The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado is offering this grant to reclaim abandoned mine lands in the San Luis Valley Field Office area.

BLM Colorado did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria and exception:
(3) Legislative intent. Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), Congress has determined that a federally-approved State AML program will have the exclusive responsibility and authority to implement the provisions of the approved program¿ within the state (30 U.S.C. §1235(d)). Congress directed the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) to provide grants under SMCRA to such approved states, which then spend money to implement AML projects within their jurisdiction. Through SMCRA Congress recognizes state governments, following approval of their programs by the Secretary, as the primary governmental players in the reclamation of abandoned mine lands. The State of Colorado, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety is the only source that is uniquely qualified and legislatively authorized to perform the work proposed herein. The project area will be lands under the jurisdiction of the San Luis Valley Field Office which contains multiple watersheds.