proposed scope of work and performance periods, eligibility 
requirements and the dollar amounts of the awards, and the estimated 
number of grants to be awarded. The SGA also will describe what is 
required in the grant application, the closing date for receipt of the 
applications, any special reporting requirements, and the rating 
criteria that will be used in reviewing grant applications. The SGA 
will provide all of the necessary information for interested parties to 
participate in this competitive grant process.

B. Award

    Grant applications submitted in response to the SGA will be 
reviewed by a technical panel for consistency with the SGA 
requirements. Awards are subject to availability of funds and 
evaluation of the applicant's technical proposal. Funding decisions are 
made at the discretion of the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine 
Safety and Health.
    A technical panel will advise the Grant Officer during the review 
and rating process. Panel members will be selected based on their 
knowledge of the subject matter. Each panel member will perform an 
independent evaluation of the application based solely upon the 
criteria announced in the SGA.
    After the review, the Grant Officer may ask an applicant to provide 
supplemental information that may be necessary to clarify issues within 
the application. Negotiations are not a guarantee of funding.
    Once selections are made, awardees are notified. If the applicant 
accepts the terms and conditions outlined in the award package, the 
Grant Officer will execute the grant award and funds will be allocated.

C. Post-Award Process

    MSHA anticipates that it will meet with all successful applicants 
before the grants are started. MSHA will provide this meeting 
information in the award package.
    The selected applicant must submit financial and activity reports 
on a quarterly basis, beginning ninety days from the award of the 
grant. MSHA will work with the grantee to establish report contents, 
which, among other things, will include performance measures to 
encourage continuous improvement. The report must be submitted within 
30 days after the close of the quarter.

D. Completion of the Grant

    After completion of the grant, the grantee must complete a Final 
Project Report, which will include an assessment of project performance 
and outcomes achieved. MSHA also will arrange for an independent 
evaluation of each funded project. All grantees must agree to cooperate 
with this evaluation and must make records available for all project 
activities.

VI. Special Procedures for Applying

    MSHA will be accepting grant applications through the Grants.gov 
Web site only. A downloadable application package for the Brookwood-
Sago grant program will be available through this Web site.
    In order for interested parties to participate, they must have a 
Dun and Bradstreet number (DUNS) and must register with the Grants.gov 
Web site.

A. Dun and Bradstreet Number

    Since October 1, 2003, all applicants for Federal grant funding 
opportunities are required to include a DUNS number with their 
application. The DUNS number is a nine-digit identification number that 
identifies business entities uniquely. There is no charge for obtaining 
a DUNS number. To obtain a DUNS number, call 1-866-705-5711 or access 
the following Web site: http://dnb.com/us/.

B. Grants.gov Site Registration

    Applicants must register on the Grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.isp. Details regarding 
registration are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide 
at http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf.
    Please note that the registration process may take three to five 
business days to complete, and an interested party must have completed 
all registration steps to submit an application via Grants.gov.

    Authority: 30 U.S.C. 965.

Michael A. Davis,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations, Mine Safety and Health.
 [FR Doc. E9-15258 Filed 6-26-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P