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Small Community Air Service Development Program
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The Small Community Program was established by the Wendell H.
Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (Pub.
L.
No.
106-181), reauthorized by the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (Pub.
L.
No.
108-176), and subsequently reauthorized by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Pub.
L.
No.
112-95) as amended, the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (Pub.
L.
No.
115-63), the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub.
L.
No.
115-254) (FAA 2018), and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Pub.
L.
No.
118-63)(FAA 2024).
The program is codified at 49 U.S.C.
§ 4174 3. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to small communities to help them enhance their air service.
The Department seeks to fund projects that advance the Departmental priorities of safety, equity, climate and sustainability, and workforce development, job quality, and wealth creation as described in the USDOT Strategic Plan, Research, Development and Technology Strategic Plan, and in executive orders.[1] The Department provides this assistance in the form of grants that are disbursed on a reimbursable basis.
The Small Community Program is authorized to receive appropriations under 49 U.S.C.
§ 41743(e)(2).
Appropriations are provided for this program for award selection in FY 2023 pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub.
L.
No.
117-328).[2] B.
FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION No more than four communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, from the same State may be selected to participate in the program in any fiscal year.
No more than 40 communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, may be selected to participate in the program in each year for which the funds are appropriated.
Applications for renewal or supplementation of existing projects are not eligible to compete.
Pursuant to the authorities described above, the Department will make up to $12 million available for FY 2023 grant awards to carry out this program.
There is no minimum or maximum individual award amount, and the amounts awarded will vary depending upon the features and merits of the selected applications.
In past years, the Department’s individual grant sizes have ranged from $20,000 to nearly $ 1. 6 million.
Funding amounts made available for reimbursement may be impacted by future limitations placed on the spending authority and appropriations enacted for the Department.
The Department may, at its discretion, issue partial funding awards up to the level authorized and provided that the above conditions are met.
Finally, as more fully discussed in Section E.
1. a below, the Department intends to award FY 2023 grants for durations of three years to complete studies, four years for marketing and promotion (including advertising and public relations) of the airport, community, carrier, or destination, and five years for projects that target a revenue guarantee, subsidy, or other financial incentives.
Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (Pub.
L.
No.
106-181), reauthorized by the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (Pub.
L.
No.
108-176), and subsequently reauthorized by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Pub.
L.
No.
112-95) as amended, the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (Pub.
L.
No.
115-63), the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub.
L.
No.
115-254) (FAA 2018), and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Pub.
L.
No.
118-63)(FAA 2024).
The program is codified at 49 U.S.C.
§ 4174 3. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to small communities to help them enhance their air service.
The Department seeks to fund projects that advance the Departmental priorities of safety, equity, climate and sustainability, and workforce development, job quality, and wealth creation as described in the USDOT Strategic Plan, Research, Development and Technology Strategic Plan, and in executive orders.[1] The Department provides this assistance in the form of grants that are disbursed on a reimbursable basis.
The Small Community Program is authorized to receive appropriations under 49 U.S.C.
§ 41743(e)(2).
Appropriations are provided for this program for award selection in FY 2023 pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub.
L.
No.
117-328).[2] B.
FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION No more than four communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, from the same State may be selected to participate in the program in any fiscal year.
No more than 40 communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, may be selected to participate in the program in each year for which the funds are appropriated.
Applications for renewal or supplementation of existing projects are not eligible to compete.
Pursuant to the authorities described above, the Department will make up to $12 million available for FY 2023 grant awards to carry out this program.
There is no minimum or maximum individual award amount, and the amounts awarded will vary depending upon the features and merits of the selected applications.
In past years, the Department’s individual grant sizes have ranged from $20,000 to nearly $ 1. 6 million.
Funding amounts made available for reimbursement may be impacted by future limitations placed on the spending authority and appropriations enacted for the Department.
The Department may, at its discretion, issue partial funding awards up to the level authorized and provided that the above conditions are met.
Finally, as more fully discussed in Section E.
1. a below, the Department intends to award FY 2023 grants for durations of three years to complete studies, four years for marketing and promotion (including advertising and public relations) of the airport, community, carrier, or destination, and five years for projects that target a revenue guarantee, subsidy, or other financial incentives.
Agency: Department of Transportation
Office: 69A345 Office of the Under Secretary for Policy
Estimated Funding: $12,000,000
Office: 69A345 Office of the Under Secretary for Policy
Estimated Funding: $12,000,000
Obtain Full Opportunity Text:
SCASDP website
Additional Information of Eligibility:
ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION1.
Eligible ApplicantsThe Department determines application eligibility as part of the Eligibility Review stage.
Applicants and applications deemed ineligible at this stage will be disqualified.
The Department will apply the criteria under Section C.1 as part of the Eligibility Review stage.Only public entities may apply for and serve as the legal sponsor of a grant under the Small Community Program.
Private organizations cannot be the lead applicant.
A community may file only one application for a grant, either individually or as part of a consortium.Consortium Applications: Both individual communities and consortia of communities are eligible for SCASDP funds.
An application from a consortium of communities must be one that seeks to facilitate the efforts of the communities working together toward one joint grant project, with one joint objective, including the establishment of one entity to ensure that the joint objective is accomplished.Communities Without Existing Air Service: Communities that do not currently have commercial air service are eligible for SCASDP funds.
Eligible Projects: The Department is authorized to award grants under 49 U.S.C.
§ 41743(d) to communities that seek to provide assistance to:• A U. S. air carrier to subsidize service to and from an underserved airport for a period not to exceed 3 years;• An underserved airport to obtain service to and from the underserved airport; and/or• An underserved airport to implement such other measures as the Secretary, in consultation with such airport, considers appropriate to improve air service both in terms of the cost of such service to consumers and the availability of such service, including improving air service through marketing and promotion of air service and enhanced utilization of airport facilities.Eligibility Limitations: Hub Size: In order to satisfy the hub size requirement set forth in 49 U.S.C.
§ 41743(c)(1)(A), the airport serving the community or consortium may not be larger than a small hub airport, as determined using the FAA’s most recently published classification effective on the Department’s set application deadline (due date).
Same Project Limitation: Under 49 U.S.C.
§ 41743(c)(4)(B), a community or consortium may not receive a new grant to support the same project more than once in a ten-year period.
In assessing whether a previous recipient’s current application represents a new project, the Department will compare the goals and objectives of the previous grant, including the key components of the means by which those goals and objectives were to be achieved, to the current application.
For example, if a community received an earlier grant to support a revenue guarantee for service to a particular destination or direction, a new application by that community for another revenue guarantee for service to the same destination or in the same direction would be subject to the ten-year restriction, even if the revenue guarantee were structured differently or the type of carrier were different.
However, a new application by such a previous recipient for service to a new destination or direction using a revenue guarantee, or for general marketing and promotion (including advertising and public relations) of the airport and the various services it offers, would be eligible.
The Department recognizes that not all revenue guarantees, marketing agreements, studies, or other activities are of the same nature, and that if a subsequent application incorporates different goals or significantly different components, it may be sufficiently different to constitute a new project under 49 U.S.C.
§ 41743(c).Beginning in FAA 2018, Congress authorized limited waivers of the Ten-Year Same Project Limitation.
Under Section 41743(c)(4)(C), the Secretary may waive the limitation, and thus make additional grants to a community or consortium of communities to participate
Full Opportunity Web Address:
https://www.transportation.gov/policy/aviation-policy/small-community-rural-air-service/SCASDP
Contact:
Agency Email Description:
vince.corsaro@dot.gov
Agency Email:
Date Posted:
2024-06-06
Application Due Date:
Archive Date:
2024-08-21
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