(a) For a State or Tribal Organization to obtain a grant for the operation or maintenance of a State or Tribal veterans cemetery:

(1) Its preapplication for the grant must be approved by VA under §39.81(e);

(2) Its project must be ranked sufficiently high within Priority Group 4 as defined in §39.3 for the applicable fiscal year so that funds are available for the project, and a grant for the project must not result in payment of more than the $5 million total amount permissible for all Operation and Maintenance Projects in any fiscal year;

(3) Its plans and specifications for the project must be approved by VA under §39.82;

(4) The State or Tribal Organization must meet the application requirements in §39.84; and

(5) Other requirements specified in §§39.6, 39.10, and 39.83 must be satisfied.

(b) VA may approve under §39.85 any Operation and Maintenance Project grant application up to the amount of the grant requested once the requirements under paragraph (a) of this section have been satisfied, provided that sufficient funds are available and that total amount of grants awarded during any fiscal year for Operation and Maintenance Projects does not exceed $5 million. In determining whether sufficient funds are available, VA shall consider the project's ranking in Priority Group 4; the total amount of funds available for cemetery grant awards in Priority Group 4 during the applicable fiscal year; and the prospects of higher ranking projects being ready for the award of a grant before the end of the applicable fiscal year.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2408)

[75 FR 34005, June 16, 2010, as amended at 77 FR 4477, Jan. 30, 2012]