Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality WYPDES Water Quality Permit Assistance

The summary for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality WYPDES Water Quality Permit Assistance grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Bureau of Land Management, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality WYPDES Water Quality Permit Assistance: Project Background Information Section 365 directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a federal permit streamlining Pilot Project in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Chief of Engineers (Appendix 1). The Act also states that the Secretary may also request the Governors of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico to participate in the Pilot Project. The Act further specifies that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field offices in Rawlins and Buffalo, Wyoming; Miles City, Montana; Farmington and Carlsbad, New Mexico; Glenwood Springs, Colorado; and Vernal, Utah be part of the Pilot Project. The Act directs the Secretary of the Interior to enter in to a MOU with the USDA, EPA, and the Chief of Engineers, and states the Secretary may request that the Governors of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico be signatories to the MOU. The MOU was to be prepared and signed within 90 days after the Energy Policy Act was enacted on August 8, 2005. The MOU was signed on October 24, 2005. The Act requires that no later than three years after enactment, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a Report to Congress that outlines the results of the Pilot Project to date and makes a recommendation to the President regarding whether the Pilot Project should be implemented throughout the United States. The Cooperative Agreement to be entered into by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wyoming State Office and the State of Wyoming, Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) is for the purpose of funding a WDEQ Wyoming Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WYPDES) permit writer position [Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality WYPDES Water Quality Permit Assistance]. This position will be used to support WYPDES permit processing and interagency coordination workloads associated with oil and gas development occurring in two BLM Wyoming Field Offices including the Buffalo and Rawlins Offices which have been designated as Section 365 Pilot Offices. Section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project. BLM Wyoming is responsible for two of the seven designated Pilot Offices. These Pilot Offices include the Buffalo and Rawlins Field Offices (BFO/RFO). Project Objectives The objectives for implementing a BLM and WDEQ Cooperative Agreement include: 1. Providing Section 365 Federal funding support for WPDES permit processing and interagency coordination to support prioritized WPDES workloads associated with large scale oil and gas development rapidly occurring on Federal lands within two BLM Wyoming Field Offices which include the Buffalo and Rawlins Offices. These offices have been designated as Energy Policy Act of 2005 Section 365 Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Offices; 2. Streamline and increase interagency efficiency, including the elimination of any duplication between BLM and WDEQ; 3. Seek to improve information sharing and use, as well as an improved understanding of respective agency roles and responsibilities; 4. Increase the ability to process APDs and WYPDES permits in a more timely manner and of a higher quality to promote responsible stewardship of surface and subsurface resources. Benefits The activities to be undertaken through this agreement are in furtherance of the BLM and WDEQs mission by the providing the following benefits: For the purposes of the Section 365 Pilot: 1. Establishment of interagency coordination mechanisms that can adapt to changing demands or circumstances; 2. Placement of participating agency resources in locations that most effectively promote timely processing of BLM APDs and WDEQ WYPDES permit approvals; 3. Creation of better staff relationships among the BLM and WDEQ to improve the performance of the Pilot Offices; 4. Identification of new or improved interagency practices that should be used in other locations; 5. Test process improvement concepts in the Pilot Offices; For the BLM Wyoming: 1. BLM will obtain critical expertise in water quality permitting and compliance. 2. BLM will be better able to evaluate the interactions of resource development and environmental protection (during the project planning phase). For the WDEQ: 1. WDEQ will obtain important information that it needs to manage the States water resources and to facilitate the timely processing of water quality permits. 2. DEQ could utilize BLM resource specialists to gather information about the management of Wyomings watersheds. For the Public: 1. The public would benefit from the improved protection of Wyomings water resources. E. Statement of Joint Objectives/Project Management Plan The WDEQ agrees to: 1. Work with the Department of Interior agencies to develop operational parameters for this position, and to select the best-qualified applicant based on the States merit system for hiring potential candidates. The position to be filled is that of a trained scientist with expertise in WDEQ permitting requirements, policies and procedures. The applicant should have a working familiarity with the Wyoming Pollution Discharge Environmental System (WYPDES) permitting process and program management. The individual must have a college degree in hydrology, geology or environmental sciences. 2. Provide office space in the WDEQ Cheyenne Office, including office support services, and office supplies for the position. 3. Provide a vehicle and related operator costs of that vehicle, along with other necessary field, office, and computer equipment, for the position described herein. 4. Provide overall supervision and personnel oversight of the WYPDES permit writer and for work performed by the position in accordance with the aforementioned operational parameters. 5. The routine operational parameters of the work include: a. Assisting in the Powder River Basin Watershed-based Permitting Process which may be expanded to potentially include the Green River Basin; b. Provide field oriented support for pending WYPDES permits to include CBNG and conventional oil and gas produced water treatment project analysis / permitting. c. Liaison with BLM staff for water management plan (WMP) processing; d. Provide field expertise in addressing interagency policy and process issues. 6. Oversee the preparation of all progress and final work reports and other work related documents. The BLM agrees to: 1. Cooperatively assist the WDEQ in developing the operational parameters for the position through the formation of an oversight committee consisting of the BLM Buffalo and Rawlins Field Managers and the WDEQ. 2. Coordinate with the WDEQ on the work performed by the position and assist WDEQ in direction of the work performed in accordance with the aforementioned operational parameters. 3. Be members of the review and selection committee and make recommendations for personnel selection for the position. 4. Provide payments or reimbursements to the WDEQ using electronic funds transfer through an Automated Clearing House (ACH), or using a web-based application called ASAP in accordance with Section VI of this agreement and applicable OMB and Treasury Circulars. 5. Review progress and final reports and other documents resulting from the work effort for their adequacy. The WDEQ and BLM mutually agree to: 1. Cooperatively evaluate the progress of this work effort as it proceeds. 2. Review and develop management recommendations from the results of this work effort as presented in the progress and final reports. Deliverables and Period of Performance: 1. WDEQ shall provide the oversight committee with an annual report of the work performed by the position. 2. WDEQ shall submit one copy of a draft annual performance report to the AR by September 30th each year for work performance through the end of the preceding state fiscal year. The draft performance report must be prepared in accordance with 43 CFR, Subpart F, Section 12.951 and address items such as a comparison of actual accomplishments with established goals, reasons why goals may not have been met, and material deviations of expenditures from budget. The AR will review the draft performance report by October 21st each year and return the report with any comments to the WDEQ. WDEQ shall then incorporate comments by November 15th each year to the AR, constituting a final annual performance report.