Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 17, 2022
Subject
SUBJECT: THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT (IIJA) FIVE-YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE Metro’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Five-Year Implementation Plan, included as Attachment A.
Issue
ISSUE
Staff has developed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Five-Year Implementation Plan (“the Plan”) to identify eligible candidate projects and to position them strategically for competitive grant applications when they are sufficiently ready. The Plan will help Metro prepare for upcoming grant cycles, obtain early feedback from Metro project managers, and potentially maximize the amount of funding received.
Background
BACKGROUND
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the IIJA (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or BIL). The IIJA makes available more than $550 billion for transportation investments over the five-year period from Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022 through FFY 2026 for existing and new discretionary and formula grant funding opportunities administered on annual application cycles. Metro is eligible for many of the existing and new grants in the IIJA.
The Plan identifies the schedule of upcoming IIJA discretionary grant programs and pairs them, preliminarily, with Metro candidate projects. The Plan will help best position Metro to obtain the funding in the IIJA critical to addressing the funding need in Metro’s growing capital program. This item fulfills staff’s promise to return with a strategic plan to secure funding from the IIJA within a year of its passage.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Metro has already submitted grant applications for several IIJA programs. Through October 2022, Metro has pursued eleven federal competitive funding opportunities (see Table 1) and was successful in attaining a $104.16 million grant award from the Low or No Emission grant program for Zero Emission Buses and NextGen bus improvements in August 2022. Five of the eleven programs have yet to announce results at the time of this report.
Metro also received a Letter of Intent for funding the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor Phase 1 Project up to $908 million from the Expedited Project Delivery Pilot Program. Staff also received approval in February 2022 for its request to FTA to enter the New Starts Project Development grant pipeline for the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor Project.
To further ensure Metro’s success in securing federal grants through the IIJA 5-year authorization period, staff aims to undertake the Plan implementation through the following strategies:
1. Establish workplans and streamline the grant decision making process.
2. Coordinate planning initiatives to ensure the most competitive candidate projects are considered for each discretionary grant cycle.
3. Identify the readiest projects that align with Metro Board policies and priorities, matched to the best funding source for eligibility and competitiveness.
4. Bolster transparency across Metro departments and provide a structure for progress reporting on project status.
The Plan is a living document and will be updated annually. It supports the delivery of Metro’s “pillar” projects -- and other major capital projects identified by the Metro Board, the Measure M Expenditure Plan, and in the agency’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), including projects that can be implemented in time for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Plan also considers projects best implemented in partnership with other agencies, like those that can be developed through the regional Infrastructure LA initiative, which is a collaboration of the region’s infrastructure stakeholders to maximize community impacts, and support for projects that may be delivered by partner agencies in major programs such as freight and active transportation. The Plan is not exhaustive in that it only considers major capital projects. Operations and state of good repair projects are generally less eligible or competitive for federal grants and Metro may have the opportunity to apply for smaller pilot projects not identified here.
The focus of the Plan is on assessing the readiness of eligible projects for submittal to a federal grant program. Readiness is the most important criteria when evaluating candidate projects for discretionary grants because projects that are not well-defined or at an early stage of design or environmental clearance and for which we do not have a full funding plan are not likely to be competitive and present a risk to Metro if they were funded. If a project scope needs to change considerably or advanced design reveals significant cost increases, the grantor agency may withhold funding and/or Metro may need to compile additional resources to deliver the project.
The Plan also provides a structure and calendar for progress reporting on Metro’s activities related to securing funding from the IIJA. Metro staff will submit applications using input from this Plan when the projects are approved by the Board, in Measure M or listed in the LRTP and when existing state or local funds are available to supply the required non-federal match. In such cases where Metro does not have a committed non-federal match, the Board will need to approve the programming of these funds prior to submitting the grant applications.
Metro staff has been and will continue employing the Evaluative Criteria Framework (ECF) to address each federal program’s grant requirements and Metro’s funding priorities. Metro staff utilizes the framework to guide the selection of projects that are eligible, competitive, vetted by community residents, and are deliverable within the deadlines of the various grant funding programs.
The Implementation Plan
The Plan lays out the schedule and criteria for IIJA grants, compiles information on all Metro Board-approved projects and those related to Board-supported activities and relates the projects to the IIJA grants using the Evaluative Criteria Framework.
The following table shows the timeline of IIJA Plan activities between the last quarter of 2022 through the first half of 2023.
The next upcoming discretionary grants are the Federal-State Partnership, PROTECT, Corridor Charging, and RAISE. The Plan identifies candidates for these grants, based on the known or expected grant criteria and project information available at this time. The candidate projects are expected to change as we near each grant cycle. More information will be obtained about the specific types of projects that USDOT is seeking to fund and Metro internal stakeholders will provide more information to Metro grants staff about known projects or identify new projects for consideration.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Plan would have a positive financial impact to the agency as the Plan would position Metro to compete strategically for the IIJA-authorized federal discretionary funds to leverage state funds and local sales taxes revenues and deliver Metro’s priority projects.
Impact to Budget
No impact to Metro’s budget is anticipated as a result of the Board receiving and filing this item.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The IIJA Five-Year Implementation Plan identifies the Metro Board-approved candidate projects that best align with respective discretionary federal funding programs. Board-approved candidate projects must have separately undergone an equity assessment and a review by the Office of Equity and Race as part of an appropriate assessment tool, such as the Rapid Equity Assessment Tool, or the Equity Platform section of an approved Board Report. Current candidate projects include the West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor Project, which benefits historically underserved and transit-dependent communities by providing new high-quality rail transit service, the LA River Path through downtown Los Angeles, which passes through and would provide an active transportation option for historically underserved and marginalized communities that Metro defines as Equity Focus Communities (EFC), and Zero Emission Truck Infrastructure, which will support the deployment of zero-emission heavy duty trucks that will help displace diesel truck operations that create air quality impacts for EFCs located adjacent to high-volume freight highway corridors.
Moreover, as equity provisions are incorporated in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for IIJA grant programs, Metro will continue to evaluate all projects through the lens of equity. The federal grant programs authorized through the IIJA offer an opportunity to advance our commitment to equity as they make available the vital funding to eliminate disparities and provide equitable access to opportunities, restore community connectivity, decarbonize transportation-related emissions, and promote environmental justice. Additionally, to ensure that disadvantaged communities receive the benefits of federal investments, President Biden has created the Justice40 Initiative which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution. Each of the IIJA grants have included or are expected to include criteria consistent with Justice40 that are targeted to disadvantaged communities and provide environmental justice.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
This item supports Strategic Plan Goal #5, which seeks to “Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization.” The Plan helps ensure fiscal responsibility in how financial decisions are made and transparency in the agency’s financial decisions.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
The Plan is a living document and is subject to change as information is made available about the grant specifics and potential Metro projects. The Plan will be updated at least annually based on the information received and will be distributed within the agency. Staff will continue to provide timely updates to the Board.
Metro staff will work with and receive input from internal stakeholders including the Metro IIJA Tiger Team.
Metro staff will continue stakeholder engagement with external partners-including but not limited to Infrastructure LA, local jurisdictions, municipal transit agencies, and subregional Councils of Governments--and seek continued opportunities for collaboration going forward.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Metro IIJA Five-Year Implementation Plan
Prepared_by
Prepared by:
James Andrew, Senior Transportation Planning Manager, (213) 547-4306
Anthony Burton, Manager, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-5538
Ashad Hamideh, Senior Director, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-5539
Craig Hoshijima, Executive Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 547-4290
Michael Cano, Executive Officer (interim), Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3010
Laurie Lombardi, Senior Executive Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3251
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: James de la Loza, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-2920
