[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21346-21350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08477]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Fiscal Year 2013 Public Transportation on Indian Reservations 
Program Project Selections

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Tribal Transit Program Announcement of Project Selections.

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SUMMARY: The US. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects with Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2013 appropriations for the Tribal Transit Program (TTP). On 
May 9, 2013 FTA published a Federal Register Notice (78 FR 27284) 
announcing the availability of the funding for the program. The Moving 
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) authorizes 
approximately $5 million for 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 
for public transportation. Combined with available funding from prior 
years, FTA is allocating a total of approximately $5.05 million to 
selected projects in this notice. The TTP supports capital projects, 
operating costs and planning activities that are eligible under the 
Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program (Section 5311). FTA funds may 
only be used for eligible purposes defined under 49 U.S.C 5311 and 
described in the proposed FTA Circular 9040.1G, and consistent with the 
specific eligibility and priorities established in the May 2013 Notice 
of Funding Availability (NOFA) .

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Successful applicants should contact 
the appropriate FTA Regional office for information regarding applying 
for the funds or program-specific information. A list of Regional 
offices, along with a list of tribal liaisons can be found at 
www.fta.dot.gov. Unsuccessful applicants may contact [Eacute]lan 
Flippin, Office of Program Management at (202) 366-3800, email: 
[email protected], to arrange a proposal debriefing within 30 days 
of this announcement. In the event the contact information provided by 
your tribe in the application has changed, please contact your regional 
tribal liaison with the current information in order to expedite the 
grant award process. A TDD is available at 1-800-877-8339 (TDD/FIRS).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Approximately $5.05 million is available for 
the FY 2013 Tribal Transit program. A total of 75 applicants requested 
$18.1 million, indicating significant demand for funds for public 
transportation projects. Project proposals were evaluated based on each 
applicant's responsiveness to the program evaluation criteria outlined 
in FTA's May 2013 NOFA. The FTA also took into consideration the 
current status of previously funded applicants. This included 
evaluating available discretionary funding from prior years, the 
availability of formula funds, and balancing for geographic diversity. 
As a result, FTA is funding a total of 48 projects for 42 tribes. The 
projects selected as shown in Table 1 will provide funding for transit 
planning studies, capital and operating requests for existing, start-
up, expansion and replacement services. Funds must be used for the 
specific purposes identified in Table 1. Allocations may be less than 
what the applicant requested and were capped at $300,000 to provide 
funding to all highly rated proposals; planning projects were capped at 
$25,000. Tribes selected for competitive discretionary funding should 
work with their FTA regional office to finalize the grant application 
in FTA's Transportation Electronic Awards Management System (TEAM) for 
the projects identified in the attached table and so that funds can be 
obligated expeditiously. In cases where the allocation amount is less 
than the proposer's requested amount, tribes should work with the 
regional office to ensure the funds are obligated for eligible aspects 
of the projects and for specific purpose intended as reflected in Table 
1. A discretionary project identification number has been assigned to 
each project for tracking purposes and must be used in the TEAM 
application. The post award reporting requirements include submission 
of the Federal Financial Report (FFR), Milestone Report in TEAM, and 
National Transit Database (NTD) reporting as appropriate (see FTA 
Circular 9040.1G).
    Tribes must continue to report to the NTD to be eligible for FY2015 
formula apportionment funds. To be considered in the FY 2015 formula 
apportionments, tribes should submit their reports to the NTD no later 
than October 31, 2014; voluntary reporting to the NTD is also 
encouraged. For tribes who have not reported before, you will need to 
contact the NTD Operations Center in advance to get a reporting account 
for the NTD on-line data collection system. The Operation Center can be 
reached Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. (ET), by email 
[email protected] or by phone 1-888-252-0936.
    TTP grantees must comply with all applicable Federal statutes, 
regulations, executive orders, FTA circulars, and other Federal 
requirements in carrying out the project supported by the FTA grant. To 
assist tribes with understanding these requirements and the recent 
program changes, FTA conducted three Tribal Transit Technical 
Assistance Workshops in FY 2013 and expects to continue similar 
offerings in FY 2014. FTA is also continuing to expand its technical 
assistance and oversight of the tribes receiving funds under this 
program by conducting oversight assessments. These assessments will 
include discussion of compliance areas pursuant to the Master 
Agreement, a site visit and technical assistance from FTA and its 
contractors. FTA plans to begin assessments in FY2015, giving tribes an 
opportunity to attend workshops. FTA will use these assessments as a 
tool to focus on areas of improvement and as an indication of the areas 
where technical assistance is needed.
    FTA will post information about upcoming workshops to its Web site 
and will disseminate information about the reviews through its Regional 
offices. A list of Tribal Liaisons can be on FTA's Web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov/13094_15845.html.
    Funds allocated in this announcement must be obligated in a grant 
by September 30, 2016. FTA plans to publish a NOFA soliciting proposals 
for FY2014 discretionary funds in late spring. The NOFA will establish 
and outline specific eligibility for funding.

Therese McMillan,
Deputy Administrator.
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[FR Doc. 2014-08477 Filed 4-14-14; 8:45 am]
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