(a) If you want to apply to be a subgrantee, you must send an application to the State agency that manages BIG following the rules given by your State. We award BIG funds only to States.
(b) The director of your State agency (see § 86.10) or an authorized representative must certify all standard forms submitted in the grant application process in the format that we designate.
(c) States must submit a grant application through http://www.grants.gov. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for BIG is 15.622.
(d) If your State supports Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs, you must send copies of all standard forms and supporting information to the State Clearinghouse or Single Point of Contact identified at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc/ before sending it through http://www.grants.gov.
(a) When you submit a BIG grant application, you must include standard forms, a BIG project statement as described at § 86.43, documents, maps, images, and other information asked for in the annual NOFO at http://www.grants.gov, CFDA 15.622, in the format we ask for.
(b) You must include supporting documentation explaining how the proposed work complies with applicable laws and regulations. You must also state the permits, evaluations, and reviews you need to complete the project. After we approve your project, you will follow guidance at § 86.61 to complete requirements that will become part of your application.
(c) After we review your application, any responses to our requests to give more information or to clarify information become part of the application.
(d) Misrepresentations of the information you give in an application may be a reason for us to:
(1) Reject your application; or
(2) Terminate your grant and require repayment of Federal funds awarded.
You must put the following information in the project statement:
(a) Need. Explain why the project is necessary and how it fulfills the purpose of BIG. To demonstrate the need for the project you must:
(1) For construction projects, describe existing facilities available for eligible vessels near the proposed project. Support your description by including images that show existing structures and facilities, the proposed BIG-funded facility, and relevant details, such as the number of transient slips and the amenities for eligible users.
(2) Describe how the proposed project fills a need or offers a benefit not offered by the existing facilities identified at paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(3) Give information to support the number of transient boats expected to use the area of the proposed project and show that the existing facilities identified at paragraph (a)(1) of this section are not enough to support them.
(b) Purpose. State the desired outcome of the project in general or abstract terms, but in such a way that we can review the information and apply it to the competitive review. Base the purpose on the need as described in paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) Objectives. Identify specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) outputs related to the need you are addressing.
(d) Results or benefits expected. (1) Describe each capital improvement, service, or other product that will result from the project, and its purpose.
(2) Describe how the structures, services, or other products will:
(i) Achieve the need described at paragraph (a) of this section; and
(ii) Benefit eligible users.
(e) Approach. (1) Describe the methods to be used to achieve the objectives. Show that you will use sound design and proper procedures. Include enough information on the status of needed permits, land use approvals, and other compliance requirements for us to make a preliminary assessment.
(2) Give the name, contact information, qualifications, and role of each known concessioner or subgrantee.
(3) Explain how you will exercise control to ensure the BIG-funded facility continues to achieve its authorized purpose during the useful life of the BIG-funded project.
(f) Useful life. Estimate the useful life in years of each capital improvement for the proposed project. Explain how you estimated the useful life of each capital improvement. You must reference a generally accepted method used to determine useful life of a capital improvement. You will finalize useful life during the approval process. See §§ 86.73 and 86.74.
(g) Geographic location. (1) State the location using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates in the format we ask for in the annual NOFO.
(2) State the local jurisdiction (county, city, town, or equivalent), street address, and water body associated with the project.
(3) Include maps in your application, such as:
(i) A small State map that shows the general location of the project;
(ii) A local map that shows the facility location and the nearest community, public road, and navigable water body; and
(iii) Maps or images that show proximity to significant destinations, services that support eligible users, terrain considerations, access, or other information applicable to your project.
(iv) Any other map that supports the information in the project statement.
(h) Project officer. If the Federal Aid Coordinator for the State agency will be the project officer, enter the term State Federal Aid Coordinator under this heading. If the State Federal Aid Coordinator will not be the project officer, give the name, title, work address, work email, and work telephone number of the contact person. The project officer identified should have a detailed knowledge of the project. State whether the project officer has the authority to sign requests for prior approval, project reports, and other communications committing the grantee to a course of action.
(i) Budget narrative. Provide costs and other information sufficient to show that the project will result in benefits that justify the costs. You must use reasonably available resources to develop accurate cost estimates for your project to insure the successful completion of your BIG-funded facility. You should discuss factors that would influence project costs as described at § 86.53(d). Costs must be necessary and reasonable to achieve the project objectives.
(1) You must state how you will allocate costs between eligible and ineligible users following the requirements at § 86.19 and explain the method used to allocate costs equitably between anticipated benefits for eligible and ineligible users.
(2) State sources of cash and in-kind values you include in the project budget.
(3) Describe any item that has cost limits or requires our approval and estimate its cost or value. Examples are dredging and preaward costs.
(j) Match and other partner contributions. Identify the cash and in-kind contributions that you, a partner, or other entity contribute to the project and describe how the contributions directly and substantively benefits completion of the project. See §§ 86.32 and 86.33 for required information.
(k) Fees and program income, if applicable. (1) See § 86.90 for the information that you must include on the estimated fees that an operator will charge during the useful life of the BIG-funded facility.
(2) See §§ 86.77 and 86.78 for an explanation of how you may use program income. If you decide that your project is likely to generate program income during the period of performance, you must:
(i) Estimate the amount of program income that the project is likely to generate; and
(ii) Indicate how you will apply program income to Federal and non-Federal outlays.
(l) Relationship with other grants. Describe the relationship between the BIG-funded facility and other relevant work funded by Federal and non-Federal grants that is planned, expected, or in progress.
(m) Timeline. Describe significant milestones in completing the project and any accomplishments to date.
(n) General. (1) If you seek a waiver based on § 86.13(b), you must include the request and supporting information in the grant application following the instructions in the annual NOFO.
(2) Include any other description or document we ask for in the annual NOFO or that you need to support your proposed project.
(o) Ranking criteria. In BIG Tier 2—National applications, you must respond to each of the questions found in the ranking criteria at § 86.51. We also publish the questions for these criteria in the annual NOFO at http://www.grants.gov.
(1) In addressing the ranking criteria, refer to the information at §§ 86.52 through 86.60 and any added information we ask for in the annual NOFO.
(2) You may give information relevant to the ranking criteria as part of the project statement. If you take this approach, you must reference the criterion and give supporting information to reflect the guidance at §§ 86.52 through 86.60.
(a) If you plan a BIG project that you cannot complete with the recommended maximum Federal award and the required match, you may:
(1) Find other sources of non-Federal funds to complete the project;
(2) Divide your larger project into smaller, distinct, stand-alone projects and apply for more than one BIG grant, either in the same year or in different years. One project cannot depend on the anticipated completion of another; or
(3) Combine your BIG Tier 1—State and BIG Tier 2—National funding to complete a project at a single location.
(b) If you are awarded a grant and find you cannot complete a BIG project with the Federal funds and required match, you may:
(1) Find other sources of non-Federal funds to complete the project.
(2) Consider if BIG Tier 1—State funds are available to help complete the project. This is not a guaranteed option.
(3) Ask for approval to revise the grant by following the requirements at subpart H of this part.
(c) For BIG Tier 2—National grants, we review and rank each application individually, and each must compete with other applications for the same award year.
(d) If you receive a BIG grant for one of your applications, we do not give preference to other applications you submit.
(e) If you do not complete your project, we may take one or more of the remedies for noncompliance found at 2 CFR 200.338, and any other regulations that apply.
(a) After you submit your grant application, you can add or change information up to the date and time that the applications are due.
(b) After the application due date and before we announce selected projects, you can add or change information in your application only if it does not affect the scope of the project, would not affect the score of the application, and is not a correction (see paragraph (c) of this section).
(1) During this period we may ask you to change the useful life following the requirements at § 86.74 or allocation of costs between users of the BIG project following the requirements at § 86.19.
(2) If your application proposes using BIG funds for an action we identify as ineligible, we will decide on a case-by-case basis whether we will allow you to change your application to remove identified ineligible costs and if we will consider your application for funding.
(c) You must inform us of any incorrect information in an application as soon as you discover it, either before or after receiving an award.
(d) We may ask you at any point in the application process to:
(1) Clarify, correct, explain, or supplement data and information in the application;
(2) Justify the eligibility of a proposed action; or
(3) Justify the allowability of proposed costs or in-kind contributions.
(e) If you do not respond fully to our questions at paragraph (d) of this section in the time allotted, we may decide not to consider your application for funding.
(f) If your application is competitive, but funding is limited and we cannot fully fund your project, we may tell you the amount of available funds and ask you if you wish to accept the reduced funding amount. We will decide on a case-by-case basis if we will consider changes to the scope of your project based on the reduced funding. Any changes to the scope of a project must not result in reducing the number of points enough to lower your project's ranking position. If you choose to accept the reduced amount, you must amend your application to reflect all changes, including the difference in Federal and non-Federal funding.