The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2013 that American Indians and Alaska Natives were almost twice as likely to live in poverty as the rest of the population. A 2014 Interior report estimated that between 43 and 47 percent of American Indian families in South Dakota earned incomes below the poverty line, compared with a national average of about 23 percent for all Native American families. In addition, according to DOE documents, Indian communities are more likely to live without access to electricity and pay some of the highest energy rates in the country— hindering economic development and limiting the ability of tribes to provide their members with basic needs, such as water and wastewater services and adequate health care. Considerable energy resources, including domestic mineral resources such as oil, gas, and coal, and resources with significant potential for renewable energy development, including wind, solar, hydroelectric power, geothermal, and biomass, exist throughout Indian country. Tribes may seek opportunities to use these resources as an option to create economic benefits that provide revenue for government operations and social service programs, create high- quality jobs, and offset power costs by increasing access to reliable and affordable energy for tribal buildings and individual homes. For instance, in fiscal year 2015, the development of Indian-owned oil and gas resources generated more than $1 billion in revenue for tribes and individual Indian mineral owners, according to Interior, making oil and gas resources one of the largest revenue generators in Indian country. In addition, tribes are taking advantage of renewable energy sources and developing projects that range from facility- and community-scale production, such as rooftop solar panels or a wind turbine to power a community center, to utility-scale production of hundreds of megawatts of electricity (see fig. 1). However, the development of Indian energy resources can be a complex process involving a range of stakeholders, including federal, tribal, and state agencies. The specific role of federal agencies can vary on the basis of multiple factors, such as the type of resource, location of development, scale of development, ownership of the resource, and Indian tribe involved. Figure 2 shows various roles federal agencies may have in the development of Indian energy resources. A short description of the agencies’ roles follows. Resource Identification. To develop energy resources, developers and operators must locate a suitable resource. To locate potential oil and gas resources, most operators use seismic methods of exploration. For renewable projects, developers conduct a feasibility assessment to evaluate the potential of the resource for development and determine the viability of the project, which may include evaluating market demand for power and financing opportunities. Both IEED and IE help tribes identify resource potential. For example, according to IE data, IE provided a tribe $210,000 in 2012 to identify available solar and biomass energy resources, characterize solar and biomass energy technologies, and analyze the technical and potential economic viability of projects. Technical and financial assistance. IE and IEED manage the federal government’s financial and technical assistance programs dedicated to Indian energy development. IE provides federally recognized tribes and tribal entities financial and technical assistance to promote Indian energy development and efficiency, reduce or stabilize energy costs, and bring electrical power and service to tribal communities and the homes of tribal members. For example, in 2015, IE awarded technical assistance to an intertribal corporation for a survey of wind resources, a survey of transmission and environmental constraints, and market analysis for 16 potential wind turbine deployment sites. According to a DOE report, IE provided $48 million to assist more than 180 tribal energy projects from 2002 through 2014. IE also offers education through webinars, forums, and workshops. IEED serves tribes and their members by providing technical and financial assistance for the exploration, development, and management of tribal energy resources. According to IEED officials, IEED provided about $52 million to assist 340 tribal energy projects from 2002 through 2015. According to its data, IEED is assisting a tribal member to develop a 5,000-acre solar project by helping secure transmission line access with potential right-of-way landowners, and by meeting with county commissioners to gain support for the project. In some instances, both IE and IEED provide assistance for a project. For example, IE and IEED coordinated to help a tribal solar project. IEED provided an engineering design grant, and IE provided an installation grant and technical assistance. For the past 6 years, IEED has also provided assistance on an as-needed basis to BIA agency offices by assigning staff for a period of time— generally a year or longer—to perform such tasks as organizing oil and gas records, clearing backlogs of energy-related documents, reviewing leases, and helping BIA agencies fulfill requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For instance, according to a BIA official, IEED helped a BIA agency office by conducting 1,584 NEPA and right-of-way compliance inspections for energy-related activities involving oil and gas well pads, access roads, and pipelines. In another example, IEED helped a BIA agency office by reviewing environmental documents and conducting site surveys for 77 proposed oil and gas well pads. Other federal agencies, including USDA, HUD, Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, and Treasury, can also provide financial assistance to tribes to explore and develop their energy resources. For example, according to its data, USDA awarded a $500,000 grant through its Rural Energy for America Program in fiscal year 2015 to a tribal entity seeking to develop a hydroelectric project. Also, HUD data shows that in fiscal year 2015 a tribe used funds provided through HUD’s block grant program to extend transmission lines to communities that lack basic electrical service. Regulate. Multiple federal agencies have a regulatory role associated with Indian energy development. For example, BIA approves seismic exploration permits for operators to identify oil and gas resources, maintains surface and mineral ownership records, identifies and verifies ownership of land and resources, and reviews and approves a number of energy-related documents—such as surface leases, mineral leases for the right to drill for oil and gas resources, and right-of-way agreements. In addition, BLM issues drilling permits to operators developing Indian oil and gas resources after receiving BIA concurrence to approve the permits. Further, EPA issues permits for air emissions that may be required for some oil and gas development, and FWS issues permits for incidental deaths of certain wildlife species, which may be needed for a wind project. If energy development affects navigable waters, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may need to issue a permit. Provide transmission access assistance. Utility-scale renewable energy projects need to connect to the electric grid to transmit power generated from the project, along transmission lines, to a destination. DOE’s Western Area Power Administration, along with other power administration agencies, is responsible for marketing and transmitting electricity across the United States and can help tribes to better understand transmission capacity, identify options for accessing available capacity on transmission lines, and assist with interconnection requirements. For example, according to officials from the Western Area Power Administration, it partnered with a tribal utility authority to resolve transmission congestion affecting a proposed 27-megawatt utility-scale solar project. Purchase power. To be economically feasible, utility-scale renewable energy projects need a customer to purchase their power. The federal government is the nation’s largest energy consumer. In fiscal year 2013, the government spent about $6.8 billion on energy for over 3.1 billion square feet of buildings and facilities—an area about the size of 50,000 football fields. GSA has general statutory authority to enter into utility services contracts of up to 10 years for all federal agencies. GSA has delegated the authority to enter into contracts for public utility services to the Department of Defense (DOD) and to DOE for procurements by those agencies. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 encourages federal agencies to purchase electricity, energy products, and by-products from tribal entities. Specifically, the act includes a provision authorizing federal agencies to give preference to a tribe or tribal enterprise when purchasing electricity or any other energy or energy by-product as long as federal agencies do not pay more than the prevailing market prices or obtain less than prevailing market terms and conditions. The Council was established by executive order in June 2013. The executive order calls for the Secretary of the Interior to lead the Council, the Council to meet at least three times per year, and Interior to provide funding and administrative support to the Council. According to an Interior document, the Council will improve efficiencies by coordinating work across the federal government and use an “all-of-government approach” to find solutions that address tribal needs. To accomplish its goals, the Council includes five subgroups—(1) energy; (2) health; (3) education; (4) economic development and infrastructure; and (5) environment, climate change, and natural resources—to discuss current initiatives and identify interagency solutions. The Energy Subgroup was formed in November 2013 with the Secretaries of Energy and the Interior as co-chairs. In May 2014, the Energy Subgroup identified nine additional federal agencies that should be included as participants and established policy goals for the Subgroup that, if accomplished, may help to overcome some of the factors that we previously identified as hindering Indian energy development. For example, in June 2015, we reported that tribes’ limited access to capital had hindered development. One of the Energy Subgroup’s goals is to evaluate, align and coordinate financial and technical assistance programs to leverage agency resources, funding, and expertise. Similarly, in June 2015, we found that the development of Indian energy resources is sometimes governed by multiple federal, tribal, and, in certain cases, state agencies and can involve significantly more steps, cost more, and take more time than the development of private and state resources. One of the Energy Subgroup’s goals is to evaluate opportunities to streamline and accelerate regulatory processes.