FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management New Mexico (NM) Cooperative Inspection Agreements with States and Tribes | L24AS00267

Opportunity Information: Apply for L24AS00267

The FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management New Mexico (NM) Cooperative Inspection Agreements with States and Tribes opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L24AS00267) is a discretionary funding notice from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument. It falls under the Natural Resources funding activity category and is associated with CFDA 15.222. The purpose is to support cooperative inspection arrangements connected to oil and gas oversight on Tribal lands in New Mexico, with an emphasis on inspections and enforcement tied to oil and gas leases.

A central feature of this opportunity is its strict limitation on who may conduct inspections on the relevant Tribal lands. The notice states that only BLM or a member of the Tribal Nation is authorized to perform inspections on the Nation's land. This means third parties cannot be brought in to access Tribal lands for the purpose of oil and gas lease inspections and enforcement under this program. In practice, the program is structured to ensure inspections remain in the hands of BLM and the Tribal Nations themselves, reflecting legal, jurisdictional, and access constraints.

Eligibility is also narrowly defined. Although the general eligible applicant categories list state governments and Native American tribal governments and organizations, this particular announcement explicitly restricts eligibility to only two applicants: the Navajo Nation and the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Other entities, even if they might otherwise fit a broad category, are not eligible under this specific notice because they are not authorized for access and inspection activities on the Nations lands. The notice also clearly states that individuals and for-profit organizations are ineligible to apply.

The announcement includes an important workforce and program design limitation related to internships and crews. It does not support hiring interns or crews under the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993. The notice explains that the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 USC, Chapter 37, Subchapter II) is the only legislative authority that allows BLM to "hire" interns under that framework. Because this cooperative inspection notice is not issued under that authority, applicants cannot propose projects that rely on Public Lands Corps internships or similar hiring mechanisms. For Youth Conservation Corps and related youth-focused applicants or concepts, the notice directs them instead to pursue separate funding under NOFO 15.243, BLM Youth Conservation Opportunities on Public Lands, which is the appropriate vehicle for those types of projects.

Key administrative details include an original closing date of May 15, 2024, and an award ceiling of $1,200,000. The opportunity was created on February 14, 2024. While the notice lists "ExpectedAwards" without a specific number in the provided source data, the ceiling indicates the maximum amount available per award under the terms of the announcement. Overall, this funding opportunity is best understood as a targeted BLM New Mexico cooperative agreement intended to enable Tribal Nation participation and coordination with BLM for oil and gas lease inspection and enforcement activities on the Navajo Nation and Jicarilla Apache Nation lands, with strict access, eligibility, and staffing limitations that applicants must follow.

• The Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 IIJA/IRA Bureau of Land Management New Mexico (NM) Cooperative Inspection Agreements with States and Tribes" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.222.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

Apply for L24AS00267

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