March 2, 2023 — “Port Precision” – A routine communication to all Port Managers covering matters that impact Oregon’s public ports by way of Business Oregon.
| Port Updates | |
| Port of Cascade Locks | Please join me in sending best wishes to Olga Kaganova, Port of Cascade Locks. Olga will be leaving her position as General Manager on March 10th. Olga, thank you for your service to the Port of Cascade Locks and the greater ports community in Oregon. |
| Business Oregon Updates | |
| Website Updates | The Business Oregon webpages for the Port Planning and Marketing Fund and Oregon Port Revolving Fund have been updated. Among the changes you will find are links to updated PPMF and OPRF Guides and links to projects funded by both programs during the past two bienniums. |
| 2023-2024 State Dredge Program | The deadline to indicate your port’s interest in utilizing the state’s dredge for the 2023-2024 In-Water Work Period (IWWP) is April 1, 2023. In lieu of a virtual training on the state dredge program, Mike Dunning with the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, the state’s operational lead for the state dredge program, and I would be happy to meet with any port to discuss the state dredge’s operational capabilities, permitting and timeline requirements, estimated costs and answer any questions you may have. |
| Intergovernmental Updates | |
| NOAA Fisheries Release Draft National Seafood Strategy, Requests Public Input | NOAA Fisheries has released the draft National Seafood Strategy and encourages all interested members of the public to review and submit comments. The National Seafood Strategy outlines the agency’s direction for supporting a thriving domestic U.S. seafood economy and approach to enhancing the resilience of the seafood sector in the face of climate change and other stressors.
Written comments on the draft strategy may be submitted online until March 16, 2023. NOAA Fisheries is hosting two virtual listening sessions on March 2 and 9, 2023 to present the draft strategy and gather input. |
| Water Resources Development Act of 2022 | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued a notice of the agency’s intent to provide virtual listening sessions on the status of implementation guidance for WRDA 2022. The agency is also accepting public comments and recommendations for this implementation guidance, due by March 21, 2023.
The virtual public listening sessions will be held on the following dates and times:
Each of the virtual meetings will use the following link information:
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| Federal Appropriations Update | Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are currently accepting Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests for the FY24 appropriations process. Submissions are due by 9pm PT on Friday, March 3, 2023.
As a reminder, CDS requests are only for specific accounts as described in the guidance documented distributed earlier this month. The House of Representatives refers to CDS requests as “community project funding” and maintains a different submission procedure and timeline than the Senate.
Please reach out to me and Ray Bucheger if you have questions or need assistance with this process. |
| Resources |
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| MARAD U.S. Marine Highway Program | The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) making $12,423,000 in FY23 funds available through the U.S. Marine Highway Program (USMHP), previously named America’s Marine Highway Program. The USMHP seeks to increase the use of America’s navigable waterways, especially where water-based transport is the most efficient, effective and sustainable option.
Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59pm EST on April 28, 2023. The NOFO is available here. |
| FEMA Port Security Grant Program | In FY23, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is providing $100 million to promote sustainable, risk-based efforts to protect critical port infrastructure from acts of terrorism through the Port Security Grant Program. The FY23 program is focused on supporting increased maritime cybersecurity, port-wide maritime security risk management, enhancing maritime domain awareness, supporting maritime security training and exercises and maintaining or reestablishing maritime security mitigation protocols that support port recovery and resilience capabilities.
More information about the Port Security Grant Program and a link to the NOFO are available here. Applications are due May 18, 2023. |
| MARAD Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) | MARAD has released the full Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the FY23 Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). There is approximately $662 million in FY23 PIDP grant funding available. Past webinar recordings and links to future webinars are available here.
PIDP grant funds are awarded on a competitive basis to projects the improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods into, out of, around, or within a port. The PIDP provides funding to ports in both urban and rural areas for planning and capital projects. It also includes a statutory set-aside for small ports to continue to improve and expand their capacity to move freight reliably and efficiently and support local and regional economies. Applications for the FY23 NOFO are due on April 28, 2023. |
| ODOT Carbon Reduction Program | The Carbon Reduction Program is a new federal program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will provide the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) $82 million over five years to fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. The funding is divided between urban Transportation management areas, ODOT statewide projects and small urban and rural areas.
This year $13 million is available under an ODOT-managed competitive grant program to small urban and rural projects. Eligible projects must reduce emissions from transportation and be in urban and rural areas of the state with populations fewer than 200,000. Examples of eligible projects include alternative fuel projects, including public EV charging, hydrogen, natural gas and propane fueling and zero-emission equipment and vehicle purchase; projects that reduce transportation emissions at port facilities, including EV infrastructure; and diesel engine retrofits. More information about the program and the application process is available here. The application window is open between February 28 and May 31, 2023. |
| Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Local Government Grant Program (LGGP) | The Local Government Grant Program (LGGP) is a State lottery funded grant program administrated by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Eligible applicants include local government agencies that are obligated by state law to provide public recreation facilities, including port districts. Eligible projects involve land acquisition, development and major rehabilitative projects that are consistent with the outdoor recreation goals and objectives contained in the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP).
Additional information including the grant manual, application materials and deadlines can be found here. |
| RARE AmeriCorps Program | The Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps program hosted by the University of Oregon is accepting applications for host organizations for the 2023-2024 program year. The mission of the RARE program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions through the assistance of trained graduate-level members who live and work in communities for 11 months. Special districts, including ports, are eligible to host a RARE member.
More information about applying to become a RARE host organization is available here. There is also a link to register for an upcoming virtual information session. Host organization applications are due April 7, 2023.
The RARE program requires $25,000 in match funding from host organizations. The Port Planning and Marketing Fund (PPMF) has been used for this purpose in the past. Reach out to your Regional Development Officer if your port is interested in pursuing a PPMF grant to support a RARE member. |
| Business Oregon Support | If your port is interested in applying for a federal grant opportunity, Business Oregon may be able to help! We would be happy to provide more background on the programs with current NOFOs, help you assess your readiness to submit an application, connect you to federal agency and/or Congressional staff who can provide additional assistance, provide a letter of support for your application, and more. |
| USDOT Discretionary Grant Opportunities Webinar | The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) hosted a webinar on Preparing for Upcoming USDOT Discretionary Grant Opportunities on February 8, 2023. The webinar highlighted resources available to help potential grant applicants navigate USDOT funding opportunities, including the DOT Navigator (the Department’s one stop shop for technical assistance), upcoming funding opportunity calendar and tools for identifying Federal disadvantaged community areas. The webinar recording and presentation slides are now available on the USDOT Navigator Webinars webpage. |
| Oregon Public Ports Federal Coordinating Committee (OPPFCC) | |
| The OPPFCC met on February 24th. The discussion focused on the FY24 appropriations cycle and Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Project Funding requests. OPPA Executive Committee members Paula Miranda (Port of Newport) and Sean Clark (Port of Columbia County) have joined the OPPFCC.
The RFP for the Federal Advocacy Services contract Business Oregon maintains on behalf of Oregon public ports (currently held by FBB Federal Relations) closed on February 27, 2023. An RFP review committee will be evaluating submissions and helping the agency in the selection process over the next several months. |
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| Oregon Public Ports Dredging Partnership (OPPDP) | |
| The OPPDP did not meet in February. | |
| Oregon Public Ports Training Program (OPPTP) | |
| Ray Bucheger and I presented “Federal Appropriations 101” as part of the Oregon Public Ports Training Program on February 17th. The presentation included a high-level overview of the federal appropriations process with a focus on Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Project Funding. Please reach out if you would like a copy of the presentation materials and did not already receive that.
Please consider joining upcoming sessions of the OPPTP:
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| Stories of Interest | |
| All-female command makes history at Sector North Bend | “As commander of Sector North Bend in Oregon, Capt. Breanna “Bree” Knutson is one of two women currently running a Coast Guard air station. She’s also the first to be doing it with an all-female senior command.
Knutson’s executive officer, operations officer, and senior enlisted advisor are all women. That’s an impressive concentration of talent given that women account for just over 12% (137) of the Coast Guard’s pilots, and 2% of aviation enlisted personnel. It’s also a sign that the service’s policies to promote and retain women are having an impact.” |
| NOAA Awards $4.2 Million for Multi-Stressor Research on Northern California Current Ecosystem | NOAA has awarded $4.2 million for a research project on multi-stressor impacts on marine ecosystems under climate change. The project, led by Oregon State University and NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, will occur off the coasts of northern California, Oregon and Washington and will focus on climate impacts to Dungeness crab, an iconic and valuable fishery resource that is culturally and economically important to the region’s coastal communities. |
| Save the Date | |
| March 2023 | March 3rd – Deadline to submit Congressionally Directed Spending requests to U.S. Senate offices
March 14th – Oregon Public Ports Training Program: DLCD’s Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning Toolkit March 16th – PNWA Monthly Membership Meeting March 19th-23rd – PNWA Mission to Washington March 22nd – Oregon Public Ports Dredging Partnership Meeting March 24th – Oregon Public Ports Federal Coordinating Committee Meeting March 27th – Maritime Minds |
