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Title 40

Displaying title 40, up to date as of 8/07/2026. Title 40 was last amended 8/07/2026.
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Performance Partnership Grants

§ 35.530 Purpose of Performance Partnership Grants.

(a) Purpose of section. Sections 35.530 through 35.538 govern Performance Partnership Grants to Tribes and Intertribal Consortia authorized in the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134; 110 Stat. 1321, 1321-299 (1996)) and Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Pub. L. 105-65; 111 Stat. 1344, 1373 (1997)).

(b) Purpose of program. Performance Partnership Grants enable Tribes and Intertribal Consortia to combine funds from more than one environmental program grant into a single grant with a single budget. Recipients do not need to account for Performance Partnership Grant funds in accordance with the funds' original environmental program sources; they need only account for total Performance Partnership Grant expenditures. Subject to the requirements of this subpart, the Performance Partnership Grant program is designed to:

(1) Strengthen partnerships between EPA and Tribes and Intertribal Consortia through joint planning and priority setting and better deployment of resources;

(2) Provide Tribes and Intertribal Consortia with flexibility to direct resources where they are most needed to address environmental and public health priorities;

(3) Link program activities more effectively with environmental and public health goals and program outcomes;

(4) Foster development and implementation of innovative approaches, such as pollution prevention, ecosystem management, and community-based environmental protection strategies; and

(5) Provide savings by streamlining administrative requirements.

§ 35.532 Requirements summary.

(a) Applicants and recipients of Performance Partnership Grants must meet:

(1) The requirements in §§ 35.500 to 35.518 of this subpart which apply to all environmental program grants, including Performance Partnership Grants; and

(2) The requirements in §§ 35.530 to 35.538 of this subpart which apply only to Performance Partnership Grants.

(b) In order to include funds from an environmental program grant listed in § 35.501(a) of this subpart in a Performance Partnership Grant, applicants must:

(1) Meet the requirements for award of each environmental program from which funds are included in the Performance Partnership Grant, except the requirements at §§ 35.548(c), 35.638(b) and (c), 35.691, and 35.708(c), (d), (e), and (g). These requirements can be found in this regulation beginning at § 35.540. If the applicant is an Intertribal Consortium, each Tribe that is a member of the Consortium must meet the requirements.

(2) Apply for the environmental program grant.

(3) Obtain the Regional Administrator's approval of the application for that grant.

(c) If funds from an environmental program are not included in a Performance Partnership Grant, an applicant is not required to meet the eligibility requirements for that environmental program grant in order to carry out activities eligible under that program as provided in § 35.535.

[66 FR 3795, Jan. 16, 2001, as amended at 87 FR 30398, May 19, 2022]

§ 35.533 Programs eligible for inclusion.

(a) Eligible programs. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, the environmental programs eligible for inclusion in a Performance Partnership Grant are listed in § 35.501(a)(2) through (10) of this subpart. Funds awarded to tribes under Tribal Response Program Grants (§ 35.501(a)(10)) to capitalize a revolving loan fund for Brownfield remediation or purchase insurance or develop a risk sharing pool, an indemnity pool, or insurance mechanism to provide financing for response actions may not be included in Performance Partnership Grants. A current list of environmental programs eligible for inclusion in Performance Partnership Grants is available at www.epa.gov/nepps.

(b) Changes in eligible programs. The Administrator may, in guidance or regulation, describe subsequent additions, deletions, or changes to the list of environmental programs eligible for inclusion in Performance Partnership Grants.

[66 FR 3795, Jan. 16, 2001, as amended at 74 FR 28444, June 16, 2009; 87 FR 30399, May 19, 2022]

§ 35.534 Eligible recipients.

(a) A Tribe or Intertribal Consortium is eligible for a Performance Partnership Grant if the Tribe or each member of the Intertribal Consortium is eligible for, and the Tribe or Intertribal Consortium receives funding from, more than one of the environmental program grants listed in § 35.501(a) in accordance with the requirements for those environmental programs.

(b) For grants to Tribes, a Tribal agency must be designated by a Tribal government or other authorized Tribal process to receive grants under each of the environmental programs to be combined in the Performance Partnership Grant.

§ 35.535 Activities eligible for funding.

(a) Delegated, approved, or authorized activities. A Tribe or Intertribal Consortium may use Performance Partnership Grant funds to carry out EPA-delegated, EPA-approved, or EPA-authorized activities, such as permitting and primary enforcement responsibility only if the Tribe or each member of the Intertribal Consortium receives from the Regional Administrator the delegations, approvals, or authorizations to conduct such activities.

(b) Other program activities. Except for the limitation in paragraph (a) of this section, a Tribe or Intertribal Consortium may use Performance Partnership Grant funds for any activity that is eligible under the environmental programs listed in § 35.501(a) of this subpart, as determined by the Regional Administrator. If an applicant proposes a Performance Partnership Grant work plan that differs significantly from any of the proposed work plans approved for funding that the applicant now proposes to move into a Performance Partnership Grant, the Regional Administrator must consult with the appropriate National Program Managers before agreeing to the Performance Partnership Grant work plan. National Program Managers may expressly waive or modify this requirement for consultation in national program guidance. National Program Managers also may define in national program guidance “significant” differences from a work plan submitted with a Tribe's or a Consortium's application for funds.

§ 35.536 Cost share requirements.

(a) The Performance Partnership Grant cost share shall be the sum of the amounts required for each environmental program grant included in the Performance Partnership Grant, as determined in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, unless waived under paragraph (d) of this section.

(b) For each environmental program grant included in the Performance Partnership Grant that has a cost share of five percent or less under the provisions of §§ 35.540 through 35.718, the required cost share shall be that identified in §§ 35.540 through 35.718 of this subpart.

(c) For each environmental program grant included in the Performance Partnership Grant that has a cost share of greater than five percent under the provisions of §§ 35.540 through 35.718 of this subpart, the required cost share shall be five percent of the allowable cost of the work plan budget for that program. However, after the first two years in which a Tribe or Intertribal Consortium receives a Performance Partnership Grant, the Regional Administrator must determine through objective assessment whether the Tribe or the members of an Intertribal Consortium meet socio-economic indicators that demonstrate the ability of the Tribe or the Intertribal Consortium to provide a cost share greater than five percent. If the Regional Administrator determines that the Tribe or the members of Intertribal Consortium meets such indicators, then the Regional Administrator shall increase the required cost share up to a maximum of 10 percent of the allowable cost of the work plan budget for each program with a cost share greater than five percent.

(d) The Regional Administrator may waive the cost share required under this section upon request of the Tribe or Intertribal Consortium, if, based on an objective assessment of socio-economic indicators, the Regional Administrator determines that meeting the cost share would impose undue hardship.

§ 35.537 Application requirements.

An application for a Performance Partnership Grant must contain:

(a) A list of the environmental programs and the amount of funds from each program to be combined in the Performance Partnership Grant;

(b) A consolidated budget;

(c) A consolidated work plan that addresses each program being combined in the grant and which meets the requirements of § 35.507.

§ 35.538 Project period.

If the projected completion date for a work plan commitment funded under an environmental program grant that is added to a Performance Partnership Grant extends beyond the end of the project period for the Performance Partnership Grant, the Regional Administrator and the recipient will agree in writing as to how and when the work plan commitment will be completed.