Assistance To Firefighters Grant (arra) (97.115)

Program

97.115 Assistance To Firefighters Grant (arra)

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Homeland Security

Authorization

Public Law 111-5 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Program Number

97.115

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

To provide financial assistance directly to fire departments to enhance their capabilities with respect to fire and fire-related hazards. To provide financial assistance in the construction, upgrading or rehabilitation of fire stations.

Types of Assistance

Project Grants

Uses and Use Restrictions

Fire station construction. (Public Law 111-5 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Section 1511); Eligible Uses: new station construction, existing station upgrading or rehabilitation; up to 5 percent shall be for program administration and no grant shall exceed $15,000,000. Restrictions: certification as cited below in �083 Credentials/Documentation�; funded only under Public Law 111-5.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

None

Beneficiary Eligibility

None

Credentials/Documentation

Each applicant must certify: (1) that they are an eligible applicant, i.e., a fire department as defined above; (2) as to the characteristics of their community, i.e., Urban, Suburban, or Rural; (3) to the population size of the community served; and (4 ) to the type of department, i.e., volunteer/combination or career. Public Law 111-5 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Section 1511 Certifications: With respect to covered funds made available to State or local governments for infrastructure investments, the Governor, mayor, or other chief executive, as appropriate, shall certify that the infrastructure investment has received the full review and vetting required by law and that the chief executive accepts responsibility that the infrastructure investment is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. Such certification shall include a description of the investment, the estimated total cost, and the amount of covered funds to be used, and shall be posted on a website and linked to the website established by section 1526 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. A State or local agency may not receive infrastructure investment funding from funds made available in this Act unless this certification is made and posted. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact assessment is required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110. Application deadline and other information are contained in the application/program guidance.

Award Procedure

Applications or plans are peer reviewed, and reviewed by DHS program and administrative staff. Any issues or concerns noted in the application will be negotiated with the successful applicant prior to the award being issued.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Not Applicable.

Appeals

From 15 to 30 days. Applicants that were denied grants can request a reconsideration of the decision. Such a request may be successful if it is determined that the rating criteria were not appropriately applied, or there was a flaw in the competitive process that unfairly disadvantaged the applicant, or there was human error in the processing of the grant application. Requests for reconsideration must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the date of the notification of denial.

Renewals

> 180 Days. Grant period is 36 months for this program. In the event that the grantees are unable to fulfill their grant obligations within the 36-month grant period, they may request an extension of the performance period. Such requests will be considered and approved based on the written justification.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula.

This program has no matching requirements.

This program does not have MOE requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Refer to program guidance. Awards are subject to the Cash Management Improvement Act for payment and/or reimbursement of expenditures. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: No information provided.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Grantees are required to submit Progress Reports which will include a narrative statement that details the progress of each award. Recovery funding reports will be submitted in the prescribed format within 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, beginning July 10, 2009. These reports will include the following data elements, as prescribed by the Public Law 111-5, Section 1512 and OMB Memorandum M-09-10: (1) The total amount of recovery funds received from that agency; (2) The amount of recovery funds received that were obligated and expended to projects or activities. This reporting will also included unobligated Allotment balances to facilitate reconciliations. (3) A detailed list of all projects or activities for which recovery funds were obligated and expended, including-- (A) The name of the project or activity; (B) A description of the project or activity; (C) An evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity; (D) An estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained by the project or activity; and (E) For infrastructure investments made by State and local governments, the purpose, total cost, and rationale of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment with funds made available under this Act, and name of the person to contact at the agency if there are concerns with the infrastructure investment. (4) Detailed information on any subcontracts or subgrants awarded by the recipient to include the data elements required to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282), allowing aggregate reporting on awards below $25,000 or to individuals, as prescribed by the Director of OMB. Final financial and performance reports are due 90 days after the expiration or termination of grant award. see guidance. see guidance. see guidance. see guidance.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards (or receive pr

Records

Grant records shall be retained for a period of 3 years from the day the recipient submits its final expenditure report. If any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, or other action involving the records has been started before the expiration of the 3-year period, the records must be retained until completion of the action and resolution of all issues which arise from it, or until the end of the regular 3-year period, whichever is later. Grant records include financial and program/progress reports, support documents, statistical records, and other documents that support the activity and/or expenditure of the recipient or sub-recipient under the award.

Program Accomplishments

Not Applicable.

Financial Information

Account Identification

70-0567-0-1-999 - TAFS: 70 0567.

Obligations

(Project Grants) FY 08 $0; FY 09 est $210,000,000; FY 10 est $0

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

Refer to program guidance.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, 15 U.S.C. 2229 et seq. In addition, the program guidance, the FAQs, an applicant tutorial, and other program information can be found on the program�s website at www.firegrantsupport.com. OMB Memorandum M-09-10 Subject: Initial Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Related Programs

15.031 Indian Community Fire Protection; 15.228 National Fire Plan - Wildland Urban Interface Community Fire Assistance; 97.018 National Fire Academy Training Assistance; 97.043 State Fire Training Systems Grants; 97.044 Assistance to Firefighters Grant

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. The Assistance to Firefighters Grants are administered from the FEMA Headquarters Office. FEMA also has 10 regional offices which house Fire Program Specialists who may be contacted for information on the program.

Headquarters Office

DHS/FEMA/Grant Programs Directorate Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, Tech World Bldg - South Tower 5th Floor, 500 C Street, SW, Washington, District of Columbia 20472 Email: firegrants@dhs.gov Phone: 866-274-0960

Web Site Address

http://www.fema.gov

Examples of Funded Projects

Not Applicable.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Refer to the program guidance for information on criteria for selecting proposals.