Federal Assistance Manual Chapter 5-20R

CHAPTER 5-20R REGULATORY GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION REVIEW AND PROCESSING

• 5-20R-00 Purpose
  
• 5-20R-10 Policy
  
• 5-20R-20 Application Processing
  
• 5-20R-30 Procedures

5-20R-00 PURPOSE

This chapter presents OSM's responsibilities for receiving, reviewing, and processing regulatory grant and cooperative agreement applications.

5-20R-10 POLICY

All complete applications, as described in 5-10R, for award of OSM funds shall be processed by OSM within 60 calendar days of receipt by OSM. Within the 60-day period, the RCC/FO is allocated a maximum of 30 calendar days to perform its review. The remaining 30 days are used to complete the processing of the award and obligation of funds. See the Grant Review and Approval Process at Exhibit X5-20R-1.

5-20R-20 APPLICATION PROCESSING

1. In evaluating a grant application the reviewer should proceed with caution. A detailed knowledge of the interrelationships of the various tasks is required to determine the cost. This is where OSM technical, financial, and programmatic staff can be consulted and an effective cost analysis made.

2. The following lists of items are not all inclusive, but represent general items for consideration when reviewing an application. Variations will occur from grantee to grantee which could require the consideration of additional items. It is important not to just look at each item as a completely separate entity, but rather to see how each item contributes to the successful operation of the grant. Thereviewer's judgement should be applied during the analysis of the application.
   1. Eligibility/Cost Analysis. In evaluating cost, consider:
      1. Demonstration of need;
         
      2. Suitability of request to meet demonstrated need;
         
      3. Eligibility of cost (OMB Circular A-87 and OSM regulations);
         
      4. Reasonableness of the cost under the circumstances of the particular grant;
         
      5. Fair market price;
         
      6. Regional differences in cost.

   2. Personnel Costs
      1. There are three major aspects of personnel costs which must be considered:
         1. The eligibility of the function/activity to be supported through the grant;
            
         2. The number and type of personnel who will be performing the function/activity; and
            
         3. The rate at which personnel will be charged to the function/activity.

      2. In reviewing the first and second aspects, each function/activity must be considered separately as well as part of the whole grant effort. The reviewer must assume that the personnel assigned to major roles in the project have the background and expertise required to accomplish the goals of the function/activity. In many cases, such assurances will not be available from personal knowledge of the principal personnel and the reviewer will have to rely on job descriptions and other pertinent information.

      3. In evaluating the rate of personnel charges, grant applications will normally be expected to provide pay rates. Since the grant applicant is a State/Tribal Government agency, and most such governments have legislatively determined pay rates, there are few instances where this aspect of evaluation is a problem. The key aspects are the reasonableness of the rates under the circumstances and that the rates areconsistent with those used by the State/Tribe for similar activities not support by the Federal grant.

   3. Property Costs (Includes Real Estate, Equipment and Supplies)
      1. Careful screening should take place before acquiring real estate, equipment and supplies to insure that the item(s) is/are needed and that the need cannot be met with property already in possession of the grantee.

      2. In evaluating cost, consider:
         1. Demonstration of need;
            
         2. Furtherance of program objectives;
            
         3. Length of time needed by grantee;
            
         4. Alternatives to purchasing property;
            
            1. rental,
               
            2. leasing,
               
            3. borrowing,
               
            4. sharing; and
            
            
         5. OSM property rules.

      3. When it is desirable to participate in the cost of acquisition of property, OSM must be assured that the grantee has an adequate property management system that will ensure proper utilization and accountability. The grantee shall keep records which will enable it to provide to OSM a description of the equipment and a statement of its acquisition cost, current condition and fair market value. ProgramOfficers should request as much additional clarification of information as is needed to understand and justify the work to be performed and the associated costs.

   4. Travel. In evaluating travel, consider:
      1. Demonstration of need;
         
      2. Method of calculation; and
         
      3. Furtherance of program objectives.

5-20R-30 PROCEDURES

1. Application Processing (See Exhibit X5-20R-1)
   1. Check that the application is complete, i.e., all parts of the applications have been submitted.
      1. See a sample form for internal processing of Federal assistance applications at Exhibit X5-20R-2.  Duplicate copies of a review form can be signed by the reviewer and distributed to other reviewers to obtain unprovided documentation and ensure against any unforeseen delays in processing applications for Federal assistance.

      2. Each RCC/FO shall check the "Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Nonprocurement Programs", in order to determine whether a participant or principal is debarred, suspended, ineligible or voluntarily excluded.

   2. Verify availability of funding.

   3. Within 30 calendar days after receiving an application, OSM shall determine if it is administratively complete. See 5-20R-30B. for discussion of downtime.
      1. Determine mathematical accuracy and that amounts requested are necessary and reasonable.  This review should consider prior applications and grant expenditures, grantee plan provisions and grantee estimating procedures.

      2. For grants that require cost sharing, such as permanent regulatory program grants, consider and/or verify the following:
         1. That a responsible State official is certifying that the amount of State matching funds is available for expenditure under the grant during the grant period.

         2. That the amount certified is adequate to cover the State's share of the estimated program cost.

         3. If the amount of funds certified as available is not adequate, or if it is determined that the amount certified may not be available, the RCC/FO shall obtain from the applicant a statement of when the funds will be available and the source from which the funds are expected.

      3. Determine that the estimated cost to OSM for the agreement or project is reasonable considering the anticipated results.

      4. Determine that the project personnel arequalified.

      5. Determine that the applicant organization has adequate facilities and resources to accomplish the work under the grant.

      6. Determine that the proposed procedures, if well executed, are capable of attaining the proposed objectives.

      7. Determine that the project objectives are identical with or are capable of achieving the specific program objectives defined in the State's approved program.

   4. Once an application is determined to be complete, but no later than seven calendar days prior to the planned award, transmit via the WAN a copy of the NIDS to the Headquarters Office of Communications (OC). See Exhibit X5-20R-3 for the NIDS form and instructions for completing it.

   5. Document the grant review using the findings and recommendation memorandum format shown in Exhibit X5-20R-2.

   6. Sign and date the grant agreement.

   7. Prepare and sign the OSM 52 form,Contract/Grant/Cooperative Agreement Obligation Report. See Exhibit 5-20R-4 for instructions on completing the form OSM 52. Send the OSM 52 to DFM for obligation of funds.

   8. Send two copies of the signed award document to the grantee for countersignature.

   9. Complete the DI-1961, Federal Assistance Award Data System, to code the Federal assistance awards data system information for electronic submittal to the Department. See chapter 5-90 for instructions.

2. Downtime
   1. Thirty days is allotted to complete a financial and programmatic review of an application. If the RCC/FO determines an application is incomplete, it formally returns the application to the grantee and requests corrective action, thus "stopping the clock" on the 30-day review period. When the revised application is received, the clock is restarted at day 1. However, it is recommended that the RCC/FO resolve issues or errors within the 30-day period rather than make a formaldetermination of incompleteness. If the missing part(s) can be provided easily by the grantee and will not delay the review of the application past the initial 30-day review period, the application should not be determined incomplete. The application need not be perfect to be accepted for processing.

   2. In order to ensure that the RCC/FO is not penalized for exceeding the review time limit because of attempts to resolve issues without stopping the clock, the "downtime" concept has been developed. Downtime is considered to be any period when the review is being held up due to circumstances RCC/FO control. Downtime will normally occur in periods when the RCC/FO is waiting to receive a requested responseor correction from the grantee. Downtime days are not included in the 30-day RCC/FO review period.

   3. When a downtime period occurs during the review process, the review clock is considered to be suspended at the point when no further action can be taken until the concern is resolved (for example, when a grantee is notified of corrections needed). At the end of the downtime period (usually when the requested corrections are received), the review process clock starts up again at the same number it was when suspended.

   4. If the RCC/FO makes a formal determination that an application is incomplete, the 30-day review period clock stops at that time. Upon submission of a complete, corrected application, the clock is re-initiated at day 1 of a new 30-day review period.

   5. Details of downtime are documented in the findings and recommendations memorandum.

3. Documentation of Grant Reviews

   The following items shall be available in the official grant file maintained in the RCC/FO. This list is considered the minimum level of grant review documentation. It is expected that additional supporting information and reports will also be included as appropriate for the particular application, the grant recipient,and the RCC/FO involved.

   1. Records of all meetings or telephone conversations with the recipient organization which provided information in support of the application.

   2. All correspondence between the RCC/FO and the recipient which relates to the application or supports the award decision.

   3. All internal OSM reviews of the application or parts of the application. All explanations or resolutions of questions raised during the review process.

   4. A determination and the basis that proposed objectives and plans are appropriate and reasonable.

   5. A determination and the basis that proposed cost items are reasonable, necessary, eligible and allocable.

   6. A determination and the basis that the recipient is able to provide the match level required in the Administration and Enforcement grant.

   7. A recommendation for the approval or disapproval of the grant application.