8/7/2007

Grant Money Available for Facilities Catering to Larger Boats

The federal Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program makes funding available to marina operators with a need to develop transient boat access facilities with efforts to strengthen community ties to the water and to promote the awareness of transient boating opportunities. The program consists of two funding levels. Through the Tier 1 program level the Iowa Department of Natural Resource (DNR) awards $100,000 to the applicant submitting the best project proposal. The Tier 2 grant level is nation wide competitive program in which grant awards may exceed $1 million dollars.

The BIG program is limited to marina operators who have need for transient boats facilities. A transient boat is defined as a boat that is 26-feet or longer and does not moor at any one place for more than 10 continuous days. Facilities for this type of boat are often insufficient and sometimes are totally lacking. Transient boaters are often unable to enjoy many of the recreational, cultural, historic and, scenic and natural resources opportunities associated with waters that they boat on. The grant is available to public marinas that have a need to create or improve transient boat facilities.

Marinas along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers are the most likely recipients for the program money, said Martin Konrad, BIG Coordinator for the DNR.

"These rivers lack the marina or commercial tie-up facilities needed for transient boaters to recreate for extended stretches," Konrad said. "Basic facilities such as tie-ups, fueling docks, utilities and restrooms are mostly non-existent."

Marina owners and operators wanting more information on the Boating Infrastructure Grant program should contact Martin Konrad at 515/281-6976. Interested parties are required to submit grant proposals for consideration, to the DNR by October 1, 2007.