[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 170 (Friday, August 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45979-45980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22155]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4065-N-03]


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development; Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public 
Comment

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for emergency review and approval, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the 
subject proposal.

DATES: Comments due: September 6, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments must be received within seven (7) days from the 
date of this Notice. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and 
should be sent to: Joseph F. Lackey, Jr., HUD Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kay F. Weaver, Reports Management Officer, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, 
telephone (202) 708-0050. This is not a toll-free number. Copies of 
available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Ms. Weaver.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Notice informs the public that the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has submitted to OMB, 
for emergency processing, a proposed Notice of Funding Availability 
(NOFA) for the Economic Development Initiative (EDI) Grants program. 
HUD seeks OMB approval by September 17, 1996, in order to implement 
this program by September 30, 1996.
    Under the EDI Grants program, HUD will provide approximately $50 
million to encourage eligible units of general local government to 
submit proposals for funding for eligible economic development 
projects, including projects for site specific economic development 
projects, economic development revolving loan funds, housing 
development projects and proposals for community development financial 
institutions. By law, EDI grant may only be made in conjunction with 
Section 108 loan guarantee commitments which are made in accordance 
with 24 CFR 570.702.
    Eligible applicants are CDBG entitlement units of general local 
government, and nonentitlement units of general local government which 
are eligible to receive Section 108 loan guarantees.
    Eligible uses of EDI grants and related Section 108 loan guarantee 
assistance are those authorized under 24 CFR 570.703. The National 
Objectives criteria of 24 CFR 570.208 and the economic development 
project guidelines of 24 CFR 570.209 also apply.
    Section 108(q) of P.L. 93-383 authorizes the EDI grant program and 
provides selection criteria for HUD to use in selecting proposals from 
applications submitted in response to a Notice of Fund Availability in 
the Federal Register. The information collected is essential in order 
to rate and rank proposals, in keeping with the statutory provisions, 
and in order to determine the eligibility of applicants and proposed 
activities. The selection criteria are: (1) Level of distress; (2) 
extent of need for EDI grants to support the Section 108 loan and the 
project; (3) quality of the plan; (4) capacity of the applicant to 
carry out the plan successfully; (5) leveraging of other public and 
private resources; (6) the extent to which the plan follows a 
comprehensive and coordinated approach in addressing the community and 
economic development needs of the applicant and furthers neighborhood 
revitalization; (7) innovation and creativity.
    The Department has submitted the proposal for the collection of 
information, as described below, to OMB for review, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35):
    (1) Title of the information collection proposal :
    ``Notice of Fund Availability (NOFA) and Program Guidelines for the 
Economic Development Initiative (EDI) Grants.''
    (2) Summary of the collection of information:
    Each applicant for EDI grant funds is required to submit current 
information, as listed below:
    1. Form S.F. 424--Application for Federal Assistance;
    2. Certifications--Concerning the use of federal funds for lobbying 
required under 24 CFR Part 87;
    3. Narrative statement providing a description of the proposed 
activities to be carried out with EDI grant and Section 108 Loan 
Guarantee funds; and

[[Page 45980]]

    4. A statement describing how the proposed activities addresses 
each of the seven selection criteria.
    After the Congressional notification of grant awards is made, 
recipients are required to collect information which satisfies the 
record keeping requirements of the Community Development Block Grant 
program and the Section 108 loan guarantee program.
    (3) Description of the need for the information and its proposed 
use:
    The information collected is essential in order to rate and rank 
proposals, in keeping with the statutory provisions and the selection 
criteria published in a NOFA, and in order to determine the eligibility 
of applicants and proposed activities. Based upon the competitive 
ranking of all applicants, applicants are funded in rank order.
    After grant award, information collection is essential to access 
program grant funds through the Line of Credit and Control system 
(LOCCS) and to document program compliance.
    (4) Description of the likely respondents, including the estimated 
number of likely respondents, and proposed frequency of response to the 
collection of information:
    Eligible applicants are CDBG entitlement units of general local 
government, and nonentitlement units of general local government which 
are eligible to receive Section 108 loan guarantees.
    The estimated number of respondents who can meet the requirements 
of this NOFA is 150. The proposed frequency of the collection of 
information for the application is one-time. The application is a 
discretionary act. The proposed frequency of the collection of 
information to access funds through LOCCs and to document program 
compliance after grant approval will be based on the recipient's 
program design and management system, but for estimation purposes is 
expected to be no more than once a week on average.
    (5) Estimate of the total reporting and record keeping burden that 
will result from the collection of information:
    Reporting Burden:
    a. Number of Respondents to Notice of Funding Availability: 150.
    Total Burden Hours--Application: 6,000.
    (@ 40 hours per application response)
    b. Estimated Number of Grant Recipients: 40.
    Total Burden Hours--electronic funds transfer, recordkeeping and 
reporting: 6,240.
    (@ 2 hours per week per recipient)
    Total Estimated Burden Hours: 12,240.

    Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: August 22, 1996.
David S. Cristy,
Director, IRM Policy and Management Division.
[FR Doc. 96-22155 Filed 8-29-96; 8:45 am]
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