[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3053-3054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-170]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4889-N-04]


Statutorily Mandated Designation of Difficult Development Areas 
for Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986--Technical 
Correction

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary for Policy Development and Research, 
HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On November 30, 2004, HUD published a notice that designated 
``Difficult Development Areas'' for purposes of the Low-Income Housing 
Tax Credit (LIHTC) under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (26 U.S.C. 42). HUD makes new Difficult Development Area 
designations annually. This notice published in today's Federal 
Register advises of two corrections to the November 30, 2004, 
publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on how areas are 
designated and on geographic definitions: Alastair McFarlane, Senior 
Economist, Economic Development and Public Finance Division, Office of 
Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-6000, 
telephone (202) 708-0426, e-mail [email protected]. For 
specific legal questions pertaining to Section 42: Branch 5, Office of 
the Associate Chief Counsel, Passthroughs & Special Industries, 
Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20224, telephone (202) 622-3040, fax (202) 622-4524. For questions 
about the ``HUB Zones'' program: Michael P. McHale, Assistant 
Administrator for Procurement Policy, Office of Government Contracting, 
Suite 8800, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20416, telephone (202) 205-8885, fax (202) 205-7167, e-
mail [email protected]. A text telephone is available for persons with 
hearing or speech impairments at (202) 708-9300. (These are not toll-
free telephone numbers.) Additional copies of this notice are available 
through HUD User at (800) 245-2691 for a small fee to cover duplication 
and mailing costs.
    Copies Available Electronically: This notice and additional 
information about Difficult Development Areas and Qualified Census 
Tracts, including the November 30, 2004, publication are available 
electronically on the Internet (World Wide Web) at http://www.huduser.org/datasets/qct.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On November 30, 2004 (69 FR 69730), HUD published a notice in the 
Federal Register at 69 FR 69730 that designated Difficult Development 
Areas for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 
American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands. The designations of Difficult Development Areas in the 
November 30, 2004, notice are based on final fiscal year 2004 Fair 
Market Rents (FMRs), 2004 very-low income limits (VLILs), and 2000 
Census population counts as explained in the November 30, 2004, notice. 
The November 30, 2004, notice advised that designations of Qualified 
Census Tracts under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code published 
December 12, 2002 (67 FR 76451), as supplemented on December 19, 2003 
(68 FR 70982), remain in effect.

This Notice

    HUD identified two technical errors in the November 30, 2004, 
publication, in FR Doc 04-26328, which are corrected by this notice 
published in today's edition of the Federal Register.
    First, the following language was inadvertently included in the 
``Explanation of HUD Designation Methodology section,'' under the 
heading C. Exceptions to OMB Definitions of MSAs/PMSAs and Other 
Geographic Matters (See 69 FR 69732 at end of first column continuing 
to second column.):

    Certain nonmetropolitan county equivalent areas in Alaska for 
which FMRs and VLILs are calculated and thus form the basis of 
Difficult Development Area determinations are no longer recognized 
as geographic entities by the Bureau of the Census. Therefore, no 
2000 Census population counts are produced for these areas. HUD 
estimated the 2000 population of these areas as follows:
    1. The 2000 Population of Denali Borough (1,893) was allocated 
entirely to the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area. The part of Denali 
Borough created from the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area was deemed 
uninhabited after examination of Census Block data for, and maps of, 
the area of Denali Borough formerly in the Southeast Fairbanks 
Census Area.
    2. The population of Yakutat City and Borough (808) was 
allocated to the former Skagway-Yakutat-Angoon Census Area (680) and 
the Valdez-Cordova Census Area (128). The populations of Yakutat 
City and Borough Census Blocks located east of 141[deg] west 
longitude were allocated to the Skagway-Yakutat-Angoon Census Area. 
The populations of Yakutat City and Borough Census Blocks located 
west of 141[deg] west longitude were allocated to the Valdez-Cordova 
Census Area.

    The above language was in error because in fact, HUD computed and 
published FY2004 Fair Market Rents and Very-Low Income Limits for all 
of the nonmetropolitan county equivalent areas in Alaska as demarcated 
in the 2000 Census. HUD used the FY2004 Fair Market Rents and Very-Low 
Income Limits to designate the 2005 Difficult Development Areas. 
Therefore, HUD did not use the above population allocation procedure in 
the designation of the 2005 Difficult Development Areas.
    Second, in the table enumerating the 2005 Metropolitan Difficult 
Development Areas, the name of one of the towns in the Massachusetts 
part of the Boston, MA-NH PMSA did not appear due to a formatting 
error. The list of cities and towns in the Massachusetts part of the 
Boston, MA-NH PMSA

[[Page 3054]]

should also include ``Manchester-by-the-Sea town.'' (See 69 FR 69735.)

    Dated: January 7, 2005.
Dennis C. Shea,
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
 [FR Doc. E5-170 Filed 1-18-05; 8:45 am]
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