Bureau of Land Management Alaska Environmental Quality and Protection Program

Deadline: 08-Jul-21

The U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking applications for the Alaska Environmental Quality and Protection Program to protect public health and safety, and restore watersheds for resources, recreation, fish, wildlife and domestic animals, and return lands to productive uses including, but not limited to, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and preservation of historical/cultural resources.

Mitigation measures are implemented through core programs such as:

Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program, which addresses physical safety hazards and water quality through restoration of abandoned hardrock mines.
Orphan Well Program, which remediates oil and gas wells improperly abandoned, and seeks to plug them in accordance with state regulations and rules;
Educational outreach about the potential dangers posed to the public and recreationists from AML and orphaned well sites.

Outcomes

Identify and prioritize abandoned mines and orphaned wells that most affect at-risk resources and functioning ecosystems.
Prioritize orphaned well site physical safety closure projects in a manner that is centrally focused on achieving cost-savings.
Develop methods to reclaim and restore sites impacted by past mining and/or drilling.
Reclaim abandoned mine lands to productive uses including, but not limited to, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and preservation of historical/cultural resources.
Reduce inventory of unreclaimed abandoned mines and orphaned wells.
Reduce liabilities by eliminating or reducing risks posed by abandoned mines and orphaned wells.
Reduce environmental degradation caused by abandoned mines and orphaned wells.
Establish partnerships, where possible, with States, local governments, Tribes, and voluntary environmental and citizen groups to pool resources and expertise to address abandoned mines.
Integrate abandoned mine land support into land use planning efforts.
Apply the “polluter pays” principle applied to achieve cost avoidance/cost recovery for funding AML projects wherever possible.
Assure that remediation actions are effective and that lessons learned through postproject monitoring and study benefit risk- and pollution-reducing efforts.
Educate the public about the potential dangers posed by abandoned mines and the actions the BLM takes to address those dangers.
Provide public outreach and education to interested stakeholders about the potential dangers posed by abandoned mines and orphan wells.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Funding: $ 80,000
Maximum Award: $ 80,000
Minimum Award: $ 5,000
Anticipated Number of Awards: 2

Eligibility Criteria

State governments
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Private institutions of higher education
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities