MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting proposals for the Boating Infrastructure Grant, or BIG, Program for federal fiscal year 2012.
BIG is a grant program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that reimburses up to 75 percent of costs for projects that construct, renovate or maintain tie-up facilities and related amenities for recreational transient vessels that are at least 26 feet long. It was authorized by Congress in 1998 and is funded by excise taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat fuel.
The division serves as the liaison between projects in North Carolina and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the BIG Program. Proposals must be submitted to the division to be considered for this funding opportunity.
Some examples of potentially eligible activities include transient slips, mooring buoys, day-docks, safe harbor facilities (including temporary safe anchorage or a harbor of refuge during a storm), floating and fixed piers and breakwaters, dinghy docks, restrooms, retaining walls, bulkheads, dockside utilities (water, electric, telephone, Internet), sewage pumpout stations, recycling and trash receptacles, one-time dredging, navigational aids and marine fueling stations.
BIG funds are distributed each year. Grants are available on a two-tiered basis. For Tier 1 grants, all states may receive up to $100,000 per grant cycle as long as proposals meet the program's guidelines. Tier 2 grants are reserved for large-scale, more expensive undertakings and are awarded on a nationwide competitive basis.
For information about grant availability, project eligibility and proposal development, please visit the division’s website at http://www.ncdmf.net/grants/index-grants.html or contact Kelly Price, Federal Aid Coordinator for the division, at P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557-0769. You may also contact Price at (252) 808-8168 or 800-682-2632 (in North Carolina only) or by e-mail at Kelly.Price@ncdenr.gov. The deadline for applications to be received by the division is Aug. 5. Electronic submission is preferred.
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