[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 213 (Thursday, November 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68257-68260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28584]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
Letters of Interest for Credit Assistance Under the
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA)
Program
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Maritime
Administration (MARAD), Office of the Secretary of Transportation
(OST), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of funding availability.
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SUMMARY: The DOT's TIFIA Joint Program Office (JPO) announces the
availability of a limited amount of funding in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 to
provide credit assistance. Under TIFIA, the DOT provides secured
(direct) loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees to public and
private applicants for eligible surface transportation projects of
regional or national significance. Projects must meet statutorily
specified criteria to be selected for credit assistance.
Because demand for the TIFIA program exceeds budgetary resources,
the DOT is utilizing periodic fixed-date solicitations. This notice
outlines the
[[Page 68258]]
process that project sponsors must follow to compete to secure an
invitation for Federal credit assistance for Federal FY 2012.
DATES: For consideration in the FY 2012 funding cycle, Letters of
Interest must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. EST on December 30, 2011, using
the revised form on the TIFIA Web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/tifia/guidance_applications/index.htm. Project sponsors that have
previously submitted Letters of Interest for a prior fiscal year's
funding must resubmit them to be considered for funding in FY 2012, as
outlined below.
ADDRESSES: Submit all Letters of Interest to the attention of Mr. Duane
Callender via email at: [email protected]. Submitters should receive
a confirmation email, but are advised to request a return receipt to
confirm transmission. Only Letters of Interest received via email, as
provided above, shall be deemed properly filed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding this
notice please contact Duane Callender via email at [email protected]
or via telephone at (202) 366-9644. A TDD is available at (202) 366-
7687. Substantial information, including the TIFIA Program Guide and
application materials, can be obtained from the TIFIA Web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/tifia/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Program Funding
III. Eligible Projects
IV. Types of Credit Assistance
V. Estimated Project Cost Threshold Requirements
VI. Letters of Interest and Applications
VII. Selection Criteria
I. Background
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), Public
Law 105-178, 112 Stat.107, 241, (as amended by sections 1601-02 of Pub.
L. 109-59) established the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA), authorizing the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) to provide credit assistance in the form of
secured (direct) loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees to public
and private applicants for eligible surface transportation projects.
The TIFIA regulations (49 CFR part 80) provide specific guidance on the
program requirements.\1\ On January 5, 2001, at 65 FR 2827, the
Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) delegated to the Administrator
of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) the authority to act as
the Executive Agent for the TIFIA program (49 CFR 1.48(b)(6)). The
TIFIA JPO, a component of the FHWA Office of Innovative Program
Delivery, has responsibility for coordinating program implementation.
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\1\ The TIFIA regulations have not been updated to reflect
changes enacted in Public Law 109-59, SAFETEA-LU. Where the statute
and the regulation conflict, the statute takes precedence. See the
TIFIA Program Guide for updated program information.
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II. Program Funding
In 2005, Congress enacted the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)
(Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144), which made a number of amendments to
TIFIA including lowering the estimated project cost thresholds and
expanding eligibility for TIFIA credit assistance. SAFETEA-LU
authorized $122 million annually from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for
Fiscal Years (FY) 2005 to 2009 in TIFIA budget authority to pay the
subsidy cost of credit assistance. As of the publication date of this
notice, extensions of the surface transportation reauthorization act
have been enacted continuing highway programs that were authorized
through FY 2009, and the expectation is that Congress will reauthorize
an equivalent amount of budget authority for the TIFIA program in FY
2012. Any budget authority not obligated in the fiscal year for which
it is authorized remains available for obligation in subsequent years.
The TIFIA budget authority is subject to an annual obligation
limitation that may be established in appropriations law. Like all
funds subject to the annual Federal-aid obligation ceiling, the amount
of TIFIA budget authority available in a given year may be less than
the amount authorized for that fiscal year.
After reductions for administrative expenses and application of the
annual obligation limitation, TIFIA has approximately $110 million
available annually to provide credit subsidy support to projects.
Although dependent on the individual risk profile of each loan,
collectively, this budget authority could support approximately $1.1
billion in annual lending capacity.
III. Eligible Projects
Highway, passenger rail, transit, intermodal projects, and
intelligent transportation systems may receive credit assistance under
TIFIA. Additionally, SAFETEA-LU expanded eligibility to private rail
facilities providing public benefit to highway users, and surface
transportation infrastructure modifications necessary to facilitate
direct intermodal transfer and access into and out of a port terminal.
See the definition of ``project'' in 23 U.S.C. 601(a)(8) and Chapter 3
of the TIFIA Program Guide for a description of eligible projects.
(http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/tifia/guidance_applications/index.htm).
IV. Types of Credit Assistance
The DOT may provide credit assistance in the form of secured
(direct) loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees. These types of
credit assistance are defined in 23 U.S.C. 601 and 49 CFR 80.3. The
TIFIA credit facility, which must be senior or parity lien in the event
of bankruptcy, liquidation or insolvency, can be subordinate as to cash
flows absent such an event. The maximum amount of TIFIA credit
assistance to a project is limited to 33 percent of eligible project
costs. Applicants may not include any of the fees assessed by TIFIA, or
costs related to the application process (such as charges associated
with obtaining the required preliminary rating opinion letter
referenced in section V), among eligible project costs for the purpose
of calculating the maximum 33 percent credit amount.
V. Estimated Project Cost Threshold Requirements
Projects seeking TIFIA assistance must meet certain statutory
threshold requirements. Generally, the minimum size for TIFIA projects
is $50 million of eligible project costs; however, the minimum size for
TIFIA projects principally involving the installation of an intelligent
transportation system is $15 million. Each project seeking TIFIA
assistance must apply to the DOT, and must satisfy the applicable State
and local transportation planning requirements. Each application must
identify a dedicated revenue source to repay the TIFIA loan, and each
private applicant must receive public approval for its project as
demonstrated by satisfaction of the applicable planning and programming
requirements. These eligibility requirements are detailed in 23 USC
602(a) and Chapter 3 of the TIFIA Program Guide (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/tifia/guidance_applications/index.htm).
VI. Letters of Interest and Applications
Because the demand for credit assistance exceeds budgetary
resources, the DOT is utilizing periodic fixed-date solicitations that
will establish a competitive group of projects to be evaluated against
the TIFIA program statute, regulation, and objectives.
[[Page 68259]]
Project sponsors seeking TIFIA credit assistance for FY 2012 must
submit a Letter of Interest describing the project fundamentals and
addressing the TIFIA selection criteria. For consideration in the FY
2012 funding cycle, Letters of Interest must be submitted by 4:30 p.m.
EST, via email at: [email protected] on December 30, 2011, using the
revised form on the TIFIA Web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/tifia/guidance_applications/index.htm. Project sponsors that have previously
submitted Letters of Interest for a prior fiscal year's funding must
resubmit them using the FY 2012 form. For the purpose of completing its
evaluation, the TIFIA JPO staff may contact an applicant regarding
specific information in the Letter of Interest.
A public agency that seeks access to TIFIA on behalf of multiple
competitors for a project concession must submit the project's Letter
of Interest. The DOT will not consider Letters of Interest from
entities that have not obtained rights to develop the project.
After concluding its review of the Letters of Interest, the DOT
will invite complete applications (including the preliminary rating
opinion letter and detailed plan of finance). Letters of Interest
submitted pursuant to this notice of funding availability do not need
to include a preliminary rating opinion letter. However, projects
invited to submit applications will be required to obtain a preliminary
rating opinion letter. The senior debt obligations for each project
receiving TIFIA credit assistance must obtain an investment grade
rating from at least one nationally recognized credit rating agency, as
defined in 23 U.S.C. 601(a)(10) and 49 CFR 80.3. If the TIFIA credit
instrument is proposed as the senior debt, then it must receive the
investment grade rating.
To demonstrate this potential, each application must include a
preliminary rating opinion letter from a credit rating agency that
addresses the creditworthiness of the senior debt obligations funding
the project and concludes that there is a reasonable probability for
the senior debt obligations to receive an investment grade rating. The
rating opinion letter should also provide an opinion on the default
risk for the TIFIA instrument and indicative ratings for both the
senior debt obligations and the TIFIA credit instrument. A project that
does not demonstrate the potential for its senior obligations to
receive an investment grade rating will not be considered for TIFIA
credit assistance. More detailed information about these TIFIA credit
opinions and ratings may be found in the Program Guide on the TIFIA Web
site at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/tifia/guidance_applications/index.htm.
An invitation to apply for credit assistance does not guarantee
DOT's approval, which will remain subject to evaluation based on
TIFIA's statutory credit standards and the successful negotiation of
all terms and conditions.
There is no fee to submit a Letter of Interest. For projects that
are invited to apply, fees are charged to cover the cost of financial
and legal advisory services. Additional fees will be charged after the
loan is executed. More detailed information about these fees can be
found in Chapter 4 of the TIFIA Program Guide: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/pdfs/tifia/tifia_program_guide_072511.pdf.
VII. Selection Criteria
The eight TIFIA selection criteria are described in statute at 23
U.S.C. 602(b) and are assigned relative weights via regulation at 49
CFR 80.15. The criteria are restated below with clarifying language
(where appropriate). The DOT may give priority to projects that enhance
the TIFIA portfolio's geographic diversity and have a significant
impact on desirable long-term outcomes for the Nation, a metropolitan
area, or a region. In addition, DOT may consider the project's
readiness and timeline to proceed to financial close on the TIFIA
instrument. With respect to selection criteria that have multiple
components, a project need not be well aligned with each of the
components in order to be successful in that criterion overall.
However, projects that are strongly aligned with multiple components
will be the most successful in those criteria. Furthermore, a project
that has a negative effect on safety or environmental sustainability
will need to demonstrate significant merits in other components in
order to be selected for funding. Listed in order of relative weight,
the TIFIA selection criteria are as follows:
(i) The extent to which the project is nationally or regionally
significant, in terms of generating economic benefits, supporting
international commerce, or otherwise enhancing the national
transportation system. This includes consideration of livability:
providing transportation options that are linked with housing and
commercial development to improve the economic opportunities and
quality of life for people in communities across the U.S.; economic
competitiveness: contributing to the economic competitiveness of the
U.S. by improving the long-term efficiency and reliability in the
movement of people and goods; and safety: improving the safety of U.S.
transportation facilities and systems and the communities and
populations they impact. Relative weight: 20 percent.
(ii) The extent to which TIFIA assistance would foster innovative
public-private partnerships and attract private debt or equity
investment. Relative weight: 20 percent.
(iii) The extent to which the project helps maintain or protect the
environment. This includes sustainability: improving energy efficiency,
reducing dependence on oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and
reducing other transportation-related impacts on ecosystems; including
the use of tolling or pricing structures to reduce or manage high
levels of congestion on highway facilities and encourage the use of
alternative transportation options; and state of good repair: improving
the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, with
particular emphasis on projects that minimize lifecycle costs and use
environmentally sustainable practices and materials. Relative weight:
20 percent.
(iv) The creditworthiness of the project. This includes a
demonstrated capacity to repay the Federal credit assistance as well as
a determination that the project has appropriate security features such
as proper coverage ratios, rate covenants, and reserves, as applicable.
Relative weight: 12.5 percent.
(v) The likelihood that TIFIA assistance would enable the project
to proceed at an earlier date than the project would otherwise be able
to proceed. For purposes of this criterion, project sponsors should
demonstrate that traditional sources of financing are not available at
feasible rates, or that the costs of traditional financing would
constrain their ability to deliver the project, or that delivery of
this project through traditional financing approaches would constrain
their ability to deliver additional components of their capital
programs. Relative weight: 12.5 percent.
(vi) The extent to which the project uses new technologies,
including intelligent transportation systems, to enhance the efficiency
of the project. Relative weight: 5 percent.
(vii) The amount of budget authority required to fund the Federal
credit instrument made available under TIFIA. Relative weight: 5
percent.
(viii) The extent to which TIFIA assistance would reduce the
contribution of Federal grant assistance
[[Page 68260]]
to the project. Relative weight: 5 percent.
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 601-609; 49 CFR 1.48(b)(6); 23 CFR part
180; 49 CFR part 80; 49 CFR part 261; 49 CFR part 640.
Issued on: October 31, 2011.
Victor M. Mendez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011-28584 Filed 11-2-11; 8:45 am]
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