[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60490-60492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23967]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5696-N-12]


Additional Waivers and Alternative Requirements for Grantees in 
Receipt of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Funds 
Under the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice provides an additional waiver and alternative 
requirements for Minot, North Dakota, a Community Development Block 
Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery grantee in receipt of funds under 
Section 239 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Appropriations Act, 2012 (Pub. L. 112-55) and the Disaster Relief 
Appropriations Act, 2013 (Pub. L. 113-2). Minot, ND initially received 
disaster assistance under Public Law 112-55 and was provided with 
additional assistance through Public Law 113-2 (together, the 
supplemental Acts). The waiver in this Notice specific to Minot, ND 
applies to both its 112-55 funds and 113-2 funds as described herein. 
To date, the Department has allocated nearly $15.5 billion under the 
supplemental Acts to assist recovery in the most impacted and 
distressed areas identified in major disaster declarations in calendar 
years 2011, 2012 and 2013.

DATES: Effective Date: October 14, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan Gimont, Director, Office of Block 
Grant Assistance, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
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. Facsimile 
inquiries may be sent to Mr. Gimont at 202-401-2044. (Except for the 
``800'' number, these telephone numbers are not toll-free.) Email 
inquiries may be sent to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and Alternative 
Requirements
III. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
IV. Finding of No Significant Impact

I. Background

    Section 239 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Appropriations Act, 2012 (Pub. L. 112-55, approved November 18, 2011) 
makes available up to $400 million, to remain available until expended, 
in CDBG funds for necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-
term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, and economic 
revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from 
a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) 
(Stafford Act) in 2011.
    Additionally, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public 
Law 113-2, approved January 29, 2013) made available $16 billion 
(reduced to $15.18 billion after sequestration) \1\ in Community 
Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for necessary expenses related to 
disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and 
housing, and economic revitalization in the most impacted and 
distressed areas resulting from a major disaster declared pursuant to 
the Stafford Act, due to Hurricane Sandy and other eligible events in 
calendar years 2011, 2012, and 2013.
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    \1\ On March 1, 2013, the President issued a sequestration order 
pursuant to section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
Deficit Control Act, as amended (2 U.S.C. 901a), and reduced funding 
for CDBG-DR grants under the Public Law 113-2 to $15.18 billion.
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    To describe these allocations and the accompanying requirements, 
the Department published multiple Federal Register notices: March 5, 
2013 (78 FR 14329), April 19, 2013 (78 FR 23578), May 29, 2013 (78 FR 
32262), August 2, 2013 (78 FR 46999), November 18, 2013 (78 FR 69104), 
March 27, 2014 (78 FR 17173), June 3, 2014 (79 FR 31964), and July 11, 
2014 (79 FR 40133). For Minot, North Dakota, allocations and 
requirements under Public Law 112-55 can be found in the Notice 
published April 16, 2012 (77 FR 22583). These are referred to 
collectively in this Notice as the ``Prior Notices.'' The requirements 
of the Prior Notices continue to apply, except as modified by this 
Notice.\2\
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    \2\ Links to the Prior Notices, the text of the supplemental 
Acts, and additional guidance prepared by the Department for CDBG-DR 
grants, are available on HUD's Web site under the Office of 
Community Planning and Development, Disaster Recovery Assistance: 
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/communitydevelopment/programs/drsi. The same 
information is also available on HUD's OneCPD Web site: https://www.onecpd.info/cdbg-dr/.
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    As the supplemental Acts require funds to be awarded directly to a 
State, or unit of general local government (hereinafter, local 
government), at the discretion of the Secretary, the term ``grantee'' 
refers to any jurisdiction that has received a direct award from HUD 
under the supplemental Acts.

II. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements

    The supplemental Acts authorize the Secretary to waive, or specify 
alternative requirements for, any provision of any statute or 
regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with HUD's 
obligation or use by the recipient of these funds (except for 
requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor 
standards, and the environment). Waivers and alternative requirements 
are based upon a determination by the Secretary that good cause exists 
and that the waiver or alternative requirement is not inconsistent with 
the overall purposes of Title I of the HCD Act. Regulatory waiver 
authority is also provided by 24 CFR 5.110, 91.600, and 570.5.
    This Notice modifies requirements of the Prior Notices. The waivers 
and alternative requirements in this Notice apply to Minot, North 
Dakota, as identified herein. For the waiver and alternative 
requirements described in this Notice, the Secretary has determined 
that good cause exists and the action is not inconsistent with the 
overall purpose of Title I of the HCD Act. Grantees may request 
additional waivers and alternative requirements from the Department as 
needed to address specific needs related to their recovery activities. 
Under the requirements of the supplemental Acts, waivers must be 
published in the Federal Register no later than five days before the 
effective date of such waiver.
    1. General note. Except as described in this Notice, the statutory, 
regulatory, and notice provisions that shall apply to the use of these 
funds are those governing the funds appropriated under

[[Page 60491]]

Public Law 112-55 and Public Law 113-2 and already published in the 
Federal Register.
    2. Waiver of Section 414 of the Stafford Act and Alternative 
Requirements. (City of Minot, North Dakota, only).
    Section 414 of the Stafford Act provides that that no person 
otherwise eligible for a replacement housing payment under the Uniform 
Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 
1970, as amended (URA), may be denied eligibility for that payment as a 
result of being unable because of a major disaster as determined by the 
President to meet the occupancy requirements set by the URA. 
Accordingly, residential occupants displaced from their homes as a 
result of the 2011 floods in Minot, North Dakota, would be eligible for 
relocation assistance upon implementation of a rehabilitation program 
affecting homes that had been previously vacated.
    The city of Minot has requested a waiver of section 414 of the 
Stafford Act, as amended, for its Small Rental Rehabilitation and 
Reconstruction Program (SRRRP). This Notice grants the city's request 
and provides alternative requirements consistent with the purpose of 
the supplemental Acts.
    Section 414 of the Stafford Act (including its implementing 
regulation at 49 CFR 24.403(d), which is found among the regulations 
implementing the URA), is waived to the extent that it would apply to 
the CDBG disaster recovery-funded program SRRRP initiated by the city 
of Minot under approved Action Plans for Disaster Recovery for its 
grants under Public Law 113-2 and Public Law 112-55 provided that the 
program or affiliated projects were not planned, approved, or otherwise 
underway prior to the disaster.
    The Department has surveyed other federal agencies' administration 
of Section 414 and found varying strategies for long-term, post-
disaster projects involving the acquisition, rehabilitation, or 
demolition of disaster-damaged housing. Under the supplemental Acts, 
HUD has the authority to waive Section 414 and impose alternative 
requirements. The Department has, in specific circumstances, previously 
granted a waiver and provided alternative requirements of Section 414 
to CDBG-DR grantees, including the Gulf States impacted by disasters in 
2005 and 2008 (see 72 FR 48804).
    The severe flood of 2011 substantially damaged Minot's affordable 
rental housing stock resulting in increased housing burden among the 
city's renters. According to the city, approximately one quarter of the 
city's rental units were damaged by the flood. Nearly half of Minot's 
rental households are now cost- burdened for housing, a portion that 
has increased in part because of disaster-related damage to available 
affordable housing. The city hopes to restore rental housing units by 
using CDBG-DR funds to rehabilitate those units that were damaged by 
the flood. The SRRRP will commence more than three years after the 
flood, and many of the residential occupants occupying the housing 
units at the time of the disaster have since obtained permanent housing 
elsewhere. The Department has determined that without a statutory 
waiver and the establishment of alternative requirements for the 
application of Section 414, the city's SRRRP is unlikely to achieve its 
goals of contributing to the restoration of the city's affordable 
housing stock because former residential occupants that left the 
properties long ago could be eligible to receive replacement housing 
payments under the URA because of Section 414, reducing amounts that 
would otherwise be directed toward SRRRP activities.
    Due to the specific circumstances of Minot's recovery process, the 
Department is providing a statutory waiver and establishing alternative 
requirements in the application of Section 414 of the Stafford Act. For 
the program covered by this waiver (SRRRP), the city must adhere to the 
requirements specified in this Notice. In addition to the following 
requirements, the Department strongly encourages the city to offer low 
and moderate income former residential occupants preferred status in 
the residential application process once rehabilitation is complete.
    1. For residential occupants that have vacated housing units 
damaged by the flood, prior to provision of funds for SRRRP activities, 
the city of Minot must:
    a. Establish a publicly available re-housing plan for the program 
and ensure that it is provided in accessible formats, as necessary, to 
ensure effective communication with persons with disabilities and those 
who are limited English proficient. This plan must include, at minimum, 
the following:
    i. A regularly updated registry of the units and/or complexes to be 
rehabilitated with CDBG-DR funds and those persons eligible for 
residence so that displaced households and other interested residential 
occupants may apply to live in these units;
    ii. Contact information and a description of any applicable 
application process, including any deadlines;
    iii. A description of other services to be made available, 
including, at minimum, outreach efforts to eligible persons, housing 
counseling providing information about available housing resources, and 
placement services for former and prospective residential occupants;
    iv. Operating procedures requiring the city to collect from 
property owners the contact information of former residential occupants 
to inform them of the availability of units rehabilitated under the 
program.
    b. In order to contact residential occupants that were displaced 
from their homes due to the flood, the city must require owners to meet 
with the city to fill out the site occupant record which will provide 
information on the residential occupants that occupied the structure at 
the time of the flood. This information is to be in the agreement to 
provide assistance to property owners participating in the SRRRP. The 
city must ask the owner for the residential occupants' latest contact 
information, and the city must make a good faith effort to contact the 
residential occupants. The city should also make utilize newspaper and 
other public media advertisements to locate displaced households.
    c. The city must, where necessary, refer former residential 
occupants to housing counseling programs.
    2. In its request, the city has committed to ensure that all units 
restored with CDBG-DR funds meet the affordability requirements defined 
by HUD's HOME Program Rents for a period of five years, as described in 
the SRRRP's published program information.

Justification for Waiver

    The Department's basis for this waiver and alternative requirements 
are unique to the city of Minot as documented in its request to the 
Department. The Department has considered the city's request and 
determined that good cause exists and that the waiver and alternative 
requirements are not inconsistent with the overall purposes of Title I 
of the HCD Act.
    1. The 2011 flood caused unprecedented destruction in the city of 
Minot. Twenty to 30 percent of the rental housing stock was damaged, 
which was concentrated in an area of the city that had the highest 
percentage of affordable housing. The destruction has contributed to an 
increase in housing cost burden for nearly half of all rental 
households. Based on information from the city's 2012

[[Page 60492]]

Assessment, there are 837 fewer affordable homes in Minot today then 
there were in 2010, a shortage contributing to the widespread lack of 
affordable housing in the city.
    2. The SRRRP will commence three years after the units in question 
were rendered uninhabitable. According to the city, 2,328 households 
were displaced as a result of the flood, 2,062 were provided with 
temporary housing, but only 20 households continue to reside in 
temporary housing units which are assisted through other programs with 
other forms of assistance.
    3. In the absence of this waiver, any assistance provided to former 
residential occupants under the URA might duplicate insurance proceeds 
and federal, state, or local housing assistance that has already been 
disbursed.
    4. The waiver will simplify the administration of a disaster 
recovery program (SRRRP) initiated years following the disaster and 
expedite recovery in a location where rehabilitation activities are 
restricted to a very short building season due to the region's climate. 
This waiver does not apply to persons in physical occupancy of real 
property who are displaced by the SRRRP or other HUD-funded disaster 
recovery programs or projects. Such persons will continue to be 
eligible for relocation assistance and payments under the URA. 
Additionally, persons displaced by the effects of the disaster may 
continue to apply for assistance under the city's approved disaster 
recovery programs. This waiver does not address programs or projects 
receiving other HUD funding or funding from other federal sources. The 
city or the State of North Dakota may already be performing some 
elements of a re-housing plan, such as providing a public rental 
registry or undertaking outreach and placement services to those former 
residents still receiving FEMA housing assistance. The city will 
provide a description in the re-housing plan of how those existing 
efforts will be available for the SRRRP to satisfy the requirements of 
this Notice.

III. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for the disaster 
recovery grants under this Notice is as follows: 14.269; 14.218; 
14.228.

IV. Finding of No Significant Impact

    A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with respect to the 
environment has been made in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 
part 50, which implement section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). The FONSI is 
available for public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in 
the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500. Due to security measures at the HUD 
Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the docket file 
must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-708-3055 
(this is not a toll-free number). Hearing or speech-impaired 
individuals may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

    Dated: October 1, 2014.
Clifford Taffet,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2014-23967 Filed 10-6-14; 8:45 am]
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