State seeks requests for US boating infrastructure grants

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting proposals for the Boating Infrastructure Grant, or BIG, Program for the coming federal fiscal year.

The 2024 request for proposals is for a grant program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that reimburses up to 75% of costs for projects to build, renovate or maintain tie-up facilities and related amenities for recreational transient vessels that are at least 26 feet long. The deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17.

The grant program 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.

Some examples of potentially eligible activities include transient slips, mooring buoys, day-docks, floating and fixed piers and breakwaters, dinghy docks, restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, retaining walls, bulkheads, dockside utilities (water, electric, telephone, Internet), sewage pump-out stations, recycling and trash receptacles, navigational aids and marine fueling stations. Applicants must have or intend to construct dedicated dockage for transient vessels to receive funding for these eligible activities.

BIG funds are awarded each year. Grants are available on a two-tiered basis. For Tier 1 – State grants, all states may receive up to $300,000 per grant cycle as long as proposals meet the program’s guidelines. Tier 2 – National grants are reserved for large-scale, more expensive undertakings and are awarded on a nationwide competitive basis. For this funding opportunity, applicants may apply for up to $300,000 under Tier 1 and up to $1.5 million under Tier 2.

For information about grant availability, project eligibility, and proposal development, visit the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Website, N.C. Boating Infrastructure Grant Program, or contact Vicky Pohoresky, federal aid coordinator for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, at 252-808-8016, or Vicky.Pohoresky@deq.nc.gov.