Subpart B of this part provides guidance on the administration of Preparedness Cooperative Agreements.

(a) Application. To obtain DHS funding for an award or amendment of a Preparedness Cooperative Agreement, the Sponsoring Agency must submit an application. Standard form SF-424 “Application for Federal Assistance” generally will be used. However, the application must be in a form that the Assistance Officer specifies.

(b) Award. DHS will award a Preparedness Cooperative Agreement to each Sponsoring Agency to provide Federal funding to develop and maintain System resource capabilities and operational readiness. For the purposes of the Preparedness Cooperative Agreement, the Sponsoring Agency will be considered the “recipient.”

(c) Amendment—(1) Procedure. Absent special circumstances, DHS will fund and amend Preparedness Cooperative Agreements on an annual basis. Before amendment, the Assistance Officer will issue a call for Cooperative Agreement amendment applications. The Assistance Officer will specify required application forms and supporting documentation to be submitted with the application.

(2) Period of performance. Absent special circumstances, the period of performance for Preparedness Cooperative Agreements will be 1 year from the date of award. The Assistance Officer may allow for an alternate period of performance with the approval of the Assistant Administrator.

(3) Assistance Officer. The Assistance Officer is the only individual authorized to award or modify a Preparedness Cooperative Agreement.

(d) Award amounts. The Assistant Administrator will determine award amounts on an annual basis. A Task Force is eligible for an annual award only if the Program Manager receives and approves the Task Force's current-year Daily Cost Estimate.

(e) DHS priorities. The Assistant Administrator will establish overall priorities for the use of Preparedness Cooperative Agreement funds taking into consideration the results of readiness evaluations and actual Activations, overall priorities of DHS, and other factors, as appropriate.

(f) Cost sharing. The Assistant Administrator may subject Preparedness Cooperative Agreement awards to cost sharing provisions. In the call for Preparedness Cooperative Agreement amendment applications, the Assistance Officer must inform Sponsoring Agencies about any cost sharing obligations.

(g) Sponsoring Agency priorities. The Sponsoring Agency should indicate its spending priorities in the application. The Program Manager will review these priorities and will make recommendations to the Assistance Officer for negotiating the final agreement.

(h) Responsibility to maintain integrity of the equipment cache. The Sponsoring Agency is responsible to maintain the integrity of the equipment cache, including but not limited to, maintenance of the cache, replacement of equipment or supplies expended in training, activations, or local use of the cache, and timely availability of the cache for Task Force Activations.

System Members may spend Federal funds that DHS provides under any Preparedness Cooperative Agreement and any required matching funds under 2 CFR part 200, subpart E—Cost Principles, and this section to pay reasonable, allowable, necessary and allocable costs that directly support System activities, including the following:

(a) Administration, including:

(1) Management and administration of day-to-day System activities such as personnel compensation and benefits relating to System maintenance and development, record keeping, inventory of equipment, and correspondence;

(2) Travel to and from System activities, meetings, conferences, training, drills and exercises;

(3) Tests and examinations, including vaccinations, immunizations and other tests that are not normally required or provided in the course of a System Member's employment, and that DHS requires to meet its standards.

(b) Training:

(1) Development and delivery of, and participation in, System-related training courses, exercises, and drills;

(2) Construction, maintenance, lease or purchase of System-related training facilities or materials;

(3) Personnel compensation expenses, including overtime and other related expenses associated with System-related training, exercises, or drills;

(4) System-required evaluations and certifications other than the certifications that DHS requires System Members to possess at the time of entry into the System. For instance, DHS will not pay for a medical school degree, paramedic certification or recertification, civil engineering license, etc.

(c) Equipment:

(1) Procurement of equipment and supplies specifically identified on the then-current DHS-approved Equipment Cache List;

(2) Maintenance and repair of equipment included on the current Equipment Cache List;

(3) Maintenance and repair of equipment acquired with DHS approval through the Federal Excess Property program, except as provided in § 208.25 of this part;

(4) Purchase, construction, maintenance or lease of storage facilities and associated equipment for System equipment and supplies.

(d) Disaster search canine expenses limited to:

(1) Procurement for use as a System resource;

(2) Training and certification expenses;

(3) Veterinary care.

(e) Management and administrative costs, actually incurred but not otherwise specified in this section that directly support the Sponsoring Agency's US&R capability, provided that such costs do not exceed 7.5 percent of the award/amendment amount.

(a) Requests for purchase or maintenance of equipment and supplies not appearing on the Equipment Cache List, or that exceed the number specified in the Equipment Cache List, must be made in writing to the Program Manager. No Federal funds provided under any Preparedness Cooperative Agreement may be expended to purchase or maintain any equipment or supply item unless:

(1) The equipment and supplies directly support the Sponsoring Agency's US&R capability;

(2) The Program Manager approves the expenditure and gives written notice of his or her approval to the Sponsoring Agency before the Sponsoring Agency purchases the equipment or supply item.

(b) Maintenance of items approved for purchase under this section is eligible for reimbursement, except as provided in § 208.26 of this subpart.

(a) The Assistant Administrator will periodically identify obsolete items on the Equipment Cache List and provide such information to Sponsoring Agencies.

(b) Neither funds that DHS provides nor matching funds required under a Preparedness Cooperative Agreement may be used to maintain or repair items that DHS has identified as obsolete.

The Sponsoring Agency is accountable for the use of funds as provided under the Preparedness Cooperative Agreement, including financial reporting and retention and access requirements according to 2 CFR 200.327 and 200.333-200.337.

Title to equipment purchased by a Sponsoring Agency with funds provided under a DHS Preparedness Cooperative Agreement vests in the Sponsoring Agency, provided that DHS reserves the right to transfer title to the Federal Government or a third party that DHS may name, under 2 CFR 200.313(e)(3), for example, when a Sponsoring Agency indicates or demonstrates that it cannot fulfill its obligations under the Memorandum of Agreement.