Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Grants: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) |
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Amendments: When do I have to apply for an amendment?
There are different methods of making changes to an awarded grant depending on the type of change you need to make. You must apply for and receive a formal grant amendment for some changes, such as increasing the funding or extending the grant performance period. Other changes still require prior Office of Surface Mining approval, but can be requested and approved by letter; for example, a need to purchase equipment not included in the original application. Some changes can be made by the grantee without Office of Surface Mining approval. When you need to change a grant, call your Office of Surface Mining specialist, and we will work together to figure out the procedure for your specific situation. For the complete rules on grant changes, go to the Federal Assistance Manual Chapter 5-60A for AML programs or the Federal Assistance Manual Chapter 5-60R for regulatory programs.
Application Due Date: When is my grant application due? Why does it take 60 days to process?
Applications are due to your Office of Surface Mining Regional or Field Office 60 days before the start of the grant performance period. The Office of Surface Mining needs 60 days to process the application because a lot of things need to happen. First, the Office of Surface Mining will do a programmatic and a financial review of the application. After they review your application and program, the reviewers may contact you to request any missing forms or data, ask questions about the application, or negotiate to resolve any concerns or disputes. After the reviewers recommend approval, the Office of Surface Mining will notify Congress and issue a Fact Sheet describing the grant, then produce the award documents and sign the grant. After the award, there is time for you to receive and accept the award, and for the Office of Surface Mining to get the grant into the accounting system so that funds are available. One of the Office of Surface Mining's performance goals is to award grants within 60 days of receiving the application, and we have a 98% success rate in achieving that goal.
Audits: How are Office of Surface Mining grants audited?
The Single Audit Act requires grantees receiving substantial federal funding to be audited, normally on an annual basis. This one audit covers all federal agreements and funds. Grantees usually contract with an independent auditing firm to have the audit performed. Your Office of Surface Mining grants specialist would appreciate hearing when an audit is happening, and would be like to participate in audit conferences. When the audit is complete it will be sent to your cognizant federal agency and posted to the single audit clearinghouse. If you have questions about a report, or would like to share a report or its findings, please call your Office of Surface Mining grants specialist. If Office of Surface Mining is asked to resolve a finding in a single audit, you will receive a letter from your Office of Surface Mining regional or field office asking for the grantee's response. Go to the Single Audit Clearinghouse web site to see single audit reports and go to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) web site to see more about the single audit rules in Circular A-133, Audit Requirements.
Drawdowns: What do I do if I've drawn down too much money?
If you have cash from an Office of Surface Mining grant that will not be spent immediately, it must be returned. The best way to return cash is a negative drawdown action. That has to be entered in the drawdown system at the same time as a positive cash request in order to offset the returned funds. If a negative drawdown is not possible, contact your grants specialist for specific payment instructions.
Eligibility: Is my organization eligible for an Office of Surface Mining grant?
Most Office of Surface Mining grants are available only to states and tribes with coal mining regulatory or reclamation program plans approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Office of Surface Mining grant programs for states and tribes include regulatory administration & enforcement grants, regulatory program development grants, Abandoned Mine Land (AML) reclamation grants, and Small Operator Assistance Program grants. The Office of Surface Mining also awards cooperative agreements to not-for-profit corporations, such as small watershed organizations, to perform acid mine drainage reclamation projects.
Funding Level: Who decides how much money each grantee gets?
The grant application and award process determines the actual funding within the cap set by the budget distribution. The state or tribe submits a grant application requesting and justifying the amount of federal funds they need to operate the program. The Office of Surface Mining program and grants specialists review the application, work with the grantee to resolve questions and problems, and recommend necessary and reasonable funding levels. The authorized Office of Surface Mining official in the awarding office (for example, the Field Office Director) makes final award decisions.
The grant budget process begins with state and tribal estimates of their regulatory grant needs for a future fiscal year. The Office of Surface Mining prepares total budget requests for all the grant programs, and works with the Department of the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget to include grant program needs in the President's annual budget request. The U.S. Congress passes appropriation legislation which sets a total funding level for each Office of Surface Mining grant program, and the bill is signed into law by the President. The Office of Surface Mining then divides the total appropriation into amounts available to each grantee. For the Abandoned Mine Land program, funds are distributed to states and tribes according to a formula based on coal mining fee collections and historic mining activity. Regulatory program funds are distributed based on state and tribal requests, previous expenditures, and the recommendations of the Office of Surface Mining offices. Small Operator Assistance Program funds are distributed by a formula based on program activity.
Indirect Costs: Why have an indirect cost rate instead of costing everything directly?
Some of the functions performed by a grantee support multiple grant programs. Such functions can be charged directly to grants based on actual costs, or charged indirectly as part of an indirect cost rate. It is often too difficult or time-consuming to determine exactly how much of these support costs are actually spent on a specific program. For example, while it might be possible to charge a state's accounting system directly by billing programs for each transaction, the minor increases in accuracy would not be worth the additional time and money that this level of tracking would consume. Grantees can choose to develop cost plans that distribute these types of costs to individual programs on some other basis, such as a percentage of costs. Grantee indirect cost plans must be approved by their cognizant federal agency, normally the agency which provides that grantee the most federal funding. See the Federal Assistance Manual, Chapter 6-100 for more information on indirect cost rates.
Grants Staff: What is the structure of the Office of Surface Mining grants operation?
The Office of Surface Mining grants specialists are located in regional and field offices. They work with grantees and Office of Surface Mining program staff to award and administer grants and promote effective program operations. Each Office of Surface Mining grantee has a grants specialist assigned to be their primary contact for grant and financial questions. In the east, four grants specialists are located in the Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Three grants specialists are in the Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center in Alton, Illinois. In the west, the Casper and Albuquerque Field Offices and the Denver field division of the Western Regional Coordinating Center each have a grants specialist. In addition, there is an office for grants accounting at the Division of Financial Management in Denver, and one for grants policy in Washington, D.C. See the Office of Surface Mining Contacts page for names, phone numbers and e-mail links to Office of Surface Mining grants staff.
Office of Surface Mining's national grants team is made up of the fourteen staff whose primary responsibility is in grants. The team was created to promote consistency and coordination in grants activities. The full team meets annually, but there are also quarterly meetings and frequent e-mail communications. The team conducts workshops for grantee staff and for Office of Surface Mining program staff to improve the working partnerships needed to make the grants programs function.
Program Income: Does program income earned under a grant have to be applied to that grant?
Program income is any income resulting from grant activities, such as permit fees, sale of publications, or rental of grant property. Program income must be used to further the purposes of the grant program. It is therefore possible to use program income in a different grant than it was earned under as long as it is for the same program. However, the Office of Surface Mining recommends that grantees use program income as soon as possible rather than holding onto it for future use. For a regulatory program, program income should be used to meet the state's matching requirement. For an Abandon Mine Land program, program income should be used to reduce total costs to the grant. Program income from all sources must be reported to the Office of Surface Mining, and must be supported in the grantee's financial records.
Property: I want to get rid of an old piece of equipment. What do I need to do?
Grant property rules are complicated, and specific details about this item such as the purchase price and date, the current value, and how you plan to get rid of it determine what is required. Generally, property purchased after October 1988, costing $5,000 or more, with a useful life of over one year, is considered equipment. If equipment is no longer needed and the current per unit fair market value is under $5,000, the grantee may sell, keep, or do anything they want with it by simply notifying the Office of Surface Mining. If your program needs to replace equipment, the Office of Surface Mining recommends that the old property be used as a trade-in to reduce the cost of the replacement. For any property questions, please call your Office of Surface Mining grants specialist; we'll be happy to help figure out how to handle your specific situation. Or go to the Federal Assistance Manual Chapter 1-410 for the Office of Surface Mining's complete grant property rules.
Regulations: How do I get a copy of the Federal Assistance Manual?
The Federal Assistance Manual (FAM), contains all Office of Surface Mining grants management regulations and procedures. Each of the 52 chapters addresses a specific topic (for example, property or program income) or process (for example, how to apply for an Abandoned Mine Land grant). The Federal Assistance Manual is now available on line. See the Federal Assistance Manual Table of Contents, or call your Office of Surface Mining grants specialist to get a hard copy of the manual.
Report Due Date: When are my grant reports due?
For a three-year Abandoned Mine Land grant, reports are due 90 days after the end of each year.
For a one-year regulatory program grant, reports are due 30 days after the end of the first six months of the grant and 90 days after the end of the grant.
Report Extension: I can't get my reports done on time. What do I do now?
Call your Office of Surface Mining grants specialist. The Office of Surface Mining will normally approve a short extension of the deadline if you justify the need and agree to a reasonable new due date. If reports are significantly overdue or a grantee has a history of late reporting, the Office of Surface Mining may work with the grantee to identify the reporting problems and try to resolve them.
Report Forms: Which financial report form should I use?
Grantee financial reports for the regulatory program can use either the SF269, Financial Status Report (long form), or the SF 269A, Financial Status Report (short form). You can use the short form if you do not have any program income to report. Financial reports for the Abandoned Mine Land program must use form OSM 49, Budget Information and Financial Reporting Form.
Training: Does the Office of Surface Mining offer any grants training?
The Office of Surface Mining does provide grants training for grantees. A national grants workshop is held for grantees every three years. The last workshop was in August of 2000 in New Orleans, so the next one will be in 2003. Regional offices offer training sessions as needed. Most Office of Surface Mining grants training is provided to individual grantees at their request. Training may be formal or informal, for large groups, small groups, or individuals. Contact your grants specialist, tell us what topic you're interested in, and we'll be happy to work out the time, place and agenda for a training session with you.
I have a grants question that isn't answered on this page.
Please call your Office of Surface Mining grants specialist with any questions, concerns, comments, or ideas. Providing information and assistance to our grantees is a major function of grants staff. We would really like to hear from you. See the Office of Surface Mining Contacts page for phone numbers and e-mail links.
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