The Fish and Boat Commission Monday announced it is accepting proposals from interested parties seeking funding under the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Program.  Applications are due July 31.

BIG is a federal grant program administered in Pennsylvania by the PFBC, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service. 

This program provides grants for transient moorage (tie-ups) serving recreational motor boats 26 feet and longer.

Grants may be made to public and private operators of open-to-the-public boating facilities: municipal agencies (cities, towns, counties, etc.), state agencies (State Parks, DNR, Fish & Wildlife, etc.), and other government entities.

Eligible activities include the construction, renovation and maintenance of transient tie-up facilities.

Boating infrastructure refers to features that provide stopover places for transient non-trailerable recreational vessels to tie up. These features include transient slips, day docks, floating docks and fixed piers, navigational aids, and dockside utilities including electric, water, and pumpout stations.

The grant program will reimburse recipients for up to 75 percent of the costs for project design and engineering, development, expansion, and major rehabilitation. 

Successful applicants must agree to provide a minimum 25 percent grant match and be willing to enter into a long-term agreement to keep the facility open to the public for its useful life.

The program is a reimbursable grant program.  Grant funds will be disbursed to the recipient only after the project sponsor certifies expenditures have been made. 

Grant funds are awarded under the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program authorized by the Sportfishing and Boating Partnership Act of 1998 and funded by excise taxes on motorboat fuel.

For more information, visit the Commission's Boating Infrastructure Grant Program webpage or contact the BIG coordinator at 717-346-8196.

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[Posted: June 18, 2018]

6/25/2018