Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 695 - OREGON WATERSHED ENHANCEMENT BOARD › Division 35 - SMALL GRANT PROGRAM › Section 695-035-0020 - Small Grant Program Administered by Small Grant Teams

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1) The OWEB Board
			 may award program grants to eligible Small Grant Teams to enable the Teams to
			 administer a Small Grant Program within a Small Grant Area. A Small Grant Team
			 must submit a program grant application to OWEB on a designated form at times
			 designated by the OWEB Board to be eligible to receive a program grant to
			 administer a Small Grant program.
(2) Small Grant Program funds not used in one
			 biennium may not be carried over by the Small Grant Team to the next biennium
			 unless otherwise determined by the Board.
(3) The Board will only enter into new Small
			 Grant Team agreements once Teams have submitted on a standard OWEB form, and to
			 OWEB's satisfaction, the revised Team bylaws for the coming biennium, a revised
			 list of the Team's priority watershed concerns and eligible project types, a
			 revised Application Evaluation Worksheet, and all representatives of the Team
			 have met OWEB reporting obligations under earlier agreements.
(4) Small Grant Teams, in coordination with
			 OWEB, will invite in writing each soil and water conservation district and
			 watershed council located partially or entirely within the Small Grant Area,
			 and each federally recognized tribe in Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe, with
			 reservation, tribal, ceded lands, or usual and accustom areas located partially
			 or entirely within the Small Grant Area to appoint one representative to a
			 Small Grant Team. Participation on a Team is voluntary. A Small Grant Team must
			 have at least one actively participating watershed council representative and
			 one soil and water conservation district representative to be eligible to
			 allocate Small Grant funds. Each eligible Team may receive a program grant from
			 OWEB to allocate Small Grant Project awards of up to $15,000 for eligible
			 watershed restoration projects consistent with local priority watershed
			 concerns and eligible project types adopted by the Team.
(5) Members of each Small Grant Team are
			 encouraged to invite individuals with expertise in a watershed restoration
			 discipline or other watershed restoration interests to consult with the Team on
			 its priorities, program elements, and recommendations for project grant
			 awards.
(6) The OWEB Board will
			 establish Small Grant Areas for the Small Grant Program. The boundaries of the
			 Small Grant Areas will be drawn based upon hydrologic boundaries, existing
			 watershed restoration partnerships, and similarities in resource concerns. Only
			 one Small Grant Team may administer a Small Grant Program in each Small Grant
			 Area. A copy of the Small Grant Area map is available upon request from OWEB
			 and can also be viewed on the OWEB website.
(7) A Small Grant Team may petition the OWEB
			 Board to adjust the boundaries of Small Grant Areas. If a Team has not been
			 formed in a Small Grant Area, an organization eligible to appoint a member to a
			 Small Grant Team may petition the Board to adjust the boundaries of Small Grant
			 Areas. Written approval from all Small Grant Teams affected, or if a Small
			 Grant Team has not been formed, all entities eligible to appoint a member to
			 the Small Grant Team in that area, is required before a boundary adjustment
			 petition may be filed with the Board.
(8) The OWEB Board will consider all
			 boundary-adjustment petitions once a biennium at the time it considers
			 reauthorizing Small Grant Program funds for the next biennium. The OWEB Board
			 may choose to consider a boundary adjustment upon a valid motion by Board
			 members, without petition by a Small Grant Team or organization that is an
			 eligible Small Grant Team member. However, the OWEB Board will consult with
			 affected Small Grant Teams, and if a Team has not been formed, eligible Team
			 members in the area before considering the boundary adjustment. A decision by
			 the OWEB Board to approve a boundary adjustment will consider one of the
			 following:
(a) The current Small Grant Area
			 boundaries fragment existing watershed restoration partnerships; or
(b) The current Small Grant Area boundaries
			 fragment hydrologically connected areas or ecologically similar landscapes in a
			 way that would make setting local restoration priorities difficult;
			 or
(c) The current Small Grant Area
			 boundaries encompass many different limiting factors for water quality, water
			 quantity, and fish and wildlife habitat. Adjusting boundaries would improve the
			 ability of watershed restoration partners to focus their efforts on the
			 limiting factors with which they have expertise.