Code of Federal Regulations Title 7. Agriculture § 7.3430.62 Award appeals procedures

(a) General. NIFA permits awardees to appeal certain post-award adverse administrative decisions made by NIFA. These include:  termination, in whole or in part, of an award for failure of the awardee to carry out its approved project in accordance with the applicable law and the terms and conditions of award or for failure of the awardee otherwise to comply with any law, regulation, assurance, term, or condition applicable to the award;  denial (withholding) of a non-competing continuation award for failure to comply with the terms of a previous award;  and determination that an award is void (i.e., a decision that an award is invalid because it was not authorized by statute or regulation or because it was fraudulently obtained). Appeals of determinations regarding the allowability of costs are subject to the procedures in § 3430.59.

(b) Appeal Procedures. The formal notification of an adverse determination will contain a statement of the awardee's appeal rights. As the first level in appealing an adverse determination, the awardee must submit a request for review to the NIFA official specified in the notification, detailing the nature of the disagreement with the adverse determination and providing supporting documents in accordance with the procedures contained in the notification. The awardee's request to NIFA for review must be received within 60 days after receipt of the written notification of the adverse determination;  however, an extension may be granted if the awardee can show good cause why an extension is warranted.

(c) Decision. If the NIFA decision on the appeal is adverse to the awardee or if an awardee's request for review is rejected, the awardee then has the option of submitting a request to the NIFA Office of Grants and Financial Management (OGFM) Deputy Director for further review. The decision of the NIFA Office of Grants and Financial Management (OGFM) Deputy Director is considered final.