Pipeline Safety
Published on AidPage by
IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To develop and maintain State natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
Eligible programs will cover such areas as inspection and testing of gas pipelines as well as related travel, training, and research. Funds must be expended for personnel, equipment, and activities reasonably required for the pipeline safety program.
Who is eligible to apply...
The Department provides Federal matching funds, up to 50 percent to any State agency with a certificate under Section 60105 of Title 49, United States Code, an agreement under Section 60106 of Title 49, United States Code, or to any State acting as a DOT agent on interstate pipelines. State must agree that the aggregate expenditures of State funds, exclusive of Federal funds, on the pipeline program for the calendar year to which the Federal funds apply are/not less than the average level of such expenditures on the program for the last 2 fiscal years preceding enactment of the Pipeline Safety Acts.
Credentials/Documentation
Appropriate State legal official must approve legality of agency application and agreement. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments, and "Procedural Guide for the Pipeline Safety Grant Program." Application (plan) due date is September 30.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
Each State submits with its annual application a summary of estimated program costs by calendar year covering the State gas and/or hazardous liquid pipeline safety activities to the Research and Special Programs Administration, DOT. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
Awards are made by the Research and Special Programs Administration, DOT, Washington, DC.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
Applications are submitted by September 30 for the next calendar year. A later date for filing applications is established if appropriations are not available by September 30.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
From 60 to 90 days from date of receipt.
Preapplication Coordination
This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
State agency.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
Formula Grants
Allocations of money to States or their subdivisions in accordance with distribution formulas prescribed by law or administrative regulation, for activities of a continuing nature not confined to a specific project.
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
$4,522 to $1,123,473.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
(Grants) FY 03 $19,000,000; FY 04 $19,209,000; and FY 05 est $19,209,000.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
69-5172-0-2-407.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
State Pipeline Safety Program.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
Forty-nine State agencies requested and received allocations for fiscal year 2001 for gas and/or liquid grant funds. No eligible State applicant was rejected. State agencies are increasing their knowledge and activities to help operators in their State in operating and maintaining safe pipeline systems.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
All proposals from eligible State utility regulatory agencies are considered for funding to the limit of available grant money.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Expenditures made by a State during the calendar year are eligible for Federal reimbursement. States receiving Federal assistance submit claims for reimbursement in July for the Federal share of the cost of actual expenditures between January 1 and June 30 of the year, and in January for Federal share of the cost of actual expenditures between July and December 31 of the year.
Formula and Matching Requirements
This program has no statutory formula. The Federal Pipeline Safety Law authorizes Federal reimbursement of up to 50 percent of a State's expenditure during the year for personnel, equipment, and activities reasonably required by the State agency for the conduct of its pipeline safety program. The Law further stipulates that the State expenditures in any given year, without Federal assistance, cannot be less than the average amount expended by the State for gas pipeline safety during fiscal years 1967 and 1968 and for the last 2 fiscal years preceding the date of enactment of the Pipeline Safety Acts. The State agency must also agree to provide the remaining cost of the safety program(s). Within these limitations, the available funds are allocated by a method designed to reflect the degree to which a State has met certain goals established. The allocation is determined by assigning point values to the States for having achieved certain levels of program participation, dividing this point score by the sum of the States' point scores, and multiplying this ratio by the amount available for the distribution. RSPA distributed the remaining funds according to certain criteria designed to seek improvements in State programs. The criteria used by RSPA were extent of intrastate jurisdiction, inspector qualifications, recommended number of inspection person-days, State adoption of applicable Federal regulations, and other relevant criteria. In 2000, the Federal allocations represented 40 percent of the estimated State requests in the natural gas program (range: 34 to 42 percent) and the Federal allocations represented 40 percent of the estimated State requests in the hazardous liquid program (range: 36 to 46 percent).
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
Annual activity reports.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
All records relating to the program shall be retained for a period of not less than 3 years from the date of submission of fund expenditure report.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, Public Law 90-481, 49 U.S.C. 1971, as amended; Public Law 92-401, 86 Stat. 616; Public Law 93-403, 88 Stat. 802; Public Law 94-477, 90 Stat. 2073; Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, Title I and Title II, Public Law 96-129, 93 Stat. 989; Pipeline Safety Reauthorization Act of 1988, Public Law 100- 561; Pipeline Safety Act of 1992, Public Law 102-508; 49 U.S.C. 601; Public Law 103-272; Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996, Public Law 104-304.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Pipeline Safety Regulations, 49 CFR 190, 191, 192, 193, 195, 198 and 199. Individual copies available from the Transportation Safety Institute, Pipeline Safety Program, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125. "Procedural Guide for the Pipeline Safety Grant Program." "Guidelines for States Participating in the Pipeline Safety Program." "Guidance Manual for Operators of Small Gas Systems."