CFR > Title 25 - Indians > CHAPTER I—BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR > SUBCHAPTER H—LAND AND WATER (parts 150 to 183) > PART 170—INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS PROGRAM > SUBPART A—Policies, Applicability, and Definitions (§170.1 to §170.6) > 170.2—What is the IRR Program and BIA Road Maintenance Program policy?

170.2—What is the IRR Program and BIA Road Maintenance Program policy?

(a) It is the policy of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Transportation (Secretaries) to do the following in relation to the IRR and BIA Road Maintenance Programs:
(1) Provide a uniform and consistent set of rules;
(2) Foster knowledge of the programs by providing information about them and the opportunities that they create;
(3) Facilitate tribal planning, conduct, and administration of the programs;
(4) Encourage the inclusion of these programs under self-determination contracts or self-governance agreements;
(5) Make available all contractible administrative functions under self-determination contracts or self-governance agreements; and
(6) Implement policies, procedures, and practices in consultation with Indian tribes to ensure the letter, spirit, and goals of Federal transportation programs are fully implemented.
(b) Where this part differs from provisions in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDEAA), this part should advance the policy of increasing tribal autonomy and discretion in program operation.
(c) This part is designed to enable Indian tribes to participate in all contractible IRR and BIA Road Maintenance programs. The Secretary of the Interior will afford Indian tribes the flexibility, information, and discretion to design roads programs under self-determination contracts and self-governance agreements to meet the needs of their communities consistent with this part.
(d) The Secretaries recognize that programs, functions, services, and activities, regardless of how they are administered, are an exercise of Indian tribes' self-determination and self-governance.
(1) The tribe is responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of its contracted Federal programs, functions, services, and activities.
(2) The tribe accepts responsibility and accountability to the beneficiaries under self-determination contracts and self-governance agreements for:
(i) Use of the funds; and
(ii) Satisfactory performance of all activities funded under the contract or agreement.
(3) The Secretary will continue to discharge the trust responsibilities to protect and conserve the trust resources of tribes and the trust resources of individual Indians.
(e) The Secretary should interpret Federal laws and regulations to facilitate including programs covered by this part in the government-to-government agreements authorized under ISDEAA.
(f) The administrative functions referenced in paragraph (a)(5) of this section are contractible without regard to the organizational level within the Department of the Interior that carries out these functions. Including IRR Program administrative functions under self-determination contracts and self-governance agreements does not limit or reduce the funding for any program or service serving any other tribe.
(g) The Secretary is not required to reduce funding for a tribe under these programs to make funds available to another tribe.
(h) This part must be liberally construed for the benefit of tribes and to implement the Federal policy of self-determination and self-governance.
(i) Any ambiguities in this part must be construed in favor of the tribes so as to facilitate and enable the transfer of programs authorized by 23 U.S.C. 202 and title 25 U.S.C.