APWA is providing information on national economic recovery legislation, its implementation and related governmental actions as they pertain to public works infrastructure. Check back regularly for updates on state and federal actions, reports, opportunities, resources, guidance and the latest news.

June 18, 2009

WEBINAR: Complying with ARRA Buy American Provisions for SRF-Funded Projects

Date/Time: Monday, June 22nd, 2:00PM USA Eastern (Monday, June 22, 11:00AM USA Pacific)

Duration: 2 hours

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides significant funding for states to finance high priority infrastructure projects needed to ensure clean water and safe drinking water. The Act also includes "Buy American" provisions that require Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) assistance recipients of these ARRA funds to use domestic iron, steel, and manufactured goods that are produced in the United States.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will sponsor a webcast from 2:00-4:00 (EST) on Monday, June 22nd to discuss how the ARRA Buy American provisions will affect the implementation of CWSRF and DWSRF projects. This event is free of charge, and is provided for the benefit of SRF assistance recipients and contractors, consultants, and manufacturers involved in SRF projects. The webcast will also include opportunities for participants to submit questions on Buy American issues.

Primary Speakers:
Peter Shanaghan - Team Leader, DWSRF Team, US EPA Bob Bastian - Senior Environmental Scientist, CWSRF Team, US EPA

Audience:
Assistance Recipients/Utilities
Contractors
Consultants
Manufacturers
Topics Will Include:
Categorical (National) Waivers
Project Specific Waivers
Available Quantity and Quality
Manufactured Good/Substantial Transformation Waiver Process Q&A Sessions

To register for this webcast, copy and paste the link below into your Internet Explorer web browser:
https://www.eventbuilder.com/event_desc.asp?p_event=4o12b5j3

Important Note: If you run into any technical difficulties or have any questions about the registration process, please contact EventBuilder's customer care line at 1-800-290-5900.

June 17, 2009

High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program

The U.S. Department of Transportation has publishing its High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program interim program guidance for States and regions to apply for Federal funds for high speed rail as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The guidance provides the application requirements and procedures to guide eligible applicants in seeking funding for high-speed and intercity passenger rail. To view the guidance, please click on the following link: http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/2243. For further information, contact Warren Flatau at warren.flatau@dot.gov.

To view a summary of the U.S. Department of Transportation Guidance Overview, click here
To view the Department's Press Release, click here
To view the Department's High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program Guidance, click here

TIGER Discretionary Grants

The US Department of Transportation published a revised notice of funding availability for the $1.5 billion TIGER Discretionary Grant program in the June 17th Federal Register. Under this program, funds will be awarded to State and local governments who submit applications for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure, including highway or bridge projects, public transportation projects, passenger and freight rail, and port infrastructure investments. Applications for TIGER discretionary grants must be submitted by September 15, 2009, from state and local governments, including U.S. territories, tribal governments, transit agencies, port authorities, MPOs and others. The Federal Register notice revises the interim notice published on May 18, and clarifies that the Department is no longer considering comments on the proposed selection criteria and guidance for awarding TIGER Discretionary Grants. The revised notice is the operative notice of funding availability for the TIGER Discretionary Grants program. The June 17th Federal Register notice is available at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-14262.pdf. Additional information about the program is available at: http://www.dot.gov/recovery/ost/.

Summary of Changes
The revised Federal Register notice makes the following substantive changes to the notice published on May 18 (please read the notice for a complete description of these changes):

  • provides additional guidance for evaluating a project’s costs and benefits; specifically, the notice (i) provides a discount rate for discounting future benefits and costs to present values, (ii) identifies guidance on the value of time and statistical lives, (iii) provides sources of information on the social benefits of reducing crash costs, pollutant emissions and other externalities, (iv) provides economic values for various benefits, including the cost of a metric ton of carbon emissions, and (v) clarifies that applicants should present a project’s net benefits, in addition to the project’s benefit-cost ratio;
  • clarifies that MPOs are eligible grant recipients;
  • clarifies that for this program “Economically Distressed Areas” is not limited to counties, but could include municipalities;
  • includes additional guidance about which projects must be included in State or local planning documents to demonstrate readiness to proceed;
  • clarifies that projects that have negative effects on any of the selection criteria are less likely to receive grant funds;
  • clarifies that the Economic Competitiveness criterion targets investments that facilitate net new private sector expansion, hiring, or growth, rather than those that result only in moving existing jobs or economic activity to different locations;
  • clarifies that while applications may be submitted prior to the September 15 deadline, the Department will not evaluate applications or announce projects selected to receive TIGER Discretionary Grants until after the September 15 deadline;
  • requests that applicants include certain information on the first page of their applications;
  • clarifies that recipients of TIGER Discretionary Grants and their first-tier sub-awardees are required to have a DUNS number (http://www.dnb.com/) and a current registration in the Central Contractor Registration (http://www.ccr.gov/ ) prior to award of a TIGER Discretionary Grant;
  • includes requirements guiding the Department’s communications with registered lobbyists which were specified in the memorandum from the President of the United States dated March 20, 2009; and
  • clarifies that the TDD number is provided for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

June 15, 2009

Energy Efficiency/Conservation Grants – June 25 Deadline!

As we reported previously, the US American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included $3.2 billion for states, local governments and tribes for energy efficiency and conservation projects under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program (EECBG). A total of $1.9 billion is allocated to eligible cities and counties. This is a block grant program, so for cities of 35,000 or more population and counties of 200,000 or more population (or the top ten highest populated cities and counties in each state, regardless of population) funds are allocated on a formula basis. (Each state’s State Energy Office is typically the State contact point.) In addition, $456 million is set aside to fund other local energy efficiency projects through a competitive solicitation process.

There are numerous “public works” related projects that can be funded under this new program. It is a tremendous opportunity to advance energy efficiency and conservation projects in local communities. If your city or county is allocated funds directly and has not yet completed its application, you are encouraged to do so by the June 25 deadline. For public works departments that may not typically apply for this type of federal grant funding, we encourage you to take this opportunity to reach out to other departments within your city or county and work with them to take advantage of the federal resources that are available.

As examples, the following are cited as eligible activities under the program: transportation programs to conserve energy; installation of energy efficient traffic signals and street lighting; installation of distributed energy technologies including combined heat and power and district heating and cooling systems; material conservation programs including source reduction, recycling, and recycled content procurement programs; reduction and capture of greenhouse gas emissions generated by landfills or similar waste-related sources; installation of renewable energy technologies in or on government buildings, and energy audits and retrofits of residential and commercial buildings.

Comprehensive information on the EECBG program is at: http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/

To see the amount of funds allocated to each State, and cities and counties in each State, go to the following site and click on the desired State on the map: http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/grantalloc.html

For those cities and counties that are not direct recipients, each state is required to use 60 percent of its allotted funds for sub-grants to non-eligible units of government. Contact your State Energy Office for information on criteria for eligibility as it may differ from state to state.

Again, the June deadline for submissions is rapidly approaching. We look forward to hearing about the projects that are implemented in public works departments through the country. For more information, please see the websites noted above; smaller communities may contact your State Energy Office. If APWA can be of assistance, please contact Colene Roberts in Kansas City at croberts@apwa.net.

June 2, 2009

T&I Committee release transparency and accountability information

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released transparency and accountability information by state and formula funds under the Recovery Act. This information reflects the submissions received by the Committee from States, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and public transit agencies on their use of Recovery Act transportation and environmental infrastructure formula funds.
http://transportation.house.gov/Media/file/ARRA/information%20by%20state%20and%20formula.pdf – April 20, 2009 Information by State and Program.

State Revolving Funds/Waiver of ARRA Buy American Provisions

Notice of the EPA announces the granting of a nationwide waiver of the Buy American requirements under Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for de minimis incidental components of eligible water infrastructure projects financed through the Clean or Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs using assistance under ARRA. The waiver allows the use of nondomestic iron, steel, and manufactured goods in such projects funded by ARRA that might otherwise be prohibited. The action is effective May 22, 2009.

Contact: Jordan Dorfman; EPA, Office of Wastewater Management; 202-564-0614

Additional Information is available at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-12793.pdf

State Revolving Funds/Waiver of ARRA Buy American Provisions

Notice of the EPA announces the granting of a nationwide waiver of the Buy American requirements under Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for eligible Clean or Drinking Water State Revolving Fund projects that solicited bids on or after Oct. 1, 2008, and before Feb. 17, 2009, the date of enactment of ARRA. The waiver allows the use of nondomestic iron, steel, and manufactured goods in such projects funded by ARRA that might otherwise be prohibited. The action is effective May 22, 2009.

Contact: Jordan Dorfman; EPA, Office of Wastewater Management; 202-564-3776

Additional information is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-12792.pdf