[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65762-65765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26244]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Selection of Public Transportation Resilience Projects in 
Response to Hurricane Sandy

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Announcement of project selections for resilience projects in 
response to Hurricane Sandy.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA) announces the selection of public transportation 
resilience projects in response to Hurricane Sandy under the Emergency 
Relief Program. These projects are funded under the Disaster Relief 
Appropriations Act of 2013, which made approximately $10.9 billion 
available for public transportation systems impacted by Hurricane Sandy 
in October 2012. This amount was subsequently reduced to $10.2 billion 
by sequestration and intergovernmental transfers of funds to other 
bureaus and offices within DOT. On December 26, 2013, FTA published a 
Federal Register Notice (78 FR 78486) announcing the availability of 
approximately $3 billion for projects that will reduce the risk of 
damage from future disasters in the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy. 
FTA has allocated the maximum amount available for resilience projects: 
$3.592 billion. Resilience projects awarded in this notice are subject 
to the recently issued Final Rule for the Emergency Relief Program, 
which was published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2014 (79 FR 
60349). FTA has published additional guidance on policies and 
procedures for competitive resilience funding in the form of frequently 
asked questions (FAQs) at www.fta.dot.gov/emergencyrelief. Recipients 
are responsible for monitoring this Web site for additional guidance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the appropriate FTA Regional 
Office found at http://www.fta.dot.gov. For program-specific questions, 
or additional information about project selections, please contact Adam 
Schildge, Office of Program Management, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, phone: (202) 366-0778, or email, 
[email protected]. For legal questions, please contact Bonnie 
Graves, Office of Chief Counsel, same address, phone: (202) 366-4011, 
or email, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

A. Overview of Resilience Project Selections
B. Award Administration
C. Pre-Award Authority
D. Grant Requirements
E. Reporting Requirements

A. Overview of Resilience Project Selections

    As a result of Hurricane Sandy, and in accordance with the Stafford 
Act, President Obama declared a major disaster in late 2012 for 12 
States and the District of Columbia affected by Hurricane Sandy, making 
public transportation agencies in specified counties in those States 
eligible for financial assistance under FTA's Public Transportation 
Emergency Relief Program.
    The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 113-2) provides 
$10.9 billion for FTA's Emergency Relief Program for recovery, relief 
and resilience efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, with 
approximately $10.2 billion still available after implementation of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 2011 (Pub. L. 112-
25) and after intergovernmental transfers to other bureaus and offices 
within DOT. FTA has allocated approximately $9.27 billion in multiple 
tiers for response, recovery and rebuilding, for locally-prioritized 
resilience projects, and, now for competitively selected resilience 
projects. In addition, FTA has reserved approximately $817 million for 
remaining unfunded recovery expenses.
    On March 29, 2013 FTA announced the allocation of $2 billion for 
response and recovery expenses. On May 29, 2013, FTA announced the 
allocation of an additional $2.4 billion for response and recovery, 
including long term rebuilding, and $1.3 billion for locally 
prioritized resilience improvements.
    On December 26, 2013, FTA published a Notice of Funding 
Availability (NOFA) for approximately $3 billion for capital projects 
to reduce the risk of damage to public transportation systems from 
future disasters in the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy. FTA received 
61 eligible project proposals from 10 applicants requesting a total of 
over $6.6 billion. The proposed projects were evaluated based on the 
criteria and policy priorities described in the NOFA. This notice 
allocates $3,591,883,625 to 9 applicants for 40 of the 61 proposed 
resilience projects.
    The following chart illustrates the overall allocation of funding 
under the FTA Emergency Relief Program and the Disaster Relief 
Appropriations Act:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Award type                      Applicants           Available funding       Eligibility criteria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Response, Recovery & Rebuilding......  Affected FTA Recipients  $4.4 billion...........  Damage assessments
                                                                                          submitted by affected
                                                                                          agencies and reviewed
                                                                                          by FTA, and costs
                                                                                          incurred by affected
                                                                                          agencies.
Locally-Prioritized Resilience.......  MTA, NJT, PANYNJ,        $1.3 billion...........  Resilience Projects and
                                        NYCDOT.                                           Project Components.
Competitive Resilience...............  (1) States, (2) public   $3.6 billion...........  Resilience Projects
                                        transportation                                    Announced in this
                                        agencies that receive                             Notice.
                                        funding through FTA
                                        formula programs, (3)
                                        other entities
                                        responsible for an
                                        eligible public
                                        transportation capital
                                        project that enter
                                        into a subrecipient
                                        arrangement with an
                                        existing FTA grantee,
                                        and (4) entities that
                                        provide intercity
                                        passenger rail service.

[[Page 65763]]

 
Response, Recovery & Rebuilding......  Affected FTA Recipients  $817 million (to be      Damage assessments
                                                                 announced in a           submitted by affected
                                                                 subsequent notice).      agencies and reviewed
                                                                                          by FTA, and costs
                                                                                          incurred by affected
                                                                                          agencies.
Direct Transfer Resilience \1\.......  Eligible DOT grantees/   $185 million...........  Funds allocated for
                                        funding recipients                                projects intended to
                                        implementing programs                             be undertaken by
                                        authorized under                                  entities that are not
                                        titles 23 and 49 U.S.C.                           current FTA recipients
                                                                                          may be transferred to
                                                                                          other DOT entities for
                                                                                          administration.
                                                                                          Additional transfers
                                                                                          may be requested for
                                                                                          resilience projects
                                                                                          included in this
                                                                                          notice.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Secretary is authorized by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act to transfer emergency relief
  resilience funding to other DOT operating administrations for eligible projects.

    Selected resilience projects are shown in Table 1. Allocations may 
be less than requested if either a scalable scope and amount was 
provided by the applicant, or if FTA has identified a reduced scope and 
amount for award. The awarded amounts represent a 75 percent Federal 
share of the total project cost. Applicants are required to provide a 
25 percent matching cost share. The local share may be provided from an 
undistributed cash surplus, a replacement or depreciation cash fund or 
reserve, or new capital. In addition to local and State funds, non-
Federal match may include the use of Community Development Block Grant 
(CDBG) funds, including CDBG Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds that are 
available for transportation purposes.

B. Award Administration

    Recipients are required to submit a grant application 
electronically via FTA's Transportation Electronic Award Management 
system (TEAM), and should work with their FTA Regional Office to 
develop and submit their application in TEAM so that funds can be 
obligated expeditiously. Grant applications in TEAM may only include 
eligible activities under the Emergency Relief program. Upon award, 
payments to recipients will be made by electronic transfer to the 
recipient's financial institution through FTA's Electronic Clearing 
House Operation (ECHO) system. A discretionary project identification 
number has been assigned to each project for tracking purposes and must 
be used in FTA's electronic grants management system. Successful 
intercity rail projects may be transferred to the FRA for 
administration and oversight at the project sponsor's request.
    Although Section 904(c) of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act 
requires that funds received under the Disaster Relief Appropriations 
Act be expended within two years of obligation, OMB issued a waiver of 
this requirement for grants awarded under FTA's Emergency Relief 
Program. In issuing this waiver, OMB stated an expectation that Federal 
agencies and grantees will work together to ensure that funds obligated 
under the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act are expended in a timely 
manner. Recipients are advised to work with their FTA regional office 
to develop a timeline for project development and award. While there is 
not a defined timeframe in which these funds must be obligated and 
expended, all projects should be undertaken and completed in accordance 
with the project application and grant agreement and all identified 
milestones. FTA will use the projected milestones at the time of grant 
award to estimate future program expenditures and to provide 
information on Hurricane Sandy resilience progress to Congress.
    There are some cases where the allocated amount is less than the 
full amount of funding requested. In these cases, the amount allocated 
will fund either a reduced scope alternative provided by the applicant 
or identified by FTA. Funds awarded to a resilience project may only be 
used for the project scope associated with the amount awarded. A 
recipient may utilize other sources of funding such as local priority 
resilience funding or FTA formula program funds for the non-funded 
elements of the proposed project. Recipients that were awarded less 
than their request should work with their FTA regional office to ensure 
the funds are obligated for the project scope associated with the 
amount awarded.

C. Pre-Award Authority

    Pre-award authority allows affected FTA recipients to incur certain 
project costs before grant approval and retain the eligibility of those 
costs for subsequent reimbursement after grant approval. Previously, 
FTA extended pre-award authority for costs associated with the 
environmental review, as well as design and engineering expenses for 
selected projects. These costs remain eligible for reimbursement or may 
count towards the local match, regardless of the date incurred. Pre-
award authority for other project costs is extended as of September 22, 
2014, if the project costs meet the criteria described below. If a 
recipient is unsure whether a cost incurred prior to September 22 is 
eligible for pre-award authority or to be counted as local match, the 
recipient should contact their FTA regional office.
    Consistent with FTA policy on pre-award authority, a project must 
have met all applicable Federal requirements prior to incurring 
expenses. The recipient assumes all risk and is responsible for 
ensuring that all applicable Federal program and grant requirements are 
met to retain eligibility. Recipients are also advised that incurring 
certain project costs prior to NEPA completion may render the entire 
project ineligible for Federal assistance. Therefore, FTA strongly 
encourages all recipients to consult with the appropriate FTA regional 
office regarding the anticipated environmental review requirements and 
the applicability of Federal conditions and requirements before 
incurring expenses under pre-award authority with the hope of future 
reimbursement.
    Pre-award authority is not a legal or implied commitment that the 
subject project will be approved for FTA assistance or that FTA will 
obligate Federal funds. Furthermore, it is not a legal or implied 
commitment that all items undertaken by the applicant will be eligible 
for inclusion in the project.
    The conditions under which pre-award authority may be used are 
specified below:
    (i) All FTA statutory, procedural, and contractual requirements 
must be met.
    (ii) The recipient must take no action that prejudices the legal 
and administrative findings that the Federal Transit Administrator must 
make in order to approve a project.
    (iii) When a grant for the project is subsequently awarded, the 
Federal Financial Report in TEAM-Web must indicate the use of pre-award 
authority.
    Expenses incurred for projects that were not selected may not be 
reimbursed with competitive resilience funding. If a grantee intends to 
carry out

[[Page 65764]]

a project that was not selected for competitive resilience funding 
using local priority resilience funding, the grantee should contact the 
regional office immediately to discuss whether any expenses already 
incurred for the project are eligible for reimbursement.
    Expenses incurred for projects that were not selected may be 
eligible for reimbursement under FTA formula programs such as Section 
5307, provided that they comply with the terms of pre-award authority 
and that all applicable Federal requirements were met prior to 
incurring costs.

D. Grant Requirements

    Emergency Relief funds may only be used for eligible purposes as 
defined under 49 U.S.C. 5324 and as described in the Emergency Relief 
Program Rule (49 CFR part 602).
    Recipients of section 5324 funds must comply with all applicable 
Federal requirements, including FTA's Master Agreement. Each grant for 
section 5324 funds will include special grant conditions, including but 
not limited to specific requirements of the Disaster Relief 
Appropriations Act of 2013, Federal share, and enhanced oversight.
    All projects announced in this notice are subject to the labor 
protection provisions of Section 5333(b). Accordingly, all grants 
containing resilience projects will be sent to the Department of Labor 
for certification of transit employee protections prior to FTA 
approval.
    Proposals that receive competitive funding allocations must provide 
evidence of continued progress toward key project milestones, which 
will be determined cooperatively by FTA and the awardee within 6 months 
of the announcement of allocations. Projects that cease to make 
progress towards these milestones within an agreed-upon timeframe may 
have their funding allocations deobligated or rescinded.
    Recipients are advised that FTA is implementing an enhanced 
oversight process for Disaster Relief Appropriation Act funds awarded 
under the Emergency Relief Program. FTA intends to undertake a risk 
analysis of each recipient and grant to determine the appropriate level 
of oversight.
    Selected resilience projects involving intercity rail may be 
transferred to the FRA for administration and oversight at the project 
sponsor's request. If transferred, such projects will be subject to FRA 
program requirements. Recipients are advised to contact FTA for 
additional information.

E. Reporting Requirements

    Post-award reporting requirements include submission of the Federal 
Financial Report and Milestone Progress Reports in FTA's electronic 
grant management system consistent with FTA's grants management 
Circular 5010.1D and the special conditions of award for Hurricane 
Sandy Emergency Relief grants, as well as any other reporting 
requirements FTA determines are necessary.

Therese W. McMillan,
Acting Administrator.

                Table 1--Public Transportation Resilience Projects in Response to Hurricane Sandy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Project sponsor                  Project title              Funding ID                 Amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connecticut Department of              Replacement of Norwalk   D2013-RESL-001.........  $160,979,022
 Transportation (CTDOT).                River Railroad Bridge
                                        on the Northeast
                                        Corridor (Walk Bridge
                                        Replacement Project).
Connecticut Department of              New Haven Rail Yard      D2013-RESL-002.........  8,978,750
 Transportation (CTDOT).                Power Upgrade.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation       MBTA Green Line Fenway   D2013-RESL-003.........  21,673,689
 Authority (MBTA).                      Portal Flood proofing.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation       MBTA Charlestown         D2013-RESL-004.........  13,391,443
 Authority (MBTA).                      Seawall Replacement.
City of Nashua, NH...................  Nashua Transit Facility  D2013-RESL-005.........  25,781
                                        Back-up Power Supply.
New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ     Delco Lead Safe Haven    D2013-RESL-006.........  184,493,910
 TRANSIT).                              Storage and Re-
                                        Inspection Facility
                                        Project.
New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ     Hoboken Long Slip Flood  D2013-RESL-007.........  146,548,432
 TRANSIT).                              Protection.
New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ     NJ TRANSIT Raritan       D2013-RESL-008.........  446,312,465
 TRANSIT).                              River Drawbridge
                                        Replacement Project.
New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ     NJ TransitGrid.........  D2013-RESL-009.........  409,764,814
 TRANSIT).
New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ     Train Controls--Wayside  D2013-RESL-010.........  88,903,190
 TRANSIT).                              Signals, Power &
                                        Communication
                                        Resiliency Project.
Port Authority of New York and New     Exchange Place, Newport  D2013-RESL-011.........  37,084,650
 Jersey.                                Station & Grove Street
                                        Station Head House
                                        Protection.
Port Authority of New York and New     Harrison Car             D2013-RESL-012.........  14,861,400
 Jersey.                                Maintenance Facility
                                        Automatic Flood
                                        Barrier.
Port Authority of New York and New     Extension of Rail Yards  D2013-RESL-013.........  18,900,000
 Jersey.
Port Authority of New York and New     Concrete Sea Wall East   D2013-RESL-014.........  16,815,975
 Jersey.                                of PATH Harrison Car
                                        Maintenance Facility.
Port Authority of New York and New     Penn-Moynihan Station    D2013-RESL-030.........  40,200,000
 Jersey.                                Complex Train-shed
                                        Hardening Project.
Port Authority of New York and New     World Trade Center Site  D2013-RESL-031.........  84,675,000
 Jersey.                                and Transit Facilities
                                        Flood Mitigation and
                                        Resiliency
                                        Improvements Program.
New York City Department of            New York City            D2013-RESL-015.........  191,550,000
 Transportation (NYCDOT).               Comprehensive Ferry
                                        Transit Resilience
                                        Project.
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Emergency                D2013-RESL-016.........  74,950,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Communications
                                        Enhancements (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Flood Mitigation in      D2013-RESL-017.........  617,200,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Yards (NYCT).

[[Page 65765]]

 
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Hardening of             D2013-RESL-018.........  112,050,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Substations in Flood
                                        Prone Areas and
                                        Purchase of Mobile
                                        Substations (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Protection of Tunnel     D2013-RESL-019.........  43,090,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Portals and Internal
                                        Tunnel Sealing (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Flood Resiliency for     D2013-RESL-020.........  19,150,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Long Island City Yard
                                        (LIRR).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Flood Resiliency for     D2013-RESL-021.........  24,320,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Critical Support
                                        Facilities (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Protection of Street     D2013-RESL-022.........  300,690,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Level Openings in
                                        Flood Prone Areas
                                        (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Metro-North Railroad     D2013-RESL-023.........  37,500,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Power and Signals
                                        Resiliency
                                        Improvements.
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Internal Station         D2013-RESL-024.........  19,730,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Hardening (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Pumping Capacity         D2013-RESL-025.........  24,140,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Improvements (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Right-of-Way (ROW)       D2013-RESL-026.........  63,550,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Equipment Hardening in
                                        Flood-Prone Areas
                                        (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   New York-New Jersey      D2013-RESL-027.........  81,007,104
 Authority (MTA).                       River to River Rail
                                        Resiliency (R4)
                                        Project (LIRR).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Rockaway Line            D2013-RESL-028.........  136,820,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Protections (NYCT).
New York Metropolitan Transportation   Flood Resiliency for     D2013-RESL-029.........  44,770,000
 Authority (MTA).                       Critical Bus Depots
                                        (NYCT).
Southeastern Pennsylvania              SEPTA Ancillary Control  D2013-RESL-032.........  9,003,000
 Transportation Authority (SEPTA).      Center Project.
Southeastern Pennsylvania              SEPTA Railroad           D2013-RESL-033.........  18,739,000
 Transportation Authority (SEPTA).      Embankment & Slope
                                        Stabilization Project.
Southeastern Pennsylvania              SEPTA Sharon Hill Line   D2013-RESL-034.........  3,752,000
 Transportation Authority (SEPTA).      Flood Mitigation
                                        Project.
Southeastern Pennsylvania              SEPTA Railroad Signal    D2013-RESL-035.........  32,026,000
 Transportation Authority (SEPTA).      Power Reinforcement
                                        Project.
Southeastern Pennsylvania              SEPTA Jenkintown Area    D2013-RESL-036.........  14,987,000
 Transportation Authority (SEPTA).      Flood Mitigation
                                        Project.
Southeastern Pennsylvania              SEPTA Manayunk/          D2013-RESL-037.........  4,502,000
 Transportation Authority (SEPTA).      Norristown Line
                                        Shoreline
                                        Stabilization Project.
Southeastern Pennsylvania              SEPTA Subway Pump Room   D2013-RESL-038.........  3,749,000
 Transportation Authority (SEPTA).      Emergency Power
                                        Project.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit   Protecting the Subway    D2013-RESL-039.........  13,500,000
 Authority (WMATA).                     System by Raising
                                        Ventilation Shaft
                                        Elevations.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit   Protecting WMATA's       D2013-RESL-040.........  7,500,000
 Authority (WMATA).                     Existing Subway System
                                        Investment by
                                        Improving Drainage.
Total................................  .......................  .......................  3,591,883,625
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[FR Doc. 2014-26244 Filed 11-4-14; 8:45 am]
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