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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.
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Tier II
Criteria
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Points
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(1)
Construct Tie-up Facilities
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15
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(2)
Provide partnership Efforts
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5-15
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(3) Use
Innovative Techniques
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0-15
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(4)
Include Other Funding Sources
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5-15
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(5) Are
Cost Efficient
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0-10
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(6)
Provide Way Point Linkage
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10
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(7)
Provide Access to Recreational Opportunities
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5-15
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(8)
Provide Significant Economic Impacts
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1-5
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(9)
Include Multi-State Efforts
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5
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(10) Total Possible
Points
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105
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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, non-trailerable recreational boats 26 feet or
larger.
What types of projects can be
funded?
- Mooring buoys
- Day-docks
- Navigational aids (channel markers,
buoys, directional information)
- Transient slips (slips that boaters
with non-trailerable recreational vessels occupy for no more than
10 consecutive days)
- Safe harbors for transients
- Floating docks and fixed piers
- Floating and fixed breakwaters
- Dinghy docks
- Restrooms
- Retaining walls
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- Bulkheads
- Dockside utilities
- Pumpout stations
- Recycling and trash receptacles
- Dockside electric service
- Dockside water supplies
- Dockside pay telephones
- Debris deflection booms
- Marine fueling stations
- Initial, one-time-only dredging,
only to provide transient vessels with safe channel depths to the
transient facility.
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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.
Projects are ineligible for funding if the
proposed activities include:
- 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.
Compiled by Commodore Donofrio
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