Guidelines on Awarding Section 319 Grants to Indian Tribes in FY 2005; Request for Grant Proposals for Watershed Projects

EPA is publishing, in this notice, guidelines for awarding Clean Water Act section 319 nonpoint source grants to Indian Tribes in FY 2005. Once again Congress has authorized EPA to award nonpoint source pollution control grants to Indian Tribes under section 319 of the Clean Water Act in FY 2005 in an amount that exceeds the statutory cap (in section 518(f) of the Clean Water Act) of \1/3\ of 1% of the total 319 appropriation. These guidelines are intended to assist all Tribes that have approved nonpoint source assessments and management programs and "treatment-as-a-state" status to receive section 319 funding to help implement those programs. The guidelines describe the process for awarding base funding to Tribes in FY 2005, including submissions of proposed work plans. The guidelines also describe the process and schedule to award additional FY 2005 funds for selected watershed projects, including submissions of watershed project proposals and the selection criteria for funding watershed-based projects.