PROTECT Planning Grants Application Checklist.pdf

PROTECT DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM

APPLICATION CHECKLIST: PLANNING GRANTS

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides this Application Checklist for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and FY 2023 Promoting Resilient

Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program to assist applicants with completing a Planning grant application. Interested applicants should read the FY 2022 and FY 2023 PROTECT Discretionary Program Notice of

Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in its entirety to submit eligible and competitive applications. This checklist is provided solely as a prompt for the applicant and is not required for the grant application.

In addition to the information included in the application checklist, the applications package mustinclude the required Forms and the project narrative as detailed in Section D.2. of the NOFO.

I. Basic Project Information

Basic Project Information

NOFO

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

C.1. Does your application identify the eligible applicant?

Name and identify which eligible applicant category applies. Select from the below statutory eligible applicants. If there are multiple eligible applicants applying together, please identify each of the eligible applicants.

1. A State or political subdivision of a State (State includes the District of Columbia and Puerto

Rico).

2. A metropolitan planning organization.

3. A unit of local government.

4. A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority.

5. An Indian Tribe (as defined in section 207(m)(1)).

6. A Federal land management agency that applies jointly with a State or group of States.

7. A multi-State or multijurisdictional group of entities described in (1) through (6).

☐ Yes

C.3.b. Does your application indicate the eligible facility associated with the proposed project?

Please indicate the eligible facility (from list below):

☐ highway project eligible for assistance under this title;

☐ public transportation facility or service eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49;

☐ facility or service for intercity rail passenger transportation (as defined in section 24102 of title 49); or

☐ port facility, including a facility that:

a. connects a port to other modes of transportation;

b. improves the efficiency of evacuations and disaster relief; or

c. aids transportation. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(C)).

D.2.b.I. Does your application include a Project

Description?

Provide a concise description of the project including a discussion of the project’s history and a description of any previously incurred costs. You may use this section of the application to place the project into a broader context of other infrastructure investments being pursued by the project sponsor

C.3.a. Does your application indicate what planning activity is being proposed?

Identify the eligible planning activity the proposal addresses (from list below):

☐ Resilience Improvement Plan

☐ Resilience Planning, Predesign, Design, or Data Tools

☐ Technical Capacity Building

☐ Evaluation Planning and Preparation

D.2.b.I. Is the Lead Applicant identified in your application?

List the applicant responsible for administration of PROTECT Discretionary Program funds, if application is selected, and the point of contact for the application.

D.2.b.I. Have you provided the requested details about the lead applicant?

Details should include the lead applicant’s demonstrated experience with receipt and expenditure of Federal-aid highway program funds under title 23, U.S.C.

☐ Yes

D.2.b.I. Will other parties be involved in delivery of the planning activity?

If yes, describe in detail all the other public and private parties who are involved in delivering the project, including a specific description of the role of each entity in delivering the project.

C.1.b. Does your application indicate whether you are submitting a joint application?

Multiple States or a multijurisdictional group that submits a joint application should identify a lead applicant as the primary point of contact. Joint applications should include a description of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant and should be signed or include a letter of support by each applicant.

☐ Yes

B.3.b. Would the grant recipient be an Indian

Tribe as defined in section 23 U.S.C. §

207(m)(1))?

If applicable, please provide the name of the Tribal government. ☐ Yes

D.2.b.I. Does your application identify the degree to which the proposed planning activity may contribute to the functioning and growth of the economy?

Please explain how the proposed project may contribute to the functioning and growth of the economy, including the extent to which the project addresses congestion or freight connectivity, bridges service gaps in rural areas, or promotes greater land-use productivity, including main street revitalization or locally-driven density decisions that support equitable commercial and mixed-income residential development? Applicants are encouraged to provide this information;

however, it is not required.

Location Information

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

D.2.b.I. Did you provide the location associated with the planning activity?

Provide State and County, Tribe, name of the city, town, or jurisdiction. In addition, describe in the application the project location, including a detailed geographical description of the proposed project, a map of the project’s location and connections to existing transportation infrastructure, and geospatial data describing the project location (shapefiles will be accepted under 200MB file size).

B.3.a. Did you specify if the planning activity will be located in a rural area?

The PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program defines a rural area as any area outside of an

Urbanized Area with a population over 200,000. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(H)(ii)). An Urbanized

Area is defined under 23 U.S.C. § 101(36) as an “[a]rea with a population of 50,000 or more designated by the Bureau of the Census.” For the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program rural set-aside, Congress established a population threshold of 200,000 for eligibility out of urbanized areas with a population of 50,000. U.S. Census Bureau population data is available at https://data.census.gov.

D.2.b.I.(a) Did you specify if the proposed planning activity will be located in a

Transportation

Disadvantaged

Census Tract?

Maps of Transportation Disadvantaged Census Tracts are available online at:

https://usdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/d6f90dfcc8b44525b04c7ce748a3674a

D.2.b.I.(b) Have you identified if there is an applicable

Resilience

Improvement Plan under 23 U.S.C. §

176(e)(2), and if so, whether the proposed project is included and whether the project is prioritized in the applicable plan?

D.2.b.1.(c) If applicable, have you identified the floodplain in which the project is to be located and whether, if selected, the eligible entity would implement 1 or more components of the risk mitigation plan under section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford

Disaster Relief and

Emergency

Assistance Act (42

U.S.C. 5165) with respect to the area?

If yes, provide a map of the project’s location and identify connections to existing transportation infrastructure, and geospatial data describing the project location.

II. Grant Funds, Sources and Uses all PROTECT Discretionary Funding

Have you provided the required budgetary information as outlined in Section D.2.II. of the NOFO, including the following?

Reference Prompt Guidance Checklist

D.2.b.II Does your application include a detailed budget with specifics and plans for covering the full cost of the proposed planning activity from all sources?

Please list all Federal funds to be used for future eligible costs of the project, including the requested PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program amount, other Federal grants that have been awarded to the project or for which the project intends to apply in the future, and any Federal formula funds that have already been programmed for the project or are planned to be programmed for the project.

For each category of Federal funds to be used for future eligible project costs, the amount, nature, and source of any required non-Federal match for those funds.

If the project contains components, the budget should separate the costs of each project component. If the project will be completed in phases, the budget should separate the costs of each phase.

The budget should be detailed enough to demonstrate that the project satisfies the PROTECT

Discretionary Grant Program statutory cost-sharing requirements described in Section C.2 and those associated with each category of Federal funding. For PROTECT Discretionary Grant

Program Planning Grants, the Federal share of an eligible planning activity shall be 100 percent. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(i)).

Include information showing that sufficient contingency amounts have been budgeted to cover unanticipated cost increases.

In addition to the information enumerated above, please provide complete information on how all project funds may be used.

D.2.b.II If applicable, does your budget show how different funding sources will share in each activity and present those data in dollars and percentages?

For PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program Planning Grants, the Federal share of an eligible planning activity shall be 100 percent. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(i)). The budget should identify other Federal funds the applicant is applying for or has been awarded, if any, that the applicant intends to use. Funding sources should be grouped into three categories: non-Federal, PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program, and other Federal with specific amounts from each funding source.

III. Merit Criteria

Provide narrative response on how the proposal meets the merit criteria outlined in Section E.1.a. of the NOFO.

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

E.1.a.

Criterion #1: Program Alignment

Describe how the planning activity meets the applicable Program Alignment criterion. ☐ Yes

Criterion #2:

Schedule and Budget

Provide the proposed schedule and budget for each planning grant eligible activity, including activities either completed or under way at the time of the submission of the PROTECT

Discretionary Grant Program application. Include additional information to address all other requested information outlined in the NOFO for the Schedule and Budget criterion.

Criterion #3: Public

Engagement, Partnerships and

Collaboration

Describe how development and implementation of the proposed PROTECT Discretionary Grant

Program Planning Grant will foster meaningful public engagement, partnerships and collaboration as described for this criterion in the NOFO.

Criterion #4:

Innovation

Describe how development and implementation of the proposed PROTECT Discretionary Grant

Program Planning Grant meets this criterion in the NOFO.

IV. Benefit-Cost Analysis

PROTECT Discretionary Program Planning Grant applications do not require submission of a benefit-cost analysis.

V. FHWA Priority Considerations

Does your application describe how the proposal meets the FHWA FY 2022 and FY 2023 Priority Considerations listed in Section E.1.a. of the

NOFO?

NOFO

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

Does your application demonstrate exceptional benefits under Merit Criteria #3

(Public Engagement, Partnerships and

Collaboration)?

After completing the merit review, among projects of similar merit, FHWA will prioritize projects that demonstrate exceptional benefits under Merit Criteria #3 Public Engagement, Partnerships and Collaboration.

Have you explained (in detail) how but for the award of a PROTECT

Discretionary Grant

Program Resilience

Grant, the applicant would not be able to begin or complete the proposed planning activity?

After completing the merit review, among projects of similar merit, FHWA will prioritize projects that demonstrate a strong need for funding; but for the award of a PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program Planning Grant, the applicant would not be able to begin or complete the activity. For State department of transportation applicants, this could be demonstrated by showing that the need exceeds the amount provided under the PROTECT Formula Program.

VI. Other Required Forms

Have you included the following required forms with the application submission?

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

Section

D.2.1.

Mandatory Forms for All

Applications

Standard Form 424 ☐ Yes

Standard Form 424 Required Attachment: Project Narrative ☐ Yes

Standard Form 424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs) ☐ Yes

Section

D.2.2.

Required Forms for Non-

Construction Projects

Standard Form 424B (Assurances for Non-Construction Programs) ☐ Yes

Section

D.2.4.

Mandatory Forms for All

Applications

Grants.gov Lobbying Form ☐ Yes

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form (SF-LLL) ☐ Yes