[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 20 (Wednesday, January 30, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4388-4390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2169]


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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 two 
individual grants; one single $500,000 grant from the passenger 
transportation funds appropriated for the RBS Rural Business Enterprise 
Grant (RBEG) program and another single $250,000 grant from the 
Federally Recognized Native American Tribes funds appropriated for RBS 
under the RBEG Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002. Each grant is to be 
competitively awarded to a qualified national organization. These 
grants are to provide technical assistance for rural transportation.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of preapplications in the Rural 
Development State Office is March 1, 2002. Preapplications received at 
a Rural Development State Office after that date would not be 
considered for FY 2002 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. Potential 
applicants located in the District of Columbia must send their 
preapplications to the National Office by the date indicated above.

District of Columbia

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA, Specialty Lenders Division, 
Room 6867, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3225, 
(202) 720-1400.
    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) 761-7705.

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, Agency 4169, Davis, 
CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800.

Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E-100, 
Lakewood, CO 80215, (720) 544-2903.

Delaware-Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 400, 4607 South DuPont 
Highway, Camden, DE 19934-9998, (302) 697-4300.

Florida/Virgin Islands

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 147010, 4440 NW. 25th 
Place, Gainesville, FL 32606, (352) 338-3402.

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) 933-8380.

Idaho

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

Illinois

USDA Rural Development State Office, 2118 West Park Court, Suite A, 
Champaign, IL 61821, (217) 403-6202.

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 50309-2196, (515) 284-4663.

Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Suite 100, 1303 SW First American 
Place, Topeka, KS 66604, (785) 271-2700.

Kentucky

USDA Rural Development State Office 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, 
Lexington, KY 40503, (859) 224-7300.

[[Page 4389]]

Louisiana

USDA Rural Development State Office 3727 Government Street, Alexandria, 
LA 71302, (318) 473-7921.

Maine

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 405, 967 Illinois Avenue, 
Suite 4, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9106.

Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut

USDA Rural Development State Office 451 West Street, Suite 2, Amherst, 
MA 01002-2999, (413) 253-4300.

Michigan

USDA Rural Development State Office 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East 
Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5100.

Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office 410 AgriBank 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, P.O. Box 771, 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 North, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5551.

Nevada

USDA Rural Development State Office 1390 South Curry Street, Carson 
City, NV 89703-9910, (775) 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, P.O. Box 1737, Federal Building, 
Room 208, 220 East Rosser Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, (701) 530-
2037.

Ohio

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200 
North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, (614) 255-2500.

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, 654 Munoz Rivera Avenue,IBM Plaza, 
Suite 601, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00918-6106, (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 Street, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9700.

Utah

USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal 
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, P.O. Box 11350, Salt Lake 
City, UT 84147-0350, (801) 524-4321.

Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main 
Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6010.

Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Culpeper Building, Suite 238,1606 
Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229-5014, (804) 287-1550.

Washington

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

West Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, 75 High Street, 
Room 320, Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4860.

Wisconsin

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens 
Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7610.

Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 1005, 100 
East B Street, P.O. Box 820, 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(c)(2)). 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 to a qualified national organization using specific 
selection criteria contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, and in 
accordance with section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. 7

[[Page 4390]]

CFR part 1942, subpart G, also contains the information required to be 
in the preapplication package. For the $250,000 grant, at least 75 
percent of the benefits of the project must be received by members of 
Federally Recognized Tribes. The project that scores the greatest 
number of points based on the selection criteria will be selected for 
each grant. 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 
notice, grants will be made to qualified private non-profit 
organizations 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.
    The information collection requirements of the RBEG program (7 CFR 
part 1942, subpart G) have received clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570-0022.

Fiscal Year 2002 Preapplications Submission

    Each preapplication received in a Rural Development State Office 
will be reviewed to determine if this preapplication is consistent with 
the eligible purposes contained in 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 preapplications are 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 
preapplications, 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 12, 2002, 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 will select a grantee subject to the grantee'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 grantees will be selected by June 
3, 2002. All applicants will be notified by RBS of the Agency decision 
on the award.

    Dated: January 16, 2002.
William F. Hagy III,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 02-2169 Filed 1-29-02; 8:45 am]
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