[Federal Register: October 19, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 201)]
[Notices]
[Page 60846-60849]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19oc05-90]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Notice of Revised Instructions for Preparing and Prioritizing
Water Program Funding Requests
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will implement revised
procedures for preparing and prioritizing funding requests in order to
improve the management of two water programs with non-recurring annual
appropriations. The two programs are the Water Rights Negotiation/
Litigation Program (Water Rights Program) and the Water Resources
Management, Planning and Pre-development Program (Water Resources
Program). These water programs support the long-term goals of assisting
Indian tribes in confirming and defining water rights, resolving claims
through negotiation or litigation, and promoting the prudent
conservation, management and use of natural resources.
All of the BIA's water program managers and many water rights and
water resources program managers employed by Indian tribes request
these appropriations to support numerous Indian water rights litigation
and negotiation efforts, to conduct water resources management, and to
develop associated plans for tribal water resources. Typically, the
BIA's Office of Trust Services receives more than 400 funding requests
annually for water rights and water resources management-related
activities. Funding requests are submitted by all 12 of the BIA's
Regional Offices and approximately 150 to 175 Indian tribes each year.
The current system for preparing and prioritizing water program
funding requests needs improvement in order to provide BIA decision
makers with more clear demarcations of priority. These revised
procedures will allow for more effective prioritization and thus enable
BIA decision makers to distribute more efficiently the available water
program funds.
DATES: The revised procedures for preparing and prioritizing water
program funding requests will be used to distribute funding in Fiscal
Year 2006.
ADDRESSES: Jeffery Loman, Chief, Natural Resources, Office of Trust
Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Mail Stop 4655-MIB, Code 210, 1849
C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240, Telephone (202) 208-7373.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffery Loman, (202) 208-7373.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Water Rights Program
The BIA manages the Water Rights Program for the purpose of
confirming and defining Indian water rights through litigation and
court decree or through negotiated settlement. The first priority for
program funds is to provide all documentation and other materials
deemed necessary to further the United States' water rights claims on
behalf of Indian tribes or individuals. These materials may include
preparing hydrographic survey reports; determining surface and ground
water
[[Page 60847]]
supplies; identifying arable lands; completing a practicably irrigable
acreage (PIA) assessment; determining point(s) and means of diversion,
purpose(s) and place(s) of use, and amount of water diverted or
depleted; and conducting studies to determine the water needs of fish,
wildlife, or other resources for which Indian tribes have reserved
rights. These funds may also be used to provide similar materials as
necessary to facilitate active Indian water rights negotiations
undertaken by the Secretary of the Interior.
Water Resources Program
The BIA manages the Water Resources Program for the purpose of
managing, conserving and utilizing reservation water resources. The
first priority for these program funds is to provide necessary
technical research, studies, and other information for Indian tribes to
serve as informed and prudent managers of their water resources. These
efforts may occur through partnerships or through coordination and
cooperation with other governmental entities to obtain information
describing surface and ground water assessments, inventories,
monitoring, modeling and gauging. Additionally, these funds are used
for the preparation of comprehensive reservation water management and
development plans, use surveys, interagency drought management
planning, and necessary assessments to define and characterize tribal
water resources.
Activities Not Eligible for Funding
Examples of activities typically not eligible for funding from
either water program include:
Projects that duplicate work that the BIA has identified
as necessary for its efforts, has undertaken, or has completed through
its employees or contractors or through arrangements with other Federal
agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice;
Projects to design, construct, repair or improve water
facilities, including domestic water supply, waste water, and
irrigation or dam infrastructure, except to the extent that PIA
analyses under the Water Rights Program require such design projects;
Development of recommendations or conditions in hydropower
licensing procedures and water quality studies to initiate actions
needed to address pollution problems;
Attorney fees and related expenses for legal services; and
Administrative overhead costs.
Preparing Funding Requests
Funding requests should not be lengthy (2 to 3 pages maximum) and
should not include endorsements or other extraneous information such as
contractor proposals or contracts. The following information must be
provided in funding requests:
(1) Name and contact information (mailing address, e-mail,
telephone and fax number) of person preparing the request.
(2) Date of request.
(3) Type of request (Congressional/Court Mandate, Water Rights
Litigation Support, Active Water Rights Adjudication/Negotiation
Support, Water Management, Water Planning/Pre-Development).
Note: Congressional/Court Mandate-based requests must include a
copy of the mandate, and Water Rights Litigation requests must
include case citation. Also, the requests must state clearly the
ultimate goal of the project in one sentence.
(4) Copy of current tribal resolution or cover letter signed by
tribal leader supporting request. (For all non-BIA generated requests.)
(5) Project manager name and contact information (mailing address,
e-mail, telephone and fax number).
(6) DOI and DOJ Attorney name(s) and contact information for all
water rights requests, including tribal requests. All water rights
litigation/adjudication requests must be prepared in consultation with
the Federal attorney(s), and consensus must be reached on the amount of
funds requested for litigation support. Where consensus cannot be
reached, an explanation should be included describing the position of
the BIA Project Manager and the federal attorney(s).
(7) Name and contact information of Federal Indian Water Rights
Negotiation Team Chair for all water rights negotiation requests.
(8) Project purpose and description, including: Summary of past
accomplishments, if applicable; list of all outstanding activities yet
to be completed or finalized; status of litigation, if applicable; and,
status of negotiations, if applicable, including a list of primary
participating parties.
(9) Scope of Work, including project deliverables, method, and
timeline to accomplish work.
(10) Amount requested and budget justification, including a
breakdown of labor/equipment costs per project task, a clear
articulation of individual task priorities (as funding may not be
available to support all requested activities), and total amount
requested.
Note: The request should be limited to the amount necessary to
accomplish the proposed work in accordance with industry standards
and to meet critical project objectives during the fiscal year for
which funds are being requested.
(11) History of funding received during the past 3 years from the
Water Rights or Water Resources Programs, including a description of
past accomplishments and an explanation of any amount(s) unexpended.
Funding requests do not need to identify the specific water program
from which funds are being requested. The BIA will determine the
appropriate program(s) based on the information provided in the
requests.
Prioritizing Water Program Funding Requests
The Deputy Director, Office of Trust Services, will make final
decisions for the distribution of funding from the Water Rights and
Water Resources Programs. In order to receive funding from these
programs, all funding requests must be in strict accordance with the
directions provided above. All funding requests, including those from
Indian tribes, must be submitted by the Regional Water Programs
Coordinator to the Office of Trust Services, Division of Natural
Resources, Water Programs Branch, on or before September 15 of each
year. Therefore, the Regional Water Programs Coordinators must set the
deadline by which the Indian tribes in their respective regions must
submit their requests to the Regional Office, and the Coordinators must
communicate this information to the Indian tribes they service
annually. Any additional requests or requests for changes or additions
to previously submitted requests forwarded after September 15 of each
year must be accompanied by a memorandum from the respective Regional
Director providing justification for any post-deadline submissions.
The BIA will complete the funding allocation decision process for
these programs by October 31 of each year, unless Congress has not yet
completed the appropriations process for the Interior Department and
related agencies. The BIA also cannot distribute funds until Congress
completes the appropriations process for the BIA.
Water Programs Coordinator
Each Regional Director will identify a Water Programs
Coordinator(s). The Coordinator(s) will be responsible for forwarding
the instructions set forth in this notice to all Indian tribes and
appropriate Bureau field offices serviced by each respective Regional
Office. The
[[Page 60848]]
Coordinator(s) will also be responsible for collecting the requests,
reviewing each request to determine that funding is being requested for
eligible activities, and determining whether the amount of funds being
requested is in accordance with industry standards or is otherwise
reasonable. After reviewing each request, the Coordinator(s) and other
BIA staff may make suggestions for improvement or corrections as
necessary. Once the reviews are completed, the Water Programs
Coordinators will prepare a summary of all funding requests for their
respective regions, listing the projects in order of priority, and send
a copy of the requests and summary to the Office of Trust Services,
Water Programs Branch, Mail Stop 4600-MIB, 1849 C Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20240, on or before September 15 of each year.
Water Funding Prioritization Team
The Office of Trust Services' Water Programs Branch staff will
assemble all BIA funding requests, including Central Office requests,
and prepare a master summary with the original Regional Office
delineation of priorities intact. A Water Funding Prioritization Team
shall be established, with BIA members being appointed by the Deputy
Director, Office of Trust Services, and shall consist of one
representative from the Office of Trust Services, three representatives
from any of the BIA's Regional Offices, one representative from the
Secretary of the Interior's Indian Water Rights Office, and one
representative from the Office of the Solicitor, Division of Indian
Affairs. The Regional Office Team members will be selected at random
and rotated each year so that every Regional Office participates on an
equal basis. The Team will be provided a copy of each request and the
master summary. The Team will prioritize each request in accordance
with the following criteria:
Water Rights Program (34420)
(1) Congressional and Court Mandates:
Assign 100 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting compliance with a Congressional or Court mandate that the
BIA must fulfill. No further ranking is necessary.
(2) Indian Water Rights Litigation/Adjudication with Time
Sensitivity:
Assign 60 to 70 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting active Indian water rights litigation/adjudication with
court-mandated deadline(s) for which work must commence or continue to
meet those deadline(s).
(3) Indian Water Rights Litigation/Adjudication without Time
Sensitivity:
Assign 50 to 60 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting an active Indian water rights litigation/adjudication for
which no specific court-mandated deadline is evident.
(4) Indian Water Rights Negotiations with Time Sensitivity:
Assign 50 to 60 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting active Indian water rights negotiations or settlement
implementation for which the activities are required to meet a specific
schedule recognized by the Secretary of the Interior's Indian Water
Rights Office.
(5) Indian Water Rights Negotiations without Time Sensitivity:
Assign 30 to 40 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting active Indian water rights negotiations or settlement
implementation for which no specific time requirement has been
indicated. As with the previous category, these situations typically
involve a Secretarial priority and/or have a Federal negotiation team
assigned.
(6) Indian Water Rights Litigation/Adjudication/Negotiation
Feasibility:
Assign 20 to 30 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting the development of Indian water rights claims for the
purpose of establishing the feasibility of future negotiations,
adjudication or litigation but for which no current negotiation or
litigation is taking place.
Water Resources Program (34020)
(1) Water Management--Indian Water and Associated Reserved
Resources:
Assign 50 to 60 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting water management activities necessary for the use of tribal
water resources or to protect against the encroachment on or management
of tribal water and associated reserved resources.
(2) Water Management--Coordination/Cooperation/Consultation/
Conservation:
Assign 30 to 40 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting water management activities necessary for intergovernmental
cooperation, consultation, and coordination designed to conserve water
and associated reserved resources.
(3) Water Management--Other:
Assign 20 to 30 points to each request for activities essential for
supporting other water management activities not previously listed.
(4) Water Planning and Pre-Development--Indian Water:
Assign 30 to 40 points to each request for activities essential for
the planning or pre-development of tribal water rights.
(5) Water Planning and Pre-Development--Other:
Assign 20 to 30 points to each request for activities essential for
the planning or development of multi-jurisdictional waters.
(6) All Water Program Funding--Cost Effectiveness:
Assign an additional 1 to 10 points to each request based on the
degree of overall cost effectiveness, where the estimated cost of each
activity is appropriate for the objectives to be accomplished and the
amount requested comports with industry standards and is otherwise
reasonable. Examples of cost effectiveness include requests that
demonstrate benefits to be gained through leveraging funding from
multiple agencies and those that will complete projects more
efficiently within the current funding cycle.
(7) All Water Program/Project Funding--Compliance with Requesting
Guidelines:
Assign an additional 1 to 10 points to each request based on the
degree of adherence to the instructions set forth in this notice.
(8) All Water Program/Project Funding--Efficiency and
Accomplishment:
Assign an additional 1 to 10 points to each request based on the
degree of accomplishment in utilizing funds previously provided or
anticipated efficiency in utilizing funds in the future.
Instructions for Water Funding Prioritization Team
In assigning points to each funding request, Water Funding
Prioritization Team members will consider the degree to which requested
funds will support the establishment of title to Indian water. Team
members will also take into account any urgency with respect to the
need to complete activities or how the activities will promote and
support coordination, cooperation, consultation and conservation in
water management and planning. A request involving multiple categories
of activities should be carefully evaluated. Team members must also
take into account the need to support the trust responsibility of the
United States.
The Team will compile the scores of each member on a master list
and obtain an average score by dividing the total of each member's
score for each request by the number of team members. The Team will
enter the average score for each request on the master summary and
provide the master summary to the Deputy Director, Office of Trust
[[Page 60849]]
Services, on or before October 15 of each year. Although a single
ranking is conducted, the BIA will utilize the scores to make funding
decisions for projects supporting both the Water Rights Program and the
Water Resources Program. Funding for all requests will be provided from
the appropriate program consistent with the intent of Congress.
Distribution Decision Making and Reserved Funds
When the total amount of appropriations for each program is
insufficient to fund all requests, the Deputy Director, Office of Trust
Services, will determine the appropriate cut-off for funding the
requests received and will reserve 3 percent to 5 percent of the total
amount from each program to fulfill unforeseen high priority
contingencies (e.g., court-ordered activities or other emergencies).
This determination may include a decision not to fund lower-ranking
requests and/or to conduct across the board funding reductions,
beginning first, and in magnitude, with water planning and pre-
development activities, followed by water management, water rights
negotiation, water rights adjudication and finally, and only when
absolutely necessary and while maintaining efficiency and effective
prosecution of each legal requirement, active water rights litigation
support.
Authority: This notice is published in accordance with the
authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by part 209 of
the Departmental Manual.
Dated: October 3, 2005.
Michael D. Olsen,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 05-20919 Filed 10-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P