Not Applicable.

Uses and Use Restrictions

Awards will be made in the form of cooperative agreements, which will play a role in finding the solutions to national, regional and local pipeline operational safety and environmental challenges.

Some of these challenges involve having the best technology to efficiently and effectively meet or exceed Federal and State regulatory requirements.

Other challenges are in keeping critical industry consensus standards fresh with the latest knowledge and know-how so that people, property and the environment are protected.

Section 32 (f) of The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, signed into law in January 2012 (P.L.

112-90-January 3, 2012) amends Section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C.

60101 note) by amending section(d) to add: (d)(3)( C) Funding From Non-Federal Sources.-The Secretary shall ensure at least 30 percent of the costs of program-wide research and development activities are carried out using non-Federal sources.

The 2011 Act also amends Section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C.

60101 note), subsection (f), by striking ""2003 through 2006.

and inserting ""2012 through 2015.

.

The following are minimum requirements that all applicants must follow and must meet in order to be considered.

Failure to meet these requirements as stated at any time pre- or post-award will result in either removing your application from further consideration or grounds for termination of the agreement.

A letter on the submitting institution s letterhead must be drafted that certifies these minimum requirements are understood in association with the request for applications (RFA) and are met by the submitting institution.

The letter must be signed by the Dean or equivalent level of that college, department or program and inserted as the first page of the appendix to the technical application.

1.

Eligible applicants are non-profit institutions of higher education located in the United States or a U. S. territory or possession.

2.

The academic research agreement will be with the institution and not with individual students.

3.

The research scope may be executed by graduate students, PhD research students, and faculty.

4.

Institution faculty, staff and students that are proposed to be involved with the research agreement must be U. S. citizens, permanent residents, or possess visas that will allow them to remain in the country long enough to complete the research project.

5.

Obligated funding is solely for allowable charges such as institution overhead and the procurement of expendables and any required labor necessary for executing the research scope.

Furnishing of new or existing testing equipment will not be permitted.

Also, funding cannot be used toward construction of new facilities or refurbishing of existing facilities.

Post-delivery financial audits may occur.

Discretionary funds in the amount of $500,000 are available for this program in FY 2013.

Applications will be evaluated and awards made to the entities whose applications best meet PHMSA s requirements.

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Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Applicants must be non-profit institutions of higher education located in the United States or a U.S.

territory or possession.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Solutions from academic research agreements to non-profit institutions of higher education will benefit the American public who has a stake in safe, reliable and environmentally friendly pipeline transportation of hydrocarbons.

Credentials/Documentation

A letter on the submitting institution s letterhead must be drafted that certifies the Uses and Use Restrictions (070) are understood and met by the submitting institution. The letter must be signed by the Dean or equivalent level of that college, department or program and inserted as the first page of the appendix to the technical application. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.

Aplication and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is not applicable.

Environmental impact information is not required for this program.

This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.

12372.

Application Procedures

This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. To submit an application, applicants must be registered at www.grants.gov. Failure to comply with the prescribed application requirements as described in this section will result in an application not being reviewed. Accessing Grants.gov:
For new users, go to http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp, or go to the main page at http://www.grants.gov/ and click on "Get Registered." Please note that new user registrations for grants.gov can take up to two weeks to complete. For additional questions on how to register, contact grants.gov support.
Application Content & Format - When preparing applications, applicants must utilize the technical and cost application templates attached to the opportunity. The attachments include instructions regarding required content and information to address. Applicants must only apply for funding that can reasonably be spent within 18 to 24 months. The following Technical Application requirements are summarized below but elaborated in the provided template. Failure to follow these requirements may result in removing your technical application from consideration.
1. All information supporting the evaluation criteria must be contained within 20 pages which does not include the Cover Page or the Technical Application Information Page. 2. The appendix may include additional information; however, this information will not be used by reviewers in evaluating your application past page 20. 3. The Certification Letter of Minimum Requirements must be the first page in the Appendix. 4. Times New Roman font with 12pt font size for text body aand utlizing 1.15 line and paragraph spacing.

Award Procedures

PHMSA will conduct an initial administrative review of each application to determine if it is complete and meets the minimum eligibility requirements. A panel composed of PHMSA program staff representatives and, potentially, industry experts will then conduct a technical review to evaluate and rate each application against the evaluation criteria. Cooperative agreements will be awarded to applicants having the highest merit until the available funding is exhausted.

Deadlines

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

Authorization

Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, Public Law 107-355, 49 U.S.C 60101 note.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Applications are due 45 days after the announcement is posted to www.grants.gov.

Appeals

Not Applicable.

Renewals

No-cost extensions of up to 90 days may be authorized by the Agreement Officer in order to complete final reports.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula.
Matching Requirements: Percent: 30.%. Cost sharing of at least 30% is required. Full proposals must include cost sharing of at least 30%. If selected for award a "Cooperative Agreement" is awarded by PHMSA. Section 32 (f) of The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 signed into law in January 2012 (P.L. 112-90-January 3, 2012) amends Section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 .S.C. 60101 note) by amending subsection (d) to add: (d)(3)( C) Funding From No-Federal Sources.-The Secretary shall ensure at least 30 percent of the costs of program-wide research and development activities are carried out using non-Federal sources. The 2011 Act also amends Section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 note), subsection (f), by striking ""2003 through 2006. And inserting ""2012 through 2015. .
This program does not have MOE requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

The announcement will be posted to www.grants.gov and eligible applications must be submitted within 45 days. Recipients will have between 18 and 24 months from date of award to utilizethe money awarded. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Agreements will facilitate academic research funding that can reasonably be spent within 18 to 24 months. Funding will be provided by Electronic Fund Transfer.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Draft Final Report (template will be provided), Final Report and Internet Based Presentation (held remotely; template will be provided).

SF-270, Request for Advance or Reimbursement, and SF-425, Federal Financial Report.

Brief Quarterly Status Reporting via email (reporting categories will be conveyed) & Mid-Term Summary (phone discussion categories will be conveyed).

SF-425, Federal Financial Report.

No performance monitoring is required.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records

Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to an award must be retained for a period of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report.

Financial Information

Account Identification

69-5172-0-2-407 - PHMSA will utilize prior year carry forward funding to obligate awards anticipated in FY13. The decision on which research accounting Budget Program Activity Code will be made at award.

Obigations

(Salaries) FY 12 Not Available; FY 13 est $500,000; and FY 14 est $500,000 - This program is designed to be administered as an annual announcement with up to five awards of $100,000 each, or up to $500,000 for the overall annual program.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

The current program level of $500,000 (five individual awards at up to $100,000 each) is anticipated.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

None.

Headquarters Office

Jackie Naranjo and Jim Merrit Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Acquisition Services Division, PHA-30
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE, Washington, District of Columbia 20590 Email: jackie.naranjo@dot.gov Phone: (202) 366-4429/ (303) 693-3117

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

PHMSA has developed evaluation criteria to be used to rate and select amongst competing applications. These criteria are intended to identify projects that target high-risk areas; offer well-defined plans; and produce results that are measurable and transferable to further investigations in this or PHMSA s core research program. The technical evaluation criteria are as follows: Criterion 1: Relevance to PHMSA s Pipeline Mission - PHMSA"s mission is to protect people and the environment from the risks inherent in transportation of hazardous materials - by pipeline and other modes of transportation http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/about/mission 1. How well does the application describe its relevance to PHMSA s Pipeline mission? (Identifying which goal areas are relevant and why) • Safety: To reduce the risk of harm to people due to the transportation of hazardous materials by pipelines and other modes. • Environmental Stewardship: To reduce the risk of harm to the environment due to the transportation of oil and hazardous materials by pipeline and other modes.
• Reliability: To help maintain and improve the reliability of systems that deliver energy products and other hazardous materials. Global Connectivity: To harmonize and standardize the requirements for pipeline and hazardous materials transportation internationally, to facilitate efficient and safe transportation through ports of entry and through the supply chain. • Preparedness and Response: To reduce the consequences (harm to people, environment, and economy) after a pipeline or hazmat failure has occurred. Criterion 2: Scientific Merit and Quality
1. To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts and scientific/engineering principles? 2. To what extent does the proposed research describe how the output advances a potential solution toward an identified pipeline challenge(s)? 3. To what extent does the proposed research describe quality of results? Criterion 3: Feasibility of Management Plan, Budget & Schedule. 1. How well are the research goals or objectives defined?
2. How well are the scope of work, tasks and milestones defined? 3. Does the institution have appropriate facilities to conduct the proposed work? 4. How appropriate are costs to address objectives and deliver reporting within the proposed timeline? 5. How well is the project schedule defined and tied to the management plan? 6. Are the graduate or PhD students regularly overseen by academic organization staff having the relevant knowledge and experience in the proposed area? Criterion 4: Institution Rapport and Past Performance. 1. Does the submitting institution have a positive reputation on delivering quality and timely results as proposed? (In the technical application provide three references (institution name/contact name, phone and email) on prior completed research of a similar/advanced nature to include the abstract of that work). In addition, PHMSA expects the proposed results of the projects to be factual, unbiased, verifiable, and repeatable to the extent practicable. Applicants should also be aware that a cooperative agreement will not convey any authority to recipients to secure information or cooperation from pipeline operators.