BOATING INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAMS 

Compiled by Commodore Donofrio

Who is eligible to apply?
Program funds are available to public and private agencies and marinas and other facilities that provide transient tie-up opportunities for non-trailerable (26' or over in length) recreational boats.  Never begin a project with out first partnering with the approved State Agency.

Where do funds come from?
Funds come from the Sport Fish Restoration Account of the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund. This Trust Fund is contained within the Highway Trust and has been reauthorized under the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 2005. The funds result from a Federal excise tax on fishing equipment, trolling motors, import duties on boats and motorboat fuels. These funds are Federally administered by the  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

How are funds awarded?
All funds are awarded to an appropriate State Agency. The appropriate designated Agency may vary from state to state to act as the administering entity for the BIG Program. Please see links to the State Agency for  your State Elsewhere in this Outline. The Federal Government encourages local units of government and private facilities to participate in this program by submitting grant requests for transient facilities to the State Agency. Applicants will be notified if their project was not selected at the State level to go to the Federal level. States are generally notified by January of each year of grant awards. The Agencies are required in turn to notify remaining applicants of the status. Awarded federal funds can be used to reimburse up to 75% of the approved project costs. The remaining "matching" funds must come from the grant recipient.

Interacting with Grantees:  A large majority of grantee interaction occurs in the Regional Offices.  Regional program representatives are available to advise grantees on issues relating to eligible activities, cost reimbursement, successful techniques used by other grantees, etc.

New Jersey Department of Transportation Marine Resources

Ms. Genevieve Boehm
Boat Infrastructure Coordinator
NJ Maritime Resources
NJ Parkway Ave 2nd Floor
E & O Bldg, PO Box 837
Ewing, NJ 08625
TEL: 609-530-4772
FAX: 609-530-4860
genevieve.boehm@dot.state.nj.us

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commision

Mr. Brian Barner
Federal Aid Coordinator
PA Fish & Boat Commission
Bureau of Administrative Svcs
P.O. Box 67000
Harrisburg, PA 17106-7000
TEL 717- 705-7913
FAX 717- 705-7901
bbarner@state.pa.us

Delaware DNR Fish and Wildlife (no direct BIG link found)

Mr. Lynn A. Herman
Federal Aid Administrator
Dept. of Natural Res. & Env. Control
Division of Fish and Wildlife
89 Kings Highway
Dover, DE 19901
TEL: 302-739 5296
FAX: 302-739 6157
lynn.herman@state.de.us

Maryland DNR  application

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/grantsandloans/big_manual.pdf

Mr. Mike Ewing
Department of Natural Resources
Tawes State Office, Building E-4
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401
TEL: 410-260-8440
FAX: 410-260-8404
mewing@dnr.state.md.us

VA

Mr. Robert G. Clark
Federal Aid Coordinator
Dept of Health
Division of Wastewater Engineering
1500 East Main St, Ste 115
Richmond, VA 23219
TEL: 804-786-1759
FAX: 804-225-4003
rclark@vdh.state.va.us

Funding Levels
There are two levels of funding within the Boating Infrastructure Grant Program:

Tier I: An annual maximum of $100,000 is available to each  state applying under the Tier I portion of the BIG Program. However, some State Agencies may not make all the funds available for these projects; portions of the dollars goes to administrative costs. Tier I is designed for smaller projects that add transient boating infrastructure to the area and to compete at the state level. Projects will be selected at a minimum funding level of $30,000 and a maximum of $90,000. Selected projects must still be authorized by USFWS.

Tier II: The remainder of the BIG Program annual funding (2% of the fund money, but not less than $8 million nationally, less whatever is awarded under Tier I) is typically awarded to larger projects under Tier II. Tier II projects that qualify at the state level are then competitively judged at the national level. Top scoring projects are awarded an eligible for funding status by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

 Please note: While both tiers of the BIG Program are very competitive; the level of national competition within Tier II is especially high. Successful projects are of a superior nature and are submitted with very thorough applications. To be competitive in Tier II, we recommend that even the best projects be submitted with a substantial percentage of matching dollars.

The CBYCA recommend that if you are considering applying for a Tier II project that you contact us and the State Agency early in the application process so that we can provide assistance on the details of your application.

Eligible Projects
The Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Program is designed to provide federal funds for the creation or renovation of tie-up facilities for transient, nontrailerable recreational boats 26 feet or larger.

All BIG facilities must be built in waters deep enough for boats 26 feet and larger to navigate at a minimum of six feet of depth at low tide. One-time dredging will be allowed to provide access between open water and the tie-up facility and, although navigational aids maybe installed, they will be limited to allowing safe passage between open water and the facility. Additionally, structures built with these federal funds will be expected to last at least 20 years.  Do not confuse this one time dredging as maintenance dredging.

All facilities constructed under this program must be:

• Secure and safe with service available
• Designed and constructed so as to last at least 20 yrs
• Used by transient boaters (boaters not at their home port and staying not more than 10 consecutive days)
• Designed to accommodate boats 26' in length or greater
• In boating access waters at least 6 feet deep (at low water)
• On designated navigable waters
• Within two miles of a public pumpout
• Open to the public
• Used for the original stated grant purpose throughout the useful life of the project
• Maintained throughout their useful life

Conditions
Facilities that participate in the program must allow the feature(s) constructed under the BIG Program to be open to the general public and provide access to shore along with other existing basic features of the facility such as fuel, pumpouts, and restrooms. Some type of reservation system must also be available to ensure boaters space when they arrive. Access to other nonessential features of the facility is not required. This generally would provide that Private Membership Yacht Clubs may qualify if providing access to certain required portions of the facility to the transient boater.   The Private factor is one to be considered.  Most clubs are open to guest and visitors but the private portion of the clubs facilities may be limited to registered members.

Reasonable rates (prevailing rates in the area) may be charged to boaters for transient mooring facilities constructed under the BIG Program.

• Activities or construction that does not provide a benefit to the public.
• Law enforcement patrols
• Law enforcement activities against the applicant (i.e. un-permitted structures)
• Law enforcement violations (i.e. operations without permits)
• Degradation of valuable natural resources or cultural or historic nature of the area
• Maintenance dredging
• Routine, custodial and/or janitorial maintenance activities (those that occur regularly on an annual or more frequent basis)
• Construction or maintenance of facilities designed for trailerable boats
• Construction of slips for long term rental (more than 10 days)
• Dry land storage or haul out facilities

When is the application deadline?
The next (FY 2007) application deadline is August 15, 2006. The grant money is authorized under the Sport Fishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998, and its funding has been extended through the Federal Fiscal Year 2009 (which ends September 30, 2009). All grant proposals for both Tier I and Tier II projects, are due to the State Agency by August 15, 2006. Typically, applicants will be informed in January 2007 of approval/denial of funding for project requests. Approved projects can be expected to begin Spring 2007. Work must be completed within 3 years of project approval.