Grants and cooperative agreements to support rural seafood processing and cold storage

(a) In general The Secretary shall, for the period of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, make competitive grants or enter into cooperative agreements— (1) to support pilot projects for new seafood or mariculture processing infrastructure for rural processing facilities in rural coastal communities identified under section 302(c); (2) to support pilot projects for the rehabilitation, repair, or retrofitting of existing seafood or mariculture processing infrastructure for rural processing facilities in rural coastal communities identified under section 302(c); (3) to support pilot projects for new cold storage infrastructure for rural processing facilities in rural coastal communities identified under section 302(c); and (4) to support pilot projects for the rehabilitation, repair, or retrofitting of existing cold storage infrastructure for rural processing facilities in rural coastal communities identified under section 302(c). (b) Eligibility To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a cooperative agreement under subsection (a), the recipient of the grant or participant in the cooperative agreement shall be— (1) a collaborative State, Tribal, local, or regionally based network or partnership of public or private entities; or (2) an individual company that owns or operates one or more rural processing facilities. (c) Allocation for small-Scale rural processing facilities Of the amount made available to make competitive grants and enter into cooperative agreements under subsection (a) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall use 50 percent to support pilot projects described in that subsection for rural processing facilities that have less than 50 employees. (d) Evaluation criteria In making grants or entering into cooperative agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall evaluate, with respect to applications for the grants or cooperative agreements— (1) relevancy; (2) technical merit; (3) achievability, expertise, and track record; and (4) equity and community impacts. (e) Requirements A grant or cooperative agreement under subsection (a) shall be for an amount and term determined appropriate by the Secretary.