[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 86 (Thursday, May 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19521-19523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09351]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 86 / Thursday, May 3, 2018 / 
Notices  

[[Page 19521]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service


Notice of Solicitation of Applications for the Community 
Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant for Fiscal Year 2018

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces that the Rural Housing Service (Agency) 
is accepting Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 applications for the Community 
Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Grant program. The 
Agency is publishing the amount of funding received in the 
appropriations act on its website at https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/notices-solicitation-applications-nosas. Grant funds not obligated by 
September 15 of this fiscal year can be used to fund Essential 
Community Facilities grant or loan guarantee programs.

DATES: To apply for funds, the Agency must receive the application by 
5:00 Eastern Daylight Time on July 2, 2018. Electronic applications 
must be submitted via grants.gov by Midnight Eastern time on July 2, 
2018. Prior to official submission of applications, applicants may 
request technical assistance or other application guidance from the 
Agency, as long as such requests are made prior to June 22, 2018. 
Technical assistance is not meant to be an analysis or assessment of 
the quality of the materials submitted, a substitute for agency review 
of completed applications, nor a determination of eligibility, if such 
determination requires in-depth analysis. The Agency will not solicit 
or consider scoring or eligibility information that is submitted after 
the application deadline. The Agency reserves the right to contact 
applicants to seek clarification information on materials contained in 
the submitted application.

ADDRESSES: Applications will be submitted to the USDA Rural Development 
State Office in the state where the applicant's headquarters is 
located. A listing of each State Office can be found at https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/CF_State_Office_Contacts.pdf. If you want to 
submit an electronic application, follow the instructions for the TAT 
funding announcement on http://www.grants.gov. For those applicants 
located in the District of Columbia, applications will be submitted to 
the National Office in care of Shirley Stevenson, 1400 Independence 
Ave. SW, STOP 0787, Room 0175-S, Washington, DC 20250. Electronic 
applications will be submitted via http://www.grants.gov. All 
applicants can access application materials at http://www.grants.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Rural Development office in which 
the applicant is located. A list of the Rural Development State Office 
contacts can be found at https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/CF_State_Office_Contacts.pdf. Applicants located in Washington DC can 
contact Shirley Stevenson at (202) 205-9685 or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Rural Housing Service (RHS), an agency 
within the USDA Rural Development mission area herein referred to as 
the Agency, published a final rule with comment in the Federal Register 
on January 14, 2016, implementing Section 6006 of the Agriculture Act 
of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-79) which provides authority to make Community 
Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Grants. The final 
rule became effective on March 14, 2016, and is found at 7 CFR 3570, 
subpart F. A correction amendment was published in the Federal Register 
on May 6, 2016. The purpose of this Notice is to solicit applications 
for the FY 2018 TAT Grant Program.
    The Agency encourages applications that will support 
recommendations made in the Rural Prosperity Task Force report to help 
improve life in rural America (www.usda.gov/ruralprosperity). 
Applicants are encouraged to consider projects that provide measurable 
results in helping rural communities build robust and sustainable 
economies through strategic investments in infrastructure, 
partnerships, and innovation. Key strategies include:

 Achieving e-Connectivity for Rural America
 Developing the Rural Economy
 Harnessing Technological Innovation
 Supporting a Rural Workforce
 Improving Quality of Life

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The paperwork burden has been cleared by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0575-0198.

National Environmental Policy Act

    All recipients under this Notice are subject to the requirements of 
7 CFR part 1970. However, awards for technical assistance and training 
under this Notice are classified as a Categorical Exclusion according 
to 7 CFR 1970.53(b), and usually do not require any additional 
documentation. The Agency will review each grant application to 
determine its compliance with 7 CFR part 1970. The applicant may be 
asked to provide additional information or documentation to assist the 
Agency with this determination.

Overview

    Federal Agency: Rural Housing Service.
    Funding Opportunity Title: Community Facilities Technical 
Assistance and Training Grant.
    Announcement Type: Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA).
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 10.766.
    Dates: To apply for funds, the Agency must receive the application 
by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 2, 2018. Electronic 
applications must be submitted via grants.gov by Midnight Eastern time 
on July 2, 2018. The Agency will not consider any application received 
after this deadline. Prior to official submission of applications, 
applicants may request technical assistance or other application 
guidance from the Agency, as long as such requests are made prior to 
June 22, 2018. Technical assistance is not meant to be an analysis or 
assessment of the quality of the materials submitted, a substitute for 
agency review of completed applications, nor a determination of 
eligibility, if such determination requires in-depth

[[Page 19522]]

analysis. The Agency will not solicit or consider scoring or 
eligibility information that is submitted after the application 
deadline. The Agency reserves the right to contact applicants to seek 
clarification information on materials contained in the submitted 
application.
    Availability of Notice: This Notice is available through the USDA 
Rural Development site at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/notices-solicitation-applications-nosas.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Purpose

    Congress authorized the Community Facilities Technical Assistance 
and Training Grant program in Title VI, Section 6006 of the 
Agricultural Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-79). Program regulations can be 
found at 7 CFR part 3570, subpart F, which are incorporated by 
reference in this Notice. The purpose of this Notice is to seek 
applications from entities that will provide technical assistance and/
or training with respect to essential community facilities programs. It 
is the intent of this program to assist entities in rural areas in 
accessing funding under the Rural Housing Service's Community 
Facilities Programs in accordance with 7 CFR part 3570, subpart F. 
Funding priority will be made to private, nonprofit or public 
organizations that have experience in providing technical assistance 
and training to rural entities.

II. Award Information

    Type of Awards: Grants will be made to eligible entities who will 
then provide technical assistance and/or training to eligible ultimate 
recipients.
    Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2018 Technical Assistance Training (TAT) 
Grant funds.
    Available Funds: The Agency is publishing the amount of funding 
received in the appropriations act on its website at https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/notices-solicitation-applications-nosas. Up to 
ten percent of the available funds may be awarded to the highest 
scoring Ultimate Recipient(s) as long as they score a minimum score of 
at least 75.
    Award Amounts: Grants will be made in amounts based upon the 
availability of grant funds, but no grant award will exceed $150,000. 
Grant awards made to Ultimate Recipients will not exceed $50,000. The 
Agency reserves the right to reduce funding amounts based on the 
Agency's determination of available funding or other Agency funding 
priorities.
    Award Dates: Awards will be made from available funding on or 
before September 15, 2018.

III. Eligibility Information

    Both the applicant and the use of funds must meet eligibility 
requirements. The applicant eligibility requirements can be found at 7 
CFR 3570.262. Eligible project purposes can be found at 7 CFR 3570.263. 
Ineligible project purposes can be found at 7 CFR 3570.264. 
Restrictions substantially similar to Sections 743, 744, 745, and 746 
outlined in Title VII, ``General Provisions--Government-Wide'' of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Pub. L. 114-113) will apply 
unless noted on the Rural Development website (https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities-technical-assistance-and-training-grant). Any corporation (i) that has been convicted of a 
felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the past 24 
months or (ii) that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been 
assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been 
exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner 
pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting 
the tax liability, is not eligible for financial assistance provided 
with funds, unless a Federal agency has considered suspension or 
debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this 
further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the 
Government. In addition, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise 
made available by this or any other Act may be available for a 
contract, grant, or cooperative agreement with an entity that requires 
employees or contractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, 
or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements 
prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or contractors from 
lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated 
investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department 
or agency authorized to receive such information. Additionally, no 
funds appropriated in this or any other Act may be used to implement or 
enforce the agreements in Standard Forms 312 and 4414 of the Government 
or any other nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement if such policy, 
form, or agreement does not contain the following provisions: ``These 
provisions are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with, or 
otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities 
created by existing statute or Executive order relating to (1) 
classified information, (2) communications to Congress, (3) the 
reporting to an Inspector General of a violation of any law, rule, or 
regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of 
authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or 
safety, or (4) any other whistleblower protection.''

IV. Application and Submission Information

    The requirements for submitting an application can be found at 7 
CFR 3570.267. All Applicants can access application materials at http://www.grants.gov. Applications must be received by the Agency by the due 
date listed in the DATES section of this Notice. Applications received 
after that due date will not be considered for funding. Paper copies of 
the applications will be submitted to the State Office in which the 
applicant is headquartered. Electronic submissions should be submitted 
at http://www.grants.gov. A listing of the Rural Development State 
Offices may be found at https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/CF_State_Office_Contacts.pdf. For applicants whose headquarters are in 
the District of Columbia, they will submit their application to the 
National Office in care of Shirley Stevenson, 1400 Independence Ave. 
SW, STOP 0787, Room 0175-S, Washington, DC 20250. Both paper and 
electronic applications must be received by the Agency by the deadlines 
stated in the DATES section of this Notice. The use of a courier and 
package tracking for paper applications is strongly encouraged.
    Application information for electronic submissions may be found at 
http://www.grants.gov.
    Applications will not be accepted via FAX or electronic email.

V. Application Processing

    Applications will be processed and scored in accordance with this 
NOSA and 7 CFR 3570.273. Those applications receiving the highest 
points using the scoring factors found at 7 CFR 3570.273 will be 
selected for funding. Up to 10% of the available funds may be awarded 
to the highest scoring Ultimate Recipient(s) as long as they score a 
minimum score of at least 75. In the case of a tie, the first tie 
breaker will go to the applicant who scores the highest on matching 
funds. If two or more applications are still tied after using this tie 
breaker, the next tie breaker will go to the applicant who scores the 
highest in the multi-jurisdictional category.
    Once the successful applicants are announced, the State Office will 
be responsible for obligating the grant funds, executing all obligation 
documents, and the grant agreement, as provided by the agency.

[[Page 19523]]

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

    1. Federal Award Notice. Within the limit of funds available for 
such purpose, the awarding official of the Agency shall make grants in 
ranked order to eligible applicants under the procedures set forth in 
this Notice and the grant regulation 7 CFR 3570, subpart F.
    Successful applicants will receive a letter in the mail containing 
instructions on requirements necessary to proceed with execution and 
performance of the award. This letter is not an authorization to begin 
performance. In addition, selected applicants will be requested to 
verify that components of the application have not changed at the time 
of selection and on the award date, if requested by the Agency.
    The award is not approved until all information has been verified, 
and the awarding official of the Agency has signed Form RD 1940-1, 
``Request for Obligation of Funds'' and the grant agreement.
    Unsuccessful and ineligible applicants will receive written 
notification of their review and appeal rights.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements. Grantees will 
be required to do the following:
    (a) Execute a Grant Agreement.
    (b) Execute Form RD 1940-1.
    (c) Use Form SF 270, ``Request for Advance or Reimbursement'' to 
request reimbursement. Provide receipts for expenditures, timesheets, 
and any other documentation to support the request for reimbursement.
    (d) Provide financial status and project performance reports as set 
forth at 7 CFR 3570.276.
    (e) Maintain a financial management system that is acceptable to 
the Agency.
    (f) Ensure that records are maintained to document all activities 
and expenditures utilizing CF TAT grant funds and any matching funds, 
if applicable. Receipts for expenditures will be included in this 
documentation.
    (g) Provide audits or financial information as set forth in 7 CFR 
3570.277.
    (h) Complete Form 400-4, ``Assurance Agreement.'' Each prospective 
recipient must sign Form RD 400-4, Assurance Agreement, which assures 
USDA that the recipient is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964, 7 CFR part 15 and other Agency regulations. It also 
assures that no person will be discriminated against based on race, 
color or national origin, in regard to any program or activity for 
which the re-lender receives Federal financial assistance. Finally, it 
assures that nondiscrimination statements are in the recipient's 
advertisements and brochures.
    (i) Collect and maintain data provided by ultimate recipients on 
race, sex, and national origin and ensure Ultimate Recipients collect 
and maintain this data. Race and ethnicity data will be collected in 
accordance with OMB Federal Register notice, ``Revisions to the 
Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and 
Ethnicity,'' (62 FR 58782), October 30, 1997. Sex data will be 
collected in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 
1972. These items should not be submitted with the application but 
should be available upon request by the Agency.
    (j) Provide a final performance report as set forth at 7 CFR 
3570.276(a)(7).
    (k) Identify and report any association or relationship with Rural 
Development employees.
    (l) The applicant and the ultimate recipient must comply with Title 
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education 
Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 
Executive Order 12250, Executive Order 13166 Limited English 
Proficiency (LEP), and 7 CFR part 1901, subpart E. The grantee must 
comply with policies, guidance, and requirements as described in the 
following applicable Code of Federal Regulations and any successor 
regulations:
    (1) 2 CFR parts 200 and 400 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, 
Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards).
    (2) 2 CFR parts 417 and 180 (Government-wide Debarment and 
Suspension (Nonprocurement)).
    (m) Form AD-3031, ``Assurance Regarding Felony Conviction or Tax 
Delinquent Status for Corporate Applicants'' must be signed by 
corporate applicants who receive an award under this Notice.
    3. Reporting
    Reporting requirements for this grant as set forth at 7 CFR 
3570.276.

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contact

    Contact the Rural Development state office in the state where the 
applicant's headquarters is located. A list of Rural Development State 
Offices can be found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/CF_State_Office_Contacts.pdf. For Applicants located in Washington DC, 
please contact Shirley Stevenson at (202) 205-9685 or via email at 
[email protected].

VIII. Nondiscrimination Statement

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its 
Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or 
administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on 
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including 
gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital 
status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance 
program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil 
rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA 
(not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing 
deadlines vary by program or incident.
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible 
Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or 
contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. 
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages 
other than English.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA 
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or 
write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the 
information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint 
form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA 
by:
    (1) By mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington DC 20250-9410;
    (2) Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
    (3) Email: [email protected].

    Dated: April 18, 2018.
Curtis M Anderson,
Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-09351 Filed 5-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P