Aquatic Organism Passage Grant Program
Corrie Veenstra
Federal Railroad Administration
Washington DC
Joseph Krolak
Federal Highway Administration
Washington DC
The Agencies under the Department of Transportation (Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Transit Authority) are seeking applications for the Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) grant program. This is a program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) prioritizes projects that improve fish passage for anadromous fish listed as Threatened and Endangered (T&E), could reasonably become listed as T&E, identified as prey for endangered species, threatened species, or protected species including Southern Resident orcas or are identified as climate resilient stocks. The AOP program prioritizes projects that would open up more than 200 meters upstream anadromous fish habitat before the end of the natural habitat. Specifically, the AOP program awards projects that replace, remove and repair weirs and culverts.
The AOP program just finished it’s first year of reviews and awardees have been notified. States, tribes, counties, and cities were among the recipients. Many of the projects that were selected were to restore stream habitat. This presentation will highlight some of the projects that have been selected and provide some updates on active construction projects. This presentation will also provide information about where the agencies are in the review process. The Agencies hope to spread the word about this grant program to get more applications over the next 4 years.
The BIL was signed November 15, 2021, $800M was appropriated over a 5 year period from 2022 through 2026.
About Corrie Veenstra
Corrie is a seasoned Environmental Protection Specialist, contributing her expertise to the Human and Natural Environment Team within the Environmental Program at FRA. With a focus on Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, floodplains, and other environmental matters, she provides invaluable advice to the Environmental Program. Before her role at FRA, Corrie played a pivotal role in habitat restoration at Bonneville Power Administration. She has dedicated over 20 years to the Environmental Regulatory field. Corrie holds a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology from the University of California, Davis.
About Joseph Krolak
Mr. Joe Krolak is the Principal Hydraulic Engineer and Leader of the Hydraulic and Geotechnical Engineering Team in the FHWA Office of Bridges and Structures.
His primary responsibilities include leading policy, program, and technical direction and developing guidance for Hydrology, Culverts, Bridges, Extreme Events, Scour, Floodplains, and Coastal Hydraulics for both FHWA and the USDOT.
Mr. Krolak has over 38 years of experience and specializes in hydrologic, hydraulic, coastal, natural hazards, and environmental processes. He has worked for both private and public sector entities. Mr. Krolak has served as an adjunct instructor at Catholic University of America for both undergraduate and graduate courses in hydrology and hydraulics.
Mr. Krolak has a BS in Civil Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 1984
He is a registered Professional Engineer in Civil Engineering; Member of the AASHTO Technical Committee on Hydrology and Hydraulics; member of ASCE and EWRI; a technical reviewer for the ASCE Journals; and a member of various NCHRP Panels (National Academies).