Environmental Quality And Protection Resource Management (15.236)

Program

15.236 Environmental Quality And Protection Resource Management

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of the Interior
Office: Bureau of Land Management

Authorization

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5; Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1737(b), Public Law 94-579, as amended; Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements, 16 U.S.C. 1011, Public Law 104-208, Section 124, as amended Public Law 105-277, Section 135; and Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, Public Law 110-161, Division F, Section 125.

Program Number

15.236

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

To provide financial assistance, through grants or cooperative agreements as a partnership to reduce or remove pollutants in the environment for the protection of human health, water and air resources; to restore damaged or degraded watersheds; and to respond to changing climate. Objectives are implemented through core programs such as: the Abandoned Mine Land program which addresses physical safety hazards and water quality through restoration of abandoned hardrock mines; the Hazard Management and Resource Restoration, also known as Hazmat program, which remediates sites impacted by hazardous materials and illegal activities, coordinates emergency response actions, and ensures the Bureau of Land Management facilities and operations comply with applicable environmental regulations; and the Soil, Water and Air (SWA) program which develops guidance for land use plans and plan implementation. The Soil, Water, and Air program also assures that fundamental resources are inventoried and assessed, managed, and monitored to support appropriate management response to public land conditions. For Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded projects additional objectives include: To preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize State and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases.

Types of Assistance

ADVISORY SERVICES AND COUNSELING; Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants); DISSEMINATION OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION; TRAINING

Uses and Use Restrictions

Partnership projects are limited to public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management located mostly in the Western United States and Alaska. Hazmat and Abandoned Mine Land projects will support: inventory and site assessments; mitigation, remediation, and restoration activities; and maintenance and monitoring of actions taken. Funded projects will protect public health, safety and environmental resources by eliminating contamination and hazards and restoring natural resources. The Soil, Water and Air Program Support: soil survey and interpretation, ecological site determination, soil erosion control, and sustaining soil productivity; acquisition of water rights and inventory of water resources to assure availability of water to meet management objectives; monitoring and improvement of quality, and implementation of appropriate best management practices; Colorado River Basin salinity control activities; and air resource management including air quality, visibility, noise, climate, and climate change issues.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Anyone/General public.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Anyone/General public.

Credentials/Documentation

No Credentials or documentation are required. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

For more information on local requirements, cooperative rangeland project proposals should be coordinated with Bureau of Land Management local State or District Office. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. A Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form 424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs, Standard Form 424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs, and a written proposal should be submitted through Grants.gov or via hardcopy to the project office and include: a title, objectives, timeframe, and a budget breakdown as specified in the funding opportunity announcement. No State plan is required with this application.

Award Procedure

Projects are reviewed at the Bureau of Land Management State and District Office level and funding recommendations are made through the State's annual work plan. Final budget approvals rest with the State Director.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Award time varies depending on the type and complexity of the project. Most awards are anticipated within 90 days or less after the announcement closes. Further information will be available for each project at the time the funding opportunity announcement is posted on www.grants.gov and may be obtained by contacting the point of contact listed in the funding opportunity announcement.

Appeals

Final award decisions are not subject to appeal; however, the Bureau of Land Management will provide all applicants with information on why their proposal was not selected for award.

Renewals

Not Applicable.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

Statutory formulas are not applicable to this program.

Matching Requirements: The program has no statutory formula matching requirements. However, matching funds or in-kind services by the applicants are encouraged and those projects are more likely to be funded.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

No specific restrictions for most projects, however, most projects are awarded for a one to five year period and funded on a year-by-year basis and funds are expended during a particular fiscal year. No commitment will be made to fund projects beyond one year. New and continuing projects will be re-evaluated each year based on performance, merit, and funding availability. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: This information is not available.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Projects funded under the American and Recovery Act of 2009 will have additional reporting requirements as described in the announcement packages at www.grants.gov and the DOI Recovery Act website at http://recovery.doi.gov/. Cash reports are not applicable. Progress reports are not applicable. Recipients of funding are required to submit quarterly financial status reports using form Standard Form 269, Financial Status Report, and quarterly, semi-annual, or annual performance reports 30 days following the end of the reporting period. Final performance and financial status reports are due 120 days after the end date of grant performance. Performance monitoring is not applicable.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records

State, local and Indian Tribal governments shall maintain project records in accordance with 43 CFR 12.82. All other recipients shall maintain project records in accordance with 43 CFR 12.953.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: States, other partners, and the Bureau of Land Management have worked together with private and non-federal landowners to enhance public health and safety and eliminate environmental degradation due to impacts from past hardrock mining activities, illegal dumping of solid and hazardous wastes, and unexploded ordnance. Natural resources adversely impacted by oil spills and releases of hazardous substances have been restored. Soil, water and air resources have been sampled and monitored; impacts have been controlled. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Financial Information

Account Identification

14-1109-0-1-302.

Obligations

(Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)) FY 08 $5,762,000; FY 09 est $4,000,000; FY 10 est $4,000,000. (Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)) FY 08 $0; FY 09 est $3,508,000; FY 10 est $15,291,000 - Recovery and Reinvestment Act Minerals, Land and Resources (MLR) Funds TAFS: 14-09/10-1108-0-1-302; and Recovery and Reinvestment Act Construction Funds TAFS: 14-09/10-1112-0-1-302.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

Past partnership projects have ranged from $5,000 to $485,000. Average amount is $150,000 or less.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

Information about the Bureau of Land Management environmental quality and protection programs can be found at www.blm.gov, including: the Cooperative Conservation Based Strategic Plan for the Abandoned Mine Lands Programs, Abandoned Mine Land Program Policy Bureau of Land Manual 3720 and Handbook H-3720-1, Hazard Management and Resource Restoration Manual 1703, and CERCLA Response Actions Handbook H-1703-1. Manuals providing basic program policy guidance for the Soil, Water and Air Program are found in Bureau of Land Management Manual 7000 series and may be obtained at www.blm.gov.

Related Programs

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. See Catalog Appendix IV for addresses of Bureau of Land Management State Offices.

Headquarters Office

Nancy E. Dean Environmental Quality and Protection, Bureau of Land Management (WO 280), 1849 C St., N.W., 204 LS, Washington, District of Columbia 20240 Phone: (202) 452-5060

Web Site Address

http://www.blm.gov/

Examples of Funded Projects

Fiscal Year 2008: Past projects funded encouraged the State and the Bureau of Land Management to work together within close proximity of public lands. Examples of Abandoned Mine Land projects can be found in the Bureau of Land Management - Forest Service joint report entitled "Abandoned Mine Lands: A Decade of Progress Reclaiming Hardrock Mines," BLM publication BLM-WO-GI-07-013-3720. This report is available at www.blm.gov. Projects designed to reduce salt loading in the Colorado River, which include plugging saline wells, reducing saline runoff form areas of saline soils through improved vegetation management and restoration of OHV trails and other surface disturbance, organization and presentation of a road maintenance workshop to teach erosion control methods, and a study on relationship between grazing and vegetation green-up to maintain vegetation cover in areas of saline geology and soils. Past completed projects were completed to improve stream bank and channel conditions and projects to analyze movement and management of groundwater in areas threatened by groundwater over-drought and ground water contamination. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

General criteria used to select assistance proposals are based on their direct relationship to federal lands and a balanced review including relevance to program objectives, merit and cost effectiveness. In addition, for Recovery Act funded projects will boost the economy, create or save jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long neglected challenges for the management, protection and development of federal lands and a balanced review including relevance to program objectives, merit and cost effectiveness.