[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10026-10029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02782]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Rural Housing Service

Rural Utilities Service

[Docket No. RBS-23-BUSINESS-0025]


Notice of Solicitation of Applications for the Strategic Economic 
and Community Development Program for FY 2024

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Housing Service, and 
Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Under Secretary for Rural Development (RD or Agency) is 
seeking applications for the Strategic Economic and Community 
Development (SECD) priority, as reauthorized by section 6401 of the 
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) for projects that 
support multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral strategic community 
investment plans. In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the covered RD programs 
will implement SECD by reserving loan and/or grant funds from the 
appropriations of the programs covered by this funding priority. This 
notice describes the requirements by which the RD programs will 
consider projects eligible for the covered programs' reserved 
appropriated funds and the information needed to submit an application. 
This NOSA is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations 
act for FY 2024 to allow potential applicants time to submit 
applications for financial assistance under the covered programs and to 
give the RD programs time to process applications. Information on 
estimated FY 24 funding amounts can be found under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION, section B. Federal Award Information of this notice.

DATES: Each of the participating covered programs has a different 
established deadline for receipt of applications. Please refer to the 
RD website or the appropriate covered program's Federal Register Notice 
for application deadline information.

ADDRESSES: SECD applications, except for the covered Water and Waste 
Loans and Grant Programs, must be submitted electronically to the USDA 
RD Office servicing the area where the project is located. Applications 
for Water and Waste Loans and Grants Programs must be submitted 
electronically at https://rdapply.sc.egov.usda.gov/. For lenders 
assigned a CRM, SECD applications must be submitted to their assigned 
CRM.
    All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in 
preparing and submitting applications.
    To apply for SECD funding in FY 2024, applicants must follow the 
instructions as published in this notice:
     All applicants must submit the Form RD 1980-88, 
``Strategic Economic and Community Development (Section 6401, 
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334)),'' located at 
https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/strategic-economic-and-community-development, with their program application to 
the appropriate covered program.
     SECD applications, except for the Water and Waste Loans 
and Grant Program SECD applications, must be submitted electronically 
to the USDA RD Office servicing the area where the project is located. 
A list of the USDA RD State Offices can be found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/state-offices.
     Water and Waste Loans and Grant Program must submit SECD 
applications electronically at https://rdapply.sc.egov.usda.gov/.
     For lenders assigned a OneRD Loan Guarantee Initiative 
Customer Relationship Manager (CRM), SECD applications must be 
submitted to their assigned CRM.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information, please contact 
your respective RD State Office listed here: https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/state-offices.
    For all other inquiries, you may contact Dr. Gregory Batson, Rural 
Development Innovation Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Room 6138, Stop 0793, Washington, DC 20250, 
Telephone: (573) 239-2945, Email: usda.gov">gregory.batson@usda.gov.
    A checklist of all required application information for regional 
planning priority can be found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/strategic-economic-and-community-development.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview

    Federal Awarding Agency Name: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 
Rural Housing Service, Rural Utilities Service.
    Funding Opportunity Title: Strategic Economic and Community 
Development.
    Announcement Type: Notice of Solicitation of Applications.
    Funding Opportunity Number: The following covered programs with 
their Assistance Listing (AL) numbers are listed as flows:
     Community Facilities Loans; see 7 CFR part 1942, subpart 
A.
     Community Facilities Grants; see 7 CFR part 3570, subpart 
B.
     Community Facilities Guaranteed Loans; see 7 CFR part 
5001.
     Water and Waste Disposal Programs Guaranteed Loans; see 7 
CFR part 5001.
     Water and Waste Loans and Grants; see 7 CFR part 1780.
     Rural Business Development Grants; see 7 CFR part 4280, 
subpart E.
    Dates: See information provided in the DATES section of this 
notice.
    Rural Development Key Priorities: The Agency encourages applicants 
to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities:
     Addressing Climate Change and Environmental Justice. 
Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of 
climate change through economic support to rural communities.
     Advancing Racial Justice, Place-Based Equity, and 
Opportunity. Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to RD 
programs and benefits from RD funded projects.
     Creating More and Better Market Opportunities. Assisting 
rural communities recover economically through more and better market 
opportunities and through improved infrastructure.
    For further information on FY 24 Rural Development Priorities, 
please visit the following website: Rural

[[Page 10027]]

Development Priorities: FY 2024 [verbar] Rural Development (usda.gov).

A. Program Description

1. Purpose of the Program

    SECD supports projects that promote and partially or completely 
implement strategic community investment plans. These plans use the 
unique strengths of rural communities to advance prosperity. USDA RD 
helps finance and/or fund these projects to build community prosperity 
by using community assets, identifying resources, convening partners, 
and leveraging Federal, state, local or private funding.
    In FY 2024, the Agency plans to implement SECD through reserving 
funds from the covered programs' appropriations as provided in 7 CFR 
part 1980, subpart K. This notice provides requirements to applicants 
submitting applications for the covered programs' reserved funds and 
establishes the above-mentioned priority effective upon the publication 
of this notice.

2. Statutory and Regulatory Authority

    These funds are made available under Section 379H of the 
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 
2008v).

3. The Covered Programs

    Section 379H of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 2008v.), authorizes any program under the 
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (Pub. L. 87-128), as 
determined by the Secretary, to give priority to applications that 
support the implementation of multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral 
strategic community investment plans.
    Accordingly, the Agency is giving priority to projects implementing 
strategic community investment plans in FY 24 through the following RD 
programs:
     Community Facilities Loans; see 7 CFR part 1942, subpart 
A.
     Community Facilities Grants; see 7 CFR part 3570, subpart 
B.
     Community Facilities Guaranteed Loans; see 7 CFR part 
5001.
     Water and Waste Disposal Programs Guaranteed Loans; see 7 
CFR part 5001.
     Water and Waste Loans and Grants; see 7 CFR part 1780.
     Rural Business Development Grants; see 7 CFR part 4280, 
subpart E.

4. Application of Awards

    The Agency will review, evaluate, and score each application based 
on the criteria specified in 7 CFR 1980.1020, to award points for each 
program's competition for the SECD reserved funds.

B. Federal Award Information

    Type of Awards: Guaranteed loans, direct loans and grants.
    Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2024 appropriated funds.
    Available Funds: The amount of reserved funds available for SECD 
projects is dependent on the amount of available appropriated funding 
provided to each of the covered programs during the fiscal year. The 
NOSA is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act for 
FY 2024. Funding for the SECD covered programs in FY 2023 was 
$409,892,029, however, funding for FY 2024 will not be known until 
Congress passes an appropriations act for FY 2024. Successful 
applications will be selected by the Agency for funding and 
subsequently awarded to the extent that funding may ultimately be made 
available through appropriations. The Agency advises that all 
interested parties bear the financial burden of preparing and 
submitting an application in response to this Notice whether or not 
funding is appropriated for this program in FY 2024.
    For FY 2024 applications, the following table specifies the 
percentage of funds being reserved for the covered SECD programs:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Percentage of
                                                          funds reserved
                         Program                             for SECD
                                                             (percent)
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Community Facilities Loans..............................              10
Community Facilities Grant Program......................               5
Community Facilities Guaranteed Loans...................               5
Water and Waste Disposal Programs Guaranteed Loans......              10
Water and Waste Disposal Direct Loans...................               5
Water and Waste Disposal Grants.........................               3
Rural Business Development Grants.......................               5
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Award Amounts: Guaranteed loans, direct loans and grants will be 
awarded in amounts consistent with each applicable covered program.
    Anticipated Award Dates: Awards for SECD applications submitted to 
the covered programs in FY 24 will be obligated on or before June 30, 
2024. The Agency will return any reserved funds that are not obligated 
by the obligation deadline to each covered program's regular funding 
account for obligation of eligible projects in that program.
    Performance Period: Performance period will vary by covered 
program.
    Renewal or Supplemental Awards: N/A.
    Type of Assistance Instrument: Grants, direct loans, and loan 
guarantees.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

    To be considered for SECD reserved funds, both the applicant and 
project must meet the eligibility requirements of the covered program. 
These requirements vary among the covered programs and applicants 
should refer to the regulations for those programs, which are 
referenced in Section A.2. of this notice.
    The agency supports community and regional planning through the 
SECD regulation without making any changes to the applicant eligibility 
requirements of the covered programs. The SECD regulation includes 
three criteria that a project must meet to be considered for the SECD 
reserve funding (see 7 CFR 1980.1010):
    The first criterion, as noted above, is that the project meets the 
applicable eligibility requirements of the covered program for which 
the applicant is applying.
    The second criterion is that the project is ``carried out in a 
rural area'' as defined in 7 CFR 1980.1005. As defined, this means 
either the entire project is physically located in a rural area, or all 
the beneficiaries of the service(s) provided through the project must 
either reside in or be located in a rural area. Note that the 
definition of ``rural'' varies among the covered programs and the SECD 
regulation (7 CFR part 1980, subpart K) does not change those 
definitions. Therefore, the applicable program regulations as outlined 
in Section A.2 of this notice should be reviewed as necessary.
    The third criterion is that the project supports partial or 
complete implementation of a strategic community investment plan on a 
multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral basis as defined in 7 CFR 
1980.1005.
    To be considered for the reserved funds from covered programs in FY 
2024, applicants must: (1) meet all requirements of the covered 
program; (2) meet all requirements in accordance with 7 CFR part 1980, 
subpart K (see 7 CFR 1980.1010); and (3) submit Form RD 1980-88 and the 
supporting documentation required in 7 CFR 1080.1015 with their program 
application which includes:

[[Page 10028]]

     Sufficient information to show that the project will be 
carried out in a rural area, as defined by the appropriate covered 
program; and
     Identification of any current or previous applications the 
applicant has submitted for funds from the covered programs.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

    All cost sharing, matching, and cost participation requirements of 
the applicable covered program apply to projects seeking SECD reserved 
funds.

3. Other

    All other eligibility requirements (beyond those identified in 
Section C.1 of this notice) found in the covered programs' regulations 
applying to applicants, their projects, and the beneficiaries of those 
projects are unchanged by either this notice or the regulations for the 
SECD program (7 CFR part 1980, subpart K).

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Address To Request Application Package

    Information on how to submit applications is provided in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

    Applicants must submit the Form RD 1980-88, ``Strategic Economic 
and Community Development (Section 6401) Priority,'' located at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/strategic-economic-and-community-development#to-apply, with their program 
application to the appropriate covered program.

3. System for Award Management (SAM) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

    (a) At the time of application, each applicant must have an active 
registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting 
its application in accordance with 2 CFR part 25 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part-25. To register in SAM, 
entities will be required to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). 
Instructions for obtaining the UEI are available at https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.
    (b) Applicant must maintain an active SAM registration, with 
current, accurate and complete information, at all times during which 
it has an active Federal award or an application under consideration by 
a federal awarding agency.
    (c) Applicant must ensure they complete the Financial Assistance 
General Certifications and Representations in SAM.
    (d) Applicant must provide a valid UEI in its application, unless 
determined exempt under 2 CFR 25.110 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part-25/subpart-A/section-25.110).
    (e) The Agency will not make an award until the applicant has 
complied with all SAM requirements including providing the UEI. If an 
applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the 
Agency is ready to make an award, the Agency may determine that the 
applicant is not qualified to receive a federal award and use that 
determination as a basis for making a federal award to another 
applicant.

4. Application Submission Deadlines

    Each of the participating covered programs has different 
established deadlines for receipt of applications. Please refer to the 
Agency website or the appropriate covered program's Federal Register 
Notice for application deadline information. The Agency will not 
solicit or consider new scoring or eligibility information that is 
submitted after the application deadline. The covered RD programs also 
reserve the right to ask applicants for clarifying information and 
additional verification of assertions in the application.

5. Intergovernmental Review

    This Notice is not subject to Executive Order 12372, 
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''

6. Funding Restrictions

    All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in 
preparing and submitting applications.

7. Other Submission Requirements

    (a) SECD applications must be submitted electronically to the USDA 
RD Office servicing the area where the project is located. RD State 
Offices can be found here: https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/state-offices.
    (b) Water and Waste Loans and Grant Program must submit SECD 
applications electronically at https://rdapply.sc.egov.usda.gov/.
    (c) For lenders assigned an OneRD Loan Guarantee Initiative 
Customer Relationship Manager (CRM), SECD applications must be 
submitted to their assigned CRM.

E. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

    All FY 2024 applications for covered programs will be reviewed, 
evaluated, and scored based on the covered program's scoring criteria. 
This notice does not affect that process. This notice only affects the 
scoring of SECD applications competing for a covered program's SECD 
reserve funds.
    For applicants wishing to be considered for reserved SECD funds in 
FY 24, the Agency will review, evaluate, and score each application 
based on the criteria specified in 7 CFR 1980.1020, to award points for 
each covered program's SECD reserved funds.

2. Review and Selection Process

    The Agency will prioritize applications competing for a covered 
program's reserved funds based on the covered program's awarded points 
plus the SECD earned points to determine which projects receive 
reserved funds. SECD points awarded are added to the covered program's 
application score to elevate and prioritize projects for accessing 
reserved funds. The RD covered programs reserve the right to offer the 
applicant less than the funding requested.

F. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

    The Agency will notify SECD applicants who receive funding in a 
manner consistent with award notifications for the covered program.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

    Any and all additional requirements of the applicable covered 
programs apply to projects receiving funding in response to this 
notice. Please see the regulations for the applicable covered program.

3. Reporting Requirements

    Any and all post-award covered program reporting requirements apply 
to all projects receiving reserved funds in response to this notice.

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

    For general questions about this notice, please contact your 
respective Rural Development State Office listed at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/state-offices and other points of contact 
provided in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

[[Page 10029]]

H. Build America, Buy America

    Funding to Non-Federal Entities. Awardees that are Non-Federal 
Entities, defined pursuant to 2 CFR 200.1 as any State, local 
government, Indian tribe, Institution of Higher Education, or nonprofit 
organization, shall be governed by the requirements of Section 70914 of 
the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) within the IIJA. Any 
requests for waiver of these requirements must be submitted pursuant to 
USDA's guidance available online at https://www.usda.gov/ocfo/federal-financial-assistance-policy/USDABuyAmericaWaiver.

I. Other Information

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
information collection requirements contained in 7 CFR part 1980, 
subpart K, have been approved by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
under OMB Control Number 070-0068.

National Environmental Policy Act

    All projects to be financed under this notice are subject to the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and RD's environmental regulation at 
7 CFR part 1970 (Environmental Policies and Procedures).

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act

    All applicants, in accordance with 2 CFR part 25, must have an UEI 
number and must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) 
prior to submitting an application. Applicants may register for the SAM 
and locate or register for a UEI number at http://www.sam.gov/SAM. All 
recipients of Federal financial grant assistance are required to report 
information about first-tier sub-awards and executive total 
compensation in accordance with 2 CFR part 170. Applicants must ensure 
they complete the Financial Assistance General Certifications and 
Representations in SAM.

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, and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Nondiscrimination Statement

    In accordance with Federal civil rights laws and USDA civil rights 
regulations and policies, the USDA, its Mission Areas, agencies, staff 
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, 
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.
    Program information may be made available in languages other than 
English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large 
print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the 
responsible Mission Area, agency, staff office, or the 711 Relay 
Service.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should 
complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, 
which can be obtained online at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 
632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must 
contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a 
written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient 
detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights about the 
nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation.
    The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted 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; or
    (2) Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
    (3) Email: usda.gov">program.intake@usda.gov.
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Roger Glendenning,
Acting Under Secretary, Rural Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-02782 Filed 2-12-24; 8:45 am]
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