§4104 State projects

Summary

States may send the Secretary a project proposal through their state agency or an interstate commission. The proposal must include full plans, specifications, and cost estimates. Costs for engineering, planning, inspection, and unforeseen contingencies cannot be more than 10% of the total cost of the works and must be paid by the State. The Secretary cannot use federal funds for a project until the proposal is submitted and approved. Before approving, the Secretary will review design soundness, likely results, whether the project duplicates other work, project management, monitoring and evaluation methods, consistency with the law’s purposes, and other criteria the Secretary sets. The federal share of a project is up to 75% of the estimated cost, unless the State has adopted an interstate fishery management plan for the resource or has state rules the Secretary finds consistent with a federal fishery plan. The Secretary must give written notice of approval or denial and explain any denials; approval notices make funds obligated in that fiscal year. Funds may only be spent on approved projects, except up to $25,000 per year can be used for State–federal agreements that share people, services, and equipment for enforcing fishery laws. If misused, the State must repay those funds before getting more. When the Secretary finds a project complete (or decides it’s time), the federal share will be paid to the State or to the interstate commission’s designated account, and any payment to a commission counts against the State’s allocation.