Amended AMHP NOFO Summary (4.21.22).pdf

Opportunity Number 693JF722R000012 America’s Marine Highway Amendment 1

U.S. Department of Transportation Amendment 1 to Notice of Funding Opportunity Number 693JF722R000012

“FY 2022 America’s Marine Highway Program Grants”

Amendment 1 issued April 21, 2022

The purpose of this amendment is to edit the Notice of Funding Opportunity to reflect additional funding and associated requirements per the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, and to make clerical amendments. Accordingly, the Notice of Funding Opportunity is hereby amended.

As reflected in the revisions below, the application due date has been updated to June 17, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time through www.Grants.gov.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions remain unchanged and in full force and effect.

This amendment revises the text of the NOFO in the section identified below.

• Deleted text is shown in strikethrough.

• Added text is both underlined and bolded.

If a section or paragraph is not listed below, no text changes apply to that section or paragraph as a result of this amendment.

SUMMARY, full section

This notice announces the availability of funding for grants and establishes selection criteria and application requirements for the America’s Marine Highway Program (“AMHP”). The purpose of this program is to make grants available to previously designated Marine Highway Projects that support the development and expansion of documented vessels or port and landside infrastructure. The Department also seeks eligible grant projects that will strengthen American supply chains. The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT” or “Department”) will award Marine Highway Grants to implement projects or components of projects previously designated by the Secretary of Transportation (“Secretary”) under the AMHP. Only http://www.grants.gov/

Marine Highway Projects the Secretary designates before the Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) closing date are eligible for funding as described in this notice.

This notice is amended on April 21, 2022 to reflect additional funding made available under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 and associated requirements.

TIMING OF GRANT APPLICATIONS, full section

Applications must be received by the Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) by 5:00 p.m. E.D.T. on April 29, 2022 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 17, 2022.

SECTION A, Program Description, paragraph 2

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58, November 15, 2021) (“Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” or “BIL”) appropriated $25,000,000 to be awarded by the Department for Marine Highway Grants. On March 15, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. 117-103, “FY 2022 Appropriations Act”) appropriated an additional $14,819,000 for the FY 2022 AMHP. Therefore, a total of $39,819,000 in funding is now available for the FY 2022 AMHP. This notice solicits applications for projects to be funded under the AMHP, and includes the funding appropriated by the BIL in addition to the funding appropriated for the AMHP under the FY 2022 Appropriations Act.

The grant funds currently available are for projects related to vessels documented under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 121 and port and landside infrastructure. Section E of this notice, which outlines the Marine Highway Grants selection criteria, describes the process for selecting projects that further this goal. Section F.3. describes progress and performance reporting requirements for selected projects, including the relationship between that reporting and the program’s selection criteria.

SECTION B, Federal Award Information, paragraph 1 and new paragraph 2

The total funding available for awards under this NOFO is $24,250,000 $38,624,430. This amount represents $25,000,000 from the BIL appropriations available BIL funds and $14,819,000 from available FY 2022 Appropriations Act funds, less $1,194,570 ($750,000 from BIL funds and $444,570 from FY 2022 Appropriations Act funds) for grant administration and oversight as permitted under 49 U.S.C. 109(i).

Applicants should note that the two funding streams (BIL funding and FY 2022 Appropriations Act funding) have the same funding restrictions and requirements. Congress has requested that MARAD give preference to projects that reduce air emissions and vehicle miles traveled, other than for grant applications related to noncontiguous trade as defined in 46 U.S.C. 53501(4).

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. 117-103, Explanatory Statement, Division L, 168 Cong. Rec. H3039 (daily ed. March 9, 2022).

Applicants should carefully consider how to address the climate change and decarbonization criterion, as discussed further in Section D.2.vi.(D) and Section E.1., to increase their project’s competitiveness.

SECTION C.3.i.(A), Capital Projects, paragraph 1

Pursuant to the BIL and the FY 2022 Appropriations Act, eligible projects proposed for funding must support the development and expansion of vessels documented under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 121 or port and landside infrastructure. Only projects or their components that the Secretary has designated as Marine Highway Projects by the closing date of this notice are eligible for this round of grant funding.

The current list of designated Marine Highway Projects can be found on the MARAD website at: https://cms.marad.dot.gov/sites/marad.dot.gov/files/2021- 08/AMH%20 Project%20Designations%20Aug%202021.pdf.

SECTION D.2.vi.(D), Addressing Climate Change and Decarbonization, new paragraphs 3-5

For applications for grant projects other than those related to noncontiguous trade, this section should also describe ways that the project proposed for grant funding—as opposed to the overall Designated Marine Highway Project—reduces commercial vehicle miles traveled (VMT). An applicant can demonstrate that its proposed grant project reduces VMT by: 1) calculating the increase in cargo, by tonnage, that will be transported on the marine highway if the proposed project is implemented; 2) calculating the increase in cargo, by tonnage, and subsequent increase in VMT, that would be transported by commercial motor vehicles on the nation’s roadways if the proposed grant project could not be implemented; and 3) calculating the overall difference in cargo moved, by tonnage, from the nation’s roadways to the marine highway, and the subsequent reduction in commercial VMT that will result upon completion of the proposed grant project.

MARAD will consider an application to be related to noncontiguous trade if the proposed grant project includes noncontiguous trade as defined in 46 U.S.C.

53501(4).1 Applicants should state in this section whether the proposed grant project is related to noncontiguous trade, and, if so, describe the noncontiguous trade.

Applicants should refer to Section E.1. for more information on how this criterion will be evaluated and used to award projects for AMHP grants.

SECTION D.4, Submission Dates and Times, full section

Applications must be submitted to Grants.gov by 5:00 p.m. E.D.T. on April 29, 2022 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 17, 2022.

SECTION E.1, Selection Criteria, paragraphs 5 and 9

After applying the above criteria, in support of Departmental priorities related to climate change, including advancing the goals outlined in Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (86 FR 7619), MARAD will evaluate whether the project incorporates climate change, environmental justice, and decarbonization activities in project planning and/or design elements. MARAD will give preference to projects that demonstrate a movement towards lower carbon emissions or near-zero emissions, as described in Section D.2.vi.(D). MARAD will also give preference to projects that reduce air emissions and vehicle miles traveled when awarding grants, other than for grant applications related to noncontiguous trade as defined in 46 U.S.C. 53501(4). For projects that are not related to noncontiguous trade, a proposed project that reduces both air emissions and VMT is more competitive than a comparable project that only reduces one or neither.

Evaluation of whether a project reduces air emissions and vehicle miles traveled will not affect MARAD’s decision in awarding grants for projects related to noncontiguous trade; however, MARAD will still consider the extent to which these projects address the climate change and decarbonization criterion described in Section D.2.vi.(D), such as by using environmental justice tools like EJSCREEN or addressing the goals outlined in Executive Order 14008. Applicants must specify in their narrative whether their proposed grant project is related to noncontiguous trade and provide sufficient information so that MARAD can verify the claim.

1 The term “noncontiguous trade” means: (A) trade between one of the contiguous 48 states; and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or an insular territory or possession of the United States; and (B) trade between a place in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or an insular territory or possession of the United States; and another place in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or an insular territory or possession of the United States.

MARAD will also consider a project’s likelihood of obligating funds by September 30, 2025. and liquidation of these obligations within five years after the date of obligation.

SECTION F.2, Administrative and National Policy Requirements, paragraph 1

All awards must be administered pursuant to the “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” found at 2 CFR Part 200, as adopted by the Department at 2 CFR Part 1201. All procurement transactions for the acquisition of property or services under the Federal award must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition unless MARAD authorizes a noncompetitive procurement in accordance with 2 CFR 200.320(c).

Federal wage rate requirements included at 40 U.S.C. 3141–3148 apply to all projects receiving funds under this program and apply to all parts of the project, whether funded with Federal funds or non-Federal funds. Additionally, other applicable Federal laws, Executive Orders, and any rules, regulations, and requirements of MARAD will apply to projects that receive Marine Highway Grants. Amounts awarded under this notice from the BIL that are not expended by the grant recipient shall remain available to DOT until September 30, 2032 for use for grants under this program. Funds awarded under the FY 2022 Appropriations Act remain available until expended for grants under this program.

[end of Amendment]