Request for Legal Opinion Regarding Payment of Claim

A decision was requested concerning the authority of the Department of the Interior to pay a state claim representing pre-agreement costs incurred in anticipation of the award of a grant to operate a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Program. The state never received a YCC grant in fiscal year 1981 because of its decision to withdraw its grant application. Under the Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to make grants to states to assist them in meeting the cost of projects for the employment of young men and women to develop, preserve, and maintain nonfederal public lands and waters within the states. Interior does not have the authority to pay a claim for costs incurred by a state in anticipation of a YCC grant that was never made because the state withdrew its grant application. Since no grant was ever made and none of the statutory objectives for which the funds are appropriated for the YCC program were achieved, Interior should not reimburse the state for the expenses involved.