Notice of Revised Instructions for Preparing and Prioritizing Water Program Funding Requests, 60846-60849 [05-20919]
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60846
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices
ANILCA, the Service would be required
to provide Doyon with adequate and
feasible access to its holdings, which
could include a road and/or pipeline
across Refuge lands, if warranted by
production.
(3) Modified land exchange with
conservation easements. The land
exchange would proceed as described in
Phase 1 under Alternative 1 above. In
addition, at the time of the initial
exchange, Doyon would donate to the
U.S. conservation easements that
preclude development on those Doyon
lands identified in Phase II of the
Agreement in Principle (whether or not
oil/gas is produced from the exchange
lands). If Doyon were to produce oil/gas,
the U.S. would receive reduced
‘‘production payments.’’
(4) Modified land exchange excluding
White-Crazy Mountains. The Yukon
Flats Comprehensive Conservation Plan
and Environmental Impact Statement
recommended Wilderness designation
for a 658,000 acre area in the WhiteCrazy Mountains. Under Alternatives 1
and 3, Doyon would receive title to
about 26,270 acres of this land; under
Atlternative 4, these 26,270 acres would
be excluded from the exchange. In
Phase I of the exchange, Doyon would
receive approximately 84,000 acres of
Refuge lands, surface and subsurface.
From Doyon, the U.S. would receive an
equal-value amount of land. Doyon
would receive some oil and gas rights at
the northern edge of the recommended
Wilderness area, but only off-site
drilling would be allowed; there would
be no surface occupancy by Doyon.
There would be no access corridor
through the Service-recommended
Wilderness area. The land consolidation
exchange and 12(b) reallocation
provisions of Phase I would proceed as
detailed in the Agreement in Principle.
Phase II of the exchange, would proceed
as detailed in the Agreement, however
Doyon’s commitment to sell the U.S.
additional lands would be reduced from
about 120,000 acres to about 80,000
acres.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
released an Evaluation and Review of a
Proposed Land Exchange and
Acquisition of Native Lands on
February 3, 2005, and accepted public
comments until July 30, 2005. The
Evaluation and Review, along with the
comments received to date will be used
in the scoping of a more detailed
analysis through the EIS process. The
Summary of Public Comments on a
Proposed Land Exchange, Yukon Flats
National Wildlife Refuge, 2005 is posted
at https://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/yukonflats/
current.htm. Issues of concern
repeatedly identified during the public
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comment period that will be addressed
in the EIS may include, but are not
limited to:
(1) Refuge Purposes. The potential
conflict between the proposed land
exchange and the purposes of the
Refuge;
(2) Environmental Impacts. The
potential for environmental degradation
and contamination of air, water, and
fish and wildlife resources;
(3) Subsistence Impacts. The potential
for negative effects on subsistence
resources and increased user conflicts;
(4) Impacts to Special Designation
Areas. The potential for the exchange to
jeopardize the wilderness character of
the Service-recommended White-Crazy
Mountains Wilderness Area and to
degrade the ‘‘wild’’ quality of the Beaver
Creek Wild River;
(5) Insufficient Information. The
potential that available biological,
environmental, and socio-economic data
may be insufficient to analyze the
impacts of the exchange;
(6) Impacts to Rural Communities.
The potential for both positive and
negative impacts on rural communities
within the Yukon Flats region;
(7) Loss of Native-owned Lands. There
is opposition to the divestiture of Native
lands within the Yukon Flats region;
(8) Socio-economic Benefits. The
potential for oil development to provide
high-paying jobs to local residents and
strengthen the regional economy; and
(9) Refuge Benefits. The proposed
exchange would increase the amount of
land protected in the Refuge and would
facilitate management by consolidating
both Refuge and private ownerships.
Dated: September 8, 2005.
Rowan Gould,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Anchorage, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 05–20883 Filed 10–18–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Notice of Revised Instructions for
Preparing and Prioritizing Water
Program Funding Requests
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
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
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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 managementrelated 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
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices
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.
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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.
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60847
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 postdeadline 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
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices
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).
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(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 PreDevelopment—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 PreDevelopment—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
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices
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
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
60-Day Notice of Intention To Request
Clearance of Collection of Information:
Opportunity for Public Comment
Department of the Interior,
National Park Service.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The National Park Service
(NPS) Office of International Affairs
(OIA) proposes to collect information
from property owners who volunteer for
their properties to be included in a list
of sites (Tentative List) that will be
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14:50 Oct 18, 2005
Jkt 208001
considered for nomination by the
United States to the World Heritage List.
In order to manage the U.S. World
Heritage Program (37 CFR 73) effectively
and in a timely manner NPS must
prepare and submit through the
Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of State to the World Heritage
Centre by February 1, 2007, a Tentative
List of properties that appear to meet the
criteria for nomination to the World
Heritage List and which the United
States intends to nominate during the
ensuing decade (2007–2017).
Only sites that have been found to be
of national significance and that have
such legal protections as are necessary
to ensure the preservation of the
properties and their environment may
be considered for nomination by the
United States. By law, all property
owners must also concur in any World
Heritage nomination.
In order to gather the required
information for the preparation of the
Tentative List, it is proposed that an
expanded and annotated version of the
‘‘World Heritage Nomination Format’’
(or form, hereinafter referred to as the
‘‘Application’’) be made available to
owners who wish to apply for inclusion
in the U.S. Tentative List. It would be
made available on the Internet at https://
www.nps.gov/oia and https://
www.georgewright.org.
Under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5
CFR part 1320, Reporting and
Recordkeeping Requirements, the NPS
invites comments on the need for and
proposed manner of gathering the
information in the study. Comments are
invited on: (1) The practical utility of
the information being gathered; (2) the
accuracy of the burden hour estimate;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the
burden of information collection to
respondents, including the use of
automated information collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Public comments will be
accepted on or before sixty days from
the date of publication in the Federal
Register.
Send Comments to: Send comments
and requests for copies of a draft of the
proposed Application and the
accompanying Guidebook to the U.S.
World Heritage Program to James H.
Charleton, Office of International
Affairs, National Park Service, 1201 I
Street NW. (0050). E-mail: james_
charleton@contractor.nps.gov. Phone:
(202) 354–1802. Fax (202) 371–1446.
DATES:
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60849
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James H. Charleton, (202) 354–1802 or
April Brooks, (202) 354–1808.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Instructions for Preparing U.S.
World Heritage Nominations.
Form: Format for the Nomination of
Properties for Inscription on the World
Heritage List.
OMB Number: To be requested.
Expiration Date: To be requested.
Type of Request: Request for new
clearance.
Description of Need: The primary
purpose of the proposed Collection of
Information is to gather the information
necessary to evaluate the potential of
properties for nomination by the United
States to the World Heritage List and to
use the information for preparing a
Tentative List of candidate sites. The
World Heritage List is an international
list of cultural and natural properties
nominated by the signatories of the
World Heritage Convention (1972). The
following year, the United States was
the first nation to ratify the treaty. U.S.
participation and the roles of the
Department of the Interior and the
National Park Service are authorized by
Title IV of the Historic Preservation Act
Amendments of 1980 and conducted in
accord with 36 CFR 73—World Heritage
Convention.
A Tentative List is a national list of
natural and cultural properties
appearing to meet the eligibility criteria
for nomination to the World Heritage
List. It is an annotated list of candidate
sites which a country intends to
nominate within a given time period.
The World Heritage Committee has
issued Operational Guidelines asking
participating nations to provide
Tentative Lists, which aid in evaluating
properties for the World Heritage List on
a comparative international basis and
help the Committee to schedule its work
over the long term. The Guidelines
recommend that a nation review its
Tentative List at least once every
decade. The current U.S. Tentative List
(formerly Indicative Inventory) dates to
1982.
The U.S. Tentative List will serve as
a guide for at least the next decade
(2007–2017) of U.S. nominations to the
World Heritage List. The Tentative List
will be structured so as to meet the
World Heritage Committee’s December
2004 request that the Tentative List
allow for the nomination of no more
than two sites per year by any one
nation, at least one of which must be a
natural site (excluding potential
emergency nominations not at present
foreseen).
The National Park Service Office of
International Affairs (NPS–OIA) and the
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60846-60849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20919]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
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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
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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
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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
