PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Small Community Program was established by the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L. No. 106-181), reauthorized by the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (Pub. L. No. 108-176), and subsequently reauthorized by the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-95) as amended, the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (Pub. L. No. 115-63), and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-254) (FAA 2018). The program is codified at 49 U.S.C. § 41743. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to small communities to help them enhance their air service. The Department provides this assistance in the form of grants that are disbursed on a reimbursable basis.
The Small Community Program is authorized to receive appropriations under 49 U.S.C. § 41743(e)(2). Appropriations are provided for this program for award selection in FY2019 pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Pub. L, No. 116-6) The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Pub. L. No. 116-94), and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-260).
49 U.S.C. § 41743(c) sets forth the “Criteria for Participation.” As detailed below, in implementing these statutory criteria, the Department has determined that certain criteria will be considered as part of the Eligibility Review, and other criteria will be considered as part of the Technical Review. The Department’s application of these criteria has not changed, but this NOFO provides additional clarity to assist applicants.
B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION
No more than four communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, from the same State may be selected to participate in the program in any fiscal year. No more than 40 communities or consortia of communities, or a combination thereof, may be selected to participate in the program in each year for which the funds are appropriated. Applications for renewal or supplementation of existing projects are not eligible to compete with applications for new Federal awards.
Pursuant to the authorities described above, the Department has up to $18 million available for grant awards to carry out this program. There is no minimum or maximum individual award amount, and the amounts awarded will vary depending upon the features and merits of the selected applications. In past years, the Department’s individual grant sizes have ranged from $20,000 to nearly $1.6 million. Funding amounts made available for reimbursement may be impacted by future limitations placed on the spending authority and appropriations enacted for the Department. The Department may, at its discretion, issue partial funding awards up to the level authorized and provided that the above conditions are met.
UPDATE: As of January 19, 2021: The Department amended Order 2020-11-5 by issuance of Order 2021-1-4. Order 2021-1-4 updates several aspects of Order 2020-11-5, including adding funding, updating the due date, changing the application page limit to 21 pages, and adding a new Priority Selection Criterion. Please see both orders under the "Related Documents" Tab.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
Additional information
The Department determines application eligibility as part of the Eligibility Review stage. Applicants and applications deemed ineligible at this stage will be disqualified. The Department will apply the criteria under Section C.1 as part of the Eligibility Review stage.Only public entities may apply for and serve as the legal sponsor of a grant under the Small Community Program. Private organizations cannot be the lead applicant. A community may file only one application for a grant, either individually or as part of a consortium.Consortium Applications: Both individual communities and consortia of communities are eligible for SCASDP funds. An application from a consortium of communities must be one that seeks to facilitate the efforts of the communities working together toward one joint grant project, with one joint objective, including the establishment of one entity to ensure that the joint objective is accomplished.Communities Without Existing Air Service: Communities that do not currently have commercial air service are eligible for SCASDP funds. Hub Size: In order to satisfy the hub size requirement set forth in 49 U.S.C. § 41743(c)(1)(A), the airport serving the community or consortium may not be larger than a small hub airport, as determined using the FAA’s most recently published classification effective on the date that the community or consortium files an application. Same Project Limitation: Under 49 U.S.C. § 41743(c)(4)(B), a community or consortium may not receive a new grant to support the same project more than once in a ten-year period. In assessing whether a previous recipient’s current application represents a new project, the Department will compare the goals and objectives of the previous grant, including the key components of the means by which those goals and objectives were to be achieved, to the current application. For example, if a community received an earlier grant to support a revenue guarantee for service to a particular destination or direction, a new application by that community for another revenue guarantee for service to the same destination or in the same direction would be subject to the ten-year restriction, even if the revenue guarantee were structured differently or the type of carrier were different. However, a new application by such a previous recipient for service to a new destination or direction using a revenue guarantee, or for general marketing and promotion (including advertising and public relations) of the airport and the various services it offers, would be eligible. The Department recognizes that not all revenue guarantees, marketing agreements, studies, or other activities are of the same nature, and that if a subsequent application incorporates different goals or significantly different components, it may be sufficiently different to constitute a new project under 49 U.S.C. § 41743(c).In FAA 2018, Congress authorized limited waivers of the Ten-Year Same Project Limitation. Under Section 41743(c)(4)(C), the Secretary may waive the limitation, and thus make additional grants to a community or consortium of communities to participate in support of the same project within a 10-year period, if the Secretary determines that communities “spent little or no money on [their] previous project or encountered industry or environmental challenges, due to circumstances that were reasonably beyond [their] control….” The Department will consider such waivers as part of complete and timely applications submitted in response to this Order. Communities seeking a waiver are asked to include in their application a discussion of the facts and circumstances that the Secretary should consider in applying the statutory test to their request, e.g. a full history of the previous grant and a documented and well-supported description of any industry or environmental challenges encountered in the communities.Concurrent Grant Limitation: A community or consortium may have only one SCASDP grant at any time. If a community or consortium applies for a subsequent SCASDP grant when its current grant has not yet expired, that community/consortium must notify the Department of its intent to terminate the current SCASDP grant, and if the community/consortium is selected for a new grant, such termination must take place prior to entering into the new grant agreement. In addition, for consortium member applicants, permission must be granted from both the grant sponsor and the Department to withdraw from the current SCASDP grant before that consortium member will be deemed eligible to receive a subsequent SCASDP grant.Airport Capital Improvement Projects: Airport capital improvement projects, including, but not limited to, runway expansions and enhancements, the construction of additional aircraft gates, and other airport terminal expansions and reconfigurations are ineligible for funding under the Small Community Program. Airports seeking funding for airport capital improvement projects may want to consult with their local FAA Regional Office to discuss potential eligibility for grants under the Airport Improvement Program.Essential Air Service Communities: Small communities that currently receive subsidized air service under the Essential Air Service (“EAS”) or Alternate Essential Air Service (“AEAS”) program will not be considered eligible for SCASDP funds. The EAS statute (49 U.S.C. § 41733(c)(1)(E)) includes a provision requiring that the Department consider whether an air carrier has included a marketing proposal in its proposal to provide subsidized EAS as part of the carrier selection criteria. In light of this and the scarcity of SCASDP funds, the Department will not consider awarding additional Federal support under SCASDP for the marketing of subsidized EAS air service.2. Cost Sharing or MatchingCost sharing or matching is not required for applications. However, applications that provide multiple levels of contributions (State, local, cash, and in-kind contributions) will be viewed more favorably. See Section E.1.c (“Cost sharing and Local Contributions”).
Grantor contact information
Description
Vince Corsaro
Transportation Analyst
Phone 202-366-1842
Email
vince.corsaro@dot.gov
vince.corsaro@dot.gov
