PROTECT Resilience Grants Application Checklist.pdf

PROTECT DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM

APPLICATION CHECKLIST: RESILIENCE GRANTS

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides this Application Checklist for the 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 Resilience 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 application package must include 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.

For Resilience Improvement and Community Resilience and Evacuation Route Grants:

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

For At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants:

1. A State (including the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) in, or bordering on, the Atlantic, Pacific, or

Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, or one or more of the Great Lakes.

2. A political subdivision of a State described in (1.) above.

3. A metropolitan planning organization in a State described in (1.) above.

4. A unit of local government in a State described in (1.) above.

5. A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority, in a State described in (1.) above.

6. An Indian Tribe in a State described in (1.) above.

7. A Federal land management agency that applies jointly with a State or group of States described in (1.) above.

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

C.3.c. 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. Is your application for an eligible activity under an eligible funding category?

Identify which funding category or categories you are applying for from the list below:

☐ Resilience Improvement

☐ Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes

☐ At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure

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 project?

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.

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

C.2. Have you identified if your State or the eligible entity that is a

State or a metropolitan planning organization has developed a

Resilience

Improvement Plan under 23 U.S.C. §

176(e)(2) and whether, if applicable, the resilience improvement plan has been incorporated into the metropolitan transportation plan or the long-range statewide transportation plan?

If an applicable Resilience Improvement Plan is incorporated into the applicable MPO’s metropolitan transportation plan or the applicable State DOT’s long-range statewide transportation plan, the non-Federal share of project costs is reduced by three percentage points.

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

Resilience

Improvement Plan, and if so, whether the proposed project is prioritized in the applicable plan?

For Projects prioritized in a qualifying Resilience Improvement Plan, the non-Federal share of project costs is reduced by seven percentage points.

D.2.I. Does your application identify the degree to which the proposed project 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.

☐ Yes

Location Information

NOFO

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

D.2.b.I. Did you provide the location of project area?

Provide State, 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 project 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 project 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.(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 one 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.

D.2.b.I.(d) If you are applying for a Community

Resilience and

Evacuation Route grant, have you identified in a detailed description, the projected changes in development patterns, demographics, and extreme weather events, identify the

Include verifiable information about the source of the information. Development pattern changes could come from a State department of transportation, metropolitan planning origination, Regional Planning Agency or local planning agency evidence and analysis upon which the project changes are based?

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

Have you provided the required budgetary information as outlined in Section D.2.b.II. of the NOFO, including but not limited to the following?

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

D.2.b.II Does your application describe the

PROTECT

Discretionary Grant

Program eligible project budget in detail and the plans for covering the full cost of the project 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. 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 Does your project budget show how different funding sources will share in each activity and present those data in dollars and percentages?

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

Have you provided a narrative response on how the proposal meets the merit criteria in Section E.1.b of the NOFO?

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

E.1.b.

Criterion #1: Vulnerability and Risk

Describe how the proposed project meets the Vulnerability and Risk Criterion. ☐ Yes

Criterion #2: Criticality to Community

Describe how the proposed project meets the Criticality to Community Criterion. ☐ Yes

Criterion #3: Design

Elements

Describe how the proposed project meets the Design Element Criterion. ☐ Yes

Criterion #4: Public Engagement, Partnerships and Collaboration

Describe how the proposed project meets the Public Engagement, Partnerships and Collaboration Criterion.

Criterion #5: Equity and Justice40

Describe how the proposed project meets the Equity and Justice40 Criterion. ☐ Yes

Criterion #6: Climate

Change and Sustainability

Describe how the proposed project meets the Climate Change and Sustainability Criterion. ☐ Yes

Criterion #7: Schedule and Budget

Describe how the proposed project meets the Schedule and Budget Criterion. ☐ Yes

IV. Economic Analysis

See NOFO Section D.2.b.IV for the requirements and recommended approach for the completion and submission of a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) or other required costing information for the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program.

NOFO

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

D.2.b.IV. If you are applying for a

Resilience Improvement

Grant, have you identified if the project is included in a qualifying

Resilience Improvement

Plan?

For Resilience Improvement Projects NOT included in a qualifying Resilience Improvement

Plan, a Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) is required.

D.2.b.IV. If you are applying for a

Resilience Improvement

Grant projects that is

NOT included in a qualifying Resilience

Improvement Plan, have you provided a Benefit

Cost Analysis?

Projects requiring a BCA, should provide a narrative description of their BCA, as well as all relevant files used for their BCA, including any spreadsheet files (unlocked) and technical memos describing the analysis. The spreadsheets and technical memos should present the calculations in sufficient detail and transparency to allow the analysis to be reproduced by

FHWA evaluators.

See Section D.2.b.IV (Economic Analysis) for specific requirements and recommended approach for the completion and submission of a BCA.

At their discretion, Indian Tribe applicants may elect to provide raw data with their application to support the need for a project, without additional analysis. The applicant should provide clear identification of the problem to be solved by the project (asset risk);

estimation of the costs of the proposed project; current and projected future asset use (e.g., vehicle miles traveled, ridership, freight movement); and projection of the expected impacts of the project. FHWA will use this data to develop estimates (given the data provided) of benefits and costs.

D.2.b.IV If you are applying for a

Community Resilience and Evacuation Grant, have you provided a

Benefit Cost Analysis?

Projects requiring a BCA, should provide a narrative description of their BCA, as well as all relevant files used for their BCA, including any spreadsheet files (unlocked) and technical memos describing the analysis. The spreadsheets and technical memos should present the calculations in sufficient detail and transparency to allow the analysis to be reproduced by

FHWA evaluators.

See Section D.2.b.IV (Economic Analysis) for specific requirements and recommended approach for the completion and submission of a benefit-cost analysis.

At their discretion, Indian Tribe applicants may elect to provide raw data with their application to support the need for a project, without additional analysis. The applicant should provide clear identification of the problem to be solved by the project (asset risk);

estimation of the costs of the proposed project; current and projected future asset use (e.g., vehicle miles traveled, ridership, freight movement); and projection of the expected impacts of the project. FHWA will use this data to develop estimates (given the data provided) of benefits and costs.

D.2.b.IV If you are applying for an

At-Risk Coastal

Infrastructure grant, does your application demonstrate that the project will reduce long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs?

See Section C.3.b. (Statutory Eligibility Criteria for At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants) of this notice for information on required documentation.

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.b. of the

NOFO?

NOFO

Reference

Prompt Guidance Checklist

E.1.b. Exceptional benefits under merit criteria #5

(Equity and Justice40)

Describe how the proposed project meets the Equity and Justice40 Merit criterion. ☐ Yes

Workforce Development, Job Quality and Wealth

Creation

Describe how the proposed project meets the Workforce Development, Job Quality, and Wealth Creation criterion.

☐ Yes

E.1.b.

Construction Readiness

Describe how the proposed project meets the Construction Readiness criterion. ☐ Yes

Funding Needs

Explain (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 project.

For State DOT 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

Section

D.2.2.

Required Forms for Non-

Construction Projects

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

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

Section

D.2.3.

Required Forms for

Construction Projects

Standard Form 424C (Budget Information Construction Programs) ☐ Yes

Standard Form 424D (Assurances for 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