Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2014)

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65679-65693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26293]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID FEMA-2014-0028]

Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of grant application and application
deadline.

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SUMMARY: This Notice describes the grant application process and the
criteria for awarding grants in the fiscal year (FY) 2014 Assistance to
Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) Program and announces the grant
application deadline. It explains the differences, if any, between
these guidelines and those recommended by representatives of the
Nation's fire service leadership during the annual Criteria Development
meeting, which was held January 8-9, 2014. The application period for
the FY 2014 AFG Program year will be held November 3, 2014 through
December 5, 2014, and will be announced on the AFG Web site
(www.fema.gov/firegrants), www.grants.gov, and U.S. Fire Administration
Web site (www.usfa.fema.gov).
The AFG Program makes grants directly to fire departments,
nonaffiliated emergency medical services (EMS) organizations, and state
fire training academies for the purpose of enhancing the abilities of
first responders to protect the health and safety of the public as well
as that of first-responder personnel facing fire and fire-related
hazards. It is anticipated that approximately 10,000 to 15,000
applications will be submitted electronically, using the online
application submission form and process available at https://portal.fema.gov. Before the application period, the ``FY 2014 AFG
Funding Opportunity Announcement'' will be published on the AFG Web
site (www.fema.gov/firegrants). Additional information to assist
applicants will be provided on the AFG Web site, including a list of
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), a ``Get Ready Guide,'' and a ``Quick
Reference Guide.'' In addition, the authorizing statute requires that a
minimum of 10 percent of available funds be expended for fire
prevention and safety grants to be made directly to local fire
departments and to local, regional, State, or national entities
recognized for their expertise in the fields of fire prevention and
firefighter safety research and development.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2229.

DATES: Grant applications for the Assistance to Firefighters Grants
will be accepted electronically at https://portal.fema.gov, from
November 3, 2014, beginning at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, and will conclude
on December 5, 2014, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

ADDRESSES: Assistance to Firefighters Grants Branch, DHS/FEMA, 800 K
Street NW., MS 3620, Washington, DC 20472-3620.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Patterson, Branch Chief,
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Branch, 1-866-274-0960.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the AFG Program is to provide
grants directly to fire departments, nonaffiliated emergency medical
services (EMS) organizations, and State Fire Training Academies (SFTAs)
to enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the
public, as well as that of first-responder

[[Page 65680]]

personnel, with respect to fire and fire-related hazards. The
authorizing statute requires that each year DHS publish in the Federal
Register the guidelines that describe the application process and the
criteria for grant awards.
Specific information about the submission of grant applications can
be found in the ``FY 2014 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG)
Funding Opportunity Announcement,'' which is available for download at
www.fema.gov/firegrants under Docket ID FEMA-2014-0028.
Paper applications will not be accepted due to the inherent delays
with processing them and because they lack the applicant ``help''
features that are built into the electronic application.

Appropriations

Congress appropriated $340,000,000 for the FY 2014 AFG pursuant to
the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014, Public
Law 113-6. From this amount, $304,503,764 will be made available for
AFG awards. Funds appropriated for the FY 2014 AFG will be available
for obligation and award until September 30, 2015.
From the approximately 10,000 to 15,000 applications that will be
submitted to request assistance, FEMA anticipates that it will be able
to award approximately 3,000 grants with the grant funding available.
Congress directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to
administer the appropriations with the following requirements:
Career (fire department): Not less than 25 percent of
available grant funds.
Volunteer (fire department): Not less than 25 percent of
available grant funds.
Combination (fire department) and departments using paid-
on-call firefighting personnel--not less than 25 percent of available
grant funds.
Open Competition: Career, volunteer, and combination fire
departments and fire departments using paid-on-call firefighting
personnel--not less than 10 percent of available grant funds awarded.
Emergency Medical Services Providers: Fire departments and
nonaffiliated EMS organizations; not less than 3.5 percent of available
grants funds awarded, with nonaffiliated EMS providers receiving no
more than 2 percent of the total available grant funds.
State Fire Training Academies (SFTAs): No more than 3
percent of available grant funds shall be collectively awarded to state
fire training academy applicants, with a maximum of $500,000 to be
awarded per applicant.
Vehicles: Not more than 25 percent of available grant
funds may be used for the purchase of vehicles; 10 percent of the total
vehicle funds will be dedicated to fund ambulances. The allocation of
funding will be distributed as equally as possible among urban,
suburban, and rural community applicants. The remaining Vehicle
Acquisition funds will be awarded competitively without regard to
community classification.
Micro Grants: This is a voluntary funding limitation
choice made by the applicant for requests submitted for Operations and
Safety Grant Component Program; it is not an additional funding
opportunity. Micro Grants are awards that have a federal participation
(share) that does not exceed $25,000. Only fire departments and
nonaffiliated EMS organizations are eligible to choose Micro Grants,
and the only eligible Micro Grants activities are Training, Equipment,
PPE, and Wellness and Fitness. Applicants that select Micro Grants as a
funding opportunity may receive additional consideration for award. If
an applicant selects Micro Grants in their application, they will be
limited in the total amount of funding their organization can be
awarded; if they are requesting funding in excess of $25,000 federal
participation, they should not select Micro Grants.

Background of the AFG Program

DHS awards the grants on a competitive basis to the applicants that
best address the AFG Program's priorities and provide the most
compelling justification. Applications that best address the Program's
priorities will be reviewed by a panel composed of fire service
personnel.

Award Criteria

All applications for grants will be prepared and submitted through
the AFG e-Grant application portal (https://portal.fema.gov). DHS again
will have a separate application period devoted solely to the Fire
Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants, which is projected to occur not
earlier than February 2015.
DHS awards the grants on a competitive basis to the applicants that
best address the AFG Program's priorities and provide the most
compelling justification. Applications that best address the Program's
priorities will be reviewed by a panel composed of fire service
personnel. The panels will review the applications and score them using
the following criteria areas:

Proposed project and the project budget
Cost benefits
Financial need
The extent to which the grant would enhance daily operations
Evaluation by the Peer Reviewers relative to the critical
infrastructure the applicant protects
For joint/regional host applications only, a list of all the
participating eligible organizations and ineligible benefitting
organizations
Critical infrastructure systems or key resources that, if
attacked, would result in catastrophic loss of life or catastrophic
economic loss. Critical infrastructure includes the following:

[cir] Public water
[cir] Power systems
[cir] Major business centers
[cir] Chemical facilities
[cir] Nuclear power plants
[cir] Major rail and highway bridges
[cir] Petroleum and/or natural gas transmission pipelines
[cir] Storage facilities (e.g., chemical storage)
[cir] Telecommunications facilities
[cir] Facilities that support large public gatherings, such as
sporting events or concerts
Eligible Applicants
The following organizations are eligible to apply for and receive
an AFG award of direct financial assistance:
Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations
operating in any of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally
recognized Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or an
Alaskan native village, Alaska Regional Native Corporation, or the
Alaska Village Initiatives. Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are defined
by 15 U.S.C. 2229(a)(7).
Any State Fire Training Academy operating in any of the 50
states plus the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. For the purposes of the Assistance to
Firefighters Grant program, a State Fire Training Academy (SFTA) is
defined as the primary State Fire Training Academy, agency, or
institution for each state. It provides entity-wide delivery of fire
training (and emergency medical services training if applicable) as
specified by legislative authorization, by general statutory
authorization or charter, or is ad-hoc in nature with the

[[Page 65681]]

general acceptance of the fire service. The State Fire Training Academy
shall receive state funding for its program in total or part. It shall
also have the delivery of fire training programs as the primary
function of the agency or institution as demonstrated by the employment
of instructional staff and the conducting of ``direct contact''
programs in training and education for fire service personnel of the
entire state. A listing of eligible State Fire Training Academy
organizations and institutions can be found at the U.S. Fire
Administration's Web site (http://www.usfa.fema.gov/pocs/).
Ineligibility
FEMA considers two or more separate fire departments or
nonaffiliated EMS organizations sharing facilities as being one
organization. If two or more organizations share facilities, and each
organization submits an application in the same program area, FEMA may
deem all of those program area applications to be ineligible to avoid
any duplication of benefits.
Fire-based EMS organizations are not eligible to apply as
nonaffiliated EMS organizations. Fire-based EMS training and equipment
must be requested by a fire department under the AFG component program
Operations and Safety.

Statutory Limits to Funding

Congress has enacted statutory limits to the amount of funding that
a grantee may receive from the AFG Program in any single fiscal year
(15 U.S.C. 2229(c)(2)) based on the population served. Awards will be
limited based on the size of the population protected by the applicant,
as indicated below. Notwithstanding the annual limits stated below, the
FEMA Administrator may not award a grant in an amount that exceeds one
percent of the available grants funds in such fiscal year, except where
it is determined that such recipient has an extraordinary need for a
grant in an amount that exceeds the one percent aggregate limit.
In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with
100,000 people or fewer, the amount of available grant funds awarded to
such recipient shall not exceed $1 million in any fiscal year.
In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with
more than 100,000 people but not more than 500,000 people, the amount
of available grant funds awarded to such recipient shall not exceed $2
million in any fiscal year.
In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with
more than 500,000 but not more than 1 million people, the amount of
available grant funds awarded to such recipient shall not exceed $3
million in any fiscal year.
In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with
more than 1 million people but not more than 2,500,000 people, the
amount of available grant funds awarded to such recipient shall not
exceed $6 million for any fiscal year, but is subject to the one
percent aggregate cap of $3,400,000 for FY 2014.
In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with
more than 2,500,000 people, the amount of available grant funds awarded
to such recipient shall not exceed $9 million in any fiscal year, but
is subject to the one percent aggregate cap of $3,400,000 for FY 2014.
FEMA may not waive the caps on the maximum amount of
available grant funds awarded based upon population.
The cumulative total of the federal share of awards in Operations
and Safety and Vehicle Acquisition will be considered when assessing
award amounts and any limitations thereto. Applicants may request
funding up to the statutory limit on each of their applications.
For example, an applicant that serves a jurisdiction with more than
100,000 people but not more than 500,000 people may request up to $2
million on their Operations and Safety Application and up to $2 million
on their Vehicle Acquisition Request. However, should both grants be
awarded, the applicant would have to choose which award to accept if
the cumulative value of both applications exceeds the statutory limits.
Applications for Joint/Regional Projects will not be included in
the host organization's funding limitations detailed above. However,
Joint/Regional applicants will be subject to their own limitation based
on the total population the joint/regional project will serve. For
example, a Joint/Regional Project serving a cumulative population with
more than 100,000 people but not more than 500,000 people will be
limited to $2 million.

Cost Sharing and Maintenance of Effort

Grantees must share in the costs of the projects funded under this
grant program as required by 15 U.S.C. 2229(k)(1) and in accordance
with applicable Federal regulations governing grants in effect at the
time a grant is awarded to a grantee, but they are not required to have
the cost-share at the time of application nor at the time of award.
However, before a grant is awarded, FEMA will contact potential
awardees to determine whether the grantee has the funding in hand or if
the grantee has a viable plan to obtain the funding necessary to
fulfill the cost-sharing requirement.
In general, an eligible applicant seeking a grant shall agree to
make available non-Federal funds equal to not less than 15 percent of
the grant awarded. However, the cost share will vary as follows based
on the size of the population served by the organization:
Applicants serving areas with populations above 20,000 but
not more than 1 million shall agree to make available non-Federal funds
equal to not less than 10 percent of the total project cost.
Applicants that serve populations of 20,000 or less must
match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal
to 5 percent of the total project cost.
The cost share of State fire training academies and joint/regional
projects will be based on the entire State or region, not the
population of the host organization.
On a case by case basis, the AFG may allow grantees that already
own assets (equipment or vehicles) to use the trade-in allowance/credit
value of those assets as ``cash'' for the purpose of meeting the cost-
share obligation of their AFG award. In-kind cost-share matches are not
allowed.
Grantees under this grant program must also agree to a maintenance
of effort requirement as required by 15 U.S.C. 2229(k)(3) (referred to
as a ``maintenance of expenditure'' requirement in that statute). A
grantee shall agree to maintain during the term of the grant the
applicant's aggregate expenditures relating to the activities allowable
under the Funding Opportunity Announcement at not less than 80 percent
(80%) of the average amount of such expenditures in the two (2) fiscal
years preceding the fiscal year in which the grant amounts are
received.
In cases of demonstrated economic hardship, and on the application
of the grantee, the Administrator of FEMA may waive or reduce a
grantee's cost share requirement or maintenance of expenditure
requirement. As required by statute, the Administrator of FEMA has
established guidelines for determining what constitutes economic
hardship and published these guidelines at FEMA's Web site
(www.fema.gov/grants).
Prior to the start of the FY 2014 AFG application period, DHS will
conduct applicant workshops and/or Internet webinars to inform
potential applicants about the AFG Program. In addition, DHS will
provide applicants with online information at the AFG Web site
(www.fema.gov/firegrants) to help them

[[Page 65682]]

prepare quality grant applications. The AFG also will staff a Help Desk
throughout the application period to assist applicants with navigation
through the automated application as well as assistance with any
questions they have. Applicants can reach the AFG Help Desk through a
toll-free telephone number (1-866-274-0960) or electronic mail
([email protected]).

Application Process

Organizations may submit one application per application period in
each of the three AFG Program areas, e.g., one application for
Operations and Safety, one for Vehicle Acquisition, and/or a separate
application to be a Joint/Regional Project host. If an organization
submits more than one application for any single AFG Program area,
e.g., two applications for Operations and Safety, two for Vehicles,
etc.; either intentionally or unintentionally, FEMA will deem all
applications submitted by that organization for the Program to be
ineligible for funding.
Applicants will be advised to access the application electronically
at https://portal.fema.gov. The application also will be accessible
from the U.S. Fire Administration's Web site (http://www.usfa.fema.gov)
and the grants.gov Web site (http://www.grants.gov). New applicants
will be required to register and establish a username and password for
secure access to their application. Applicants that applied to any
previous AFG funding opportunities will be required to use their
previously established usernames and passwords.
In completing the application, applicants will be asked to provide
relevant information on their organization's characteristics, call
volume, and existing capabilities. Applicants will be asked to answer
questions about their grant request that reflect the AFG funding
priorities, which are described below. In addition, each applicant will
have to complete four separate narratives for each project or grant
activity requested. These narratives will address statutory competitive
factors: Project description and budget, cost benefit, financial need,
extent to which the grant will benefit the organization's daily
operations, and additional information. The electronic application
process will permit the applicant to enter and save the application
data. The system does not permit the submission of incomplete
applications. Except for the narrative textboxes, the application will
use a ``point-and-click'' selection process or require the entry of
data (e.g., name and address, call volume numbers, etc.). Applicants
will be encouraged to read the ``AFG Funding Opportunity Announcement''
for more details.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards

Courtesy of the NFPA (and at no cost during the AFG application
period), relevant standards that should be referenced in your
applications may be viewed at http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/free-access.

Criteria Development Process

Each year, DHS convenes a panel of fire service professionals, or
subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop the funding priorities and
other implementation criteria for AFG. The Criteria Development Panel
is comprised of representatives from nine major fire service
organizations, who are charged with making recommendations to FEMA
regarding the creation of new funding priorities and the modification
of existing funding priorities as well as developing criteria for
awarding grants. The nine major fire service organizations represented
on the panel are:

Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI)
International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)
International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI)
National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD)
The FY 2014 criteria development panel meeting occurred January 8-
9, 2014. The content of the ``FY 2014 AFG Funding Opportunity
Announcement'' reflects the implementation of the Criteria Development
Panel's recommendations with respect to the priorities, direction, and
criteria for awards. All of the funding priorities for the FY 2014 AFG
are designed to address the following:

Protecting the public
First responder safety
Enhancing national capabilities
Risk
Interoperability

Changes for FY 2014

FY 2014 AFG Funding Opportunity Announcement.

Operations and Safety Program

(1) Requests for Ballistic Protective Equipment (BPE) are now
eligible as a new mission. A set of BPE will be comprised of one vest,
one helmet, one triage bag, and one pair of goggles. Fire and EMS
personnel should be properly trained and qualified in the use of the
ballistic protection equipment and active shooter/mass casualty
incident tactics and procedures. Interagency training and exercises are
highly encouraged and should be fully explained as part of the
applicant's narrative, if applicable.
(2) In FY 2013, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program
introduced as an option within the AFG application of requesting a
micro grant, which is an AFG award for which the federal share does not
exceed $25,000. Only fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS
organizations are eligible to choose Micro Grants, and the only
activities that are eligible are Training, Equipment, PPE, and Wellness
and Fitness. Micro Grants are not an additional funding opportunity,
but Micro Grant applicants may receive additional consideration for an
award. Micro Grant activities will be limited to those activities
identified within the FOA as ``Priority 1'' or ``High Priority'' only.
Overmatching of local funds by the applicant will not be permitted for
Micro Grant applications.
(3) All simulators, as well as mobile or fixed fire/evolution
props, (e.g. burn trailers, forcible entry, rescue/smoke maze) and Tow
Vehicles have been moved from the Training activity to the Equipment
Activity.
(4) Mobile computers, to include tablets (for use on scene/in the
field) and mobile repeaters shall have the highest funding priority.
Fixed repeaters and ``backup'' or secondary, communications systems
will not be eligible in FY 2014.
(5) Mechanical Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) Compression
Devices are eligible and will be a high funding priority.

Vehicle Acquisition Program

(1) Only new custom, stock, or demonstration vehicles are eligible
for reimbursement under the AFG Vehicle Acquisition program.
Refurbishment of vehicles is not eligible in FY2014.

Regional Grant Program

(1) Two or more eligible entities may submit an application under
the name of a single participating organization (the ``host'') to fund
a regional program or initiative (acquisition activities are limited to
shared Training, Equipment, PPE, and Vehicle Acquisition).

[[Page 65683]]

(2) A Regional Applicant (the host organization) is not prevented
from also submitting applications on behalf of their own organization
for any or all remaining AFG Component Programs (Vehicle Acquisition
and/or Operations and Safety); however, duplicative acquisition
requests for the same activities, submitted both as a singular
applicant and Regional applicant, are not allowed.

System for Award Management (SAM)

In 2012, SAM.gov replaced the Central Contractor Registry (CCR).
Per 2 CFR 25.200, all grant applicants and awardees are required to
register in SAM.gov, which is available free of charge. They must
maintain validated information in SAM that is consistent with the data
provided in their AFG grant application and in the DUNS database. AFG
will not accept any application, process any awards, or consider any
payment or amendment requests, or consider any amendment until the
applicant or grantee has complied with the requirements to provide a
valid DUNS number and an active SAM registration with current
information. The banking information, employer identification number
(EIN), organization/entity name, address, and DUNS number provided in
the application must match the information that provided in SAM.gov.

Revised Environmental and Historical Review Screening Form

FEMA's Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) Screening Form
was revised and made available for download from the AFG application
portal. AFG-funded projects that involve the installation of equipment
(including but not limited to antennas, sprinklers, alarm systems,
generators, vehicle exhaust systems, air improvement systems, permanent
mounted signs, or renovations to facilities) are subject to FEMA's EHP
screening process. Additional details are included in the ``AFG Funding
Opportunity Announcement''.

National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)

Although NFIRS reporting is strongly encouraged, NFIRS reporting is
not a requirement to apply for or be awarded a grant within any AFG
component program. However, any fire-based organization(s) that
receives an AFG award must begin reporting to NFIRS prior to the
beginning of their period of performance. Any grantee that stops
reporting to NFIRS during their grant's period of performance is
subject to having their award(s) modified or withdrawn.

Changes to Criteria Development Panel Recommendations

DHS must explain any differences between the published guidelines
and the recommendations made by the criteria development panel and
publish this information in the Federal Register prior to making any
grants under the Program. For FY 2014, DHS accepted and is implementing
all of the Criteria Development Panel's recommendations.

Application Review Process and Considerations

The authorizing statute requires that each year DHS publish in the
Federal Register a description of the grant application process and the
criteria for grant awards. This information is provided below.
DHS will review and evaluate all AFG applications submitted using
the funding priorities and evaluation criteria described in this
document, which are based on recommendations from the AFG Criteria
Development Panel. FEMA will rank all submitted applications based on
how well they match the funding priorities for the type of community
served. Answers to the application's activity-specific questions
provide information used to determine each application's ranking
relative to the stated priorities.

Preliminary Review Process

DHS will evaluate all applications received first through an
automated preliminary review process to determine which projects best
address the AFG Program's announced funding priorities. The automated
preliminary review will evaluate and score the applicants' answers to
the activity-specific questions in terms of the funding priorities and
the evaluation criteria described in this document.
The projects that best meet the AFG Program priorities as
determined by the preliminary review will be deemed to be in the
``competitive range'' and will be forwarded for the second level of
application review, which is the peer review process. Once the
competitive range is established, DHS will review the list of
applicants that were not included in the competitive range to determine
if any are responsible for protecting DHS-specified critical
infrastructure or key resources.

Peer Review Process

All projects that are deemed to be in the competitive range after
the preliminary review process will be subjected to a second level of
review by a technical evaluation panels (TEP) of peer reviewers. The
TEPS are made up of individuals from the fire service, including, but
not limited to, firefighters, fire marshals, and fire training
instructors.
A panel of at least three peer reviewers will evaluate each project
in the competitive range using the project narratives, along with
answers to the general questions and the activity-specific questions.
Panelists will provide a subjective but qualitative judgment on the
merits of each request. They will review and score projects based on
the following evaluation criteria:

The proposed project description and budget
Financial need
Cost benefits
The extent to which the grant would enhance daily operations
How the grant will positively impact the regional ability to
protect life and property
For joint/regional host applications, the list of all the
participating eligible and ineligible benefitting organizations
Evaluation by the peer reviewers relative to the critical
infrastructure the applicant protects within its first-due area of
response
Critical infrastructure includes systems or key resources
that, if attacked, would result in catastrophic loss of life or
catastrophic economic loss. Examples include the following:

Each project will be judged on its own merits and not compared to
other projects. As part of the cost-benefit review, the panelists will
consider all expenses budgeted, including the individual costs of the
items requested as well as the extraneous costs, such as warranties or
maintenance costs, administrative costs, and/or indirect costs.
Panelists may object to costs that are requested but not fully
explained in the application.
The panelists will evaluate and score each project individually and
then

[[Page 65684]]

discuss the merits and shortcomings of each application in an effort to
reconcile any major discrepancies. However, a consensus among reviewers
on the scores is not required. The project's total peer review score
will be an average of the individual peer reviewers' scores. The
projects receiving the highest scores during the peer review process
will be deemed in the fundable range.
The total peer review score will be combined with the score earned
from the preliminary review, with each score representing 50 percent of
the total project score. Projects will be ranked according to the total
project scores with DHS considering the highest-scoring projects for
awards.

Technical Review Process

Projects receiving the highest scores then will undergo a technical
review by a subject matter specialist to assess the technical
feasibility of the project and a programmatic review to assess
eligibility and other factors.
DHS generally makes funding decisions using rank order resulting
from the panel evaluation. However, DHS may deviate from rank order and
make funding decisions based on the type of department (career,
combination, or volunteer) and/or the size and character of the
community the applicant serves (urban, suburban, or rural) to the
extent it is required to satisfy statutory provisions.
After the completion of the technical reviews, DHS will select a
sufficient number of awardees from this application period to obligate
all of the available grant funding. It will evaluate and act on
applications within 90 days following the close of the application
period. Award announcements will be made on a rolling basis until all
available grant funds have been committed. Awards will not be made in
any specified order, i.e., awards will not be made by State, program,
etc. DHS will notify unsuccessful applicants as soon as it is feasible.

State Strategy and Communications Technical Review

Each state will provide a SMS to the AFG Program Office to conduct
a Technical Review of Peer reviewed applications from the state's
perspective. This state review will focus on requests for CBRNE
requested equipment and training. This state review will focus on
requests for communications systems equipment and related training that
should conform to the state's Statewide Communication Interoperability
Plan (SCIP).

Funding Priorities

The funding priorities described in this Notice have been
recommended by a panel of representatives from the Nation's fire
service leadership and have been accepted by DHS for the purposes of
implementing the AFG. These rating criteria provide an understanding of
the AFG Program's priorities and the expected cost-effectiveness of any
proposed project(s). The activities listed below are in no particular
order of priority.
(1) Operations and Safety Funding Priorities
(i) Training Activities
Priorities for Fire Departments and Joint/Regional Hosts.
Due to inherent differences among urban, suburban, and rural
firefighting needs, AFG has different priorities for Training for fire
departments and joint/regional applicants that serve different types of
communities, e.g., urban, suburban, or rural. These are described below
and in the ``FY 2014 AFG Funding Opportunity Announcement.''

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.001

Additional Considerations. Factors such as whether multiple
departments will be trained, instructor-led vs. media-led training, and
the number of firefighters to be trained. Large departments with a high
number of active firefighters also will receive additional
consideration.
Priorities for Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations. Since
training is a prerequisite to the effective use of EMS equipment, FEMA
has determined that it is more cost-effective to enhance or expand an
existing EMS organization by providing training or equipment than it is
to create a new service. Therefore, communities attempting to initiate
EMS services will receive the lowest competitive rating.
AFG provides training grants to meet the educational and
performance requirements of EMS personnel. Training should align with
the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which
designs and specifies a National Standard Curriculum for EMT training
and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT), a
private, central certifying entity whose primary purpose is to maintain
a national standard (NREMT also provides certification information for
paramedics who relocate to another state).
Higher priorities for training are shown below. They are based on
the time and cost of upgrading a nonaffiliated EMS organization's
response level.
(1) Organizations seeking to elevate the response level from EMT
Advanced (EMT-I) to Paramedic (EMT-P);
(2) Organizations seeking to elevate the response level from EMT
(EMT-B) to EMT Advanced (EMT-I); and
(3) Organizations seeking to train a high percentage of the active
EMR's will receive additional consideration when applying under the
Training Activity.
Lower training priorities due to the time and cost of upgrading an
organization's response level are
(1) Organizations seeking to upgrade from Emergency Medical
Responder (First Responder) to EMT (EMT-B); and
(2) Organizations seeking to upgrade from EMT (EMT-B) to Paramedic
(EMT-P).
(3) The lowest priority for EMS training is to fund Emergency
Medical Responder (First Responders).
(4) Organizations seeking training in rescue or Hazmat operations
will receive lower consideration than organizations seeking training
for medical services.
(ii.) Equipment Acquisition
Fire Departments, Joint/Regional Hosts, SFTAs, and
Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations. Grants are available for equipment to
enhance the safety and effectiveness of firefighting, rescue, and fire-
based and nonaffiliated EMS emergency medical functions. Equipment
requested must meet all mandatory requirements, as well as any
voluntary consensus standards or national and/or state or DHS-Adopted
Standards. The equipment requested should improve the health and safety
of firefighters and protect the public.
Priority Equipment Types
(1) Priority 1--Basic, communications, EMS/rescue. The only
eligible AFG acquisition activity for interoperable communications
equipment is the purchase of P25-compliant equipment. Grantees
purchasing P25 equipment must obtain documented evidence from the
manufacturer that the equipment has been tested and passed the entire
applicable, published, normative P25 Compliance assessment test
procedures for performance, conformance, and Equipment requested,
particularly decontamination and interoperability.
(2) Priority 2--Hazmat, Specialized. Hazmat equipment will only be
funded to the current level of an organization's operational
capabilities.
(3) Priority 3--Investigations, CBRNE.
Additional Considerations for Equipment: Fire Departments, Joint/
Regional Hosts, and SFTAs. Additional consideration may be given to
equipment requests based on the following factors:
Equipment that has a direct effect on firefighters' health
and safety.
Age of equipment that will be considered for replacement
has changed from 10 to 15 years.
Equipment that benefits other jurisdictions.
Equipment that brings the department into compliance with
a national recommended standard, (e.g., NFPA) or statutory compliance
(e.g., Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)) will receive
the highest additional consideration.

[[Page 65687]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.002

Funding Priorities for Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations.
Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are eligible for Equipment Activities
that are not specific or unique to structural/proximity firefighting,
such as but not limited to Training, Equipment, Personal Protective
Equipment [PPE], Wellness and Fitness, and Modification to Facilities
they deem necessary to complete their mission.
All of the factors in the table below are considerations
in prescoring and panelist review.
Additional Considerations for Equipment--Nonaffiliated EMS. All of
the following are considerations in prescoring and panelist review of
equipment requests from nonaffiliated EMS organizations.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.003

(iii.) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Acquisition
AFG Funds are primarily used to acquire OSHA-required and NFPA-
compliant PPE for firefighting and EMS personnel of fire departments,
joint/regional hosts, nonaffiliated EMS organizations, and State fire
training academies. Equipment requested should have the goal of
increasing firefighter safety. When requesting to replace old or
obsolete equipment, applicants will be asked to provide the age of the
equipment being replaced. In order for SCBA/PPE to be considered
obsolete, it must be a minimum of two NFPA cycles or 10 years of age or
older.
Information on the relevant NFPA standards can be obtained from the
organization's Web site at http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/free-access. If requesting training for any items in this section,
please list it in the ``Other'' section under Additional Funding for
each item for which training is needed.
Funding Priorities for Fire Departments, Joint/Regional
Hosts, and SFTAs. The highest priorities for funding will be requests
from departments to buy new PPE for the first time, to replace or
update obsolete PPE to the current standard, and to replace torn,
tattered, or damaged PPE. (Obsolete is defined as any PPE that is 10
years or older and is outdated by two NFPA cycles.) The medium priority
for funding will be requests to replace contaminated PPE or to address
a new risk. A low priority for funding will be requests to replace new
or used PPE, replace worn but usable PPE that is not compliant to the
current edition of the NFPA standard, to meet a new mission, or to
increase current inventory. The table below shows the priorities for
PPE requests that will be considered during prescoring and peer
panelist reviews.

[[Page 65688]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.004

Funding Priorities for Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations.
Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are eligible for PPE activities that
are not specific or unique to structural/proximity firefighting, such,
as but not limited to, ``NFPA1999: Standard on Protective Clothing for
Emergency Medical Operations,'' or ``NFPA 1981: Standard on Open-
Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency
Services.''
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.005

[[Page 65689]]

Self-contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Priorities.
Awards for all SCBAs will be based on number of seated riding positions
in the department's or organization's vehicle fleet and the age of
existing SCBAs, limited to one spare cylinder (unless justified
otherwise in the Request Details narrative for the PPE activity). New
SCBAs must have automatic-on or integrated Personal Alert Safety System
(PASS) devices and be CBRNE-compliant to the current edition of the
NFPA 1981 standard. Applicants will be required to provide the age of
the PPE being replaced. All requests must be justified in the Request
Details narrative for the PPE activity.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.006

Additional Considerations for PPE Requests: Fire Departments, Joint/
Regional Hosts/SFTAs
Obsolete is defined as any SCBA/PPE that is 10 years or
older or two NFPA cycles.
Applicants with the oldest PPE and/or trying to bring the
department into 100 percent NFPA compliance, or the number of
firefighters who will have compliant gear.
Additional Considerations for PPE Requests: Nonaffiliated EMS
Organizations
Percent of firefighters/EMS personnel served.
Age of equipment.
Obsolete equipment--defined as any SCBA/PPE that is 10
years or older, and two NFPA cycles.
(iv.) Wellness and Fitness Activities
Only fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations are
eligible to apply for grants for Wellness and Fitness Activities.
Wellness and Fitness Activities are intended to strengthen first
responders so their mental, physical, and emotional capabilities are
resilient to withstand the demands of emergency services response. To
be eligible for FY 2014 AFG funding in this activity, fire departments
and nonaffiliated EMS organizations must offer, or plan to offer, all
four of the following:

(1) Periodic health screenings
(2) Entry physical examinations
(3) Immunizations
(4) Behavioral health programs

Funding Priorities. Applicants must have all four Priority
1 Activities already in place (or request funding for any missing
Priority 1 Activities), or they will be unable to request funding for
any Priority 2 Activities.
Priority 1: Below are the four activities required to offer a
complete Wellness and Fitness Program:

(1) Initial medical exams
(2) Job-related immunization
(3) Annual medical and fitness evaluation
(4) Behavioral health

Priority 2: You may only apply for Priority 2 items if you offer or
are requesting a combination of the four activities required under
Priority 1. Departments that have some of the Priority 1 programs in
place must apply for funds to implement the missing Priority 1 programs
before applying for funds for any additional program or equipment. In
addition, funded medical exams must meet current NFPA 1582, as required
by DHS Standards.
Simultaneous requests for Priority 1 and Priority 2
activities will receive a lower funding consideration than requests
that complete the bundle of the four (4) Priority 1 Activities.
Candidate physical ability evaluation.
Formal fitness and injury prevention program/equipment.
Injury/illness rehabilitation.
IAFF or IAFC peer fitness trainer program(s).
(v.) Modifications to Facilities
Only fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations are
eligible to apply for Modifications to Facilities grants. FY 2014 AFG
funding may be used to modify and retrofit existing fire stations and
other facilities or structures built before 2003. Eligible projects
under this activity must have a direct effect on the health and safety
of firefighters. New fire station construction is not eligible for
funding. To be eligible, the modification must not change the structure
footprint or profile. If requesting multiple items in this activity,
total funding for all project and activities cannot exceed $100,000 per
fire station.
FEMA is required to consider the effects of its actions on the
environment and/or historic properties to ensure that all activities
and programs funded by the agency, including grant-funded projects,
comply with federal environmental planning and historic preservation
(EHP) regulations, laws, and Executive Orders, as applicable.
The Grants Program Directorate/EHP Branch will no longer be
conducting EHP reviews on projects that have already been initiated or
completed, and such projects that are received for review will be
recommended to not be funded, unless the project can be modified to
eliminate those parts/elements that have already been completed/
initiated.
FEMA Policy 108.024.4 (linked below) provides procedural guidelines
for completing environmental reviews as required by the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in cases where Federal Emergency
Management Agency funded projects require initiation or action prior to
the completion of the environmental review.
Please see FEMA Environmental Planning and Historical Preservation
Policy 108.024.4, dated December 18, 2013, at http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1388411752234-6ddb79121951a68e9ba036d2569aa488/18Dec13-NoNEPAReview.pdf. Grantees must comply with all applicable EHP
laws, regulations, and Executive Orders

[[Page 65690]]

(EOs) to draw down their FY 2014 AFG funds.
Funding Priorities. Highest priority for funding will be
requests to install modifications such as sole/at source capture
exhaust systems (SSCES), sprinkler systems, or smoke/fire alarm
notification systems in stations, including maritime and air operations
facilities, that are occupied 24/7 and offer sleeping quarters. An
SSCES is a system where exhaust gases from a vehicle are captured via a
conduit that attaches to/over the end of the vehicle's exhaust system
at the tailpipe. The captured exhaust gases are expelled through the
attached conduit via mechanical/pneumatic means to the exterior of the
building. Medium priority will be given to requests for air quality
systems and/or emergency generators from departments that may or may
not offer sleeping quarters. Low priority will be given to requests to
modify facilities that are not occupied 24/7 and do not offer sleeping
quarters, and for training facilities.
All of the following information is considered during prescoring
and panelist review:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.007

Priorities by Level of Facility Occupancy:
Full-time (24/7)
Daily (part-time or selected coverage; not on a regular
basis)
Occasionally (no schedule coverage; volunteers respond to
the station.)
Additional Considerations will be given for the age of the
building, with older facilities receiving higher priority. If
requesting multiple items in this activity, funding cannot exceed a
maximum of $100,000 per station.
(2) Joint/Regional Host Organizations. A Regional application is an
opportunity for a fire department or a nonaffiliated EMS organization
to act as a ``host'' applicant and apply for large-scale projects on
behalf of itself and any number of other participating local AFG-
eligible organizations. Eligible Regional Program activities are
Vehicle Acquisition and Operations and Safety (but only Training,
Equipment, and PPE). Regional Program activities should achieve cost
effectiveness, support regional efficiency and resilience, and benefit
more than one local jurisdiction (county, parish, town, township, city,
or village) directly from the activities implemented with the grant
funds.
Host organizations should provide specific details in their
application narrative, fully explaining the distribution of any grant-
funded acquisitions or grant-funded contracted services between the
Host and the partner organizations.
Regional host applicants and participating partner agencies must
execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or equivalent document,
signed by all parties participating in the award, prior to submitting
an application under the Regional Program activities. The agreement
should specify the individual and mutual responsibilities of the
participating partners, the participant's level of involvement in the
project(s), and the proposed distribution of all grant-funded assets.
Successful Regional applicants shall provide a copy of the signed MOU
at the time of award. Any entity named in the application as benefiting
from the award shall be a party the MOU or equivalent document.
State Fire Training Academies are not eligible to apply under the
Regional Program.
(1) Vehicles Acquisition Program
Not more than 25 percent of available grant funds may be used for
the purchase of vehicles. Of the 25 percent set aside for vehicle
funding, FEMA intends to allocate 10 percent of the total Vehicle funds
for ambulances. The allocation of vehicle funding will be distributed
as equally as possible among urban, suburban, and rural community
applicants. The remaining Vehicle Acquisition funds will be awarded
competitively without regard to community classification.
In FY 2014, fire departments, joint/regional hosts, nonaffiliated
EMS organizations, and SFTAs may apply for more than one vehicle.
Requests cannot exceed the financial cap based on population listed in
the application. If a department submits multiple types of
applications, and more than one of those requests are approved, the
department will be held to the same financial cap based on the
population listed in the application.
(i) Compliance With Standards
New fire apparatus must be compliant with NFPA 1901 or
1906 for the year ordered/manufactured.
Ambulances, Edition 2013, or GSA Federal Standard KKK-A-
1822F.
Applicants must certify that unsafe vehicles will be
permanently removed from service if awarded a grant. Acceptable uses of
unsafe vehicles include farm, nursery, scrap metal, salvage,
construction, etc.

When requesting more than one vehicle, the applicant will be asked to
fill out a separate line item and answer all the questions including a
separate Narrative for each vehicle. For example, if requesting to
replace three ambulances, the applicant must fill out the age and
vehicle identification number (VIN) of each vehicle being replaced. The
same VIN cannot be used in each line item.
Applicants may request funding for a driver training program in the
Vehicle Acquisition section but must add the request in the Additional
Funding area in the Request Details section of the application. Driver
training program(s)

[[Page 65691]]

must be in place prior to the delivery of the vehicle. Applicants
requesting vehicles that do not have drivers/operators trained to NFPA
1002 or equivalent, and are not planning to have a training program in
place by the time the vehicle is delivered, will not receive a vehicle
award.
(ii) Vehicle Funding Priorities
Inherent differences exist between urban, suburban, and rural
firefighting conventions. For this reason, DHS has developed different
priorities in Vehicle Acquisition for departments that serve different
types of communities. The U.S. Census Bureau's urban--rural
classifications are fundamentally a delineation of geographical areas.
The FY2014 demographics for determining urban, suburban, and rural are
shown in the table below.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Factors Urban Suburban Rural
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Population Size...................... >3,000/sq. mi. or 1,000-2,999/sq. mi. or 0-999/sq. mi. or
50,000+ population. 25,000-50,000 <25,000 population.
population.
Water Supply......................... 75-100% hydrants 50-74% hydrants........ <50% hydrant.
(municipal water).
Land Use............................. <25% for agriculture 25-49% used for 50% used for
(based on zoning) agriculture (based on agriculture (based on
industrial and zoning) industrial and zoning) industrial and
commercial combined commercial combined commercial combined
>50%. >25-49%. <25%.
Number of Stations per square mile... <3 sq. mi. per station. 3-9 sq. mi. per station >10 sq. mi. per
station.
Number of Occupancies................ >100................... 11-100................. 0-10.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fire Department, Joint/Regional, and SFTA Priorities. Fire
departments, joint/regional applicants, and SFTAs are eligible to
request funding for the Vehicle Acquisition activities and funding
priorities shown below, but they are not limited to these Vehicle
activities. The funding priorities for firefighting vehicles--High (H),
Medium (M), or Low (L)--are organized by community type. Within each
separate funding priority, the vehicles listed have equal value. The
chart below delineates the priorities for firefighting vehicles for
each type of community.

[[Page 65692]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.008

[[Page 65693]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.009

Nonaffiliated EMS Organization Vehicle Priorities. They
are eligible for Vehicle Acquisition Activities that are not specific
or unique to structural/proximity firefighting.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05NO14.010

(iii) Additional Considerations
Departments that have automatic aid agreements, mutual aid
agreements, or both.
Population and call volume of primary first due response area
or region.
Replacement of open cab/jump seat configurations.
Age of the vehicle being replaced; older equipment receive
higher consideration.
Age of the newest vehicle in the department's fleet that is
like the vehicle to be replaced.
Disclose vehicles on loan to the organization in the
application narrative but not in the organization's inventory.
Disclose damaged vehicles and out of service vehicles in the
organization's inventory.
Average age of the fleet; older equipment within the same
class.
Converted vehicles not designed or intended for use in the
fire service.
(4) Administrative Costs
Panelists will assess the administrative costs requested in each
application and determine whether the request is reasonable and in the
best interest of the Program.

Dated: October 24, 2014.
W. Craig Fugate,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2014-26293 Filed 11-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-78-P