This subpart describes the policies and procedures applicable to the Direct Component of the Gulf RESTORE Program. The funds made available under this subpart will be in the form of a grant.

Treasury is responsible for awarding and administering grants and grant agreements under this subpart. Treasury will develop and apply policies and procedures consistent with the Act and Federal laws and policies on grants. Treasury also will establish and implement a program to monitor compliance with its grant agreements.

The amounts made available in any fiscal year from the Trust Fund and allocated to this component will be available in equal shares for the Gulf Coast States for expenditure on eligible activities. The following entities are eligible to receive Direct Component grants.

(a) The amounts available to Alabama will be provided directly to the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council, or such administrative agent as it may designate. All administrative duties of the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council must be performed by public officials and employees that are subject to the ethics laws of the State of Alabama.

(b) Of the amounts available to Florida, 75 percent of funding will be provided directly to the eight disproportionately affected counties. Each disproportionately affected county's share is as follows: Bay County, 15.101453044%; Escambia County, 25.334760043%; Franklin County, 8.441253238%; Gulf County, 6.743202296%; Okaloosa County, 15.226456794%; Santa Rosa County, 10.497314919%; Wakulla County, 4.943148294%; and Walton County, 13.712411372%.

(c) Of the amounts available to Florida, 25 percent of funding will be provided directly to the nondisproportionately impacted counties. Each nondisproportionately impacted county's share is as follows: Charlotte County, 5.162%; Citrus County, 4.692%; Collier County, 7.019%; Dixie County, 3.484%; Hernando County, 4.982%; Hillsborough County, 13.339%; Jefferson County, 3.834%; Lee County, 8.776%; Levy County, 3.894%; Manatee County, 6.809%; Monroe County, 8.297%; Pasco County, 7.079%; Pinellas County, 11.002%; Sarasota County, 7.248%; and Taylor County, 4.383%.

(d) Of the amounts available to Louisiana, 70 percent will be provided directly to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board of Louisiana, through the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana.

(e) Of the amounts available to Louisiana, 30 percent will be provided directly to the coastal zone parishes. Each coastal zone parish's share is as follows: Ascension, 2.42612%; Assumption, 0.93028%; Calcasieu, 5.07063%; Cameron, 2.10096%; Iberia, 2.55018%; Jefferson, 11.95309%; Lafourche, 7.86746%; Livingston, 3.32725%; Orleans, 7.12875%; Plaquemines, 17.99998%; St. Bernard, 9.66743%; St. Charles, 1.35717%; St. James, 0.75600%; St. John the Baptist, 1.11915%; St. Martin, 2.06890%; St. Mary, 1.80223%; St. Tammany, 5.53058%; Tangipahoa, 3.40337%; Terrebonne, 9.91281%; and Vermilion, 3.02766%.

(f) No parish will receive funds until the parish chief executive has certified to the Governor of Louisiana, in a form satisfactory to the Governor or the Governor's designee, that the parish has completed a comprehensive land use plan that is consistent with, or complementary to, the most recent version of the state's Coastal Master Plan approved by the Louisiana legislature.

(g) The amounts available to Mississippi will be provided directly to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

(h) The amounts available to Texas will be provided directly to the Office of the Governor or to an appointee of the Office of the Governor.

The entities identified in § 34.302 are eligible to apply for their allocation as a grant. Treasury has developed an application process for grants available under this subpart that is consistent with the Act and Federal laws and policies on grants. The application process includes the following requirements:

(a) Before an eligible entity may receive a Direct Component activity grant, the grant applicant must submit a Multiyear Implementation Plan describing each activity for which it seeks funding under the Direct Component. Applications to fund preparation and amendment of the Multiyear Implementation Plan are exempt from this requirement.

(b) For each activity, the Multiyear Implementation Plan must include a narrative description demonstrating:

(1) The need for, purpose, and objectives of the activity;

(2) How the activity is eligible for funding and meets all requirements;

(3) Location of the activity;

(4) Budget for the activity;

(5) Milestones for the activity;

(6) Projected completion dates for the activity;

(7) Criteria the applicant will use to evaluate the success of each activity in helping to restore and protect the Gulf Coast Region impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill;

(8) The plan was made available for public review and comment for a minimum of 45 days in a manner calculated to obtain broad-based participation from individuals, businesses, Indian tribes, and non-profit organizations; and

(9) Each activity in the plan was approved after consideration of meaningful input from the public. Treasury may require a standard format and additional information in the plans. Plans can be phased and incremental and may be modified later by the applicant. If the applicant has requested or anticipates requesting funding for any part of the activity from other sources, including other components in the Act, the applicant must identify the source, state the amount of funding, and provide the current status of the request. For the State of Louisiana parishes, the applicant must submit information demonstrating compliance with § 34.302(f).

(c) Material modifications to a Multiyear Implementation Plan are subject to all applicable requirements in paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) The applicant must include supporting information in each grant application that:

(1) Proposed activities meet the statutory requirements for eligibility; and

(2) Each activity designed to protect or restore natural resources is based on best available science.

(e) An applicant may satisfy some or all of the requirements in this section and § 34.802(a) through (e) if it can demonstrate in its application to Treasury that before July 6, 2012:

(1) The applicant established conditions to carry out activities that are substantively the same as the requirements in this section and § 34.802(a) through (e).

(2) The applicable activity qualified as one or more of the eligible activities in § 34.201.

Upon determining that the Multiyear Implementation Plan and the grant application meet the requirements of these regulations and the Act, Treasury will execute a grant agreement with the recipient that complies with subpart I of this part, the Act, and other Federal laws and policies on grants.

(a) An activity may be funded in whole or in part if the applicable requirements of subparts C and D of this part are met.

(b) When awarding contracts to carry out an activity under the Direct Component, a Gulf Coast State, coastal political subdivision, or coastal zone parish may give preference to individuals and companies that reside in, are headquartered in, or are principally engaged in business in the state of project execution consistent with Federal laws and policies on grants.

(c) A Gulf Coast State, coastal political subdivision, or coastal zone parish may propose to issue subawards for eligible activities. Recipients that propose to issue subawards must demonstrate their ability to conduct subrecipient monitoring and management, as required by Federal laws and policies on grants.

Recipients must submit reports as prescribed by Treasury.

Recipients must maintain records as prescribed by Treasury, and make the records available to Treasury, including the Treasury Inspector General.

Treasury, including the Treasury Inspector General, may conduct audits and reviews of recipient's accounts and activities relating to the Act as deemed appropriate by Treasury.