FY18 HMIT Funding Announcment - FAQ.docx

Note: The System for Award Management (SAM) may be experiencing a backlog at the time submission of applications are due. Applicants are still able to submit an application to PHMSA; however the DUNS number must be registered and active prior to PHMSA awarding a grant. Failure to have an active DUNS in SAM may eliminate an applicant’s chance of receiving an award. PHMSA suggests that applicants ensure that the organization’s DUNS is active in SAM no later than August 1, 2018.

Question: Will PHMSA grant an extension for submission of application?

Answer: No. Unfortunately, we are under a very tight schedule. If you have any specific questions that may expedite your application preparation, you can submit them to HMIT.grants@dot.gov and we will post a response on grants.gov so that everyone can see it.

Question: Is there specific formatting guidelines that need to be adhered to? (i.e. page limits, font,etc…)

Answer: No, PHMSA’s HMIT grant program does not have any specific guidelines on the format of applications submitted. Applicants are encouraged to submit information in a clear and concise manner.

Question: For the budget narrative it mentions that the benefits package and percentage need to be addressed. Is it sufficient to list what the benefit package covers and include the overall of fringe that is covered by each employee?

Answer: Yes, it is sufficient to list what is included in the fringe benefit package and include the fringe benefit percentage rate of each employee listed.

Question: In the new notice of funding, there is no longer an emphasis for “supplemental” training, and this year there is mention of “initial and continuous” training. Is this a change of the scope for this grant? Are we to be qualifying hazmat employees through our training vs. offering supplemental resources to the HMR?

Answer: The scope of the HMIT grant program has not changed from prior grant years. The core objective of the HMIT Grant program is to facilitate a train-the-trainer courses for the private sector hazmat employees to become instructors on how to train other hazmat employees on the requirements of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), 49 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter C.

Question: When we submit our narrative, in part (1) Organization Information and Capacity, section (2), do you want to know about our whole organization or just our non-profit’s efforts in regards to the HMIT grant?

Answer: PHMSA wants the applicant to provide a brief overview of the whole organization with a focus on the organization’s efforts in regards to the HMIT grant.

Question: Is there an opportunity for an applicant to submit a draft, and have it reviewed? Is this permissible?

Answer: HMIT is a competitive grant process and PHMSA cannot conduct a cursory review of draft applications prior to submission.

Question: How does DOT define public/private partnerships?

Answer: When PHMSA states "This competitive grant opportunity requests applications from nonprofit organizations representing regional public-private partnerships”, we are referring to nonprofit organizations that have the ability to reach a large audience through active public/private partnerships they have with the emergency response community.

Question: Who is the intended audience, is it for Train-the-Trainer for Haz. Waste Worker to go back and train at their facility or is it to train HAZ Waste Workers on the DOT Regs? Or Both?

Answer: Both. Training provided under the Hazardous Materials Instructor Training (HMIT) grant program is not limited to hazardous materials waste. The HMIT program is intended to reach and train private sector hazmat instructors and employees involved with the transportation of hazardous materials who must comply with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR).

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C § 5107(e), HMIT funds may be used for (A) for training instructors to train hazmat employees; and (B) to the extent determined appropriate by the Secretary, for such instructors to train hazmat employees.

PHMSA encourages applicants to use the train-the-trainer model to train: (1) existing hazmat instructors, (2) existing hazmat employees to become hazmat instructors who will then train additional hazmat employees; and (3) on a limited basis, direct training to hazmat employees (no more than 25% of grant award).

For reference:

Hazardous material means a substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has designated as hazardous under section 5103 of Federal hazardous materials transportation law ( 49 U.S.C. 5103). The term includes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials, materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see 49 CFR 172.101), and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of this subchapter.

Hazardous waste, for the purposes of this chapter, means any material that is subject to the Hazardous Waste Manifest Requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency specified in 40 CFR part 262.