[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 7, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70864-70865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26772]



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Part V





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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24 CFR Part 570



Modification of the Community Development Block Grant Definition for 
Metropolitan City and Other Conforming Amendments; Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 7, 2004 / 
Rules and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 570

[Docket No. FR-4872-F-02]
RIN 2506-AC15


Modification of the Community Development Block Grant Definition 
for Metropolitan City and Other Conforming Amendments

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule makes final the Community Development Block Grant 
(CDBG) program regulations that replaced the obsolete term ``central 
city'' with a new term ``principal city'' in the definition of 
``metropolitan city'' and other CDBG regulations referencing ``central 
city.'' The revisions were necessary because of the recent changes to 
the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Standards for Defining 
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and the 
announcement in 2003 of new definitions for those areas using Census 
2000 data. The rule also updated the affected CDBG program regulations 
so that the terminology used by HUD is consistent with OMB standards 
and the purposes of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. 
This rule follows an interim rule that was published in the Federal 
Register December 12, 2003. One comment was received in response to the 
interim rule. After careful consideration of the comment received in 
response to the interim rule, this rule makes final without change the 
interim rule published on December 12, 2003.

DATES: Effective Date: January 6, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue Miller, Director, Entitlement 
Communities Division, Office of Block Grant Assistance, Office of 
Community Planning and Development, Room 7282, Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-
7000; telephone (202) 708-1577 (this is not a toll-free number). 
Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone 
number listed in this section through TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory Background

    Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 
U.S.C. 5301-5320) (the Act) establishes the statutory framework for the 
CDBG program. HUD's regulations implementing the CDBG program are 
located at 24 CFR part 570 (entitled ``Community Development Block 
Grants'').
    Section 102(a)(4) of the Act defines the term ``metropolitan city'' 
as ``(A) a city within a metropolitan area which is the central city of 
such area, as defined and used by the Office of Management and Budget, 
or (B) any other city, within a metropolitan area, which has a 
population of fifty thousand or more.* * *'' The term ``metropolitan 
area'' is defined in section 102(a)(3) of the Act as ``a standard 
metropolitan statistical area as established by the Office of 
Management and Budget.'' Section 102(b) of the Act provides that the 
Secretary may, by regulation, change or otherwise modify the meaning of 
the terms defined in section 102(a) in order to reflect any technical 
change or modification made by the United States Bureau of the Census 
or OMB.

II. Regulatory Background

    On December 12, 2003, HUD published an interim rule (68 FR 69580) 
replacing the now-obsolete term ``central city'' with the term 
``principal city.'' The interim rule amended the definition of 
``metropolitan city'' in 24 CFR 570.3; updates 24 CFR 570.4, which 
relates to the allocation of funds and the recognition of boundaries of 
entitlement areas, and 24 CFR 570.307(e), which deals with the 
ineligibility of included units of general local government (that it, 
those units of local government that are included as part of an urban 
county). This change was based on definitions and standards published 
by OMB. For further information on the background and significance of 
these changes, please see the preamble to the December 12, 2003 rule 
(68 FR 69580 et seq.).

III. This Final Rule

    This rule received one public comment from a small city. This 
commenter supported this rule.
    This rule therefore makes final the December 12, 2003, interim rule 
without change.

IV. Findings and Certifications

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviewed this rule under 
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review. OMB determined 
that this rule is a ``significant regulatory action'' (but not 
economically significant) as defined in section 3(f) of the order. Any 
changes made in this rule subsequent to its submission to OMB are 
identified in the docket file. The docket file is available for public 
inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in the Regulations 
Division, Office of General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC.

Environmental Impact

    This rule simply revises existing HUD regulations by replacing 
``central city'' or ``central cities'' with ``principal city'' or 
``principal cities,'' where applicable, in order to be consistent with 
OMB standards. This rule does not direct, provide for assistance or 
loan or mortgage insurance for, or otherwise govern or regulate, real 
property acquisition, disposition, leasing, rehabilitation, alteration, 
demolition or new construction, nor does it establish, revise, or 
provide for standards for construction, construction materials, 
manufactured housing, or occupancy. This rule revises an existing 
document where the existing document as a whole would not fall under a 
categorical exclusion but the amendment by itself does so. Pursuant to 
24 CFR 50.19(c)(1) and (c)(2), these revisions are categorically 
excluded from the environmental assessment required by the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332).

Impact on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), 
generally requires an agency to conduct a regulatory flexibility 
analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking 
requirements unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    There are no anti-competitive discriminatory aspects of the rule 
with regard to small entities and there are not any unusual procedures 
that need to be complied with by small entities.
    Therefore, the undersigned certifies that this proposed rule will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities, and an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
required.

Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    Executive Order 13132 (entitled ``Federalism'') prohibits an agency 
from publishing any rule that has federalism implications if the rule 
either imposes substantial direct compliance costs on state and local 
governments and is not required by statute, or the rule preempts

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state law, unless the agency meets the consultation and funding 
requirements of section 6 of the executive order. This rule does not 
have federalism implications and does not impose substantial direct 
compliance costs on state and local governments or preempt state law 
within the meaning of the executive order.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1531-1538) (UMRA) establishes requirements for Federal agencies to 
assess the effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and 
tribal governments and the private sector. This final rule does not 
impose any federal mandate on any state, local, or tribal government or 
the private sector within the meaning of UMRA.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) program number is 
14.218.

List of Subjects in 24 CFR Part 570

    Administrative practice and procedure, Community development block 
grant, Grant programs--education, Grant programs, housing and community 
development, Indians, insular areas, Lead poisoning, Loan programs--
housing and community development, Low and moderate income housing, New 
communities, Pockets of poverty, Puerto Rico, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Small cities, Student aid.

0
Accordingly, for the reasons discussed in the preamble, HUD makes final 
the December 12, 2003 interim rule (68 FR 69582) without change.

    Dated: November 30, 2004.
Nelson R. Bregon,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-26772 Filed 12-6-04; 8:45 am]
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