Section 600.5  Purpose

 

The purpose of this Part is to establish the rules for the Department's Port Facilities Capital Investment Grant Program.  The Program provides financial assistance to eligible public port districts for infrastructure improvement projects.

 

Section 600.10  Definitions

 

For purposes of this Part, the words, terms, and phrases listed shall have the meanings ascribed to them as follows:

 

"Applicant" means the public port district that seeks financial assistance under this Program.

 

"Appropriation" means the legislated spending authority.

 

"Award" means financial assistance that provides support or stimulation to accomplish a public purpose.

 

"Catalog of State Financial Assistance" or "CSFA" means the single, authoritative, Statewide, comprehensive source document of State financial assistance program information maintained by the Governor's Office of Management and Budget and available at http://grants.illinois.gov.

 

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Transportation.

 

"DCEO" means the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

 

"Economically Distressed Port" means a port district whose boundaries include, at time of application, both an environmental justice area and an opportunity zone as declared by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and DCEO, respectively.

 

"GATA" means the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act [30 ILCS 708].

 

"GATU" means the Grant Accountability and Transparency Unit within the Illinois Governor's Office of Management and Budget.

 

"Notice of Funding Opportunity" or "NOFO" means the Department's formally issued announcement of the availability of State, federal, or federal pass-through funding through one of its financial assistance programs.  The announcement provides eligibility and evaluation criteria, funding preferences/priorities, the submission deadline, and information on how to obtain an application for the funding opportunity.

 

"Program" means the Port Facilities Capital Investment Grant Program.

 

"Project" means the infrastructure improvement project for which the applicant seeks financial assistance.

 

"Public Port District" means a port district, formed by the Illinois General Assembly under Chapter 70 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes [70 ILCS 1801 through 1870], that operates ports and other transportation infrastructure.

 

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation.

 

Section 600.15  Eligibility

 

a)         All public port districts are eligible to apply for funding under this Program.

 

b)         Projects eligible for this Program include:

 

1)         Expansion activities, such as site planning resulting in capital construction and land purchase for publicly-owned facilities;

 

2)         Publicly-owned dock and terminal repair, rehabilitation, or construction;

 

3)         Port roadway and railway rehabilitation or construction;

 

4)         Improving or installing publicly-owned equipment for loading or off-loading cargo;

 

5)         Publicly-owned warehouses or other commodity storage;

 

6)         Publicly-owned buildings or shelters for the storage of equipment;

 

7)         Procurement, installation, and maintenance of publicly-owned equipment to improve port security, such as fences, lighting, or security systems;

 

8)         Navigational aids;

 

9)         Preliminary and final design engineering, including permitting, for eligible publicly-owned capital construction projects; and

 

10)        Other publicly-owned capital improvements that will result in documentable improvements to marine transportation.

 

Section 600.20  Notice of Funding Opportunity

 

a)         Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the Department will publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity in the CSFA.

 

b)         The NOFO will include the grant application and any additional forms required to apply for funding.

 

c)         The NOFO will identify any applicable local match requirement which shall not exceed 5% of the grant. Economically distressed ports shall be exempt from match requirements.

 

d)         The NOFO will be posted in the CSFA for a period of 60 days.

 

Section 600.25  Application

 

a)         Before applying for funding, applicants shall:

 

1)         Register in the grantee portal;

 

2)         Complete the internal control questionnaire; and

 

3)         Meet the criteria to become pre-qualified under GATA.

 

b)         Applications shall include:

 

1)         A map, sketch, or other depiction of the project site and its surrounding area, including all transportation access facilities;

 

2)         A project layout or conceptual drawing, schematic plans, surrounding reports related to the project, such as environmental or development reports;

 

3)         Documentation showing whether the proposed project is consistent with development plans by local government, private sector local development plans approved by local governments (e.g., zoning or permitting), or the comprehensive plan of the local government, if plans have been adopted.  The only plans required to be submitted are those within the area of the public port district;

 

4)         A schedule of tasks and goals for project accomplishment;

 

5)         If a local match is required under Section 600.20(c), documentation of the source of the required matching funds with reasonable assurances that these funds are available and enough to complete the project;

 

6)         A financial summary, on a form prescribed by the Department, that identifies the total cost for the project and the amount being requested from the Program;

 

7)         The port's master planning documents or assurance that a port master plan is to be completed;

 

8)         A completed standard GATA application form;

 

9)         A completed conflict of interest form;

 

10)        A completed programmatic risk assessment;

 

11)        The following documentation:

 

A)        A document identifying all the current members of the port's board and the chairperson and officers of the board, if any; and

 

B)        The board resolution indicating the approval to apply for the grant. The resolution shall be signed by the board's chairperson, treasurer, secretary, or a board member authorized to sign and shall indicate the number of board member votes for and against that approval; and

 

12)        Any additional information required by the NOFO issued by the Department.

 

c)         Applications shall be due 60 days after the date the NOFO is published.

 

d)         Applications shall be electronically filed with the Department as outlined in the NOFO.

 

Section 600.30  Review and Selection

 

a)         Applications determined by the Department to meet the requirements of Section 600.25 will be reviewed by a committee comprised of staff from the Department and DCEO.  The committee may consult with other State agencies during its review.

 

b)         The committee will review and rank the applications based on assessment of need, prioritized based on the criteria in subsection (c) and the information provided in the grant application.

 

c)         Scoring criteria shall include, but shall not be limited to, safety, modal connectivity, state of good repair, economic competitiveness, presence of intermodal connections, economic opportunity, and environmental sustainability.

 

d)         Projects ranked by the committee shall be submitted to the Secretary for final review and selection or declination.  Only projects determined eligible after compliance with the application process will be considered for grant funding from the Program.

 

e)         The Secretary will select or decline applications for grant funding from the Program from the list of eligible projects made by eligible applicants.  The Secretary's selection will be based on the readiness, feasibility, and geographic location of projects to ensure projects will be completed within the time frame allotted and to ensure projects are geographically balanced throughout the State.

 

f)         Applicants whose grant applications are not selected by the Department will be notified by electronic mail.

 

g)         Applicants whose grant applications are selected by the Department will be notified by a Notice of State Award.

 

Section 600.35  Prohibited Uses of Awards

 

Awards shall not be used for:

 

a)         Administrative costs, insurance costs, and legal costs to obtain an award;

 

b)         Any costs incurred prior to award and execution of an intergovernmental agreement;

 

c)         Any operational costs associated with a political subdivision of the State of Illinois, public port district, private entity, or not-for-profit;

 

d)         The interest on money borrowed by the applicant or interest charged to the applicant for late payment of project costs;

 

e)         The costs related to the routine maintenance, repair, or operation of a commercial Illinois Marine Transportation System facility;

 

f)         The costs of maintenance dredging;

 

g)         Operational costs or outstanding debt;

 

h)         Preventative or routine activities;

 

i)          Salaries of port district employees;

 

j)          Expendable items and supplies;

 

k)         Indirect costs;

 

l)          Any costs that cannot meet the multi-modal transportation bond requirements; or

 

m)        Any costs for capital projects not involving public facilities or public infrastructure.

 

Section 600.40  Reimbursement Process

 

a)         Invoices and supporting documentation verifying payments made by the public port district under this Program shall be submitted to the Department in duplicate.

 

b)         Supporting documentation shall include, at a minimum:

 

1)         Copies of all cancelled checks.  If cancelled checks are not available, an affidavit from the recipient that payment was made;

 

2)         An itemization of all direct costs and unit rates for each direct cost item;

 

3)         A list of employees by classification, time spent by each employee on the project for the invoice service period, and the hourly rate of each employee; and

 

4)         The low bid amount and award date, if applicable.

 

Section 600.45  Exceptions to GATA

 

This Program is subject to the requirements of GATA.  Any exceptions approved by GATU will be published in the CSFA.