Regulatory Services

The regulatory or rulemaking process is a powerful way to influence the real-world outcomes of laws passed by Congress, and is an important step to ensuring implementation is favorable to our client’s needs. TFG’s regulatory practice is built on a comprehensive understanding of agency policy and rulemaking processes. TFG professionals have been working with, or have served as, senior staff at federal and state agencies for decades. We use this experience to devise and implement innovative solutions and strategies to achieve effective regulatory outcomes for our clients, and, among other things, put you face-to-face with program officers and decision-makers within key agencies to advocate for your interests.

Why Choose TFG?

  • Develop and submit comments on agency rulemakings, guidance, proposed rules, interim final rules, advisory documents, policy manuals, supplemental proposed rules, and amendatory language
  • Advocate at federal agencies, the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Management and Budget, and Congress
  • Devise innovative solutions for our client’s regulatory challenges
  • Track and monitor regulations and policies
  • Research and analyze agency rules, regulations, policies, and objectives

Case Studies

4F Waiver

TFG worked with the Transportation Corridor Agencies to secure a legislative fix to a 4F regulatory hurdle that prohibited transportation projects funded with federal dollars from having an adverse impact on parks and historic properties. Without the waiver, a multi-billion dollar toll road would have either been stopped in its entirety or incurred significant delays and legal expenses. Working with House and Senate Committees, the Department of Transportation, the Trust for Historic Preservation, and national environmental groups, TFG and its client crafted a provision in federal transportation authorization legislation that permitted an exception to the law when both a park facility and the highway are identified in the same planning process and meant to coexist. The legislative fix avoided construction delays and costly litigation.

Executive Order on FFRMS

In January 2015, the Obama Administration issued Executive Order 13690, which updates the original 1977 Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) Executive Order to help reduce the risk and cost of future flood disasters by requiring future federally-funded investments in and around floodplains to adopt higher flood standards. TFG worked to educate its local government clients on the impacts of the Executive Order on their federally-funded projects and ensured Congress and the Administration understood the impacts of the new requirements on local communities. TFG continues to work with clients through the implementation of the Executive Order and will continue to ensure that local governments in the floodplain are not unfairly burdened by the new requirements.

EPA Integrated Planning

TFG has worked on behalf of the TFG-managed Perfect Storm Communities Coalition (PSC) to advocate for a regulatory approach consistent with the Clean Water Act (CWA) that provides local governments the flexibility needed to meet major regulatory challenges in a more cost-effective way. These efforts resulted in the release of EPA's Integrated Planning Framework, which allows a municipality to meet multiple CWA requirements by identifying efficiencies from separate wastewater and stormwater programs and sequencing investments so that the highest priority projects are addressed first, saving municipalities significant time and ratepayer resources. TFG continues to work with PSC to advocate for the codification of EPA Integrated Planning Framework and increased flexibility in meeting CWA obligations.

Services & Issue Areas of Expertise

Transportation

Transportation

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Broadband & Telecommunications

Broadband & Telecommunications

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Economic & Community Development/Housing

Economic & Community Development/Housing

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Environment & Sustainability

Environment & Sustainability

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Health Care & Social Services

Health Care & Social Services

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Public Safety

Public Safety

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Disaster Preparedness & Recovery

Disaster Preparedness & Recovery

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Flood Issues

Flood Issues

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Water Resources

Water Resources

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US Congressional Calendar

TFG Grants Team Welcomes Mia Barthel, Newest Staff Member
Alex Yiannoutsos
/ Categories: News, News & Alerts, Grants

TFG Grants Team Welcomes Mia Barthel, Newest Staff Member

Mia will support TFG Grants services to prepare client projects to the highest standards and secure competitive funding.

WASHINGTON D.C. – TFG,LLC (TFG) is pleased to welcome Mia Barthel as Grants Analyst/Researcher to support the rapidly growing TFG Grants team in all aspects of the federal funding process. Based in Boise, Idaho, Mia was previously a Grant Writer for Jesse Tree of Idaho where she developed grant proposals for over 40 of the nonprofit’s federal government, foundation, and corporate sponsors. She was also responsible for the research, development, and submission of over 100 grants and raised $2 million in funding for eviction and homelessness prevention initiatives.

“We’re so happy to have Mia on our team,” said Heidi Schott, TFG Grants Director. “Her experience and passion for environmental justice – which is currently a focus area for federal legislative and grant opportunities - combined with her interest the federal grant process makes her an excellent resource to our clients.”

TFG Grants provides a full suite of grant services including but not limited to project development and readiness, grant training, grant project advocacy, grant writing, and project specific grant research and funding strategy. Since 2015, TFG has helped our clients secure over $3 billion in competitive federal, state, and foundation funding, not including congressionally directed spending projects. Recent passage of several federal funding packages including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provide communities new and expanded opportunities to fund their projects. Mia will support TFG Grants services to prepare client projects to the highest standards and secure competitive funding.

Prior to joining TFG, Mia interned as a Sustainability Consultant and as a Transportation and Mobility Intern. She is particularly focused on environmental justice and has a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Boise State University.

For more information about TFG, please visit our website at www.thefergusongroup.com.

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