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Questions and Answers

Freight Rail Security Grant Program FY 2009

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Has program eligibility expanded since the guidance was issued?

Yes. We released an Information Bulletin (IB) (Information Bulletin #299, November 14, 2008 - FY 2009 Freight Rail Security Grant Program Eligibility and Security Training Requirements) which expands program eligibility to include "security-sensitive materials offerors who ship by railroad". For purposes of this grant program, "offerors" are entities that lease rail cars in order to ship poisonous by inhalation/toxic inhalation hazardous (TIH) materials by railroad. Offerors may use grant funds received under this program to acquire and install satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking on cars that transport poisonous by inhalation hazards/TIH materials.

Are there specific allocations for each group of recipients or types of projects?

No. The total amount available under the Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP) is $15 million. There are no specific allocations for each group of recipients or types of projects.

What happens to the grant funding if the entire $15 Million is not awarded to FRSGP recipients (like last year)?

If there are funds available in the FRSGP after all approved applications have been funded, the remaining funds will be transferred to the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP).

Does this grant fund remote monitoring and sensors in addition to the acquisition and installation of Global Positioning Systems (GPS)?

No. FRSGP will fund the acquisition and installation of new GPS units or pay for the enhancement of existing GPS units on existing rail cars. Sensors and additional sensory capability costs associated with the purchase of GPS units or activity feeds are not eligible for reimbursement by the grant.

Does the grant fund GPS software?

The grant will cover the cost of GPS software and any other system-related essentials that are necessary to make the GPS functional. The grant however, will not fund general use software or general use computers. To be allowable under the grant, all items must be GPS-specific.

Does covered software include the monthly fee to download information?

The typical monthly fees for GPS would be considered contracting for service and therefore funded by the grant. The grant will cover reasonable charges associated with the operation and function of the GPS units for the period of performance. The grant will not pay for these services in excess of the 36 month period of performance.

Would a GPS system be funded beyond 2009 since this is an annual program?

While the program does award grants annually, the period of performance for each grant is 36 months. Thus, the grant will fund the reasonable support of the system for the period of performance. The grant will not cover any costs beyond the 36 month performance period.

What is the period of performance?

Thirty-six months from the date the award is issued. In the event that a project period of performance is due to expire and more time is required to complete the project, grant recipients may request an extension from FEMA. FEMA will evaluate extension requests on a case-by-case basis; however FEMA will not grant an extension without proper justification.

When does the 36 month performance period start?

Any application that has been approved for funding will receive an award letter that stipulates the general conditions of receiving the grant. It is the date noted on the award letter that serves as the official start date of the performance period for that grant. The award letter however does not signify the release of the grant funds or provide approval to spend anticipated funds. A clearance memo is issued by FEMA once they have completed their Environmental and Historical Preservation (EHP) and budget review of the application and approved it. The clearance memo indicates the release of the grant funds and contains the conditions of award.

If the release of grant funds does not occur until the clearance memo is issued, does that mean that the rail car owner or offeror should refrain from spending any money on grant-related activities until the clearance memo is received? Does "do not spend any money" mean do not ask for reimbursement or do not buy equipment?

We highly recommend that you do not spend any money on grant-related activities until you receive the clearance memo. Although the project has been approved at the time the award letter is issued, modifications can occur in the budget up to the issuance of the clearance memo. Thus, it is in the company's best interest to wait until the final grant award is confirmed and the funds are released by the clearance memo.

Will the grant provide any reimbursement for GPS equipment that has already been purchased?

The grant will not provide for the reimbursement of any purchases made before the period of performance. The supplanting of funds, as this question implies, is not allowable.

If a rail car owner or offeror has current contracts that pay for GPS-associated fees, would the grant cover those costs?

The procurement of goods and services by FRSGP grantees is governed by Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Part 31.2 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures, Contracts with Commercial Organizations. While grantees are expected to follow accepted competitive procurement practices, if not feasible or possible grantees should be prepared to document their rationale/justification for sole source procurement. If you have any further questions, contact your assigned FEMA program analyst identified in your grant award.

Moreover, the grant cannot supplant current spending. Therefore the grant will not pay for continuing service for existing equipment nor can it pay for equipment that has already been purchased.

Will rail car owners and operators be required to identify the car up front? How will that work?

Both owners of rail cars and offerors may not receive funding for the same rail car; therefore, owners and offerors must identify each rail car by number in their grant application to enable DHS to track the cars and verify that no duplication of funding has occurred. If an eligible owner and an eligible offeror submit an application for the same rail car, priority will be given to the owner of the rail car.

Offerors applying for FY 2009 grant funding for GPS tracking must submit the Owners and Offerors Concurrence Statement, included in Information Bulletin #299, as part of their grant application to certify that the owner of the rail car acknowledges the grant application for the procurement of GPS tracking to attach to their rail car.

Are owners and offerors locked into the particular rail cars and numbers listed in their application or can they switch out cars?

We understand that the life of GPS equipment is roughly equivalent to the period of performance (three years) and that within that period, owners and offerors may have reason to switch out cars. Therefore, owners and offerors that want to switch out cars with existing cars from their fleet will need to work with their FEMA program analyst to see what if anything is allowable under the grant.

If a rail car owner or offeror is acquiring a new fleet in the near future, will the grant fund the acquisition and installation of GPS tracking on the new rail cars?

The grant will only pay for costs associated with the acquisition, installation and activity feeds for GPS tracking systems on rail cars that are part of a rail car owner or offerors fleet at the time of application. The grant will not pay for costs associated with GPS tracking on rail cars that are not part of an owner's or offeror's existing fleet at the time of application.

If the rail cars are currently being built, can they be included in the program?

No. The rail cars must be part of your current fleet to be eligible for inclusion in the program.

If there is already GPS equipment on cars that we are leasing is that considered or how is that handled? I do not want to pull mine off because the owner comes in with this grant to apply new equipment.

The owner and the offeror will need to sign the Owner and Offeror Concurrence Statement to certify that both approve of the submission of the application and submit the statement as part of the application. Beyond this form, rail car owners and operators are responsible for resolving any differences and for negotiating any arrangements between owner and offeror.

Are shipping and acquisition costs associated with GPS tracking system enhancements, such as solar or technology upgrades, allowable?

Costs associated with system enhancements are reimbursable under the grant however these costs will not be funded without sufficient justification. In general, applications that include the acquisition of new GPS tracking equipment will likely be scored more highly than those that involve enhancements to existing equipment.

If a rail car owner or offeror is awarded funding for 10 cars and they apply for GPS for more cars that they acquire, is there a process in place to transfer that equipment?

No, there is currently not a process in place for the transfer of GPS equipment from one rail car to another. If you are changing what was agreed upon up front in the grant, you must contact FEMA and work with them to negotiate an allowable solution before the transfer of the equipment may occur.

The overall program is limited to Security-Sensitive Materials (SSM) by Congress. Why is the GPS tracking initiative limited to poisonous by inhalation/toxic inhalation hazardous (TIH) materials?

While we realize that there may be other security-sensitive materials transported by rail, the vast majority of security-sensitive materials rail shipments contain poisonous by inhalation/TIH materials. Therefore, the GPS tracking program aspect of this grant effort will focus on TIH shipments. More specifically, eligible owners and offerors must transport bulk TIH as we will not fund GPS equipment for cars that transport only small amounts of chlorine, for example.

Will the grants be awarded directly to the rail car owners and offerors?

The grants must be awarded directly to Class I, II, and III freight railroad carriers that transport SSM and owners or offerors of railroad cars that transport TIH materials as noted in the FY 2009 FRSGP Guidance and Application Kit. We cannot pass the funds through any organizations.

I have so many TIH railcars. I could only install GPS on so many within the performance period. Is that acceptable?

Yes. We will fund phased projects. Please specify if you are only outfitting a portion of your fleet with the grant and why. Also, make it clear that you intend to outfit the rest of the fleet in future phases. We encourage everyone to apply with scalable projects. If we know that your project is scalable we may partially fund your project versus skipping it all together and funding a full project of lower cost.

What determines which applications are looked at first in the review process?

Each application receives a thorough review and score by the National Review Panel (NRP). All applications are then ranked by panel score. We start funding applications from the top down and may partially fund projects once funding starts to run out if they are scalable.

Does the early submission of an application benefit the applicant?

It is in every applicant's best interest to submit the application early. There is a possibility that the grants.gov system may become over saturated if a large volume of users attempt to upload their applications at the same time which may result in system malfunctions and error messages.

Once the application is submitted on line through grants.gov, you will receive a confirmation from the system. If you do not receive this notice or there is any issue with the submission of your application contact grants.gov. The grants.gov Help Desk is available at 1-800-518-4726.

However, applications that are submitted early do not receive any preference in the scoring process.

Will the April 10, 2009 award date change?

We do not anticipate any major changes in the date. We are congressionally mandated to award the grants within 60 days of the application due date and April 10, 2009 is our best estimate of the date that awards will be announced at this time.

Can we assume that there may be a preference within this program for rail cars that last longer?

The NRP will evaluate each application based on the information that is provided in the Investment Justification (IJ). The durability of the rail cars along with the durability of the GPS equipment factors into the cost-effectiveness of the overall project. Therefore, the more effectively you can convey the cost-effectiveness of installing GPS tracking on your present cars in your project IJ, the more favorably the NRP may evaluate your application.

What happens to the GPS equipment if we install it on a car that we are later forced to scrap?

If you are forced to scrap the car within the 36 month performance period, we expect that you will work with your FEMA program analyst to reach an acceptable solution.

Is the FRSGP part of the TSGP?

Yes. For FY2009, a total of $400 million was appropriated to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP). Of the $400 million, $15 million was directed toward the FRSGP. Since the allocation for FRSGP originated from TSGP, any part of the $15 million that is not awarded to FRSGP applicants will be returned to TSGP to fund additional transit projects under that program.

What are the GPS tracking information sharing requirements for applicants?

The tracking information obtained using grant funded GPS equipment will be owned by the rail car owner however, the rail car owner must allow DHS/TSA unrestricted access to the tracking information as a condition of the award.

If rail car owners and offerors ship ammonia and chlorine, can they apply for the grant under one application or two separate applications?

Rail car owners and operators the ship various types of TIH may apply under one application. They must however, note the type of TIH they are shipping to confirm their eligibility for the program.

If we are applying for a grant to train frontline employees, is it okay to continue using our in-house trainers?

Yes. You may use your existing trainers however the grant will not pay for overtime, backfill, or salaries associated with training employees.

Would the grant cover training or wages if we use our in-house trainers?

If in- house trainers are used, there are some reimbursable expenses but it is limited and would not include salaries or overtime. The grant could pay for enhancement training, for example, but not personnel costs. Some important discussion points to include in your application to assist us with our evaluation of the priority of the training project are: a training plan that describes how you plan to train your employees with the newly developed training and the methodology you are using to develop the training.

How were the GPS criteria developed?

The GPS criteria are based on studies conducted in 2003 by TSA that researched the operation and functionality of current GPS technology at that time.

If there are rail car owners that agreed to let offerors install the GPS on their cars, are there standards, guidelines or requirements that the offerors must abide by to help protect the owners?

The tracking system shall meet all federal, state, local, and industry safety standards regarding the installation of the GPS equipment on the rail car. However, the grant does not formally offer any standards, guidelines or requirements to protect the owner.

When the GPS tracking information is transmitted to TSA, where does it go? According to the grant guidance, rail car owners and offerors must provide TSA with access to the data.

We are looking into having a common platform so that TSA can pull the GPS tracking data in rather than going through each individual owner or offeror. This would be similar to the universal communication interface that is currently used in the trucking environment.

What is the expected use of that data? We have some issues with third party use of the data.

The GPS tracking data is for DHS/TSA's use only. We want to display the information graphically focusing on high density population areas. We hope that this will give us the valuable information that we need to be able to locate and track cars that transport bulk TIH. There is great interest among elected officials on Capital Hill for the tracking of TIH and we anticipate that this initiative will provide a baseline for future initiatives. (Please note that the information is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) but would likely fall under one of the exceptions.)

What tracking information does TSA need? Where all TIH cars are or just where those in high threat areas are?

For anyone involved in this program, we want to know where the rail cars transporting TIH are. If we were to go to a higher state of alert for example, there may be areas where TSA has increased interest and the tracking information would give TSA an idea of what is within proximity to the high threat area. Since this initiative is new to the program, there is the possibility that continual access to the tracking information may no longer be of interest to us in the future.

Does DHS have access to this tracking information today?

Yes, TSA has the ability to track rail cars that ship SSM within 45 minutes. This initiative is an enhancement to the existing tracking program. To further enhance our tracking initiatives, we are looking into constructing a platform to bring in the data.

What are the qualifications for the GPS equipment?

Please see the FRSGP guidance and FRSGP-related Information Bulletins for this information. An IB was released recently that broadens the requirements for the GPS equipment.

Will the GPS specifications be included in the terms of the award?

The award letter will specify the GPS requirements for the grant. By default, you are accepting what is in the guidance and any IBs through your application to the program.

Can rail car owners and offerors transmit the tracking data in any format that they want to use at this moment?

No. The data must meet TSA's universal communication interface standards.

If DHS issues an IB that states more specifics, must applicants abide by language in that document instead of the guidance?

Yes. An IB or Information Bulletin is issued when there has been a formal change in the program guidance, and therefore would supersede information in the guidance.

Does TSA require that rail car owners and offerors report the status of the sensors if they have or are using sensors?

We do not require sensors but we will accept sensor data if it is available.

How often does TSA plan to ping the GPS tracking units?

The system should allow for pinging once per day upon DHS/TSA's request; the system must also have the capability for an authorized representative from the owner/offeror to poll a rail car for its location more often than once a day if requested by DHS/TSA.

Once we receive the award, when do we have to install the GPS equipment by? What's a realistic timeframe for installation and operation?

Project development must be reasonable and it must align properly with your project timelines. More specifically, any GPS equipment that is purchased under the grant must be installed before the end of the period of performance (36 months) as we only pay for equipment warranties and monthly service fees for the period they are in service within the grant period of performance. This information should be included in the timelines and design sections of the IJ.

How do we convey to you the "risk reduction" value of our project in our application?

We often use proxies to measure risk. We ask you to provide us with your proxy for risk and describe its relevance. For example, you may state in your IJ that you ship TIH through densely populated areas or that you have freight yards located downtown in major urban areas. Those are some of the details that we need to more correctly evaluate your project's priority. Also tell us if your locations are in higher risk areas and where you operate. You do not want us to make our own conclusion and assumptions based on vague or incomplete information.

If an owner or offeror will be requesting Management and Administration (M&A), where is this included in the budget?

Requests for M&A should be included in the detailed budget line item "other". Any rail car owners and offerors that do not request M&A up front and do not include it in the detailed budget are not eligible for M&A. It must be included in the detailed budget up front; it cannot be requested at a later date.

If an owner or offeror requests a certain amount of money in our detailed budget but places it in the wrong budget category, does that mean that it cannot be spent?

Both TSA and FEMA will review your project budgets though FEMA conducts the most thorough budget review prior to the release of the grant funds. Budgets are evaluated on eligibility, allowability and reasonableness. In general, if your requests are allowable but placed in the wrong budget category, you will still be considered for funding. If you are awarded a grant, we will work with you to place the costs in the appropriate budget categories. If after the budget has been approved, you discover that money will need to be transferred or reprogrammed to another budget category, you may submit a reprogramming request to your FEMA program analyst.

If an owner or offeror uses someone from their own organization to install or transfer GPS systems, would those be eligible expenses?

You may use personnel from your own organization to install or transfer systems, however, we cannot pay their salaries and we cannot pay backfill or overtime costs. We can pay contracted services for installation. We can also pay for consultant fees for travel, if those services are contracted out.

To justify their cost estimates, will applicants need to prove that they have estimates from several vendors?

We recommend that applicants gather at least three cost estimates from vendors and request the average of the three in the detailed budget. Applicants however may also obtain one vendor quote and adjust it accordingly though we highly suggest that you do not rely upon one vender. Applicants will also be required to justify their requests and explain how they derived their cost estimates so be prepared to support your cost estimates.

Will rail car owners and offerors have an opportunity to provide feedback on the program in the future?

Yes. For the FY2008 program, we conducted an After Action Conference call to gather feedback on the program and its processes from program stakeholders. We suspect that for the FY2009 program, with the expected increase in stakeholders, we will hold an After Action Conference to solicit feedback.

If a foreign owned company has a wholly owned subsidiary inside the United States is that subsidiary eligible to apply for the FRSGP?

Foreign companies are not eligible for the FRSGP. However, wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign companies that are registered and do business in the United States and have a headquarters in the United States are eligible to receive grant funds. In order to access grants.gov an applicant must be eligible to receive a DUNS and CCR number. These numbers will only be issued to American owned companies or wholly owned subsidiaries.

Are foreign companies that have American operations eligible to apply?

No. Foreign companies that do not have a wholly owned American subsidiary are not eligible to apply for grant funds.

How will DHS track railroad cars to prevent duplicative GPS equipment on rail cars?

As specified in Information Bulletin 299, if an eligible owner and an eligible offeror submit an application for the same rail car, priority will be given to the owner of the rail car. The same rail car will not be funded for multiple GPS systems.

Because there are only a few vendors offering GPS technology that meet or exceed the standards outlined in the FY2009 FRSGP guidance, what guidelines apply regarding sole source procurement?

The procurement of goods and services by FRSGP grantees is governed by Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Part 31.2 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures, Contracts with Commercial Organizations. While grantees are expected to follow accepted competitive procurement practices, if not feasible or possible grantees should be prepared to document their rationale/justification for sole source procurement. If you have any further questions, contact your assigned FEMA program analyst identified in your grant award.

What are the tax implications if an agency is awarded a grant?

Since state tax laws differ significantly, we urge you to consult your corporate tax advisors concerning the tax implications of receiving a federal grant award.

Could railroad car owners and offerers contribute to or participate in discussions to revise the program criteria (i.e. GPS reporting requirements, safety standards)?

The FRSGP is a competitive grant program. Unfortunately, since we are currently in the competitive application period of the FY09 FRSGP, we cannot entertain those types of interactions and feedback at this point in the process. DHS plans to host an after-action conference after the FY09 FRSGP process is complete to solicit feedback. At this conference, we welcome your suggestions for revising the program criteria for FY10.

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Question and Answers received via Email

When will the application packages and application instructions be posted on grants.gov?

FEMA will be releasing an Information Bulletin (IB) that will note when the grants.gov system and applications are available. For more information, please see Information Bulletin #295 (IB #295) which is available on our website at: www.tsa.gov/grants. In the meantime, we suggest that you complete the following steps:

Will applicants need to fill out the standard forms (i.e., SF 424, standard assurances and certifications, etc) for each separate Investment Justification (IJ), or just once per application?

You only need one set of completed standard forms regardless of how many investments you are submitting. The standard forms including the SF 424s, standard assurances and certifications are required and must be submitted along with your IJs and budgets. You may download the standard forms and store your information on grants.gov at any time however do not hit the submit button until you are ready to submit a complete application with IJ(s) and detailed budget(s).

What template should be used for the FY08 Budget resubmissions?

Please use the OMB-approved Sample Detailed Budget Form (OMB Approval No. 1121-0188) as a template. The form is available in the guidance and on our website at www.tsa.gov/grants under the Grant Guidance and Application Kit section for FY08 and FY09. The form is the same for both FY08 and FY09 and is a new requirement for both fiscal years. Using any other form will only slow down the budget review process.

What Information Bulletin (IB) provides details on the removal of the FY08 cost match and the options available to transit agencies that included matches in their FY08 applications?

This information can be found in IB #298, which is available on our website at: www.tsa.gov/grants.

Can a Class I railway carrier submit a grant for just the GPS Tracking Systems (component) for railroad cars transporting toxic inhalation materials (TIH)?

Class I railroad carriers are only eligible to apply for security training of frontline employees, provided they have an acceptable vulnerability assessment and security plan per the guidelines in the Grant Guidance. Owners of tank cars and/or companies that lease tank cars that transport TIH are eligible for GPS, so the only way a Class I carrier would be eligible for the GPS is if they own the tank cars themselves, or are the direct lessees of the cars.

Is it true that tracking equipment with a GPS receiver and cellular communications that meets all of the functional requirements from page 25 of the FY2009 FRSGP Guidance and Application Kit is an acceptable solution?

Yes, provided that it meets all other requirements, tracking equipment with GPS receiver and cellular communications is an acceptable solution.

Please explain if cellular-only communication/transmission is acceptable because railcars are often out of cell phone coverage and thus may not be able to report or transmit as outlined by the requirements. Is the TSA "OK" with a GPS-tracking device that "listens every 15 minutes" only if in a high threat urban area or if in a national emergency and, if outside a HTUA, the listening mode would go to less frequent listen mode?

An Information Bulletin (IB) was issued recently that clarifies the GPS requirements. The URL is http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/frsgp/
2009/guidance_application.shtm.

Is a U.S. Company that leases tank cars from a U.S. company that ships anhydrous ammonia from a location that originates in Canada to final destinations that are in the U.S. be eligible to apply for the GPS tracking grant?

As long as the company that leases tank cars from a US company and ships anhydrous ammonia operates in the US, they are eligible to apply for the FRSGP in FY2009.

In the FRSGP Guidance and Application Kit from the Department of Homeland Security, Page 10, Part IV. Application and Submission Information, B. Content and Form of Application, 1. On-line application-required forms, there are several required forms listed. Where do we get these forms? I actually just need the Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (the last point) and Any Additional Required Attachments (the 2nd point).

These forms can be found on grants.gov. Unfortunately the FRSGP site for grants.gov does not have those documents uploaded yet so you currently cannot access them. FEMA is aware that the absence of these documents is an issue for applicants and is working hard to ensure those documents are posted with adequate time for you to complete and submit them before the deadline. FEMA will release an Information Bulletin (IB) and it will be posted on TSA's grants website as soon as the documents are available.

You can, however, register on grants.gov right now. We recommend that if you have not registered on grants.gov that you do so as soon as possible since the process of obtaining a CCR number, DUNS number and grant.gov login and password can take several weeks.

However, the Investment Justification (IJ) template and budget template can be found at www.tsa.gov/grants so you can go ahead and get started on those documents. They will just need to be uploaded to grants.gov before you submit.

Where can we get guidance as to how to fill out the required standard forms listed in the guidance?

Once the documents are posted, please direct any questions to the grants.gov helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726. Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

When will the application be available on Grants.gov?

Unfortunately the FRSGP site for grants.gov does not have those documents uploaded yet so you currently cannot access them. FEMA is aware that the absence of these documents is an issue for applicants and is working hard to ensure those documents are posted with adequate time for you to complete and submit them before the deadline. FEMA will release an Information Bulletin (IB) and it will be posted on TSA's grants website as soon as the documents are available.

DHS will use a scoring system to award grants. If several submitters score the same, how will the awards be granted?

A National Review Panel of Subject Matter Experts from TSA, FEMA, and FRA review and score all of the applications based on the criteria in the guidance. In the event that funding is exhausted at a tie score and several applications have that score, funding decisions will be made based on risk. For the FRSGP risk is based on the High Threat Urban Areas that a company operates through or the type of Toxic by Inhalation (TIH) material that a rail car carriers.

When providing HTUA data, do we have to include the name of the city? Some shippers view this data as extremely sensitive.

Yes.

How is the physical size of the geo-fence determined; from city center, city limits? How close to this physical location must a tank travel to be considered within the HTUA city?

A document detailing each HTUA is forthcoming and will be posted on the website.

The number of "pings" to a tank car will vary greatly. Some TIH tanks will move in and out of a geo-fence daily, @ 2 pings each, and shippers will ping throughout the course of a business day. Can the grant submission estimate the number of pings and submit for a monthly service fee to cover this estimate?

Yes. An estimate is acceptable.

For GPS installation there will be a cost to shop a car (switching, handling, etc.) and cost to clean the car if handling a material such as EO. Can we include these costs in the installation cost?

The only installation costs that are eligible are those that are contracted out. The grant will not pay for in-house personal to perform the installation. Furthermore, only the actual costs associated with the physical installation of the GPS devices will be covered. Other costs (i.e., switching, handling, cleaning, etc.) will not be covered under this grant program.

This question is on the minimum data elements for GPS systems as listed in the guidance document. The minimum data elements for shipment data include Origin, Destination, Routing, Commodity, and Load status. Does all of this information have to come through the GPS system or can an existing tracking system be utilized in conjunction with the GPS system? For example load status would require the installation of a sensor that is not covered under the scope of the grant, but is available in an established system. The same would hold true for routing, destination and origin.

An Information Bulletin (IB) was issued recently that clarifies the GPS requirements. The URL is http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/frsgp/2009/
guidance_application.shtm .

On the December 4th FY 2009Freight Rail Security Grants Program (FRSGP) conference call, I was directed to request sample documentation associated with being awarded a grant through this email address. As it was explained to me, they indicated FEMA would be administering the grants after they are awarded. In turn, candidates receiving grants would be sent an award letter as well as a clearance memo (GANS) which would outline the terms and conditions associated with being awarded the grant.

Can you please send me sample documentation of the Award letter and Clearance Memo so we can better understand the terms of the agreement between FEMA and the grant recipient?

Unfortunately, we do not have any sample awards or clearance memos that are available for circulation. When an applicant receives their award, they will receive an email from the Grants Management System (GMS) informing them that the award has been made and instructing them on how to access it. The award document and special conditions pages are housed in GMS, where grantees can access them electronically.

Can I get a copy of the special conditions pages housed in GMS?

You can only access the template and special conditions if you are a grant recipient. If you are a grant recipient, then you can access them on GMS.

To gain access to the Freight Blog, the "President/CEO/General Manager" needs to grant or designate the person. Would our business group president be the appropriate person to grant access?

If your business group president is the Grants Administrator than he would be considered the authorizing official. If he is not, then we would need your Grants Administrator, President or CEO to send the email. If your business group president is the Grants Administrator, please specify that in the email as that will speed up the process for getting you access into the Blog.

In the December 10, 2008 IB no. 301 Revised Tracking Requirements, the Technology Standards section refers to "TSA Universal Communications Interface (UCI) - Interface Requirements Specification (IRS)". I have looked through all of the documents posted, but can not find the documents referencing such protocols for technology and data standards. Where can I get a copy of these protocols?

Both the (1) Universal Communication Interface Information and (2)Freight Rail HTUA (High Threat Urban Areas) Information can be found on the TSA Grants website under the FRSGP program by clicking on the subtitle Grant Guidance and Application Kit. The direct URL is: http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/program/frsgp/
2009/guidance_application.shtm .

How do I determine if my FRSGP grant application is subject to the executive order 12372 process?

This particular executive order is in reference to funds that pass through the State Administrative Agency (SAA) and does not apply to individual private entities.

There are several forms to document our budget spending plan (sample budget, 424A, Investment Justification, etc). Is one submission satisfactory as long as we provide the budget numbers or should more than one budget form be included with the grant application? If more than one budget form is required, which forms should be included? Also, some of the optional documents contain the same information. If the information on the form is redundant, should the form still be included with the grant application?

Please refer to page 50 of the Guidance and Application package for a list of required components for your application. These are the minimum requirements.

Will the grant application get a higher (greater) score if all the forms are completed and included with the grant application?

The presence of all required forms as listed in the Guidance and Application kit will not increase the score of individual applications. The absence of a required form however will disqualify the application from consideration and result in no score.

Ifa railcar owner/lesseesigns the Owner andOfferors Concurrence Statementat the request of a Grant Applicant, and if the Applicant is awarded a grant,will the railcar owner/lesseebe subject to federal regulations, including flow down requirements,applicable to a government contractor?

YES all federal requirements apply.

If a car owner submits an application with average costing for GPS/telematics equipment and ultimately has a grant awarded, must the car owner equip the exactnumber of cars/units stated in the award? Prospective applicants are soliciting quotes from multiple vendors. The grant applications will likely include an average unit cost. If the grantee subsequently incurs a higher average unit costmust the grantee still equip the exact # of cars/units and absorb any cost differential or maythey reduce the actual number of cars equipped during the performance period?

A grantee may not change the scope (number of cars equipped) without prior authorization from DHS. DHS expects that the grantee will provide in its application appropriate due diligence to insure that it can complete a project that is proposed and applied for.

You indicated that the size of the grant for 2010 will likely depend on the amount of applications (demand) the grant get this year. What are the other factors that could contribute to a larger grant especially for GPS next year? Given the late notice this year, might that be a factor in assessing the grant demand for 2010?

Generally, the funding available for the Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP) in any given year is determined by several factors, including the total amount requested by applicants in a prior fiscal year. The largest factor in determining the level of funding for this grant program, however, is the types of projects that are eligible for funding under that program. For the FY 2009 FRSGP, Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking, training, and planning were the only eligible project types.

In determining the FRSGP funding levels, therefore, we estimated that there are about 15,000 railcars that transport Toxic by Inhalation Materials (TIH) in the United States. The owners/lessees of these railcars would be eligible to apply for GPS tracking funding. Outfitting this entire fleet with GPS tracking would cost approximately $15 million. In addition, Class I-III railroad carriers are eligible for training and/or planning. Those projects are typically relatively low cost. We also anticipated that not all eligible recipients will apply for grant funds.

Therefore, for FY09, we estimated that $15 million would adequately fund the FRSGP's GPS tracking, training, and planning. If the eligible project list expands in future fiscal years, the total funding for the program may as well. Conversely, if eligible project types are reduced, the allocation may be decreased as well.

Please note that eligible projects are determined based on the funding priorities of TSA. Funding priorities are risk based and are a function of both industry vulnerabilities and emergent threats.

Could you please advise if separately operated Class I railroads would be eligible for this grant program even though they are wholly-owned indirect subsidiaries of a Canadian based company?

Yes, they are eligible.Both operations meet the base requirements of the program:

Are grants restricted only to car owners, or are shippers eligible for the grant if they ship in leased cars?

If the shipper is a lessee of the rail car transporting TIH then they are eligible. Shippers who do not own or lease rail cars carrying TIH are not eligible for the funds.

The very first block on form SF 424 asks for "Application Filing Name" but doesn't define this. Is this the name of my company, the name of the project we are requesting funding for or...?

This should be the company name or name that you registered at grants.gov.

When I save data from the form it goes to my local drive. How will the form be re-populated if I exit the web site and come back in at a later time as there does not appear to be any import type button?

This is a technical question having to do with the operations within grants.gov. Please call the grants.gov helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726. Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., EST.

Sixty-one areas of the United States are eligible to participate in the FY 2009 Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP) and are listed at www.tsa.gov/grants. How were these areas and the boundaries determined?

TSA has standardized the boundaries for each of these 61 areas to comprise one or more cities and a surrounding 10-mile buffer.

a. FRSGP Eligible Areas

The areas of the country that are eligible to participate in the FY 2009 FRSGP are those areas that contain freight rail operations and have been included in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) program since 2006.There are 61 such areas; a list is provided at www.tsa.gov/grants.

After examining the nation's freight rail security requirements, TSA adopted the DHS UASI program areas that contain freight rail operations as eligible to participate in the FRSGP because they comported well with the nodal nature of the national freight rail network.In addition, the DHS UASI program is consistent with DHS' national risk management efforts for homeland security, such that resources may be targeted to areas with the greatest need.In the two cases where the DHS UASI program identified areas that did not contain freight rail operations, TSA did not adopt those areas.

b. FRSGP Eligible Area Boundary

In 2006, the DHS UASI program identified 46 areas for inclusion in its program.At that time, the boundaries of these areas consisted of a city limit or combined adjacent city limits, plus a 10-mile buffer zone extending from the city border(s).Each fiscal year the DHS UASI program reevaluates its list of eligible areas and makes changes accordingly.Since FY 2006, the DHS UASI program has identified additional areas eligible for the program.Only 15 of these additional areas contain freight rail operations and therefore are included on the FY 2009 FRSGP list of 61 eligible areas.

Since 2006, however, the geographic definition of the boundaries of these 61 areas have been modified as a result of legislative and other action, and no longer comprise one or more cities and the surrounding 10-mile buffer as was determined originally for the 46 referenced above.

Nevertheless, for purposes of participating in the FRSGP, TSA has standardized the boundaries of the current 61 DHS UASI program areas to again consist of a city limit or combined adjacent city limits, plus a 10-mile buffer zone extending from the city border(s).

Can you please clarify the reporting requirements for recipients of the FY 2009 Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP) including any FAR requirements and any responsibilities for subcontractors and/or owners of leased rail cars?

Reporting requirements and guidelines for meeting federal laws and rules regarding small businesses or minority owned businesses are found in the FY2009 FRSGP Guidance and Application Kit on Part VI Award Administration Information pages 35-44. The Guidance may be found electronically at FEMA.gov/grants and at TSA.gov/grants URL: http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/frsgp/
2009/guidance_application.shtm .

We do not own the cars that we are seeking grant money for.Is there a form that needs to be included with the application that states it is ok with the car owner to install GPS?I have emails from companies stating it is ok to install GPS.

The form required and information regarding the lessee/lessorand GPS use for the FRSGP is included with IB # 299 on the TSA Website URL http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/frsgp/
2009/guidance_application.shtm

We have over 4,000 trailers in our fleet and our operations dept says that we are looking at being a carrier for some Tier I Commodities this year and in future years.Is there some guideline to how many loads per year we would have to haul of Tier I Commodities to apply for this grant or does 100% of our business need to be Tier I?

In answer to your question concerning the hauling of Tier I commodities, there is no threshold in terms of number or percentage of loads in order to be eligible.

Has the award announcement date changed to April 10, 2009 for FY09 FRSGP?

The award announcement date has not changed at this time. This date has no effect on the performance period or the award date it is simply the public announcement of who is receiving grants and the amounts to be awarded. On page 34 of the Guidance and Application Kit it states "Awards will be made on or before September 30, 2009." This will be the effective award date.

On the below forms SF424B, Certificate Regarding Lobbying, and SF424D – at the bottom of these documents where the Signature of Authorized Certifying Official goes, in the cell it states - completed on submission to Grants.gov - What exactly does this mean?When and how will the document be signed?

These documents are considered electronically signed by the signatory authority you list in the application when the application is submitted to and accepted by grants.gov.

Should SF 424D be completed for this FY09 FRSGP?

The 424D is not required as this grant does not allow "construction" per se. A list of application components is shown on Page 50 of the Guidance and Application kit

Regarding the Other Attachment Form - it appears not to be Optional Documents - the first line states:Mandatory Other Attachment Filename.Is this where the Investment Justification should go? If not where should the Investment Justification be attached?

The attachment area is labeled mandatory for grants.gov purposes. You may attach your IJ there or as an optional attachment. The key is that all the required attachments get uploaded, again please review the list of components on page 50 of the Guidance and Application Kit.

On this years grant, what are the reporting requirements for grant money that is spent?What are the rules around using the money for small business, or minority owned businesses etc?

Reporting requirements and guidelines for meeting federal laws and rules regarding small businesses or minority owned businesses are found in the FY2009 FRSGP Guidance and Application Kit on Part VI Award Administration Information pages 35-44. The Guidance may be found electronically at FEMA.gov/grants and at TSA.gov/grants

In today's conference call it was offered that a section of 49 CFR 171.8 (I believe beginning page 9) could be provided to us.The need is to see specifically which items are included and excluded in "materials poisonous by inhalation".FRSGP Guidance explains: For the purpose of this grant, TIH is defined as: a tank car containing a material poisonous by inhalation, as defined in 49 CFR 171.8, including anhydrous ammonia but excluding residue quantities of these materials. I would like to have the entire explanation from 49 CFR, please.

I have pasted in the URL below which will answer your question on 49 CFR 171.8 – in fact, it includes all of the 49 CFR's for transportation. You will need to look at several of the CFR's in order to really get an answer – if you still have questions, please don't hesitate to email us.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/cfrassemble.cgi?title=200449

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01/22/09 Conference Call

Q: The original guidance document stated that form SF-424 and SF-LLL were required documents. In the offering on Grants.gov, they are listed as optional. Which is correct?

A: Always reference the guidance to determine the required forms. Grants.gov is used for all Federal Grant programs and there are several forms that are required forms for all grant programs. Optional forms on Grants.gov are the forms that are not required for all grant programs, but are required for this specific grant program. The SF-424 and SF-LLL are required for this grant program and you will need to submit them with your application.

Q: When the grant submittal is "received" on Grants.gov, you receive a notification from Grants.gov that it may take up to two days to "validate" your application. What happens if a problem is discovered after your submittal (validation fails) and the deadline has passed?

A: This year differs from previous years, if you submit on 1-23-09 before 11:59 p.m. and it comes back a couple days later with problems, we will be willing to work with you because the documents were not available on Grants.gov until late into the application period. If this happens, send an email to TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and also to ASKscid@dhs.gov.

Q: Does validation normally take several days to process and send back notification?

A: It depends on the number of applications the system is handling at the time. Since many grant programs have the same submission deadline of January 23, it may take the system 24-48 hours to validate your application submissions. The Grants.gov helpdesk can provide you more information at 1-800-518-4726.

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01/15/09 Conference Call

Q: Are there simplified instructions to help with completion of the Standard Form (SF) #424 on Grants.gov or anyone we can contact?

A: When completing the SF-424 grants.gov will alert you if you are missing any critical information. The system will not permit you to submit the form if required information is omitted. If there are information fields that you do not understand or you need help with the forms, please contact the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726.

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01/08/09 Conference Call

My question is what would be the protocol for introducing a new component into the grant program and how would that be addressed in the final funding approvals?

We cannot give advice on how to complete or word your Investment Justification. If you propose a different solution other than is outlined in the grant guidance, but the panel finds that it is innovative and is still allowable under the guidelines set forth in the grant guidance, it may be approved. The panel would also have the option to approve partial funding for various aspects of the project if not all elements that are proposed are allowable or fit within the scope of the grant guidance. If you have it broken down into different parts or phases, for example parts A, B, and C, they may decide to approve parts A and B, but not C if they determine C is not allowable and parts A and B still provide a security impact.

Are you going to continue to hold these conference calls on a weekly basis until the new deadline?

Yes we will continue to hold the calls each week at this same time until the new deadline.

When we have the proposal developed, do we cut and paste them in order to place them into the templates you have available in order to upload the templates on Grants.gov?

You will upload the Investment Justification and the Budget templates directly into grants.gov as attachments. So if you are working on the templates in word, you can directly upload those word documents on grants.gov and will not need to copy-and-paste anything.

What if I have additional attachments besides the IJ and budget?

You can upload as many attachments as you want on grants.gov. Make sure you reference each of them in your IJ, according to the specific IJ that it applies to and upload those also.

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12/18/08 Conference Call

If there is a sliding of the application due date due to grants.gov not being up, how long might the extension be?

If the forms are not up in the next week, FEMA will explore whether extending the deadline is a consideration, remembering that the timelines are Congressionally-mandated. FEMA wants to be sure that everyone has adequate time to complete the forms.

It is not the system that is the problem, it is the actual forms. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) governs all documents and forms that the federal government gives to non-government entities to fill out. This year FEMA had to go through the PRA process again for the templates before grants.gov will post the application information. The PRA process is at OMB and is taking longer than expected.

If your company has ever applied for any grant before, the forms are pretty standard. You may be able to see what the documents looks like.

When we apply, if I start doing my Investment Justification (IJ) template now, can I continue to do that? Is that the format that will be uploaded?

Yes. You will upload those actual documents from the IJ and budget templates onto grants.gov. You will not have to copy and paste into another form.

Most of the content lies within the IJ and budget documents and they constitute the majority of your application. The other required documents on grants.gov are mainly administrative one page forms for approvals from your organization. Rather than detailed content, they request more general information like the amount you are applying for and who is the authorizing official.

Do names or signatures go on the 5 documents?

We suggest you call the grants.gov helpdesk with any questions about their documents at 1-800-518-4726.

One concern is that once we hit the submit button, the application is done. There is no room for error. If someone submits their application and it is missing a signature or a form, is there any way to give leeway on the deadline?

If there is any standard form that is missing, grants.gov will kick it back as incomplete. However, grants.gov does not consider the IJ or detailed budget a standard form, so if you do not attach those documents and hit the "submit" button, there is nothing you can do. What happens with other irregularities is an excellent question for the help desk. Call the grants.gov help desk and ask what types of mistakes will kick the application back. The telephone number is 1-800-518-4726.

As a first time grant applicant I'm trying to anticipate what the application looks like. When we do get onto grants.gov, what is the first thing I do?

The grants.gov site is working. You can log on to the site, register with CCR, get your DUNS number and get your log in username and password. You will need to be registered on grants.gov in order to apply, and you should go through that process now.

As a first time applicant, if I were to hire a consultant to help with our grant application, would that have to be at my cost?

Yes, as a first year grant recipient you would have to bear the cost of any consultant you hire to help you with this year's grant application. The grant cannot pay for any costs incurred prior to the award date.

You can request up to 3% of your total grant for Management and Administration (M & A). You must request it in the grant or you will not get any M & A money. This money would cover costs such as reporting requirements, and staff salaries needed for administration of the grant.

If I assume we are awarded some moneys, can we apply that 3% to our own personnel?

Yes. That is the only category where you can use the money to pay salaries so long as they are directly related to the management and administration of the grant.

What kind of information would I have to submit in requesting M & A money?

You would submit information like staff responsibilities and pay rates. The money can be spent on salaries for employees managing grants but also for travel to TSA grant workshops such as the After Action Conference. If you are actually awarded the grant, FEMA would then want a more detailed breakdown on what you will spend the M & A.

Is the application on grants.gov basically an estimate?

Yes. For our purposes when you submit your application at grants.gov, state that you want M & A at a 3% rate. We will check and make sure you are getting 3%. The maximum is 3% but you don't have to take it all. After you receive a grant, FEMA will ask for a more detailed budget review.

Is M & A on the budget worksheets?

On the OMB detailed worksheet, there is no category for M & A. We ask that you request M & A under "Other" and make it clear that it is for the 3% M & A.

What is turnaround time for getting the answers to the questions we submitted via email this week?

We try to have responses back to you within a few days. We are waiting for some information from FEMA. It may come in parcels because some questions are easier to answer than others.

Will questions submitted to you by email be posted too?

As soon as our email response goes out, we send those responses to our website team to post the questions and answers as well.

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12/11/08 Conference Call

Are owner/offerors of railcars that transport TIH eligible to be on blog?

Any organization eligible to apply for a grant can be on the blog. Therefore, owners and offerors of TIH railcars that transport TIH via rail can be on the blog. If you would like to be on the blog, submit a blog request found at www.tsa.gov/grants through the "Engage" link,.

Please clarify a point in the recent Information Bulletin (IB) #301 which states that the system shall have the capability to be pinged for current GPS coordinates. How current is current?

There is no specific requirement according to the broadened standards outlined in IB #301; we just expect the response time to be reasonable in normal operating conditions. In other words, a reasonable response time would be hours, not days. The GPS requirements are intentionally broadened in the IB so they can be met in real world conditions; they were originally narrower in the guidance If you chose to adhere to the specifications in the Grant Guidance for your application, which are narrower, you will still be eligible to receive a grant. However, we only require you to adhere to the general requirements outlined in IB #301.

A lot of polling systems are set up to give polling updates four times a day. Is that enough?

Yes. There is no specific requirement and that seems reasonable.

Is there a minimum reporting amount that you are looking for every day?

No, there is no requirement.

What is the difference between the regular reporting that the system can do and the pinging that DHS may require?

In case of an event or a threat, DHS may request you to poll your car to find the location out of its normal cycle of reporting locations. Regular reporting helps you know where your assets are on a consistent basis, and then on a case by case basis polling will give you location information for a car at any given time.

IB #301 states that rail car tracking systems shall conform to the TSA Universal Communication Interface specifications. Where can we access this information?

Those documents will be posted on the Freight Rail grants site soon. However, similar information is already posted on the Trucking grants site. If you want an idea of what it will look like, check the trucking information because they have the same type of documents there now at http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/grants/programs/tsp/2009/guidance_application.shtm.

Regarding the process of putting the application together, when I get equipment and software vendors involved, do I need multiple quotes for the process to be done correctly?

We recommend you get a few quotes and take an average. We need to know generally how much you expect to spend on each of the units. If you tell us that you got a few quotes and took an average, it tells us you are operating in a cost effective way and doing your research. Part of the process we use in evaluating the Investment Justifications (IJ) of your application is to look at the cost effectiveness of your solution. If we see you have only had one quote, we may question your cost effectiveness which could result in a lower rating.

Do not put the name of a specific vendor on your application. If you receive the grant award you will then go through the procurement and contracting process to actually determine who you will buy the units from.

Specific to car owners or lessees, in this industry, there is a network of repair shops that could be utilized for the installation. Is there a problem in paying for that service if some of the repair shops are within our organization?

We will not pay for salary and personnel costs of regular time personnel because it is supplanting. If these installers are in house employees for whom you are already paying a salary, we cannot pay the installation costs for their salaries. We can fund contracts for installation costs but we cannot fund in house personnel. If you have a contract arrangement with one of your business units, tell us it is a contract or we will not fund it.

Our network of repair shops would be a mix of third party and repair units within our organization. How do we handle this?
Be sure that what you are requesting is only third party or contracting costs. Be clear in the application that you are not requesting personnel costs from within your organization.

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12/04/08 Conference Call

Is blog access restricted to class 1, 2 or 3 railroads and not to car owners or lessees?

The Blog Access policy states that any eligible grantees are eligible to be on the blog. Within eligible organizations, automatic access can be granted for the President/CEO/General Manager, Security Director, and Grants Administrator. Any additional people wanting access must be designated by one of these three people.

We are a provider of equipment. If some of the discussion on the blog relates to functionality of equipment, will vendors be able to participate?

We have four distinct areas of the blog. We have a general conference area that anyone can access. There are also different modal areas specific to Freight Rail, Mass Transit and Intercity Bus. Due to issues regarding sensitive security information we must be very careful about who has access to the industry specific blogs. Due to legal issues those three modal blog areas are restricted to eligible grant recipients and not vendors.

There is a general blog, a freight specific blog and then the criteria of who can actually see it. When I go to the freight blog it asks for my name and "submit". Is there something else I should be doing to get on the freight blog?

There is an access form on the website that asks for your name, the company you work for and your title. We take that information and determine whether you work for an eligible entity and have 1 of the 3 titles that are granted automatic access. If you are not one of those 3 people at your company, one of them must request access for you through TSA grants. They can just send us an email and attach your form to it.

We have been on the Q & A page and it is helpful. If there are any comments made that would be helpful to the vendors, is there any medium to convey those?

You can submit questions via email to AskCSID@dhs.gov and carbon copy TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and the answers will be posted on our website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

Do you have an example of a contract that you enter into with the government if you receive a grant?

Grants are fundamentally different from contracts and the documents are different. FEMA administers the grants, so you would receive the grant award agreement from them. If you receive a grant you will receive several documents including an award letter advising you that you are getting a grant and the conditions of receiving the grant, along with a clearance memo that authorizes you to spend the funds.

Could we get an example of those conditions?

You could send an email to FEMA at AskCSID@dhs.gov and they can send you an example of an award letter and clearance memo.

Are there any requirements for the installation process regarding AAR or FAR approval?

We hope to release an Information Bulletin (IB) next week that further specifies some requirements of GPS technology so you are continually able to meet those requirements. The guidance specifies that a tracking system shall meet all federal, state, local and industry safety standards regarding the installation of the GPS system on the railcar, but standards are not specified by name. This was not originally in the guidance but will be addressed in the IB.

If units on a railcar are not installed properly and something happened and they fell off, would there be indemnification to the rail car owner?

This would not be specified in the grants. This should be worked out through the contract with the company doing the installation.

Will the grant dollars be taxed?

Our legal department recommends that you speak with your corporate tax representative at your company. They will know better than us the tax implications and whether this is taxable income.

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11/20/08 Conference Call

Question: Where do I send in questions that I may have outside of the weekly conference call?

Answer: Send all questions to TSAgrants@tsa.dhs.gov and ASKCSID@dhs.gov. If you send a question to askcid@dhs.gov please copy it to the grants address also. That way, we can ensure it gets to the right people to provide you with an answer.

Question: Can I refer to a specific vendor in my grant application for my GPS equipment?

Answer: Do not refer to specific vendors in you grant application. Please give cost estimates based on the averages of several quotes for the equipment. Costs in the grant application should be estimates.

Question: Can chemical companies and vendors get access to the blog board – beyond access to the general blog given the expansion of eligibility?

Answer: Access to the Freight Rail section of the blog is currently limited to Class I, II, and III railroads. We will think about expanding access based on the expanded eligibility and let you know as soon as we've made a determination.

Question: Will all potential applicants be able to see questions other people have submitted to DHS?

Answer: Yes. We will post them on our website under "Questions and Answers". Please make sure you go to the Freight Rail Section in order to see the questions that apply to you. We post all questions we receive through the workshops, conference calls and email.

Remember, the tsa.gov/grants website has three components. You will want to make sure that under the "Programs" section, you are in the FRSGP section, then the FY 09 section, and a menu option will take you to "Questions and Answers", and once there you will see the choices between "Emailed Questions and Answers", "Conference and Workshop Questions and Answers", and "Conference Call Questions and Answers".

Question: How do I register on grants.gov so I can submit my application? How long does registration take?

Answer: All of the steps for registration are located in the Grant Guide starting on page 10. It goes into detail about the registration process through Grants.gov. Registration can take several weeks. Please keep in mind that Grants.gov is not up and running yet, so the standard forms (SF 424, etc…) are not available yet. When they are up, FEMA will issue an Information Bulletin (IB). Until then, you can get the budget template, the Investment Justifications (IJs) template and other items off of the TSA website. With these documents you can start writing the bulk of your grant application.

Question: Do you have a date on when Grants.gov will be up and running?

Answer: No. FEMA will issue an IB that will be posted on our website when the documents have been posted.

Question: The documents on the TSA website – are those part of the application process?

Answer: Yes, they are a part – they ask for the programmatic details of the grant application, as opposed to the administrative documents (standard forms) that are on Grants.gov. The IJ template and budget template is on the TSA website. You can go ahead and work on those. These documents will need to be uploaded with the standard forms to grants.gov in order to complete your application. Both sets of documents have to be done in order to apply for your grant.

Question: Can we apply for funding for part of our fleet, not the whole fleet?

Answer: In general we don't fund pilots, however, we do fund "limited or phased implementations". An example would be a FY09 grant application for "phase one" of the project that would purchase a limited amount of equipment to install on a set of cars. In future grant years you may be able to apply for "phase two" of the project (depending on funding and the eligible project types) to purchase additional equipment that you have found meets your specifications and standards through phase one.

In your grant application, list a general description of the equipment specifications, an average cost, and the general purpose of the equipment – without listing any specific vendor. If you are awarded a grant, you will go through the procurement process after receiving the funds. At that point you can chose whatever vendor best meets the specifications and needs for you company—based on competitive contracting principles. FEMA will help you through the procurement phase post-award.

In general, please don't apply for "pilot projects" because it is generally our policy not to fund those types of projects.

Question: What if we've already piloted some technology, decided it doesn't perform to our specifications and want to apply for units to replace those units?

Answer: DHS don't "replace" equipment. This grant will fund enhancements, not replacing old equipment with similar equipment with the same capabilities.

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11/13/08 Conference Call

Does the definition of TIH include ammonia, and where is this information found in the guidance?

As written on page nine (9) of the guidance, TIH includes anhydrous ammonia, but excludes residue quantities.

We are just learning what specific TIH is included and what is not included, where would we find definitions?

That is defined in 49 CFR 171.8, as referenced on page nine in the guidance.

Where would information on GPS and pinging and the performance requirements of equipment that goes on the cars be found in the guidance?

This information can be found on page 25 of the guidance; there you will find answers that include the abilities and requirements information.

This question is to performance – plus or minus by meter, is there provisions for a facility that is being loaded or unloaded and the GPS is under cover?

That is understood that there are potential "dead spots" when the GPS device is under a shelter, and that is ok.

Does the funding only cover the GPS or does it include sensors, peripheral components, beyond tracking, open hatches alerts?

Those things are not covered. Only things that help get the GPS signal back to your own command center and DHS are covered.

Is this coverage for hardware or service or both?

The grant covers both hardware and service, but for the period of performance of the grant only (36 months). After that it must be maintained by the grantee from there on.

What is the grant period?

Thirty-six (36) months

If you are in the process of reviewing specifications for GPS units, will a purchase now qualify for the grant or only after the grant is awarded?

Only after the grant is awarded, nothing you purchase now is covered.

Is the dollar amount divided by shipper or person?

There are no limitations for how the grant funding is awarded between shippers and owners. We are looking to address securing the shipping of TIH. There is no maximum limit for an individual grant award, but we want to fund a diverse group across the nation.

If you have only so much money and a large shipper applies for the whole amount, what happens?

We look to fund as many grant requests as possible based on the recommendations from the National Review Panel. From our research, we estimate there are approximately 15,000 cars that transport TIH, and with a $15M grant program, that should leave enough money for every car.

The issue of Pings, it looks like the intention is fifteen (15) minutes after the ping a person must respond with the location of the Ping. Is that a requirement? Please clarify if the on demand locating must be answered in fifteen (15) minutes. If a human takes action does the unit respond in fifteen minutes (15) also? Please clarify response times for these systems

Yes that is correct.

How does the latency measure to the five (5) minutes?

We will get back to you on that.

Back to response times, from where you hit the button and how long you have to reply, latency is the time to answer?

We will get a clear answer to you.

Would the blog be the place to get answers to these and other questions?

We post the questions and answers on our website at www.tsa.gov/grants, which is different from the blog.

The application process, can this be assisted by a third party or does it have to be done by the freight car owner or leaser?

It has to come from the eligible organization, in this case owners and offers are eligible to apply. You can hire someone to help you write your application, but those costs are not reimbursable and only the eligible entity can apply on grants.gov.

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Will DHS cover operational expenses associated with the Global Positioning System (GPS) such as external tracking costs and other costs associated with the software manufacturer and third party vendors?

Operational costs associated with the GPS such as external tracking, software, and third party vendor costs are reimbursable for the 36 month period of performance of the grant. Personnel costs such as salaries however, are not reimbursable. Costs associated with the GPS beyond the 36 month period of performance are the responsibility of the railroad car owner or lessee and are not reimbursable.

How do we contact DHS if we have questions?

Email any questions to tsagrants@tsa.dhs.gov and carbon copy AskCSID@dhs.gov to ensure that your question is received by both TSA and FEMA and the appropriate agency will respond. Any questions and responses will then be posted on the TSA Grants website at www.tsa.gov/grants to ensure that all information that is shared is accessible to the general freight rail community.

When will DHS screen the grant applications?

All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EST on January 13, 2009 via the grants.gov website. Once that deadline has passed, FEMA will collect all submissions and conduct an initial screening and review of the applications to assess completeness. FEMA then forwards those applications to TSA for programmatic review and evaluation by the National Review Panel.

Are the grants limited to placards?

The railroad cars must transport bulk Toxic by Inhalation (TIH) to be eligible.

Will grants also be available to fund commodities or chemicals from Appendix A in the grant guidance?

For fiscal year (FY) 2009, bulk TIH is the focus of the FRSGP.

Will the grants for GPS cover location or open dome covers?

The FRSGP grants will cover location but not open dome covers.

Where can I find the FY 2009 grant guidance and application kit?

The grant guidance and application kit is posted on the TSA Grants (www.tsa.gov/grants) and FEMA (www.fema.gov/grants) websites. The FRSGP Fact Sheet, which provides an overview of the program, the FRSGP Investment Justification (IJ) template, detailed budget template and other relevant documents that will assist you with understanding the program and applying for the grants are also available on the TSA Grants website.

How much funding is available for the FRSGP grants?

A total of $15 million is available for eligible Class I, Class II and III railroads and eligible railroad car owners and lessees that transport bulk TIH.

How do I apply for the FRSGP grants?

First, you must register with grants. gov. The basic registration steps are summarized below for ease of reference.

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