Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act | F19AS00202

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00202

The Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act funding opportunity (Boating Infrastructure Grants, or BIG) is a federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, built to improve boating facilities that serve larger recreational vessels traveling away from their home ports. It was created under the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-178) and codified at 16 U.S.C. 777g-1, as an amendment to the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777). The program is supported through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, and later reauthorizations have continued allowing those trust fund dollars to be used for boating infrastructure investments.

The basic need the program addresses is the scale of recreational boating in the United States, including a substantial number of boats that are 26 feet long or longer. BIG is specifically aimed at facilities that can accommodate these larger, pleasure-oriented recreational vessels, including boats that are operated, leased, rented, or chartered primarily for recreation. The program focuses on helping states and territories build out or upgrade the kinds of amenities and physical improvements that make transient stops safer and more practical for larger boats.

For this particular notice, the funding opportunity is the Fiscal Year 2020 BIG Tier 2 National competition, published as a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Tier 2 generally refers to larger, nationally competed projects (as distinct from Tier 1, which is handled through a separate state-focused announcement). Applicants are directed to find the full NOFO on Grants.gov using Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00202, and the related Tier 1 State NOFO is identified as F19AS00201 (noting it may be posted separately and potentially later).

Eligible applicants for this opportunity are state governments, which in BIG includes 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. In practice, these governmental applicants may propose projects that involve facilities that are publicly owned or privately owned, but the completed project must provide public access. That public access requirement is a core condition: even if the facility is private, the improvements supported with BIG funds cannot be restricted to a closed membership in a way that eliminates public benefit.

The types of activities supported are described broadly as construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure for eligible vessels. "Boating infrastructure" is defined in practical terms to include the structures, equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable for a facility to accommodate qualifying boats. While the summary text does not list every allowable cost item, the emphasis is on real-world marina and dockside functionality for larger transient boats, meaning the kinds of capital improvements and supporting features that help boats tie up, access docks safely, and use the facility during short stays.

A key operational concept in the program is the meaning of "transient." Under this opportunity, transient vessels are those that are passing through or stopping briefly, with stays up to 15 days. BIG-funded facilities are therefore aimed at serving visiting boaters rather than long-term, permanent moorage. The intent is to strengthen the network of stopover points that make longer trips feasible, safer, and more convenient for recreational boaters operating larger vessels.

Administratively, this opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant. The CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) number associated with the program is 15.622, and the funding activity categories include community development, environment, and natural resources, reflecting that boating access and waterfront infrastructure often intersect with local economic activity and stewardship of public waterways. The award ceiling listed is $1,500,000. The original application closing date shown is September 16, 2019, and the notice explains that the timing was set to allow states 109 days to review requirements, assemble applications, and submit ahead of an internal system blackout period referenced as the FBMS blackout.

In short, this grant opportunity is designed to help states and territories fund significant infrastructure projects that expand or improve transient boating facilities for recreational vessels 26 feet and longer, with a firm public-access requirement and a focus on the practical infrastructure and services that make short-term visits workable at marinas and similar waterfront sites.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the community development, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act" 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 31, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 16, 2019 This due date allows applications to be received prior to the FBMS blackout period. It allows State applicants 109 days to review the NOFO, prepare their application(s) and submit them.. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F19AS00202

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