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Questions and Answers

Trucking Security Program FY 2009

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Emailed Questions and Answers - Revised 1/27/09

Conference Call Questions and Answers

Workshop Questions and Answers

Can you describe how funding is divided between Tier 1 and Tier II? What percentage is being used?

There are no predetermined allocations of funds between Tier I SAI applicants and Tier II SAI applicants. (Tier I SAI applicants are those with 11 or more tractors and Tier II SAI applicants are those with 10 or less tractors). The amount of funding that any applicant / project receives is dependent upon the number of applications TSA receives and the quality of the proposed projects. For additional funding information, please consult the Grant Guidance which can be found on TSA's website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

Why are there no Small Business Administration (SBA) requirements under the TSP?

SBA requirements are not applicable to the TSP because the funds are being awarded in the form of a grant and not via a federal contract subject to Federal Acquisition Rules (FAR). It is important to note, however, that the SAI applicant Cost-Share under this program is less for smaller operations (i.e. those with 10 or less tractors) than it is for larger operations. For further information regarding Cost-Share requirements, please review the Grant Guidance which is available on TSA's website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

Must a Corporate Security Review (CSR) be completed prior to submission of an application for TSP funds?

No. However, by accepting a FY 2009 TSP award, the grantee must allow DHS to perform a CSR upon request. Grantees will be required to provide basic information concerning critical assets, threat assessments, vulnerability assessments, management and oversight of the security plan, personnel security, training, secure areas, exercises, cyber security, and physical security countermeasures. (For additional information, please see page 10 of the Grant Guidance).

Will TSP funds be awarded via a cooperative agreement with the grantee?

No. The TSP is a competitive grant program.

What are the technology requirements of the TSP?

Technology standards and data elements are stipulated on pages 5 and 26 of the Grant Guidance, which states in part, "Tractor and trailer tracking systems must conform to the TSA Universal Communications Interface (UCI) -- Interface Requirements Specifications (IRS) for enabling the transmission of data from commercially available tracking systems to a centralized government truck tracking center. The Universal Communications Interface – Interface Control Document provides the details to enable a commercial truck tracking system to implement the non-proprietary universal interface set of protocols." (The UCI – Interface Control Document is now available on TSA's Grants website at www.tsa.gov/grants).

Can TSP funds be used for retrofitting?

Page 6 of the Grant Guidance states "Companies that have existing Tractor and Trailer Tracking Systems without Panic Button Capability and / or Tractor Activation Capability may request funding to retrofit current equipment with the Panic Button Capability and / or Tractor Activation Capability."

Can an applicant apply to fund SAIs for their entire fleet of tractors / trailers or are there limits on the number of tractors / trailers that will be considered for SAI funding for a single applicant?

An applicant can apply for SAI funding for their entire fleet if they desire. However, TSA would like to see SAI implementation by carriers across the nation, not necessarily by just one large carrier in one geographic region. Also, the National Review Panel will evaluate and rank each proposed project based upon 1) The feasibility of the investment to improve security when implemented as designed 2) Timelines with regard to the ability to complete the proposed project within specified timeframes within the overall period of performance and 3) Sustainability without additional Federal funds. Also, it is important to note that SAIs are scalable, (meaning they can be implemented in phases over time); therefore, applicants are encouraged to propose projects that closely align with the aforementioned FY 2009 TSP Review Criteria. (Review Criteria can be found on page 24 of the Grant Guidance).

Not all of the tractors / trailers in my fleet are used to haul Hazmat. Can I apply for SAI funding for just those tractors / trailers used to haul Hazmat?

Yes.

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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).

My company has about 750 tractors, but we only have about 6 tractor and trailer sets involved in the transport of HSSM Tier I commodities and therefore would only involve these 6 tractor-trailer sets in our application for grant funding. Would we be considered a Tier I or Tier II applicant?

The factor taken into consideration is total fleet size, so this applicant would be considered Tier I.

On the budget detail template, if we only intend to apply for the pre-priced comprehensive tracking elements (p. 48), do we only need to complete section D equipment with the pre-priced amount and the total?

You would need to complete section D to include the pre-priced amounts and the units requested to provide the calculation for the total amount requested. For the other sections, you would need to fill out "N/A to indicate that those sections are not applicable to your grant request. You cannot delete those sections, however, as the entire form is required for submission.

Given that the SOW for the Monitoring and Analysis component of the 2009 TSP grants is still pending, will DHS entertain requests for deadline extensions for grant applications specific to Monitoring and Analysis grant applications?

The answer is no – we cannot extend the deadline, as we cannot extend it due to the delay in grants.gov not being available yet.

For in-kind investments: Is our in-kind investment recognized prior to the issue of the application of this grant?

In-kind investments must be investments that occur during the period of performance of the grant. Any investments made prior to the beginning of the award date would not count towards this requirement.

Please define, for Tier I and Tier II: Are they defined by the number of trucks in the fleet, or the number of trucks bid for use in the grant?

They are defined by the number of trucks in the fleet.

It is not clear what allowable expenses are; for "Planning for Disaster Commodity Transportation; as found on pages 4-6, 'Funding Opportunity Description', do not address the "Planning for Disaster Commodity Transportation. Is additional information found elsewhere?

Section IV E of the Grant Guidance lists allowable/unallowable costs (page 22-23)

Do expenses related to the 'Communications Plan' section meet eligibility under the "Planning for Disaster Commodity Transportation"?

Section IV E of the Grant Guidance lists allowable/unallowable costs (page 22-23)

Part IV, Item 6 of the Guidance and Application Kit (p. 13) indicates that "the applicant can complete the pre-priced budget workshop to indicate the number and type of equipment being requested." The web site www.tsa.gov/grants only contains a Word template for a sample budget detail worksheet. Do we need to complete this budget detail template if we are requesting a grant for equipment that has been pre-priced or can we simply indicate the number of units multiplied by the pre-priced amount (p. 48)?

You would need to complete section D to include the pre-priced amounts and the units requested to provide the calculation for the total amount requested. For the other sections, you would need to fill out "N/A" to indicate that those sections are not applicable to your grant request. You cannot delete those sections, however, as the entire form is required for submission. This is per the new requirements from FEMA.

How and when will funds be dispersed to awardees?

There is no timetable set for when funds will be dispersed for the FY2009 Trucking Security Program. Please check back with us periodically for updates.

In regards to the Investment Justification Template for the Trucking security grant program: Please interpret the statement in section IVC (Timeline) where it is stated: "Milestones are for this discrete Investment - those that are covered by the requested FY 2009 TSP funds and will be completed over the 36-month grant period". Does this mean that the period of performance is 36 months but all monies for the grant program will be released out of FY2009 funds and so projected budget, milestones and timelines must cover the 36 month period?

This means it must not exceed a 36 month period of performance. It may be less than 36 months - depending on your needs.

I cannot locate the questions and answers related to the 2009 Trucking Security Program. Please advise.

Questions and answers for the 2009 Trucking Security Program are located on the following web site: www.tsa.gov/grants. Go to Programs, then Trucking Security Program (TSP), and there will be a link to the TSP questions and answers near the top of the page.

On page 10 of the application under eligibility information it says “Transport Tier 1 Commodities as defined by TSA through the issuance of Highway Security-Sensitive Materials (HSSM) Security Action Items.  We currently only haul Tier 2 Highway Security-Sensitive Materials.  Can we still apply for this grant?  The application is confusing as in several places like on page 5 it says “This funding priority meets the security action item # 23 in the description of voluntary security action items for tier 1 highway security-sensitive materials and tier 2 highway security-sensitive materials”.  So the main question is, should we apply for this grant if we don’t haul Tier 1 highway security-sensitive materials?

To be eligible to apply for funding of any of the Security Action Items (SAIs) listed on pages 3-6 of the Grant Guidance (Tractor and Trailer Tracking Systems, Panic Button Capability, Tractor Activation Capability, and  Communication Plan) then, as stated on page 10 of the Grant Guidance, the applicant must Transport Tier I Commodities as defined by TSA in the SAI Guidance that TSA issued in June of 2008 (which can be found on TSA’s Highway and Motor Carrier website at www.tsa.gov/highways). Those who apply for SAI funding who do not transport Tier I Commodities (as defined by TSA) are ineligible applicants and their applications will not be considered for funding.

As stated on page 11 of the Grant Guidance, there are no restrictions on who may apply for the Monitoring / Analysis and Planning components of the Fiscal Year 2009 Trucking Security Grant Program.

For an online application, how do we submit the signature of the authorized certifying official?  In the box it just states “completed on submission to Grants.gov,” can you please clarify this?

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.

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01/13/09 Conference Call

Q: If I receive funding under the 09 TSP, am I precluded from applying for TSP grant funds in subsequent years?

A: With regard to TSA’s transportation security grant programs, if an applicant / successful grantee receives 09 TSP funding, the grantee is not precluded from applying for subsequent TSA grant programs for projects that have not already been funded by TSA. However, we have no knowledge as to whether you would be precluded from applying for other grant programs offered by other Federal agencies or departments in either concurrent or subsequent years.

Q: Will we have to adhere to Federal procurement requirements relative to the receipt and expenditure of grant funds?

A: Be aware that the 09 TSP is a Federal grant program, not a Federal contract. The successful applicant would be a grantee, not a contractor. Federal Acquisition Rules do not apply to the 09 TSP.

Q:You have stated that the UCI and the Scope of Work are now posted to TSA’s grants website. Are there any other documents we will need in order to fill out our grant applications?

A: The Hazmat Pilot document still needs to be posted. It is currently under review to make sure it contains no Sensitive Security Information. Once that review has been completed, and the document is cleared, we will post it to TSA’s grants website. Once it is posted, we will send e-mails to everyone via TSAGrants.

Q:If we use either a tractor or trailer owned by a third party, are we still eligible to apply for SAI funding?

A: Yes. For instance, if you own the tractor but it is attached to a trailer owned by a third party, you may apply for grant funds for a GPS unit (or units) for the tractor that you own, and the third party may apply for grant funds for a GPS unit (or units) for the trailer that he or she owns.

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01/06/09 Conference Call

Will the final evaluation from the Hazmat pilot for the Monitoring and Analysis Program be made available?

TSA's Highway and Motor Carrier Division and the Office of Chief Counsel must confer about posting the pilot program documents on TSA's grants website, and if / when our attorneys provide clearance, they will be posted as soon as possible. In the past, once documents have been cleared by our attorneys, we've been able to post them relatively quickly and we hope to do the same with the pilot documents.

Is there any other website or government office we can go to in order to get the forms to submit our grant applications?

No, there is no other place or website available. The majority, if not all Federal grant applications go through Grants.gov.

What type of reporting frequency is going to be required? Will we have to file quarterly reports to the government?

Are you talking about post-award financial reporting? If so, then obligations and expenditures must be reported on a quarterly basis through the FSR which is due within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter (e.g. for the quarter ending March 31st, FSR is due no later than April 30). A report must be submitted for every quarter of the period of performance, including partial calendar quarters, as well as for periods where no grant activity occurs. Future awards and fund draw-downs may be withheld if these reports are delinquent. The final FSR is due 90 days after the end date of the performance period. Page 33 of the Grant Guide goes into more detail about how to file and the forms that are required.

How do we obtain our grant funds, especially if we've incurred expenses and need reimbursement?

FEMA performs the post-award administration of the grant. Grant funds are disbursed electronically. During your period of performance, you can request funds as reimbursement for your grant-related (authorized) expenditures, or in some cases, you can draw on your grant funds 30 days ahead of time.

I understand that we must provide regular reports to DHS. How often do we have to provide these reports?

There is no requirement at this time for grantees to provide reports to DHS other than the periodic, post-award financial reports required from all Federal grant recipients. If you are asking whether you must provide truck tracking reports to DHS, the answer is no, although the intent of the monitoring / analysis component of the grant is to eventually create an electronic "feed" or a "conduit" between DHS and the individual truck tracking systems for purposes of enabling DHS to instantaneously locate a specific truck or truck hauling specified types of hazmat.

It is my understanding that our tracking systems must have the capability to "ping" truck locations every 15 minutes. Could that be worked on a trial basis with a few units until we find the GPS units that will work for us? At that point, we could then increase the number of units that we have found to be compatible and submit for a reimbursement on the extra units.

Your application should lay out your strategy for acquiring the GPS units the trucks need. I think that part of the question is how you will get reimbursed for GPS expenditures. If you have a protocol phase and then outline a plan to build on it, you will get funded incrementally during the protocol phase and then go forward with full funding for the remainder of the units.

Back to the UCI Interface and sharing the data….on page 4 of the Grant Guidance, the guide makes it clear on how you have to report on the trucks – directly to a dispatch center – correct?

I think you may be looking at the part of the Guide that points to the eventual development of an analysis / monitoring system and center that will enable DHS to "plug into" your tracking system to instantaneously locate a truck or trucks. There are no requirements for grantees to provide truck location reports to DHS right now, either electronically or hard copy.

So you are laying a foundation to obtain information for tracking the trucks, but is the Grants team going to have to develop the capability to feed into this system? Is that the purpose of the source code? Does that mean the source code will be shared with the applicants?

The source code will be shared with the successful applicants – once the grants are awarded.

On December 23rd, I posted a question to the TSA Grants site from Honeywell concerning the fact that our tractors carry a special product which is a highly toxic hazardous material. We have a third party trucking company that we use to pull the trailers for us, so if I were to apply for grant money to track the assets that we use to pull the trailers, would we be in compliance with the grant guide?

We have been discussing this question, and if you can not provide tracking for both the tractor and the trailer then you are not eligible for a grant.

Are we limited to just text for our proposal or can we use charts and such?

You can use anything you want to justify your grant application. The page limits set at the top of the IJ are suggestions only – they are not mandatory. You may exceed them if you wish.

Regarding the Planning component of the grant, would that be for any hazardous event or just catastrophic ones?

Plans should be made for both hazardous and catastrophic events.

The statement you made concerning the fact that we will not suffer any negative consequences related to the non-functioning of Grants.gov – will that be posted somewhere? The documents that we need and cannot get from Grants.gov are time consuming and I am very concerned about completing them. If there is not a formal notice, than what you have told us does not mean anything.

I need it in writing too…we have a lot of forms and they are very specific and time consuming and confusing. We need your statement in writing that we will not be penalized.

FEMA has stated that they may be posting something on their website concerning the deadline…please continue to check Grants.gov.

I pulled the SF424 and SF424B from the Grants.gov site – is that all I need from the Grants.gov site to complete the application?

The SF424 is the official form for your company name, tax number etc. The base of your application is the IJ. The SF424 does not entail a lot of work. If you get the others done, you will be in good shape to file for your grant. Please remember, that we have not gotten a response on our request for an extension and the January 13th date is a congressionally mandated one. An extension would have to have congressional approval.

I think we all appreciate what you are saying, but we are stressed. It would help relive our stress if the people who are doing the mechanics of compiling the grants would even let us know what version of Microsoft Word we need to use.

If you are able to download the IJ and budget forms from TSA's grants websites and fill them in on your computer, then you should able to submit them through the Grants.gov portal.

We need the transcripts posted from last week and this week so we have documentation on what you said about page limitations and not being penalized.

We can probably have the summary and the Q&A for this call posted by Friday.

Can we apply pressure or write letters for you? To help out with getting Grants.gov up?

No – just stay on the calls. Remember, we will blast out an email as soon as we know anything and post the information on the web.

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12/30/08 Conference Call

I understand that you want reporting for monitoring of vehicles every 15 minutes. Is that every 15 minutes over a 24 hour period whether or not the vehicle has an assigned load or is just sitting?

We want reporting every 15 minutes while it is carrying a load. While carrying a Tier I material, TSA has an interest in knowing where those materials are whether they are on the road, moving or parked.

Is the statement of work on Monitoring and Analysis out yet?

No. We expect to provide you with some information next week.

You have two templates, the detailed budget and the Investment Justification (IJ). Are those the format for which you are expecting the grant application to be in?

The IJ and budget form effectively compose the main portion of your grant application. Go to www.tsa.gov/grants and get the Grant Guidance and Application Kit and download the IJ and budget template. You can complete those forms based on what is in the guidance. When you go to submit them, you need to wait until grants.gov is up and functioning to complete the package with the other required standard forms, such as the SF424.

Are all the other forms posted now?

The forms are not up on grants.gov but they should be up shortly. We will update you when they are up. If you do a google search, for the standard forms, they are available on line although they are not directly tied to our grant application on grants.gov for the TSP. The SF424s are all standard forms, but you need to check the grant guidance to see which standard forms you need to fill out for this grant.

How long does the application take to complete?

As long as you have your budget information ready, the standard forms should not take too long. The SF424s request standard information such as your company name and address. It should be fairly easy for you to complete the standard forms. It may take longer to complete the Investment Justification and Detailed Budget, and those forms have been available on our website, www.tsa.gov/grants, since November.

If a statement of work for Monitoring and Analysis is not out yet, how is that going to impact your review of our applications? You have general guidance in the template but I understand that there is more guidance yet to come.

If we don't have a standard, we can't hold people to a standard we haven't issued. The specifications guidance is being worked on and it ties into a funding issue.

Where will guidance appear when it comes out?

It will be on the TSA website, www.tsa.gov/grants under guidance.

For Monitoring and Analysis, is the $772,000 likely to be a single or multiple awards?

That goes back to policy decisions yet to be made regarding topics still under discussion. We will make every effort to have something for you next week.

We were told that submission for the planning piece should be a separate submission from the monitoring piece submission. That would be 2 separate grant applications. Is it correct that the sum of the two proposals should not exceed $772,000?

It is unlikely that more than $772,000 would be awarded for the Monitoring and Analysis System and Planning component combined. $772,000 has been allocated for the planning component as well as the monitoring and analysis component. For example, if you wanted to apply for funds for tracking one of the SAIs, you would complete an Investment Justification (IJ) for the SAI; you also want to apply for funding for planning so you would complete an IJ for that and you would also apply for a Monitoring and Analysis System, completing the IJ for that with attendant budget for each one.

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12/23/08 Conference Call

When will the specifications for the Monitoring & Analysis Systems/Center component in the grants be complete?

Highway and Motor Carrier Division has prepared a specifications document. After review by our counsel, it will be posted to our web site at www.TSA.gov/grants.

If we have already spent money on hardware, can that amount be put into the grants application and accepted as grant in kind or applied to grant money?

No. Only expenses incurred on or after the actual award date of the grant can be reimbursed, and therefore only those expenses incurred on or after the award date can be counted as in-kind match contributions.

We have a suite of trailers that move TIH material. These trailers are leased or owned by us and moved by 3rd party carriers. Would we be able to use grant moneys to track just the trailers? Tractors would be tracked by 3rd party carrier while trailers would be tracked by us with a separate system. We can only promise tracking data for the trailers we own.

TSA needs to clarify the instructions on this and will advise you at next week's call.

Does the trailer that holds the product need to be secured the most?

The original Security Action Item (SAI) on which these parameters are based, had two separate specifications, one for the tractor and one for the trailer. The tractor tracking was 15 minute or less intervals. The trailer specification was periodic and less specific in being able to locate the trailer from an unauthorized disconnect. There are two standards based on available technology. We need to review this and provide you with more specific instructions.

What kind of information do I need to keep on a daily basis that you will want for statistical analysis?

There are no criteria listed in guidance for daily logging or tracking reports. The only requirement is that you are able to transmit the feed back to DHS and we could ping it as necessary. We will be issuing more specific guidelines as to what type of information needs to be included in the feed back to DHS shortly through an Information Bulletin.

Will you [DHS] need access to the system we have designed?

Yes. A truck will have a device on it that will get the information back to your system. Your system has to have the capabilities to send us information through our system. Details on this will come out in next few days.

Is the tracking supposed to be a minimum every 15 minutes for tractors?

Correct. The SAI says 15 minutes for the tractor. The trailer is periodic but there is no specific time.

What happens if a trailer with the system is set up but is not used for a few days? The system will show it at the same locations.

That is fine. Some fleets have hundreds of trailers and some sit quite a bit. If you go into those systems and click on the ID number it shows where a trailer is located and most of the time it will show it is in the yard.

If we have our system set up on tractors, they may not be pulling the trailers that are affected with the TIH hazard product. They may be going to different trailers. The one trailer that has been pulling TIH may be parked in the yard and it would be stopped there and we would just be tracking the trailer movements. So the tractor may not be hooked up on daily basis to the trailer we would be tracking the TIH hazard with.

TSA is more concerned about the trailer as it is transport between point A and point B. When it is stationary, the assumption is that it is at that location. When it begins to move and coupled with a power unit, then it becomes in transit and we would expect to be able to track the power unit and the trailer as it is in transit. The power unit capabilities, in terms of pinging are more frequent for a tractor than a trailer. If a trailer is going to be stationary we will only hear from it every hour or less. TSA needs to specify what that time will be.

We do talk about the ability of an employer or authorized representatives to have the ability to remotely monitor trailer connect or disconnect events. If there has been a disconnect event and the trailer has remained in the same location, the system should indicate that car is still in service.

For a particular load being tracked, how will you attain manifest data or do you just consider it Tier I material being tracked?

We will be issuing more specific guidelines as to what type of information needs to be included in the feed back to DHS shortly through an Information Bulletin.

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12/16/08 Conference Call

When the statement of work for the monitoring and analysis portion is completed, how will it be made available?

Any amendments or revisions will be posted on TSA's grants website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

On a budget detailed template, if we only intend to apply for pre-price comprehensive tracking elements, do we only need to complete section D with the pre-price amount and total?

You need to complete section D to include the pre-price amounts and the units requested to provide the calculation for the total amount requested. For the other sections you need to fill out "Not Applicable" to indicate those sections are not applicable to your grant request. You cannot delete any section as the entire form is required for submission.

Do you know when the actual application is going to be posted and available on grants.gov?

We don't have a date yet. Grants.gov is aware of the problem, is still working on it and hopes to have it up soon. You can go ahead and get your CCR registration and DUNS number without getting on grants.gov. You can also get your Investment Justification prepared.

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12/09/08 Conference Call

Please provide a copy of the interface control document that delineates details needed to implement protocols for Universal Controls Interface (UCI).

The UCI documents have been posted on the TSA grants website at www.tsa.gov/grants. The documents can now be downloaded.

We are unable to find anything in Grant Guidance on expectation for scope of work for projects related to the development of plans. Please provide guidance on scope of work and evaluation criteria.

The scope of work is the provision of contract planning support for the development of plans to improve the effectiveness of transportation and distribution of supplies and commodities during a catastrophic event for one or more of the eleven Tier I and II sites identified in the Fiscal Year 2009 Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant Program (RCPGP). That information is available on FEMA's website at www.FEMA.gov/pdf/government/grant/rcp/fy09_rcpgp_guidance.pdf. Go to the site and search for the RCPGP.

Applications will be reviewed by a national review panel consisting of representatives of TSA and the FEMA National Preparedness and Grants Program Directorate. This review will consider the effectiveness of the Investment Justification (IJ) in addressing objectives in the FY09 RCPGP: Fix Shortcomings in Existing Plans as it pertains to transportation and distribution of supplies and commodities during catastrophic events.

What kind of outreach or communications is occurring with major national trade associations?

This trucking security program is new for 2009 so we are in proactive stages of reaching out to this industry. We provided the information from the original grant package to each of the industry's trade associations and their members were invited to the grants workshop. We continue to educate carriers. On the TSA grants website we have all of the information regarding the FY09 Trucking Security Program. We encourage you to visit that website. If you have any other ideas for outreach, please feel free to email us.

Is there an attendee list from the program in Washington? I could not attend but I would be interested in who attended. There may be an opportunity to partner on some of the submissions with one of those who attended.

Send an email to us and we will do an outreach to see if any of the attendees are interested in sharing information with you. This outreach will be done keeping all names anonymous.

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12/02/08 Conference Call

Please confirm that there is no cost sharing requirement for the development of plans and the monitoring and analysis systems/center.

That is correct. There is no cost share requirement for these projects.

Regarding the allocation of the $772,000, how much will be allocated to plans vs. monitoring and analysis?

There is no preset determined breakdown between plans and the monitoring and analysis system/center.

We have been unable to find any discussion in the Grant Guidance regarding DHS' expectation for the scope of work for projects related to the development of plans. We need guidance on the expected scope of work and evaluation criteria.

This has been referred to FEMA. FEMA should have more information soon and it will be emailed to you.

We are unable to find anything in the Grant Guidance on the expectation for the scope of work for projects related to monitoring and analysis systems. Please provide guidance on scope of work and evaluation criteria.

This is still being researched and there should be an answer very soon. We will post the answers on the TSA grant website so you can go to site for the answers.

We are unable to find specific criteria for Tier I HSFM truck tracking systems. Would a system purchased by a carrier under this grant program have to satisfy all the criteria and functionality described in security action items #21, 22 and 23? Are there additional criteria?

Page 6 of Grant Guidance states that "companies that request funding for Tractor and Trailer Tracking Systems must implement systems that have the panic button and tractor activation capability. Companies that have existing Tractor and Trailer Tracking Systems without Panic Button capability and/or Tractor Activation Capability may request funding to retrofit current equipment with the Panic Button Capability and/or Tractor Activation Capability."

Please provide a copy of the interface control document that delineates details needed to implement protocols for the universal controls interface.

We are in the process of posting this information to the web site. You can also email us and we will send the Interface Control Document as an attachment.

Can DHS provide a list of Tier I HSSM carriers by state and the number of Tier I HSSM shipments by category?

We do not have that information. The information may be available via the DOT website.

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11/18/08 Conference Call

Question One: Is there a limit on the amount any one carrier can qualify for?

Answer: No, there is no limit.

Question Two: The $772,000.00 for Planning and Analysis – is there a cost share on that?

Answer: No.

Question Three: Under the Monitoring and Analysis – do you have a scope of work and evaluation of work specified for that?

Answer: No. We are asking for the integration of signals to a central location through a Universal Communications Interface (UCI).

Question Four: Is that an extension of the pilot program?

Answer: Yes.

Question Five: Are you certifying certain product lines?

Answer: No. TSA cannot endorse any vendor's product line, or make recommendations on which vendor to use.

Question Six: If a carrier put in an application for equipment from a certain vendor, do you evaluate how well you think that equipment works?

Answer: No. As we mentioned, TSA cannot endorse any vendors, and as long as they can meet the requirements on pages four and five of the Grant Guidance, the vendors will be OK.

Question Seven: Are you including requirements for vehicle mobilization?

Answer: In the Grant Guidance, on page 4, TSP funding will be awarded to eligible applications to implement security improvement measures and policies for items that are primarily focused on the purchase and installation or enhancement of equipment and systems related to tractor and trailer tracking systems. The equipment elements of the truck tracking element of the grant have been pre-priced to facilitate funding calculations and requests. The Pre-Priced Tracking Elements for applicable technology systems are available on page 48 of the Grant Guidance.

Question Eight: Is the UCI Standard in the Guidance?

Answer: No. We can refer back to what we did previously under the pilot project.

Question Nine: How will a trucking company know how to build to the UCI standard?

Answer: We will make sure that is available on the website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

Question Ten: Can we submit questions in writing to both the Highway Motor Carrier Group and to TSA Grants?

Answer: Yes. If you submit your question to TSA Grants at tsagrants@tsa.dhs.gov, they will refer the question to the Highway Motor Carrier Group for an answer.

Question Eleven: Is this a cooperative agreement?

Answer: No, this is a competitive process. We will post questions from anyone who submits them, so the information is available to everyone on the website at www.tsa.gov/grants under the TSP Program, Questions and Answers.

Question Twelve: What is mobilization?

Answer: If you are not clear on what mobilization is please submit a question in writing to tsagrants@tsa.dhs.gov or askcid@dhs.gov and we will email an answer to you in addition to posting it on the website.

Question Thirteen: Is there a list of Tier I HSSM carriers?

Answer: We have access to a list but it is not readily available, and need to ensure it is not confidential.

Question Fourteen: Is there a list of shippers?

Answer: We have a list within the Department of Homeland Security, but I don't know how much we can share of that. We will research it and see if we can make it available.

Question Fifteen: Should we submit questions in writing through TSA Grants?

Answer: Yes. That will ensure a coordinated response between TSA and FEMA, and we will also post the answers on the website.

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11/06/08 Conference Call

Will the address for the Transit Security Program (TSP) workshop be included in the email you are sending out later today?

The information on the TSP workshop will be sent out in a separate email no later than Monday, November 10, 2008. This information is also available on our website at www.tsa.gov/grants.

Do you have our email addresses to reach us?

If you received an email from us with an invitation for this call, then yes, we have your email address. If you know of anyone else who should be added to our mailing list, please have them send an email to TSAGrants@tsa.dhs.gov.

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