Selected Recipients for this Program

Not Applicable.

Uses and Use Restrictions

Only after water quality and soil conservation thresholds have been achieved, funds may be used to address other environmental threshold categories.

Payments shall be used only to carry out a project or proposed project that is part of the environmental improvement program adopted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in 1998.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Eligible applicants for National Forest System awards includes State Forestry or equivalent agencies, tribes, non-profits, and municipalities in the local governing bodies of political subdivisions in the Lake Tahoe basin.

Eligible applicants for competitive research awards includes State Agricultural Experiment Stations, universities and colleges, State and local governments, U.S.

Territories, nonprofit research institutions or organizations, international organizations, individuals, and for-profit organizations.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Beneficiary eligibility for National Forest System awards include governing bodies of each of the political subdivisions (including public utilities) located in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Beneficiary eligibility for competitive research awards include organizations and scientists involved in basic and applied research activities related to forest and rangeland renewable resources.

Credentials/Documentation

No credentials or documentation are required. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program.

Aplication and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Submittal of an annual list of priority projects, along with written proposals for each of the identified priority projects.

The USFS has chosen to adopt the State guidelines for the format of these proposals, since they meet all the needs for project narratives for federal grant considerations, with one additional requirement.

That additional requirement is clear identification of sources and amounts of proposed match funding.

Implementation of construction projects under awarded grants are not allowed until a signed project decision under NEPA has been made, allowing the use of federal grant funds for implementation.

Local Office monitors grant awards to assure compliance of this restriction.

Planning, design, and monitoring grants do not require an environmental impact assessment.

An environmental impact assessment is required for this program. For competitive research awards, applicants must adhere to the requirements of the current Request for Proposals as stipulated by the Pacific Southwest Research Station.

An environmental impact assessment is required for this program.

This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.

12372.

Application Procedures

2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Project narratives submitted through the pre-application process are reviewed by an interagency technical advisory committee convened by the Federal grants program managers. Projects are then identified for award, along with instructions for any needed revisions to the project narratives. At that time, eligible applicants submit revised narratives along with standard application forms and assurances to the Local Office, as furnished by the Federal agency. For competitive research awards, a complete proposal must be submitted following guidelines provided by the Pacific Southwest Research Station. The proposal must explain in detail the work to be undertaken, the qualifications of key personnel involved in the work, other resources such as equipment, facilities, and services available or needed, and a proposed budget for each fiscal year during the life of the proposed grant. A short biographical sketch of the principal investigator and a list of his or her principal publications should be included.

Award Procedures

National Forest System will send an award letter to grantee, with identification of grant requirements, in letter from Local Office. Research award proposals must compete for priority, showing technical competence and demonstrating the ability to meet regional needs. Research grants cooperative agreements are made only in support of forestry research and monitoring of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Unsolicited proposals can be awarded for innovative or unique approaches to the proposed project.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Authorization

Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, Public Law 106-506, as amended by Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2004, Public Law 108-108.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

From 90 to 120 days. For competitive research grants or cooperative agreements contact Pacific Southwest Research Station's Tahoe Science Coordinator.

Appeals

Contact Research Station for guidance regarding competitive research grants or cooperative agreements.

Renewals

From 60 to 90 days. Extensions can be made for individual grants as long as end dates do not exceed five years post award date. For competitive research awards requests for continued support will be considered as equal in importance and in competition with pending proposals. Applications submitted for continued support should be identical to a new proposal, except that a resume of progress to date must be added.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

Statutory formulas are not applicable to this program. Matching Requirements: Percent: 50%. For National Forest System awards, notwithstanding section 9(b) of Public Law 106? 506, funds hereinafter appropriated under Public Law 106?506 shall require matching funds from non-Federal sources on the basis of aggregate contribution to the Environmental Improvement Program, as defined in Public Law 106?506, rather than on a project by-project basis, except for those activities provided under section 9(c) of that Act, to which this amendment shall not apply. For competitive research awards, as authorized by Public Law 106?506 section 6(b) and 6(d), the applicant's contribution is negotiated for grants. The proposed budget by fiscal year shows the estimated cost of the complete project from grant funds and value of resources to be contributed by the applicant. Salaries of academic personnel for periods when they receive salary for teaching should not be included for payment from grant funds. The minimum matching contribution for Cooperative Agreements must constitute at least 20-percent of the estimated total cost of the project. MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Grants are awarded for a period not to exceed 5 years. Invoices may be submitted no more frequently than monthly. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Payments made based on authorization and negotiation of provisions with cooperator.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Accomplishment reports are required at least annually, but not more than quarterly as detailed in the applicable OMB Circulars and the grant award.

A final accomplishment report, financial expenditures report, and final as-built project design drawings are required within 90 days of project completion.

For competitive research awards, in addition to project-specific reports and products, all funded projects are required to submit quarterly project updates in January, April, July, and October and annual accomplishments reports to comply with the requirements of the Tahoe Science Program.

Proposals must account for these reports in the project budgets and timelines.

A final progress report showing all tasks complete and a final accomplishments report must be submitted along with the final project report and/or products.

The final invoice and the final federal financial report (SF-425) must be submitted within 90 days of the Pacific Southwest Research Station agreement end date.

No cash reports are required.

No progress reports are required.

Financial expenditures reporting is required.

SF-425.

Performance monitoring is not applicable.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, non-Federal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503.

Records

Financial and programmatic records must be retained for three years from the date of submission and approval of final financial reports. All grantees need to maintain adequate systems for collecting and recording statistical data.

Financial Information

Account Identification

12-1106-0-1-302 - National Forest System; 12-1104-0-1-302 - Research & Development.

Obigations

(Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 16 $700,622; FY 17 Not Separately Identifiable; and FY 18 Estimate Not Available

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

No Data Available.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. Barb Shanley or Genevieve Villemarie, Forest Service, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150, Telephone: (530) 543-2657 or 2783, Fax: (530) 543-2693, email: bshanley@fs.fed.us or or gvillemaire@fs.fed.us. Website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/Itbmu/ecgp/index.shtml For competitive grant awards, contact: Tiff van Huysen, Ecologist & Tahoe Science Program Coordinator, USDA Forest Service-Pacific Southwest Research Station, UC Davis TERC, TCES Suite 320, 291 Country Club Dr., Incline Village, NV 89451, Telephone: (775) 881-7560 ext. 7482, Fax: (775) 832-1673, email: tlvanhuysen@fs.fed.us. Website: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/partnerships/tahoescience/.

Headquarters Office

Barbara Shanley, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, California 96150 Email: bshanley@fs.fed.us Phone: (530) 543-2657.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Grants must address planning, construction, or monitoring of projects identified in the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency environmental improvement program (EIP). Projects submitted from this list are selected based on the annual priority list provided by the eligible local governments, and direction provided in the LTRA: 1) The total amounts appropriated for payments under this subsection shall be allocated by the Secretary of Agriculture based on the relative need for and merits of projects proposed for payment under this section. 2) To the maximum extent practicable, for each fiscal year, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that each political subdivision in the Lake Tahoe basin receives amounts appropriated for payments under this subsection. The Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) will complete an administrative review of all submitted proposals to ensure that proposal specifications as outlined in the Request for Proposals are met. Proposals passing the administrative review will be forwarded to the Tahoe Science Consortium (TSC). The TSC will coordinate technical reviews of the proposals. Proposals passing technical review will be forwarded to Tahoe Basin agency personnel for relevancy reviews. The TSC will coordinate a synthesis of the results from the technical reviews and agency relevancy reviews to create a list of proposals recommended for funding. PSW will review the suite of recommended proposals to finalize funding allocations; proposals recommended for funding are not guaranteed funding due to constraints on funding allocations. Final funding allocations for recommended proposals will be determined by the number of projects recommended for funding and individual project budgets. Some projects may be identified as alternates to receive support should funds become available during the negotiation of awards. PSW reserves the right to negotiate scopes of work, budget amounts, and deliverables with Principal Investigators based upon feedback from the review process and to comply with Forest Service policies. Projects may be required to modify their proposed indirect cost rates and/or demonstrate cost share contributions. Once the recommendations and funding allocations have been finalized, PSW will forward the package of recommended projects to the Tahoe Regional Executive Committee (TREX) and to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for final approval.