Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: Closing Date

SUMMARY: Subject to the authority of Title III of the Department of

Commerce, Justice and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act, (set out in Division A, Title I of the Omnibus

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Pub. L. 104-208), the National

Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S.

Department of Commerce, announces that applications are available for

planning and construction grants for public telecommunications

facilities under the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program

(PTFP).

Applicants for matching grants under the PTFP must file their

applications on or before Wednesday, February 12, 1997. NTIA

anticipates making grant awards by September 30, 1997. NTIA shall not

be liable for any proposal preparation costs.

Approximately $15.25 million is available for FY 1997 for PTFP

grants pursuant to Pub. L. 104-208 the ``Department of Commerce and

Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1997.'' The amount of a grant

award by NTIA will vary, depending on the approved project. For fiscal

year 1996, NTIA awarded $13.4 million in funds to 96 projects. The

awards ranged from $3,592 to $791,727.

The applicable Rules for the PTFP were published on November 8,

1996. These rules, 15 CFR Part 2301 et seq. will be in effect for FY

1997 PTFP applications. Copies of these new Rules will be distributed

as part of the PTFP Application Kit and applicants are cautioned not to

use older versions of the PTFP Rules which they may have on hand.

Parties interested in applying for financial assistance should refer to

these rules and to the authorizing legislation (47 U.S.C. Secs. 390-

393, 397-399b) for additional information on the program's goals and

objectives, eligibility criteria, evaluation criteria, and other

requirements.

DATES: Pursuant to 15 CFR Sec. 2301.8(b), the Administrator of NTIA

hereby establishes the closing date for the filing of applications for

grants under the PTFP. The closing date selected for the submission of

applications for 1997 is Wednesday, February 12, 1997. Applications

delivered by mail or by hand must be received at the address referenced

below by 5 p.m. on or before Wednesday, February 12, 1997. Applicants

whose applications are not received by the deadline are hereby notified

that their applications will not be considered in the current grant

cycle and will be returned to the applicant. See 15 CFR Sec. 2301.8(c);

but see also Sec. 2301.26. NTIA will also return any application which

is substantially incomplete, or when the Agency finds that either the

applicant or project is ineligible for funding under 15 CFR Sec. 2301.3

and Sec. 2301.4. The Agency will inform the applicant the reason for

the return of any application.

ADDRESSES: To obtain an application package, submit completed

applications, or send any other correspondence, write to: Office of

Telecommunications and Information Applications, NTIA/DOC, 14th Street

and Constitution Ave., NW, Room H-4625, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis R. Connors, Director, Public

Broadcasting Division, telephone: (202) 482-5802; fax: (202) 482-2156.

Information about the PTFP can also be obtained electronically via

Internet (send inquiries to http://www.ntia.doc.gov) or through the

NTIA BBS at (202) 482-1199 (set computer modems for 8 stop bits, 0

polarity).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Application Forms and Regulations

To apply for a PTFP grant, an applicant must file an original and

two copies of a timely and complete application on a current form

approved by the Agency. The current application form will be provided

to applicants as part of the application package. This form expires on

October 31, 1997, and no previous versions of the form may be used. (In

accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the current application

form has been cleared under OMB control no. 0660-0003.) Applications

submitted by facsimile or electronic means are not acceptable.

All persons and organizations on the PTFP's mailing list will be

sent a copy of the current application form and the Final Rules. Those

not on the mailing list may obtain copies by contacting the PTFP at the

address or telephone, fax, computer bulletin board, or Internet numbers

noted above. Prospective applicants should read the Final Rules

carefully before submitting applications. Applicants whose applications

were deferred in FY 1996 will be mailed pertinent PTFP materials and

instructions for requesting reactivation of their applications.

Applicants should note that they must comply with the provisions of

Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs.'' The Executive Order requires applicants for financial

assistance under this program to file a copy of their application with

the Single Points of Contact (SPOC) of all states relevant to the

project. Applicants are required to provide a copy of their completed

application to the appropriate SPOC on or before February 12, 1997.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate SPOC well before

the PTFP closing date.

NTIA requires that all applicants whose proposed projects need

authorization from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tender

an application to the FCC for such authority on or before February 12,

1997. (An application is tendered to the FCC when it has been received

by the Secretary of the FCC.) However, applicants are urged to submit

it with as much lead time before the PTFP closing date as possible. The

greater the lead time, the better the chance the FCC application will

be processed to coincide with NTIA's grant cycle. NTIA will return the

application of any applicant that fails to tender an application to the

FCC for any necessary authority on or before February 12, 1997.

Indirect costs for construction applications are not supported by

this program. The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in

a planning application under this program must not exceed the indirect

cost rate negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency prior

to the proposed effective date of the award or 100 percent of the total

proposed direct costs dollar amount in the application, whichever is

less.

All primary applicants must submit a completed Form CD-511,

``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other

Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and

Lobbying,'' and the following explanations are hereby provided:

(1) Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension. Prospective

participants (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26, Section 105) are subject to

15 CFR Part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the

related section of the certification form prescribed above applies;

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(2) Drug Free Workplace. Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26,

Section 605) are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, Subpart F, ``Government-

wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related

section of the certification form prescribed above applies;

(3) Anti-lobbying. Persons (as defined at 15 CFR Part 28, Section

105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352,

``Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal

contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of

the certification form prescribed above applies to applicants/bidders

for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than

$100,000, and loans and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the

single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever

is greater; and

(4) Anti-lobbying Disclosures. Any applicant that has paid or will

pay for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of

Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR Part 28, Appendix B.

Recipients shall require applicants/bidders for subgrants,

contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier covered transactions at

any tier under the grant award to submit, if applicable, a completed

Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension,

Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions

and Lobbying'' and disclosure form, SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities.'' Form CD-512 is intended for the use of recipients and

should not be transmitted to the Department. SF-LLL submitted by any

tier recipient or subrecipient should be submitted to the Department in

accordance with the instructions contained in the award document.

If an application is selected for funding, the Department of

Commerce has no obligation to provide any additional future funding in

connection with that award. Renewal of an award to increase funding or

extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the

Department.

Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and

Federal and DOC policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to

Federal assistance awards. In addition, unsatisfactory performance by

the applicant under prior Federal awards may result in the application

not being considered for funding.

If applicants incur any costs prior to an award being made, they do

so solely at their own risk of not being reimbursed by the Government.

Notwithstanding any verbal or written assurance that they have

received, there is no obligation on the part of the Department to cover

preaward costs.

No award of Federal funds shall be made to an applicant who has an

outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either: (1) the delinquent

account is paid in full; (2) a negotiated repayment schedule is

established and at least one payment is received, or (3) other

arrangements satisfactory to the Department are made.

Applicants are reminded that a false statement on the application

may be grounds for denial or termination of funds and grounds for

possible punishment by a fine or imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C.

1001.

Special Note: NTIA has established a policy which is intended to

encourage stations to increase from 25% to 50% the matching percentage

for those proposals that call for equipment replacement, improvement,

or augmentation (PTFP Policy Statement, (56 FR 59168 (1991))). The

presumption of 50% funding will be the general rule for the

replacement, improvement or augmentation of equipment. Exceptions to

this general policy direction are as follows: small community-licensee

stations will not be subjected to this policy. The same is true of a

station that is licensed to a large institution (e.g., a college or

university) documenting that it does not receive direct or in-kind

support from the larger institution. Also, a showing of extraordinary

need or an emergency situation will be taken into consideration as

justification for grants of up to 75% of the project cost for such

proposals.

A point of clarification is in order: NTIA expects to continue

funding projects to activate stations or to extend service at up to 75%

of the total project cost. NTIA will do this because applicants

proposing to provide first service to a geographic area ordinarily

incur considerable costs that are not eligible for NTIA funding. The

applicant must cover the ineligible costs including those for

construction or renovation of buildings and other similar expenses.

Since NTIA has limited funds for the PTFP program, the PTFP Final

Rules published November 8, 1996 modifies NTIA's policy regarding the

funding of planning applications. Our policy now includes the general

presumption to fund planning projects at no more than 75% of the

project costs. NTIA notes that most of the planning grants awarded by

PTFP in recent years include matching in-kind services and funds

contributed by the grantee. The new NTIA policy therefore codifies what

already has become PTFP practice. NTIA, however, is mindful that

planning grants are sometimes the only resource that emerging community

groups have with which to initiate the planning of new facilities in

unserved areas. We therefore will continue to award up to 100% of total

project costs in cases of extraordinary need.

We wish to take this opportunity to restate the policy published in

the November 22, 1991, PTFP Policy Statement (56 FR 59168 (1991)),

regarding applicants' use of funds from the Corporation for Public

Broadcasting (CPB) to meet the local match requirements of the PTFP

grant. NTIA continues to believe that the policies and purposes

underlying the PTFP requirements could be significantly frustrated if

applicants routinely relied upon another Federally supported grant

program for local matching funds. Accordingly, NTIA has limited the use

of CPB funds for the non-Federal share of PTFP projects to

circumstances of ``clear and compelling need'' (15 CFR

Sec. 2301.6(c)(2)). NTIA intends to maintain that standard and to apply

it on a case-by-case basis.

The November 22, 1991, PTFP Policy Statement (56 FR 59168 (1991))

also discussed a number of issues of particular relevance to applicants

proposing nonbroadcast educational and instructional projects and

potential improvement of nonbroadcast facilities. These policies remain

in effect and will be distributed to all PTFP applicants as part of the

Guidelines for preparing FY 1997 PTFP applications.

II. Eligible and Ineligible Costs

Eligible equipment for the 1997 grant round includes apparatus

necessary for the production, interconnection, captioning, broadcast,

or other distribution of programming, including but not limited to

studio equipment; audio and video storage, processing, and switching

equipment; terminal equipment; towers, antennas, transmitters, remote

control equipment, transmission line, translators, microwave equipment,

mobile equipment, satellite communications equipment, instructional

television fixed service equipment, subsidiary communications

authorization transmitting and receiving equipment, cable television

equipment, and optical fiber communications equipment.

NTIA recognizes that digital technology will be an important means

for the more efficient creation and distribution of programming in the

future. Consequently, public broadcasters seeking to replace, upgrade,

and buy new equipment that employs digital technology will be

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permitted, when appropriate, to use PTFP funds for such purposes.

The following list provides clarification regarding several

equipment and other cost areas that will be helpful in preparing

applications. NTIA also reserves the right to eliminate any costs,

whether specified here or not, that it determines are not appropriate

prior to the awarding of a grant.

A. Equipment and Supplies

(1) Buildings and Modifications to Buildings. (a) Eligible: Small

equipment shelters that are part of satellite earth stations,

translators, microwave interconnection facilities, and similar

facilities. (b) Ineligible: Purchase or lease of buildings and

modifications to buildings, including the renovation of space for

studios intended to house eligible equipment; costs associated with

removing old equipment.

(2) Land and Land Improvements. (a) Eligible: Site preparation

necessary to construct towers and guy anchors for transmission and

interconnection equipment. (b) Ineligible: Purchase or lease of land.

(3) Moving Costs. (a) Ineligible: Moving costs required by

relocation of any facilities. (b) Eligible: Shipping and delivery

charges for equipment acquired within the award.

(4) Reception Equipment. (a) Eligible: Fixed frequency demodulator,

as required by good engineering practice for monitoring the off-air

transmission of signals; subcarrier demodulator; telemetry transmitters

and receivers; satellite receivers; and subcarrier decoders for the

handicapped. (b) Ineligible: Consumer-type TV sets and FM receivers.

(5) Tower Modifications. (a) Eligible: Strengthening or modifying a

commercial entity's tower to accommodate a public broadcasting entity

(structural modifications on towers and/or antenna changes must meet

EIA (Electronic Industries Association) and any required local

standards). (b) Ineligible: Modifying or strengthening the applicant's

tower to accommodate a commercial entity.

(6) Production and Control Room Equipment. (a) Eligible: Standard

production studio and control room equipment for TV or radio program

production. (b) Ineligible: Consumer-type mixers, tape recorders,

turntables, CD players, etc; ancillary production devices such as

stopwatches and stop-clocks, building lights, sound effects, scenery

and props, cycloramas, sound insulation devices and materials,

draperies and related equipment for production use, film and still

photography processing, film sound synchronization editing.

(7) Video Equipment. (a) Eligible: Videotape editing and processing

equipment that conforms to broadcast-standard quality equipment for

field recording and production editing. (b) Ineligible: Consumer level

videotape recording formats not accepted in the industry as broadcast-

standard quality.

(8) Furniture and Office Equipment. (a) Eligible: Consoles required

to mount equipment such as audio consoles and video switchers. (b)

Ineligible: Such items as office furniture, office equipment, studio

clocks and systems, blackboards, office intercoms, equipment inventory

labels and label-makers, word processors, telephone systems, and

printing and duplication equipment.

(9) Expendable Items and Spare Parts. (a) Eligible: A transmitter

spare parts kit and one set of final and driver tubes for a transmitter

awarded in the grant; a spare parts kit for video tape recorders

awarded in the grant. (b) Ineligible: Spare lenses, spare circuit

components, spare parts kits for studio equipment, except as noted

above; recording tape, film, reels, cartridge tapes, records, compact

discs, and record or tape cleaning equipment; art and graphics

supplies; maintenance supplies, including replacement final and driver

tubes normally considered in the industry as normal maintenance-budget-

provided items and similar items.

(10) Backup Equipment. (a) Eligible: Hot standby or backup

microwave for the main studio-to-transmitter link only; a backup or

spare exciter for a television transmitter, as required by good

engineering practice. (b) Ineligible: Redundant equipment, such as

spare transmitters, or costs associated with them, as well as backup

microwave equipment (except as noted above).

(11) Electric Power. (a) Eligible: Generally, all primary power

costs from the output of the main power meter panel; regulators and

surge protectors, as required by good engineering practice, to

stabilize transmitter RF output. Where primary power is not available

or is unusable for broadcast, then PTFP may provide funding for those

devices needed to power the facility if the need for that equipment is

fully documented in the application. (b) Ineligible: Costs of

installing primary power to the facility, including transformers, power

lines, gasoline or diesel powered generators, and related equipment.

(12) Test and Maintenance Equipment. (a) Eligible: Required test

equipment, as indicated by good engineering practice for the

maintenance of the project equipment. (b) Ineligible: Maintenance

equipment such as hand and power tools, storage cabinets, and

maintenance services.

(13) Air Conditioning and Ventilation. (a) Eligible: The costs to

provide ventilation of eligible project equipment, such as ducting for

transmitters, as required by good engineering practice. Transmitter air

conditioning can be applied for and will be supported if the need is

well-documented in the application. (b) Ineligible: Unless

exceptionally well-documented, air conditioning for transmitters,

control rooms, or equipment rooms, studios, mobile units, and other

operational rooms and offices.

(14) Remote Vans. (a) Eligible: Items to equip a remote van for

audio/video production. (b) Ineligible: All vehicles.

B. Other Costs

(1) Construction Applications: NTIA generally will not fund salary

expenses, including staff installation costs, and pre-application legal

and engineering fees. Certain ``pre-operational expenses'' are eligible

for funding. (See 15 CFR Sec. 2301.2.) Despite this provision, NTIA

regards its primary mandate to be funding the acquisition of equipment

and only secondarily funding of salaries. A discussion of this issue

appears in the PTFP Final Rules under the heading Support for Salary

Expenses in the introductory section of the document.

(2) Planning Applications. (a) Eligible: Salaries are eligible

expenses for all planning grant applications, but should be fully

described and justified within the application. Planning grant

applicants may lease office equipment, furniture and space, and may

purchase expendable supplies under the terms of Section 392 (c) of the

Act. (b) Ineligible: Planning grant applications cannot include the

cost of constructing or operating a telecommunications facility.

(3) Audit Costs. Organization-wide audits shall be performed in

accordance with the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, for audits of

state and local governments; and Office of Management and Budget

Circular A-133, Audits of Institutions of Higher Education and Other

Non-Profit Institutions for recipients that are educational

institutions or nonprofit organizations. Additionally, when required

under a special award condition, a project audit shall be performed in

accordance with Federal Government Auditing Standards in lieu of an

organization-wide audit.

Federal guidelines allow NTIA to include an amount for audit costs

as part of a grant award. NTIA policy permits non-profit organizations

to

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include up to $5,000 for audit costs in an application. Because audit

costs may vary depending on the size and scope of an organization's

operations, NTIA recommends that applicants obtain estimates from

auditors to determine the appropriate amount to include in their

applications. Construction Grant Applicants should list the amount

requested for audit costs in Part II, Section D--Other Project Costs,

1. Outside Services of the PTFP Application Form. Planning Grant

Applicants should include the amount on line 7, Other, in Part III--

Budget Information for Planning Grant Applicants of the PTFP

Application Form.

III. Notice of Applications Received

In accordance with 15 CFR Sec. 2301.13, NTIA will publish a notice

in the Federal Register listing all applications received by the

Agency. Listing an application in such a notice merely acknowledges

receipt of an application to compete for funding with other

applications. Publication does not preclude subsequent return of the

application for the reasons discussed under the Dates section above, or

disapproval of the application, nor does it assure that the application

will be funded. The notice will also include a request for comments on

the applications from any interested party.

IV. Evaluation Process

See 15 CFR Sec. 2301.16 for a description of the Technical

Evaluation and 15 CFR Sec. 2301.17 for the Evaluation Criteria.

V. Selection Process

Based upon the above cited evaluation criteria, the PTFP program

staff prepares summary evaluations. These incorporate the outside

reviewers recommendations, engineering assessments, and program staff

evaluations. The PTFP Director will consider the summary evaluations

prepared by program staff, rank the applications, and present

recommendations to the OTIA (Office of Telecommunications and

Information Applications) Associate Administrator for review and

approval. The PTFP Director ranks the applications into three

categories: ``Recommended for Funding,'' ``Recommended for Funding if

Funds Available,'' and ``Not Recommended for Funding.'' See 15 CFR

Sec. 2301.18 for a description of the selection factors retained by the

Director, OTIA Associate Administrator, and the Assistant Secretary for

Telecommunications and Information.

Upon review and approval by the OTIA Associate Administrator, the

Director's recommendations will then be presented to the Selection

Official, the NTIA Administrator. The NTIA Administrator selects the

applications to be negotiated for possible grant award taking into

consideration the Directors recommendations and the degree to which the

slate of applications, taken as a whole, satisfies the program's stated

purposes set forth at 15 CFR Sec. 2301.1(a) and (c). These applications

are negotiated between PTFP staff and the applicant. The negotiations

are intended to resolve whatever differences might exist between the

applicant's original request and what PTFP proposes to fund. During

negotiations, some applications may be dropped from the proposed slate,

due to lack of Federal Communications Commission licensing authority,

an applicant's inability to make adequate assurances or certifications,

or other reasons. Negotiation of an application does not ensure that a

final award will be made. When the negotiations are completed, the PTFP

Director recommends final selections to the NTIA Administrator applying

the same factors as listed in 15 CFR Sec. 2301.18. The Administrator

then makes the final award selections from the negotiated applications

taking into consideration the Director's recommendations and the degree

to which the slate of applications, taken as a whole, satisfies the

program's stated purposes in 15 CFR Sec. 2301.1(a) and (c).

VI. Project Period

Planning grant award periods customarily do not exceed one year,

whereas construction grant award periods commonly range from one to two

years. Although these time frames are generally applied to the award of

all PTFP grants, variances in project periods may be based on specific

circumstances of an individual proposal.

Authority: The Public Telecommunications Financing Act of 1978,

as amended, 47 U.S.C. Secs. 390-393, 397-399(b) (Act). (Catalog of

Federal Domestic Assistance No. 11.550)

Bernadette McGuire-Rivera,

Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information

Applications.

[FR Doc. 96-28772 Filed 11-7-96; 8:45 am]

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