1.  When should a Facility record be created in TRACS? What approval status is needed to attach it the performance report?

A Facility record should be created and approved after the facility is constructed, renovated, or acquired and prior to the completion of the performance report. The Inventory module used by grantors and grant recipients to create, adjust, manage, approve and monitor real property and facility records pertaining to acquisition or disposal actions which serve a grant purpose and therefore have a Federal nexus.

A facility record must have at least the Non-federal approval (a status of "Awaiting Federal Approval") or Federal Approval  (status of "Final Approved") in order to be available to attach to the Performance Report. 

2. How are the terms "site", "facility" and "component" defined? What is the naming convention?

Site = A site is the area in which one or more facilities is located. For example, a site could be Cherry Creek State Park. At the site, there may exist a recreational boating facility, an education center facility, and recreational fishing facilities. 

The suggested naming convention is to enter the commonly known name designated for the site (ex. Blue Spring Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Eagle Valley Reservoir, Clark County Shooting Complex, Cherry Creek State Park, etc.). 

Facility = A facility is any establishment, structure, or structures under one ownership at one site (see the grant definitions above). Facilities correspond to Activity Tag 1’s on the Performance Matrix. Facility records are created in the TRACS Inventory Module to store information about facilities acquired with federal funding and provides a place to document adjustments and disposal actions.

The suggested naming convention is to enter the commonly known name designated for the facility (ex. Pelican Bay Marina or Carson City Rifle and Pistol Range).

Component = A component is an amenity or feature of a facility, such as docks, launch ramps, fish cleaning stations, pump out boats, parking areas, campgrounds/shelters, restrooms, etc. A facility may have more than one component. Some facility types do not have components. Components are listed on the Performance Matrix as Activity Tag 2’s.

The suggested naming convention is to enter the commonly known name designated for the component. Note that components may have a formal name (ex. Colorado Clays Trap Shooting Range, or Pelican Bay Fishing Pier), or a component may simply be named for the type (ex. Courtesy Boat Dock, Floating Restroom, or Viewing Platform). If there are multiple components of the same type, consider how to label them to differentiate them (ex. Parking Lot A and B, Floating Restroom 1, 2, and 3, etc.)

3.  How do we count facilities for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) in a multi-year grant? Should we count the actual number of facilities or the total facilities multiplied the years of the grant, i.e. do we count 4 actual facilities or 12 facilities for the objective since it carried out over 3 years?  

Enter the unit of measure for the objective as the total number of individual (i.e., distinct on-the-ground) facilities or areas maintained and operated annually (if it varies from year to year, count all individual areas/facilities to be operated and maintained during the grant). To avoid double counting, do not multiply the number of facilities or areas by the number of years in the grant. The performance report will allow the same objective to be reported on from year to year and includes a caveat that the “Totals to date represent a cumulative total of all periods of performance and may exceed the objective.”

See the TRACS Multi-Year Facilities O&M Job Aid job aid for more information.

4. We sometimes we have two agencies funding a joint construction project for the same site through separate grants (such as a shared float with a fuel station funded by BIG through one agency and a pump out station funded by CVA through another agency). Would both agencies enter facility records to complete their performance reports or use the same site/facility record?

In most cases, the recommended approach is for each agency to create their own site and facility records based on what they are funding (ex. agency A creates site and facility record for the fuel station funded under the BIG program, and agency B creates site and facility record for the pump out station funded under the CVA program) and attach it to their respective performance reports.

There may be some nuanced cases when agencies may be coordinating closely to enter a shared facility into TRACS – consult with your Regional Office and/or your regional representative on the TRACS Working Group for guidance.

5.  Can we enter estimates in the summary of facility costs in TRACS? Are the facility funding costs auditable?

Funding amounts entered as part of a facility record are meant to be the actual costs and not estimates. The Office of Conservation Investment recommends as a Best Management Practice that recipients do not create a facility record until the facility is created. Some of the required information that must be populated may not be known by the recipient until the facility is finished and complete. Actual costs are needed in the facility record, similar to lands records, in the event of a potential situation where the recipient disposes of, or experiences a loss of control, and the Federal program requires compensation for perhaps not receiving the full value of its investment (useful life). TRACS is not the system of auditable record for any financial information under our grant programs.

6. If an agency has a facility that was constructed, acquired or renovated prior to TRACS (such as prior to Jan. 1 2021) and the facility now has an adjustment (such as a disposal), do we document the adjustment in TRACS? Does that necessitate creating the facility record in the system first?

TRACS facility records and adjustments are currently only required for new construction, renovation or acquisition funded by grants with a start date on or after Jan. 1 2021. Contact your Regional office for additional guidance on how to document adjustments to older records not in TRACS.

7. Can the mapper zoom scale for drawing a polygon be elevated to accommodate for larger site areas (ex. Lake McConaughy from training example was too big for the zoom scale to draw the site outline around the entire state park).

The map zoom scale for drawing a polygon will be reviewed. In the meantime, if you have a larger area to map, please import a shapefile or contact the TRACS Help Desk for assistance. 

8. Is the useful life specific to just the grant-funded (federal share and non-federal share) components of the facility or for the facility?

The TRACS Facility workflow is designed to capture records information about facilities and structures that are constructed, acquired, or improved using grant funding (federal share and non-federal share). Useful life may be entered for all components (assuming they share the same useful life) or entered individually for each component. Useful life is specific to the grant funded facility and components of that facility.

9. Does the useful life start date have to match the facility completion date or can it be different (such as a component completed and opened for use earlier or later)?

The useful life start date does not need to match the facility completion date if the useful life for a component is different. For example, a component (such as a restroom) that was completed and opened for use earlier or later than the overall facility completion date. Consult with your Regional Office for additional guidance specific to your specific grant award.

10. For Boating Access grants, are fish cleaning stations an eligible component of a facility?

Fish cleaning stations may be eligible if they help to improve public access of the waters of the United States, see 517 FW 7 Exhibit 1 (L “installing fish cleaning stations”): https://www.fws.gov/policy/e1517fw7.html. Consult with your Regional Office for additional guidance specific to your specific grant award.

11. For the Summary of Facility Costs, is this the breakdown of the costs specific to the facility rather than the costs for the overall grant? Does this include administrative costs for staffing, etc.?

The ‘Summary of Facility Costs’ table is specific to each facility or adjustment record, and includes the Federal share, match share, and additional funds. This may or may not include associated administrative costs depending on the structure of your award – contact your Regional office for additional guidance. 

12. Why is the location field with the question “How well does the shape represent the intended area” no longer present in the Facility (or Real Property) records? 

A mapped location (polygon, point or shapefile) is required for Facility and Real Property Records. The question “How well does the shape represent the intended area” is not displayed because the map is intended to depict the general location and not necessarily its exact or precise location and acreage.

13. What is an example of an administrative adjustment to a facility record?

Examples of an administrative adjustment to a facility record could be a name change (ex. outgoing Governor would like to rename a boat ramp after themselves) or a correction to the components or location. Consult with your Regional Office for additional guidance.

14. Why do non-boating grants have the under and over $25K facilities reporting table? The table requires that a facility record be attached to update the number of facilities over $25K. For facilities under $25K, do we enter the number only or do we enter facility record(s) as well?

For non-boating grant programs, the “Report on Activity” table will display two columns for the unit of measure with options to enter the “# Facilities under $25K” and/or “# Facilities $25K or greater”. The under $25K column is available to identify the number of facilities constructed under the award that were less than $25K (which does not meet the definition of a capital improvement). 

For facilities under $25K, enter the number of facilities constructed/acquired (a facility record is not required).

15. Can we attach a facility record to more than one grant (for example, if exterior work is being funded by grant A, interior renovations funded by grant B - or if we have a new grant for a capital improvement to an existing facility in TRACS)? If so, does the adjustment information display on the report?

Yes, a facility record may be attached to more than one grant performance report.

For example, grant A funding exterior work and grant B funding interior work to the same facility. All approved facility records (regardless of group assignment) are available for selection to attach to a grant performance report. However, the facility record can only be edited by users assigned the Facility Data Editor role for the assigned group. If a user is assigned to another group and is responsible for editing a facility outside his/her group, contact the TRACS Help Desk for assistance with group permissions and/or setting up a shared group. 

As another example, a grant funded the construction of a facility and a facility record was attached to the grant’s performance report upon completion. Later on, a new grant may fund a capital improvement that is made to the facility. An adjustment should be added to the facility record for the capital improvements. On the performance report, the same facility record is attached. In the performance report, the facility record link is displayed, which highlights the original facility record and the adjustment.

Note that TRACS facility records and adjustments are currently only required for new construction, renovation or acquisition funded by grants with a start date on or after Jan. 1, 2021. Contact your Regional office for additional guidance on how to document adjustments to older records not in TRACS.

16. For records with a mapped location (Site and Facility Records, Real Property Records, some Performance Reports), the PDFs generated from TRACS do not include the mapped location, will it be included in the future?

This issue is currently under consideration by the TRACS Working Group.    

17. Do we enter all components at a facility or just the components that are federally funded?

We recommend entering the components that are federally funded (and therefore have a federal nexus). Consult with your regional office for additional guidance. 

18. If an amendment to the grant includes funding changes, does this automatically update any of the funding information in the facility record or adjustment record?

No, the Summary of Facility Costs table, located in the facility and/or adjustment record, is not linked to the Federal Award information associated with the grant (which may encompass other activities).

19. How do we report on facilities construction, renovation, or acquisition on the interim performance report(s) in a multi-year grant? Similarly, how do we report on Operations and Maintenance (O&M) in a multi-year grant?

In the case of a multi-year grant, the facility record(s) will need to be linked to the report for the period of performance when the facility was constructed, renovated, or acquired (such as the final year). For interim years when the facility has not yet been completed, the user should select “No” on the page which asks if you were able to “construct, renovate, or acquire facilities during this period of performance?” Then enter an explanation (see screenshot example).

Explanation for no report for period example

When reporting on O&M during interim periods of performance, answer “yes” if O&M activities occurred and you have a value to report (ex. 12 facilities operated and maintained this period of performance) or “no” if no O&M occurred during this period (then enter an explanation).

20. We periodically replace pump outs (i.e. pump out units or motors) that were previously constructed and have a Facility record existing in TRACS.  Would this be considered a renovation and require an adjustment to the existing facility record in TRACS?

If you entered a facility record in TRACS for the original pump outs and they are replaced as part of a new grant, this would be entered under the objective for ‘Facility Construction, Renovation, or Acquisition’ and an adjustment would be added to the existing facility record. A facility record can be attached to more than one performance report, so the same facility record would be linked to the performance report for the pump out replacement. In the performance report PDF, the appendix includes the original facility record and the adjustment details.

An adjustment needs to be entered because replacing the pump out is considered a 'renovation' rather than 'maintenance' because it extends the useful life. 

21. We periodically replace pump outs (i.e. pump out units or motors) that were previously constructed and do not have a Facility record existing in TRACS. Do we need to create a Facility record?

Yes, a new Facility record needs to be entered because the Facility now has a Federal nexus associated with it. The grant would need to include an objective for ‘Facility Construction, Renovation, or Acquisition’ because replacing the pump out is considered a 'renovation' rather than 'maintenance' because it extends the useful life. 

22. If a grant includes funding "maintenance" to a facility such as the replacement of boards on a dock or paving a gravel parking lot, would this fall under the ‘Facility Operations and Maintenance (O&M)’ objective or ‘Facility Construction, Renovation, or Acquisition’ objective?

It depends on the scale of the project and if it meets the definition of a capital improvement (50 CFR 80.2), meaning:

If the project meets the above definition, then it would be entered using the TRACS objective of ‘Facility Construction, Renovation, or Acquisition’ objective and would require a Facility record. If it does not meet the definition of a ‘capital improvement’, then it would be entered as the objective of ‘Facility O&M’ and does not require a Facility record.

Note that 50 CFR 80 applies to Sport Fish Restoration (including Boating Access) and Wildlife Restoration.

23. Do dump stations, floating restrooms, pump out boats and/or pump out stations require a Facility record in TRACS?

Yes. Dump stations, floating restrooms, pump out boats, and/or pump out stations will need to have a facility record created in TRACS because this allows reporting on a national scale. Any significant work that extends its useful life would be considered a 'renovation' which requires an adjustment to the existing facility record (or creation of a new facility record if it is not in TRACS). 

The TRACS Working Group consulted with the States Organization for Boating Access (SOBA) to develop the facilities requirements for boating grants including the Clean Vessel Act (CVA). SOBA wanted TRACS to be able to report on the number of these components funded under the CVA program.  The solution to be able to provide this information to SOBA was to set up dump stations, floating restrooms, pump out boats, and pump out stations as  "components" of a Boat Pump out / Dump Station facility.