[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 142 (Monday, July 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44394-44399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18563]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION



Federal Transit Administration




Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program; Tribal 

Transit Program



AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.



ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability: Solicitation of Grant Proposals 

for FY 2011 Tribal Transit Program Funds.



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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of $15,075,000 in 

funding provided by the Public Transportation on Indian Reservations 

Program (Tribal Transit Program (TTP)), a program authorized by the 

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Section 3013(c). This notice is a 

national solicitation for grant proposals and it includes the selection 

criteria and program eligibility information for FY 2011 projects. This 

announcement is available on the FTA Web site at:  http://www.fta.dot.gov. FTA will announce final selections on the Web site and 

in the Federal Register. Additionally, a synopsis of the funding 

opportunity will be posted in the FIND module of the government-wide 

electronic grants Web site at http://www.grants.gov.



DATES: Complete proposals for the Tribal Transit program announced in 

this Notice must be submitted by September 26, 2011. All proposals must 

be submitted electronically through the grants.gov apply function. Any 

Tribe



[[Page 44395]]



intending to apply should initiate the process of registering on the 

grants.gov site immediately to ensure completion of registration before 

the submission deadline. Instructions for applying can be found on 

FTA's Web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov/tribaltransit and in the 

``Find'' module of grants.gov.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the appropriate FTA Regional 

Administrator (Appendix A) for proposal-specific information. For 

general program information, contact Lorna Wilson, Tribal Transit 

Program, (202) 366-0893, e-mail: [email protected]. A TDD is 

available at 1-800-877-8339 (TDD/FIRS).



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:



Table of Contents



I. Overview

II. Program Purpose

III. Program Information

    A. Eligible Applicants

    B. Eligible Projects

    C. Cost Sharing and Matching

    D. Proposal Content

    E. Evaluation Criteria

IV. Technical Assistance and Other Program Information

Appendix A FTA Regional Offices

Appendix B Tribal Transit Program Technical Assistance Contacts

Appendix C Discretionary Schedule



I. Overview



    Section 3013 of SAFETEA-LU, [Pub. L. 109-59 (August 10, 2005)] 

amended 49 U.S.C. 5311(c) by establishing the Public Transportation on 

Indian Reservations Program (Tribal Transit Program) (TTP). This 

program authorizes direct grants ``under such terms and conditions as 

may be established by the Secretary'' to Indian tribes for any purpose 

eligible under FTA's Nonurbanized Area Formula Program, 49 U.S.C. 5311 

(Section 5311 program). A total of $15,075,000 is currently available 

for discretionary allocation.



II. Program Purpose



    TTP funds are to be allocated for grants to federally recognized 

Indian tribes for any purpose eligible under the Section 5311 program. 

The Conference Report that accompanied SAFETEA-LU indicated that the 

funds set aside for Indian tribes in the TTP are not meant to replace 

or reduce funds that Indian tribes receive from States through FTA's 

Section 5311 program. TTP funds are meant to complement any 5311 funds 

that applicants may be receiving. These funds will be competitively 

allocated to support planning, capital, and operating assistance for 

tribal public transit services. Geographic diversity will be considered 

during the allocation of TTP funds.



III. Program Information



A. Eligible Applicants



    Eligible applicants include Federally-recognized Indian tribes or 

Alaska Native villages, groups, or communities as identified by the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the U.S. Department of the Interior 

(DOI). To be an eligible recipient, a tribe must have the requisite 

legal, financial and technical capabilities to receive and administer 

Federal funds under this program. To verify federal recognition a tribe 

may submit a copy of the most up-to-date Federal Register notice 

published by DOI, BIA: Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive 

Service from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. Applicants 

must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) 

database and maintain an active CCR registration with current 

information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or 

an application or plan under consideration by FTA.



B. Eligible Projects



    Grants can be awarded to recipients located in rural and small 

urban areas with populations under 50,000 not identified as an 

urbanized area by the Bureau of the Census and may be used for public 

transportation capital projects, operating costs of equipment and 

facilities for use in public transportation, planning, and the 

acquisition of public transportation services, including service 

agreements with private providers of public transportation services. 

Under DOT Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) regulations, 

public fixed-route operators are required to provide ADA complementary 

paratransit service to individuals who are unable to use fixed route 

due to their disability or a fixed route being inaccessible. 

Coordinated human service transportation that primarily serves elderly 

persons and persons with disabilities, but that is not restricted from 

carrying other members of the public, is considered available to the 

general public if it is marketed as public transportation. Examples of 

eligible TTP projects are start-up service, enhancement or expansions 

of existing services, purchase of transit capital items including 

vehicles, and planning or operational planning grants.



C. Cost Sharing and Matching



    Projects selected for funding under the TTP can be funded up to 100 

percent federal share of project costs.



D. Proposal Content



1. Proposal Submission Process

    Project proposals must follow the submission guidelines that are 

provided at http://www.fta.dot.gov/tribaltransit. A synopsis of this 

announcement is also posted in the ``FIND'' module of the grants.gov. 

E-mail, mail and fax submissions will not be accepted.

    Complete proposals for the Tribal Transit program must be submitted 

electronically through the grants.gov Web site by September 26, 2011. 

Applicants are encouraged to begin the process of registration on the 

grants.gov site well in advance of the submission deadline. 

Registration is a multi-step process, which may take several weeks to 

complete before an application can be submitted successfully. In 

addition to the Mandatory SF424 Form that will be downloaded from 

grants.gov, FTA requires applicants to complete the Supplemental FTA 

Form to enter descriptive and data elements of individual program 

proposals for these discretionary programs. These supplemental forms 

provide guidance and a consistent format for applicants to respond to 

the criteria outlined in this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and 

described in detail on the FTA Web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov/tribaltransit. Applicants must use this Supplemental Form and attach it 

to their submission in grants.gov to successfully complete the 

application process. Within 24-48 hours after submitting an electronic 

application, the applicant should receive an e-mail validation message 

from grants.gov. The validation will state whether grants.gov found any 

issues with the submitted application. As an additional notification, 

FTA's system will notify the applicant if there are any problems with 

the submitted Supplemental FTA Form. If making a resubmission for any 

reason, include all original attachments regardless of which 

attachments were updated. Complete instructions on the application 

process can be found at http://www.fta.dot.gov/tribaltransit.

    Important: FTA urges applicants to submit their applications at 

least 72 hours prior to the due date to allow time to receive the 

validation message and to correct any problems that may have caused a 

rejection notification.

    The following information must accompany all requests for TTP 

funding.

2. Proposal Information

    i. Name of Federally recognized tribe and, if appropriate, the 

specific tribal agency submitting the application.

    ii. Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)



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number if available. (Note: If selected, applicant will be required to 

provide DUNS number prior to grant award.)

    iii. Contact information including: Contact name, title, address, 

congressional district, fax and phone number, and e-mail address if 

available.

    iv. Description of public transportation services including areas 

currently served by the tribe, if any.

    v. Name of person (s) authorized to apply on behalf of the tribe 

(signed transmittal letter) must accompany the proposal.

    vi. Technical, legal, and financial capacity to implement the 

proposed project.

3. Project Information

    i. Budget: Provide the Federal amount requested for each purpose 

for which funds are sought and any funding from other sources that will 

be provided. A Tribe may allow up to fifteen percent of the grant award 

for planning and the indirect costs rate may not exceed ten percent.

    ii. Project Description: Indicate the category for which funding is 

requested; i.e., start-ups, enhancements or replacements of existing 

transit services or planning studies or operational planning grants. 

Provide a summary description of the proposed project and how it will 

be implemented (e.g., number and type of vehicles, service area, 

schedules, type of services, fixed route or demand responsive), route 

miles (if fixed route), major origins and destinations, population 

served, and whether the tribe provides the service directly or 

contracts for services and how vehicles will be maintained.

    iii. Project Timeline: Include significant milestones such as date 

of contract for purchase of vehicle(s), actual or expected delivery 

date of vehicles, and service start-up dates.



E. Evaluation Criteria



    FTA will divide proposals into three categories for evaluation. The 

three evaluation categories are as follows:

    1. Start-ups--Proposals for funding of new transit service include 

capital, operating, administration, and planning.

    2. Existing transit services--Proposals for funding of enhancements 

or expansion of existing transit services include capital, operating, 

administration, and planning.

    3. Planning--Proposals for planning include funding of transit 

planning studies and/or operational planning.



Applications will be grouped into their respective category for review 

and scoring purposes.

    Tribes that cannot demonstrate adequate capacity in technical, 

legal and financial areas will not be considered for funding. Every 

proposal must describe the tribe's technical, legal, and financial 

capacity to implement the proposed project.

    i. Technical Capacity: Provide examples of the tribe's management 

of other Federal projects. What resources does the tribe have to 

implement a transit project?

    ii. Legal Capacity: Provide documentation or other evidence to show 

that the applicant is a federally recognized tribe and an authorized 

representative to execute legal agreements with FTA on behalf of the 

tribe. If applying for capital or operating funds, does the tribe have 

appropriate Federal or State operating authority?

    iii. Financial Capacity: Does the tribe have adequate financial 

systems in place to receive and manage a Federal grant? Describe the 

tribe's financial systems and controls.

a. Evaluation Criteria for Start-Ups and Existing Transit Service

1. Project Planning and Coordination

    In this section, the applicant should describe how the proposed 

project was developed and demonstrate that there is a sound basis for 

the project and that it is ready to implement if funded. Proposals will 

be rated whether there is a sound basis for the proposal and if it is 

ready to implement. Information may vary depending upon how the 

planning process for the project was conducted. Project planning and 

coordination should consider and address the following areas:

    i. Describe the planning document and/or the planning process 

conducted to identify the proposed project.

    ii. Provide a detailed project description including the proposed 

service, vehicle and facility needs, and other pertinent 

characteristics of the proposed service implementation.

    iii. Identify existing transportation services available to the 

tribe and discuss whether the proposed project will provide 

opportunities to coordinate service with existing transit services, 

including human service agencies, intercity bus services, or other 

public transit providers.

    iv. Discuss the level of support either by the community and/or 

tribal government for the proposed project.

    v. Describe how the mobility and client-access needs of tribal 

human service agencies were considered in the planning process.

    vi. Describe what opportunities for public participation were 

provided in the planning process and how the proposed transit service 

or existing service has been coordinated with transportation provided 

for the clients of human service agencies, with intercity bus 

transportation in the area, or with any other rural public transit 

providers.

    vii. Describe how the proposed service complements rather than 

duplicates any currently available services.

    viii. Describe the implementation schedule for the proposed 

project, including time frame, staffing, procurement, etc.

    ix. Describe any other planning or coordination efforts that were 

not mentioned above.

2. Demonstration of Need

    In this section, the proposal should demonstrate the transit needs 

of the tribe and discuss how the proposed transit improvements will 

address the identified transit needs. Proposals may include information 

such as destinations and services not currently accessible by transit, 

need for access to jobs or health care, special needs of the elderly 

and individuals with disabilities, income-based community needs, or 

other mobility needs.

    Based on the information provided, the proposals will be rated on 

whether there is a demonstrated need for the project and how well does 

the project fulfill the need.

3. Demonstration of Benefits

    In this section, proposals should identify expected project 

benefits. Possible examples include increased ridership and daily 

trips, improved service, improved operations and coordination, and 

economic benefits to the community.

    Benefits can be demonstrated by identifying the population of 

tribal members and non-tribal members in the proposed project service 

area and estimating the number of daily one-way trips the transit 

service will provide and or the number of individual riders. There may 

be many other, less quantifiable, benefits to the tribe and surrounding 

community from this project. Please document, explain or show the 

benefits in whatever format is reasonable to present them.

    Based on the information provided proposals will be rated based on 

four factors:

    i. Will the project improve transit efficiency or increase 

ridership?

    ii. Will the project improve mobility for the tribe?

    iii. Will the project improve access to important destinations and 

services?

    iv. Are there other qualitative benefits?



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4. Financial Commitment and Operating Capacity

    In this section, the proposal should identify any other funding 

sources used by the tribe to support existing or proposed transit 

services, including human service transportation funding, Indian 

Reservation Roads, or other FTA programs such as Job Access and Reverse 

Commute, New Freedom, Section 5311, Section 5310, or Section 5309 Bus 

and Bus Facilities.

    For existing services, the proposal should show how TTP funding 

will supplement (not duplicate or replace) current funding sources. If 

the transit system was previously funded under section 5311 through the 

State's apportionment, describe how requested TTP funding will expand 

available services.

    Describe any other resources the tribe will contribute to the 

project, including in-kind contributions, commitments of support from 

local businesses, donations of land or equipment, and human resources, 

and describe to what extent the new project or funding for existing 

service leverages other funding.

    The tribe should show its ability to manage programs by 

demonstrating the existing programs it administers in any area of 

expertise such as human services. Based upon the information provided, 

the proposals will be rated on the extent to which the proposal 

demonstrates that:

    i. This project provides new services or complements existing 

service;

    ii. TTP funding does not replace existing funding;

    iii. The tribe has or will provide non-financial support to 

project;

    iv. The tribe has demonstrated ability to provide other services or 

manage other programs; and

    v. Project funds are used in coordination with other services for 

efficient utilization of funds.

b. Evaluation Criteria for Planning Proposals

    For planning grants, the application should describe, in no more 

than three pages, the need for and a general scope of the proposed 

study.

    The application should address the following:

    1. Is the tribe committed to planning for transit?

    2. Is the scope of the proposed study for tribal transit?

c. Note on Continuation Projects

    If an applicant is requesting FY 2011 funding to continue a project 

funded previously with prior year resources, tribes must demonstrate 

that their project(s) are in an active status to receive additional 

funding. Along with the criteria listed in Section 111.5.a, proposals 

should state that the applicant is a current TTP grantee and provide 

information on their transit project(s) status including services now 

being provided and how the new funding will complement the existing 

service. Please provide any data that would be helpful to project 

evaluators, i.e., ridership, increased service hours, extended service 

routes, stops, etc. If you received a planning grant in previous fiscal 

years, please indicate the status of your planning study and how this 

project relates to that study.



IV. Technical Assistance and Other Program Information



    This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372, 

``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.'' FTA will consider 

applications for funding only from eligible recipients for eligible 

projects listed in Section 3. Due to funding limitations, applicants 

that are selected for funding may receive less than the amount 

requested.

    Complete applications must be submitted through grants.gov by 

September 26, 2011. Applicants may receive technical assistance for 

application development by contacting their FTA regional Tribal 

liaison, or the National Rural Transportation Assistance Program 

office. Contact information for technical assistance can be found in 

Appendix B.



Peter Rogoff,

Administrator.



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APPENDIX A



                  FTA Regional and Metropolitan Offices

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Richard H. Doyle, Regional               Robert C. Patrick, Regional

 Administrator Region 1-Boston, Kendall   Administrator, Region 6-Ft.

 Square, 55 Broadway, Suite 920,          Worth, 819 Taylor Street, Room

 Cambridge, MA 02142-1093, Tel. 617-494-  8A36, Ft. Worth, TX 76102,

 2055.                                    Tel. 817-978-0550.

States served: Connecticut, Maine,       States served: Arkansas,

 Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode      Louisiana, Oklahoma, New

 Island, and Vermont.                     Mexico and Texas.

Brigid Hynes-Cherin, Regional            Mokhtee Ahmad, Regional

 Administrator, Region 2-New York, One    Administrator, Region 7-Kansas

 Bowling Green, Room 429, New York, NY    City, MO, 901 Locust Street,

 10004-1415, Tel. 212-668-2170.           Room 404, Kansas City, MO

States served: New Jersey, New York....   64106, Tel. 816-329-3920.

New York Metropolitan Office Region 2-   States served: Iowa, Kansas,

 New York, One Bowling Green, Room 428,   Missouri, and Nebraska.

 New York, NY 10004-1415, Tel. 212-668-  Terry Rosapep, Regional

 2202.                                    Administrator, Region 8-

Letitia Thompson, Regional                Denver, 12300 West Dakota

 Administrator, Region 3-Philadelphia,    Ave., Suite 310, Lakewood, CO

 1760 Market Street, Suite 500,           80228-2583, Tel. 720-963-3300.

 Philadelphia, PA 19103-4124, Tel. 215-  States served: Colorado,

 656-7100.                                Montana, North Dakota, South

States served: Delaware, Maryland,        Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

 Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia,  Leslie T. Rogers, Regional

 and the District of Columbia.            Administrator, Region 9-San

Philadelphia Metropolitan Office,         Francisco, 201 Mission Street,

 Region 3-Philadelphia, 1760 Market       Room 1650, San Francisco, CA

 Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA      94105-1926, Tel. 415-744-3133.

 19103-4124, Tel. 215-656-7070.          States served: American Samoa,

Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Office,     Arizona, California, Guam,

 1990 K Street, NW, Room 510,             Hawaii, Nevada, and the

 Washington, DC 20006, Tel. 202-219-      Northern Mariana Islands.

 3562.                                   Los Angeles Metropolitan

Yvette Taylor, Regional Administrator,    Office, Region 9-Los Angeles,

 Region 4-Atlanta, 230 Peachtreet         888 S. Figueroa Street, Suite

 Street, NW Suite 800, Atlanta, GA        1850, Los Angeles, CA 90017-

 30303, Tel. 404-865-5600.                1850, Tel. 213-202-3952.

States served: Alabama, Florida,         Rick Krochalis, Regional

 Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North    Administrator, Region 10-

 Carolina, Puerto Rico, South             Seattle, Jackson Federal

 Carolina,Tennessee, and Virgin Islands.  Building, 915 Second Avenue,

Marisol Simon, Regional Administrator,    Suite 3142, Seattle, WA 98174-

 Region 5-Chicago, 200 West Adams         1002, Tel. 206-220-7954.

 Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60606,   States served: Alaska, Idaho,

 Tel. 312-353-2789.                       Oregon, and Washington

States served: Illinois, Indiana,

 Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and

 Wisconsin.

Chicago Metropolitan Office, Region 5-

 Chicago, 200 West Adams Street, Suite

 320, Chicago, IL 60606, Tel. 312-353-

 2789..

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APPENDIX B



Technical Assistance Contacts



Alaska Tribal Technical Assistance Program: Kim Williams, University 

of Alaska, Fairbanks, P.O. Box 756720, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6720, 

(907) 842-2521, (907) 474-5208, [email protected], http://

community.uaf.edu/~alaskattac,

Service area: Alaska.



National Indian Justice Center: Raquelle Myers, 5250 Aero Drive, 

Santa Rosa, CA 95403, (707) 579-5507 or (800) 966-0662, (707) 579-

9019, [email protected], http://www.nijc.org/ttap.html,

Service area: California, Nevada.



Tribal Technical Assistance Program at Colorado State University: 

Ronald Hall, Rockwell Hall, Room 321, Colorado State University, 

Fort Collins, CO 80523-1276, (800) 262-7623, (970) 491-3502, 

[email protected], http://ttap.colostate.edu/,

Service area: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah.



Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP): Bernie D. Alkire, 301-E 

Dillman Hall, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend 

Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295, (888) 230-0688, (906) 487-1834, 

[email protected], http://www.ttap.mtu.edu/,

Service area: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, 

Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, 

Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, 

New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, 

Pennsylvania.



Northern Plains Tribal Technical Assistance Program: Dennis Trusty, 

United Tribes Technical College, 3315 University Drive, Bismarck, ND 

58504, (701) 255-3285 ext. 1262, (701) 530-0635, 

[email protected], http://www.uttc.edu/forum/ttap/ttap.asp,

Service area: Montana (Eastern), Nebraska (Northern), North Dakota, 

South Dakota, Wyoming.



Northwest Tribal Technical Assistance Program: Richard A. Rolland, 

Eastern Washington University, Department of Urban Planning, Public 

& Health Administration, 216 Isle Hall, Cheney, WA 99004, (800) 583-

3187, (509) 359-7485, [email protected], http://www.ewu.edu/TTAP/, 

Service area: Idaho, Montana (Western), Oregon, Washington.



Tribal Technical Assistance Program at Oklahoma State University: 

James Self, Oklahoma State University, 5202 N. Richmond Hills Road, 

Stillwater, OK 74078-0001, (405) 744-6049, (405) 744-7268, 

[email protected], http://ttap.okstate.edu/,

Service area: Kansas, Nebraska (Southern), Oklahoma, Texas.



Other Technical Assistance Resources



National RTAP (National Rural Transit Assistance Program): Contact: 

Patti Monahan, National RTAP, 5 Wheeling Ave, Woburn, MA 01801, 

(781) 404-5015 (Direct), (781) 895-1122 (Fax), (888) 589-6821 (Toll 

Free), [email protected], http://www.nationalrtap.org.



Community Transportation Association of America: The Resource 

Center: 800-891-0590, http://www.ctaa.org/.



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[FR Doc. 2011-18563 Filed 7-22-11; 8:45 am]

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