DEM announces deadline for boating infrastructure grants

THE R.I. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT will accept proposals for federal boating infrastructure grants until Friday, Aug. 31, the state agency announced Monday.
THE R.I. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT will accept proposals for federal boating infrastructure grants until Friday, Aug. 31, the state agency announced Monday.

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Environmental Management will accept proposals for federal boating infrastructure grants until Friday, Aug. 31, the state agency announced Monday.

The grants, which will provide a 75 percent reimbursable match up to $1.5 million, will be awarded for the development or renovation of mooring buoys, day docks, navigational aids, transient slips, safe harbors, floating docks, fixed piers, floating or fixed breakwaters, dinghy docks, restrooms, shower, retaining walls and bulkheads.

According to a DEM release, the funds also can be used for dockside utilities, pump-out stations, recycling and trash receptacles, electric service, dockside water supplies, dockside pay telephones, debris deflection booms, marine fueling stations and one-time dredging, which is not to exceed 10 percent of total project costs, including the match.

“This is a great opportunity for coastal Rhode Island communities and marinas to improve the facilities that are used by transient recreational boaters visiting our state,” Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee said in a release. “The federal matching grants will fund a substantial portion of the project costs and will benefit our cities and towns along the shore.”

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Ocean State cities, towns and marinas that provide, or wish to provide, transient tie-up opportunities for recreational boats longer than 26 feet are eligible to apply to DEM by Aug. 31.

DEM is administering the program on behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The USFWS will review and rate applications on a national competitive level. Roughly $11 million in grants is expected to be available nationwide in 2013.

The initial proposals to DEM should provide as much information as possible regarding the project proposal. Final applications, which are due to the USFWS by Sept. 19, must include a transmittal letter describing the organization and the facility, a narrative addressing the rating criteria, a detailed budget, site maps and photos.

Final applications must be submitted through DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife.

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