programs may consolidate its assistance requests into a single application and receive a single consolidated award in an effort to reduce administrative and application costs.

The consolidated grants program does not represent funding in addition to grants provided under individual authorities, but merely represents the amount of consolidation taking place within the Agency's total grant appropriations.

Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2008: To provide technical and managerial support in relation to our consolidated environmental program grants for the protection of public health and welfare in the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (hereinafter referred to as "Insular Areas.") Funding priorities for the fiscal year include: (1) Clean and Safe Water: (a) Safe Drinking Water - To provide on-site technical assistance, training, funding towards building capacity at water utilities and environmental protection agencies, and addressing funding shortages for drinking water infrastructure improvements.

We will work with DOI's Office of Insular Affairs and other federal agencies to explore ways of addressing the growing gap between available federal funding and the capital