[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 844-846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-217]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service


Inviting Preapplications for Technical Assistance for Rural 
Transportation Systems

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within 
the Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of one 
single $500,000 grant from the passenger transportation portion of the 
Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 
1999 to be competitively awarded to a qualified national organization.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of a preapplication in the Rural 
Development State Office is March 1, 1999. Preapplications received at 
a Rural Development State Office after that date will not be considered 
for FY 1999 funding.

ADDRESSES: For further information, entities wishing to apply for 
assistance should contact a Rural Development State Office to receive 
further information and copies of the preapplication package. A list of 
Rural Development State Offices follows:

Alabama

USDA Rural Development State Office, Sterling Center, Suite 601, 
4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3400

Alaska

USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, 
Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 745-2176

Arizona

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3003 North Central Avenue, 
Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012-2906, (602) 280-8700

Arkansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, 700 West Capitol Avenue--Room 
3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3200

California

USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G Street, Agcy. 4169, 
Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800

Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E-100, 
Lakewood, CO 80215, (303) 236-2801

Delaware/Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5201 South Dupont Highway, 
Camden, DE 19934-9998, (302) 697-4300

Florida/Virgin Islands

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4440 NW 25th Place, 
Gainesville, FL 32614-7010, (352) 338-3400

Georgia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 
E Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601-2768, (706) 546-2162

Hawaii

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 311, 154 
Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-3000

Idaho

USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Drive, Suite 
A1, Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5600

Illinois

USDA Rural Development State Office, Illini Plaza, Suite 103, 1817 
South Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820, (217) 398-5235

Indiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard, 
Indianapolis, IN 46278, (317) 290-3100

Iowa

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 873, 210 
Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284-4663

Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1200 SW Executive Drive, 
Topeka, KS 66604, (785) 271-2700

Kentucky

USDA Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, 
Lexington, KY 40503, (606) 224-7300

Louisiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street, 
Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7920

Maine

USDA Rural Development State Office, 444 Stillwater Avenue, Suite 2, 
Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9106

Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut

USDA Rural Development State Office, 451 West Street, Amherst, MA 
01002, (413) 253-4300

[[Page 845]]

Michigan

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, 
East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 337-6635

Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office, 410 Agri Bank Building, 375 
Jackson Street, St Paul, MN 55101-1853, (651) 602-7800

Mississippi

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 831, 
100 West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-4316

Missouri

USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, 
Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-0976

Montana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 900 Technology Blvd., Unit 1, 
Suite B, Bozeman, MT 59715, (406) 585-2580

Nebraska

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100 
Centennial Mall N, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5551

Nevada

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson 
City, NV 89703-9910, (702) 887-1222

New Jersey

USDA Rural Development State Office, Tarnsfield Plaza, Suite 22, 790 
Woodlane Road, Mt Holly, NJ 08060, (609) 265-3600

New Mexico

USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE, Room 
255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4950

New York

USDA Rural Development State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 
South Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, (315) 477-
6400

North Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, 
Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 873-2000

North Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 208, 220 
East Rosser, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, (701) 250-4781

Ohio

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200 
North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2477, (614) 469-5606

Oklahoma

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, 
Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1000

Oregon

USDA Rural Development State Office, 101 SW Main Street, Suite 1410, 
Portland, OR 97204-3222, (503) 414-3300

Pennsylvania

USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 
330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2299

Puerto Rico

USDA Rural Development State Office, New San Juan Office Building, 
Room 501, 159 Carlos E Chardon Street, Hato Rey, PR 00918-5481, 
(787) 766-5095

South Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal 
Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 
765-5163

South Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200 
4th Street, SW, Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1100

Tennessee

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 
300, Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1300

Texas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 
101 South Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9700

Utah

USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal 
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 
84147-0350, (801) 524-4320

Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main 
Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6000

Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 
1606 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 287-1550

Washington

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1835 Blacklake Boulevard, SW., 
Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512-5715, (360) 704-7740

West Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, 75 High Street, Room 320, 
Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 291-4791

Wisconsin

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens 
Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7600

Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 East B, Federal Building, 
Rm 1005, Casper, WY 82602, (307) 261-6300

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The passenger transportation portion of the 
RBEG program is authorized by section 310B(c)(2) of the Consolidated 
Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 U.S.C. 1932). The RBEG 
program is administered on behalf of RBS at the State level by the 
Rural Development State Offices. The primary objective of the program 
is to improve the economic conditions of rural areas. Assistance 
provided to rural areas under this program may include on-site 
technical assistance to local and regional governments, public transit 
agencies, and related nonprofit and for-profit organizations in rural 
areas; the development of training materials; and the provision of 
necessary training assistance to local officials and agencies in rural 
areas.
    Awards under the RBEG passenger transportation program are made on 
a competitive basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 
CFR part 1942, subpart G, and in accordance with section 310B(c)(2) of 
the CONACT. That subpart also contains the information required to be 
in the preapplication package. Up to 25 Administrator's points may be 
added to an application's priority score based on the extent to which 
the application targets assistance to Empowerment Zones/Enterprise 
Communities, Champion Communities, or other rural communities that have 
experienced persistent poverty, out-migration of population, or sudden 
severe structural changes in the local economy. A project that scores 
the greatest number of points based on the selection criteria and 
Administrator's points will be selected. Preapplications will be 
tentatively scored by the State Offices and submitted to the National 
Office for review, final scoring, and selection.
    To be considered ``national'', a qualified organization is required 
to provide evidence that it operates in multi-state areas. There is not 
a requirement to use the grant funds in a multi-state area. Under this 
program, grants are made to a qualified private non-profit organization 
for the provision of technical assistance and training to rural 
communities for the purpose of improving passenger transportation 
services or facilities. Public bodies are not eligible for passenger 
transportation RBEG grants.
    Refer to section 310B(c)(2) (7 U.S.C. 1932) of the CONACT and 7 CFR 
Part 1942, subpart G for the information collection requirements of the 
RBEG program.

Fiscal Year 1999 Preapplications Submission

    Each preapplication received in a Rural Development State Office 
will be reviewed to determine if this

[[Page 846]]

preapplication is consistent with the eligible purposes outlined in 7 
CFR part 1942, subpart G, and section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. Each 
selection priority criterion outlined in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, 
section 1942.305(b)(3), must be addressed in the preapplication. 
Failure to address any of the criteria will result in a zero-point 
score for that criterion and will impact the overall evaluation of the 
preapplication. Copies of 7 CFR Part 1942, subpart G, will be provided 
to any interested applicant making a request to a Rural Development 
State Office listed in this notice. All projects to receive technical 
assistance through these passenger transportation grant funds are to be 
identified when the preapplication is submitted to the Rural 
Development State Office. Multiple project preapplications must 
identify each individual project, indicate the amount of funding 
requested for each individual project, and address the criteria as 
stated above for each individual project. For multiple-project 
preapplication, the average of the individual project scores will be 
the score for that preapplication.
    All eligible preapplications, along with tentative scoring sheets 
and the Rural Development State Director's recommendation, will be 
referred to the National Office no later than April 15, 1999, for final 
scoring and selection for award.
    The National Office will score preapplications based on the grant 
selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, 
and Administrator's points, and will select an awardee subject to the 
awardee's satisfactory submission of a formal application and related 
materials in the manner and time frame established by RBS in accordance 
with 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G. It is anticipated that the grant 
awardee will be selected by June 1, 1999. All applicants will be 
notified by RBS of the Agency decision on the award.
    The information collection requirements within this Notice are 
covered under OMB No. 0570-0022 and 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G.

    Dated: December 23, 1998.
Wilbur T. Peer,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 99-217 Filed 1-5-99; 8:45 am]
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