[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47477-47479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19552]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service


Announcement of the Availability of Disaster Relief Act 2019 
Grant Funds for Community Facilities

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of funds availability.

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SUMMARY: As part of the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for 
Disaster Relief Act, 2019, the Rural Housing Service's Community 
Facilities Program (CF) received supplemental grant funding available 
for necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricanes 
Michael and Florence and wildfires occurring in calendar year 2018, 
tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, and other natural 
disasters, to remain available until expended. The authority for the 
Agency to administer the Community Facilities Grant Program is provided 
in the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONAct). The grant 
funds will be administered in accordance with this notice of funds 
availability.

DATES: Applications will be accepted on a continual basis, beginning on 
the publication date of this Notice, until funds are exhausted.

ADDRESSES: Applications will be submitted to a processing office as 
designated by the USDA Rural Development State Office in the state 
where the applicant's project is located. Agency state office contact 
information is available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/offices/state-offices.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Peiffer, USDA Rural Development, 
Community Facilities Program at (515) 238-6668 or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Language for Funding Opportunities

    The Agency encourages applications that will help improve life in 
rural America. See information on the Interagency Task Force on 
Agriculture and Rural Prosperity found at 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
    To leverage investments in rural property, the Agency also 
encourages projects located in rural Opportunity Zones where projects 
should provide measurable results in helping communities build robust 
and sustainable economies. An Opportunity Zone is an economically-
distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, 
may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. Localities qualify as 
Opportunity Zones if they have been nominated for that designation by 
the state and that nomination has been certified by the Secretary of 
the U.S. Treasury via his delegation of authority to the Internal 
Revenue Service.
    To combat a key threat to economic prosperity, rural workforce and 
quality of life, the Agency also encourages applications that will 
support the Administration's goal to reduce the morbidity and mortality 
associated with Substance Use Disorder (including opioid misuse) in 
high-risk rural communities by strengthening the capacity to address 
prevention, treatment and/or recovery at the community, county, state, 
and/or regional levels:
    Key strategies include:

     Prevention: Reducing the occurrence of Substance Use 
Disorder (including opioid misuse) and fatal substance-related 
overdoses through community and provider education and harm reduction 
measures such as the strategic placement of overdose reversing devices, 
such as naloxone;
     Treatment: Implementing or expanding access to evidence-
based treatment practices for Substance Use Disorder (including opioid 
misuse) such as medication-assisted treatment (MAT); and
     Recovery: Expanding peer recovery and treatment options 
that help people start and stay in recovery.
    To focus investments in areas with the largest opportunity for 
growth in prosperity, the Agency encourages applications that serve the 
smallest communities with the lowest incomes, with an emphasis on areas 
where at least 20 percent of the population is living in poverty, 
according to the American Community Survey data by census tracts (or 
Reservation boundary for Indian tribes).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
information collection requirements associated with the CF Program, as 
covered in this Notice, have been approved by the Office of Management 
Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0575-0173.

Overview

    Federal Agency Name: Rural Housing Service (``RHS,'' an Agency of 
USDA in the Rural Development mission area).
    Solicitation Opportunity Title: Announcement of the Availability of 
Disaster Relief Act 2019 Grant Funds for Community Facilities.
    Announcement Type: Notice of Funds Availability.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.766.

[[Page 47478]]

    Dates: Applications will be accepted on a continual basis, 
beginning on the publication date of this Notice, until funds are 
exhausted.

A. Program Description

    This program is designed to provide supplemental grant funding for 
eligible CF applicants and eligible CF projects related to the 
consequences of Hurricanes Michael and Florence and wildfires occurring 
in calendar year 2018, tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 
2019, and other natural disasters.
    Details on eligible CF applicants and eligible CF projects may be 
found in Section C. Eligibility Information below.
    The applicable Statutory or Regulatory authorities for this action 
are incorporated by reference and include the following:
     Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief 
Act, 2019, Public Law 116-20, dated June 6, 2019, Rural Development 
Rural Community Facilities Program Account.
     7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(19), The Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act.
     2 CFR parts 200 and 400, uniform Federal grant awards 
regulations.
     7 CFR 3570, subpart B, Community Facilities Grant Program 
regulations.

B. Federal Award Description--Disaster Relief Act 2019

    The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 
2019, Public Law 116-20, dated June 6, 2019, provides the Rural Housing 
Service's CF Program $150,000,000 in supplemental grant funding of 
which $150,000,000 is available for eligible CF applicants and eligible 
CF projects related to the consequences of Hurricanes Michael and 
Florence and wildfires occurring in calendar year 2018, tornadoes and 
floods occurring in calendar year 2019, and other natural disasters.
    Funds will be allocated to the USDA Rural Development State Offices 
with a disaster(s) identified in the Disaster Relief Act 2019. The 
allocation of funds will be based on an adaption of 7 CFR 1940, subpart 
L, Methodology and Formulas for Allocation of Loan and Grant Program 
Funds.

C. Eligibility Information

    1. Applicant eligibility. An eligible CF applicant must:
    (i) Be one of the types of entities outlined in 7 CFR 3570.61(a);
    (ii) Be unable to finance the proposed project from its own 
resources, or through commercial credit as outlined in 7 CFR 
3570.61(c); and
    (iii) Have the legal authority and responsibility to own, 
construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facility as outlined in 7 
CFR 3570.61(e).
    2. Project Eligibility. An eligible CF project must:
    (i) Be an eligible facility as outlined in 7 CFR 3570.61(b);
    (ii) Be financially feasible as outlined in 7 CFR 3570.61(d); and
    (iii) Be for public use as outlined in 7 CFR 3570.61(f).
    3. Eligible use of grant funds.
    (i) Grant funds may be used for purposes outlined in 7 CFR 3570.62;
    (ii) Grant funds may not be used for purposes outlined in 7 CFR 
3570.63(a); and
    (iii) The project expenses do not need to be in direct relationship 
or a result of an eligible Disaster Relief Act 2019 disaster.
    4. Project Location Eligibility. To be eligible for CF grant funds 
under this Notice:
    (i) The eligible CF project must be located in a rural area in a 
county (or a rural area of a Reservation for Indian tribes) with a 
Major Disaster Declaration as declared by the President of the United 
States;
    (ii) The Major Disaster Declaration must be related to the 
consequences of Hurricanes Michael and Florence and wildfires occurring 
in calendar year 2018, tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 
2019, and other natural disasters.
    (iii) The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must have 
provided a notice declaring the Major Disaster Declaration and assigned 
a FEMA disaster recovery (DR) number.
    The term rural or rural area is defined in section 343(a)(13)(C) of 
the CONAct (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)) as a city, town or, unincorporated 
area that has a population of not more than 20,000 inhabitants. The 
boundaries for unincorporated areas in determining populations will be 
based on the Census Designated Places(s)(CDP). Data from the most 
recent decennial census of the United States will be used in 
determining population. Any rural community impacted by a major 
declared disaster DR-4407 may have the governor in the affected state, 
or the governor's designee, certify the area's population as a rural 
area with respect to eligibility for loans, grants, and technical 
assistance under rural development programs funded by the Department of 
Agriculture until data from the 2020 United States Census is available. 
The certification will be provided to the Rural Development State 
Director of California.
    For information on determining if a project is located in an area 
with a Major Disaster Declaration, go to the Community Facilities 
section of the Rural Development Disaster Assistance site located at: 
https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/services/rural-development-disaster-assistance.
    5. Eligible grant amounts. Grant assistance will be provided on a 
graduated scale with smaller communities with the lowest median 
household income being eligible for a higher proportion of grant funds. 
Grant funds will be limited to:
    (i) The percentages of eligible projects costs outlined in 7 CFR 
3570.63(b); and
    (ii) The maximum grant assistance allowed in accordance with 7 CFR 
3570.66.

D. Application and Submission Information

    The requirements for submitting an application can be found at 7 
CFR 3570.65. Applications will be processed in the processing office 
designated by the USDA Rural Development State Office in the state 
where the applicant's project is located. Agency state office contact 
information is available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/offices/state-offices. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until 
funds are exhausted.

E. Application Review Information

    Applications will be reviewed in accordance with 7 CFR 3570.71 (a)-
(d) and scored on a priority basis in accordance with 7 CFR 3570.67. If 
at anytime the demand for grant funds is greater than the amount of 
grant funds available, a priority ranking scoring system will be used 
to determine which projects are funded.

F. Federal Award Information

    Applicants selected for funding will be provided a Letter of 
Conditions. Upon acceptance of the conditions, the applicant will sign 
and return to the processing office Forms RD 1942-46, ``Letter of 
Intent to Meet Conditions,'' and RD 1940-1, ``Request for Obligation of 
Funds.'' The grant is approved on the date an Agency signed copy of 
Form RD 1940-1, ``Request for Obligation of Funds,'' is mailed to the 
applicant.
    Prior to the disbursement of grant funds, applicants approved for 
funding will be required to sign an Agency approved Grant Agreement, 
meet any pre-disbursement conditions outlined in the Letter of 
Conditions, and meet the applicable Statutory or Regulatory authority 
for this action listed in Section A. Program Description.

[[Page 47479]]

    In the event the application is not approved, the applicant will be 
notified in writing of the reasons for rejection and provided 
applicable review and appeal rights in accordance with 7 CFR part 11.

G. Federal Awarding Contacts

    USDA Rural Development State Office in the state where the 
applicant's project is located. Agency state office contact information 
is available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/offices/state-offices.

H. Other Information

    1. Civil Rights. Programs referenced in this Notice are subject to 
applicable Civil Rights Laws. These laws include the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended in 1988, and Section 504 of 
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
    2. Non-Discrimination 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, 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, familial/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) 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].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Bruce W. Lammers,
Administrator, Rural Housing Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-19552 Filed 9-9-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P