Federal Assistance Manual Definitions

DEFINITIONS

Accounting System aids the recipient in the separate identification of receipts, disbursements, assets, liabilities, and provides for the summarization of financial information in a manner which will facilitate the preparation of the periodic reports required by OSM.

Accrual Basis - the basis of accounting under which transactions are recognized when they occur, regardless of the timing of related cash flows.

Acquisition Cost of nonexpendable personal property acquired by purchase means the net invoice price of the property, including any attachments, accessories, or auxiliary apparatus necessary to make the property usable for the purpose for which it was acquired. Ancillary charges such as taxes, duty, protective in-transit insurance, freight, or installation shall be included in or excluded from acquisition cost in accordance with the recipient's regular accounting practices.

Administratively Complete - the determination made by the grants specialist that all required parts of a grant application are present and that sufficient information is provided to determine that costs are necessary, reasonable, allowable, and allocable.

Alterations and Renovations - consist of work required to change the physical characteristics of an existing facility or installed equipment so that it may be more effectively utilized for its currently designated purpose or adapted to a changed use as a result of a programmatic requirement.

Amendment - an amendment to an OSM grant or cooperative agreement is a formal written change to the amount, terms and conditions, performance period or scope of work.

Appeal Procedure - a procedure which permits recipients to request review of a particular issue at OSM Headquarters. Appeals are submitted to the Director, OSM.

Applicable Credit - a negative-expenditure type of transaction which offsets or reduces an expense item. Examples are purchase discounts, rebates or allowances, and adjustments of overpayments and erroneous charges.

Approval Package - is the set of documents related to a grant/cooperative agreement application which is prepared by the grants specialist to justify and support the grant approval recommendation made to the RCC/FO.

Audit - a planned approach of evaluating and reporting on the recipient's financial and programmatic operations.

Budget Period - an interval of time (usually 12 months) into which the grant/cooperative agreement project period is divided for budgetary and reporting purposes.

Budget Revision - a deviation from a grant/cooperative agreement budget approved by OSM to carry out the purposes of the agreement-supported project.

Budget Underrun - a budget underrun occurs when the amount of Federal funds authorized exceeds the needs of the recipient by more than $10,000 or ten percent of the total grant amount, whichever is greater. The recipient is required to notify OSM promptly when a budget underrun is expected to occur.

Cash Basis - a basis of accounting under which transactions are recognized only when cash changes hands.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance - a comprehensive listing and description of Federal programs and activities which provide assistance or benefits to the American public.

Closeout of a grant or cooperative agreement means the determination by OSM that all applicable administrative actions (with the exception of audit) by the Government and the recipient have been completed.

Conflict of Interest - a principle under which outside activities, relationships, or financial interests of a recipient are determined to be proper or improper to prevent an individual from appearing to be or being motivated by a desire for private gain.

Consultant - a party engaged to give professional advice or services for a fee, but not as an employee of the party that engages him or her.

Cooperative Agreement - an agreement between a Federal agency and a recipient to achieve a specified public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by Federal statute, involving significant Federal involvement during the period of the agreement.

Cost Analysis - the process of obtaining cost breakdowns, verifying cost data, evaluating specific elements of costs and examining data to determine necessity, reasonableness, and appropriateness of the costs reflected in a grant budget.

Cost Principles are the principles used in determining costs applicable to OSM grants.

Cost Transfers are the reassignment of costs from one project activity to another.

Costs - the cost of a grant-supported activity is comprised of the allowable direct costs incidental to its performance, plus the allocable portions of the allowable indirect costs of an organization less allocable credits.

Debarment - The exclusion of a person from participating in covered transactions, generally for no more than three years, after proper notification, hearing and appeals procedures have been followed.

Deviation from Grant Policy is the use of any policy, procedure, form or grant condition which is inconsistent with OSM policies or the failure to use a policy, procedure, form, or grant condition prescribed by the Director.

Disbursements are payments in cash or by check.

Distribution - The process by which OSM assigns specific amounts of the AML grant appropriation to each program State/Tribe based on a formula using the State/Tribal share balance and historical coal production.

Environmental Impact - the probable environmental consequences of any major OSM action.

Equal Employment Opportunity - is the non-discrimination against any person in recruitment, examination, appointment, training, promotion, retention, and discipline because of political or religious opinions or affiliations, or because of race, national origin, or other nonmerit factors.

Equipment - See Property, Nonexpendable.

Expiration Date - the date a grant or cooperative agreement comes to an end.

Extension - a change to the expiration date of a grant or cooperative agreement.

Federal Assistance Award Data System - an ADP system that provides information on assistance awards, amendments, and deobligations, on a quarterly basis. (See Chapter 5-90 for reporting instructions.)

Federal Assistance Unit - the OSM unit responsible for managing a grant or cooperative agreement.

Federal Reclamation Program Project - Emergency or high priority AML abatement or reclamation project funded from the Secretary's Discretionary Share of the AML Fund, and undertaken through a Federal contract, a cooperative agreement with a State/Tribe, or an interagency agreement with another Federal agency.

Federal Share - (For programs that have a matching or cost sharing requirement) the percentage of Federal participation. The percentage of the net cost (i.e., total cost less program income earned) of an activity borne by OSM represents the Federal share of the cost of the activity. The Federal share of any grant or cooperative agreement related income produced by that activity is determined by applying the same percentage factor.

Federally-recognized Indian tribal government means the governing body or a governmental agency of any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community (including any native village as defined in Section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 85 Stat. 685) certified by the Secretary of the Interior as eligible for the special programs and services provided through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Forms Clearance - the process by which an OSM originating unit must obtain prior clearance from 0MB in accordance with 5 CFR 1320 and appropriate OSM forms clearance procedures.

Freedom of Information - policy pertaining to the release of certain requested information on grants to any member of the public regardless of the reason for the request.

Grantee - See Recipient

Grant or Grant-in-Aid - an award of financial assistance, including cooperative agreements, in the form of money, or property in lieu of money, by the Federal Government to an eligible grantee, where involvement in the project by the Federal Government is expected to be minimal.

Grant Administration - the process in which grant funds are awarded to an organization or an individual to carry out an approved activity or program, and progress under the activity or program is monitored.

Grant Budget - the approved financial plan for both the Federal and non-Federal shares to carry out the purpose of the grant or cooperative agreement. This plan is the financial expression of the project or program as approved during the grant or cooperative agreement application and award process.

Grant - Formula - a grant in which funds are provided to specified grantees on the basis of a specific formula, prescribed in legislation or regulation, rather than on the basis of an individual project review.

ln-kind Contributions made by the recipient or by third parties which may consist of the value of real property, nonexpendable personal property, and goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant-supported activity.

Lobbying - any activity designed to influence a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation (including appropriation), whether before or after the introduction of any bill or resolution proposing such legislation. Accordingly, OSM grant funds may not be used to:

• Support an activity by which States/Tribes lobby Congress and/or urge others to lobby Congress;

• Support direct appeals for favorable action or opposition to legislation;

• Pay for publication or distribution of literature to promote public support or opposition to a legislative proposal;

• Urge other individuals or groups to lobby Congress to take a position on a particular project or program.

States may keep special interest groups informed of their activities and of Congressional activities, or retain and pay for services to keep informed of Congressional actions affecting their interests. (See 18 U.S.C. 1913 at Appendix 73)

Minority Business Enterprise - a business concern that is (1) at least 51 percent owned by one or more minority individuals, or, in the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock is owned by one or more minority individuals; and (2) whose daily business operations are managed and directed by one or more of the minority owners.

Obligations - grants and cooperative agreements awarded and applicable transactions during a given period which legally bind OSM to payment.

Office of Management and Budget - the principal staff office in the Office of the President for administrative and financial matters.

Outlays Under Grants - charges made to the grant.

Payment Methods - mechanisms by which Federal payments are made to recipients: Electronic Transfer of Funds, Advance by Treasury Check, and Reimbursement by Treasury Check.

1. Electronic Transfer of Funds - An on-line request for funds certified by a designated official of the Federal agency. This request is irrevocable to the extent that the recipient has obligated funds in good faith thereunder for the execution of its authorized or approved Federal program or project.

2. Advance by Treasury Check - an advance by Treasury check is a payment to a recipient upon its request before cash outlays are made by the recipient or through the use of predetermined payment schedules before payments are made by the recipient.

3. Reimbursement by Treasury Check - a reimbursement by Treasury check is a payment made to a recipient upon its request after the recipient has made outlays from its own cash for authorized or approved Federal program or project expenditures.

Pre-Award Costs - costs incurred prior to the award of the grant.

Privacy Act of 1974 refers to Federal legislation mandating that personal information about individuals collected by Federal agencies be limited to that which is legally authorized and necessary and is maintained in a manner which precludes unwarranted intrusions upon individual privacy.

Prior Approval - written authorization provided by an authorized official and obtained in advance of the performance of an act which would result in a time extension, the obligation or expenditure of funds, or change the scope or the objectives of the grant supported project.

Program Income represents gross earnings by the recipient and subrecipient realized from grant or cooperative agreement supported activities.

Project - as used in the AML program, a delineated area containing one or more abandoned mine land problems. A project may be a group of related reclamation activities with a common objective within a political subdivision of a State or within a logical, geographically defined area, such as a watershed, conservation district, or county planning area.

Property

1. Real Property - land, land improvements, structures and appurtenances thereto, excluding movable machinery and equipment.

2. Personal Property - property of any kind except real property.

3. Tangible Personal Property - personal property having physical existence.

4. Intangible Personal Property - personal property without physical existence such as patents, inventions, and copyrights.

5. Expendable Personal Property is all personal property other than nonexpendable personal property.

6. Nonexpendable Personal Property is tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit.

   NOTE: A grantee may use its own definition of equipment provided that such definition would at least include all equipment as defined above.

Recipient - the organizational entity that receives a grant and assumes legal and financial responsibility and accountability both for the awarded funds and for the performance of the grant-supported activity.

Recipient Organization - the entity that receives a grant award or cooperative agreement.

Regulations - governmental orders having the force of law. These are published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations as the official notification to the public of the implementation of a program or the establishment of rules or procedures.

Scope Change - a programmatic change in the work to be performed under a grant or cooperative agreement that is outside the range of work contemplated at the time of award. A scope change requires a formal amendment to the agreement.

Site Visit - visit by consultant, program, or management staff to the recipient organization or to the construction site stipulated in a grant application.

State - any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, or any instrumentality of a State, including State institutions of higher education and hospitals, but not including the governments of the political subdivisions of the State.

Statement of Effects - a brief public document that analyzes the environmental effects a proposed project may have on ten specific resources. It is prepared only if the proposed project is coal-related, is of one or more of the generic types described in OSM-EIS-11, and has only negligible effects on those specific resources.

State Plan consists of the information submitted by the recipient to OSM as required by Public Law 95-87 to describe the proposed use of grant funds.

Subgrant - an award of financial assistance in the form of money, or property in lieu of money, made under a grant by a grantee to an eligible subgrantee. The term includes financial assistance when provided by contractual legal agreement, but does not include procurement purchases, nor does it include any form of assistance which is excluded from the definition of "grant".

Supplies - See Property, Expendable.

Suspension - an action which temporarily suspends Federal assistance under a grant pending corrective action by the grantee or pending a decision to terminate the grant.

Technical Assistance - the process of increasing the effectiveness and problem solving capability of the grantee's program and/or administrative staff.

Termination - the withdrawal of support through the cancellation of Federal assistance, in whole or in part, under a grant at any time prior to the date of completion.

Third Party Reimbursements - the payments for goods or services which are paid to a grantee by an organization or individual other than the recipient of the goods or services.

Unobligated Balance - the portion of the total funds authorized which is available for obligation.

Unpaid Obligations - the amount of obligations incurred which have not been paid, including obligations for which there is evidence of a commitment or promise to pay for goods, facilities, or services in any category of expenditure, whether or not the goods have been received or a bill rendered.

Withholding Support - to decline funding a noncompeting continuation application within a previously approved project period.

Women's Business Enterprise - a business concern that is, (1) at least 51 percent owned by one or more women, or, in the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock is owned by one or more women; and (2) whose daily business operations are managed and directed by one or more of the women owners.

FEDERAL ASSISTANCE MANUAL
January 2, 1998