The Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Projects (AERP) is a new, competitive grant program that will provide funding for the study, design, and construction of aquatic ecosystem restoration and protection projects in … Read more
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law established both the PROTECT Formula and Discretionary Grant Programs. This page linked below is for the Formula Program, as the details on the Discretionary Grant Program are not yet available. The PROTECT Program helps increase surface transportation resilience to natural hazards, like flooding, through planning activities, strengthening community resilience and evacuation routes, and improving coastal and natural infrastructure.
Eligible Uses
- Planning Activities, including vulnerability assessments, techncial capacity building, evacuation planning, and development of a Resilience Improvement Plan.
- Resilience Improvements to increase resilience of existing surface transportation infrastructure
- Community Resilience and Evacuation Route activities that strengthen and protect evacuation routes that are essential for providing and supporting evacuations caused by emergency events
- At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure activities to strengthen, stabilize, harden, elevate, relocate or otherwise enhance the resilience of highway and non-rail infrastructure, including: bridges, roads, pedestrian walkways, and bicycle lanes, and associated infrastructure.
- Natural infrastructure that protects and enhances surface transportation assets while improving ecosystem conditions, including culverts that ensure adequate flows in rivers and estuarine systems.
Eligible Recipients
For the formula program, states (including DC) are eligible.
For the competitive grant program, eligible recipients include states (including Puerto Rico), local, and tribal governments, as well as metropolitan planning organizations, special purpose districts or public authorities with a transportation function (such as port authorities), and federal land management agencies.
Approx Annual Funding Amount
Roughly $1.5 billion is annually available from FY2022-2026 through the formula program, totaling $7.5 billion. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law designated $1.4 billion total for the PROTECT discretionary grant program.
Cost Share Requirements
An 80% federal / 20 % non-federal cost share is required, except for instances where a 100% federal is available for a tribe as determined by the Secretary. Waivers are available in some circumstances.
- Cost share requirements may be fulfilled through other Federal non-PROTECT Formula Program funds, though cost share requirements of those federal funds must still be met.
- Non-Federal cost share requirements may be reduced by up to 10 percentage points if states have a Resilience Improvement Plan in place and if that plan is incorporated into other metropolitan or statewide long-range transportation plans.
Application Cycle
The Notice of Funding Opportunity for the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is expected to be announced in Winter 2023.
Contact
- To find your local federal highway office, visit this site.
- For Tribal contact info visit this site.
Other Info
- This program is covered under the Justice40 Initiative.
- Each state must use at least 2% of its PROTECT Formula Program funding each fiscal year for resilience-related planning activities.
- States may transfer 50% of their technical assistance funds from their Surface Transportation Block Grant funds to provide technical assistance for PROTECT grants.
