[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 140 (Thursday, July 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43664-43666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18400]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO)

AGENCY: Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), Department of Defense 
(DoD).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces a one-time opportunity to obtain funding 
from the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) for construction of 
Transportation Infrastructure Improvements associated with medical 
facilities related to recommendations of the 2005 Defense Base Closure 
and Realignment Commission. This notice includes proposal requirements, 
the deadline for submitting proposals, and the criteria that will be 
used to select proposals. However, because this is a new one-time 
program, this notice also requests comments on the proposed selection 
criteria for these grants, as provided in Section V, paragraph 1, of 
this notice. OEA will consider and respond to comments in a Federal 
Register supplemental notice on or about September 9, 2011, which may 
revise some elements of this notice. Awards may be provided under this 
notice directly by OEA to a state or local governmental entity, or 
funds may be transferred to another Federal agency for award on behalf 
of a state or local government.

DATES: A pre-proposal teleconference will be held on Tuesday, August 9, 
2011, at 3 p.m. EDT to review the goals and objectives of this funding 
opportunity and answer questions from interested respondents. Comments 
on the proposal selection criteria provided in Section V, paragraph 1 
of this notice must be received by OEA not later than August 19, 2011. 
All such comments must be in writing. OEA will publish a supplementary 
notice in the Federal Register on or about September 9, 2011, 
addressing comments received. Complete proposals for Transportation 
Infrastructure Improvement construction grants must be received by OEA 
by October 7, 2011 (the ``Proposal Deadline''). OEA will evaluate all 
proposals and announce the projects that have been selected for 
submission of a grant application within 30 days after the Proposal 
Deadline.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposal selection criteria must be 
submitted separately from proposals. Comments and proposals must be 
submitted by their respective due dates identified in the DATES section 
and must be submitted electronically to OEA by the following method:
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include either ``Transportation 
Infrastructure Comments'' or ``Transportation Infrastructure Proposal'' 
on the subject line of the message and request confirmation that your 
submission was received. OEA is not responsible for submissions unless 
OEA confirms receipt.
    For the teleconference number and passcode for the teleconference 
on August 9, interested respondents should contact OEA at (703) 604-
6020 or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David F. Witschi, Associate Director, 
OEA, telephone: (703) 604-6020, e-mail: [email protected]. 
mailto:[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Federal Funding Opportunity Title: Transportation Infrastructure 
Improvements associated with medical facilities related to 
recommendations of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment 
Commission.
    Announcement Type: Federal Funding Opportunity.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 12.600.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    OEA, a DoD Field Activity, is authorized by Section 8110 of Public 
Law 112-10, the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2011, to provide up to $300 million ``for 
transportation infrastructure improvements associated with medical 
facilities related to recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and 
Realignment Commission.''

II. Award Information

    OEA is accepting proposals for grant awards for construction of

[[Page 43665]]

Transportation Infrastructure Improvements associated with medical 
facilities related to recommendations of the 2005 Defense Base Closure 
and Realignment Commission. Proposals will be evaluated by a panel 
against the selection criteria provided in Section V, paragraph 1 of 
this notice. These criteria may be further amended and the deadline for 
submission of proposals may be extended by OEA in a supplementary 
notice to be published in the Federal Register on or about September 9, 
2011. OEA expects to invite successful respondents to complete full 
applications for funding following its determination of eligible 
respondents and review of proposals. To receive an award, an eligible 
respondent must submit both a successful proposal and an acceptable 
grant application. Individual proposals exceeding $100 million will be 
accepted for review, however, OEA encourages applicants to submit 
multiple smaller projects, provided each such project will result in 
complete and useful project. The final amount of each award will be 
determined by OEA based on the recommendation of the evaluation panel, 
subject to the availability of funds under this announcement. Awards 
may pay for up to 100 percent of a construction project's cost and may 
supplement, but cannot supplant, other available fund sources. The 
total amount of funds available for awards may be reduced by amounts 
required to reimburse costs for program oversight and administrative 
services secured from non-DoD Federal agencies. Project cost overruns 
are the responsibility of the recipient. OEA reserves the right to 
cancel an award for non-performance. Funds recovered, or unneeded after 
a project is completed, may be made available for other projects. 
Awards are subject to compliance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA), and applicants are responsible for providing the 
information required to satisfy NEPA and the Council on Environmental 
Quality NEPA regulations.

III. Eligibility Information

    States, local governments, transit agencies, transit authorities, 
and political subdivisions of State or local governments are eligible 
to apply for these funds.
    For the purposes of this funding, DoD has determined that patient 
access to medical care is the most important need to be addressed. To 
be considered, a construction project must address a transportation 
issue associated with a medical facility at an installation identified 
as a receiving location for patient care functions in a 2005 Defense 
Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommendation.
    Eligible projects must be designed to construct real property 
improvements that can include, but are not limited to, highway or road 
projects, mass transit, pedestrian access, bicycle access, and any 
other types of public transportation infrastructure related to a 
recommendation of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment 
Commission. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, 
project administration, preliminary and final engineering and design, 
inspection, environmental compliance, land acquisition, construction, 
utilities, and contingency costs required to implement the project.
    Proposals submitted by eligible applicants that meet the 
aforementioned threshold condition will be ranked by a panel against 
the selection criteria provided in Section V, paragraph 1 of this 
notice. The highest ranking proposals will be invited to submit formal 
applications, and grant awards will be made to successful applicants 
until the available funds are exhausted.

 IV. Application and Submission Information

    Each interested respondent must submit a complete proposal not 
later than the Proposal Deadline date (see DATES and ADDRESSES). A 
proposal may not exceed 20 pages (single-sided, and including all maps, 
drawings and attachments) and shall include the following information:
    A. Point of Contact: Name, phone number, e-mail address, and 
organization address of the respondent's primary point of contact;
    B. Existing or Projected Transportation Infrastructure Issue: A 
summary of the transportation issue the proposed construction project 
will address, including how the transportation issue impedes the 
provision of care, i.e., the military medical mission at a medical 
facility at an installation identified as a receiving location for 
patient care functions in a 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment 
Commission recommendation, expressed in terms of accepted and 
appropriate transportation planning and assessment techniques;
    C. Project Description: A description of the proposed 
transportation infrastructure construction project, including an 
explanation how the project addresses the transportation issue;
    D. Project Engineering Information: A demonstration of the 
technical feasibility of the construction project;
    E. Project Parties: Identification of other parties involved in the 
project;
    F. Grant Funds and other Sources of Funds: An overview of all 
funding sources, including the funds requested under this notice and 
financial commitments for other Federal and non-Federal funds needed to 
complete the project, and documentation demonstrating that the 
requested funds do not supplant other available funds;
    G. Uses of Construction Project Funds: The uses of project funding, 
including a total project cost estimate with major cost elements broken 
out for project administration, preliminary and final engineering and 
design, inspection, environmental compliance, land acquisition, 
construction, utilities, and contingency;
    H. Project Schedule: A sufficiently detailed project schedule, 
including milestones such as preliminary/final design, environmental 
compliance, land acquisition if needed, and construction, demonstrating 
that the project can be designed and begin construction quickly upon 
receipt of a grant and that the grant funds will be spent steadily and 
expeditiously once the project commences;
    I. Environmental Approvals: Indicate the status (e.g., receipt or 
reasonably anticipated receipt) of all environmental approvals 
necessary for the construction project to proceed to construction on 
the timeline specified in the project schedule, including all Federal, 
State, and local requirements, and completion of an appropriate 
environmental impact analysis in accordance with NEPA;
    J. State and Local Planning: The inclusion of the construction 
project in the relevant State, metropolitan, and local planning 
documents, or a certification from the appropriate agency (e.g., 
Metropolitan Planning Organization) that the project will be included 
in the relevant planning document;
    K. Grants Management: Evidence of the intended recipient's ability 
and authority to manage grants;
    L. Submitting Official: Documentation that the Submitting Official 
is authorized by the applicant to submit a proposal and subsequently 
apply for assistance.
    OEA reserves the right to ask any respondent to supplement the data 
in its proposal, but expects proposals to be complete upon submission. 
To the extent practicable, OEA encourages respondents to provide data 
and evidence of all project merits in a form that is publicly available 
or verifiable.
    Proposals must be submitted electronically to: Director, OEA, using

[[Page 43666]]

the electronic address described in ADDRESSES.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria--Upon validating the eligibility of the 
interested respondent to apply for assistance, an evaluation panel, 
designated by OEA, evaluates proposal content conforming to this notice 
as the basis for inviting a formal grant application. The proposed 
selection criteria, with relative weights, are:
    (a) The extent to which the transportation issue impedes the 
provision of care, i.e., the military medical mission (e.g., the 
greater the number of patients, patient visitors and patient care 
workers impacted, the more serious the consequences to patients, etc., 
the higher the score), 25%;
    (b) The magnitude (e.g. overall number of people affected, degree 
of failure, etc.) of the transportation issue that affects the military 
medical facility, expressed in terms of accepted and appropriate 
transportation planning and assessment techniques (the greater the 
magnitude of the issue, the higher the score), 25%;
    (c) The applicant's ability to execute the proposed project, 
including the extent of other funding for the project and the ability 
to meet project timelines and budgets, acquire site control, permits or 
concurrences of affected parties, etc. (the greater the demonstration 
of the applicant's ability, the greater the score), 25%; and
    (d) The extent to which the proposed construction project resolves 
the transportation issue (the more the project does to resolve the 
transportation issue, the higher the score), 25%.
    Comments on the above selection criteria that are received by OEA 
not later than August 19, 2011, will be considered, and changes to 
these selection criteria, if any, will be announced in the Federal 
Register on or about September 9, 2011.
    2. Review and Selection Process--The composition of the evaluation 
panel, to include other Federal agency staff with technical 
proficiencies and relevant experience, will be finalized after the 
Proposal Deadline, based on the number and nature of proposals 
received. The panel will rank all proposals against the Selection 
Criteria, and make recommendations to the Director, OEA. Panel members 
will be subject to a non-disclosure agreement and be expected to keep 
the review of these proposals confidential until released from the non-
disclosure agreement by OEA.
    OEA will notify each respondent within 30 days of the Proposal 
Deadline whether the respondent's proposal:
     Was successful and invite the successful respondent to 
submit a grant application directly to OEA. OEA will assign a Project 
Manager to advise and assist successful respondents in the completion 
of the grant application;
     Was unsuccessful and state the reasons why; or
     Remains under consideration pending the receipt of 
additional information which OEA will identify.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices--A successful applicant (Grantee) will be invited 
to complete an eGrant application and receive a notice of award in the 
form of a Grant Agreement, signed by the Director, OEA (Grantor), on 
behalf of DoD. The Grant Agreement will be transmitted electronically. 
OEA reserves the right to transfer funds to another Federal agency for 
award on behalf of a state or local government, when OEA determines 
that it is in the best interests of the Government to do so.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements--The Grantee and 
any consultant/contractor operating under the terms of a grant shall 
comply with all Federal, State, and local laws applicable to its 
activities including the following: National Environmental Policy Act; 
National Historic Preservation Act; 32 CFR Part 33, ``Uniform 
Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to 
State and Local Governments;'' OMB Circulars A-87, ``Cost Principles 
for State and Local Governments'' and the revised A-133, ``Audits of 
States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations;'' 32 CFR Part 
25, ``Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement);'' 32 
CFR Part 26,''Drug-free Workplace;'' and 32 CFR Part 28, ``New 
Restrictions on Lobbying (Grants).''
    3. Reporting--OEA requires interim performance reports and one 
final performance report for each award. The performance reports will 
contain information on the following:
     A comparison of actual accomplishments to the objectives 
established for the reporting period;
     Reasons for slippage and proposed plan to mitigate;
     Additional pertinent information when appropriate;
     A comparison of actual and projected expenditures for the 
period;
     The amount of awarded funds on hand at the beginning and 
end of the reporting period.
    The final performance report must contain a summary of activities 
for the entire award period. An SF 425, ``Financial Status Report,'' 
must be submitted to OEA within ninety (90) days after the end date of 
the award. Any grant funds actually advanced and not needed for grant 
purposes shall be returned immediately to the Office of Economic 
Adjustment.
    OEA will provide a schedule for reporting periods and report due 
dates in the Award Agreement.

VII. Agency Contacts

    For further information, to answer questions, or for help with 
problems, contact: David F. Witschi, Associate Director, OEA, 
telephone: (703) 604-6020, e-mail: [email protected] 
mailto:[email protected] or regular mail at 400 Army Navy Drive, 
Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22202-4704.

VIII. Other Information

    The OEA Internet address is http://www.oea.gov.

    Dated: July 15, 2011.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2011-18400 Filed 7-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P