[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 159 (Monday, August 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50041-50043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17886]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6226-N-01]


Waivers, Alternative Requirements and Extensions for Community 
Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grantees

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice governs Community Development Block Grant disaster 
recovery (CDBG-DR) funds awarded under several appropriations. 
Specifically, this notice provides waivers and establishes alternative 
requirements and extensions for grants provided pursuant to Public Laws 
114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56, 115-123, 115-254, and 116-20 
in connection with HUD's obligation or use by the recipient of these 
funds. This notice provides additional flexibility to CDBG-DR grantees 
as they continue their disaster recovery efforts while also responding 
to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

DATES: Applicability Date: August 24, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessie Handforth Kome, Director, 
Office of Block Grant Assistance, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 7282, 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 Ms. Kome 
at 202-708-0033. (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. Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56, and 115-
123 Extensions
II. Public Laws 115-254 and 116-20 Extensions
III. Citizenship Requirements
IV. Environmental Review

I. Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56, and 115-123 
Extensions

    The Department has awarded CDBG-DR funds for multiple disasters 
occurring in 2015, 2016, and 2017 under Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 
114-254, 115-31, 115-56, and 115-123. Those Public Laws authorize the

[[Page 50042]]

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). Regulatory 
waiver authority is also provided by 24 CFR 5.110, 91.600, and 570.5. 
As required by Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56 or 
115-123, the waiver and alternative requirement provided herein is 
based upon a determination by the Secretary that good cause exists and 
that the waiver and alternative requirement is not inconsistent with 
the overall purposes of title I of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974 (HCDA).
    HUD has determined that the rapidly emerging needs of states and 
local governments in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic provides good 
cause to allow extensions of the CDBG-DR expenditure deadlines 
established in Federal Register notices published on June 17, 2016 
(paragraph VI.A.24, 81 FR 39687); November 21, 2016 (section II. and 
paragraph VI.A.24., 81 FR 83254); January 18, 2017 (section II., 82 FR 
5591); August 7, 2017 (sections I.E. and III.B., 82 FR 36812); February 
9, 2018 (paragraph VI.A.28. and section VII., 83 FR 5844); and August 
14, 2018 (section V., 83 FR 40314) (the ``Prior Notices''). HUD shall 
presume the start of the COVID-19 crisis to be January 21, 2020, the 
date the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the 
first case in the United States, unless HUD receives conclusive 
evidence to the contrary.
    These Prior Notices establish an administrative deadline for the 
timely distribution of funds, requiring each grantee to expend 100 
percent of its allocation of CDBG-DR funds on eligible activities 
within six years. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD is 
providing a one-year extension of the previously established 
expenditure deadline for all grantees that received CDBG-DR funds under 
Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56 or 115-123 for a 
2015, 2016, or 2017 disaster. If a grantee determines that an extension 
is required beyond the one-year extension provided by HUD in this 
notice, within 90 days of the applicability date of this notice, a 
grantee must submit a written request to HUD to further extend the 
expenditure deadline for one additional year (for a maximum total 
extension of two years).
    Grantees are reminded that the Prior Notices require the grantee to 
update the projections of expenditures for each grant based on the 
status of current programs or projects and to reflect any new 
expenditure deadlines.
    To request the additional one-year extension referenced above, the 
grantee shall: (a) Indicate how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the 
grantee's ability to expend CDBG-DR funds in a timely manner and to 
meet its original deadline; (b) describe the specific CDBG-DR funded 
recovery programs, activities, or projects that have slowed as a result 
of the COVID-19 pandemic and; (c) submit an updated version of its 
``CDBG-DR Grantee Projections of Expenditures and Outcomes'' that 
provides for the full expenditure of the grant within the expenditure 
period requested (a maximum total two-year extension is allowed). In 
its request, the grantee shall also indicate if it previously was 
identified by HUD as a ``slow spender'' as of October 2019 or later in 
the Department's Monthly CDBG-DR Grant Financial Reports for the grant 
under consideration. If the grantee was identified as a slow spender 
for the grant under consideration as of October 2019 or later, the 
grantee must also include an explanation of the causes of its slow 
expenditures prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions that have 
been implemented to address those causes. Grantees that have been 
identified as a slow spender during the above period must also include 
a description of the concrete steps that it will implement to ensure 
that its CDBG-DR expenditures will be ``on pace'' as soon as 
practicable, and must update its ``CDBG-DR Grantee Projections of 
Expenditures and Outcomes'' that was previously submitted to HUD with 
its action plan. The Department shall establish, as appropriate, a 
grant condition to require each grantee receiving the additional one-
year extension (for a maximum total extension of two years) to comply 
with expenditure milestones as provided in the revised projections, 
consistent with the provisions at 2 CFR part 200. The Department may, 
if warranted, restrict the availability of funds until such time as 
this or any grant condition is met by individual grantees.
    Grantees are reminded that HUD may, at any time, establish or 
revise grant conditions based on performance or lack thereof or may 
pursue remedies based on performance consistent with subpart O of the 
CDBG regulations (including corrective and remedial actions in 24 CFR 
570.910, 570.911, and 570.913) or under subpart I of the CDBG 
regulations at 24 CFR part 570. Grantees are advised to work with the 
assigned CPD representative in the development of expenditure extension 
requests. The Department will periodically publish all revised 
expenditure deadlines established pursuant to this notice on the HUD 
website.

II. Public Laws 115-254 and 116-20 Extensions

    The Department has awarded CDBG-DR funds for multiple disasters 
occurring in 2017, 2018, and 2019 under the Public Laws 115-254 and 
116-20. The COVID-19 pandemic, which the President declared as a 
national emergency on March 13, 2020, disrupted normal government 
operations that are likely to impede grantees' ability to meet 
previously established submission deadlines. Therefore, as described 
below, HUD is exercising its waiver authority to waive and modify 
submission deadlines published in Federal Register notices that contain 
grant requirements for these CDBG-DR funds. Public Laws 115-254 and 
116-20 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 HCDA. Regulatory waiver authority is also provided by 
24 CFR 5.110, 91.600, and 570.5. For the waiver and alternative 
requirement described herein, the Secretary has determined that good 
cause exists and that the waiver and alternative requirement is not 
inconsistent with the overall purposes of title I of the HCDA.
    Section III of the Department's January 27, 2020 Federal Register 
notice (85 FR 4681) included deadlines for the submission of the 
initial CDBG-DR action plan, the Financial Management and Grant 
Compliance certification submission, and the Pre-Award Implementation 
Plan. The January 27, 2020 notice requires grantees receiving funds for 
2018 and 2019 disasters to submit their Pre-Award Implementation Plan 
and Financial Management and Grant Compliance certification 
documentation within 60 days of the applicability date of that notice 
(or together with the submission of the action plan, if earlier) and to 
submit their initial action plans within 120 days after the 
applicability date of that

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notice. Section III.A. of the same notice required grantees that 
received an allocation for unmet infrastructure needs for 2017 
disasters to submit a substantial amendment to their current action 
plan no later than 90 days after the applicability date of that notice.
    On March 20, 2020, HUD issued a notification to these grantees that 
extended the above deadlines for an additional 90 days to provide 
flexibility to CDBG-DR grantees as they also respond to the impacts of 
the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 24, 2020, HUD amended that notification 
for only those grantees that received an allocation for unmet 
infrastructure needs for 2017 disasters, to extend their deadline for 
submission by an additional 30 days. In order to provide CDBG-DR 
grantees with additional flexibility in complying with submission 
deadlines, HUD is amending the January 27, 2020 notice to allow 
individual grantees to request further extensions, if necessary. 
Accordingly, HUD is amending section III of the January 27, 2020 notice 
by replacing the third paragraph of section III in its entirety with 
the following:
    ``To begin expending CDBG-DR funds, the grantee must follow the 
process outlined in the February 9, 2018 notice (83 FR 5846), unless 
otherwise amended below:
     HUD will accept an action plan no later than 210 days 
after the applicability date of this notice, unless the grantee has 
requested, and HUD has approved an extension of the submission 
deadlines below.
     Within 150 days of the applicability date of this notice 
(or when the grantee submits its action plan, whichever is earlier), 
submit documentation for the certification of financial controls and 
procurement processes and adequate procedures for grant management, as 
amended in section IV.B.1 of this notice. A grantee that received a 
certification of its financial controls and procurement processes 
pursuant to a 2016 or 2017 disaster may request that HUD rely on that 
certification for purposes of this allocation, provided, however, that 
grantees shall be required to provide updates to reflect any material 
changes in the submissions.
     Within 150 days of the applicability date of this notice 
(or when the grantee submits its action plan, whichever is earlier), 
submit documentation for the implementation plan and capacity 
assessment.
     Additionally, all funds must be expended within 6 years of 
the date of obligation as described in section V of this notice.''
    HUD is also amending section III.A. of the January 27, 2020 notice, 
and will replace that section in its entirety with the following:

    Each grantee that received an allocation pursuant to Public Law 
115-56 or Public Law 115-123 for 2017 disasters and an additional 
allocation in this notice for unmet infrastructure needs is required 
to submit a substantial amendment to its current action plan 
required by the Prior Notices. The substantial amendment must be 
submitted no later than 210 days after the applicability date of 
this notice, unless the grantee has requested, and HUD has approved 
an extension of its submission deadline. The substantial amendment 
must include the additional allocation of funds and address the 
requirements of the Prior Notices, as amended by this notice. Each 
grantee must follow the applicable substantial amendment process 
pursuant to section III.B of the August 14, 2018 notice (83 FR 
40316). Based on the 2019 Appropriations Act, HUD will condition the 
availability of these funds for grantees that have entered into 
alternative procedures under section 428 of the Stafford Act as of 
the date of enactment of the 2019 Appropriations Act until such 
grantees have reached a final agreement on all fixed cost estimates 
within the timeline provided by FEMA.

III. Citizenship Requirements

    Please note that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services provides that Immigration Reform 
and Control Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324a et seq. prohibits employers from hiring 
and employing an individual for employment in the U.S. knowing that the 
individual is not authorized with respect to such employment. This 
generally applicable law also applies to CDBG grantees and their 
subrecipients and/or contractors/subcontractors (including relating to 
employees recruited under Section 3). For more information, please see 
https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/10-why-employers-must-verify-employment-authorization-and-identity-of-new-employees and https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/legal-requirements-and-enforcement.

IV. Environmental Review

    This Notice provides operating instructions and procedures in 
connection with activities under Federal Register documents that have 
previously been subject to required environmental reviews. Accordingly, 
under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(4), this Notice is categorically excluded from 
environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 
U.S.C. 4321, et seq.).

    Dated: August 11, 2020.
John Gibbs,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
[FR Doc. 2020-17886 Filed 8-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P