1. Congratulations, you have an ETEP! What now?
Presented by:
Christine Medley (Fort Mojave), David Lewis (Yavapai Apache)
Destinee Cooper (EPA), Gilbert Pasqua (EPA), Veronica Swann (EPA) 
Annual Conference, October 2019
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

2. ETEPs (EPA Tribal Environmental Plans)
History
National Tribal Caucus and EPA first adopted a cooperative program planning strategy in 1994, identifying the need for tribal plans to manage authorized environmental programs
2008 Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Audit Report, called into question GAP’s efficacy in helping tribes operate their own environmental programs. Identified need for tribes to have long-term goals for program capacity building in place.
Purpose
To identify long-term tribal environmental priorities and goals that align with EPA authorities
To use each year when developing GAP work plans and budgets
Intended to be living, usable documents for both tribes and EPA as environmental partners to use in planning and guiding our work.

3. ETEPs (EPA Tribal Environmental Plans)
Required for GAP funding
Contents (4 required components)
Tribal Environmental Plan (TEP) containing:
Short description of the priority
The tribe’s long-term environmental program development goals that help to address or support the priority
Intermediate program development milestones the tribal government would like to meet during the time period of the ETEP. Including completion ranges (i.e. 1-3 years from ETEP finalization) allow progress to be measured
The tribe's plans to manage authorized environmental programs
Any type of assistance (training, technical assistance, EPA direct implementation actions, financial, etc.) that may be needed.
Areas of Involvement List (AIL)
Regulated Facilities Inventory List (RFIL)
Signed Cover Memo (CM)
Every 4-5 years: corresponding to 4-5 year award or changes in leadership or environmental priorities for example
Maximum flexibility is provided as to how the ETEPs are developed.

4. ETEP Review & Workplan Development Call  The call formerly known as the "coaching call"
New Application Process this year - No proposal phase for GAP grants
PPGs with GAP will have a proposal phase
ETEPs will serve as guiding document for workplan development and negotiation 
ETEP review will provide time to identify areas that may need to be updated or modified
During ETEP review call, please have on hand: 
ETEP
Previous and current workplans
GAP Guidance
Be prepared to:
Discuss proposed activities in detail
Estimate how many hours spent on each activity; use FTE/Cost estimator tool (conference session: GAP Workshop: Calculating FTE & Component Costs for Your GAP Workplan on Thursday, 11/1 from 10:15-11:15am)
Explain how proposed activities align with ETEP and GAP Guidance 

5. Review, Updates, and Rewrites of ETEPs
Yearly review of ETEP during ETEP review and workplan development call
Updates to TEP may be made as a result of the call
Full rewrite will occur every 4-5 years
Tribal concurrence needed on TEP and/or Cover Memo
RFIL, AIL and Cover Memo will be redone during the full rewrite and the Tribe will have the opportunity to review
Cover memo content:
Mutual Areas= Cover memo
Tribal Priorities
EPA Priorities

6. Review, Updates, and Rewrites of ETEPs (cont’d)
Full rewrite will occur every 4-5 years
Re-write TEP 
Delete information related to priorities already completed
Keep and/or expand on priorities in progress
Establish new priorities 
Cost associated with Reviews, Updates, and Rewrites should be discussed with Project Officers to determine reasonableness.

7. How GAP Project Officers use ETEPs
When reviewing proposed, amended, or modified GAP workplans and budgets, Project Officers refer to ETEPs to answer the following questions:
Are the commitments, at least, referenced in the ETEP or out-right included in the ETEP?
Are the GAP indicators in the workplan included in the ETEP?
If no to either question, is the work (or indicator) a one-time activity or a longer capacity building activity?
Per the November 2016 FAQ question 9, a one-time (not to occur in following fiscal years) activity, may be approved if GAP eligible but not in the tribe’s ETEP.
If a longer capacity building activity, will need to amend ETEP to become eligible.
ETEPs are broader than GAP. How does EPA Region 9 Project Officers use/review ETEPs? 
HQ goal is to achieve coordination among EPA’s regional and headquarters media offices, and between EPA and tribal governments. One way this is already being achieved is by the inclusion of referencing ETEPs in NPM guidances around EPA.

8. Examples for How Tribes use ETEPs
When thinking about new commitments for a GAP workplan, consider:
Next steps needed towards achieving goals listed in ETEP?
Next steps needed towards achieving indicators listed in ETEP?
ETEPs can be used to develop workplans for any environmental program supported by EPA, other agencies, or the tribe. 
Reference examples (Tolowa)