[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17598-17600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8818]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service


Inviting Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program 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 $496,750 grant from the passenger 
transportation funds appropriated for the RBS Rural Business Enterprise 
Grant (RBEG) program and another single $248,375 grant from the 
Federally Recognized Native American Tribes funds appropriated for RBS 
under the RBEG Program for fiscal year (FY) 2003. 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 May 15, 2003. Preapplications received at a 
Rural Development State Office after that date would not be considered 
for FY 2003 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 pre-application package. A list 
of Rural Development State Offices follows:

District of Columbia

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

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

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(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

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
SDA, 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

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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 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. For the $248,375 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 and Administrator's 
points 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 contained within this 
Notice have received approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570-0022 (7 CFR part 1942, subpart G).

Fiscal Year 2003 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 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 June 13, 2003, 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 July 
31, 2003. All applicants will be notified by RBS of the Agency's 
decision on the awards.

    Dated: April 3, 2003.
John Rosso,
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 03-8818 Filed 4-9-03; 8:45 am]
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