[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 215 (Monday, November 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57696-57698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-26864]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5067-N-05]


Extension and Expansion of HUD's Implementation Guidance for 
Section 901 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations To Address 
Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006, as 
Revised by Section 11003 of the Consolidated Security, Disaster 
Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 To Include Calendar 
Years 2008 and 2009 Program Funds

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice supplements four earlier notices published in the 
Federal Register that provided guidance to public housing agencies 
(PHAs) on implementing the authority provided to HUD by section 901 of 
the ``Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in 
the Gulf of Mexico and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006'' (Pub. L. 109-148, 
December 30, 2005) to allow PHAs in the most heavily impacted areas of 
Louisiana and Mississippi affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to 
combine Housing Choice Voucher and public housing operating and capital 
funds to assist families who were receiving housing assistance under 
the U.S. Housing of 1937 immediately prior to Hurricanes Katrina or 
Rita and were displaced from their housing by the hurricanes. Section 
901 assists PHAs to flexibly and

[[Page 57697]]

efficiently facilitate disaster recovery in those areas to benefit the 
formerly assisted and displaced families. Such authority was initially 
provided for calendar years 2006 and 2007, and later extended through 
calendar years 2008 and 2009 by section 11003 of the Consolidated 
Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 
(Pub. L. 110-329). On December 17, 2008, HUD published a Federal 
Register notice advising eligible PHAs to submit Fungibility Plans for 
CY 2008 Section 901 fungibility no later than January 31, 2009.
    Eligible PHAs with a continued need for assisting families who were 
receiving housing assistance under the 1937 Housing Act immediately 
prior to Hurricane Katrina or Rita and were displaced from their 
housing by the hurricanes and are interested in using authority 
provided under the extended Section 901 authority must submit a 2009 
Notice of Intent and Fungibility Plan in accordance with the July 28, 
2006, October 30, 2006, and August 6, 2007 Federal Register notices. 
Further information on the required contents of 2009 Fungibility Plans, 
funds management, eligible activities, reporting, and HUD processing of 
CY 2009 Section 901 fungibility will be posted to the Office of Public 
and Indian Housing Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih.

DATES: Eligible PHAs must submit their Calendar Year 2009 Notices of 
Intent and Fungibility Plans no later than November 30, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical assistance and other 
questions concerning the Notice of Intent and Section 901 Fungibility 
Plan, PHAs should contact their local HUD Public Housing Hub in New 
Orleans, Louisiana, or Jackson, Mississippi; or Bessy Kong, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Policy, Program, and Legislative Initiatives, 
Office of Public and Indian Housing, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 4116, Washington, DC 20410-
5000, telephone 202-402-2548 (this is not a toll-free number). Persons 
with hearing or speech impairments may access this number via TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-
8339.

Environmental Review

    This Notice provides operating instructions and procedures in 
connection with activities under HUD's notice FR-5067-N-01 (July 28, 
2006), for which a Finding of No Significant Impact was prepared. 
Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(4), this Notice is categorically 
excluded from environmental review under the Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 28, 2006, HUD published notice FR-
5067-N-01 (71 FR 42996) entitled, ``Implementation Guidance for Section 
901 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes 
in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006.'' This Notice 
provided interested PHAs submission requirements including a Notice of 
Intent to invoke flexibility and a detailed Section 901 Fungibility 
Plan. Section 901 of the supplemental appropriations act authorizes HUD 
to allow PHAs to combine assistance provided under sections 9(d) and 
9(e) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (Act) and assistance 
provided under section 8(o) of the Act, for the purpose of facilitating 
the prompt, flexible and efficient use of funds provided under these 
sections of the Act to assist families who were receiving housing 
assistance under the Act immediately prior to Hurricane Katrina or Rita 
and were displaced from their housing by the hurricanes. Section V.A. 
of the July 28, 2006 notice, entitled, ``General Procedures for 
Combining Public Housing and Voucher Funds under Section 901,'' 
provided instructions for PHAs interested in implementing the 
flexibility in funding authorized in Section 901.
    On October 30, 2006, HUD published notice FR-5067-N-02 (71 FR 
63340) extending the period for eligible public housing agencies (PHAs) 
located within the most heavily impacted areas of Louisiana and 
Mississippi that are subject to a declaration by the President of a 
major disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act in connection with Hurricanes Katrina or Rita 
to submit Notices of Intent and Fungibility Plans in accordance with 
the July 28, 2006, notice. In addition to extending the PHA submission 
deadline, the October 30, 2006 Notice removed the restriction that the 
combined funding may not be spent for uses under the Housing Choice 
Voucher program.
    On August 6, 2007, HUD published notice FR-5067-N-03 (72 FR 43657) 
extending Section 901 fungibility through Calendar Year 2007 pursuant 
to section 4803 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina 
Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 110-28, 
May 25, 2007).
    This Notice revises the earlier notices to incorporate the 
extension of Section 901 fungibility from calendar year (CY) 2007 to 
calendar years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 as authorized by section 
11003 of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 110-329).
    As noted earlier in this notice, eligible PHAs interested in 
combining (CY) 2009 funds must submit a 2009 Notice of Intent and 
Fungibility Plan in accordance with the July 28, 2006 and subsequent 
Federal Register notices. The plans must describe in detail the source 
programs from which funding will be provided, the end program for which 
funds will be used, and the specific activities to be implemented and 
how they will directly assist families that were receiving housing 
assistance under the 1937 Housing Act before Hurricanes Katrina and 
Rita, and who were displaced from their housing as a result of the 
hurricanes. The 2009 plans must provide detailed information to 
identify formerly assisted and displaced families by program, program 
status, and former residence. Families that were evacuated as a result 
of the hurricanes and returned to their original, habitable housing 
unit are not considered displaced. In 2009, HUD will not accept plans 
to use Section 901 fungibility to develop new housing units for 
populations that do not meet the definition of families that were 
formerly assisted under the 1937 Housing Act immediately prior to 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and that were displaced from their housing 
by the hurricanes. Further, HUD will not accept plans for new unit 
development, other than for units that will be placed under project-
based voucher (PBV) contracts under the Housing Choice Voucher program 
and/or public housing units that will come under a public housing 
Annual Contributions Contract (ACC). Fungibility plans for using 
Section 901 flexibility to support the cost of developing and 
constructing new units must include preliminary development proposals 
that describe the legal and business relationships of all participating 
entities and the PHA, the number and specific type of housing units 
supported with Section 901 funds that will be placed under Annual 
Contributions Contracts (ACCs) or Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) project-
based contracts, the proposed site, site plan, and neighborhood; all 
financing including sources and uses, and a preliminary development/
construction cost estimate based on schematic drawings and outline 
specifications.

[[Page 57698]]

HUD approvals of Fungibility Plans may be contingent upon the PHA later 
providing final development documents that include, but are not limited 
to ten-year operating pro formas including underlying assumptions, 
financing documents, feasibility analyses, life cycle analyses, 
schematic drawings and building designs, final development and 
construction cost estimates.
    The 2006 Section 901 implementation notice also sets forth 
accounting requirements for Section 901 flexibility, which require 
separate accounting by source year (2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009), and 
the creation of a separate column on the Financial Data Schedule (FDS). 
The notice also specifies time periods for completion of activities 
approved under Section 901. Further information on HUD processing of CY 
2009 Section 901 flexibility may be found in the PIH notices section of 
the Office of Public and Indian Housing Web site at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih.
    2009 Notices of Intent and Fungibility Plans should be dated and 
submitted to the following addresses and contacts, as listed in the 
July 28, 2006, notice: PHAs should submit one copy to the Public 
Housing Director of the HUD office in New Orleans, Louisiana or 
Jackson, Mississippi, as applicable, and the original to HUD 
Headquarters, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Office of Policy, 
Program, and Legislative Initiatives, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 
4116, Washington, DC 20410-5000, Attention: Bessy Kong/Sherry McCown. 
To expedite HUD processing, electronic copies of the original, signed 
Notices of Intent and Fungibility Plans should be directed to the 
following e-mail address: [email protected].

    Dated: November 2, 2009.
Sandra B. Henriquez,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, Rodger Boyd, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Office of Native American Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-26864 Filed 11-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P