2011-1110. Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) for Inviting Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program Applications for Grants To Provide Technical Assistance for Rural Transportation Systems

AGENCY:

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within the USDA Rural Development mission area, solicits applications of two individual grants: one single grant from the passenger transportation funds appropriated for the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program and another single grant for Federally Recognized Native American Tribes' (FRNAT) from funds appropriated for the RBEG program. RBS will administer these awards under the RBEG program and 7 U.S.C. 1932(c)(2) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. Historically, Congress has appropriated funding for these specific programs. Last year, $500,000 was available for rural transportation projects and $250,000 for rural transportation projects for FRNAT. This Notice is being issued prior to passage of a FY 2011 Appropriations Act, which may or may not provide an appropriation for these programs, to allow applicants sufficient time to leverage financing, submit applications, and give the Agency time to process applications within FY 2011. A subsequent notice identifying the amount received in the appropriations, if any, will be published. Each grant is to be competitively awarded to a qualified national non-profit organization. One grant is for the provision of technical assistance to rural transportation projects. The other grant is for the provision of technical assistance to rural transportation projects operated by FRNAT only.

Expenses incurred in developing applications will be at the applicant's risk.

DATES:

The deadline for receipt of applications in the USDA Rural Development State Office is no later than March 21, 2011. Applications received at a USDA Rural Development State Office after that date will not be considered for FY 2011 funding.

ADDRESSES:

Entities wishing to apply for assistance should contact the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office to receive copies of the application package. A list of the USDA Rural Development State Offices addresses and telephone numbers are as follows:

Alabama

USDA Rural Development State Office, Sterling Centre, Suite 601, 4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Alaska

USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK 99645-6539, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Arizona

USDA Rural Development State Office, 230 North First Avenue, Suite 206, Phoenix, AZ 85003-1706, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Arkansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room 3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, [phone]/TDD [phone]

California

USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G Street, Agency 4169, Davis, CA 95616-4169, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office, Denver Federal Center, Building 56, Room 2300, P.O. Box 25426, Denver, CO 80225-0426, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Delaware-Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1221 College Park Drive, Suite 200, Dover, DE 19904, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Florida/Virgin Islands

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4440 NW 25th Place, P.O. Box 147010, Gainesville, FL 32614-7010, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Georgia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 East Hancock Avenue, Stop 300, Athens, GA 30601-2768, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Hawaii

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 311, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Idaho

USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Drive, Suite A1, Boise, ID 83709, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Illinois

USDA Rural Development State Office, 2118 West Park Court, Suite A, Champaign, IL 61821, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Indiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278, [phone] ext. 4/TDD [phone]

Iowa

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 873, 210 Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1303 SW First American Place, Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66604-4040, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Kentucky

USDA Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40503, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Louisiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA 71302, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Maine

USDA Rural Development State Office, 967 Illinois Avenue, Suite 4, P.O. Box 405, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut

USDA Rural Development State Office, 451 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002-2999, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Michigan

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East Lansing, MI 48823, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office, 410 Farm Credit Service Building, 375 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-1853, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Mississippi

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Missouri

USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Montana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 2229 Boot Hill Court, Bozeman, MT 59715, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Nebraska

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, NE 68508, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Nevada

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703-9910, [phone]/TDD [phone]

New Jersey

USDA Rural Development State Office, 8000 Midlantic Drive, 5th Floor North, Suite 500, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, [phone]/TDD [phone]

New Mexico

USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street, Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, [phone]/TDD [phone]

New York

USDA Rural Development State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 South Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, [phone]/TDD [phone]

North Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC 27609, [phone]/TDD [phone]

North Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East Rosser Avenue, P.O. Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Ohio

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Oklahoma

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Oregon

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1201 Northeast Lloyd Boulevard, Suite 801, Portland, OR 97232, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Pennsylvania

USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Puerto Rico

USDA Rural Development State Office, 654 Plaza Munoz Rivera Avenue, Suite 601, San Juan, PR 00936-6106, [phone]/TDD [phone]

South Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, [phone]/TDD [phone]

South Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200 Fourth Street, SW, Huron, SD 57350, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Tennessee

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37203-1071, [phone]

Texas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South Main, Temple, TX 76501, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Utah

USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 84138, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1606 Santa Rosa Road, Suite 238, Richmond, VA 23229-5014, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Washington

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1835 Black Lake Boulevard SW, Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512-5715, [phone]/TDD [phone]

West Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1550 Earl Core Road, Suite 101, Morgantown, WV 26505, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Wisconsin

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens Point, WI 54481, [phone]/TDD [phone]

Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 11005, 100 East B Street, Room 1005, Casper, WY 82601, [phone]/TDD [phone]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information, please contact the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office as provided in the ADDRESSES section of this Notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview

Federal Agency: Rural Business-Cooperative Service.

Solicitation Opportunity Title: Rural Business Enterprise Grants.

Announcement Type: Initial Solicitation Announcement.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 10.769.

Dates: Application Deadline: Completed applications must be received in the USDA Rural Development State Office no later than March 21, 2011, to be eligible for FY 2011 grant funding. Applications received after this date will not be eligible for FY 2011 grant funding.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

The RBEG program is authorized by section 310B(c)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 U.S.C. 1932(c)(2)). Regulations are contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G. The primary objective of the program is to improve the economic conditions of rural areas. The program is administered on behalf of RBS at the State level by the USDA Rural Development State Offices. Assistance provided to rural areas under this program may include the provision of on-site technical assistance to local and regional governments, public transit agencies, and related non-profit and for-profit organizations in rural areas; the development of training materials; and the provision of necessary training assistance to local officials and agencies in rural areas.

Awards under the RBEG passenger transportation program will be made on a competitive basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, and in accordance with section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. Information required to be in the application package includes Forms SF 424, “Application for Federal Assistance;” RD 1940-20, “Request for Environmental Information;” Scope of Work Narrative; Income Statement; Balance Sheet or Audit for previous 3 years; AD-1047, “Debarment/Suspension Certification;” AD-1048, “Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion;” AD-1049, “Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements;” SF LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities;” RD 400-1, “Equal Opportunity Agreement;” RD 400-4, “Assurance Agreement;” a letter stating Board authorization to obtain assistance; and a letter certifying citizenship, as referenced in 7 CFR 1942.307(b). For the FRNAT grant, which must benefit Federally Recognized Native American Tribes, at least 75 percent of the benefits of the project must be received by members of Federally Recognized Native American Tribes. The project that scores the greatest number of points based on the RBEG selection criteria and the discretionary points will be selected for each grant. Applications will be tentatively scored by the Rural Development State Offices and submitted to the Rural Development National Office for review, final scoring, and selection.

Applicants must be qualified national non-profit organizations with experience in providing technical assistance and training to rural communities for the purpose of improving passenger transportation service or facilities. To be considered “national,” RBS requires a qualified organization to provide evidence that it operates rural transportation assistance programming in multiple States. There is not a requirement to use the grant funds in a multi-State area. Under this Notice, grants will be made to qualified, private, non-profit organizations for the provision of technical assistance and training to rural communities for the purpose of improving passenger transportation services or facilities.

Definitions

The definitions are published at 7 CFR 1942.304.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Grant.

Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2011.

Total Funding: If funding exists, it will be determined by the FY 2011 appropriations bill. The amount of grant funds available in FY 2011 will be announced in a separate Federal Register notice.

Approximate Number of Awards: Two

Average Award: Will be determined by amount received in the FY 2011 appropriations bill. The average of grant funds available in FY 2011 will be announced in a separate Federal Register notice.

Anticipated Award Date: May 5, 2011, subject to the availability of funding.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

To be considered eligible, an entity must be a private non-profit corporation serving rural areas. Grants will be competitively awarded to one or more qualified national organizations.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

Matching funds are not required.

C. Other Eligibility Requirements

Applications will only be accepted from qualified national organizations to provide technical assistance for rural transportation.

D. Completeness Eligibility

Applications will not be considered for funding if they do not provide sufficient information to determine eligibility or are missing required elements.

IV. Fiscal Year 2011 Application and Submission Information

A. Address To Request Application Package

For further information, entities wishing to apply for assistance should contact the USDA Rural Development State Office provided in the ADDRESSES section of this Notice to obtain copies of the application package.

Applicants are encouraged to submit applications through the Grants.gov Web site at: http://www.grants.gov. Applications may be submitted in either electronic or paper format. Users of Grants.gov will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it off line, and then upload and submit the application via the Grants.gov Web site. Applications may not be submitted by electronic mail.

• When you enter the Grants.gov web site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site as well as the hours of operation. USDA Rural Development strongly recommends that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application process through Grants.gov.
• You may submit all documents electronically through the Web site, including all information typically included on the application and all necessary assurances and certifications.
• After electronically submitting an application through the Web site, the applicant will receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
• USDA Rural Development may request that the applicant provide original signatures on forms at a later date.
• If applicants experience technical difficulties on the closing date and are unable to meet the deadline, you may submit a paper copy of your application to your respective Rural Development State Office. Paper applications submitted to a Rural Development State Office must meet the closing date and local time deadline.
• Please note that applicants can locate the downloadable application package for this program by the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number or FedGrants Funding Opportunity Number, which can be found at http://www.Grants.gov.

All applicants, whether filing applications through www.Grants.gov or by paper, must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number which can be obtained at no cost via a toll-free request line at 1-866-705-5711 or at http://www.dnb.com.

B. Content and Form of Submission

An application must contain all of the required elements. Each application received in a USDA Rural Development State Office will be reviewed to determine if it is consistent with the eligible purposes contained in section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. Each selection priority criterion outlined in 7 CFR 1942.305(b)(3), must be addressed in the application. Failure to address any of the criteria will result in a zero-point score for that criterion and will impact the overall evaluation of the application. Copies of 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, will be provided by any interested applicant making a request to a USDA Rural Development State Office provided in the ADDRESSES section of this Notice.

All projects to receive technical assistance through these passenger transportation grant funds are to be identified when the applications are submitted to the USDA Rural Development State Office. Multiple project applications must identify each individual project, indicate the amount of funding requested for each individual project, and address the criteria as stated above for each individual project.

For multiple-project applications, the average of the individual project scores will be the score for that application.

C. Submission Dates and Times

Application Deadline Date: March 21, 2011

Explanation of Deadlines: Applications must be in the USDA Rural Development State Office by the deadline date.

V. Application Review Information

The Rural Development National Office will score applications based on the grant selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G and will select a grantee subject to the grantee's satisfactory submission of the additional items required by 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G and the USDA Rural Development Letter of Conditions.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

Successful applicants will receive notification for funding from the USDA Rural Development State Office. Applicants must comply with all applicable statutes and regulations before the grant award will be approved. Unsuccessful applications will receive notification by mail. Grantees must further comply with applicable provisions of 7 CFR parts 3015, 3016, 3019, and 3052.

VII. Agency Contacts

For general questions about this announcement, please contact your USDA Rural Development State Office provided in the ADDRESSES section of this Notice.

VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the paperwork burden has been cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570-0022.

Nondiscrimination Statement

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at [phone] (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Adjudication and Compliance, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call [phone] (voice) or [phone] (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.”

Dated: January 7, 2011.

Judith A. Canales,

Administrator, Rural Business—Cooperative Service.