[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 129 (Friday, July 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37044-37046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13138]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Building Tribal Energy Development Capacity

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Grant program to build tribal energy development capacity.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the Secretary to 
provide development grants to Indian tribes and tribal energy resource 
development organizations for use in developing or obtaining the 
managerial and technical capacity needed to develop energy resources on 
Indian land, and to properly account for resulting energy production 
and revenues. In furtherance of this goal, the Department of the 
Interior's Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development is 
soliciting proposals from tribes and tribal energy resource development 
organizations. The Department will award several grants of up to 
$50,000 each for this program.

DATES: Submit grant proposals by August 6, 2007. We will not consider 
grant proposals received after this date.

ADDRESSES: You must submit the Tribal Energy Development Capacity 
proposal by mail or hand-carry to the Department of the Interior, 
Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Attention: Tribal 
Energy Development Capacity Proposal, Room 20--South Interior Building, 
1951 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20245.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darryl Francois, Program Analyst, 
Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Room 20--South 
Interior Building, 1951 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20245, 
Telephone (202) 219-0740 or Fax (202) 208-4564.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title V, Section 503 of the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) amends Title XXVI (Indian Energy) of the 
Energy Policy Act of 1992 to require the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to offer Indian tribes the opportunity to enter into a 
Tribal Energy Resource Agreement (TERA) with the Department of the 
Interior. The intent of these agreements is to promote tribal oversight 
and management of energy and mineral resource development on tribal 
lands and further the goal of Indian Self-Determination. A TERA offers 
a tribe an entirely new alternative for entering into energy-related 
business agreements and leases and for granting rights-of-way for 
pipelines and electric transmission and distribution lines without the 
Secretary's review and approval.
    The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires that the Secretary, before 
approving a TERA with a tribe, make a determination of a tribe's 
capacity to manage the full scope of administrative, regulatory, and 
energy resource development that the tribe proposes to assume under an 
approved TERA.
    Recognizing that a tribe wanting to enter into a TERA with the 
Department may need technical assistance in building its management 
capacity, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 also authorizes the Secretary 
to provide development grants to Indian tribes and tribal energy 
resource development organizations for use in developing or obtaining 
the managerial and technical capacity needed to develop energy 
resources on Indian land, and to properly account for resulting energy 
production and revenues. In furtherance of this goal, the Department of 
the Interior's Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) 
is soliciting proposals from tribes and tribal energy resource 
development organizations to achieve the following goals:
     Evaluate the type and range of energy development 
activities that a tribe may want to assume under a TERA.
     Determine the current level of scientific, technical, 
administrative, or financial management capacity of the tribe to assume 
responsibility for the identified development activities; and
     Determine which scientific, technical, administrative, or 
financial management capacities need enhancement and what process and/
or procedures the grantee may use to eliminate these capacity gaps.

A. Items To Consider Before Preparing an Application for a Tribal 
Energy Devlopment Capacity Grant

1. Trust Land Status

    Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) funding can only be made 
available to Tribes whose lands are held in trust or restricted fee by 
the Federal government. Congress has appropriated these funds to 
develop tribal capacity to manage the full scope of administrative, 
regulatory, and energy resource development only on Indian trust or 
restricted fee lands.

2. Tribes' Compliance History

    All grant programs are under constant and close scrutiny by the 
Administration and Congress. Therefore, IEED must monitor all TEDC 
grants for statutory and regulatory compliance to assure that awarded 
funds are correctly applied to projects that the IEED is authorized to 
support. Tribes that expend funds on unapproved functions may forfeit 
remaining funds in that project year, as well as future year TEDC 
funding. Consequently, IEED may request a tribe to provide a summary of 
any funds they have received in past years through award programs 
administered by IEED, and IEED may conduct a review of award 
expenditures before making a decision on current year proposals.

3. BIA Sanction List

    Tribes who are on the BIA's list of sanctioned tribes with a Level 
1 rating will not be considered for an award.

4. Multi-Year Projects

    The TEDC program cannot award multi-year funding for a project. 
Funding available for building energy development capacity is subject 
to annual appropriations by Congress and therefore IEED can only 
consider single-year projects. Therefore, Tribal Energy Development 
Capacity projects should be designed to be completed in one year.

5. What the Tribal Energy Development Capacity Award Cannot Fund

    As stated above, these funds are used specifically to assist tribes 
in an assessment of their ability to manage the full scope of 
administrative, regulatory, and energy resource development work only. 
Examples of items that cannot be funded include, but are not limited to 
the following:

[[Page 37045]]

     Purchasing and/or leasing of equipment for the development 
of energy and mineral resources;
     Establishing or operating a tribal office, and/or purchase 
of office equipment not specific to the assessment project. Tribal 
salaries may be included only if they are directly involved in the 
project and only for the duration of the project;
     Indirect costs and overhead as defined by the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (FAR);
     Purchase of project equipment such as computers, vehicles, 
field gear, etc.;
     The payment of fees or procurement of any services 
associated with energy assessment or exploration or development 
activity;
     Legal fees;
     Research and development of unproven technologies;
     Training;
     Contracted negotiation fees;
     Purchase of resource assessment data; and
     Any other activities not authorized by the Tribal 
resolution or by the award letter.

B. How To Prepare an Application for Tribal Energy Development Capacity 
Funding

    Applications must be prepared in accordance with this section. A 
complete application for TEDC funding must contain the following 
components:
    (a) A tribal resolution authorizing the proposed project;
    (b) A proposal describing the planned activities and deliverable 
products;
    (c) A detailed budget estimate.
    IEED will examine every application for these components. Any 
application that does not contain all of the mandatory components will 
be considered incomplete and returned to the tribe, with an 
explanation. Tribes will then be allowed ten working days to correct 
all deficiencies and submit the application for re-consideration.

1. Mandatory Component 1: Tribal Resolution

    The tribal resolution must be current, and it must be signed. It 
must authorize tribal approval for a TEDC proposed project in the same 
fiscal year as that of the proposal and must explicitly refer to the 
proposal being submitted.

2. Mandatory Component 2: Tribal Energy Development Capacity Proposal

    A tribe must present its TEDC proposal in the format prescribed in 
this section. The proposal should be well organized, contain as much 
detail as possible, yet be presented succinctly to allow a quick and 
thorough understanding of the proposal by the IEED evaluation team. The 
proposal must include the following sections:
    (a) Overview: A short summary overview of the proposal that 
includes the following:

--Elements of the proposed study;
--Reasons the proposed study is needed;
--Total requested funding;
--Responsible parties for technical execution and administration of the 
proposed project; and
--A tribal point of contact for the project and contact information.

    (b) Technical Summary and Current Status: Describe in relevant 
detail the proposed project. Acknowledge any existing capacity 
assessments or building efforts already underway or previously 
completed. Give examples of the tribe's experience with energy 
development activities (both in the target area for capacity assessment 
and other energy development activities). Describe future plans the 
tribe has for energy development and growth. The proposed new study 
should not duplicate previous work. Describe the tribe's existing 
capabilities in comparison with the spectrum of abilities necessary for 
successful energy development, including but not limited to the 
following:
     Land and lease management
     Technical, scientific and engineering assessment
     Financial and revenue management
     Environmental monitoring and assessment
     Regulatory monitoring and development (especially Federal, 
State, and Tribal environmental and safety regulations)
    (c) Project Objectives, Goals and Scope of Work: Describe the work 
proposed and the project goals and objectives expected to be achieved 
by the proposed project. Specifically, identify the areas where the 
proposal's assessment will focus. Describe in relevant detail the scope 
of work and justify a particular approach to be used in assessing the 
tribe's capacity to manage energy development activities and determine 
proposed next steps to be taken to eliminate identified skill gaps.
    (d) Deliverable Products: Describe the deliverable products that 
the proposed project will generate. Discuss and provide deadlines for 
planned status reports as well as the final report.
    (e) Resumes of Key Personnel: If the tribe will use consultant 
services, provide the resumes of key personnel who will do the project 
work. The resumes should provide information on each individual's 
expertise. If subcontractors are used, these should also be disclosed.

3. Mandatory Component 3: Detailed Budget Estimate

    A detailed budget estimate is required for the funding level 
requested. The detail not only provides the tribe with an estimate of 
costs, but it also provides IEED with the means of evaluating each 
project. This line-by-line budget must fully detail all projected and 
anticipated expenditures under the TEDC proposal. The ranking committee 
reviews each budget estimate to determine whether the budget is 
reasonable and can produce the results outlined under the proposal.
    Each proposed project function should have a separate budget. The 
budget should break out contract and consulting fees, travel, and all 
other relevant project expenses. Preparation of the budget portion of a 
proposal should be considered a top priority. A TEDC proposal that 
includes sound budget projections will receive a more favorable ranking 
over those proposals that fail to provide appropriate budget 
projections.
    The budget should provide a comprehensive breakdown for those 
project line items that involve several components or contain numerous 
sub-functions.
    (a) Contracted Personnel Costs. This includes all contracted 
personnel and consultants, their respective positions and time (staff-
hour) allocations for the proposed functions of a project.
     Personnel funded under the Public Law 93-638 Tribal Energy 
Development Capacity Program must have documented professional 
qualifications necessary to perform the work. Attach position 
descriptions to the budget estimate.
     If a consultant is to be hired for a fixed fee, itemize 
the consultant's expenses as part of the project budget.
     Consultant fees must be accompanied by documentation that 
clearly identifies the qualifications of the proposed consultants, 
specifies how the consultant(s) are to be used and includes a line item 
breakdown of costs associated with each consultant activity.
    (b) Travel Estimates. Estimates should be itemized by airfare and 
vehicle rental, lodging and per diem, based on the current federal 
government per diem schedule.
    (c) Data Collection and Analysis Costs. These costs should be 
itemized in sufficient detail for the reviewer to evaluate the charges.
    (d) Other Expenses. Include computer rental, report generation, 
drafting, and advertising costs for a proposed project.

[[Page 37046]]

    As previously stated, a tribe or tribal organization that expends 
TEDC funds on unapproved project functions is subject to forfeiture of 
any remaining funds in that project year as well as sanctions against 
receipt of any future year TEDC funding.

C. Submission of Application in Digital Format

    Submit the application in digital form. Acceptable formats are MS 
Word, WordPerfect, and Adobe Acrobat PDF. Image and graphic files may 
be JPG, TIF, or other PC bit image file formats.
    Files must be saved with filenames that clearly identify the file 
being submitted. File name extensions must clearly indicate the 
software application used for preparation of the documents (i.e., .wpd, 
.doc, .pdf.)
    Documents requiring an original signature, such as cover letters, 
tribal resolutions, and other letters of tribal authorization must also 
be submitted in hard copy (paper) form.
    If you have any additional questions concerning the Tribal Energy 
Development Capacity proposal submission process, please contact Darryl 
Francois, IEED's TEDC Coordinator at (202) 208-7253.

D. Award Evalaution and Administrative Information

1. Ranking Criteria

    The proposal ranking criteria factors and associated scores as 
follows:
    (a) Resource potential, 25 points.
    (b) Energy development history and current status, 15 points.
    (c) Existing energy development capabilities, 20 points.
    (d) Demonstrated willingness to develop independent energy 
development business entity, 20 points.
    (e) Tribal funding commitment, 20 points.

2. Ranking of Proposals and Award Letters

    The TEDC review committee will rank the tribal energy development 
capacity proposals using the ranking criteria. The evaluation team will 
then forward the rated requests to the Director of IEED (Director) for 
approval. Once approved, the Director will submit all proposals to the 
Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs for concurrence and announcement 
of awards to the selected tribes, via written notice. Those tribes not 
receiving an award will also be notified immediately in writing.

E. When to Submit

    The IEED will accept applications at any time before August 6, 
2007, and will send a notification of receipt to the return address on 
the application package, along with a determination of whether or not 
the application is complete. However, the technical evaluation of the 
proposal will begin only after August 6, 2007.

 F. Where to Submit

    Applicants must submit the Tribal Energy Development Capacity 
proposals to IEED at the following address: ATTN: Tribal Energy 
Development Capacity Proposal, South Interior Building--Room 20, 1951 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20245.
    A tribe may fax a complete TEDC proposal to IEED prior to the 
deadline for submission of proposals; however, an original signature 
copy, including all signed tribal resolutions and/or letters of tribal 
authorization, must also be received in IEED's office within five 
working days after the deadline.

G. Transfer of Funds

    IEED will transfer a tribe's TEDC funds to the BIA Regional Office 
that serves that tribe, via a sub-allotment funding document coded for 
the tribe's TEDC project. The tribe should be anticipating the transfer 
of funds and be in contact with their budget personnel contacts at the 
Regional and Agency office levels. Tribes receiving TEDC awards must 
establish a new 638 contract to complete the transfer process, or use 
an existing 638 contract, as applicable.

H. Reporting Requirements for Award Recipients

1. Quarterly Reporting Requirements

    During the life of the TEDC project, quarterly reports are to be 
submitted to the IEED project coordinator assigned to your project. The 
beginning and ending quarter periods are to be based on the actual 
start date of the TEDC project. This date can be determined between the 
IEED project coordinator and the tribe.
    The quarterly report can be a one to two page summary of events, 
accomplishments, problems and/or results that took place during the 
quarter. Quarterly reports are due two weeks after the end of a 
project's fiscal quarter.

2. Final Reporting Requirements

     Delivery Schedules: The tribe must deliver all products 
and data generated by the proposed assessment project to IEED through 
the TEDC project coordinator within two weeks after completion of the 
project.
     Provide Reports and Data in Digital Form. IEED requires 
that deliverable products be provided in digital format, along with 
printed hard copies. Reports can be provided in either MS Word or PDF 
format. Spreadsheet data can be provided in MS Excel or PDF formats. 
Images can be provided in PDF, JPEG, TIFF, or any of the Windows 
metafile formats.
     Number of Copies. When a tribe prepares a proposal for a 
TEDC project, it must describe the deliverable products and include a 
requirement that the products be prepared in standard format (see 
format description above). Each proposal's budget estimate will provide 
funding for a total of six printed and six digital copies of the final 
report to be distributed as follows:
    (a) The tribe will receive two printed and two digital copies of 
the TEDC report.
    (b) IEED will receive four printed copies and four digital copies 
of the report. IEED will transmit one of these copies to the tribe's 
BIA Regional Office, and one copy to the tribe's BIA Agency office.
    (c) Two printed and two digital copies will then reside with IEED. 
These copies should be forwarded to the IEED office in Washington, DC, 
to the attention of the Tribal Energy Resource Agreement Office.

    Dated: June 26, 2007.
Carl J. Artman,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
 [FR Doc. E7-13138 Filed 7-5-07; 8:45 am]
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