About the Port Graham Village Council Environmental Program

PORT GRAHAM VILLAGE COUNCIL
CIRCUIT RIDER PEER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
FY 2010

The Port Graham Village Council previously entered and successfully closed out the first 4 year Cooperative Agreement with EPA. Port Graham has entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the USEPA for the Circuit Rider Peer Assistance program to support the Tribes of Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound, the Kodiak Region and Illiamna area Tribes needing assistance in effectively managing the IGAP program. The Port Graham Village Council is proposing to provide training on fiscal, administrative capacity building and technical assistance through the USEPA Circuit Rider Cooperative Agreement. We understand the need for more direct assistance with fiscal and administrative requirements of current and potential tribal grantees and the ongoing changes of the USEPA Indian General Assistance Program. Our assistance to the Tribes will provide long-lasting positive impacts for future grant administration and implementation.

The proposed commitments include the provision of technical assistance to Tribes located within the aforementioned service areas under the following points of interest:

Grant Administrative (Reviewing and understanding the Assistance Agreement, Commitments in Workplan proposal, Administrative Assessment, etc.)
Financial Management (OMB Circulars, Audits, Financial policies & procedures)
Procurement &Contractual Management (Required Contract Provisions and basic requirements)
Fiscal Reporting & project evaluation (Quarterly Reports, drawdowns, MBE/WBE reports, and assessing programmatic infrastructure)
Human Resource Management (Reviewing or developing policies & procedures ie; Financial, Personnel, Procurement)

The Port Graham Village Council Peer Assistance Program has contracted with Stephanie Ruff with NWBS Consulting to assist with the Circuit Rider Peer Assistance training.

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EPA IGAP Grant

The PortGrahamVillage Council has been funded for another 2 years under the EPA Indian General Assistance Program. The focus of the next 2 years is to continue to build capacity to continue a Environmental Program in our community. Another focus is to look at Energy Conservation due to the high cost of fuel.

Under the EPA funding, the PortGrahamVillage Council received funding under a Cooperative Agreement with EPA to provide grants management with Tribes in the Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound and the Kodiak Tribes. To date, we have provided 2 subregional trainings; 1 in Anch and another training in Kodiak. The PortGrahamVillage Council has contracted services of Stephanie Ruff, a CPA with North Pacific Rim Housing Authority to bring a on-site training to Tribes in their communities. We are providing training to Tribal Governments on effective grants management and bringing awareness to Tribal Governments regarding what the Office of Management and Budget is requiring of the Federal funding and of their grantees.