Deadline: 27-Feb-2025
The Bureau of Reclamation, through the TAP is inviting applications to provide financial and technical assistance to federally recognized Indian Tribes.
The TAP establishes cooperative working relationships, through partnerships with Indian Tribes, to assist Tribes as they develop, manage, and protect their water and related resources.
If a cooperative agreement is awarded, Reclamation will have substantial involvement in the project. Reclamation can perform technical work through Regional and Area Offices, the Technical Service Center or water quality labs. For cooperative agreements, substantial involvement by Reclamation may include, but not be limited to, the following:
- Collaboration and participation with the recipient in the management of the project and close oversight of the recipient’s activities to ensure that the program objectives are being achieved.
- Oversight may include review, input, and approval at key interim stages of the project.
- Technical support and other services provided to the Tribe towards the objectives of the proposal.
Funding Information
- Federal funding amount: Up to $1,000,000 per proposal. Applicants may submit more than one application for funding consideration. However, no more than $2,000,000 will be awarded to any one applicant under this NOFO.
- Estimated number of agreements to be awarded: Approximately $7,000,000 is available under this program. Approximately 10 projects per application submittal period, contingent on appropriations.
Eligible Projects
- Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Water need and water infrastructure assessments.
- Water management plans and studies.
- Short-term water quality or water measurement data collection and assessment to inform new management approaches.
- Training for tribal staff and managers in areas of water resources’ development, management and protection.
- Minor repair, rehabilitation or replacement of existing tribally owned, water-related structures and facilities to restore original capability.
- Minor infrastructure installation projects such as: Efficient land-scape irrigation.
- Drilling domestic or stock watering wells.
- On-the-ground activities related to riparian and aquatic habitat with the goal to maintain or improve water quantity or water quality:
- Restoring wetlands.
- Controlling erosion.
- Stabilizing stream banks.
- Constructing ponds.
- Developing water basin plans.
- Distinct, stand-alone water related activities that are part of a larger project. Please note, if the work for which you are requesting funding is a phase of a larger project, please only describe the work that is reflected in the budget and exclude description of other activities or components of the overall project.
Ineligible Projects
- Project activities that are not eligible for funding under this NOFO include, but are not limited to:
- Feasibility studies (as defined under Reclamation law, which require express congressional authorization).
- Activities that lack definable products or deliverables.
- Specific employment positions within an Indian Tribe.
- Activities with a duration of more than 2 years from date of execution of a grant/cooperative agreement.
- Activities that generate data or analyses that have the potential to compromise any study or activities of a U.S. Department of the Interior (Department) Indian water rights negotiation or the Department of Justice in its pursuit of related Indian water rights claims.
- Activities related to non-Federal or non-tribal dams and associated structures.
- Activities providing funding for the administration of contracts or agreements under P.L. 93-638 that are unrelated to the TAP.
- Purchase of equipment as the sole purpose of the activity.
- Water purchases including the purchase or leasing of water rights or water shares.
- Activities in direct support of litigation of any kind.
- Activities that will obligate Reclamation to provide, or are not sustainable unless Reclamation does provide, on-going funding, such as an obligation to provide future funding for operation, maintenance, or replacement.
- Biological activities such as:
- fisheries work (including collection, analysis and evaluation of background data);
- habitat restoration unless directly related to water quality and quantity; and
- ecosystem based activities such as biological surveys, air quality monitoring, and watershed -scale management.
Geographical Focus
- Applicants eligible to receive an award to fund activities must be Federally recognized Indian Tribes located in the 17 Western States identified in the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902, as amended and supplemented:
- Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Eligibility Criteria
- Native American Tribal governments (Federally recognized 17 Western States)
- Failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the time of an application deadline may result in Reclamation returning the application without review or preclude Reclamation from making a Federal award.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.