[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53041-53042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13895]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Rural Housing Service

Rural Utilities Service

[Docket No. RUS-24-AGENCY-0010]


OneRD Annual Notice of Guarantee Fee Rates, Periodic Retention 
Fee Rates, Loan Guarantee Percentage and Fee for Issuance of the Loan 
Note Guarantee Prior to Construction Completion for Fiscal Year 2025

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

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), Rural Housing 
Service (RHS), and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), agencies of the 
Rural Development mission area within the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), hereinafter collectively referred to as the Agency, 
offer loan guarantees through four programs: Community Facilities (CF) 
administered by the RHS; Water and Waste Disposal (WWD) administered by 
the RUS; and Business and Industry (B&I) and Rural Energy for America 
Program (REAP) administered by the RBCS. This notice provides 
applicants with the Guarantee Fee rates, Guarantee percentage for 
Guaranteed Loans, the Periodic Retention Fee, and Fee for Issuance of 
the Loan Note Guarantee Prior to Construction Completion for Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2025. These fees are to be used when applying for loan note 
guarantees under the guaranteed loan types listed above during FY2025. 
This notice is being published prior to the passage of a FY 2025 
appropriation. Should the fees need to be adjusted after passage of the 
FY 2025 appropriations, the agency will publish a subsequent notice in 
the Federal Register.

DATES: The fees in this notice are effective October 1, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information specific to this 
notice contact Susan Woolard, Special Projects Coordinator, Rural 
Development Innovation Center--Regulations Management, USDA, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-1522. Telephone: (202) 
720-9631 (This is not a toll-free number). Email: 
[email protected]. For information regarding implementation, 
contact your respective Rural Development State Office listed at 
rd.usda.gov/browse-state.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As set forth in 7 CFR part 5001, the Agency 
is authorized to charge a guarantee fee, a periodic guarantee retention 
fee, a fee for the issuance of the loan note guarantee prior to 
construction completion and establish a loan guarantee percentage for 
guaranteed loans made under this rule. Pursuant to this and other 
applicable authority, and subject to the current appropriated 
authority, the Agency is establishing the following for FY 2025:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Fee for
                                                                                                    issuance of
                                                                     Periodic                        loan note
                                                   Guarantee fee   guarantee (%)       Loan          guarantee
                    Loan type                           (%)        retention fee     guarantee       prior to
                                                                        (%)         percentage     construction
                                                                                                    completion
                                                                                                        (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B&I.............................................            3.00            0.55              80            0.50
B&I Reduced Fee.................................             1.0            0.50              80            0.50
B&I project in a high cost, isolated rural area              1.0            0.50              90            0.50
 of the State of Alaska that is not connected to
 a road system..................................
CF..............................................            1.25            0.50              80            0.50
REAP............................................             1.0            0.25              80            0.50
WWD.............................................             1.0             N/A              90            0.50
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The initial guarantee fee is paid at the time the loan note 
guarantee is issued. The periodic guarantee retention fee is paid by 
the lender to the Agency once a year. Payment of the periodic guarantee 
retention fee is required in order to maintain the enforceability of 
the guarantee. The fee for issuance of the loan note guarantee prior to 
construction completion DOES NOT apply to all construction loans. This 
additional fee only applies to loans requesting to receive a loan note 
guarantee prior to project completion. For loans where the loan note 
guarantee is issued between October 1 and December 31, the first 
periodic retention fee payment is due January 31 of the

[[Page 53042]]

second year following the date the loan note guarantee was issued.
    As set forth in 7 CFR 5001.454(d), each fiscal year, the Agency 
shall establish a limit on the maximum portion of B&I guarantee 
authority available for that fiscal year that may be used to guarantee 
loans with a reduced guarantee fee. The Agency has established that not 
more than 12 percent of the Agency's B&I guarantee authority will be 
reserved for loan guarantee requests with a reduced fee. Once this 
limit is reached, all additional loans will be at the standard fee.
    Unless precluded by a subsequent FY 2025 appropriation, these rates 
will apply to all guaranteed loans obligated in FY 2025. The amount of 
the periodic retention fee on each guaranteed loan will be determined 
by multiplying the periodic retention fee rate by the outstanding 
principal loan balance as of December 31, multiplied by the percentage 
of guarantee.

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, 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 through the 711 Relay Service. Additionally, program 
information may be made available in languages other than English.
    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/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 (ASCR) 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: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Basil I. Gooden,
Under Secretary, Rural Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-13895 Filed 6-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P