SPECIAL NOTICE
B -- Pipeline Safety Damage Prevention Grant Program
- Notice Date
- 4/29/2003
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), Research and Special Programs Administration HQ, 400 7th Street, SW Room 7104, Washington, DC, 20590
- ZIP Code
- 20590
- Solicitation Number
- DPGP-03-01
- Archive Date
- 6/28/2003
- Point of Contact
- Sidney Wise, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-366-1951, Fax 202-366-7974, - Warren Osterberg, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-366-6942, Fax 202-366-7974,
- E-Mail Address
-
sidney.wise@rspa.dot.gov, warren.osterberg@rspa.dot.gov
- Description
- The United States Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) solicits applications for the second round of damage prevention grants. These grants are available to State agencies to fund projects that assist them in preventing damage to underground facilities. Program and Project Funding in the amount of approximately $1,300,000 is available under this program for distribution among approved applications. RSPA will consider a per-project, maximum Federal funding of $300,000 ($375,000 total project cost. See section below on cost sharing.) RSPA also will consider projects that exceed the $300,000 cap, if they have a broad benefit. Applications must be received by June 13, 2003. See section on Application Procedures for more information. In general, projects should seek to implement a specific set of the best practices identified in the report, "Common Ground: Study of One-Call Systems and Damage Prevention Best Practices." The "Common Ground" study, a list of its best practices, and other related information is available at the Office of Pipeline Safety Internet web page, http://ops.dot.gov/damage.htm. Click on the "One-Call Systems Study - Damage Prevention Best Practices" choice. States may directly fund their servicing one-call notification systems, trade or industry associations, or other legally eligible entities in furtherance of the best practices found in "Common Ground". COST SHARING. The recipient State agency must provide a minimum of 20 percent of the direct and indirect costs of all activities covered under the grant award project with non-Federal (cost share contribution) funds. Recipients may either use cash, in-kind contributions, or a combination of both to meet this requirement. In-kind contributions are in addition to the maintenance effort required of recipients of grant awards. The types of cost sharing contributions allowed include: (1) Any funds from a State, local, or other non-Federal source used for an eligible activity (see section below on Third-party support); (2) The dollar equivalent value of an eligible activity provided by a State, local, or other non-Federal source; (3) The value of participants' salary while attending an activity contained in the approved grant application, provided by a State, local, or other non-Federal source; and (4) Additional types of in-kind contributions, in accordance with 49 CFR Part 18, Section 18.24. Third-party Support: Other agencies or organizations can make contributions to help satisfy the State's Share. Matching requirements may be met in the form of cash or properly valued, in-kind resources. State appropriations, as well as funds or other resources made available for the conduct of the project by other organizations, trade associations, or other project participants, may be used to satisfy the matching requirement. Funds from other Federal grants or programs cannot be used as the match for the damage prevention grant program. REIMBURSEMENT AND ADVANCES. In general, RSPA will reimburse the grantee for the Federal cost share. That is, the grantee will make authorized expenditures supporting the approved grant project, then present bills and supporting records to RSPA for necessary review and approval, not more often than quarterly. Funds used for matching purposes under any other Federal grant or cooperative agreement may not be used for matching purposes. The funds expended by a recipient agency to qualify for the grant may not be used for cost-sharing purposes. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. The requirements contained in 49 CFR part 18, "Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments," apply to grants and cost-sharing requirements contained by this program. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars A-87 "Cost Principles for State and Local Governments", A-102 "Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments", and A-133 "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations" also apply to these grants to States. APPLICATION PROCEDURES. Interested State agencies can apply for these grants using the Standard Form (SF)424 and SF-424A, Application for Federal Assistance for non-construction programs and budget sheets. These forms are available for downloading at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/grants_forms.html. Additional Information: Application packages must also contain the following: (1) A description of the State's one-call notification program. This description should include annotated copies of all the State statutes, regulations, orders, judicial decisions, and other elements of law and policy in effect in a State that establish the requirements for the operation of one-call notification systems in the state; (2) A discussion of exemptions in the State's one-call notification program to underground facility operator and excavator participation in one-call notification systems. This should include any analysis of risks associated with these exemptions; (3) A summary of any data collected by the State agency concerning damage, including costs, and consequences, to underground facilities that resulted from excavation; (4) A designation letter from the Governor stating that the applicant State agency is authorized to apply for a grant and to provide the written certifications required to receive a grant; (5) A statement designating a project manager and providing the name, position, address, e-mail address, and phone number of the individual who will be responsible for coordinating the funded activities with other agencies and organizations; (6) A description of the purpose of the project to be funded. If the project is to improve or implement a specific set of best practices from the "Common Ground" report, please include a list of those best practices that are being addressed, with a brief statement of how the project should affect that practice. Innovative approaches to address these practices are encouraged. If the project directly funds one-call notification systems that provide service to the State, include a statement from those one-call notification systems certifying that they have substantially adopted the applicable best practices in "Common Ground;" (7) A statement of work in support of the proposed project that clearly identifies, describes, and sets priorities for each task/activity to be conducted, the costs associated with each task/activity, the number and types of deliverables and products to be completed, and a schedule for implementation; (8) A description of the major cost items (where acquisition cost exceeds $1,000) needed to implement the statement of work and a copy of any cost or price analysis, if conducted; (9) A description of the monitoring and evaluation process that will be used throughout the life of the project. The monitoring process should identify milestones and expected products and track each of the processes used to accomplish them. This discussion should also identify criteria for product acceptance and customers or clients affected by the project. The evaluation discussion should identify any proposed program evaluations, evaluation procedures, or other evidence that will be used to demonstrate the progress, completion, and effectiveness of the project; (10) A commitment to submit a narrative summary report to RSPA within 120 days after the project is completed. This report should identify any changes in the State's one-call notification system made during the term of the project, summaries of any evaluations performed during the project, and results attributed to the project; (11) Drug-Free Workplace Certification. The applicant must certify as specified in Appendix C of 49 CFR part 29 that it will comply with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (Pub.L.100-690, Title V, Subtitle D; 51 U.S.C. 701 et seq.); (12) Anti-Lobbying Certification. The applicant must certify as specified in Appendix A of 49 CFR part 20 that no Federal funds will be expended to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress (section 319 of Pub.L.101-121, 31 U.S.C. 1352); (13) Debarment and Suspension Certification. The applicant must certify as specified in subpart G of 49 CFR part 29 that it will not make an award or permit any award to any party which is debarred or suspended or is otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs; (14) Assurance of Compliance With Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Certification; and (15) A copy of the most recent audit conducted per the requirements of U.S. OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations. EVALUATION CRITERIA/FACTORS. Each application shall include sufficient information to assess the following evaluation factors/areas: 1) Relevance to the "Common Ground" report; 2) Potential for wide geographic benefit; 3) Sections of the Common Ground report being addressed; 4) Cost Sharing contributions; 5) Innovation, Coordination, and/or Partnerships with other Agencies; 6) Analysis of the state's One-Call notification system(s), including innovative concepts; 7) Availability of monitoring/evaluation plan; and 8) Availability of Deliverables. Factors 1 and 2 have twice the importance of factors 3 thru 8 (i.e. Factors 1 and 2 are valued at 20 points each, subtotal of 40; and factors 3 thru 8 are valued at 10 points each., subtotal of 60; grand total: 40 + 60 = 100). The Office of Management and Budget control number assigned to collection of this information is 2137-0602. SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS. Original forms, statements, and supporting documents, along with three copies, should be submitted with appropriate signatures to Mr. Sid Wise, at the following address: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), Office of Contracts and Procurement (DMA-30), 400 7th Street, SW, Room 7104, Washington, DC 20590. Application packages must be received June 13, 2003. Due to continued security concerns, applications should be sent via commercial overnight mail (FEDEX, UPS, etc.) and not through the regular mail system. Administrative inquiries regarding application preparation (i.e. questions on completing the SF424/SF424A forms, or how to compute/what constitutes acceptable cost share, etc.) should be directed to Mr. Wise at (202) 366-1951, or e-mail: Sidney.Wise@rspa.dot.gov. If there are technical questions or if additional information is required, interested parties should contact the Damage Prevention Grant Program Manager, Ms. "Bernie" Williams, via e-mail at mailto:dpgrants@rspa.dot.gov, or phone, (202) 366-4595. Likewise, if interested parties do not have access to the Internet, they should request an application package containing the forms, OMB Circulars, Certificates, etc., and explanation mentioned above, from Ms. Williams at the phone number listed.
- Record
- SN00314184-W 20030501/030429213408 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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