Conference Calls
Freight Rail Security Grant Program FY 2008
- Intercity Bus Security Grant Program
(IBSGP)Freight Rail Security Grant Program
FRSGP)Trucking Security Program
(TSP)Transit Security Grant Program Tier I
(TSGP Tier I)Transit Security Grant Program Tier II
(TSGP Tier II)
- Intercity Bus Security Grant Program
(IBSGP)Freight Rail Security Grant Program
(FRSGP)Trucking Security Program
(TSP)Transit Security Grant Program Tier I
(TSGP Tier I)Transit Security Grant Program Tier II
(TSGP Tier II)
Conferences and Workshops | Questions and Answers | Conference Calls
Dates/Timelines
Fiscal Year 2008 FRSGP Important Dates
Date & Time |
Event |
Additional Info |
| Tuesday, September 23rd 1:00 PM EST |
FY 2008 FRSGP After-Action Conference Call | Call-in number: 877-988-9660, passcode: 6827433 |
Conference Call Summaries
03/06/08 Conference Call
March 6, 2008
1:00 PM EST
Opening Comments:
TSA: Good afternoon and welcome to our weekly FRSGP conference call. There is no new material to discuss today, so I would like to open it up to questions.
Wrap Up:
TSA: If there are no more questions, as a final reminder I will say to keep this question in mind when writing your Investment Justification: how does your investment reduce risk?
Thank you to everyone for joining us, and we look forward to speaking with you next Thursday, March 13th, at 1:00 PM EST.
As always, please submit your questions to AskCSID@dhs.gov, and CC: TSAGrants@tsa.dhs.gov. Thank you!
02/14/08 Conference Call
February 14, 2008
1:00 pm EST
Opening Comments:
TSA: I would like to welcome all of you to our weekly conference call for the FRSGP. I don't know if you want us to go over the general information again or jump right into questions.
Since there are no requests to go over the general information again, we will go straight into questions.
Questions and Answers:
Please see the following website for the questions and answers:
www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/frsgp/2008/questions_answers.shtm
Wrap-Up:
TSA: If there are no more questions, we will wrap-up this call. An important point to take away is that the process to register with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) is time consuming. Other modes have had issues as well, so we encourage you to register and get those numbers early. We really appreciate your time this afternoon. We look forward to seeing you soon.
02/07/08 Conference Call
February 7, 2008
1:00 PM EST
Opening Comments:
TSA: I'm here to discuss the FRSGP and go over information that we went over during the last conference call. The FRSGP was created by the 9/11 bill, section 1513. There is a total of $15 million available for fiscal year (FY) 2008. Funds are to be directed at security training, conducting vulnerability assessments, and developing security plans. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has determined that eligible applicants are Class 1, 2, and 3 freight railroad carriers that transport Security-Sensitive Materials (SSM). A definition of SSM is unique to this grant guidance. Grantees would have to operate in or through at least one high population-density area; these areas are listed in Table 1 of the guidance. You must certify that you have a security plan that is in compliance with the requirements of 49 CFR 172. For the purposes of this grant program, SSM is defined as 1) more than 5,000 pounds in a single carload of a Division 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 explosive, a tank car containing a material designated as a Poisonous Inhalation Hazard (PIH) as defined in 49 CFR 171.8 (including anhydrous ammonia), or 3) Highway Route Controlled Quantity of Class 7 radioactive materials.
A Class 1 railroad carrier may apply for security training as long as the organization certifies that they have a security plan that meets the requirements outlined in the appendices. Class 2 and 3 railroad carriers may apply for conducting a vulnerability assessment and developing a security plan that will meet the requirements outlined in Appendix E and F. If the Class 2 or 3 carrier already has a vulnerability assessment and security plan in accordance with the appendices, the company may request funding for security awareness and emergency response training for frontline employees.
There is a cost share requirement for the FRSGP. The cost share breakdown is 50%/50% for private sector companies and 75%/25% for public sector companies. The non-federal match can be cash or in-kind.
The entity needs to document what they are spending that will count towards the match. Everything the entity spends can be an in-kind match, such as equipment, employee salaries, etc. For instance, if you want to conduct a vulnerability assessment and develop a security plan, you could count the time employees spend as an in-kind match. Then, a contractor could be partially funded.
The applications are due March 17th by 11:59 PM EST. This is a statutory deadline; there will be no extensions. Before your application can be submitted, you need to acquire a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, register with grants.gov, and obtain a valid Central Contractor Registration (CCR) number. The grant guidance outlines how to obtain this information. Any information concerning a vulnerability assessment or security plan will be considered sensitive security information and will not be released to the public.
There was a question the last time about the high population-density areas listed in Tables 6 and 7. If you operate in or through the areas listed in the far right column, the definitions column, then you are eligible.
If you have specific questions, please send them to askcsid@dhs.gov or tsagrants@tsa.dhs.gov.
Currently, we have selected Chicago as the location for the workshop. If grantees would prefer another location, such as New Orleans or Houston, please let us know.
Questions and Answers:
Please see the following website for the questions and answers:
www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/frsgp/2008/questions_answers.shtm
Wrap-Up:
TSA: If you are all members of the trade association or the Association of American Railroad (AAR), we will have them forward information concerning the workshop. I did provide the association a copy of the Grant Guidance on Monday after the conference call. We'll look into rooms in Chicago, New Orleans, and Houston. We will let you know today. If you can not attend the workshop, we could do a web conference to go over the IJ.
Applicants can send comments or questions to askcsid@dhs.gov and tsagrants@tsa.dhs.gov. You can request to be added to the distribution list.
The notes from the conference call on Monday and today's call will be added to the TSA website: www.tsa.gov/grants. Questions and answers will also be posted. You can also download the Grant Guidance and application kit at that website.
02/04/08 Conference Call
February 4, 2008
4:00pm
Opening Remarks:
TSA: Good afternoon. I am the Director of Grants for TSA. Hopefully, you have had a chance to look at the guidance released on Friday. I'm sitting here with several of my colleagues and they will introduce themselves.
TSA: I am a Branch Chief in the Rail Security Program at TSA. The Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP) is new and we are going to try to help you as much as we can. The FRSGP was created by the 9/11 law, section 1513. DHS has allocated $15 million total for the FRSGP. DHS has determined that the funds will be used for vulnerability assessments, security plans, and security training for frontline employees.
Eligible Applicants
Class I, II and III freight railroad carriers are eligible for FRSGP. They must transport a Rail Sensitive Security Material (SSM) in a specified amount. The term is a term of art. It is specific to this grant program. For the purposes of this grant program, SSM is defined as 1) more than 5,000 pounds in a single carload of a Division 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 explosive, a loaded tank car containing a material that is a Poisonous Inhalation Hazard (PIH) as defined in 49 CFR 171.8 (including anhydrous ammonia) this term is synonymous with the term toxic inhalation hazard or TIH , or 3) a Highway Route Controlled Quantity of a Class 7 radioactive material. SSM is a class of materials you've seen before.
For eligibility, you must operate in or through at least one high population area as identified in Table 1 on page six of the grant guidance. If you have difficulties with these definitions later on, we can help you. You must also certify that you have a security plan that is in compliance with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 172.
The process is that, first, everyone must have a security plan that is in compliance with regulations issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) or 49 CFR Part 172. This comprises the people who can apply. Class I railroads (as provided by Surface Transportation Board) can apply for security training. Class I railroads must also certify that they have a vulnerability assessment and a security plan that meets the requirements outlined in Appendix E and F. Class I rail carriers must sign a document to this effect.
For Class II and III, you can apply for money to certify that you will complete a vulnerability assessment and security plan to the level in Appendix E and F. You can update an existing vulnerability assessment or security plan. If you are a Class II and III railroad and you already have a vulnerability assessment and security plan that meets the requirements in Appendix E and F, you can apply for security training funds. You must certify that you have a vulnerability assessment and security plan first.
Cost Share Requirement
On page 18 of the guidance, there are several program requirements. There are the cost-share requirements. For the private sector, 50-50 percent split for Federal and non-Federal funds. This can be found in number A-2 on page 13 of the guidance package. If you are a public sector entity, the split is 75-25 percent Federal and non-Federal funds. Section B contains the application requirements.
Application Requirements
On our web page, we can also give you quick information about how to apply. The time window is very short. First, you obtain a Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) number. There is no cost to do so. To do so, the phone number is 1-800-333-0505. All of this information is in the guidance.
After obtaining a DUNS number, you register with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). You can register with CCR through http://www.ccr.gov. This takes a fair amount of time, but it is a one time process. New applicants are encouraged to apply well in advance of the deadline (at least 10 days prior). After registering with CCR, you will need to get a password to grants.gov. That will be how you submit an application. The final deadline for submission is March 17, 2008 at 11:59 PM EST.
Investment Justifications
The rest of the package is the application. You write investment justifications on how each project assists in the creation of security plans, the facilitation of completion of a vulnerability assessment, or the improvement of frontline employee security training.
Information Protection
Vulnerability assessments and security plans that are submitted to DHS are considered Sensitive Security Information under 49 CFR 1520.5 (b)(1) and (5). These items should be marked and will be handled appropriately.
TSA: We are very excited to have a freight rail program and we are looking forward to working with the freight rail community to get good projects that we can fund.
TSA: The vulnerability assessment and security plan standards are located in Appendix E and F. These seem stringent and high-level. We will walk you through these and talk to you about them throughout the grants process. If you have questions, you can submit them to us.
TSA: Appendix C also has detailed instructions about how to apply through grants.gov. Unfortunately, the 45 day deadline is congressionally mandated and we have no flexibility on that. We strongly encourage you to start as soon as possible. We want to ensure that everyone who needs grant funding gets it.
For complete Questions and Answers please see www.tsa.gov/grants
TSA: Thank you for calling in and we look forward to continuing this dialogue for the next five or six weeks to Saint Patrick's Day.
