[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 85 (Thursday, May 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24082-24085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9512]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Grant Program to Build Tribal Energy Development Capacity

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Solicitation of Proposals.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the Secretary to 
provide assistance to Indian tribes for use in developing and 
sustaining 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 use a 
competitive evaluation process to select several proposed projects to 
receive an award.

DATES: Submit grant proposals by June 30, 2008. 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, 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:

A. Background
B. Items To Consider Before Preparing an Application for a Tribal 
Energy Development Capacity Grant
C. How To Prepare an Application for Tribal Energy Development 
Capacity Funding
D. Submission of Application in Digital Format
E. Award Evaluation and Administrative Information
F. When To Submit
G. Where To Submit
H. Transfer of Funds
I. Reporting Requirements for Award Recipients

A. Background

    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 further approval of the 
Secretary.
    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 financial assistance to Indian tribes for use in 
developing and sustaining 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:

[[Page 24083]]

     Evaluate the type and range of energy development 
activities that a tribe may want to pursue.
     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 capacity gaps, or 
sustain the continued development of their energy development capacity 
into the future.

B. Items To Consider Before Preparing an Application for a Tribal 
Energy Development Capacity Grant

1. Trust Land Status

    Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) funding can be made 
available only 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

    The IEED will monitor all TEDC grants for statutory and regulatory 
compliance to assure that awarded funds are correctly applied to 
approved projects. Tribes that expend funds on unapproved functions may 
forfeit remaining funds in that proposal year, as well as future year 
TEDC funding. Consequently, IEED may request a tribe to provide a 
summary of any funds it has received in past years through other 
projects approved by IEED, and IEED may conduct a review of prior award 
expenditures before making a decision on current year proposals.

3. BIA Sanction List

    Tribes who are currently under BIA sanction resulting from non 
compliance with the Single Audit Act may be ineligible from being 
considered for an award.

4. Multi-Year Proposals

    The IEED cannot fund multi-year TEDC proposals. Therefore, all 
proposals 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 technical energy resource development 
work only. Examples of items that cannot be funded include, but are not 
limited to the following:
     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 
proposal and only for the duration of the proposal;
     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 contract.

C. 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 current tribal resolution authorizing the proposal;
     A proposal describing the planned activities and 
deliverable products;
     A detailed budget estimate.
    A detailed description of each of the required components follows.
    1. Mandatory Component: Tribal Resolution.
    The tribal resolution must be current, and it must be signed. It 
must authorize tribal approval for a TEDC proposal in the same fiscal 
year as that of the proposal and must explicitly refer to the proposal 
being submitted.
    2. Mandatory Component: 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) Tribal point of contact and contact information, including 
telephone and fax numbers, and tribal responsible parties for technical 
execution and administration of the project;
    (b) Include a short summary overview of the proposal that includes 
the reason for the proposed project, the total funding requested for 
the project, and the elements described in (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), 
(h), (i), and (j) of this part.
    (c) Energy resource development potential: Describe in relevant 
detail the tribe's identified energy resources and existing or planned 
exploration and assessment.
    (d) Energy resource development history and current status: Provide 
examples of the tribe's experience with energy resource development 
activities (both in the target area for capacity assessment and other 
energy resource development activities).
    (e) Existing energy resource development capabilities: Describe in 
relevant detail the tribe's existing capabilities in comparison with 
the spectrum of capabilities and 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).
    (f) Describe in relevant detail plans the tribe has for energy 
development and growth including any current efforts to develop 
governmental institutions or independent business entities related to 
energy development activities.
    (g) Describe in relevant detail any existing or planned tribal 
projects or programs, including but not limited to, staff, training, or 
budget resources, that could be applied to completion of the objectives 
in the accompanying proposal and future development of those 
objectives.
    (h) Technical Summary and Current Status: Describe in relevant 
detail the proposal. 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

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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).
    (i) Proposal Objectives, Goals and Scope of Work: Describe the work 
proposed and the project goals and objectives expected to be achieved 
by the proposal. Specifically, identify the areas on which 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.
    (j) 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.
    (k) Resumes of Key Personnel: 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: 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 
proposal. 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 proposal should have a budget. The budget should break out 
contract and consulting fees, travel, and all other relevant proposal 
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 proposal line items that 
involve several components or contain numerous sub-functions. The 
budget breakdown should include, at a minimum the following:
    (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, specifics 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 proposal.
    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.

D. 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 at (202) 208-7253.

E. Award Evaluation and Administrative Information

1. Ranking Criteria

    The proposal ranking criteria factors and associated scores as 
follows:
    (a) Energy resource potential, 25 points.
    (b) Energy resource development history and current status, 15 
points.
    (c) Existing energy resource development capabilities, 15 points.
    (d) Demonstrated willingness to develop independent energy resource 
development business entity, 20 points.
    (e) Intent to develop and retain energy development capacity within 
tribal government or business entities, 10 points.
    (f) Tribal commitment of staff, training, or monetary resources, 15 
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--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 in writing.

F. When To Submit

    The IEED will accept applications at any time before June 30, 2008, 
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 June 30, 2008.

G. Where To Submit

    Applicants must submit the Tribal Energy Development Capacity 
proposals to IEED at 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 be received in IEED's office within 5 working days 
after the deadline.

H. Transfer of Funds

    IEED will transfer a tribe's TEDC funds to the BIA Regional Office 
that

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serves that tribe, via a sub-allotment funding document coded for the 
tribe's TEDC proposal. 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.

I. 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

    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.
    IEED requires that deliverable products be provided in digital 
format, along with printed hard copies. Reports can be provided in 
either WordPerfect, 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.
    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 sent to the IEED--Capacity Development Report, South 
Interior Building--Room 20, 1951 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20245. IEED will transmit one of these copies to the tribe's BIA 
Regional Office, and one copy to the tribe's BIA Agency office. Two 
printed and two digital copies will then reside with IEED.

    Dated: April 18, 2008.
Carl J. Artman,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. E8-9512 Filed 4-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-04-P