Complete Application

United States Geological Survey
Water Availability and Use Science Program
Water Use Data and Research

Proposals for Cooperative Agreements – Fiscal Year 2018
Program Announcement/Funding Opportunity G18AS00016
Closing Date: May 3, 2018
4 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: The Paperwork Reduction Act says that the agency must tell you
why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether you have to give it to us. This information is being
collected to determine the eligibility of the applicant and as a basis for approval or disapproval of the proposed project. The
USGS is authorized under SECURE Water Act Section 9508 to assist state water resource agencies with improving their
water use data collection activities. USGS has implemented the Water Use Data and Research program (WUDR), to work
with state water agencies in gathering and analyzing their data, and assists this effort via cooperative agreements. WUDR
supports State water resource agencies in developing water use and availability datasets and improving the collection and
reporting frequency of water use categories, including the inclusion of categories that have been discontinued in the past
due to limited resources. Response to this request is required to obtain and retain a cooperative agreement under the Water
Use Data and Research program. Public report burden for this collection is estimated to average 40 hours per agreement
and 12 hours to prepare both interim progress reports and final technical report. The OMB Control Number is 1028-0118
for this information collection; the expiration date is April, 30, 2019. Direct comments regarding this collection of
information may be sent to the Bureau Clearance Officer, gs-info_collections@usgs.gov.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA
http://www.grants.gov
SEE INSTRUCTIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... i
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS ................................................................................................ i
PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT CHANGES .................................................................. ii
POINTS TO REMEMBER ................................................................................................. ii
1.
2.
3.
4.

Application Submission Closing Date ...........................................................................2
Electronic Application Requirement..............................................................................2
Award Description .........................................................................................................4
Eligibility Information ...................................................................................................5
A. Applicant Eligibility...........................................................................................5
B. Topic Eligibility .................................................................................................5
5. USGS Data Goals for Major Water Use Categories ......................................................6
6. Unsuitable Proposals ......................................................................................................7
7. Application Preparation Instructions .............................................................................7
A. Proposal Information Summary .........................................................................7
B. Proposal..............................................................................................................8
C. Budget Summary ...............................................................................................9
D. Detailed Budget .................................................................................................9
E. Principal Investigator Resume .........................................................................11
F. Data Management Plan ....................................................................................11
8. Rejection of Applications after Initial Review ............................................................12
9. Application Evaluation Procedure and Criteria ...........................................................12
10. Reporting Requirements and Instructions ....................................................................14
11. Involvement of Federal Employees .............................................................................15
12. Award Terms and Conditions ......................................................................................15

List of Attachments
Attachment A – Data Goals for Major Water-Use Categories ..........................................16
Attachment B – Proposal Information Summary Template ..............................................20
Attachment C – Data Management Plan – Example Templates ........................................21
Attachment D – Budget Summary .....................................................................................23
Attachment E – Water Use Data and Research Program Terms and Conditions ..............24
Attachment F – Secretarial Priorities .................................................................................48

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT CHANGES
Multiple changes have been implemented in this Program Announcement. The
primary changes include:
•

Updates to the discussion and review criteria related to Secretarial Priorities
(page 1 and page 12),

•

Modifications to the Priority Topics (page 5),

•

Minor changes to the required information to be provided in the Project
Narrative Document (page 7),

•

Additional descriptions of technical evaluation criteria (page 12), and

•

Inclusion of two templates for Data Management Plans (page 21).

POINTS TO REMEMBER
DESCRIBE the project and the process you expect to follow to complete the project.
If you are proposing multiple activities to complete the project, clearly state the
work you will be doing for each activity.
ALWAYS contact us if you have questions, we are here to help. Questions specific to
your proposal as to what will or will not be funded cannot be addressed.
START submitting your proposal to Grants.gov well in advance of the due date. Do
not wait until the due date to begin the submission process.

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Cooperative Funding Agreements for the
USGS Water Use Data and Research Program
Announcement for Fiscal Year 2018
CFDA 15.981
The Water Availability and Use Science Program (WAUSP) of the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) is offering a two-year cooperative agreement opportunity to State water resource
agencies that collect water use data to participate in the Water Use Data and Research (WUDR)
program. This funding opportunity is to support State Water Resource agencies in the collection
and reporting of water use data for the WUDR program, and to address the Department of
Interior’s Secretarial Priorities.
Legal authority for this opportunity is provided under Public Law 111-11, Subtitle F—SECURE
Water: Section 9508 “National Water Availability and Use Assessment Program.” The USGS
WUDR program will provide financial assistance, through cooperative agreements with State
Water Resource agencies, to improve the availability, quality, compatibility, and delivery of
water use data that is collected and/or estimated by States. The Act requires that these State
Water Resource agencies make water use or availability datasets resulting from this funding
opportunity available in a machine readable open format that the USGS can integrate with
appropriate datasets maintained by the USGS.
The USGS National Water Use Science Project uses various scientific approaches to understand
the Nation's water use. USGS has produced national estimates of the use of water since 1950, in
five-year reports. These water-use estimates provide a historical and current account of how
water is used for various water-use categories by applying statistical and scientific methods. This
work is critical for a full understanding of the availability, quality, timing and use of the water
resources that are needed to meet the water demands of the Nation. The WUDR cooperative
agreements provide financial assistance to State Agencies to assemble various water-use
information. The water-use information is needed by all water managers and the general public
to develop a complete understanding of how water is used for different categories of use (such as
irrigation, or public supply). The WUDR program also supports the Department of the Interior’s
Secretarial priorities by enabling water managers, primarily State Water Resource Agencies, to
monitor current conditions, and be able to plan and avoid future water conflicts that may result
from changes in the environment.
The USGS National Water Use Science Project is operated in Water Science Centers located in
all 50 States, Territories and District of Columbia. Water-use data are collected in each of these
areas via collaboration with State and other Federal Agencies, Tribes, water authorities, county
and local communities, corporations, academic and the private sector. The USGS builds
relationships through data collection, collaborations on scientific studies, and interpretive
reports. The National Water Use Science Project has a representative in each of the 50 States,
Territories and the District of Columbia. WUDR cooperative agreements address the
Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Priorities to enhance the collection, availability, quality
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and distribution of important water-use data, as well as improve communication between the
U.S. Department of the Interior and State natural resource offices and water authorities.
1. Application Submission Closing Date: May 3, 2018, at 4 pm, Eastern Daylight Time
2. Electronic Application Requirement
For the FY 2018 funding cycle, all proposals shall be submitted electronically via Grants.gov
(https://www.grants.gov). Hard/paper submissions will NOT be accepted. Electronic copies
submitted via e-mail will NOT be accepted under any circumstances. All proposals shall be
submitted electronically through Grants.gov on or before:
May 3, 2018 at 4 pm, Eastern Daylight Time
Please be aware that the electronic submission process requires first time users to register
using an e-Authentication process. This registration process can be somewhat complex and
can take up to 3 weeks to complete. Be advised that it is virtually impossible to begin the
process of electronic submission for the first time if you start just a few days before the due
date.
If you have any questions or problems with the registration process, or the completion of the
application package, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at 1-800-518-4726 or
support@grants.gov
Briefly, when you submit a grant application package to Grants.gov, you will receive a
confirmation screen, as well as three additional emails over two business days from Grants.gov
informing you of your application processing status:
1. Confirmation Screen
2. Submission Receipt (with a “Track My Application” link)
3. Submission Validation (or Rejection with Errors)
4. Agency Retrieval
CONFIRMATION: Submission Confirmation Screen.
After you submit your grant application package, a confirmation screen will appear on your
computer screen. This screen confirms that you have submitted an application to Grants.gov.
NOTIFICATION 1: Submission Receipt Email
Within two business days after your application package has been received by the Grants.gov
system, you will receive a submission receipt email which indicates that your submission has
entered the Grants.gov system and is ready for validation. This email also contains a tracking
number for use while tracking the status of the submission as well as a “Track My Application”
link, to use to see the progress of your submission.
NOTIFICATION 2: Submission Validation Receipt Email – This is the important one!
After you receive the submission receipt email, the next email you will receive will be a message
validating or rejecting your submitted application package with errors. The Grants.gov system is
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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designed to check for technical errors within the submitted application package. Grants.gov does
not review application content for award determination. Grants.gov will not post the application
if there are errors. Failure to correct errors and re-submit by the posted Application Submission
Deadline will result in the application being rejected for incomplete and late submission.
NOTIFICATION 3: Grantor Agency Retrieval Email
Once your application package has passed validation it is delivered to the grantor for award
determination and further approval. After the grantor has confirmed receipt of your application,
you will be sent a third and final email from Grants.gov. The grantor may also assign your
application package an agency specific tracking number for use within their internal system. IF
YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL WITHIN FOUR DAYS OF THE CLOSING
DATE, PLEASE CONTACT (Sara Roser, (703) 648-7357, sroser@usgs.gov).
If you need help entering your proposal, you can reach the Grants.gov Help Desk at 1-800-5184726 or email support@grants.gov. Their hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to
9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and they are closed on Federal Holidays.
During the application period, an applicant may submit a revised or corrected proposal through
Grants.gov. Include a cover letter as the first page of the proposal stating that the proposal is
revised and indicating that the previous submittal is to be withdrawn from consideration. Such
submissions must be completed by May 3, 2018 at 4:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time.
For more information, see Section 7 of this document, Application Preparation Instructions,
which describes requirements for the proposal and other application components.
Please allow sufficient time for the proposal to be submitted electronically through
Grants.gov and allow time for possible computer delays. Applicants are strongly advised
not to wait until the last minute for submission. A proposal received after the closing date
and time will not be considered for award. If the USGS determines that a proposal will not
be considered for award due to lateness, the applicant will be notified immediately.
A question at the top of the grant opportunity in Grants.gov will ask if you would like to receive
email notifications of changes to this opportunity. Providing your email address at the prompt
ensures you will be notified if changes are made to this program announcement after the original
posting.
Questions?
For Grants.gov issues, see
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jso
or
http://www.usgs.gov.contracts/grants/grantsgov.html,
or contact:
Laura Mahoney, (703) 648-7344, lmahoney@usgs.gov
For grant issues, contact:
Sara Roser
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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(703) 648-7357
sroser@usgs.gov
For Water Use Data and Research program issues, contact:
Cheryl Dieter, Coordinator, USGS WUDR Program
443-498-5537
wudr-coordinator@usgs.gov
Information Sessions
To facilitate the financial assistance application process, two conference calls will be conducted
to accommodate inquiries from Applicants about the WUDR program and the proposal review,
evaluation, and selection process. These calls will be held on:
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 from 2:00-3:00 pm EDT; and
Tuesday, April 10, 2018 from 1:00-2:00 pm EDT
Call-in number: 703-648-4848 or toll free 1-855-547-8255
Access code: 133036#
Webinar link: https://gstalk.usgs.gov/133036
3. Award Description
The total amount of funding available for this Program Announcement is expected to be up
to a total of $1,500,000 for Federal FY2018. Applications are restricted to a minimum federal
funding level of $24,000 and a maximum federal funding level of $125,000 for work to
improve the availability, quality, compatibility, and transfer of water use data that is collected
and/or estimated by States. Additionally, federal funding per State is also restricted by the
SECURE Water Act: total cumulative funds from the WUDR program to each State cannot
exceed $250,000. Please email wudr-coordinator@usgs.gov for your respective State’s
balance. These estimates do not bind the USGS to a specific number of awards or to the
amount of any award. Work performance under these awards must be completed within the
two-year cycle from the start date. The start date will be determined by the timing of funds
availability and the issuance of the award. Substantial involvement of the USGS (local
USGS Water Science Centers and/or the USGS National Water Use Team) is expected to aid
state collaborators with refining existing water use databases, development of new techniques
for estimating water use, and establishing data management policies for sharing of water use
data that adhere to data goals for major water-use categories (Attachment A) previously
developed by the USGS for all water use categories nationally; therefore, these awards will
be in the form of cooperative agreements.
All projects must propose start dates between September 1, 2018 and September 30,
2018.

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4. Eligibility Information
A. Applicant Eligibility
Applicants must be State Water Resource Agencies which collect or manage water use data.
Collaboration with existing projects conducted by USGS Water Science Centers is
encouraged; however, USGS personnel are prohibited from helping prepare any application
materials for competitive funding and are ineligible to receive WUDR funds.
Applicants can include a cost-share contribution in the form of in-kind services.
A set cost-sharing percentage for the recipient is not mandated, but a match of in-kind
services is encouraged and should be denoted within the budget as cost sharing.
In order to receive an award under this FY2018 Program Announcement, applicants must
have submitted a FINAL (WUDR reviewed and approved) Workplan to the USGS WUDR
Program Management (Cheryl Dieter, wudr-coordinator@usgs.gov). If an applicant's
proposal is recommended for funding but the WUDR Program Management has not
approved the FINAL Workplan, the project will not be awarded funding.
(Most states received $26,000 through the WUDR non-competitive financial assistance
program to complete their Workplan. For those States that did not receive $26,000 through
the WUDR non-competitive financial assistance program, but are now interested in receiving
the funds, they may contact the WUDR Program Office to express their interest. A noncompetitive award outside of this Program Announcement would be made to provide the
funds. A State may submit a Workplan on their own, i.e. without any federal funding
assistance. Instructions on what is required in the Workplan can be found at
http://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/grant-application.html.)
Application announcement date: March 21, 2018
Applications must be submitted by the closing date of May 3, 2018 at 4:00 pm Eastern
Daylight Time.
B. Topic Eligibility
Water managers across the United States require more complete, timely, and accurate water
availability information to support policy and decision-making, specifically data associated
with water withdrawals and consumptive use that are used to establish local and regional
water budgets. State Water Resource Agencies are the primary authorities responsible for
regulating and collecting data on water supplies, allocations, uses, and/or rights. The U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS), through its Water Availability and Use Science Program
(WAUSP), is the only Federal agency that explicitly collects water-use data as a part of its
mission. The WAUSP works with State, local, and Federal partners to consolidate dozens of
disparate datasets to create comprehensive reports of water use in the United States every
five years. Because of differences in methodology and data quality, USGS water use
compilations require significant effort to standardize (to the extent possible) such data
between States. The WAUSP products form the basis of the water use component of the
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National Water Census as called for by the SECURE Water Act (Section 9508, Public Law
111–11).
Recognizing the limitations of current water use data, the USGS Water Use Data and
Research program will provide financial assistance, through cooperative agreements with
State Water Resource Agencies, to improve the availability, quality, compatibility, and
transfer of water use data that is collected and/or estimated by States. The Act requires that
these State Water Resource Agencies make water use or availability datasets resulting from
this funding opportunity available in a machine readable open format that the USGS can
integrate with appropriate datasets maintained by the USGS.
The USGS has identified priority topics for the FY2018 WUDR Program Announcement.
Proposals that address one or more of these priority topics will be given funding preference.
The priority topics for the FY2018 WUDR Program Announcement are:
• IMPROVE water-use data for IRRIGATION, PUBLIC SUPPLY, OR
INDUSTRIAL use categories. This should be accomplished by increasing the
“TIER LEVEL” for a category of use (see Attachment A, Data Goals for Major
Water-Use Categories). This includes improvements for either estimated or
reported data. Some examples include collection of monthly rather than annual
withdrawals, acquiring source of water (groundwater with aquifer designation,
surface water with water body or stream name), reporting public supply deliveries
to other categories (commercial, industrial, domestic), estimating consumptive
use, or acquiring ancillary data such as population served by public-supply
systems, by source.
• IMPROVE THE COLLECTION PROCESS OR QUALITY ASSURANCE
OF WATER USE DATA, OR IMPROVE THE TRANSFER OF WATER
USE DATA TO THE USGS and other data users. Improving the transfer of
water use data to the USGS and other data users includes making data and
metadata available in a machine readable open format.
• Conduct studies that DEVELOP METHODS AND/OR COEFFICIENTS to
improve water use estimates for categories of use where measured or reported
data are not available.
Proposals that address additional topics will be considered, but may be given a lower funding
preference than proposals that address the priority topics listed above.
5. USGS Data Goals for Major Water-Use Categories
More information on the USGS Water Use Data and Research (WUDR) Program can be
found at: http://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/index.html. Attachment A provides a table
outlining three tiers for major categories of water use. Within the table, the USGS has
identified baseline goals (Tier 1), and additional levels (Tiers 2 and 3) of data, for all major
categories of water use, most of which have been estimated by the USGS and published
every 5 years since 1985 (https://water.usgs.gov/watuse/WU-Category-Changes.html). These
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standards are provided to assist State water-resource agencies in determining areas in which
to focus proposed work.
6. Unsuitable Proposals
The following proposals are ineligible for consideration under this Announcement at this
time:
• Proposals from U.S. Government Agencies or U.S. Government employees.
• Proposals from Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC).
• Work that was previously funded though the WUDR program, or other federal grant
programs.
7. Application Preparation Instructions
Your electronic submission shall consist of forms SF-424, SF-424a, and SF-424b, plus the
items described below. No additional documents or materials may be submitted. Failure to
comply with the required application components listed below may result in the
proposal being rejected.
Items A through F, as described below, shall be combined together in one document, in the
order noted below, and submitted through Grants.gov in either MS Word or Adobe PDF
format. Items A-D shall not exceed a total of 15 single-spaced pages (including figures,
tables, references, appendices, etc.), and the type size shall not be smaller than 12 point. All
pages of the application shall be numbered. All text, figures, and tables shall be sized to fit on
8½” by 11” paper with 1-inch margins. The resume (Item E), Data Management Plan (Item
F), SF forms, and negotiated rate agreement required tables do not count toward the 15-page
limit.
In the Grants.gov forms, floating your mouse over a field will provide instructions for
completing that field. You can also click on the ‘Check Package for Errors’ button to check
the entire application for validation errors (incomplete fields, etc.)
The application submitted through Grants.gov as the ‘Project Narrative Attachment Form’ (in
MS Word or Adobe PDF format) shall be assembled in the following order:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

Proposal Information Summary
Proposal
Budget Summary
Detailed Budget
Principal Investigator Resume
Data Management Plan

A. Proposal Information Summary.
Provide a summary for the proposal using the format shown in Attachment B.

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B. Proposal
Please include the following sections:
1) Project Summary. Provide an overall summary of the project including a brief
description of work to be accomplished, USGS category(ies) of water use data
collection or methodology development, how the proposed work increases the “TIER
LEVEL” for a category of use (see Attachment A, Data Goals for Major Water-Use
Categories)., and geographic and temporal scale of data activity.
2) Project Description.
a) Problem Statement. Describe the problem and the state agency’s role relevant to
the problem.
b) Project Objectives. Describe the objectives of the proposed work.
c) Approach. Proposals should thoroughly address how to the proposed work will
accomplish project objectives. Describe specific methods that will be used to
complete the project tasks. Describe the significance of each task relative to the
project objectives. If work is not being performed by the applicant agency,
explain the role relative to water use of the party conducting the work. Describe
work being done by contractors.
d) Milestones and Project Timeline. Include a timeline for the proposed work.
Include timelines for tasks and subtasks specified in the description of project
activities that you detailed in the Approach section. Describe specific,
quantifiable and/or qualitative milestones to show how the project is successful,
and what benefits could accrue if the project is successful. Include products,
deliverables/milestones on the timeline. Milestones may include things such as
reports, datasets, etc., that will be produced as part of the project. Below is an
example table that can be used along with text describing items in the table.
Objectives

Milestone/Output/Deliverable

Target
Date

Outcome

1.
1.

2.
3.
1.

2.

2.
3.
1.

3.

2.
3.

e) Previous WUDR competitive awards. Briefly describe how the proposed work is
different from the previously funded WUDR projects from FY16 or FY17
Competitive Awards.
f) Transfer of data to the USGS or other entities. Describe how data will be
transferred to the USGS. Data transfer guidance is available on the USGS WUDR
website: https://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/documents.html . Describe how data
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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g)
h)

i)

j)
k)

will be made available to the USGS in a machine readable open format, such that
the data can be easily integrated (by the USGS) into USGS databases in
compliance with the SECURE Water Act. If data will be made available to other
entities, describe how the data will be made available.
Relevance to State Priorities. Describe how the proposed tasks meet the priorities
of the State water use program as described in the “Workplan.”
Science and Technology Transferability. Describe how the methods, or technical
components developed under the proposed project will be applicable to other
states, agencies and or the USGS.
Collaboration. Describe meetings, communication, and collaboration with other
state and/or local agencies that collect water use data that occurred in the
development of this proposal. Describe collaboration with the USGS, including
Water Science Center contacts. Describe collaboration that will be ongoing
through the proposed project period with local, state, federal agencies (including
USGS), or educational institutions.
Team Experience. Succinctly describe the relevant experience of the project team
members.
IT Infrastructure
i) Describe databases used to store data.
ii) Briefly describe any current data sharing applications or web sites.
iii) Describe IT staff experience and availability.
iv) Discuss any security requirements or limitations.

C. Budget Summary
Provide a budget summary for each year using the format shown in Attachment D. The
budget items should correlate with the detailed budget below.
D. Detailed Budget
A budget sheet for each year is required that provides more detail than what is entered
under the SF-424A form. In this budget breakdown sheet please separate federal from
cost-sharing funds (see ‘In-kind Resource Match’ section below). A set cost-sharing
percentage for the recipient is not mandated, but a match of in-kind services is
encouraged and should be denoted within the budget as cost sharing. The cost for the
project should include both the agency in-kind services and the work to be funded by the
WUDR funding opportunity. Please provide the following information for each
objective or major task. Applicants should include the following categories for both
federal and in-kind services:
a. Salaries
• Please provide a list of staff that will work on each objective listed in the
proposal. If staff will work on more than one objective, include an entry with
the hours for that employee on each objective.
• Objective Name: For each objective provide a table with the following items
for each staff member that will work on the objective
1. employee name,
2. title,
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

hourly rate of compensation,
fringe benefit rate and hourly rate of fringe benefit,
the total hourly rate (item 3 + item 4),
the number of hours planned,
the cost (item 5 times item 6),
the percent of the cost that is Federally funded, and
the percent of cost that is Agency in-kind services. (item 8 and item 9
should add to 100%)
Supplies. For each major type of supply, enter a description and the cost for supplies
needed for the project (include percent of cost that is Federally funded and/or
provided as in-kind);
Equipment: Enter a description and the cost for each piece of equipment needed for
the project. Please list any computer purchases separately. If possible, computer
purchases should be as in-kind services to avoid property ownership issues;
Contractors: Provide the following detailed breakdown for each contractor needed
for the project:
1. hourly rate of compensation,
2. fringe benefit rate and hourly rate of fringe benefit,
3. the total hourly rate (item 1 + item 2),
4. the number of hours planned,
5. the cost (item 5 times item 6),
6. the percent of the cost that is Federally funded, and
7. the percent of cost that is Agency in-kind services. (items 8 and 9 should add
to 100%)
Travel: Provide detailed information on proposed travel, i.e. where to, why, how
many, how long, per diem and lodging rates, etc. (include percent of cost that is
Federally funded and/or provided as in-kind); and
Indirect Cost/General and Administrative (G&A) Cost: Show the proposed rate, cost
base, and proposed amount for allowable indirect costs based on the cost principles
applicable to the Applicant's organization. If the Applicant has separate rates for
recovery of labor overhead and G&A costs, each charge should be shown. Explain
the distinction between items included in the two cost pools. The Applicant should
propose rates for evaluation purposes, which they are also willing to establish as
fixed or ceiling rates in any resulting award. NOTE: A copy of the indirect
negotiated cost agreement with the Federal Government should be provided with the
application package. Pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, Section 200.414, in the
absences of a negotiated rate agreement, non-Federal entities may use a de minimis
rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC).
In-Kind Resource Match
Examples of in-kind resource match are: salaries, contract support, student
assistance fees, travel expenses, software purchase, equipment dedicated to the
project, production of outreach materials, and indirect costs or overhead charges.
All contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, will be accepted as part
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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of the recipient’s in-kind match when such contributions meet all of the following
criteria:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

verifiable from the recipients’ records,
not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted project or
program,
necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of
project or program objectives,
allowable under the applicable cost principles,
not paid by the Federal Government under another award, except where
authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost matching,
provided for in the approved budget when required by the Federal
awarding agency, and
conform to the provision of the appropriate OMB Circular, as applicable.

Volunteer services furnished by professional and technical personnel, consultants,
and other skilled and unskilled labor may be counted as in-kind match if the
service is an integral and necessary part of the project. Rates for volunteer
services shall be consistent with those paid for similar work in the recipient’s
organization. In those instances in which the required skills are not found in the
recipient organization, rates shall be consistent with those paid for similar work in
the labor market in which the recipient competes for the kind of services involved.
In either case, paid fringe benefits that are reasonable, allowable, and allocable
may be included in the valuation.
Match calculation: For example, with a request for an award of $5,000 of Federal
assistance, a 50-50 cost share contribution by the applicant would be $5,000 in
value for a total of $10,000 value committed to the project ($5,000 and $5,000
Federal and applicant, respectively).
Applicant must document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be
contributed to the fulfillment of the project and include this information in the
detail budget breakdown.
E. Principal Investigator Resume
Please include a resume for the technical lead for the proposed project. The resume
should only include relevant professional experience.
F. Data Management Plan
Proposals submitted to USGS must include a supplementary document of no more than
two pages labeled "Data Management Plan" (DMP). This supplementary document
should describe how the proposal will conform to USGS policy on the dissemination and
sharing of research results and associated data. Two examples of data management plans
are included in Attachment C. Additional examples are available at
https://www2.usgs.gov/datamanagement/plan/dmplans.php. In rare cases, a DMP may
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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include only the statement that no detailed plan is needed (e.g. “No data are expected to
be produced from this project”), as long as the statement is accompanied by a clear
justification.
DMPs should include the following:
1) the types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, and
other materials to be produced in the course of the project;
2) the standards to be used for data and metadata format and content (where existing
standards are absent or deemed inadequate, this should be documented along with any
proposed solutions or remedies);
3) policies for access and sharing including provisions for appropriate protection of
privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or
requirements;
4) provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives; and
5) plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products, and for preservation of
free public access to them.
Additional guidance on data management plans is available from the USGS Data
Management web site (http://www.usgs.gov/datamanagement/plan/dmplans.php).
Note: The DMP does not count toward the 15 page limit.
8. Rejection of Applications after Initial Review
If an application does not meet all requirements specified in the Announcement, as
determined by the Contracting Officer in consultation with the USGS WUDR Program
Coordinator, the institution and principal investigator will be promptly notified that the
proposal will not be reviewed, indicating the reason for its rejection. States may make
revisions and apply for funding again during later years, if funding for the WUDR program
continues.

9. Application Evaluation Procedure and Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by the USGS WUDR Technical Committee and will be
considered in accordance with the criteria written below: The weighting factor that will be
applied to each criterion is shown as a percentage.
1. Technical quality of the proposal. This criterion considers the scientific merit of the
proposed approach, whether the approach is innovative or employs a proven, reliable
technique that is appropriate to the problem, and the probability of achieving positive
results within the designated period. The proposal includes all required information
listed in Section 7 (Application Preparation Instructions). The title of the proposal
includes the agency name, the geographic area, and a brief statement of the work to be
accomplished. The proposal should include a clear presentation of the project phases, and
milestones for the proposed project duration. This criterion also considers whether the
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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proposed budget is commensurate with the level of effort needed to accomplish the
project objectives and whether the cost of the project is reasonable relative to the value of
the anticipated results. (40%) Evaluation is based on the following:
a. The proposal is clearly written and has all required sections.
b. The proposal addresses Secretarial Priorities for Financial Assistance (Attachment
F, no. 1a).
c. Sufficient detail on the approach is included in the proposal.
d. The proposed approach is technically appropriate.
e. The timeline is included and appropriate.
f. Milestones are described, relevant to the approach, and included on the timeline.
g. The budget is appropriate for the scope of work and detailed by major objectives
or tasks.
2. Transfer of water use data to the USGS. The SECURE Water Act (Section 9508,
“National Water Availability and Use Assessment Program”, Public Law 111–11)
authorizes the USGS to provide financial assistance to State water resource agencies to
improve the availability, quality, compatibility and transfer of water-use data that is
collected and/or estimated by States. The Act requires that these State water use and
availability datasets be integrated with appropriate datasets that are developed and/or
maintained by the USGS. This criterion evaluates whether the State water resource
agency proposed study fulfills this requirement of the SECURE Water Act (listed above).
(20%) Evaluation is based on both of the following:
a. The proposed work will improve the accessibility, quality, compatibility and
transfer of water-use data that is collected and/or estimated by States.
b. The results of the proposed study will be provided to the USGS. Where
applicable, data will be provided to the USGS in a machine readable open format,
and easily integrated by the USGS into appropriate water use and availability
datasets that are developed and/or maintained by the USGS. Additional data
transfer guidance is available on the USGS WUDR website:
https://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/documents.html.
3. Relevance to State priorities. This criterion evaluates whether the State water resource
agency proposal helps to achieve the State’s identified priorities. The proposal should
demonstrate the need for the effort/activity, and how it relates to the State’s identified
priorities. (10%) Evaluation is based on both of the following:
a. The proposal identifies the relevant State priority(ies).
b. The proposal identifies how the study will address the State priority(ies).
4. Science and Technology Transferability. This criterion evaluates the potential for the
results (tools developed, methods, approaches) of the proposed study to be applied to or
used by other State water resource agencies. This criterion also evaluates the
transferability, and/or usefulness of the results of the proposed study to USGS programs,
databases, and/or studies. The proposal describes how the methods, or technical
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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components developed under the proposed project will be applicable to other states,
agencies and or the USGS. (10%) Evaluation is based on both of the following:
a. The technical tools, data, methods, or products of the proposed study are useful
and transferable to other States.
b. The technical tools, data, methods, or products of the proposed study are useful
and transferable to USGS programs or studies.
5. Collaboration. This criterion evaluates collaboration with relevant agencies or
organizations within or outside the State, and collaboration with USGS Water-Science
Center personnel where appropriate. (10%) Evaluation is based on all of the following:
a. The proposal clearly describes collaboration with other State or local agencies
during the development of the proposal.
b. The proposal addresses Secretarial priorities (Attachment F, 3b) to improve
communication between the U.S. Department of the Interior and State natural
resource offices and water authorities through collaboration opportunities with
USGS personnel.
c. The proposal identifies collaboration (meetings, coordination, communication,
etc.) with other federal, State, or local agencies that is planned to occur during the
project period.
6. Previous Performance and Experience of Principal Investigator and Members of State
Team. This criterion considers experience and competence of the State water resource
agency principal investigator and team, and if applicable, the promptness with which the
research results were disseminated to the scientific community from previous WUDR
funding. When applicable, this factor includes the timely publication of project results
and data in peer-reviewed scientific and technical journals or state agency publication or
program related website, the impact of the results, and whether reporting requirements
from previous USGS awards have been satisfied. Previous Performance includes
completion of Federal awards. (10%) Evaluation is based on all of the following:
a. A resume describing relevant professional experience for the principal
investigator is attached.
b. The proposal describes the relevant experience of the team members.
c. The experience of team members is appropriate.
d. Previous projects and publications were completed on time. This includes
previous WUDR project awards, and/or other USGS awards or cooperative
agreements.
10. Reporting Requirements and Instructions
Progress Reports and Final Technical Reports shall describe in detail the work performed and
results obtained during the grant period. Final Technical Reports are due 90 days after the
conclusion of the project period. Any information contained in a previously submitted
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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progress report shall be repeated or restated in the Final Technical Report. All reporting
requirements are described in Attachment E Section 5. Reporting Requirements.
All reports are to be submitted as pdf files, and submitted via e-mail attachment to WUDR
Program Management:
Cheryl Dieter
wudr-coordinator@usgs.gov
11. Involvement of Federal Employees
Federal employees, including USGS employees, are prohibited from serving in any capacity
(paid or unpaid) on any application submitted under this Announcement; federal employees
may not assist in the development of proposals. Proposals that have a real or apparent
conflict of interest related to Federal employees will not be processed for evaluation. This
does not prohibit cooperation or collaboration between USGS and non-USGS scientists once
a grant or cooperative agreement is in place; however, Federal employees are not eligible to
receive funds associated with this program.

12. Award Terms and Conditions
Award Recipient must comply with award Terms and Conditions (Attachment E). Submittal
of an application constitutes the applicant’s acceptance of the terms and conditions for
inclusion on any award resulting from their application. Any concerns with the requirements
of the Special Terms and Conditions shall be presented to the Contracting Officer at least
three (3) days prior to the closing date of the Announcement.
A. No pre-award costs are authorized
B. No-Cost extensions to the project period are discouraged.
C. Project Report. A final technical report must be completed and submitted to the
USGS within 90-days of the end date of the project.

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Attachment A
Data Goals for Major Water-Use Categories
The USGS has identified goals for all major categories of water use (see table below), most of
which have been estimated by the USGS and published every 5 years since 1985. These
guidelines are provided to assist State water resource agencies in determining areas in which to
focus proposed work. States that currently meet the data goals for major water-use categories
outlined in Tier 1, for a specific water-use category would focus on Tier 2 and/or Tier 3. States
are not required to meet Tier 1, in all categories, before addressing Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 data
needs. Data collected and studies conducted in Tiers 1, 2, and 3 should be designed to benefit
both local and national estimates and provide information for water availability studies by water
managers, academia, federal, and or local agencies. The definitions of basic water-use terms and
categories as used by USGS can be found in USGS Circular 1405
(http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1405/).
In addition to the standards listed in the table, baseline goals for all categories of water use
include:
1. Facility or system withdrawals for the following categories: Public Supply, Self-supplied
Industrial, Irrigation-Crop, Thermoelectric, Irrigation-Golf Course, Livestock (major
facilities), Mining and Aquaculture
2. Withdrawals, deliveries or returns by water source – groundwater, surface water,
reclaimed wastewater, wastewater effluent, and/or recycled water. For groundwater
sources the aquifer should be identified.
3. Withdrawals by water type – fresh or saline

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Category

Public Supply

•
•
•

Industrial

•

•

IrrigationCrop

•

Thermoelectric

•

•

Tier 1
Monthly withdrawals, reported by
system and water source and
water type.
Deliveries to domestic users from
public-supply systems, and
populations served.
Report system information
relevant to HUC-8 and county,
and groundwater withdrawals with
aquifer designation.

•

•
•
•

Annual withdrawals by facility
•
reported by water source, by
water type, and industry
classification.
Groundwater withdrawals
•
reported with reference to aquifer.
Aggregate annual withdrawals
•
reported by water source, by
water type, acres irrigated, and
method of irrigation. Aggregate
•
areas may be sub-county levels,
but are feasible to summarize to
county or watershed.
Site-specific, annual and monthly •
withdrawals and net power
generation reported by coolingsystem type (once-through or
recirculating), by water source
and by water type, and the source
of the information (plant, govt.
agency, etc.).
Site-specific return flows.

Tier 2
Site-specific annual and monthly
withdrawals (by intake and/or well or
well field) reported by water source, and
by water type.
Quantity of water purchased between
systems and source(s) of water.
Quantity of water sold between
systems.
Reporting and/or verification of water
deliveries for domestic, commercial,
industrial, thermoelectric and other use.
Site-specific (by intake and/or well)
annual and monthly withdrawals
reported by water source, by water type,
and industry classification.
Deliveries from public supply to
Industrial and deliveries from other
categories.
Site-specific withdrawals by well or
diversion from surface-water feature, or
delivery from reclaimed wastewater.
Monthly withdrawals reported by water
source, type, acres irrigated, crop, and
method of irrigation.

•
•
•
•

•
•

•

•

Tier 3
Interbasin transfers.
System uses (internal and
other non-revenue uses) and
losses.
Improve population served
estimates.
Use of reclaimed wastewater
for public or landscape
irrigation.

Site-specific consumptive
use estimates.
Site-specific discharges to
surface water or land
application.

Consumptive use and
conveyance loss estimates
by aggregate area (subcounty, watershed (HUC8 or
up to HUC12).
Site-specific return flows.

Site-specific annual and monthly
consumptive use.

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Irrigation –
Golf Courses

Self-Supplied
Domestic

Category
•

•

•

•

Annual withdrawals for major
facilities, reported by water
source and by water type.

•

•

•

Tier 2
Studies of actual metered domestic
withdrawals, monthly by source.
Improve estimates of self-supplied
populations by utilizing property data
and/or public water supply service
areas, or other methods.

Tier 3

Consumptive use estimates, by course,
reported by month or annual.
Acres irrigated by system type, by
course.

Site-specific annual and monthly
withdrawals for all facilities reported by
source of water, and by water type.
Site-specific animal counts and animal
type.

•

•

•

Mining

•

Site-specific annual and monthly
withdrawals reported by water
source, by water type, and acres
irrigated. Groundwater
withdrawals designated by
aquifer.

Livestock

•

Tier 1
Self-supplied domestic
populations, by HUC-8 and
county, and by water source.

Annual withdrawals reported by
HUC-8 and county, by source of
water, and by water type.

•

Site-specific annual and monthly
withdrawals. Site-specific commodity
identified.

•

•

Improved and verified
coefficients for water use per
head for animal type,
confined or open-range,
seasonal variability, and
other variables.
Water withdrawals from
sources supported by USDA
programs to protect streams
Evaluation/reporting on
water use by process
(commodity processing,
dewatering, dust
suppression, etc.).
Reporting on return
flows/discharge of water
from dewatering.

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Wastewater
Treatment

Hydroelectric
Power

Commercial

Aquaculture

Category
•

Tier 1
Annual withdrawals reported by
HUC-8 and county, by source of
water, and by water type.

•

Annual and monthly deliveries
from public supply for commercial
use.

•

Site-specific, annual and monthly
water use (water use to spin
turbines) by water source and
water type, and the source of the
information (plant, govt. agency,
etc.).

•

Site-specific, annual and monthly
return flows from public
wastewater treatment and
industrial facilities.

Tier 2
Site-specific annual and monthly
withdrawals. Site-specific facility
information (method, species cultured,
etc.)

•

•

Site-specific annual and monthly
withdrawals for self-supplied
establishments

•

Site-specific discharges to surface water
or land application.

Tier 3

Water Use Data Storage and Availability
Water use
database

•

Monthly and annual withdrawal
data are reported to the state
agency and stored in an electronic
format.

•

Withdrawal data are entered
electronically into a database.
Automatic QA/QC checks are
integrated into the electronic database
and/or data entry routines.

•

Withdrawal data include
water source, water type
and location (county and
HUC-12). Data are made
available for export by the
state agency or for
download.

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Attachment B
USGS Water Use Data and Research Cooperative Agreement

Proposal Information Summary Template
Use the format below for the required Proposal Information Summary
1.

Short Project Title:

The short project title should be used on the SF forms and will
be used by USGS Office of Acquisition and Grants. The short
project title should include the State or State agency name, the
year, and WUDR or Water Use in the title. The following are
two examples: “Pennsylvania DEP 2018 WUDR Project” or
“Texas Water Use Data Project FY2018”

2.

Descriptive Project Title:

The descriptive project title will be used by the WUDR program.
The descriptive project title should include the agency name, the
geographic area, and a brief statement of the work to be
accomplished. The following is an example descriptive project
title: “Quality Assurance Enhancements to Web Based Water
Use Reporting Application to support Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection’s Water Use Data Program”

3.

Project Keywords:

List 3 to 5 keywords for the proposed work.

4.

Primary Investigator(s):

List technical contacts and contact information here
(Name)
(Agency Name)
(Street Address/P.O. Box)
(City, State, Zip Code)
(Telephone Number), (FAX Number), (E-mail Address)

5.

Authorized Institutional
Representative:

Provide name of Institutional/Financial contact here
(Name)
(Agency Name)
(Organizational Unit)
(Street Address/P.O. Box)
(City, State, Zip Code)
(Telephone Number), (FAX Number), (E-mail Address)

6.

Amount Requested:

(List amount requested for this Proposal)

7.

Proposed Start Date:

(The date you would like to start work; between
September 1, 2018 and September 30, 2018)

8.

Proposed Duration:

(12 or 24 months, No awards are issued for less than 12 months)

9.

Previous WUDR Funding:

Amount
Performance Period

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Attachment C
Data Management Plan - Example Templates

Below are two example data management plans. Additional examples are available at
https://www2.usgs.gov/datamanagement/plan/dmplans.php
Template 1: This template is for use with projects involving data collection or data digitizing,
processing, or other transformations:
PI Name:
Project Title:
1. Will this project utilize existing data? ☐Yes/☐No
If yes, where is the existing data hosted/stored currently? (Paper files, Excel spreadsheets,
custom database, etc.)
2. Will your Project collect or process new data? ☐Yes/☐No
If yes, what file format will be used to collect the new data? (Paper, web forms, PDF
forms, etc.)
3. Are there access/use limitations associated with your data? ☐Yes/☐No
If yes, describe the limitations, including proprietary or sensitive data elements, etc.
4. Is existing data currently available to the public? ☐Yes/☐No
a. Where are the data made available?
b. Describe how any proprietary/sensitive data is handled.
c. Are any fees associated with release of the data?
d. What data format is the data released in? ☐CSV ☐Shapefile ☐GeoTIFF ☐Other:
e. Is associated metadata made available, and if so what format?
5. Is new data planned to be made available to the public?
a. Where will the data made available?
b. Describe how any proprietary/sensitive data will be handled.
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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c. Will any fees be associated with release of the data?
d. What data format will the data be released in? ☐CSV ☐Shapefile ☐GeoTIFF ☐Other:
e. Will associated metadata be made available, and if so what format will be used?
6. Describe the approach for backup of all data associated with this project.
7. What is the lifespan of this data? ☐Maintained indefinitely/☐Moved to archive storage after
__ years/☐Destroyed after __years/☐Other:
8. Does data for this project rely on proprietary or licensed software? List software:
9. Describe quality assurance and/or quality control procedures that are associated with data
collection and processing:

Template 2: This template is for use with projects involving custom software/code, database, or
web tools development:
PI Name:
Project Title:
1. Describe the custom software to be developed.
2. If code is available/planned to be made available via an online repository, provide a link.
3. Identify any restrictions on access or reuse of the software.
4. Describe the approach for backup of the software during this project.
5. Describe the strategy for ongoing support and maintenance of the software after development.
6. Identify the computing language/framework to be used. (Java/Javascript/SQL/.Net/etc)
7. Identify the operating system environment. (Windows/Linux/MacOS/etc.)

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Attachment D
Budget Summary

Indirect cost rate:

Budget summary
Category
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Federal $

Agency inkind $

Total $

Salary (wages, fringe)
Travel
Equipment
Supplies
Contractors
Total Direct Costs (items 1-5)
Indirect cost
Total Cost (items 6 and 7)
In-kind services percent:

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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Attachment E
Water Use Data and Research Program Terms and Conditions
1. Acceptance
Acceptance of a Federal Financial Assistance award from the Department of the Interior (DOI)
carries with it the responsibility to be aware of and comply with the terms and conditions of
award. Acceptance is defined as the start of work, drawing down funds, or accepting the award
by signature or electronic means. Awards are based on the application submitted to and
approved by DOI and are subject to the terms and conditions incorporated either directly or by
reference below.
2. USGS Involvement
Substantial involvement is anticipated through the terms of this Agreement between the USGS
and the Recipient. A summary of the involvement is as follows:
The Water Use Data and Research (WUDR) Program will be carried out in close collaboration
with Water Use Specialists at USGS Water Science Centers, and/or the USGS National Water
Use Team during the development of technical requirements and categorical water use data
collection and methods development. The Recipients will be integral in data collection, methods
development, and data management activities, potentially working with local cooperators and
other federal agencies to facilitate project development and data acquisition and management.
The USGS WUDR Technical Team will manage and develop all the technical requirements and
guidance associated with the WUDR Program. Together the USGS and state collaborators will
refine existing water use databases, develop new techniques for estimating water use, and
establish data management policies for sharing of water use data that adhere to data goals for
major water-use categories previously developed by the USGS (Attachment A). Data and
information collected as part of this program must be stored electronically, provided to the
USGS in machine readable open format to input into existing USGS databases (when
applicable), but may be disseminated via a variety of means, including graduate student theses,
USGS series reports, and scientific publications.
3. Funding
(a) The total estimated cost of the USGS share for the performance of this Agreement is
(total amount of the agreement).
(b) The amount obligated under this Assistance Award Modification, hereinafter referred to as
“obligated funds,” presently the sum of (total amount of the agreement), shall be
available for payment of costs incurred by the recipient in performance of this agreement for
the period (to be completed at time of award).

FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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In no event shall costs be incurred in performance of this agreement in excess of the funds
currently obligated.
4. Pre-Agreement Costs
The Recipient is not authorized to incur costs prior to the award of this Agreement. Costs
incurred prior to the award of this agreement are not allowable.
5. Reporting Requirements
(a) Required reports/documents. The Principal Investigator is required to submit the following reports
or documents. Further description of requirements follows the table below.
Report/
Document

Method of Delivery

Submit To

(1) Progress
Report

Send PDF file as an
email attachment.

WUDR Program
Management. See
Section 5.(b)(1)

(2) Final
Technical
Report

Send PDF file as an
email attachment

WUDR Program
Management.
See Section
5.(b)(2)(i)

(3) SF 425
Federal
Financial
Report
(4) Final SF
425Federal
Financial
Report

When Due
Every 6 months for
the duration of the
project. See details
of formatting in
section 5.(b)(1)
below
Within 90 calendar
days after the end of
the award. See
details of
formatting in
section 5.(b)(2)
below

See Section 5.(b)(3)

See Section 5.(b)(3)

See Section 5.(b)(3)

See Section 5.(b)(4)

See Section 5.(b)(4)

See Section 5.(b)(4)

(b) Report preparation instructions. The Recipient shall prepare the reports/documents in
accordance with the following instructions:
(1) Progress Reports. The Recipient shall submit one copy of each Progress Report to the
WUDR Program Management (wudr-coordinator@usgs.gov) and one copy of the transmittal
letter to the USGS Grant Specialist (sroser@usgs,gov). The WUDR Program will share
information (excluding budget information) from the progress reports with USGS Water
Science Center (WSC) Staff (for example, the WSC Director and WSC Water Use Specialist).
Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, semi-annual progress reports should be
submitted every six months after the start-date of the project. In the case of multi-year
Agreements, failure to submit timely reports may delay processing of funding increments.
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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For Agreements with a total anticipated performance period of twelve months (12) months or
less, only one Progress Report will be required. A Progress Report is not required if
concurrent with Final Technical Report, unless the Recipient requests an extension to the
project period.
The progress reports shall include the following information:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)

A list of project accomplishments to date.
A comparison of accomplishments to the planned objectives and timeline for the
progress period.
Reasons why any established goals were changed or not met.
Additional pertinent information, including an explanation of cost overruns.
Outline anticipated activities and adjustments to the program during the next
progress period.
List any changes to lead project personnel and provide contact information.

Between the required reporting dates, events may occur which have significant impact upon the
project or program. In such cases, the Recipient shall inform the USGS as soon as the following
types of conditions become known:
(i)

(ii)

Problems, delays, or adverse conditions which will materially impair the ability to
meet the objective of the Agreement. This disclosure must include a statement of
the action taken, or contemplated, and any assistance needed to resolve the
situation.
Favorable developments which enable meeting time schedules and objectives
sooner or at less cost than anticipated or producing more or different beneficial
results than originally planned.

(2) Final Technical Report
Final Technical Reports shall describe in detail the work performed and results obtained
during the grant period. Final Technical Reports are due 90 days after the conclusion of the
project period. Any information contained in a previously submitted progress report shall be
repeated or restated in the Final Technical Report.
(i) Submit the Final Technical Report as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Submit the report
as an e-mail attachment to WUDR Program Management:

Cheryl Dieter

wudr-coordinator@usgs.gov

(ii) The Final Technical report should consist of the following sections:
(1) Cover page
The cover page should include the following information:
• Award Number
• Agency Name
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•
•
•
•
•

Title
Author(s) and Affiliation(s) with address and zip code
Author’s Telephone numbers and email address
Term covered by award (start and end dates)
Date of final report

(2) Main body of the report
• Overview of work
• Description of existing water use data collection activities in the State
• Description of activities, methods developed, and accomplishments
resulting from the award. Include specific details on how the “TIER
LEVEL” for categories of use (see Attachment A, Data Goals for Major
Water-Use Categories) increased. This includes improvements for
estimated or reported data.
• Description of any updates made to databases or data delivery during
period of award
• Description of any problems encountered during project period
• Notice of any changes in databases or web services that are being planned
that would impact future integration of data into USGS databases
(3) Annual Financial Reports
(i) The Recipient will submit an annual SF 425, Federal Financial Report, for each
individual USGS award. The SF 425 is available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms. The 425 will be due in accordance
with the following schedule. USGS acknowledges that this annual reporting schedule
may not always correspond with a specific budget period.
Award Performance Start
Date

Annual Interim Report
End Date
(year following start date)

Annual Interim Report
Due Date
(90 days after report
end date)

January 1- March 31

March 31

June 30

April 1- June 30

June 30

September 30

July 1- September 30

September 30

December 31

October 1 – December 31

December 31

March 31

(ii) The SF 425 must be submitted electronically through the FedConnect Message Center
(www.fedconnect.net) or, if FedConnect is not available, by e-mail to SF425@usgs.gov with
a cc to the Grant Specialist (sroser@usgs.gov). Recipient must include the USGS award
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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number in the subject line of all correspondence. If, after 90 days, Recipient has not
submitted a report, the Recipient’s account in ASAP will be placed in a manual review status
until the report is submitted.(4) Final Financial Report
(i) The Recipient will liquidate all obligations incurred under the award and submit a final
SF 425, Federal Financial Report in accordance with 5(b)(3)(ii) no later than 90
calendar days after the Agreement completion date.
(ii) Recipient will promptly return any unexpended federal cash advances or will complete
a final draw from ASAP to obtain any remaining amounts due. Once 120 days has
passed since the Agreement completion date, USGS shall unilaterally deobligate
federal funds as reflected in the Final SF425.
(iii) Subsequent revision to the final SF 425 will be considered only as follows:
(A)
When the revision results in a balance due to the Government, the Recipient
must submit a revised final SF 425, Federal Financial Report, and refund the
excess payment whenever the overcharge is discovered, no matter how long
the lapse of time since the original due date of the report.
(B).

When the revision represents additional reimbursable costs claimed by the
Recipient, a revised final SF 425 may be submitted to the USGS Contracting
Officer with an explanation. If approved, the USGS will either request and
pay a final invoice or reestablish the ASAP subaccount to permit the Recipient
to make a revised final draw. Any revised final report representing additional
reimbursable amounts must be submitted no later than 1 year from the due date
of the original report, i.e., 15 months following the Agreement completion
date. USGS will not accept any revised SF 425 covering additional
expenditures after that date and will return any late request for additional
payment to the Recipient.

6. Publications
(a) Acknowledgment of Support
Recipient is responsible for assuring that an acknowledgment of USGS support:
1. Is made in any publication (including World Wide Web pages) of any material based on
or developed under this Agreement, in the following terms:
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Geological Survey
under Cooperative Agreement No. (insert agreement number).
2. Is orally acknowledged during all news media interviews, including popular media such
as radio, television, and news magazines.

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(b) Disclaimer
Recipient is responsible for assuring that every publication of material (including World
Wide Web pages) based on or developed under this Agreement, contains the following
disclaimer:
The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and
should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S.
Geological Survey. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not
constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey.
(c) Publication
Publication of the results of any project carried out under this assistance award is authorized
in professional journals, trade magazines, or may be made by the USGS. Such manuscripts
or publications submitted to journals or professional publications for publication shall be
accompanied by the following notation:
This manuscript is submitted for publication with the understanding that the United States
Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental
purposes.
(d) Copies for USGS
Recipient is responsible for assuring that the USGS Program Management is provided access
to, either electronically or in paper form, a copy of every publication planned for publication
simultaneously with its submission for publication. One reprint of each published article
shall be submitted to the USGS Program Management immediately following publication.
(e) Department of the Interior Requirements
Two copies of each publication produced under a Cooperative Agreement shall be sent to the
Natural Resources Library with a transmittal that identifies the sender and the publication.
The address of the library is:
U.S. Department of the Interior
Natural Resources Library
Division of Information and Library Services
Gifts and Exchange Section
18th and C Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20240
7. Payment
Payments under financial assistance awards must be made using the Department of the Treasury
Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system (www.asap.gov).
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(a) The Recipient agrees that it has established or will establish an account with ASAP. USGS
will initiate enrollment in ASAP. If the Recipient does not currently have an ASAP account,
they must designate an individual (name, title, address, phone and e-mail) who will serve as
the Point of Contact (POC).
(b) With the award of each grant/cooperative agreement, a sub-account will be set up from
which the Recipient can draw down funds. After Recipients complete enrollment in ASAP
and link their banking information to the USGS ALC (14080001), it may take up to 10 days
for sub-accounts to be activated and for funds to be authorized for drawdown in ASAP.
(c) Inquiries regarding payment should be directed to ASAP at 855-868-0151.
(d) Payments may be drawn in advance only as needed to meet immediate cash disbursement
needs.
8. Revisions and Prior Approvals
Modifications to this Agreement shall generally be executed by mutual written consent of the
parties, with the exception of certain purely administrative changes that may be executed
unilaterally by the USGS. Recipients may make certain limited budgetary and programmatic
changes without prior USGS approval as outlined in 2 CFR 200.308 and 200.407. Any proposed
change which requires prior written approval of the USGS shall be submitted in writing to the
address at D.1 at least thirty (30) days prior to the requested effective date of the proposed
change. The USGS will respond to the change request within thirty (30) days of receipt.
(a) Extensions. Recipients are specifically advised that requests for extension or other change to
the budget or project period(s) require prior written approval. Such requests must be
submitted as outlined above and be accompanied by a statement supporting the extension and
a revised budget indicating the planned use of all unexpended funds during the proposed
extension period.
(b) Transfer of Funds. Recipients are specifically advised that prior written approval of the
USGS Contracting Officer is not required for transfer of funds between direct cost categories
when the cumulative amount of the transfer during the performance period does not exceed
ten percent (10%) of the total USGS award. Prior written approval is required from the
USGS Contracting Officer for transfers of funds in excess of the ten percent limitation.
(c) Carry Forward of Funds. Recipients are specifically advised that prior written approval by
the USGS Contracting Officer is required to carry forward unobligated balances to
subsequent budget periods. It is expected that funds be expended during the budget period
for which they are obligated. The request must include the amount of funds to be carried
over, why the carry-over of funds is necessary, and for how long the funds should be carried
over.

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9. General Provisions
(a) Cost Principles, Audit, and Administrative Requirements
The Recipient shall be subject to the following regulations, which are incorporated herein by
reference. Copies of these regulations can be obtained from the Internet at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_docs
Educational Institutions / State and Local Governments / Non-Profit Organizations
2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards, as implemented by the Department of the Interior in 2
CFR Part 1402 and 43 CFR Part 12.
(b) Additional Regulations
This award is subject to the following additional Governmentwide regulations:
●
●

2 CFR 180, Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement)
2 CFR 182, Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial
Assistance)

This award is subject to the following additional regulations of the U.S. Department of the
Interior:
●
●
●
●
●

2 CFR Part 1400, Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension
2 CFR Part 1401, Requirements for a Drug Free Workplace (Financial Assistance)
43 CFR Part 17, Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs of the Department of
the Interior
43 CFR Part 18, New Restrictions on Lobbying
o Submission of an application also represents the applicant’s certification of the
statements in 43 CFR Part 18, Appendix A, Certification Regarding Lobbying
43 CFR Part 41, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or
Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance [Applies only if this award provides
assistance to an education program or student(s)]

(c) Additional Articles Required For Compliance with Statute or Regulation
(i) The Seat Belt Provision (Executive Order 13043)
Recipients of grants/cooperative agreements and/or sub-awards are encouraged to adopt and
enforce on-the-job seat belt use policies and programs for their employees when operating
company owned, rented, or personally owned vehicles. These measures include, but are not
limited to, conducting education, awareness, and other appropriate programs for their
employees about the importance of wearing seatbelts and the consequences of not wearing
them.
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(ii) Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging while Driving (Executive Order 13513)
Recipients are encouraged to adopt and enforce policies that ban text messaging while driving,
including conducting initiatives of the type described in section 3(a) of the order.
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Federal-Leadership-onReducing-Text-Messaging-while-Driving/)
(iii) Use of U.S. Flag Air Carriers (49 USC Section 40118)
Any air transportation to, from, between or within a country other than the U.S. of persons or
property, the expense of which will be paid in whole or in part by U.S. Government funding,
must be performed by, or under a code-sharing arrangement with, a U.S. flag air carrier if
service provided by such a carrier is "available" (49 U.S.C. 40118, commonly referred to as
the Fly America Act). Tickets (or documentation for electronic tickets) must identify the U.S.
flag air carrier's designator code and flight number. See the Federal Travel Regulation §30110.131 - §301-10.143 for definitions, exceptions, and documentation requirements. (See also
Comp. Gen. Decision B-240956, dated September 25, 1991.)
(iv) Trafficking in Persons (2 CFR Part 175)
a. Provisions applicable to a recipient that is a private entity.
1. You as the recipient, your employees, subrecipients under this award, and
subrecipients' employees may not—
i. Engage in severe forms of trafficking in persons during the period of time
that the award is in effect;
ii. Procure a commercial sex act during the period of time that the award is in
effect; or
iii. Use forced labor in the performance of the award or subawards under the
award.
2. We as the Federal awarding agency may unilaterally terminate this award, without
penalty, if you or a subrecipient that is a private entity —
i. Is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term;
or
ii. Has an employee who is determined by the agency official authorized to
terminate the award to have violated a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award
term through conduct that is either—
A. Associated with performance under this award; or
B. Imputed to you or the subrecipient using the standards and due process
for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are
provided in 2 CFR part 180, “OMB Guidelines to Agencies on
Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),” as
implemented by our agency at 2 CFR part 1400.
b. Provision applicable to a recipient other than a private entity.
We as the Federal awarding agency may unilaterally terminate this award, without penalty,
if a subrecipient that is a private entity—
FY 18 WUDR Program Announcement – G18AS00016
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1. Is determined to have violated an applicable prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award
term; or
2. Has an employee who is determined by the agency official authorized to terminate the
award to have violated an applicable prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term
through conduct that is either—
i. Associated with performance under this award; or
ii. Imputed to the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing
the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided in 2 CFR part
180, “OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and
Suspension (Nonprocurement),” as implemented by our agency at 2 CFR part
1400.
c. Provisions applicable to any recipient.
1. You must inform us immediately of any information you receive from any source
alleging a violation of a prohibition in paragraph a.1 of this award term.
2. Our right to terminate unilaterally that is described in paragraph a.2 or b of this section:
i. Implements section 106(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(TVPA), as amended (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)), and
ii. Is in addition to all other remedies for noncompliance that are available to us
under this award.
3. You must include the requirements of paragraph a.1 of this award term in any
subaward you make to a private entity.
d. Definitions.
For purposes of this award term:
1. “Employee” means either:
i. An individual employed by you or a subrecipient who is engaged in the
performance of the project or program under this award; or
ii. Another person engaged in the performance of the project or program under
this award and not compensated by you including, but not limited to, a volunteer
or individual whose services are contributed by a third party as an in-kind
contribution toward cost sharing or matching requirements.
2. “Forced labor” means labor obtained by any of the following methods: the recruitment,
harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services,
through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary
servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
3. “Private entity”:
i. Means any entity other than a State, local government, Indian tribe, or foreign
public entity, as those terms are defined in 2 CFR 175.25.
ii. Includes:
A. A nonprofit organization, including any nonprofit institution of higher
education, hospital, or tribal organization other than one included in the
definition of Indian tribe at 2 CFR 175.25(b).
B. A for-profit organization.
4. “Severe forms of trafficking in persons,” “commercial sex act,” and “coercion” have
the meanings given at section 103 of the TVPA, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7102).
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(v) Reporting Subawards and Executive Compensation Information (2 CFR Part 170).
a. Reporting of first-tier subawards.
1. Applicability. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of this award term,
you must report each action that obligates $25,000 or more in Federal funds that does not
include Recovery funds (as defined in section 1512(a)(2) of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5) for a subaward to an entity (see definitions in
paragraph e. of this award term).
2. Where and when to report.
i. You must report each obligating action described in paragraph a.1. of this award
term to http://www.fsrs.gov.
ii. For subaward information, report no later than the end of the month following
the month in which the obligation was made. (For example, if the obligation was
made on November 7, 2010, the obligation must be reported by no later than
December 31, 2010.)
3. What to report. You must report the information about each obligating action that the
submission instructions posted at http://www.fsrs.gov specify.
b. Reporting Total Compensation of Recipient Executives.
1. Applicability and what to report. You must report total compensation for each of your
five most highly compensated executives for the preceding completed fiscal year, if—
i. the total Federal funding authorized to date under this award is $25,000 or
more;
ii. in the preceding fiscal year, you received—
(A) 80 percent or more of your annual gross revenues from Federal
procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance
subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and
subawards); and
(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal
procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance
subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and
subawards); and
iii. The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the
executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the public has access to the
compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total
compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm.)
2. Where and when to report. You must report executive total compensation described in
paragraph b.1. of this award term:
i. As part of your registration profile at https://www.sam.gov.
ii. By the end of the month following the month in which this award is made, and
annually thereafter.

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c. Reporting of Total Compensation of Subrecipient Executives.
1. Applicability and what to report. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of
this award term, for each first-tier subrecipient under this award, you shall report the
names and total compensation of each of the subrecipient's five most highly compensated
executives for the subrecipient's preceding completed fiscal year, if—
i. in the subrecipient's preceding fiscal year, the subrecipient received—
(A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from Federal
procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance
subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and
subawards); and
(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal
procurement contracts (and subcontracts), and Federal financial assistance
subject to the Transparency Act (and subawards); and
ii. The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the
executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the public has access to the
compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total
compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm.)
2. Where and when to report. You must report subrecipient executive total compensation
described in paragraph c.1. of this award term:
i. To the recipient.
ii. By the end of the month following the month during which you make the
subaward. For example, if a subaward is obligated on any date during the month
of October of a given year (i.e., between October 1 and 31), you must report any
required compensation information of the subrecipient by November 30 of that
year.
d. Exemptions
If, in the previous tax year, you had gross income, from all sources, under $300,000, you
are exempt from the requirements to report:
i. Subawards,
and
ii. The total compensation of the five most highly compensated executives of any
subrecipient.
e. Definitions. For purposes of this award term:
1. Entity means all of the following, as defined in 2 CFR part 25:
i. A Governmental organization, which is a State, local government, or Indian
tribe;
ii. A foreign public entity;
iii. A domestic or foreign nonprofit organization;
iv. A domestic or foreign for-profit organization;
v. A Federal agency, but only as a subrecipient under an award or subaward to a
non-Federal entity.
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2. Executive means officers, managing partners, or any other employees in management
positions.
3. Subaward:
i. This term means a legal instrument to provide support for the performance of
any portion of the substantive project or program for which you received this
award and that you as the recipient award to an eligible subrecipient.
ii. The term does not include your procurement of property and services needed to
carry out the project or program (for further explanation, see Sec. __ .210 of the
attachment to OMB Circular A-133, “Audits of States, Local Governments, and
Non-Profit Organizations”).
iii. A subaward may be provided through any legal agreement, including an
agreement that you or a subrecipient considers a contract.
4. Subrecipient means an entity that:
i. Receives a subaward from you (the recipient) under this award; and
ii. Is accountable to you for the use of the Federal funds provided by the
subaward.
5. Total compensation means the cash and noncash dollar value earned by the executive
during the recipient's or subrecipient's preceding fiscal year and includes the following
(for more information see 17 CFR 229.402(c)(2)):
i. Salary and bonus.
ii. Awards of stock, stock options, and stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar
amount recognized for financial statement reporting purposes with respect to the
fiscal year in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
No. 123 (Revised 2004) (FAS 123R), Shared Based Payments.
iii. Earnings for services under non-equity incentive plans. This does not include
group life, health, hospitalization or medical reimbursement plans that do not
discriminate in favor of executives, and are available generally to all salaried
employees.
iv. Change in pension value. This is the change in present value of defined benefit
and actuarial pension plans.
v. Above-market earnings on deferred compensation which is not tax-qualified.
vi. Other compensation, if the aggregate value of all such other compensation
(e.g. severance, termination payments, value of life insurance paid on behalf of
the employee, perquisites or property) for the executive exceeds $10,000.
(vi) System of Award Management and Universal Identifier Requirements (2 CFR Part 25)
a. Requirement for System of Award Management
Unless you are exempted from this requirement under 2 CFR 25.110, you as the recipient
must maintain the currency of your information in the SAM until you submit the final
financial report required under this award or receive the final payment, whichever is later.
This requires that you review and update the information at least annually after the initial
registration, and more frequently if required by changes in your information or another
award term.

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b. Requirement for Unique Entity identifier Numbers
If you are authorized to make subawards under this award, you:
1. Must notify potential subrecipients that no entity (see definition in paragraph C of
this award term) may receive a subaward from you unless the entity has provided its
unique entity identifier number to you.
2. May not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its DUNS
number to you.
c. Definitions
For purposes of this award term:
1. System of Award Management (SAM) means the Federal repository into which an
entity must provide information required for the conduct of business as a recipient.
Additional information about registration procedures may be found at the SAM Internet
site (currently at http://www.sam.gov).
2. Unique entity identifier means the identifier required for SAM registration to uniquely
identify business entities.
3. Entity, as it is used in this award term, means all of the following, as defined at 2 CFR
part 25, subpart C:
i. A Governmental organization, which is a State, local government, or Indian
Tribe;
ii. A foreign public entity;
iii. A domestic or foreign nonprofit organization;
iv. A domestic or foreign for-profit organization; and
v. A Federal agency, but only as a subrecipient under an award or subaward to a
non-Federal entity.
4. Subaward:
i. This term means a legal instrument to provide support for the performance of
any portion of the substantive project or program for which you received this
award and that you as the recipient award to an eligible subrecipient.
ii. The term does not include your procurement of property and services needed to
carry out the project or program (for further explanation, see 2 CFR 200.330).
iii. A subaward may be provided through any legal agreement, including an
agreement that you consider a contract.
5. Subrecipient means an entity that:
i. Receives a subaward from you under this award; and
ii. Is accountable to you for the use of the Federal funds provided by the
subaward.
(vii) Prohibition on Members of Congress Making Contracts with Federal Government (41
USC Section 6306)
No member of or delegate to the United States Congress or Resident Commissioner shall
be admitted to any share or part of this award, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom;
this provision shall not be construed to extend to an award made to a corporation for the
public’s general benefit.
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(viii) Enhancement of Recipient and Subrecipient Employee Whistleblower Protection (41 USC
Section 4712)
a. This award, related subawards, and related contracts over the simplified acquisition
threshold and all employees working on this award, related subawards, and related
contracts over the simplified acquisition threshold are subject to the whistleblower rights
and remedies established at 41 USC 4712.
b. Recipients, their subrecipients, and their contractors awarded contracts over the
simplified acquisition threshold related to this award, shall inform their employees in
writing, in the predominant language of the workforce, of the employee whistleblower
rights and protections under 41 USC 4712.
c. The recipient shall insert this clause, including this paragraph (c), in all subawards and in
contracts over the simplified acquisition threshold related to this award.
(ix) Prohibition on Issuing Financial Assistance Awards to Entities that Require Certain Internal
Confidentiality Agreements (P.L. 113-235)
Section 743 of Division E, Title VII of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution
Appropriations Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) prohibits the use of funds appropriated or
otherwise made available under that or any other Act for grants or cooperative agreements to
an entity that requires employees or contractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste,
or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise
restricting such employees or contractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse
to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a federal department or
agency authorized to receive such information.
Recipients must not require their employees or contractors seeking to report fraud, waste, or
abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise
restricting such employees or contractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse
to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a federal department or
agency authorized to receive such information.
Recipients must notify their employees or contractors that existing internal confidentiality
agreements covered by this condition are no longer in effect.
Insert the following award term if the recipient is an individual, small business, non-profit
organization, university or other institution of higher education. This award term does not apply
to State, Local or Tribal governments or foreign entities.

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(xi) Patent Rights (37 CFR § 401.14)
Unless otherwise provided in the Agreement, if this Agreement is for experimental,
developmental, or research work, the following clause (implementing the Bayh-Dole Act, [35
U.S.C. § 200 et seq.]) shall apply. The recipient shall include this clause in all subawards for
experimental, developmental, or research activities.
a. Definitions
1. INVENTION means any invention or discovery which is or may be patentable or
otherwise protectable under Title 35 of the USC, to any novel variety of plant which
is or may be protected under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 U.S.C. § 2321 et
seq.).
2. SUBJECT INVENTION means any invention of the recipient conceived or first
actually reduced to practice in the performance of work under this Agreement,
provided that in the case of a variety of plant, the date of determination (as defined in
section 41(d)) must also occur during the period of performance.
3. PRACTICAL APPLICATION means to manufacture in the case of a composition or
product, to practice in the case of a process or method, or to operate in the case of a
machine or system; and, in each case, under such conditions as to establish that the
invention is being utilized and that its benefits are to the extent permitted by law or
Government regulations available to the public on reasonable terms.
4. MADE when used in relation to any invention means the conception or first actual
reduction to practice of such invention.
5. SMALL BUSINESS FIRM means a small business concern as defined at section 2 of
Pub. L. 85–536 (15 U.S.C. 632) and implementing regulations of the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration. For the purpose of this clause, the size standards
for small business concerns involved in government procurement and subcontracting
at 13 CFR 121.3–8 and 13 CFR 121.3–12, respectively, will be used.
6. NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION means a domestic university or other institution of
higher education or an organization of the type described in Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and exempt from taxation under
Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(a)) or any domestic
non-profit scientific or educational organization qualified under a State non-profit
organization statute. b. Allocation of Principal Rights The recipient may retain the
entire right, title, and interest throughout the world to each subject invention subject
to the provisions of this Patent Rights clause and 35 U.S.C. § 203. With respect to any
subject invention in which the recipient retains title, the Federal Government shall
have a non-exclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice or have
practiced for or on behalf of the U.S. the subject invention throughout the world. If
the Agreement indicates it is subject to an identified international agreement or treaty,
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also has the right to direct the recipient to convey
to any foreign participant such patent rights to subject inventions as are required to
comply with that agreement or treaty.
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b. Allocation of Principal Rights
1. The recipient may retain the entire right, title, and interest throughout the world to
each subject invention subject to the provisions of this Patent Rights clause, including
(2) below, and 35 U.S.C. § 203. With respect to any subject invention in which the
recipient retains title, the Federal Government shall have a non-exclusive,
nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice or have practiced for or on
behalf of the U.S. the subject invention throughout the world. If the Agreement
indicates it is subject to an identified international agreement or treaty, the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) also has the right to direct the recipient to convey to any
foreign participant such patent rights to subject inventions as are required to comply
with that agreement or treaty.
2. If the recipient performs services at a Government owned and operated laboratory or
at a Government owned and recipient operated laboratory directed by the
Government to fulfill the Government's obligations under a Cooperative Research
and Development Agreement (CRADA) authorized by 15 U.S.C. 3710a, the
Government may require the recipient to negotiate an agreement with the CRADA
collaborating party or parties regarding the allocation of rights to any subject
invention the recipient makes, solely or jointly, under the CRADA. The agreement
shall be negotiated prior to the recipient undertaking the CRADA work or, with the
permission of the Government, upon the identification of a subject invention. In the
absence of such an agreement, the recipient agrees to grant the collaborating party or
parties an option for a license in its inventions of the same scope and terms set forth
in the CRADA for inventions made by the Government.
If a known CRADA exists between the USGS and the recipient, include the CRADA as an
attachment and include the following paragraph following b.2.:
USGS has determined that use of alternate paragraph (b) in the preceding clause is
required to meet USGS’ obligations under (identify CRADA). This determination may
be appealed in accordance with 37 CFR 401.4. Recipient agrees that the work performed
under this Agreement is directed by USGS to meet the obligations under the CRADA.
Recipient further agrees to grant licenses to the government and (insert additional
CRADA partner names, if applicable) as necessary to meet USGS’ obligations under the
CRADA.
c. Invention Disclosure, Election of Title and Filing of Patent Applications by Recipient
1. The recipient will disclose each subject invention to USGS within two months after
the inventor discloses it in writing to recipient personnel responsible for the
administration of patent matters. The disclosure to USGS shall be in the form of a
written report and shall identify the Agreement under which the invention was made
and the inventor(s). It shall be sufficiently complete in technical detail to convey a
clear understanding of the nature, purpose, operation, and, to the extent known, the
physical, chemical, biological or electrical characteristics of the invention. The
disclosure shall also identify any publication, on sale or public use of the invention,
whether a manuscript describing the invention has been submitted for publication
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and, if so, whether it has been accepted for publication, at the time of disclosure. In
addition, after disclosure to USGS, the recipient will promptly notify USGS of the
acceptance of any manuscript describing the invention for publication, or of any on
sale or public use planned by the recipient.
2. The recipient will elect in writing whether or not to retain title to any such invention
by notifying USGS within two years of disclosure to USGS. However, in any case
where publication, on sale, or public use has initiated the one-year statutory period
wherein valid patent protection can still be obtained in the U.S., the period for
election of title may be shortened by USGS to a date that is no more than 60 days
prior to the end of the statutory period.
3. The recipient will file its initial patent application on an invention to which it elects to
retain title within one year after election of title or, if earlier, prior to the end of any
statutory period wherein valid patent protection can be obtained in the U.S. after a
publication, on sale, or public use. The recipient will file patent applications in
additional countries or international patent offices within either ten months of the
corresponding initial patent application, or six months from the date when permission
is granted by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks to file foreign patent
applications when such filing has been prohibited by a Secrecy Order.
4. Requests for extension of the time for disclosure to USGS, election, and filing under
subparagraphs 1., 2., and 3. may, at the discretion of USGS, be granted.
d. Conditions When the Government May Obtain Title
The recipient will convey to USGS, upon written request, title to any subject invention:
1. if the recipient fails to disclose or elect the subject invention within the times
specified in paragraph c. above, or elects not to retain title, provided that USGS may
only request title within 60 days after learning of the failure of the recipient to
disclose or elect within the specified times;
2. in those countries in which the recipient fails to file patent applications within the
times specified in paragraph c. above, but prior to its receipt of the written request of
USGS, the recipient shall continue to retain title in that country; or in any country in
which the recipient decides not to continue the prosecution of any application for, to
pay the maintenance fees on, or defend in a reexamination or opposition proceeding
on, a patent on a subject invention.
e. Minimum Rights to Recipient
1. The recipient will retain a non-exclusive royalty-free license throughout the world in
each subject invention to which the Government obtains title, except if the recipient
fails to disclose the subject invention within the times specified in paragraph c. above.
The recipient’s license extends to its domestic subsidiaries and affiliates, if any,
within the corporate structure of which the recipient is a party and includes the right
to grant sublicenses of the same scope to the extent the recipient was legally obligated
to do so at the time the Agreement was made. The license is transferable only with
the approval of USGS except when transferred to the successor of that part of the
recipient’s business to which the invention pertains.
2. The recipient’s domestic license may be revoked or modified by USGS to the extent
necessary to achieve expeditious practical application of the subject invention
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pursuant to an application for an exclusive license submitted in accordance with
applicable provisions at 37 CFR Part 404. This license will not be revoked in that
field of use or the geographical areas in which the recipient has achieved practical
application and continues to make the benefits of the invention reasonably accessible
to the public. The license in any foreign country may be revoked or modified at
discretion of USGS to the extent the recipient, its licensees, or its domestic
subsidiaries or affiliates have failed to achieve practical application in that foreign
country.
3. Before revocation or modification of the license, USGS will furnish the recipient a
written notice of its intention to revoke or modify the license, and the recipient will be
allowed thirty days (or such other time as may be authorized by USGS for good cause
shown by the recipient) after the notice to show cause why the license should not be
revoked or modified. The recipient has the right to appeal, in accordance with
applicable regulations in 37 CFR Part 404 concerning the licensing of Governmentowned inventions, any decision concerning the revocation or modification of its
license.
f. Recipient Action to Protect Government’s Interest
1. The recipient agrees to execute or to have executed and promptly deliver to USGS all
instruments necessary to: (i) establish or confirm the rights the Government has
throughout the world in those subject inventions for which the recipient retains title;
and (ii) convey title to USGS when requested under paragraph d. above, and to enable
the Government to obtain patent protection throughout the world in that subject
invention.
2. The recipient agrees to require, by written agreement, its employees, other than
clerical and non-technical employees, to disclose promptly in writing to personnel
identified as responsible for the administration of patent matters and in a format
suggested by the recipient each subject invention made under this Agreement in order
that the recipient can comply with the disclosure provisions of paragraph c. above,
and to execute all papers necessary to file patent applications on subject inventions
and to establish the Government’s rights in the subject inventions. The disclosure
format should require, as a minimum, the information requested by paragraph c.1
above. The recipient shall instruct such employees through the employee agreements
or other suitable educational programs on the importance of reporting inventions in
sufficient time to permit the filing of patent applications prior to U.S. or foreign
statutory bars.
3. The recipient will notify USGS of any decision not to continue prosecution of a
patent application, pay maintenance fees, or defend in a reexamination or opposition
proceeding on a patent, in any country, not less than 30 days before the expiration of
the response period required by the relevant patent office.
4. The recipient agrees to include, within the specification of any U.S. patent application
and any patent issuing thereon covering a subject invention, the following statement:
“This invention was made with Government support under (identify the Agreement)
awarded by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Government has certain rights in this
invention.”
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5. The recipient or its representative will complete, execute and forward to USGS a
confirmation of a License to the U.S. Government and the page of a United States
patent application that contains the Federal support clause within two months of filing
any domestic or foreign patent application.
g. Subcontracts
1. The recipient will include this Patent Rights clause, suitably modified to identify the
parties, in all subcontracts, regardless of tier, for experimental, developmental or
research work. The subcontractor will retain all rights provided for the recipient in
this Patent Rights clause, and the recipient will not, as part of the consideration for
awarding the subcontract, obtain rights in the subcontractors’ subject inventions.
2. In the case of subcontracts, at any tier, when the prime award by USGS was a
contract (but not a cooperative agreement), USGS, subcontractor, and contractor
agree that the mutual obligations of the parties created by this Patent Rights clause
constitute a contract between the subcontractor and the Foundation with respect to
those matters covered by this Patent Rights clause.
h. Reporting on Utilization of Subject Inventions
The recipient agrees to submit on request periodic reports no more frequently than
annually on the utilization of a subject invention or on efforts at obtaining such utilization
that are being made by the recipient or its licensees or assignees. Such reports shall
include information regarding the status of development, date of first commercial sale or
use, gross royalties received by the recipient and such other data and information as
USGS may reasonably specify. The recipient also agrees to provide additional reports in
connection with any march-in proceeding undertaken by USGS in accordance with
paragraph j. of this Patent Rights clause. As required by 35 U.S.C. § 202(c)(5), USGS
agrees it will not disclose such information to persons outside the Government without
the permission of the recipient.
i. Preference for United States Industry
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Patent Rights clause, the recipient agrees that
neither it nor any assignee will grant to any person the exclusive right to use or sell any
subject invention in the U.S. unless such person agrees that any products embodying the
subject invention or produced through the use of the subject invention will be
manufactured substantially in the U.S. However, in individual cases, the requirement for
such an agreement may be waived by USGS upon a showing by the recipient or its
assignee that reasonable but unsuccessful efforts have been made to award licenses on
similar terms to potential licensees that would be likely to manufacture substantially in
the U.S. or that under the circumstances domestic manufacture is not commercially
feasible.
j. March-in Rights
The recipient agrees that with respect to any subject invention in which it has acquired
title, USGS has the right in accordance with procedures at 37 CFR § 401.6 and USGS
regulations at 45 CFR § 650.13 to require the recipient, an assignee or exclusive licensee
of a subject invention to grant a non-exclusive, partially exclusive, or exclusive license in
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any field of use to a responsible applicant or applicants, upon terms that are reasonable
under the circumstances and if the recipient, assignee, or exclusive licensee refuses such
a request, USGS has the right to grant such a license itself if USGS determines that:
1. such action is necessary because the recipient or assignee has not taken or is not
expected to take within a reasonable time, effective steps to achieve practical
application of the subject invention in such field of use;
2. such action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs which are not reasonably
satisfied by the recipient, assignee, or their licensees;
3. such action is necessary to meet requirements for public use specified by Federal
regulations and such requirements are not reasonably satisfied by the recipient,
assignee, or licensee; or
4. such action is necessary because the agreement required by paragraph i. of this Patent
Rights clause has not been obtained or waived or because a licensee of the exclusive
right to use or sell any subject invention in the U.S. is in breach of such agreement.
k. Special Provisions for Agreements with Non-profit Organizations
If the recipient is a nonprofit organization, it agrees that:
1. rights to a subject invention in the U.S. may not be assigned without the approval of
USGS, except where such assignment is made to an organization which has as one of
its primary functions the management of inventions, provided that such assignee will
be subject to the same provisions as the recipient;
2. the recipient will share royalties collected on a subject invention with the inventor,
including Federal employee co-inventors (when USGS deems it appropriate) when
the subject invention is assigned in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 202(e) and 37 CFR §
401.10;
3. the balance of any royalties or income earned by the recipient with respect to subject
inventions, after payment of expenses (including payments to inventors) incidental to
the administration of subject inventions, will be utilized for the support of scientific
or engineering research or education; and
4. it will make efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to attract licensees of
subject inventions that are small business firms and that it will give preference to a
small business firm if the recipient determines that the small business firm has a plan
or proposal for marketing the invention which, if executed, is equally likely to bring
the invention to practical application as any plans or proposals from applicants that
are not small business firms; provided that the recipient is also satisfied that the small
business firm has the capability and resources to carry out its plan or proposal. The
decision whether to give a preference in any specific case will be at the discretion of
the recipient. However, the recipient agrees that the Secretary of Commerce may
review the recipient’s licensing program and decisions regarding small business
applicants, and the recipient will negotiate changes to its licensing policies,
procedures or practices with the Secretary when the Secretary’s review discloses that
the recipient could take reasonable steps to implement more effectively the
requirements of this paragraph k.4.

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l. Communications
All communications required by this Patent Rights clause must be submitted through
the Office of Policy and Analysis (OPA), U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA
20192, gs_usgs_patents@usgs.gov.
(d) Additional General Terms and Conditions
(i) Research Integrity
1) USGS requires that all grant or cooperative agreement Recipient organizations adhere
to the Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, Office of Science and Technology
Policy, December 6, 2000, 65 Federal Register (FR) 76260. The Federal Policy on
Research Misconduct outlines requirements for addressing allegations of research
misconduct, including the investigation, adjudication, and appeal of allegations of
research misconduct and the implementation of appropriate administrative actions.
2) The Recipient must promptly notify the USGS Project Office when research
misconduct that warrants an investigation pursuant to the Federal Policy on Research
Misconduct is alleged.
(ii) Access To Research Data
1)

Recipients that are institutions of higher education, hospitals, or non-profit
organizations are required to release research data first produced in a project
supported in whole or in part with Federal funds that are cited publicly and officially
by a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law (e.g.,
regulations and administrative orders). “Research data” is defined as the recorded
factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to
validate research findings. It does not include preliminary analyses; drafts of scientific
papers; plans for future research; peer reviews; communications with colleagues;
physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples, audio or video tapes); trade secrets;
commercial information; materials necessary to be held confidential by a researcher
until publication in a peer-reviewed journal; information that is protected under the
law (e.g., intellectual property); personnel and medical files and similar files, the
disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; or
information that could be used to identify a particular person in a research study.

2)

These requirements do not apply to commercial organizations or to research data
produced by State or local governments. However, if a State or local governmental
grantee contracts with an educational institution, hospital, or non-profit organization,
and the contract results in covered research data, those data are subject to these
disclosure requirements.

3)

Requests for the release of research data subject to this policy are required to be made
to USGS, which will handle them as FOIA requests under 43 CFR 2.25. If the data
are publicly available, the requestor will be directed to the public source. Otherwise,
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the USGS Contract Officer, in consultation with the affected Recipient and the PI,
will handle the request. This policy also provides for assessment of a reasonable fee to
cover Recipient costs as well as (separately) the USGS costs of responding.
(iii) Conflict of Interest
The Recipient must establish safeguards to prohibit its employees and Subrecipients from
using their positions for purposes that constitute or present the appearance of a personal or
organizational conflict of interest. The Recipient is responsible for notifying the USGS
Contracting Officer in writing of any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise
during the life of this award. Conflicts of interest include any relationship or matter which
might place the Recipient or its employees in a position of conflict, real or apparent, between
their responsibilities under the agreement and any other outside interests. Conflicts of
interest may also include, but are not limited to, direct or indirect financial interests, close
personal relationships, positions of trust in outside organizations, consideration of future
employment arrangements with a different organization, or decision­ making affecting the
award that would cause a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts to question
the impartiality of the Recipient and/or Recipient's employees and Sub-recipients in the
matter.
The USGS Contracting Officer and the servicing Ethics Counselor will determine if a
conflict of interest exists. If a conflict of interest exists, the USGS Contracting Officer will
determine whether a mitigation plan is feasible. Mitigation plans must be approved by the
USGS Contracting Officer in writing. Failure to resolve conflicts of interest in a manner that
satisfies the government may be cause for termination of the award.
Failure to make required disclosures may result in any of the remedies described in 2 CFR §
200.338, Remedies for Noncompliance, including suspension or debarment (see also 2 CFR
Part 180).
(iv) Program Income
1) If the Recipient is an educational institution or nonprofit research organization, any
other program income will be added to funds committed to the project by the Federal
awarding agency and Recipient and be used to further eligible project or program
objectives, as described in 2 CFR 200.307(e)(2).
2) For all other types of Recipients, any other program income will be deducted from total
allowable costs to determine the net allowable costs before calculating the
Government's share of reimbursable costs, as provided in 2 CFR 200.307(e)(1).
(v) Government Furnished Equipment or Equipment Authorized for Purchase
Title to equipment acquired wholly or in part with Federal funds shall be vested in the
Recipient unless otherwise specified in the award document. The Recipient shall retain
control and maintain an inventory of such equipment as long as there is a need for such
equipment to accomplish the purpose of the project, whether or not the project continues to
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be supported by Federal funds. When there is no longer a need for such equipment to
accomplish the purpose of the project, the Recipient shall use the equipment in connection
with other Federal awards the Recipient has received. Disposal of equipment shall be in
accordance with 2 CFR 200.313.
Insert the following if no equipment will be provided or purchased:
No equipment is provided or authorized for purchase on this grant/cooperative agreement.
Insert the following if property will be provided or purchased:
The following equipment will be vested with the Recipient: (list equipment)
10. Special Provisions
Use this section to insert any special provisions that may be applicable to this Agreement.
Otherwise put NONE.
11. Documents Incorporated by Reference and Order of Precedence
(a) Documents Incorporated By Reference
The following documents are hereby incorporated into this Agreement by reference:
1) The Recipient’s proposal (title and date)
2) The Recipient’s application for financial assistance (SF424, SF424A, SF424B),
dated (date)
3) Add as necessary
(b) Order of Precedence
In the event of any inconsistency within this Agreement, the following order of precedence shall
be followed:
1) The cover page.
2) Sections 1 through 10 of this Agreement.
3) Documents incorporated by reference (see Section 11) in the order in which they are
incorporated.

– END OF ASSISTANCE AWARD DOCUMENT –

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Attachment F:
Priorities for Financial Assistance

The Secretary of the Interior’s Top Ten Priorities

1.

Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt
a. Utilize science to identify best practices to manage land and water resources and
adapt to changes in the environment;
b. Examine land use planning processes and land use designations that govern public
use and access;
c. Revise and streamline the environmental and regulatory review process while
maintaining environmental standards.
d. Review DOI water storage, transportation, and distribution systems to identify
opportunities to resolve conflicts and expand capacity;
e. Foster relationships with conservation organizations advocating for balanced
stewardship and use of public lands;
f. Identify and implement initiatives to expand access to DOI lands for hunting and
fishing;
g. Shift the balance towards providing greater public access to public lands over
restrictions to access.

2.

Utilizing our natural resources
a. Ensure American Energy is available to meet our security and economic needs;
b. Ensure access to mineral resources, especially the critical and rare earth minerals
needed for scientific, technological, or military applications;
c. Refocus timber programs to embrace the entire ‘healthy forests’ lifecycle;
d. Manage competition for grazing resources.

3.

Restoring trust with local communities
a. Be a better neighbor with those closest to our resources by improving dialogue and
relationships with persons and entities bordering our lands;
b. Expand the lines of communication with Governors, state natural resource offices,
Fish and Wildlife offices, water authorities, county commissioners, Tribes, and local
communities.

4.

Ensuring sovereignty means something
a. Support tribal self-determination, self-governance, and sovereignty;
b. Solidify mutual interests between the U.S. and the freely associated states and
territories.

5.

Generating additional revenues to support DOI & National interests
a. Ensure that the public receives the full market value for the natural resources
produced on federal lands;
b. Ensure that fees or costs levied for DOI services are reasonable and targeted to
achieve cost recovery;
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c. Consider the impact of DOI decisions on economic development and job creation.
6.

Protecting our people and the border
a. Actively support efforts to secure our southern border;
b. Ensure DOI law enforcement staffing addresses public safety risks anticipated on
DOI land.
c. Promote a “public service” demeanor within our law enforcement community.

7.

Striking a regulatory balance
a. Reduce the administrative and regulatory burden imposed on U.S. industry and the
public;
b. Ensure that Endangered Species Act decisions are based on strong science and
thorough analysis.

8.

Modernizing our infrastructure
a. Support the White House Public/Private Partnership Initiative to modernize U.S.
infrastructure;
b. Remove impediments to infrastructure development and facilitate private sector
efforts to construct infrastructure projects serving American needs;
c. Prioritize DOI infrastructure needs to highlight:
1. Construction of infrastructure;
2. Cyclical maintenance;
3. Deferred maintenance.

9.

Reorganizing for the next 100 years
a. Improve alignment and integration of the DOI organizational structure;
b. Redistribute organizational resources (people and funding) to enhance mission
achievement and improved public service;
c. Improve organizational alignment with Executive Branch counterparts with major
land management assets or influence.

10.

Achieving our goals and leading our team forward
a. Senior executives are expected to provide leadership in achieving goals of the
President and the Secretary;
b. The Management Team is expected to:
1. Ensure cost-effective operations and quality service to the public;
2. Facilitate organizational cooperation and conflict resolution;
3. Ensure the workplace environment is conducive to employee productivity and
safety;
4. Hold individuals accountable for actions that violate DOI policies and
requirements.

Other Key Initiatives

1. Employment of veterans
2. Supporting DOI infrastructure needs
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3. Creating jobs in the American economy
4. Access to outdoor recreation opportunities

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