[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29771-29772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11999]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5447-N-02]


Notice of Formula Allocations and Program Requirements for 
Neighborhood Stabilization Programs 1 and 3 (NSP1 and NSP3) Formula 
Grants; Amendment

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

ACTION: Notice of allocation method, waivers granted, alternative 
requirements applied, and statutory program requirements; amendment.

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SUMMARY: On October 19, 2010, HUD published a notice regarding 
formulation allocations made under two NSP grant (formula grant) 
programs--NSP1 and NSP3. This document makes changes to the notice to 
allow NSP1 and require NSP3 grantees to use an updated foreclosure 
needs map and associated needs index score in selecting geographic 
target areas.

DATES: Effective Date: May 21, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stanley Gimont, Director, Office of 
Block Grant Assistance, Office of Community Planning and Development, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., 
Room 7286, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number 202-708-3587. Persons 
with hearing or speech impairments may access this number via TTY by 
calling the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. FAX inquiries may be 
sent to Mr. Gimont at 202-401-2044. (Except for the ``800'' number, 
these telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On October 19, 2010, at 75 FR 64322, HUD published in the Federal 
Register a notice pertaining to both NSP1 and NSP3 (referred to as the 
Unified Notice), which advised the public of the allocation formula and 
allocation amounts, the list of grantees, alternative requirements, and 
the waivers of regulations granted to grantees under Section 2301(b) of 
the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-289, 
approved July 30, 2008) (HERA), as amended, and an additional 
allocation of funds provided under Section 1497 of the Dodd-Frank Wall 
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-203, 
approved July 21, 2010) (Dodd-Frank Act) for the purpose of assisting 
in the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes. Except where 
provided for otherwise, these amounts are distributed based on funding 
formulas for such amounts established by the Secretary in accordance 
with HERA.
    HUD's notice pertaining to NSP1, published in the Federal Register 
on October 6, 2008, at 73 FR 58330, gave NSP1 grantees the flexibility 
to carry out activities in area(s) of greatest need as defined by the 
grantee. The notice asked grantees to describe in the NSP1 substantial 
amendment to the Annual Action Plan how the funds would be distributed 
to meet the requirements of Section 2301(c)(2) of HERA. At the time of 
publication of the NSP1 notice, HUD was not able to provide national 
data on home foreclosures to assist grantees in selecting NSP1 target 
areas. However, HUD encouraged NSP1 grantees to use publicly available 
data, if such data covered their communities, and to use the nationwide 
data by neighborhood when HUD launched the needs mapping tool in June 
2009.
    HUD's Unified Notice requires NSP3 grantees to carry out activities 
in a HUD-approved target area. HUD developed a foreclosure needs map 
Web site to assist grantees in selecting target areas that meet the 
criteria for NSP3 funding. NSP1 grantees were encouraged to use the Web 
site as they adjusted their plans. The foreclosure needs map provides 
foreclosure-related needs scores based on grantee-selected target 
geography. A grantee uses the tool to draw the outline of a targeted 
neighborhood. When the grantee saves its selection, the tool produces a 
report that indicates whether the selected area meets the NSP3 
criteria. The data that produces the needs scores is now dated and in 
many cases the data no longer reflects the effects of foreclosures on 
the housing markets in NSP1 or NSP3 target areas.

Updated Foreclosure Data for Use by NSP1 and NSP3 Grantees

    HUD has updated this data and it is now available for use by NSP1 
and NSP3 grantees. The data combines foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, 
real-estate-owned, and vacant property transactions from March 2011 
through September 2012.
    For NSP1 Grantees: The updated data is available to NSP1 grantees 
for use in determining and designating areas of greatest need.
    For NSP3 Grantees: From the effective date of this notice published 
in today's edition of the Federal Register, all NSP3 grantees must 
begin using the updated foreclosure needs map Web site when amending 
their currently approved target areas. NSP3 grantees may continue to 
work in target areas approved by HUD prior to the effective date of 
this Notice, but any amendments made to select new NSP3 target areas 
from the effective date of this Notice must qualify based on 
information from the new maps and data.

Amendment to Unified Notice

    Paragraph II. B.2.a.ii of HUD's Unified Notice, at 75 FR 64327, 
pertaining to contents of the NSP Action Plan, and, with respect to 
subparagraph ii, pertaining to the neighborhood or neighborhoods 
identified by the NSP3 grantee as being the areas of greatest need, is 
revised by adding the following undesignated paragraph:
    Effective for any target area change after May 21, 2013, the 
individual or average combined index score for all

[[Page 29772]]

new target areas in the grantee's geography must be not less than the 
lesser of 17 or the 20th percentile most needy score in an individual 
state. The scores for target areas approved prior to May 21, 2013 will 
not be included in the average combined index score for the new target 
areas and grantees may continue to use NSP3 funds in those prior 
approved target areas.

    Dated: May 10, 2013.
Mark Johnston,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs.
[FR Doc. 2013-11999 Filed 5-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P