FEDERAL
MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORIZATION:
Surface
Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, Sections 401-408, Public
Law 97-424; Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1991, Public Law 102-240;
49 U.S.C. App. 2301-2307; Transportation Equity Act for the 21st
Century, Public Law 105-178.
To
reduce the number and severity of accidents and hazardous material
incidents involving commercial motor vehicles by substantially increasing
the level and effectiveness of enforcement activity and the likelihood
that safety defects, driver deficiencies, and unsafe carrier practices
will be detected and corrected.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Formula Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Assistance
to States for the implementation of programs for the adoption and
uniform enforcement of safety rules, regulations and standards compatible
with the Federal Motor Carrier safety regulations and Federal hazardous
materials regulations for both interstate and intrastate motorcarriers
and drivers.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: A qualified State of the United
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or the Commonwealth of
the Northern Marianas (a State).
Beneficiary
Eligibility: General public.
Credentials/Documentation:
Certification by the State that it meets the conditions for grant
approval. Submission of a State Plan addressing the commercial
motor carrier and highway hazardous materials safety within the
State. Cost will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular
No. A-87 for State and local governments.
Pre-application
Coordination: Scheduled regional pre-planning
conferences. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application
Procedure: File with FMCSA Division Office
an FMCSA Form MCSAP-1, which includes a certification of eligibility,
and the State Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan. This program is
excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110.
Award
Procedure: The amount of the basic MCSAP grant
to a qualifying State will be determined by the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration based on the availability of funds,
the eligibility of a State, and the formula set in 49 CFR 350.
State will be required to sign a grant agreement.
Deadlines:
Application for a grant must be filed with the FMCSA Division
Office by August 1 of each year.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: From 30 to 60
days.
Appeals:
State will be notified in writing of failure to submit a satisfactory
State Plan. State will have 30 days to modify and resubmit the
plan.
Renewals:
Application for a grant must be made annually.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: The MCSAP formula
is described in 49 CFR 350.323. Most funds will be allocated each
year among the States according to a formula based on four equally
weighted (25 percent) factors: (1) 1997 road miles (all highways)
as defined by the FHWA: (2) All vehicle miles traveled as defined
by the FHWA; (3) Population - annual census estimates as issued
by the U. S. Census Bureau; and (4) special fuel consumption (net
after reciprocity adjustment) as defined by the FHWA. The Federal
share shall not exceed 80 percent of the approved incremental increase
over the State's average aggregate expenditure (monies spent during
the base period of Federal or State fiscal years 1997, 1998 and
1999) of State funds for motor carrier and highway hazardous materials
safety enforcement purposes, in the year in which the grant is sought.
The State's share is at least 20 percent. The FMCSA shall, upon
request, waive the requirement for matching funds to be provided
by the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or the Commonwealth
of the Northern Marianas. Additional funds are allocated under the
provisions of the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Grants are
available for up to 1 year. Obligations to a State will remain
available for expenditure for the fiscal year in which they were
obligated and the next full fiscal year.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
A quarterly Activity Reportis to be filed with the FMCSA Division
Office.
Audits:
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised,
June 24, 1997), Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit
Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance
of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a
program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities
that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt
from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted
in Circular No. A-133.
Records:
Records of all program activities covered in the State's Safety
Plan and statistics pertaining to commercial motor vehicle accidents.
Such records must be kept for 3 years following the year of funding.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 69-8048-0-7-401.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $155,000,000; FY 02 est $160,000,000; and FY 03
est $165,000,000.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
Not less than 0.44 percent or more than 4.94 percent of available
funds for basic program grants.
In fiscal year 2001, the program supported approximately 9,200 full
and part-time State personnel nationwide who performed approximately
2.6 million inspections, resulting in increased uniformity in the
enforcement of motor vehicle safety regulations throughout the United
States and the promotion of commercial vehicle safety. Training
was provided for State enforcement personnel through the delivery
of about 250 commercial vehicle safety courses, reaching over 3,700
State personnel nationwide. In recognition that border states face
special problems associated with a projected increase in commercial
vehicle traffic as the North American Free Trade Agreement provisions
are implemented, special funding was made available to those border
states, resulting in over 280,8747 commercial vehicle inspections
along the U.S. border with Mexico. About 69,000 of the total inspections
were of Mexican vehicles and drivers. The program also supported
national commercial vehicle safety activities related to inspection
process improvements, data collection and analysis, judicial outreach
and drug interdiction. Intelligent transportation system projects
were implemented resulting in the use of safety information technologies
to identify high-risk motor carriers for enforcement actions.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature: 49 CFR 1.48. 49 CFR 386-399,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations; 49 CFR 100-180, Hazardous
Materials Regulations, Government Printing Office, $14-$27 per volume.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: State-level office of the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as listed in Appendix IV of
the Catalog.
Headquarters
Office: Federal Motor Carrier and Safety Administration,
State Programs, MC-ESS, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC,
20590. Telephone: (202) 366-9579.
Web
Site Address: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Roadside driver and vehicle inspections.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
The applicant must meet the statutory and administrative requirements
contained in 49 CFR 350. The State Plan must provide for an effective
safety program.
