FHWA > Special Federal-aid Funding > Discretionary > Program Information > Ferry Boat Discretionary > Program Information |
Ferry Boat DiscretionaryProgram Information (February 2008)Background:The Ferry Boat Discretionary (FBD) Program, which provides a special funding category for the construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities, was created by Section 1064 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (1991 ISTEA, Public Law 102-240). Section 1207 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21, Public Law 105-178) reauthorized the FBD funding category through FY 2003. It was continued through the Surface Transportation Extension Acts and Section 1801 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Public Law 109-59), which added the program to 23 U.S.C. as Section 147, "Construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities," and continued funding through FY 2009. Statutory References:23 U.S.C. 147; 23 U.S.C. 129(c); SAFETEA-LU Sections 1101(a)(13) and 1801 Funding:
Section 1101(a)(13) of SAFETEA-LU authorizes $65 million for FY 2008 for the FBD program. For FY 2008, under the provisions of Section 186 of Division K of the FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-161), Congress designated the FY 2008 FBD funds for specific projects listed in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act. In addition, Section 186 rescinds the excess authorized FBD funds, excluding the $20 million set-aside for marine highway systems on the National Highway System (NHS) in the States of Alaska, New Jersey and Washington under 23 U.S.C. 147(d), not needed for the designated projects. Therefore, $13,609,620 of the $65,000,000 is rescinded, leaving an authorization of $51,390,380 for FY 2008. In addition, under the provisions of Section 120(e), Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds, of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, any authorized funds, which are not available for obligation due to the imposition of an obligation limitation, are not allocated for the FBD program, but are redistributed to the States in accordance with Section 120(e). For FY 2008, the obligation limitation is 92.4 percent. Therefore, only $47,484,711 of the $51,390,380 reduced authorization will be available for the FBD program for FY 2008. After the deduction for the mandatory $20 million set-aside for Alaska, New Jersey and Washington, only $27,484,711 is available for these FY 2008 FBD designated projects. Each designated amount in the Joint Explanatory Statement has to be proportionally reduced accordingly. Federal Share:In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 147(b), the Federal share of the costs for any project eligible under this program is 80 percent. Obligation Limitation:The FBD funds are subject to obligation limitation; however, 100 percent obligation authority is provided with the allocation of funds for the selected projects. The obligation limitation reduces the available funding for the program under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU Section 1102(f) discussed above. For FY 2008, these provisions are in Section 120(e) of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Eligibility:As specified in 23 U.S.C 147(a), this program is for the construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities in accordance with 23 U.S.C.129(c). FBD funds are available for construction/improvement to ferry boats or ferry boat terminals where:
For FY 2008, the designated projects, in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, must meet the above statutory eligibility criteria in 23 U.S.C. 147(a) and 23 U.S.C. 129(c), because Congress did not include any "notwithstanding any other provision of law" eligibility provision this year. Selection Criteria:The only statutory selection criteria for the FBD program are found in 23 U.S.C. 147(c): "The Secretary shall give priority in the allocation of funds under this section to those ferry systems, and public entities responsible for developing ferries, that-
Under the provisions of Section 186 of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress has statutorily designated the FBD funds for FY 2008 for specific projects listed in the Joint Explanatory Statement. Therefore, the above selection criteria, under Section 147(c) of Title 23, do not apply for FY 2008 FBD funding. Also, because of the statutory designation of FY 2008 FBD funds, previously developed administrative selection criteria for the FBD program, such as leveraging of private or other public funding, State priorities, expeditious completion of a project, or the transportation benefits of the project, will also not be considered. Solicitation Procedure:For FY 2008, since all FBD funding has been designated by Congress for specific projects, applications will only be solicited for those projects. As indicated previously, these designated projects must still meet the eligibility requirements under Sections 147(a) and 129(c) of Title 23. A memorandum is issued by the FHWA Headquarters Office of Program Administration to the FHWA division offices requesting submission of applications. The division offices send the memo to the State DOTs, who are responsible for submitting the applications to FHWA. Submission Requirements:Only State DOTs may submit applications for funding under this program. Because Congress designated the projects to be funded in FY 2008, a short application form will be used. The application for each project must include the following information (12 items). Those applications that do not include these items are considered incomplete and funding will not be available for those projects until an acceptable application is submitted. The application for each project must be submitted electronically in MS Word format, and be limited to two pages .
Announcement of Awards / Allocation of FundsAfter the applications are received, it is required that Congress be notified before the funds are allocated to the States. When this Congressional notification process is completed, the Office of Program Administration will issue an announcement by email to all FHWA division offices, announcing the FBD projects that will be funded and the amount of funding for each project. At that time, States may request that funds be allocated for any projects for which the funds are ready to be obligated. The State transportation agency shall send an email to the FHWA division office indicating the project, the amount requested for allocation, and the date by which the funds will be obligated. The Office of Program Administration will issue the allocation memorandum within a few days of receiving the allocation request. State Transportation Agency Responsibilities:
FHWA Division Office Responsibilities:
FHWA Headquarters Program Office Responsibilities:
FHWA Headquarters Program Office Contact:Larry Beidel, Highway Engineer, Office of Program Administration |
ContactTony DeSimone |
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This page last modified on 02/08/08 |