Payments For Small Community Air Service Development (20.930)

 

Program

20.930 Payments For Small Community Air Service Development

 

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Transportation
Office: Office of the Secretary (OST) Administration Secretariate

 

Authorization

Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), Public Law 106-181, 49 U.S.C 41743; Vision 100—Century in Aviation Reauthorization Act, Public Law 108-176.

 

Program Number

20.930

 

Last Known Status

Active

 

Objectives

To help smaller communities enhance their air service and increase access to the national transportation system.

 

Types of Assistance

PROJECT GRANTS

 

Uses and Use Restrictions

Grants for specified use, provided on a reimbursable basis. Grant funds can be used to cover a variety of expenses depending on the approved project. For example, funds can be expended for marketing, advertising or promotional activities, new studies designed to measure air service deficiencies, or to measure traffic loss or diversion to other communities; employment or use of consulting firms, universities, public relations firms, and new, dedicated air service development staff on a long term basis. In addition, grant funds may also be used for financial incentives, including subsidy or revenue guarantees to cover the air carrier's prospective operting loss, or to ground service providers in providing access to air transportation services.

 

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

For calendar year 1997, the airport serving the community or consortium was not larger that a small hub airport, and had insufficient air carrier service; or unreasonably high air fares. Eligible communities/airports are those within the United States and its territories and possessions.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Eligible local communities or consortia of communities, local airports serving those communities, and air carriers.

Credentials/Documentation

Communities must apply for the grant program by submitting a project proposal with required data to justify its proposal in accordance with the Department-issued Request for Proposals. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program.

 

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not 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. A request for proposals (RFP) soliciting applications from eligible communities is issued each year. The RFP can be accessed on the internet through http://www.grants.gov Additionally, the solicitation is published in the Federal Register and served on the Council of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National Governors Association, the National Association of State Aviation Officials, the Association of County Executives, the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), and the Airports Council International-North America (ACI).

Award Procedure

Applications will be evaluated according to factors established in the RFP and under the guidance of the Vision 100-Century in Aviation Reauthorization Act, P.L. 108-176.

Deadlines

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

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Can vary from year to year. However, the target is to awards grants within 120 days from the established application deadline.

Appeals

Not Applicable.

Renewals

Application procedures are repeated each year. However, grant recipients are precluded by statute from seeking additional grants in support of the same project. A community can only have one Small Community Program grant at any time. 49 U.S.C. §41743(c)(4).

 

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

The period of time for awards will vary with the complexity of the project. Minimum grant duration is one year. The statute limits use of grant funds for air carrier subsidy to a maximum period of three years. The same limitation applies to other forms of ongoing support for air carrier programs. Financial assistance is provided on a reimbursable basis; cash advances will not be made. Funds obligated remain available until expended. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: quarterly.

 

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Quarterly progress and emplacement reports, and a final report is required. Cash reports are not applicable. Progress reports are not applicable. Expenditure reports are not applicable. Performance monitoring is not applicable.

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 No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), “Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations,” nonfederal entities that receive 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.

Records

The grant recipient is expected to retain all documents relevant to the grant award for a period of three years from completion of all projects undertaken pursuant to the Grant Agreement and receipt of final reimbursement from the U.S. Treasury.

 

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: Because most grant awards span a two to four year period, very few projects have reached the end of the grant terms. In 2007, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review of the Small Community Program and results show a 30% success rate based on project sustainability for a period of twelve months after the grant termination. Program funding did not include a portion for grants management until FY2007. A portion of the grant fund is now dedicated towards grant administration and program improvements are expected in the future. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

 

Financial Information

Account Identification

69-8106-0-7-402.

Obligations

(Salaries) FY 08 $6,849,000; FY 09 est $8,000,000; FY 10 est $10,000,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

Range:2008, $100,000 to $750,000. Average: $450,000.

 

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

49 U.S.C. 41743; 14 CFR 302.12 (Rule 12); 49 CFR 1.56a(f); 49 CFR Part 18; Public Law 106-181; Public Law 108-176; Public Law 108-477

 

Related Programs

Not Applicable.

 

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

None.

Headquarters Office

Aloha Ley, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE W86-310, Washington, District of Columbia 20590 Email: aloha.ley@dot.gov Phone: (202) 366-2347. Fax: (202) 366-7638

Web Site Address

http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/X-50%20Role_files/smallcommunity.htm

 

Examples of Funded Projects

Fiscal Year 2008: •Five of the grant awards are made to non-EAS communities experiencing higher-than-average air fares, including Redding, CA; Missoula, MT; State College, PA; Sioux Falls, SD; and Wichita Falls, TX. These communities plan to use their grants to attract new or expanded air services.

•Most of the awards to non-EAS communities include funds for marketing programs to support local air services. Such communities include Bullhead City, AZ; Redding, CA; Bloomington, IL; Springfield, IL; Missoula, MT; State College, PA; Sioux Falls, SD; Midland, TX; and Wichita Falls, TX.

•Three awards go to communities that are seeking to acquire their first air service or to restore service previously lost, including Bullhead City, AZ; Moses Lake, WA; and an intrastate consortium of geographically isolated communities in Aroostook County, ME.

•Two awards go to communities seeking service by a second air carrier. They are Muskegon, MI, and Wichita Falls, TX.

•The award to Dover, DE, will enable the community to conduct a study of its air service needs and potential solutions.

•Two grant awards are targeted at EAS communities: Merced, CA, which will use its marketing grant to support its transition to a new air carrier, and West Yellowstone, MT, which intends to use its marketing grant to increase ridership and reduce or eliminate its reliance on EAS. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

 

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Established by statute and annual Department order soliciting grant proposals.