Office of Insular Affairs Awards $4.5 Million in Maintenance Assistance Program Funds

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor today announced $4,537,239 in fiscal year 2024 Maintenance Assistance Program grant funding that will go towards supporting programs and projects benefitting American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and the freely associated states: the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau.

“These programs will provide a range of opportunities for maintenance and related renovation projects that will protect against adverse weather, strengthen power utilities, and provide important maintenance-related equipment,” said Assistant Secretary Cantor. “This year we received millions more in funding requests than we could support as this program continues to rise in popularity for the differences it is making in the Insular Areas.”  

Projects and programs funded through the Maintenance Assistance Program in fiscal year 2024 for the Insular Areas are itemized and briefly described as follows:   

American Samoa - $780,212

• $283,326 to Department of Veterans Affairs for perimeter fencing and surveillance cameras to secure the Veterans Memorial Monument;
• $280,000 to the Office of Search and Rescue to support maintenance training and emergency support staff training under the Emergency Transportation and Maintenance MAP Program; and
• $216,886 to the Department of Health, Office of Community Health Centers for Building Resilience: Enclosing the Well Baby Clinic Waiting Area at the Tafuna Community Health Center. Funds will be used to renovate the open-air patient waiting room into a fully enclosed area and provide a safe, comfortable space for patients with protection from adverse weather conditions.

Guam - $861,606

• $338,021 to the Guam Community College to train up a skilled workforce in building maintenance and repair under the Maintenance Training Bootcamps: Raising the Career Technical Education Ladder for Building Maintenance Project;
• $250,000 to the Guam Preservation Trust to replace damaged wooden shutters and mamposteria walls as part of the Historic Jose P. Lujan House - Guam Institute Critical Repair Project;
• $224,462 to WestCare Pacific Islands, Inc. for repairs to the roof, plumbing, electricity and fresh paint at the youth shelter the Jose P. Lujan House as part of the Repair of Sanctuary Facilities Project; and
• $49,123 to the University of Guam’s Global Learning & Engagement Office for the Shutter Project, to renovate building #5 with new doors and storm windows to better protect against adverse weather. The building to be renovated houses the Micronesian Area Research Center and the Office of Information Technology/Computer Center.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands - $824,257

• $345,295 to the Department of Corrections for the Commercial Kitchen Renovation and Rehabilitation Project to bring the food-service program back in-house with updated equipment and kitchen appliances;
• $286,771 to the Department of Public Works for a 10-cubic yard dump truck related to road maintenance and transportation of vegetation debris, coral aggregate washout, and garbage collection, as part of the Dump Truck Acquisition For Roadways and Stormwater Maintenance Project; and
• $192,191 to the Department of Public Works to purchase a backhoe with rock breaker attachment and compactor to assist with military funeral burials and other road projects for the CNMI Veterans Cemetery Equipment Acquisition Project.

U.S. Virgin Islands - $703,000

• $483,000 to the Bureau of Information Technology for procurement, installation, and integration of advanced battery backup systems within the Government’s Territorial Data Centers and Telecom Sites, as part of the Battery Backup System Upgrade for Government Data Centers and Telecom Sites Project; and
• $220,000 to the VI Water and Power Authority (WAPA) to purchase mulchers for vegetation management and clearing as part of the Purchase of Mulchers Project.

Federated States of Micronesia - $644,386

• $280,000 to the Yap State Public Service Corporation’s Pacific Lineman Training Program to train 75 professionally certified power linesmen for the public power utilities from the CNMI, Guam and Palau, as well as the utilities from Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia;
• $276,286 to Pacific Mission Aviation to convert a storage facility into an airplane hangar maintenance bay in Yap for the PMA’s MAP to Hope 2024 – Yap Project; and
• $88,100 to the Madolenihmw Municipal Government in Pohnpei to purchase equipment for solid waste removal to prevent health hazards in Madolenihmw municipality under the Solid Waste Collection Program.

Republic of the Marshall Islands - $723,778

• $312,134 to the Marshall Islands Shipping Corporation to procure essential maintenance tools necessary to maintain intra-atoll transportation services under the MISC Maintenance Equipment Project;
• $297,109 to the Assumption School on Majuro to renovate a dilapidated 3-classroom building as part of the Assumption School Hacker Hall Classroom Renovation Project; and
• $114,535 to the Ministry of Cultural and Internal Affairs for renovation and repair of V7AB’s broadcasting building as part of the Majuro V7AB Transmission Building Renovation Project.

While the Republic of Palau did not submit any applications for MAP funding this year, OIA has recently announced $1,098,699 million in Technical Assistance Program (TAP) funding support to Palau for a Household Listing project, a Street Naming and Addressing project, and for Bureau of Reclamation technical assistance to the Palau Public Utility Corporation for water treatment support. Palau also receives TAP funding support for economic advisory services through the Palau Economic Advisory Group.

MAP funding provided through the Office of Insular Affairs is directed towards maintenance-related needs and training in the Insular Areas. Applications for MAP and TAP grant funding may be submitted for consideration each year in October through grants.gov under CFDA 15.875. More information about these competitive, discretionary grants and other funding may be found at www.doi.gov/oia. 

The Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. OIA also administers a discretionary Technical Assistance Program for all the Insular Areas. Find information about OIA and its work on www.doi.gov/oia, Facebook, X, and YouTube..

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