Improving the Capability of Indian Tribal Governments to Regulate Environmental Quality
Published on AidPage by
IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To provide financial assistance to advance tribal capacity and capability to plan for, develop, and implement enhancements to tribal environmental regulatory infrastructure required to support a tribal environmental program and to regulate and enforce environmental activities on Indian lands; to develop regulations, ordinances and laws to protect the environment; to develop the technical and program capacity to carry out a comprehensive tribal environmental program and perform essential environmental program functions; to promote training and education of tribal employees; to develop technical and program capability to meet tribal and Federal regulatory requirements; to develop technical and program capability to monitor compliance and enforcement of tribal environmental regulations, ordinances, and laws; and to ensure the tribal court system enforcement requirements are developed in concert with and support the tribe's comprehensive environmental program.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
Funds may be used for planning, developing and implementing tribal environmental regulatory programs through competitive grants.
Who is eligible to apply...
The following organizations are eligible to apply: Federally-recognized Indian tribes; consortia of Indian tribes; incorporated nonfederally-recognized Tribes; Alaska Native villages as defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and/or nonprofit village consortia; and tribal governing bodies (IRA or traditional councils) as recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Credentials/Documentation
Not applicable.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
Information regarding the availability for grant funds will be published from time to time in the Federal Register as Program Announcements, which will provide details on program objectives for which applications are being solicited and other application requirements. The Administration for Native Americans will provide each applicant with the appropriate forms for the application for Federal Assistance and instructions for applying for grants from Administration for Native Americans programs. Applications should be submitted to Administration for Children and Families, Office of Grants Management, Division of Discretionary Grants, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
All funds are awarded directly to the grantees.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
Each program announcement specifies the due dates for submission of applications.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Applicants will receive notice of approval/disapproval approximately 120 days after receipt of application.
Preapplication Coordination
None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
Appeals are processed in accordance with HHS regulations in 45 CFR, Part 16.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
Project Grants
The funding, for fixed or known periods, of specific projects. Project grants can include fellowships, scholarships, research grants, training grants, traineeships, experimental and demonstration grants, evaluation grants, planning grants, technical assistance grants, survey grants, and construction grants.
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
(Tribal Grants) From $50,000 to $250,000;
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
(Grants) FY 03 $2,498,550; FY 04 est $3,000,000; and FY 05 est $3,000,000.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
75-1536-0-1-506.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
None are available at this time.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
In fiscal year 2003, 13 new grants were awarded to support projects to assist tribal governments in planning, developing and implementing tribal environmental programs which are consistent with tribal culture including: development and implementation of procedures related to land use permits and plans; strengthening the capacity of tribal governance to adjudicate environmental cases in tribal court; development of tribal environmental codes or policies; development of tribal capacity to monitor compliance with EPA regulations. It is anticipated that 15 grants will be awarded in fiscal years 2004 and 2005.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
Specific criteria for selecting proposals for funding are stated in each program announcement. In general, proposals are judged on the basis of relevance to program objectives as stated in the program announcement, project viability, community support, reasonable cost estimates, and qualifications of applicant organization and personnel.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Grantees may apply for competitive continuation support within a project period of 1 to 3 years.
Formula and Matching Requirements
This program has no statutory formula for distribution of funds. A matching share of 20 percent is required unless waived in accordance with criteria which are also published 45 CFR, Part 1336.50.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
Semi-Annual Financial Status Reports, Report of Federal Cash Transactions, Project Progress Reports, and an Annual Evaluation Report are required.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
Audits are conducted in accordance with the requirements in 45 CFR 74 and 92.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
Financial records, supporting documents and all other related records pertinent to ANA grants must be maintained for a period of 3 years. If an audit is not completed by the end of 3-year period, or if audit findings have not been resolved, records shall be retained until resolution of the audit findings.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, Public Law 93-644, 88 Stat. 2334, 42 U.S.C. 2991b; Indian Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Act, Public Law 101-408, 104 Stat. 883.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Regulations are published in 45 CFR 1336.