Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 24, 2024

Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries last revised: Nov 18, 2024
§ 86.3 - What terms do I need to know?

For the purposes of this part, we define these terms:

BIG-funded facility means only the part of a facility that we fund through a BIG grant.

Boating infrastructure means all of the structures, equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable for a facility to accommodate eligible vessels. See § 86.12 for examples of boating infrastructure.

Capital improvement means:

(1) A new structure that costs at least $25,000 to build; or

(2) Altering, renovating, or repairing an existing structure if it increases the structure's useful life by 10 years or if it costs at least $25,000.

Concessioner means an entity with which a State has a written agreement to operate or manage a BIG-funded facility. The agreement with a concessioner may or may not involve a financial exchange. A concessioner is not a contractor or vendor. You pay a contractor or vendor to perform specific duties or supply specific materials according to a written contract. Concessioners, vendors, and contractors are not grant recipients.

Construction means the act of building or significantly altering, renovating, or repairing a structure. Clearing and reshaping land and demolishing structures are types or phases of construction. Examples of structures are buildings, docks, piers, breakwaters, and slips.

Director means:

(1) The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service whom the Secretary of the Interior has delegated authority to administer BIG nationally; or

(2) A deputy or another person whom the Director has delegated authority over BIG.

Eligible user means an operator or passenger of an eligible vessel.

Eligible vessel means a transient recreational vessel at least 26 feet long. The term includes vessels that are owned, loaned, rented, or chartered. The term does not include:

(1) Commercial vessels;

(2) Vessels that dock or operate permanently from the facility where a BIG-funded project is located; or

(3) Vessels that receive payment to routinely transport passengers on a prescribed route, such as cruise ships, dive boats, and ferries.

Facility means the structures, equipment, and operations that:

(1) Provide services to boaters at one location; and

(2) Are under the control of a single operator or business identified in the grant application.

Grant means an approved award of money, the principal purpose of which is to transfer funds from a Federal awarding agency to the non-Federal entity (grantee) to carry out an authorized public purpose and includes the matching cash and any matching in-kind contributions. The legal instrument used is a grant agreement.

Grants.gov is a centralized location for States and other entities to find and apply for Federal funding. It is located at http://www.grants.gov. We require States to use grants.gov, or any system that replaces it, to apply for BIG grants.

Maintenance means keeping structures or equipment in a condition to serve the intended purpose. It includes cyclical or occasional actions to keep facilities fully functional. It does not include operational actions such as janitorial work. Examples of maintenance actions are:

(1) Lubricating mechanical components of BIG-funded equipment;

(2) Replacing minor components of a BIG-funded improvement, such as bolts, boards, and individual structural components; and

(3) Painting, pressure washing, and repointing masonry.

Marketing means an activity that promotes a business to interested customers for the financial benefit of the facility. It may include a plan for sales techniques and strategies, business communication, and business development. A business uses marketing to find, satisfy, and keep a customer.

Match means the value of any cash or in-kind contributions required or volunteered to complete the BIG-funded facility that are not borne by the Federal Government, unless a Federal statute authorizes such match. Match must follow the criteria at 2 CFR 200.306(b).

Navigable waters means waters that are deep and wide enough for the passage of eligible vessels within the water body.

Operation means actions that allow a BIG-funded facility or parts of a BIG-funded facility to perform their function on a daily or frequent basis. Examples of operation are janitorial work, service workers, facility administration, utilities, rent, taxes, and insurance.

Operator means an individual or entity that is responsible for operating a BIG-funded facility. An operator may be a grantee, a subgrantee, a concessioner, or another individual or entity that the grantee has an arrangement with to operate the BIG-funded facility.

Personal property means anything tangible or intangible that is not real property.

Program income means gross income earned by the grantee or subgrantee that is directly generated by a grant-supported activity, or earned as a result of the grant, during the period of performance.

Project means one or more related actions that are eligible for BIG funding, achieve specific goals and objectives of BIG, and in the case of construction, occur at only one facility.

Project cost means total allowable costs incurred under BIG and includes Federal funds awarded through the BIG grant and all non-Federal funds given as the match or added to the Federal and matching shares to complete the BIG-funded project.

Public communication means communicating with the public or news media about specific actions or achievements directly associated with BIG. The purpose is to inform the public about BIG-funded projects or the BIG program.

Real property means one, several, or all interests, benefits, and rights inherent in owning a parcel of land. A parcel includes anything physically and firmly attached to it by a natural or human action. Examples of real property in this rule include fee and leasehold interests, easements, fixed docks, piers, permanent breakwaters, buildings, utilities, and fences.

Regional Office means the main administrative office of one of the Service's geographic Regions in which a BIG-funded project is located. Each Regional Office has a:

(1) Regional Director appointed by the Director to be the chief executive official of the Region and authorized to administer Service activities in the Region, except for those administered directly by the Service's Headquarters Office; and

(2) Division of Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) or its equivalent that administers BIG grants.

Renovate means to rehabilitate all or part of a facility to restore it to its intended purpose or to expand its purpose to allow use by eligible vessels or eligible users.

Scope of a project means the purpose, objectives, approach, and results or benefits expected, including the useful life of any capital improvement.

Service means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

State means any State of the United States, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

Transient means travel to a single facility for day use or staying at a single facility for up to 15 days.

Useful life means the period during which a BIG-funded capital improvement is capable of fulfilling its intended purpose with adequate routine care and maintenance. See §§ 86.73 and 86.74.

authority: 16 U.S.C. 777c,g, andg-1
source: 80 FR 26161, May 6, 2015, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 50 CFR 86.3