[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12847-12849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5125]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service


Inviting Applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants

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 
grants of up to $50,000 per application from the Rural Business 
Opportunity Grant (RBOG) Program for fiscal year (FY) 2005, to be 
competitively awarded. For multi-State projects, grant funds of up to 
$150,000 will be available on a competitive basis.

DATES: The deadline for the receipt of applications in the Rural 
Development State Office is May 27, 2005. Any applications received at 
a Rural Development State Office after that date would not be 
considered for FY 2005 funding.

ADDRESSES: For further information, entities wishing to apply for 
assistance should contact a Rural Development State Office to receive 
copies of the application package. Potential applicants located in the 
District of Columbia must send their applications to the National 
Office at:

District of Columbia

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA, Specialty Lenders 
Division, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 6867, STOP 3225, 
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/TTD 
(334) 279-3495.

Alaska

USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, 
Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7705/TDD (907) 761-8905.

Arizona

USDA Rural Development State Office, Phoenix Corporate Center, 230 
N. First Ave., Suite 206, Phoenix, AZ 85003-1706, (602) 280-8700/TTD 
(602) 280-8705.

Arkansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, USDA Service Center, 700 West 
Capitol Avenue, Room 3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-
3200/TTD (501) 301-3279.

California

USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G Street, Agency 4169, 
Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800/TTD (530) 792-5848.

Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E-100, 
Lakewood, CO 80215, (720) 544-2903/TDD (720) 544-2976.

Delaware-Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4607 South DuPont Highway, P.O. 
Box 400, Camden, DE 19934-9998, (302) 697-4300/TDD (302) 697-4303.

Florida/Virgin Islands

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 147010, 4440 NW. 25th 
Place, Gainesville, FL 32606, (352) 338-3402/TDD (352) 338-3499.

Georgia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 
E. Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601-2768, (706) 546-2162/TDD (706) 
546-2034.

Hawaii

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 311, 154 
Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-8380/TDD (808) 933-
8321.

Idaho

USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Dr., Suite A1, 
Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5600/TDD (208) 378-5644.

Illinois

USDA Rural Development State Office, 2118 West Park Court, Suite A, 
Champaign, IL 61821, (217) 403-6202/TDD (217) 403-6240.

Indiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard, 
Indianapolis, IN 46278-1996, (317) 290-3100/TDD (317) 290-3340.

Iowa

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 873, 210 
Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-2196, (515) 284-4663/TDD (515) 
284-4558.

Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Suite 100, 1303 SW First 
American Place, Topeka, KS 66604, (785) 271-2700/TDD (785) 271-2767.

Kentucky

USDA Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, 
Lexington, KY 40503-5477, (859) 224-7300/TDD (859) 224-7422.

Louisiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street, 
Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7921/TDD (318) 473-7655.

Maine

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 405, 967 Illinois 
Avenue, Suite 4, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9160/TTD (207) 
942-7331.

Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut

USDA Rural Development State Office, 451 West Street, Suite 2, 
Amherst, MA 01002-2999, (413) 253-4300/TDD (413) 253-4318.

Michigan

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, 
East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5190/TDD (517) 337-6795.

Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office, 410 Farm Credit Service 
Building, 375 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-1853, (651) 602-
7800/TDD (651) 602-3799.

Mississippi

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 831, 
100 West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-4318/TDD (601) 
965-5850.

Missouri

USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, 
Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-0976/TDD 
(573) 876-9480.

Montana

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 850, 900 Technology 
Blvd., Unit 1, Suite B, Bozeman, MT 59771, (406) 585-2580/TDD (406) 
585-2562.

Nebraska

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100 
Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5551/TDD (402) 
437-5093.

[[Page 12848]]

Nevada

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson 
City, NV 89703-9910, (775) 887-1222/TDD (775) 885-0633.

New Jersey

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5th Floor North, Suite 500, 
8000 Midlantic Drive, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787-7700.

New Mexico

USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE., 
Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4950/TDD (505) 761-4938.

New York

USDA Rural Development State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 
South Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, (315) 477-
6435/TDD (315) 477-6447.

North Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, 
Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 873-2000/TDD (919) 873-2003.

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/TDD (701) 530-2113.

Ohio

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200 
North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, (614) 255-2500/TDD (614) 
255-2554.

Oklahoma

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, 
Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1000/TDD (405) 742-1007.

Oregon

USDA Rural Development State Office, 101 SW Main Street, Suite 1410, 
Portland, OR 97204-3222, (503) 414-3300/TDD (503) 414-3387.

Pennsylvania

USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 
330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2299/TDD (717) 237-2261.

Puerto Rico

USDA Rural Development State Office, 654 Munoz Rivera Avenue, IBM 
Building, Suite 601, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-6106, (787) 766-
5095/TDD (787) 766-5332.

South Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal 
Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 
765-5163/TDD (803) 765-5697.

South Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200 
4th Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1100/TDD (605) 352-1147.

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/TDD (254) 
742-9712.

Utah

USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal 
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 
84138, (801) 524-4320/TDD (801) 524-3309.

Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main 
Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6010/TDD (802) 223-6365.

Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 
1606 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229-5014, (804) 287-1552/ TDD 
(804) 287-1753.

Washington

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1835 Black Lake Boulevard, SW., 
Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512-5715, (360) 704-7715.

West Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, 75 High 
Street, Room 320, Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4860/TDD 
(304) 284-4836.

Wisconsin

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens 
Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7615/TDD (715) 345-7614.

Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 1005, 
100 East B Street, Casper, WY 82601, (307) 233-6700/TDD (307) 233-
6733.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATON: The RBOG program is authorized under section 
306 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 
U.S.C. 1926(a)(11)). The Rural Development State Offices administer the 
RBOG program on behalf of RBS at the State level. 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 
technical assistance for business development and economic development 
planning. A total of $992,000 of non-earmarked funds is available for 
the RBOG program for FY 2005. To ensure that a broad range of 
communities have the opportunity to benefit from the available funds, 
no grant will exceed $50,000, unless it is a multi-State project where 
funds may not exceed $150,000. Pursuant to the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act for 2005 (Public Law 108-447), a total of $992,000 
has been earmarked for Native Americans and a total of $992,000 for 
Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area 
Partnerships. There is no project dollar amount limitation on 
applications for earmarked funds. Awards are made on a competitive 
basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 CFR part 4284, 
subpart G. Information required to be in the application package are 
contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G. The State Director may assign 
up to 15 discretionary points to an application, and the Agency 
Administrator may assign up to 20 additional discretionary points based 
on geographic distribution of funds, special importance for 
implementation of a strategic plan in partnership with other 
organizations, or extraordinary potential for success due to superior 
project plans or qualifications of the grantee. To ensure the equitable 
distribution of funds, two projects from each State that score the 
greatest number of points based on the selection criteria and 
discretionary points will be considered for funding. Applications will 
be tentatively scored by the State Offices and submitted to the 
National Office for final review and selection.
    The National Office will review the scores based on the grant 
selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G. 
All applicants will be notified by RBS of the Agency's decision on the 
awards.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
information collection requirement contained in this Notice is approved 
by the Office of Management and Budget (MB) under OMB Control Number 
0570-0024.

Nondiscrimination Statement

    ``The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (Departmental 
Regulation 4300-3), prohibits discrimination in all its programs and 
activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, 
age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or 
family status in employment or in any program or activity conducted or 
funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 
programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, 
etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and 
TDD).
    To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, 
Office of Civil Rights, STOP 9410, Room 326-W,

[[Page 12849]]

Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-
9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal 
opportunity provider and employer.''

    Dated: February 23, 2005.
Peter J. Thomas,
Administrator, Rural Business--Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 05-5125 Filed 3-15-05; 8:45 am]
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