State Damage Prevention (SDP) Program Grants - FY 2025
| Agency: | U.S. Department of Transportation |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 20.720 |
| Federal FON: | 693JK325NF0006 |
| Office: | Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Acquisition Services Division |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 03/03/2025 (Application) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 01/07/2025 |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | $1,500,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Max) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to establish or improve state damage prevention programs and protect underground pipeline facilities from excavation damage that has historically been a leading cause of pipeline accidents that result in fatalities or injuries. The program fosters improved damage prevention programming by supporting projects such as enforcement of state excavation damage prevention laws, stakeholder education about digging safely, technologies to improve efficiencies, and other related excavation safety initiatives.
The program will allow states to establish comprehensive damage prevention programs in states where such programs do not exist, as well as to improve such programs where they already exist. Funding will be provided to pay the cost of the personnel, equipment, and activities that the applicant reasonably requires to develop or carry out its damage prevention program.
States are required to implement with program funding at least one of the following nine elements of an effective damage prevention program:
- Element 1: enhanced communication between operators and excavators: participation by operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in developing and implementing methods for establishing and maintaining effective communications between stakeholders
- Element 2: fostering support and partnership of all stakeholders: fostering and ensuring the support and partnership of stakeholders, including excavators, operators, locators, designers, and local government in all phases of the program
- Element 3: operator’s use of performance measures for locators: reviewing the adequacy of a pipeline operator’s internal performance measures regarding persons performing locating services and quality assurance programs
- Element 4: partnership in employee training: developing and implementing effective employee training programs to ensure that operators, the one-call center, the enforcing agency, and the excavators have partnered to design and implement training for the employees of operators, excavators, and locators
- Element 5: partnership in public education: fostering and ensuring active participation by all stakeholders in public education for damage prevention activities
- Element 6: enforcement agencies’ role to help resolve issues: resolving disputes by defining the state authority’s role as a partner and facilitator to resolve issues
- Element 7: fair and consistent enforcement of the law: enforcing state damage prevention laws and regulations for all aspects of the damage prevention process, including public education; and the use of civil penalties for violations assessable by the appropriate state authority
- Element 8: use of technology to improve the locating process: fostering and promoting the use, by all stakeholders, of improving technologies that may enhance communications, underground pipeline locating capability, and gathering and analyzing information about the accuracy and effectiveness of locating programs
- Element 9: data analysis to continually improve program effectiveness: reviewing and analyzing the effectiveness of each element, including a means for implementing improvements identified by such reviews
Priority will be given to projects that help to address transportation insecurity, defined as the inability for people to get to where they need to go to meet the needs of their daily life regularly, reliably, and safely due to either the high cost of transportation, lack of access, or lack of safe transportation options. Applicants should also consider how their project will increase safety.
Additional consideration may be given to projects that:
- Foster a safe pipeline transportation system for the movement of energy, consistent with the funding agency's goal of reducing transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries across the pipeline transportation system
- Proactively mitigate safety risks in disadvantaged communities
Funds may be requested for the following budget categories:
- Personnel costs
- Fringe benefits
- Travel costs
- Equipment costs
- Supplies
- Contractual costs
- Other direct costs
- Indirect costs
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are state authorities designated by governors, including municipalities with respect to intrastate gas pipeline transportation, which are or will be responsible for protecting underground pipeline facilities from excavation damage. Applicants must have the eligible state authority to participate in the oversight of pipeline transportation pursuant to an annual Title 49 U.S.C. Section 60105 certification or a Title 49 U.S.C. Section 60106 agreement in effect with the funding agency.
To be eligible, applicants must have an effective damage prevention program or demonstrate substantial progress toward establishing such a program. An effective damage prevention program contains the nine elements listed on pages 6-7 of the NOFA file.
In order to be eligible, a state may not provide any exemptions from the One-Call notification system requirements of the program to municipalities, state agencies, or their contractors.
Each applicant may submit only one application; however, an application may propose multiple projects. Only one budget may be submitted with each application.
Previous award recipients include:
- Illinois Commerce Commission
- Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Pennsylvania One Call System
- Texas Railroad Commission
- Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety
Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.
Eligible Applicants:
Local GovernmentState Government
Application Notes:
Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 3, 2025.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov. Mailed applications will not be accepted.
Applications must include:
- SF 424
- SF 424A
- Application form, including project narrative and budget narrative/estimates
- Standard Title VI/non-discrimination assurances
- Certification regarding lobbying
- Letter signed by the governor designating the applicant as the state's eligible recipient
- Approved indirect cost agreement (if applicable)
The letter designating the applicant as the state's eligible recipient must be submitted in .pdf format and addressed as indicated on page 8 of the NOFA file.
The following are required in order to submit an application:
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
- SAM (System for Award Management) registration
Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.
Prior to submitting applications, applicants are encouraged to register with FedConnect online at www.fedconnect.net.
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Relevance to the program's nine elements of effective damage prevention
- Costs, results, and schedule
- State's commitment to the nine elements
Refer to pages 12-14 of the NOFA file for details regarding application evaluation criteria.
Refer to the NOFA file and Application folder for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | $1,500,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Max) |
|---|
Match Notes:
Matching funds are not required for this program; however, applicants may list in their budgets any other federal funds and nonfederal funds that applicants intend to use to support projects.
Funding Notes:
Approximately $1.5 million is anticipated to be available to support awards of up to $100,000 through this program.
Recipients may request 100 percent of the total amount of the award upon execution of the award agreement.
Awards are expected to be made no later than September 30, 2025.
The project period is 12 months.
Funding for equipment is limited to $5,000.
Funds may not be used for:
- Pre-award costs
- Costs claimed from and/or reimbursed by another federal program
- Costs counted as match in another federal program
- Lobbying, advocacy, or the direct support of litigation
- Costs associated with regulatory compliance programs for pipeline operators
- Construction
- Membership dues or professional activity costs
- Costs associated with entertainment, such as shows or sporting events
- Purchase of alcoholic beverages
- General sponsorship of events where the primary purpose is not damage prevention
Refer to pages 10-11 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding unallowable costs.
For FY 2023, a total of $1.55 million was distributed via 16 awards ranging from $94,985 to $97,001 through this program. For FY 2022, a total of $1,663,516 was distributed via 20 awards ranging from $4,107 to $94,973. Refer to the Award file for details.
Contacts:
(See Contact Notes)
Agency Address
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
Contact Notes:
Questions must be submitted online via the FedConnect message center at www.fedconnect.net by 11:59 p.m. ET on February 27, 2025. Refer to page 17 of the NOFA file for information regarding the individual program staff who may be contacted via FedConnect.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US7122_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (393.7 Kb)Award File: US7122_Award_FY2025.pdf (1.4 Mb)
Application File: US7122_Application_FY2025.zip (313.1 Kb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Application folder contains required forms for submission. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients.
| Project: | State Damage Prevention Grant (1.7 Mb) |
|---|---|
| Applicant: | Utility Notification Center of Colorado |
| Summary: |
The purpose of this program is to support the establishment or improvement of the overall quality and effectiveness of comprehensive state programs designed to protect underground pipeline facilities from excavation damage. The Utility Notification Center of Colorado requested and received $100,000 to fund the State Damage Prevention Grant, which will improve the quality of existing programs designed to prevent underground pipeline damage. |
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Training & Vocational ServicesEnergy
Hazardous Waste/Remediation/Brownfields
Rural Issues
Transportation