Indian Affairs announces Tribal Energy Development Capacity grants

Press Release

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced today that the Tribal Energy Development Capacity Grant Program awarded more than $2.5 million to federally recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities to develop Tribal energy resources.

“These grants will assist Tribes in building capacity to manage energy development in their communities. As we look to a sustainable future, it is important that Tribes can regulate and benefit from energy development in their communities,” said Assistant Secretary Newland. “By empowering Tribes to build this capacity, we are supporting Tribal sovereignty and economic development, and helping make lives better for people in Tribal communities.”

The Tribal Energy Development Capacity Grant Program is a competitive, discretionary grant program that seeks to develop the Tribal management, organizational, and technical capacity Tribes need to maximize the economic impact of energy resource development on Indian land. Each year, the program awards funding that provides Tribes with necessary resources to develop or enhance Tribal policies, codes, regulations, or ordinances related to energy resources, including land-lease regulations for energy development purposes in accordance with the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act, also known as the HEARTH Act.

“These important grants provide Tribes with the opportunity to receive financial assistance to evaluate the energy and mineral resource potential of their lands,” said Acting Bureau of Indian Affairs Deputy Bureau Director for Trust Services Trina Lock. “In past years, these grants assisted Tribes with forming an intertribal energy agency to improve electric service to Alaska villages and conducting feasibility studies to establish Tribal utility authorities in California, Florida and Oklahoma.”

Grant applications were evaluated by two independent review panels to ensure the most qualified projects were selected to receive funding. These panels reviewed the applications’ clarity and completeness, the expected contribution to the applicant’s capacity to regulate and manage energy resources, and the extent to which the anticipated outcome of a proposal met the applicant’s stated goals.

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The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs advises the Secretary of the Interior on Indian Affairs policy issues; communicates policy to and oversees the programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration; provides leadership in consultations with Tribes; and serves as the DOI official for intra- and inter-departmental coordination and liaison within the Executive Branch on matters concerning American Indians and Alaska Natives and the federally recognized Tribes in the United States.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs directly administers and funds Tribally operated infrastructure, law enforcement and justice, social services (including child welfare), Tribal governance, and trust land and natural and energy resources management programs for the Nation’s federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes through four offices: Indian Services, Justice Services, Trust Services and Field Operations.

Working with Tribes to stimulate their economies, the BIA Division of Energy and Mineral Development functions much like a full-service consulting firm. Armed with an expert team of geologists, engineers, marketing experts, and other key personnel, our staff facilitates all aspects of energy development for Tribes. The Division of Energy and Mineral Development is committed to finding the best companies that fit with Tribal goals.