Boating Infrastructure Grant Program (Tier 2 - National) | F17AS00215

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00215

The Boating Infrastructure Grant Program (BIG) Tier 2 - National is a discretionary federal grant opportunity run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, designed to improve facilities that serve larger recreational boats traveling away from their home ports. The program exists because recreational boating is widespread in the United States (about 12 million registered boats), and a meaningful share of that fleet is made up of larger vessels (roughly 560,000 boats that are 26 feet or longer) that need appropriate transient moorage and related amenities when traveling. BIG was created under the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-178), codified at 16 U.S.C. 777g-1, and it operates as an amendment and extension of the broader Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act framework (16 U.S.C. 777). Funding is supported through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, and subsequent reauthorizations have continued the program and its allowable uses.

At its core, this opportunity funds the construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure facilities that accommodate transient recreational vessels that are at least 26 feet long and used primarily for pleasure (including boats that may be operated, leased, rented, or chartered for recreational purposes). The term "boating infrastructure" is defined broadly to include the structures, equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable for a facility to serve eligible vessels. That can cover a range of marina and harbor improvements aimed at making it practical and safe for larger transient boats to stop, dock, and access basic services while traveling.

A key concept in this grant is the focus on transient use. For BIG purposes, transient vessels are those that are passing through or by a location and staying up to 15 days. Projects funded through BIG must provide public access, which means the improved facilities cannot be restricted to private, members-only use. However, the facilities themselves may be publicly owned or privately owned, as long as the public access requirement is met.

Eligibility for this Tier 2 - National competition is limited to state-level applicants: the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (collectively referred to as "States" in the notice). In practice, that means applications are submitted by state governments (often through the state agency that administers boating or fish and wildlife programs), even though the actual on-the-ground projects may involve public or private marina operators and local partners.

This particular notice covers the FY 2018 BIG Tier 2 National grants and was posted under Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00215 on Grants.gov. The opportunity falls under CFDA 15.622 and is categorized under areas such as community development, environment, and natural resources. The application closing date listed for this notice was September 11, 2017, with timing set to allow review before a federal financial system blackout period. The program anticipated making around 10 awards, with a maximum award size (ceiling) of $1,500,000 per award.

Finally, it is worth noting the structure of the BIG program referenced in the notice: Tier 2 National grants are competed under this NOFO, while Tier 1 State grants are handled under a separate Grants.gov announcement (FY 2018 Tier 1 listed as F17AS00214) that may be published on a different schedule. This distinction matters for applicants because Tier 2 is the national competition described here, whereas Tier 1 is administered through a separate process and notice.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the community development, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Boating Infrastructure Grant Program (Tier 2 - National)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.622.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 18, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 11, 2017 This due date allows applications to be received and evaluated prior to the FBMS blackout period. It is 117 days after the estimated posting date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F17AS00215

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