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CHAPTER 1-130 

ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT CONDITIONS AND AWARD DOCUMENTS

1-130-00 What does this chapter do?

1-130-10 What does our assistance agreement award document do?

1-130-20 What Information must we include in the award document?

1-130-30 What conditions apply to our assistance agreements?

1-130-40 May we add additional specific conditions to your assistance agreement?

1-130-50 What Information will we provide to you with the award agreement?

1-130-00 What does this chapter do?

This chapter lists the conditions which apply to every grant and cooperative agreement awarded 

by us, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). It also lists the 

additional conditions which only apply to assistance agreements for specific programs, including 

regulatory and Abandoned Mine Land (AML) grants. This chapter also explains to you, the 

recipient, our minimum requirements for an assistance agreement document.

1-130-10 What does our assistance agreement award document do?

The assistance agreement award document is the official instrument we use for the following 

purposes:

A. Establish a legally binding arrangement between you and us.

B. List, or include by reference, the terms and conditions of the agreement.

C. Serve as the source document for the obligation of Federal funds in our accounting 

system.

1-130-20 What Information must we include in the award document?

We must process an award document for an assistance agreement through our electronic grant 

system. The award document must include the following information:

A. The legal name of the recipient. 

B. Agreement Identification, including the grant or cooperative agreement number, the 

amendment number, and the award date.

C. The amount awarded. For awards with multiple subaccounts or funding sources, the 

award document or an attachment will display the source of funds, subaccount number, 

accounting data and approved amount for each source or use of funds.
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D. The dates of the performance period for the assistance agreement.

E. The purpose of the assistance agreement. 

F. The award must incorporate the following conditions by reference:

1. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), as 

amended, P.L. 95-87, and any other authorizing legislation;

2. Your complete application for this assistance agreement, including amendments 

to the application;

3. The approved state or tribal regulatory or reclamation plan for this program, if 

applicable;

4. Any OSMRE policy directives which apply to this agreement, including this 

Federal Assistance Manual; and

5. All terms, conditions, or agreement clauses that are required by the Department of 

the Interior, OSMRE, or program policies.

1-130-30 What conditions apply to our assistance agreements?

A. The following conditions are incorporated into every OSMRE assistance agreement by 

reference:

1. Assistance funds must only be used to cover allowable costs, which are incurred 

during the agreement’s performance period. Valid obligations incurred before the 

end of the performance period for cost items specifically identified in the 

approved application will be considered allowable costs for the performance 

period to the extent of actual subsequent expenditures. If obligations are included 

in the claimed costs, adequate records must be maintained to disclose fully the 

date, and amount of the obligation incurred and the date and amount of 

subsequent payment. Obligations claimed in one performance period must be 

excluded from expenditures claimed in prior or subsequent periods.

2. Program income earned under all OSMRE assistance agreements other than 

Regulatory Administration and Enforcement (A&E) grants must be used to reduce 

the total cost of the agreement (deductive option). Program income earned under 

a Regulatory A&E grant must be used to meet the cost sharing/matching 

requirement of the grant (cost sharing option). Program income earned under a 

Regulatory A&E grant in excess of the cost sharing requirement may either be 

added to the funds committed to the grant agreement (addition option), or used for 

the deductive option.
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3. You must obtain prior OSMRE approval to transfer funds to agencies other than 

those identified in the approved application.

4. You must submit financial reports, performance reports, and other reports 

according to the timing, content, and format as required by OSM. You must 

report program outlays and program income on a cash basis. 

5. For non-construction agreements, transfers of funds between total direct cost 

categories require our prior approval when such transfers exceed 10 percent of the 

total budget. For agreements that fund both construction, and non-construction 

activities, budget transfers between nonconstruction and construction subaccounts 

require our prior approval.

6. You must transfer to us the appropriate share, based on the Federal support 

percentage, of any refund, rebate, credit, or other amounts arising from the 

performance of this agreement, along with accrued interest, if any. You must take 

necessary action to collect promptly all monies due, and to cooperate with us in 

any claim or suit in connection with amounts due.

7. You must comply with the requirements, as applicable, of the Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards at 2 CFR Part 200, regarding administrative procedures; the Cash 

Management Improvement Act and 31 CFR Part 205 on financial procedures.

8. No employee of the state, Indian tribal government or Federal government 

performing any function or duty under the regulatory or reclamation program plan 

may have a direct or indirect financial interest in any coal mining operation. You 

must comply with all requirements and regulations established by OSMRE to 

carry out this requirement, including 30 CFR Part 705, and those requirements 

that it has adopted in its regulatory program or reclamation plan.

9. Prior to the start of any construction activity, you must ensure that all applicable 

Federal, state and local permits, and clearances are obtained.

10. You must not use any part of the appropriated funds for any activity or the 

publication or distribution of literature that in any way tends to promote public 

support, or opposition to any legislative proposal on which Congressional action 

is not complete. 

11. You must comply with the Federal procurement requirements in 2 CFR Part 200, 

and requirements of the Buy American Act at 41 U.S.C. §§ 8301.

12. You are free to copyright any original work developed in the course of, or under 
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the agreement. OSMRE reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable 

right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and to authorize others to use, the 

work for government purposes. Any publication resulting from work performed 

under the agreement must include an acknowledgment of OSMRE financial 

support, and a statement that the publication does not necessarily reflect our 

views.

13. No subsequent assistance agreements or amendments will be approved unless all 

overdue financial or performance reports have been submitted to the appropriate 

OSMRE office. Only the Regional Director or his designate can approve 

exceptions to this policy.

14. We reserve the right to transfer equipment acquired with assistance agreements to 

the Federal government or a third party. [Note: In order to invoke this provision, 

we also must notify the recipient in writing of the specific item of equipment to be 

transferred. Equipment must meet the definition in 2 CFR Part 200.]

15. The agreement takes effect at the time of approval by the Director of OSMRE or 

his authorized delegate. You accept the agreement including the terms, and 

conditions by starting work or making its first request for Federal funds approved 

under the agreement.

B. The following condition applies to all Regulatory Administration and Enforcement grant 

agreements:

This grant is for the administration and enforcement of an approved program for the 

regulation, and control of surface coal mining, and reclamation operations in accordance 

with 30 CFR 735. Grant funds must not be used for other purposes. As a condition of 

the grant, you must implement the regulatory program as approved by the Secretary of 

the Interior, including all findings, and conditions set forth in the Secretary's approval 

decision, or as may be modified by the Secretary. Grant funds must not be used for 

implementation of any changes to the regulatory program, which have not been approved 

by the Secretary of the Interior.

C. Conditions for AML agreements depend on which AML functions are included in the 

specific assistance agreement.

1. The following conditions apply to all AML assistance agreements:

a. This agreement is for the administration of the recipient’s approved 

reclamation plan, and for carrying out activities in accordance with the 

plan and Title IV of SMCRA. Funds from this agreement must not be 

used for any other purposes.
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b. The funding for this agreement comes from one or more types of Title IV 

funds. Each type of funds may only be used as provided in SMCRA.

2. The following condition applies to AML agreements that include funding for an 

acid mine drainage set-aside fund:

You must establish an acid mine drainage abatement, and treatment fund. 

Amounts deposited into the fund, together with all interest earned, must be used 

by the recipient for the comprehensive abatement of the causes, and treatment of 

the effects of acid mine drainage, within qualified hydrologic units affected by 

coal mining practices.

D. The following condition applies to all Small Operator Assistance Program (SOAP) 

operational grant agreements:

This grant is for costs incurred by qualified laboratories for performance of technical 

work as provided in 30 CFR 795.9(b), and for costs incurred by qualified laboratories or 

state regulatory authorities for performance of planning activities, and training/outreach 

provided in section 507(c) of SMCRA. Planning activities must be directly related to 

individual assistance sites. Indirect costs are allowable only to the extent they relate to 

planning activities, training/outreach, or other authorized services provided directly by 

the regulatory authority. Grant funds must not be used for any other purpose, including 

expenses incurred by the regulatory authority to administer the SOAP.

1-130-40 May we add additional specific conditions to your assistance agreement?

We may add specific conditions to your assistance agreement to address a problem or a specific 

situation that needs special attention. However, imposing specific conditions is not our preferred 

method for addressing problems. Action plans developed jointly by you and OSMRE are more 

likely to succeed than unilaterally imposed specific conditions, that may disrupt your processes 

and plans. Therefore, we reserve the right for the use of specific award conditions for serious 

and unusual situations. A specific assistance agreement condition must be tailored to the 

situation, and must identify exactly what and how you will perform. We will monitor specific 

conditions very closely to ensure strict adherence.

1-130-50 What Information will we provide to you with the award agreement?

When we transmit an award to you, our awarding office will include additional information. We 

will inform you of all reports due to us under this agreement, with reporting periods and due 

dates, and state the consequences if you do not meet the reporting requirements. We will list 

contacts for your program, financial and payment questions. We will also provide any other 

information, which may assist you in managing the agreement.