North American Wetlands Conservation Act and Neotropical Migratory Brid Conservation Act January 2006

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U.S. GRANT ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS - JANUARY 2006 North American Wetlands Conservation Act and Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act D -21 Must the Recipient deposit Federal cash advances in interest - bearing accounts separate from other funds? The Recipient must deposit Federal cash advances in interest bearing accounts unless (a), (b), or (c) apply: (a) The Recipient receives less than $120,000 in Federal assistance awards per year. (b) The best reasonably available interest bearing account would not be expected to earn interest in excess of $250 per year. (c) The depository would require an average or minimum balance so high that it would not be feasible with the expected Federal and non - Federal cash resources. These requirements may not apply to States, State universities and hospitals, federally recognized Tribes, and local governments. When depositing Federal cash advances in an interest - bearing account, separate depository accounts are not required, but Recipients must be able to account for the receipt, obligation, expenditure of and interest on the funds. D -22 May the Recipient keep the interest earned on Federal cash advances? The Recipient's status determines whether or not earned interest may be kept. For this purpose, a Recipient's belongs in one of three categories: State, Tribal or local government, and all others. (a) States are not required to deposit Federal cash advances in an interest - bearing account. States that are not subject to a Treasury -State agreement have no interest liability to the Federal government whether or not they earn interest on Federal cash advances. However, if a Treasury -State agreement is in place, States incur an interest liability from the day Federal funds are credited to the account to the day funds are disbursed for the Project or credited to a Federal Government account as a refund, whether or not they deposit their Federal grant funds in interest - bearing accounts. (b) Federally- recognized Tribal Recipients and local government Recipients are not required to deposit Federal cash advances in an interest - bearing account. They may retain interest amounts up to $100 per year for administrative expenses, if they do deposit funds in an interest bearing account. Interest on Federal cash advances above $100 must be remitted promptly, but at least quarterly, to the FWS. (c) All others may retain up to $250 of interest earned annually on Federal cash advances. The amount retained may be used for administrative expenses. D -23 How long does a Recipient have to disburse or refund money obtained as a Federal cash advance? When Federal cash advances are made by electronic transfer of funds methods, the Recipient must draw down grant funds as close as possible to the time of making disbursements. The only exceptions are when the funds involved will be disbursed by the 11