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| 15.037 WATER RESOURCES ON INDIAN LANDS |
| FEDERAL AGENCY |
| BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR |
| AUTHORIZATION |
| Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Public Law 93-638, as amended, 25 U.S.C. 450; Snyder Act of 1921, 25 U.S.C. 13, Public Law 67-85, 42 Stat. 208. |
| OBJECTIVES |
| To support Indian tribes in the effective and efficient management, planning, and use of their water resources. |
| TYPES OF ASSISTANCE |
| Direct Payments for Specified Use; Provision of Specialized Services; Advisory Services and Counseling. |
| USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS |
| Funds are used by tribes to conduct water management and planning project and activities for the purpose of managing and conserving their water resources and to participate in the on-going water rights negotiation and litigation activities to protect and secure their lawful water rights. All awards are project/proposal specific and are the result of a nationwide competitve process. |
| Applicant Eligibility |
| Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments and Native American Organizations authorized by Indian tribal governments. |
| Beneficiary Eligibility |
| Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments and their members and Native American Organizations. |
| Credentials/Documentation |
| Initial application for financial assistance must be accompanied by a resolution of the governing body of the Indian tribe. |
| Preapplication Coordination |
| Informal preapplication conference is recommended. Technical assistance in preparing the application is available upon request. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. |
| Application Procedure |
| The Bureau's application and prioritization procedure for water programs funding has been published as a Notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 201, Wednesday, October 19, 2005 ("Notice of Revised Instructions for Preparing and Prioritizing Water Program Funding Requests"). Completed applications should be submitted by the established deadline to the local BIA agency office listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog. |
| Award Procedure |
| Awards are made by the Deputy Bureau Director, Office of Trust Services, Central Office, based on the prioritization of all applications received through a thorough evaluation and scoring by a six-person review team. Awards are usually made shortly after the review team has completed its reviews of all proposals received in Central Office by the due date of September 15th. Any awards are subject to the availability of the congressional appropriations for the new fiscal year. |
| Deadlines |
| As published in the Federal Register Notice, all applications must be submitted through the Regional Director of the BIA region with jurisdiction to the Deputy Bureau Director, Office of Trust Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, by September 15th for funding consideration the following fiscal year. |
| Range of Approval/Disapproval Time |
| No set times. |
| Appeals |
| No appeal process. The Water Programs funds are annual, non-recurring congressional appropriations and any awards made on the basis of the published prioritization process and the availability of funds. |
| Renewals |
| Funds are appropriated for use in non-recurring projects/activities on a year-to-year basis and are not intended to provide perennial support for tribal programs. |
| Formula and Matching Requirements |
| Applications are evaluated and scored based on weighted criteria that have a maximum scoring range of 100 points (congressional and court mandates automatically score 100). No matching requirement, however, applications with available matching funds may score higher. |
| Length and Time Phasing of Assistance |
| Awards are made on an annual basis and the funds remain available until expended by the contractor/grantee. |
| Reports |
| Financial status reports, SF 269A, are required. Water program funds awarded to tribes through Public Law 93-638, as amended, are subject to the requirements of the Act and 25 CFR Part 900. |
| Audits |
| For awards made under this program, grantees/contractors are responsible for obtaining audits. All nonfederal entities that expend $500,000 or more of Federal awards in a year ($300,000 for fiscal year ending on or before December 30, 2003) are required to obtain an annual audit in accordance with the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501 et. seq.) and OMB Circular A-133, the OMB Circular Compliance Supplement and Government Auditing Standards. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $500,000 (for fiscal years ending after December 1, 2003) a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in OMB Circular A-133. |
| Records |
| Financial records must be retained for 3 years from the date of submission of the single audit report. Procurement records must be retained for 3 years from the date of final payment. Property records must be retained for 3 years from the date of disposition, replacement, or transfer. Records pertaining to any litigation, audit exceptions, or claims must be retained until the dispute has been resolved. |
| Account Identification |
| 14-2100-0-1-302. |
| Obligations |
| (Total Amount of Awards) FY 07 $4,094,495; FY 08 est. $3,846,150; and FY 09 est. $3,850,000. |
| Range and Average of Financial Assistance |
| $10,000 to $200,000. |
| PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| Annually, approximately 25 to 40 percent of the requests for Water Management, Planning, and Pre-development financial assistance are at least partially funded. |
| REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE |
| Notice of Revised Instructions for Preparing and Prioritizing Water Program Funding Requests, Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 201, Wednesday, October 19, 2005. |
| Regional or Local Office |
| Applications may be filed with the local Bureau of Indian Affairs' agency office as listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog. |
| Headquarters Office |
| Office of Trust Responsibilities, Division of Water and Land Resources, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street N.W., MS 4650 MIB, Washington, DC 20240. Contact: Division Chief, Telephone: (202)208-3956. |
| Web Site Address |
| None |
| RELATED PROGRAMS |
| None. |
| EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS |
| Projects include hydrologic studies of groundwater supply, groundwater modeling, quantitative and qualitative monitoring and analysis of ground and surface water, acquifer investigations, stream gaging; comprehensive water management plans, etc., and also participation in tribal water rights negotiations/litigation. |
| CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS |
| Water Management, Planning, and Pre-development proposals are evaluated according to the type of proposal (as published in the Federal Register Notice, Vol. 70, No. 201, October 19, 2005): Water Management - Indian Water and Associated Resources; Water Management - Coordination/Cooperation/Consultation/Conservation; Water Management - Other; Water Planning and Pre-development - Indian Water; and Water Planning and Pre-development - Other: In addition, all proposals are evaluated on the basis of: Cost Effectiveness, Compliance with Requesting Guidelines; and Efficiency and Accomplishment. Projects are funded based on rankings of the projects Bureau wide, and in accordance with the national program priorities established for the program. Some preference is given to proposals that offer matching funds. Proposals are evaluated on the capability of the prospective applicant to successfully conduct the project, and on the budget and its effective use. |
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General Services Administration Office of Chief Acquisition Officer Regulatory and Federal Assistance Division (VIR) |
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