[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41297-41300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17612]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), through the Office 
of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), is soliciting grant 
proposals from Federally-recognized Indian tribes for projects to build 
tribal capacity for energy resource development under the Department of 
the Interior's (DOI) Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) grant 
program. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 25 U.S.C. 3502 (Act), 
Congress appropriates funds on a year-to-year basis to DOI for grants 
of funds to Indian tribes for use in assessing, developing, and 
sustaining the managerial and technical capacity needed to develop 
energy resources on Indian land and properly accounting for resulting 
energy resource production and revenues. We will use a competitive 
evaluation process based on criteria stated in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this notice to select projects for funding 
awards.

DATES: Submit grant proposals August 29, 2011. Grant proposals must be 
postmarked by this date or they may not be considered.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry grant proposals to the Department of the 
Interior, Office of Indian Energy & Economic Development, Attention: 
Ashley Stockdale, 1951 Constitution Avenue, NW., MS 20-SIB, Washington, 
DC 20245, or e-mail to Ashley Stockdale at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about the TEDC 
program, or have technical questions about the tribal energy resource 
capacity you wish to develop, please contact David B. Johnson at the 
Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, 1951 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., MS 20-SIB, Washington, DC 20245, telephone 202-208-3026, 
fax 202-208-4564, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    The IEED administers the TEDC grant program for the benefit of 
Federally-recognized Indian tribes that wish to build capacity to 
develop conventional or renewable energy resources on tribal lands. The 
TEDC grant program helps such tribes in assessing, developing or 
sustaining the managerial and technical capacity needed to develop 
energy resources on Indian land and to properly account for resulting 
energy production and revenues, as provided for in the Act, Title V, 
Section 503.
    Title V, Section 503 of the Act also amended Title XXVI (Indian 
Energy) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to provide for Tribal Energy 
Resource Agreements (TERAs). The TERAs are agreements between 
Federally-recognized Indian tribes and the Secretary that allow the 
tribe, at its discretion, to enter into leases, business agreements, 
and rights-of-way for energy resource development on tribal lands 
without further review and approval by the Secretary. The Act and the 
implementing regulations (25 CFR Part 224) provide that the Secretary 
must determine that a tribe has the capacity to regulate the 
development of its energy resource(s) before approving a TERA. The TEDC 
grants are, therefore, particularly useful to tribes that may wish to 
pursue a TERA, since the funds are used to help fulfill one of the key 
requirements for TERA approval--demonstrating capacity to perform the 
administrative and technical functions included in a TERA. Tribes that 
are not considering entering into a TERA may also benefit from a TEDC 
grant for energy resource development on Indian land under other 
options available to tribes, such as Indian Mineral Development 
Agreements.
    The information collection requirements contained in this notice

[[Page 41298]]

have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3504(h). The OMB 
control number is 1076-0177. The authorization expires on July 31, 
2014. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to 
respond to, any information collection that does not display a 
currently valid OMB Control Number.

B. General Requirements for TEDC Grant Proposals

    1. The TEDC grant proposals must be submitted to IEED in digital 
format and postmarked by the date in the DATES section.
    2. Proposals should be presented succinctly, yet in enough detail 
to allow the TEDC grant evaluation team to quickly and thoroughly 
understand the purpose, scope and objectives of the proposal.
    3. Projects proposed under the TEDC grant program must be capable 
of being completed within one year of a grant award.
    4. The TEDC grant projects may not duplicate previous or ongoing 
energy resource development capacity building projects.
    5. The TEDC grant projects may not include any activities that 
duplicate efforts of other projects for which federal funds have 
previously been awarded.
    6. Tribes currently under Bureau of Indian Affairs sanction 
resulting from non-compliance with the Single Audit Act may be 
ineligible for consideration of a grant award.
    7. The TEDC grant proposals will be deemed incomplete, or, at a 
minimum, points will be deducted, if all mandatory components are not 
included.

C. Purposes of TEDC Grants

    The TEDC grants are intended to help Indian tribes meet the 
following goals as they relate to assessing, developing, and/or 
sustaining tribal energy resource development capacity for energy 
resource(s) the tribe intends to or is developing on Indian land:
    1. Determine the current level of the tribe's scientific, 
technical, administrative, or financial management capacity for 
identified energy resource development activities;
    2. Determine which scientific, technical, administrative, or 
financial management capacities for tribal energy resource development 
need enhancement;
    3. Determine what process(es) and/or procedure(s) may be used to 
eliminate capacity gaps or sustain the continued development of energy 
resource development capacity (including training); and
    4. Determine how the process(es) and/or procedure(s) identified in 
(c) will be implemented.

D. Activities Eligible for TEDC Grant Funding

    Examples of activities eligible for TEDC grants include, but are 
not limited to, assessing or determining how to develop or sustain the 
tribe's capacity for:
     Reviewing proposals for leases, business agreements, and 
rights-of-way;
     Negotiating and reviewing leases, business agreements, or 
rights-of-way;
     Evaluating the environmental effects of energy resource 
development projects a tribe may enter into, including those related to 
cultural resources;
     Monitoring the compliance of a third party with the terms 
and conditions of any leases, business agreements, and rights of-way a 
tribe may enter into;
     Establishing and/or managing energy development-related 
departments or administrative divisions within the tribe;
     Providing for energy development-related technical, 
scientific, and/or engineering expertise within the tribe;
     Developing or enhancing tribal codes, regulations, or 
ordinances related to regulating energy resource development; and
     Accounting for energy resource production and revenues.

E. Activities Ineligible for TEDC Grant Funding

     Feasibility studies and energy resource assessments;
     Purchase of resource assessment data;
     Research and development of speculative or unproven 
technologies;
     Purchase or lease of equipment for the development of 
energy resources;
     Payment of fees or procurement of any services associated 
with energy assessment or exploration or development activity;
     Payment of tribal salaries for employees not directly 
involved in conducting the assessment project and payment of salaries 
beyond the one-year project;
     Establishment or operation of a tribal office or 
purchasing office equipment not specific to the capacity building 
project;
     Indirect costs and overhead as defined by the Federal 
Acquisition Regulations (FAR);
     Purchase or lease of project equipment such as computers, 
vehicles, field gear, etc;
     Legal fees;
     Contract negotiation fees; and
     Any other activities not authorized by the tribal 
resolution or by the approved proposal.

F. TEDC Grant Proposal Mandatory Components

Component 1--Tribal Resolution

    Provide a current tribal resolution or other formal, official 
action of the tribe's governing entity, such as a tribal council or 
tribal business committee or executive committee, as established under 
tribal or Federal law and recognized by the Secretary. This document 
should be signed by a duly authorized tribal official representing the 
tribe's governing body.

Component 2--TEDC Grant Project Description

    (a) Tribal point of contact, including name, title, mailing 
address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address;
    (b) Name and title of responsible party(ies) for technical 
execution and administration of the project;
    (c) Amount of funding requested for the project;
    (d) Description of the tribe's identified energy resource(s);
    (e) Scope of work describing the proposed project, including: 
capacity areas related to the identified energy resource on which the 
proposal's assessment(s) will focus and the approach and justification 
of the approach to be used in assessing, developing or sustaining the 
tribe's capacity to manage energy resource development activities and 
to determine next steps to be taken to eliminate any identified 
capacity gaps;
    (f) Objectives of the proposal describing how the proposed project 
will contribute to the tribe's capacity building (in assessing, 
developing or sustaining particular identified areas to be included in 
the project);
    (g) Method of measurement of meeting stated objectives of the 
proposed project, including data collection and analysis;
    (h) Description of deliverable products the proposed project will 
generate;
    (i) Completion date for proposed project, date for interim progress 
report, and date for final report (see Section I--Post-Award 
Requirements below);
    (j) Resumes of key personnel (tribal employees, consultants, 
subcontractors) who will work on the proposed project, including 
information on expertise; and

[[Page 41299]]

    (k) Description of the tribe's current staff and/or tribal 
financial resources the tribe plans to apply to performance or 
completion of the objectives in the tribe's TEDC grant proposal.

Component 3--Existing and Prior Energy Resource Development Experience

    (a) Description and examples of the tribe's experience with energy 
resource development activities, including any previous or current 
capacity assessment and energy resource assessment, feasibility 
studies, exploration for or development of specific energy resource(s); 
and
    (b) Description of the tribe's experience and level of existing 
capacity to manage and regulate energy resource development in areas 
including, but not limited to:
    (1) Land and lease management (including evaluation, negotiation, 
and enforcement of terms);
    (2) Technical, scientific, and engineering evaluation;
    (3) Financial and revenue management;
    (4) Production accounting;
    (5) Environmental review, monitoring, compliance, and enforcement;
    (6) Regulatory monitoring (Federal, state, and tribal environmental 
and safety regulations); and
    (7) Tribal environmental code, regulation, or ordinance development 
or enhancement.
    (c) List of all previous or on-going energy resource development 
capacity building projects for which the tribe has received Federal 
funds, the source or the funds (e.g., Department of Energy, US 
Environmental Protection Agency, or DOI), the year(s) for which funds 
were awarded, and whether such projects were completed and completion 
dates.

Component 4--Planned Energy Resource Development

    (a) Description of the tribe's planned energy resource development 
activities including capacity assessment, energy resource assessment, 
feasibility studies, exploration for or development of specific energy 
resource(s); and
    (b) Description of the tribe's plans for managing energy resource 
development and growth (including plans to develop or enhance tribal 
offices or independent tribal business entities related to energy 
resource development, if any).

Component 5--Detailed Budget Estimate

    (1) Provide a detailed, line-by-line budget, including all 
projected and anticipated expenditures under the TEDC grant proposal, 
covering the amount of funding requested;
    (2) Provide in the budget a breakdown for the proposal's line items 
that involve several components or contain numerous sub-functions to 
include, at a minimum:
    (a) Itemize costs for all contracted personnel and consultants, 
their respective positions and time (staff hour) allocations for the 
proposed functions of the project or part(s) of the project;
    (b) Document professional qualifications necessary to perform the 
work for tribal personnel to be funded under Pub. L. 93-638 and attach 
position descriptions;
    (c) Specify how consultants (if any) are to be used and include 
documentation that clearly identifies the qualifications of any 
proposed consultants;
    (d) Itemize consultant fees and include a line item breakdown of 
costs associated with each consultant activity. If a consultant is to 
be hired for a fixed fee, itemize the consultant's expenses as part of 
the project budget;
    (e) Itemize travel estimates by airfare, vehicle rental, training 
and conference fees (if any), and lodging and per diem, based on the 
current Federal Government per diem schedule;
    (f) Itemize data collection and analysis costs in sufficient detail 
for the IEED TEDC grant evaluation team to evaluate the proposed 
expenses; and
    (g) Include other expenses such as computer and other equipment 
rental, report generation, drafting, and advertising costs for a 
proposal.

G. Evaluation and Ranking Criteria

    The IEED TEDC grant evaluation team will review and evaluate grant 
proposals on a 100 point system based on the following factors 
(Mandatory Component 1, the tribal resolution, will not be evaluated):

(1) Mandatory Component 2--TEDC Grant Project Description--30 Points

    The IEED TEDC grant evaluation team will use the grant project 
description objectives, measurement methods, deliverables, and 
commitment of staff and/or resources to the project as part of its 
evaluation of the project proposal to determine how likely the project 
is to result in quantifiable results to the tribe in terms of capacity 
building to benefit the tribe's future energy resource development.

(2) Mandatory Component 3--Existing and Prior Energy Resource 
Development Experience--20 Points

    The IEED TEDC grant evaluation team will use the tribe's existing 
and prior energy resource development experience as part of its 
evaluation of the project proposal to determine the tribe's current 
level of capacity. Prior or current energy resource development will 
not, by itself, result in fewer or more assigned points. It is an 
accurate description of the tribe's baseline capacity that we seek.

(3) Mandatory Component 4--Planned Energy Resource Development--25 
Points

    The IEED TEDC grant evaluation team will use the tribe's planned 
energy resource development as part of its evaluation of the project 
proposal to determine the tribe's potential for proceeding with planned 
energy resource development, whether or not it has prior or current 
energy resource development experience.

(4) Mandatory Component 5--Detailed Budget Estimate--25 Points

    The IEED TEDC grant evaluation team will use the budget proposal as 
part of its evaluation of the project to determine whether the budget 
is reasonable and can produce the results outlined in the proposal 
under Mandatory Component 2. A TEDC grant proposal budget that includes 
sound budget projections directly related to the project objectives 
will receive a more favorable ranking than those proposals that fail to 
provide appropriate budget projections or that fail to reasonably 
relate budget projections to the project objectives.

H. Award Notification Process

    1. The TEDC grant evaluation team will forward the ranked proposals 
to the Director of IEED for approval.
    2. After the Director's approval, the Director will submit the 
proposals to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs for concurrence.
    3. The Director will notify in writing tribes and tribal energy 
development organizations of selection or non-selection of proposals 
for awards.

I. Post-Award Requirements

    Tribes that are awarded grants for TEDC projects must adhere to the 
following requirements:
    1. Expend TEDC grant funds only on approved project functions. 
Tribes are subject to forfeiture of any remaining funds in the project 
year as well as sanctions against award of any future year TEDC grant 
funding for expenditures which are not approved;

[[Page 41300]]

    2. Prepare and submit an interim report (which may consist of a 
summary of events, accomplishments, problems, and/or results) to the 
IEED project coordinator by the date the tribe states in its proposal 
in mandatory component 2;
    3. Complete the TEDC project within one year of the award date;
    4. Prepare and submit a final report, including all deliverable 
products generated by the TEDC project within two weeks of completion 
of the TEDC project or the anniversary of the award date, whichever 
comes first; and
    5. Provide all reports and deliverable products and data generated 
by the TEDC project to IEED by providing one digital form and two 
printed copies to IEED at: TEDC Project Coordinator, IEED, U.S. 
Department of the Interior, 1951 Constitution Avenue, NW., South 
Interior Building--Room 20, Washington, DC 20245.

J. Submission of Proposal

    Submit proposals in digital form to the following electronic 
address: [email protected]. Save files with filenames that 
clearly identify the file being submitted. File 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, or other letters 
of tribal authorization, must also be submitted in paper form to: ATTN: 
Tribal Energy Development Capacity Proposal, TEDC Project Coordinator, 
U.S. Department of the Interior, 1951 Constitution Avenue, NW., South 
Interior Building--Room 20, Washington, DC 20245.
    Complete proposals may be faxed to IEED at 202-208-4564 no later 
than the date listed in the DATES section of this notice; however an 
original signature copy, including all tribal resolutions or other 
letters of tribal authorization must be received in IEED's office 
within 5 working days of the deadline noted above.

    Dated: June 13, 2011.
Donald E. Laverdure,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-17612 Filed 7-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-4M-P