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IM OA 2017-01, Instructional Memorandum (IM) Series for the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act) Guidelines

By Survey Manual

Issuance Date: April 5, 2017

Expiration Date: Retain Until Suspended

 

1.  Purpose.  This Instructional Memorandum (IM) establishes a new series of Instructional Memoranda specific to the RESTORE Act and the projects which will be funded by these funds, and provides a high-level overview of the RESTORE Act and associated requirements.

2.  Background.  Public Law 112-141, Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act), signed into law by the President on July 6, 2012, and established the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund.  Eighty percent of the civil penalties paid after July 6, 2012, under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be deposited into the Trust Fund and invested.  Under the Act, amounts in the Trust Fund will be available for programs, projects, and activities that restore and protect the environment and economy of the Gulf Coast region.  Reference:  https://www.treasury.gov/services/restore-act/Pages/home.aspx.

Under the Restore Act, five components were created:

  • Treasury will administer the Direct Component and the Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program. Both of these components will be divided among the five Gulf Coast States and may represent opportunities for the USGS through State Agency agreements.
  • The NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program will be administered by NOAA and may represent funding opportunity through federal agency agreements with NOAA.
  • The Council-Selected Restoration Component and the Spill Impact Component will be administered by the RESTORE Council and both components may offer an opportunity for USGS Science.
  • The Council-Selected Restoration Component, or “Bucket 2” funds, supports projects which will be selected from funded priorities lists.  The first priorities list was funded in December of 2015. Projects funded through this component will be in the form of reimbursable agreements directly from the RESTORE Council.
  • The Spill Impact Component will fund Gulf Coast State projects and may also represent funding opportunities through State agencies.

3.  Roles and Responsibilities.
A.  Project Chief. 
(1) Enters project descriptions, milestones, budgets, ABC codes, and GMIS data into BASIS+. 
(2) Ensures that projects are not in deficit.
(3) Collects and validates performance and ABC data.
(4) Ensures that performance targets are met and performance and costs are tracked separately for RESTORE Act-related reimbursable funds.

B.  Cost Center.
(1)  Prepares Checklist for Reimbursable Agreements.
(2) Creates a Work Breakdown Structure(s) (WBS) element in BASIS+ using the correct fund code for either reimbursable or appropriated fund sources.
(3) Enters reimbursable agreements in the Financial and Business Management System (FBMS) as a Sales Order following Financial Operating Procedures (FOP) Handbook Chapter 11.2, Creating a Sales Order in FBMS.
(4)  Receives goods and services.
(5) Certifies and pays invoices.
(6) Prepares requisitions.
(7) Ensures that all cost documentation is maintained in preparation for anticipated RESTORE Act funding audits.

C.  Office of Accounting and Financial Management.
(1) Approves WBS elements in BASIS+ and ensures that the appropriate fund code and valid ABC code have been selected.
(2) Reviews and approves RESTORE Act-related agreements/Sales Orders in FBMS and ensures existing policies and procedures are followed.
(3) Develops and distributes activity reports.
(4) Assists cost centers in resolving deficit WBS element balances.
(5) Responds to inquiries regarding RESTORE Act-related reimbursable activity.
(6) Ensures that there are sufficient internal controls over the financial management and reporting of RESTORE Act funds.

D.  Office of Budget, Planning, and Integration.
(1) Collects, reviews, and reports RESTORE Act performance data to the Department of Interior (DOI) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if necessary.
(2) Reviews activity reports prior to upload into the MAX Federal Community Web site.

E.  Regional Management (Directors and Management Officers).
(1) Has oversight and direct managerial responsibilities for cost centers within their organization.
(2) Responds to inquiries regarding RESTORE Act-related activity.
(3) Responds to all customer inquiries and meets the RESTORE Act reporting requirements set forth by the customer or Department.

4.  Incoming Reimbursable Agreements. 
Agreements will be entered into and administered at the center level unless other guidance is issued with more detailed instructions.  It will be important for USGS to track each funded proposal in separate projects within BASIS+.

In addition to the project level reporting, USGS will have to centrally report on all RESTORE Act activities.  To facilitate this requirement, a new fund code has been established to separate these funds from our normal reimbursable activities; (XXXG0804GR – Gulf Restoration Act Reimbursable.)

All RESTORE Act funds are no-year and USGS will utilize the no-year fund code on all related agreements, no matter what authority is used to enter into the agreement.

All reimbursable WBS Elements related to the Restore Act will be tied to this fund code and cannot be commingled with any other reimbursable or appropriated fund sources in complex projects including fund split complex projects.

Cost centers will enter agreements into FBMS using the existing policies and procedures.   Refer to the Financial Operating Procedures (FOP) Handbook, Chapter 4, Accepting Funds from Outside U.S. Geological Survey; Chapter 9, Financial Basics; Chapter 10, Setting up Accounts in BASIS+ and Entering Fund Sources; and Chapter 11, Sales and Distribution, Section 2 - Creating a Sales Order in FBMS.  Cost centers will continue to use mission-specific ABC and Functional Area codes.  All performance will be tracked by the cost center.

5.  Reporting Requirements for Incoming Funds.  OMB has not set specific reporting requirements at this time, but it is anticipated that at a minimum we will have to report on Restore Act-related work.

The best practice would be to establish independent projects for each funded reimbursable agreement.  That way specific activities related to the Restore Act funds can be identified.  The fields in BASIS+ where this information can be placed are:

A.  For general project information including a description of the work being performed, use the BASIS+ Project Task Summary Narrative screen.

B.  For evaluation of the completion status of the project, use the BASIS+ Project Task Products screen.

The Geospatial location/footprint tool within BASIS+ must be entered to track spending. Refer to Kevin T. Gallagher’s email dated February 26, 2009, Subject: Release of BASIS+ Footprinter, posted on the intranet at: http://internal.usgs.gov/gio/ito/memos/20090226gallagher_baker_memo.html.

 

/s/         Jose R. Aragon                                                    April 5, 2017        
_____________________________________________         _______________
Jose R. Aragon                                                                 Date 
Associate Director for Administration