January 26, 2018 - The Board of University and School Lands (Land Board) announces a contingency grant available to oil and gas development-impacted political subdivisions including cities, counties, school districts, and other taxing districts.

 

The Energy Infrastructure and Impact Office (EIIO) will accept applications from eligible political subdivisions from February 1, 2018 through April 30, 2018.  Applications must be received by the EIIO no later than 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on April 30, 2018. These grant funds are intended to offset costs incurred for an emergency incident where the event is directly related to or impacted by oil and gas development and no other funding source is available to the political subdivision.

 

To apply, submit the grant application found at https://land.nd.gov/EnergyImpact/Forms. The application is available in a MS-Word version and an Adobe Acrobat version.   Application and supporting documents can be mailed to the address listed on the form, emailed to the EIIO address, or faxed.  Late applications will not be considered.  Applicants may supplement applications prior to the applications being scored and prepared for review by the advisory committee.

 

Applications must:

               1) Be signed by two appointed/elected officials, one being the primary fiscal officer;

               2) Address how current oil and gas development activities have impacted or caused damage to

     the applicant since December 6, 2017;

               3) Provide phases, or time lines, for project completion within a 24-month

                    window, if the project is approved for funding;

               4) Identify other funding sources available and, if so, how those funds, including local funds 

     would be made available, or if there are no other sources of funding available; and

               5) Provide supporting bids from contractors. Estimates will not considered.

 

Applications will be scored on a number of factors relating to:

          1) Objective- The project is directly related to local infrastructure impacted by oil and gas

               development activities.

          2) Project Readiness- The project is ready to move forward, has the necessary designs and bids

     by contractors, has been approved by local officials, and has the necessary funding in place.

3) Result of Energy Activity- The application defines how the project is directly related to oil and

     gas development activities.

4) Fiscal- The application defines how the project will be funded, listing all revenue sources. 

     If the grant is approved at less than the amount requested, the political subdivision can

     identify how the project would move forward and that the political subdivision would seek

     additional sources of funding.

5) Improves public health, welfare, safety- The application addresses each of these three factors

     and provides how each factor benefits the local citizens.

 

If no applications are received before 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on April 30, 2018, this grant announcement will automatically renew for the period of May 1, 2018 through July 31, 2018.