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CIRCULAR
U.S. Department
of Transportation
Federal Transit
Administration
FTA C 4702.xxx
DATE
Subject: TITLE VI GUIDELINES FOR FTA RECIPIENTS
CHAPTER III
REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS
This chapter describes the procedures that all applicants for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) financial assistance, including those entities that are applying for FTA assistance for the first time, should follow to comply with the DOT Title VI regulations.
1. ASSURANCES. To ensure compliance with 49 CFR §21.7, every application for financial assistance from FTA must be accompanied by an assurance that the applicant will carry out the program in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.This requirement shall be fulfilled when the applicant submits its Annual Certifications and Assurances to FTA. The text of FTA’s annual certifications and assurances is available on FTA’s website at [http://www.fta.dot.gov/grant_programs/applying_for_managing_grants/4004_ENG_HTML.htm].
2. FIRST-TIME APPLICANTS. In addition to the assurances set out above, entities applying for FTA funding for the first time shall provide information regarding their Title VI compliance history if they have previously received Federal funding from another Federal agency. This shall include a summary of any Title VI compliance review activities conducted in the last three years. The summary should include:
a. The purpose or reason for the review;
b. The name of the agency or organization that performed the review;
c. A summary of the findings and recommendations of the review; and
d. A report on the status and/or disposition of such findings and recommendations. This information should be relevant to the organizational entity actually submitting the application, not necessarily the larger agency or department of which the entity is a part.
6.1. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Circular, the following definitions will be used:
a. Adverse Effect means the totality of significant individual or cumulative human health or environmental effects, including interrelated social and economic effects, which may include, but are not limited to: bodily impairment, infirmity, illness or death; air, noise, and water pollution and soil contamination; destruction or disruption of man-made or natural resources; destruction or diminution of aesthetic values; destruction or disruption of community cohesion or a community's economic vitality; destruction or disruption of the availability of public and private facilities and services; vibration; adverse employment effects; displacement of persons, businesses, farms, or nonprofit organizations; increased traffic congestion, isolation, exclusion or separation of individuals within a given community or from the broader community; and the denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in the receipt of benefits of DOT programs, policies, or activities.
b. Applicant means an eligible entity or organization that submits an application for financial assistance under any FTA program.
c. Compliance means that a recipient or subrecipient has correctly implemented the requirements of this Circular.
d. Discrimination refers to any intentional or unintentional pattern or practice which has the purpose or effect of excluding from participation in or denying the benefits of, any program or activity, or otherwise subjecting a person to unequal treatment under any program or activity, because of race, color, or national origin.
e. Deficient refers to a condition where a recipient or subrecipient has not followed any or all of this Circular’s guidance or procedures.
f. Disproportionate Effect means:
(1) an effect predominately borne by a members of a minority race, color or national origin population and/or low-income population; or
(2) an effect suffered by members of a minority race, color or national origin population and/or low-income population that is appreciably more severe or greater in magnitude than the adverse effect that will be suffered by members of the non-minority population and/or non-low income population; or
(3) an incidence (or prevalence) of an effect, a risk of an effect, or likely exposure to environmental hazards, that would potentially cause adverse effects on members of a minority and/or low-income population that significantly exceeds that experienced by a comparable reference population.
g. Environmental Justice Activity means an action taken by DOT, FTA, or a recipient or subrecipient of FTA funding to identify and address adverse and disproportionate effects of its policies, programs, or activities on minority and/or low-income populations, consistent with Executive Order 12898 and the DOT Order 5610.2 on Environmental Justice.
h. Fixed Guideway means a public transportation facility using and occupying a separate right-of-way or rail for the exclusive use of public transportation and other high occupancy vehicles, or using a fixed catenary system and a right-of-way usable by other forms of transportation.
i. FTA Activity means any program of assistance authorized by the Federal Transit Laws, under Title 23 that are administered by FTA.
j. Grantee means a direct recipient of federal financial assistance from FTA.
k. Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons are persons for whom English is not their primary language and who have a limited ability to speak, understand, read or write English. It includes people who reported to the U.S. Census that they do not speak English well or do not speak English at all.
l. Low-Income Person means a person whose median household income is at or below the Department of Health and Human Services poverty level.
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The
Federal Transit Administration
has requested that SMART conduct a more detailed demographic
analysis under this circular for
the public to see. The statistics as evidenced by the
U.S. census *(6)*(7) for the same service areas shows the highest
number of low income persons in Michigan are in the areas where both the bus
service reductions are and the freeway expansion projects are located.
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m. Low-Income Population means any readily identifiable group of low-income persons who live in geographic proximity, and, if circumstances warrant, geographically dispersed/transient persons (such as migrant workers or Native Americans) who will be similarly affected by a recipient’s program or activity.
n. MinorityMinority Persons include the following:
(1) American Indian and Alaska Native, which refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.
(2) Asian, which refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.
(3) Black or African American Populations, which refers to peoples having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
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The federal grants for the Suburban Mobility Authority
for Regional Transportation ~ SMART is documented to
be $14.9 Million for 2003.*(5) It is the legal and ethical
responsibly of the Michigan Department of Transportation to
provide for this.
On December 7, 2006,
the Federal Transit Administration commented on the claim of
Complaint #DOT 2006-0238 **
that state fuel taxes were shifted away from the Livonia SMART buses, and decided that they must make a public demographic report which was never done. Thus, it is up the registered voters next August 2018 to check NO, if they want to end the federal and state cuts without harm. This choice will likely mean more money and bus service as it will be possible for transit advocates to learn the use of federal mandates. These are effective based on evidence presented throughout this report. There are good reasons to support local transit taxes but imperial greed from profiteering without regard to environment standards and affordable costs are not one of them
The U.S. census statistics shows that the freeway expansion projects and bus service reductions are in the exact same areas of the highest minority populations. The problem is not market
failure but government failure.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Transit Administration
400 Seventh St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
See ~ Letter to the U.S. Department
of Transportation in the References and Publications
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(4) Hispanic or Latino Populations, which includes persons of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
(5) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, which refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
(6) Multiracial Populations, which include persons having origins in more than one of the Federally-designated racial categories.
o. Minority Population means any readily identifiable group of minority persons who live in geographic proximity and, if circumstances warrant, geographically dispersed/transient populations (such as migrant workers or Native Americans) who will be similarly affected by a recipient or subrecipient’s program or activity.
p. National Origin means the particular nation in which a person was born, or where the person's parents or ancestors were born.
q. Noncompliance refers to an FTA determination that the recipient or subrecipient has engaged in a pattern or practice of activities that have had the purpose or effect of denying persons the benefits of, excluding from participation in, or subjecting persons to discrimination in the recipient’s program or activity
r. Predominantly Minority Area means a geographic area, such as a neighborhood, Census tract, or traffic analysis zone, where the proportion of minority persons residing in that area exceeds the average proportion of minority persons in the recipient’s service area.
s. Predominantly Low-Income Area means a geographic area, such as a neighborhood, Census tract, or traffic analysis zone, where the proportion of low-income persons residing in that area exceeds the average proportion of low-income persons in the recipient’s service area.
t. Recipient means any State, political subdivision, instrumentality, or any public or private agency, institution, department or other organizational unit receiving financial assistance from FTA.
u. Secretary means the Secretary of the Department of Transportation.
v. Service Standard/Policy means an established policy or service performance measure used by a transit provider or other recipient, or subrecipient as a means to plan, program, or distribute services and benefits within its service area.
w. Subrecipient means any entity that receives FTA financial assistance as a pass-through from another entity.
x. Title VI Compliance Report refers to a recipient’s triennial submissions, provided either to FTA or to the subrecipient’s direct recipient, containing information in response to the requirements of this Circular.
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