[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 238 (Monday, December 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77307-77308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31830]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2011-0162]


Assistance to Small Shipyard Grant Program

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Small Shipyard Grant Program.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Maritime 
Administration to provide grants for small shipyards. Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 20.814.

DATES: The period for submitting grant applications, as mandated by 
statute, commenced on November 18, 2011. The applications must be 
received by the Maritime Administration by 5 p.m. EST on January 17, 
2012. Applications received later than this time will not be 
considered. The Maritime Administration intends to award grants no 
later than March 18, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Office of Shipyards and 
Marine Engineering, Maritime Administration, Room W21-318, 1200 New 
Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590; phone: (202) 366-5737; or fax: 
(202) 366-6988.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with Section 54101 of Title 
46, United States Code, and the Transportation, Housing and Urban 
Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012, Public Law 
112-55, this notice announces the intention of the Maritime 
Administration to provide grants for small shipyards. Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 20.814.
    Under the Small Shipyard Grant program, there is currently 
$9,980,000 available for grants for capital and related improvements 
for qualified shipyard facilities that will be effective in fostering 
efficiency, competitive operations, and quality ship construction, 
repair, and reconfiguration. Grant funds may also be used for maritime 
training programs to foster technical skills and operational 
productivity in communities whose economies are related to or dependent 
upon the maritime industry. Grants for such training programs may only 
be awarded to ``Eligible Applicants'' as described below, but training 
programs can be established through vendors to such applicants. Grant 
funds may not be used to construct buildings or other physical 
facilities or to acquire land unless such use is specifically approved 
by the Maritime Administration as being consistent with and 
supplemental to capital and related infrastructure improvements.
    Award Information: The Maritime Administration intends to award the 
full amount of the available funding through grants to the extent that 
there are worthy applications. No more than 25 percent of the funds 
available will be awarded to shipyard facilities in one geographic 
location that have more than 600 production employees. The Maritime 
Administration will seek to obtain the maximum benefit from the 
available funding by awarding grants for as many of the most worthy 
projects as possible. The Maritime Administration may partially fund 
applications by selecting parts of the total project. The start date 
and period of performance for each award will depend on the specific 
project and must be agreed to by the Maritime Administration.
    Eligibility Information: 1. Eligible Applicants--the statutes 
referenced above provide that shipyards can apply for grants. The 
shipyard facility for which a grant is sought must be in a single 
geographical location, located in or near a maritime community, and may 
not have more than 1200 production employees. The applicant must be the 
operating company of the shipyard facility. The shipyard facility must 
construct, repair, or reconfigure vessels 40 ft. in length or greater, 
for commercial or government use. 2. Eligible Projects--capital and 
related improvement projects that will be effective in fostering 
efficiency, competitive operations, and quality ship construction, 
repair, and reconfiguration; and training projects that will be 
effective in fostering employee skills and enhancing productivity. For 
capital improvement projects, all items proposed for funding must be 
new and to be owned by the applicant. For both capital improvement and 
training projects, all project costs, including the recipient's share, 
must be incurred after the date of the grant agreement.
    Matching Requirements: The Federal funds for any eligible project 
will not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of such project. The 
remaining portion of the cost shall be paid in funds from or on behalf 
of the recipient. The applicant is required to submit detailed 
financial statements and supporting documentation demonstrating how and 
when such matching requirement is proposed to be funded as described 
below. The recipient's entire matching requirement must be paid prior 
to payment of any federal funds for the project. However, for good 
cause shown, the Maritime Administrator may waive the matching 
requirement in whole or in part, if the Administrator determines that a 
proposed project merits support and cannot be undertaken without a 
higher percentage of Federal financial assistance.
    Application: An application should be filed on standard Form SF-424 
which can be found on the Internet at Marad.dot.gov. Although the form 
is available electronically, the application must be filed in hard copy 
as indicated below due to the amount of information requested. A 
shipyard facility in a single geographic location applying for multiple 
projects must do so in a single application. The application for a 
grant must include all of the following information as an addendum to 
Form SF-424. The information should be organized in sections as 
described below:
    Section 1: A description of the shipyard including (a) location of 
the shipyard; (b) a description of the shipyard facilities; (c) years 
in operation; (d) ownership; (e) customer base; (f) current order book 
including type of work; (g) vessels delivered (or major projects) over 
last 5 years; and (h) Web site address, if any.
    Section 2: For each project proposed for funding the following:
    (a) A comprehensive detailed description of the project including a 
statement of whether the project will replace existing equipment, and 
if so the disposition of the replaced equipment.
    (b) A description of the need for the project in relation to 
shipyard operations and business plan and an explanation of how the 
project will fulfill this need.
    (c) A quantitative analysis demonstrating how the project will be 
effective in fostering efficiency, competitive operations, and quality 
ship construction, repair, or reconfiguration (for capital improvement 
projects) or how the project will be effective in fostering employee 
skills and enhancing productivity (for training projects). The analysis 
should quantify the benefits of the projects in terms of staff-hours 
saved, dollars saved, percentages, or other meaningful metrics. The 
methodology of the analysis should be explained with assumptions used 
identified and justified.
    (d) A detailed methodology and timeline for implementing the 
project.
    (e) A detailed itemization of the cost of the project together with 
supporting documentation, including current

[[Page 77308]]

vendor quotes and estimates of installation costs.
    (f) A statement explaining if any elements of the project require 
action under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. sec. 
4321, et seq.) or require any licenses or permits.
    Items 2(a) thru 2(f) should be repeated, in order, for each 
separate project included in the application.
    Section 3: A table with a prioritized list of projects and total 
cost and Government portion (in dollars) for each.
    Section 4: A description of any existing programs or arrangements, 
if any, which will be used to supplement or leverage the federal grant 
assistance.
    Section 5: Special economic circumstances and conditions, if any, 
of the maritime community in which the shipyard is located (beyond that 
which is reflected in the unemployment rate of the county in which the 
shipyard is located and whether that county is in an economically 
distressed area, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 3161).
    Section 6: Shipyard company officer's certification of each of the 
following requirements:
    (a) That the shipyard facility for which a grant is sought is 
located in a single geographical location in or near a maritime 
community and (i) the shipyard facility has no more than 600 production 
employees, or (ii) the shipyard facility has more than 600 production 
employees, but less than 1200 production employees (the shipyard 
officer must certify to one or the other of (i) or (ii));
    (b) That the applicant has the authority to carry out the proposed 
project; and
    (c) Certification in accordance with the Department of 
Transportation's regulation restricting lobbying, 49 CFR Part 20, that 
the applicant has not, and will not, make any prohibited payments out 
of the requested grant. Certifications are not required to be 
notarized.
    Section 7: Unique identifier of shipyard's parent company (when 
applicable): Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS + 4 number) (when 
applicable).
    Section 8: 2009 or 2010 (if available) year-end audited, reviewed 
or compiled financial statements, prepared by a certified public 
accountant, according to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, 
not on an income tax basis. September 30, 2010, financial statements 
prepared by the company if December 31, 2010, CPA-prepared statements 
are not available. Do not provide tax returns.
    Section 9: Statement regarding the relationship between applicants 
and any parents, subsidiaries or affiliates, if any such entity is 
going to provide a portion of the match.
    Section 10: Evidence documenting applicant's ability to make 
proposed matching requirement (loan agreement, commitment from 
investors, cash on balance sheet, etc.) and in the times outlined in 
2(d) above.
    Section 11: Pro-forma financial statements reflecting (a) September 
30, or December 31, 2010, financial condition; (b) effect on balance 
sheet of grant and matching funds (i.e. a decrease in cash or increase 
in debt, additional equity and an increase in fixed assets); and (c) 
impact on company's projected financial condition (balance sheet) of 
completion of project, showing that company will have sufficient 
financial resources to remain in business.
    Section 12: Statement whether during the past five years, the 
applicant or any predecessor or related company has been in bankruptcy 
or in reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, or in any 
insolvency or reorganization proceedings, and whether any substantial 
property of the applicant or any predecessor or related company has 
been acquired in any such proceeding or has been subject to foreclosure 
or receivership during such period. If so, give details.
    Additional information may be requested as deemed necessary by the 
Maritime Administration in order to facilitate and complete its review 
of the application. If such information is not provided, the Maritime 
Administration may deem the application incomplete and cease processing 
it.
    Where to File Application: Submit an original copy and one 
additional paper copy of the application and two CDs each containing a 
complete electronic version of the paper copy, no additional 
information of the application in PDF format to: Associate 
Administrator for Business and Finance Development, Room W21-318, 
Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 
20590.
    Evaluation of Applications: The Maritime Administration will 
evaluate the applications on the basis of how well the project for 
which a grant is requested would be effective in fostering efficiency, 
competitive operations, and quality ship construction, repair, and 
reconfiguration (for capital improvement projects) or how well the 
project for which a grant is requested would be effective in fostering 
employee skills and enhancing productivity (for training projects) and 
the economic circumstances and conditions of the surrounding community. 
The Maritime Administration will also evaluate applications on the 
basis of how well they advance--consistent with achieving the program's 
statutory objectives--the Department's strategic goals of economic 
competitiveness, safety, livability, environmental sustainability, and 
state of good repair. The economic circumstances and conditions will be 
based upon the unemployment rate of the county in which the shipyard is 
located and whether that county is an economically distressed area, 
supplemented by any special economic circumstances and conditions 
identified by the applicant. The Maritime Administration will award 
grants in its sole discretion in such amounts and under such conditions 
it determines will best further the statutory purposes of the small 
shipyard grant program. Projects that may require additional 
environmental assessments such as those including waterside 
improvements (dredging, bulkheading, pier work, pilings, etc.) will not 
be considered for funding. Preference will be given to funding 
applications: (1) That propose matching funds greater than a 25% share 
of the project; (2) that impact existing operations and/or product 
lines rather than expand the capabilities of the shipyard into new 
product lines or capabilities; and (3) that result in a geographic 
diversity of grant recipients.
    Potential applicants are advised that it is expected, based on past 
experience, that applications will far exceed the funds available and 
that only a small percentage of applications will be funded. It is 
anticipated that about 10 applications will be selected for funding 
with an average grant amount of about $1 million.
    Conditions Attached to Awards: The grant agreement will set out the 
records to be maintained by the recipient that must be available for 
review and audit by the Maritime Administration, as well as any other 
conditions and requirements.

    Dated: December 7, 2011.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
Julie P. Agarwal,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-31830 Filed 12-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P