§50308 Maritime transportation system emergency relief program

Summary

Allows the Maritime Administrator to give grants and make contracts with eligible State, Tribal, and other eligible entities to pay for capital projects and operating costs to protect, repair, rebuild, replace, or keep U.S. maritime equipment and facilities that are damaged or at risk because of an emergency. Operating costs are covered for the one-year period starting from the date of a covered emergency declaration, and for an additional one-year if the Maritime Administrator, after consulting the FEMA Administrator, finds a compelling need. The Administrator must set a fair way to allocate funds and should, when possible, give priority to State or Tribal applicants. Applicants must apply when and how the Administrator requires. Grants tied to certain federal disaster declarations must follow extra terms and may pay only for costs not reimbursed by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), other government aid, or marine insurance. The federal share is 100 percent. No more than 2 percent of available funds may be used for administration. The Administrator must have controls to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, and must send an annual report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure describing the help given and how it affected the maritime system, reduced financial harm to recipients, and protected critical infrastructure. Eligible State or Tribal entity: a port authority or a State/Tribal government–owned and operated vessel and its related facilities. Eligible entity: a U.S. public or private organization with most employees in the U.S. and significant U.S. operations in vessel construction, water transportation, support activities, or maritime education and training (includes NAICS codes 3366, 483, 4883, 6113, and 3117 where applicable, or as the Secretary of Transportation decides). Eligible operating costs: items such as emergency response, cleaning, sanitization, janitorial services, staffing, workforce retention, paid leave, protective health equipment/testing/training, debt service, infrastructure repair, fuel, and other maritime operations as the Secretary decides. Emergency: a wide-area natural disaster or catastrophic failure affecting the U.S. maritime transportation system that is covered by a Governor’s emergency with Maritime Administrator concurrence, a Presidential major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), or a public health emergency under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d).