U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

MEMORANDUM

The Ferry Boat Discretionary program (FBD) was created by Section 1064 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. Section 1801 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Public Law 109-59) added the FBD program to Title 23, United States Code, as Section 147. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act") provided additional funding for the program for which applications were requested under a separate memorandum dated March 30, 2009.

For FY 2009, section 1101(a)(13)(C) of the SAFETEA-LU authorized $67,000,000 for the Ferry Boat Discretionary Program. Under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU section 1102(f), Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds, any funds authorized for the program for the fiscal year, 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 by formula as STP funds. In addition, under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. 147(d), $20 million shall be set-aside for marine highway systems that are part of the National Highway System for use by the States of Alaska, New Jersey, and Washington.

The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 (P.L 111-8) appropriated funds with obligation limitation and a list of designated projects (Attachment 4). Considering this, there remains funding available for a solicitation for new projects for FY 2009. The candidate projects, including designated projects, must meet the eligibility criteria for the FBD program, and will be evaluated on the selection criteria established for the FBD program. These criteria are listed in Attachment 1. The application for new projects is included in Attachment 2. The designated projects must also receive an application for review for eligibility for the program. The application for these projects is included in Attachment 3.

Please ensure that the applications submitted by your State transportation department are for projects that are ready to advance within the next 12 months. Applications should include a commitment to obligate funds by April 30, 2010.

We request that the division contact your State department of transportation (DOT) counterpart as soon as possible to solicit applications as outlined in this memorandum. The applications for all projects must be submitted electronically in MS Word format (see Attachments 2 & 3). Project applications for the FY2009 FBD program must be received by Headquarters no later than June 12, 2009. When submitting the State's project applications, the division office shall transmit them via email to Tony DeSimone (anthony.desimone@dot.gov) of my staff. Your email transmittal should include:

1. a statement from the division office that the State's submittal has been reviewed by the division office and that it meets the submission and eligibility requirements;
2. the State transportation department's submission email or letter to the FHWA division office, including the prioritization of non congressionally designated projects; and
3. each MS Word application as an attachment.

Project selection for the FY2009 FBD program will follow selection for projects for the "Recovery Act" FBD program. Please include in the application if the project was submitted for the" Recovery Act" FBD program. If a project submitted for the "Recovery Act" FBD program is not selected under that solicitation, the State will be notified and asked if they wish to update the application and apply under the FY 2009 program in this solicitation.

Information on the FY 2009 FBD program is included as Attachment 1 to this memorandum. This contains background information on the program including eligibility and selection criteria, as well as the submission requirements. This solicitation memorandum will also be posted on our FHWA website at www.fhwa.dot.gov/discretionary.

If there are any questions, please contact Tony DeSimone (anthony.desimone@dot.gov) of my staff.

Attachments

• Earmarking in FY2009 Consolidated Appropriations Act
• FY 2009 Designated Project Application
• FY 2009 Undesignated Project Application
• Program Information