The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Border Enforcement Grant (BEG) program provides financial assistance to entities or a State that shares a land border with another country. BEG funds are utilized to ensure motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) entering the United States (U.S.) from a foreign country are in compliance with commercial vehicle safety standards and regulations, financial responsibility regulations and registration requirements of the U.S. and to ensure drivers of those vehicles are qualified and properly licensed to operate a CMV. The BEG program is intended to enhance a State’s existing Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) program.
National priorities for the BEG program include:
Under the BEG program, since FY 2005, over 500,000 CMV inspections and commercial driver license, financial responsibility and operating authority checks have been conducted. Over 90 outreach sessions for Mexican motor carriers seeking authority to operate in the US have been conducted. Additionally, the four southern Border States have been provided funding to ensure the requirements to allow access to Mexico-domiciled motor vehicles beyond the commercial zone have been met.
Requests from entities must be coordinated with the state lead agency for the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). State lead MCSAP agency information is available by contacting the FMCSA Division Office located within each state. The distinct requirements of this funding opportunity necessitate a thorough review of the official program guidance referenced at the URL provided in the contact section of this summary.
The States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, and entities and local governments within these enumerated States are eligible to receive BEG funding.
The deadline to submit an application is August 20, 2012.
For FY 2013, FMCSA anticipates awarding a total of $32,000,000 in BEG funding to the 15 Border States or to entities within these States whose applications evidence support for BEG-eligible activities from October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2014.