§4104 State Projects

Summary

A State can send a complete project plan to the Secretary to ask for federal help. The plan must include detailed drawings, specs, and cost estimates. Costs for engineering, planning, inspection, and unexpected problems for the works can be no more than 10 percent of the works’ cost, and the State must pay that part. No federal money can be set aside for a project until the Secretary approves the plan. The Secretary will check design quality, chances of useful results, whether the project duplicates other work, how it will be run, how success will be measured, whether it fits the goals of the program, and any other rules the Secretary sets. The Secretary must quickly send written approval or a written denial with reasons. Approval is counted in the fiscal year when that written approval is sent. The federal government will pay up to 75 percent of the project’s estimated cost. If the State has an interstate fishery plan or rules the Secretary finds consistent with a federal plan, the federal share can be up to 90 percent. Money from this program can only be spent on approved projects, except up to $25,000 each year may be used for a shared enforcement agreement with federal agencies. If the State uses funds for something else, it must repay them before getting more. When a project is finished or when the Secretary decides, the federal share is paid to the State or to an interstate commission if the State asks; money paid to a commission counts against the State’s allocation.