5824 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 

applicant on the information provided 

in the application. 

B. Applicants are advised to contact 

the Rural Development State Office 

serving the place in which they desire 

to submit an application for the 

following: 

1. Application information; and 

2. List of designated places for which 

applications for new section 515 

facilities may be submitted. 

VI. Areas of Special Emphasis or 

Consideration 

The selection criteria contained in 7 

CFR part 1944, subpart E include two 

optional criteria, one set by the National 

Office and one by the State Office. This 

fiscal year, the National Office initiative 

will be used in the selection criteria as 

follows: In states where RHS has an ongoing formal working relationship, 

agreement, or Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) with the State to 

provide State resources (State funds, 

State RA, HOME funds, CDBG funds, or 

Low Income Housing Tax Credits 

(LIHTC)) for RHS proposals; or where 

the State provides preference or points 

to RHS proposals in awarding these 

State Resources, 20 points will be 

provided to loan requests that include 

such State resources in an amount equal 

to at least 5 percent of the total 

development cost. Native American 

Housing and Self Determination Act 

(NAHASDA) funds may be considered a 

State Resource if the Tribal Plan for 

NAHASDA funds contains provisions 

for partnering with RHS for multifamily 

housing. No State selection criteria will 

be used this fiscal year.

Dated: February 2, 2004. 

Arthur A. Garcia, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2594 Filed 2–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service 

Notice of Timeframe for Section 533 

Housing Preservation Grants for Fiscal 

Year 2004

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS) announces that it is soliciting 

competitive applications under its 

Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) 

program. RHS is publishing this Notice 

prior to passage of a final appropriations 

act to give applicants the maximum 

amount of time possible to complete 

their applications, and to provide the 

Agency sufficient time to select and 

process the selected applications within 

the current fiscal year. Although a 

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) 

outlining the level of funding for the 

program will be published after 

enactment of a final appropriation act, 

no additional time for submitting 

applications will be included in the 

NOFA. Applications must be submitted 

within the timeframe set forth in this 

Notice. Because the Agency’s 

appropriations act has not been passed, 

applicants are cautioned that the 

Agency cannot make commitments 

based on the anticipated funding. 

Expenses incurred in developing 

applications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. 

The HPG program is a grant program 

which provides qualified public 

agencies, private nonprofit 

organizations, and other eligible entities 

grant funds to assist very low- and lowincome homeowners to repair and 

rehabilitate their homes in rural areas, 

and to assist rental property owners and 

cooperative housing complexes to repair 

and rehabilitate their units if they agree 

to make such units available to low- and 

very low-income persons. This action is 

taken to comply with Agency 

regulations found in 7 CFR part 1944, 

subpart N, which require the Agency to 

announce the opening and closing dates 

for receipt of preapplications for HPG 

funds from eligible applicants. The 

intended effect of this Notice is to 

provide eligible organizations notice of 

these dates. 

Discussion of Anticipated Funding for 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 

The FY 2003 funding level for the 

section 533 program was $9,935,000. To 

the extent an appropriation act provides 

funding for HPG grants in FY 2004, the 

actual funds available for FY 2004 will 

be published at a later date in a 

subsequent Notice.

DATES: The closing deadline for receipt 

of all applications in response to this 

Notice is 5 p.m., local time for each 

Rural Development State Office on May 

6, 2004. The application closing 

deadline is firm as to date and hour. 

RHS will not consider any application 

that is received after the closing 

deadline. Applicants intending to mail 

applications must provide sufficient 

time to permit delivery on or before the 

closing deadline date and time. 

Acceptance by the United States Postal 

Service or private mailer does not 

constitute delivery. Facsimile (FAX) and 

postage due applications will not be 

accepted.

ADDRESSES: Applicants wishing to apply 

for assistance must contact the Rural 

Development State Office serving the 

place in which they desire to submit an 

application to receive further 

information and copies of the 

application package. Rural Development 

will date and time stamp incoming 

applications to evidence timely receipt, 

and, upon request, will provide the 

applicant with a written 

acknowledgment of receipt. A listing of 

Rural Development State Offices, their 

addresses, telephone numbers, and 

person to contact follows:

Note: Telephone numbers listed are not 

toll-free.

Alabama State Office 

Suite 601, Sterling Centre, 4121 

Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 

36106–3683, (334) 279–3400, TDD (334) 

279–3495, James B. Harris. 

Alaska State Office 

800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK 

99645, (907) 761–7740, TDD (907) 761–

8905, Deborah Davis. 

Arizona State Office 

Phoenix Corporate Center, 3003 N. Central 

Ave., Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012–

2906, (602) 280–8765, TDD (602) 280–

8706, Johnna Vargas.

Arkansas State Office 

700 W. Capitol Ave., Rm. 3416, Little Rock, 

AR 72201–3225, (501) 301–3258, TDD 

(501) 301–3063, Clinton King. 

California State Office 

430 G Street, #4169, Davis, CA 95616–

4169, (530) 792–5830, TDD (530) 792–

5848, Jeff Deiss. 

Colorado State Office 

655 Parfet Street, Room E100, Lakewood, 

CO 80215, (720) 544–2923, TDD (800) 

659–2656, Mary Summerfield. 

Connecticut 

Served by Massachusetts State Office. 

Delaware and Maryland State Office 

4607 South Dupont Highway, PO Box 400, 

Camden, DE 19934–9998, (302) 697–

4353, TDD (302) 697–4303, Pat Baker. 

Florida & Virgin Islands State Office 

4440 NW. 25th Place, Gainesville, FL 

32606–6563 (352) 338–3465, TDD (352) 

338–3499, Joseph P. Fritz. 

Georgia State Office 

Stephens Federal Building, 355 E. Hancock 

Avenue, Athens, GA 30601–2768, (706) 

546–2164, TDD (706) 546–2034, Wayne 

Rogers. 

Guam 

Served by Hawaii State Office. 

Hawaii State Office 

(Services all Hawaii, American Samoa and 

Western Pacific), Room 311, Federal 

Building, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, 

HI 96720, (808) 933–8309, TDD (808) 

933–8321, Thao Khamoui. 

Idaho State Office 

Suite A1, 9173 West Barnes Dr., Boise, ID 

83709, (208) 378–5628, TDD (208) 378–

5644, LaDonn McElligott. 

Illinois State Office 

2118 West Park Court, Suite A, Champaign, 

IL 61821–2986, (217) 403–6222, TDD 

(217) 403–6240, Barry L. Ramsey. 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 5825

Indiana State Office 

5975 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 

46278, (317) 290–3100 (ext. 423), TDD 

(317) 290–3343, John Young. 

Iowa State Office 

210 Walnut Street Room 873, Des Moines, 

IA 50309, (515) 284–4493, TDD (515) 

284–4858, Julie Sleeper. 

Kansas State Office 

1303 SW First American Place, Suite 100, 

Topeka, KS 66604–4040, (785) 271–2721, 

TDD (785) 271–2767, Virginia M. 

Hammersmith. 

Kentucky State Office 

771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, 

KY 40503, (859) 224–7325, TDD (859) 

224–7422, Beth Moore. 

Louisiana State Office 

3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA 

71302, (318) 473–7962, TDD (318) 473–

7655, Yvonne R. Emerson. 

Maine State Office 

967 Illinois Ave., Suite 4, PO Box 405, 

Bangor, ME 04402–0405, (207) 990–

9110, TDD (207) 942–7331, Dale Holmes. 

Maryland 

Served by Delaware State Office. 

Massachusetts, Connecticut, & Rhode Island 

State Office 

451 West Street Suite 2, Amherst, MA 

01002, (413) 253–4315, TDD (413) 253–

4590, Paul Geoffroy. 

Michigan State Office 

3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East 

Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324–5192, TDD 

(517) 337–6795, Philip Wolak. 

Minnesota State Office 

375 Jackson Street Building, Suite 410, St. 

Paul, MN 55101, (651) 602–7804, TDD 

(651) 602–7830, Joyce Vondal. 

Mississippi State Office 

Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 W. Capitol 

Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965–

4325, TDD (601) 965–5850, Darnella 

Smith-Murray. 

Missouri State Office 

601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade 

Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, 

(573) 876–9303, TDD (573) 876–9480, 

Betty Eftink.

Montana State Office 

Unit 1, Suite B, 900 Technology Blvd., 

Bozeman, MT 59715, (406) 585–2551, 

TDD (406) 585–2562, Deborah Chorlton. 

Nebraska State Office 

Federal Building, room 152, 100 

Centennial Mall N., Lincoln, NE 68508, 

(402) 437–5035, TDD (402) 437–5093, 

Sharon Kluck. 

Nevada State Office 

1390 South Curry Street, Carson City, NV 

89703–9910, (775) 887–1222 (ext. 25), 

TDD (775) 885–0633, Angilla Denton. 

New Hampshire State Office 

Concord Center, Suite 218, Box 317, 10 

Ferry Street, Concord, NH 03301–5004, 

(603) 223–6046, TDD (603) 229–0536, 

Jim Fowler. 

New Jersey State Office 

5th Floor North, Suite 500, 8000 Midlantic 

Drive, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787–

7740, TDD (856) 787–7784, George Hyatt, 

Jr.. 

New Mexico State Office 

6200 Jefferson St., NE., Room 255, 

Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761–

4944, TDD (505) 761–4938, Carmen N. 

Lopez. 

New York State Office 

The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 S. Salina 

Street, Suite 357 5th Floor, Syracuse, NY 

13202, (315) 477–6404, TDD (315) 477–

6447, Tia Baker. 

North Carolina State Office 

4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC 

27609, (919) 873–2066, TDD (919) 873–

2003, William A. Hobbs. 

North Dakota State Office 

Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East 

Rosser, PO Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 

58502, (701) 530–2046, TDD (701) 530–

2113, Barry Borstad. 

Ohio State Office 

Federal Building, Room 507, 200 North 

High Street, Columbus, OH 43215–2477, 

(614) 255–2418, TDD (614) 255–2554, 

Melodie Taylor-Ward. 

Oklahoma State Office 

100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 

74074–2654, (405) 742–1070, TDD (405) 

742–1007, Ivan Graves. 

Oregon State Office 

101 SW Main, Suite 1410, Portland, OR 

97204–3222, (503) 414–3325, TDD 

(503)414–3387, Bill Daniel. 

Pennsylvania State Office 

One Credit Union Place, Suite 330, 

Harrisburg, PA 17110–2996, (717) 237–

2282, TDD (717) 237–2261, Marth E. 

Hanson. 

Puerto Rico State Office 

IBM Building, Suite 601, Munoz Rivera 

Ave. #654, San Juan, PR 00918, (787) 

766–5095 (ext. 249), TDD (787) 766–

5332, Lourdes Colon. 

Rhode Island 

Served by Massachusetts State Office. 

South Carolina State Office 

Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835 

Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, 

SC 29201, (803) 253–3432, TDD (803) 

765–5697, Larry D. Floyd. 

South Dakota State Office 

Federal Building, Room 210, 200 Fourth 

Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352–

1135, TDD (605) 352–1147, Roger 

Hazuka. 

Tennessee State Office 

Suite 300, 3322 West End Avenue, 

Nashville, TN 37203–1084, (615) 783–

1375, TDD (615) 783–1397, Larry 

Kennedy. 

Texas State Office 

Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South 

Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742–

9758, TDD (254) 742–9712, Julie Hayes. 

Utah State Office 

Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 

S. State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake 

City, UT 84138, (801) 524–4323, TDD 

(801) 524–3309, Dave Brown. 

Vermont State Office 

City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street, 

Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828–6028, 

TDD (802) 223–6365, Sandra Mercier. 

Virgin Islands 

Served by Florida State Office.

Virginia State Office 

Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606 Santa 

Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 

287–1596, TDD (804) 287–1753, CJ 

Michels. 

Washington State Office 

1835 Black Lake Blvd., Suite B, Olympia, 

WA 98512, (360) 704–7731, TDD (360) 

704–7742, Robert L. Lund. 

Western Pacific Territories 

Served by Hawaii State Office. 

West Virginia State Office 

Federal Building, 75 High Street, Room 

320, Morgantown, WV 26505–7500, 

(304) 284–4889, TDD (304) 284–4836, 

Craig St. Clair. 

Wisconsin State Office 

4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens Point, WI 

54481, (715) 345–7608 (ext.151), TDD 

(715) 345–7614, Sherry Engel. 

Wyoming State Office 

100 East B, Federal Building, Room 1005, 

PO Box 820, Casper, WY 82602, (307) 

261–6315, TDD (307) 261–6333, Jack 

Hyde.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information, applicants may 

contact Tammy S. Daniels, Loan 

Specialist, Multi-Family Housing 

Processing Division, Rural Housing 

Service, United States Department of 

Agriculture, Stop 0781, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC, 20250–0781, telephone 

(202) 720–0021 (voice) (this is not a toll 

free number) or (800) 877–8339 (TDDFederal Information Relay Service).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Programs Affected 

This program is listed in the Catalog 

of Federal Domestic Assistance under 

Number 10.433, Rural Housing 

Preservation Grants. This program is 

subject to the provisions of Executive 

Order 12372 which requires 

intergovernmental consultation with 

State and local officials (7 CFR part 

3015, subpart V). Applicants are 

referred to 7 CFR 1944.674 and 

1944.676(f) and (g) for specific guidance 

on these requirements relative to the 

HPG program. 

Application Requirements 

7 CFR part 1944, subpart N provides 

details on what information must be 

contained in the preapplication 

package. Entities wishing to apply for 

assistance should contact the Rural 

Development State Office to receive 

further information, the State allocation 

of funds if and when a final 

appropriation act is enacted providing 

funding for the HPG Program, and 

copies of the preapplication package. 

Eligible entities for these competitively 

awarded grants include state and local 

governments, nonprofit corporations, 

Federally recognized Indian Tribes, and 

consortia of eligible entities.

Federally recognized Indian Tribes 

are exempt from the requirement found 

in 7 CFR 1944.674 that the applicant 

announce the availability of its 

5826 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 

statement of activities for review in a 

newspaper, provided a notice is sent to 

all tribal members in the area or some 

other acceptable manner of notification 

is used, and provided that this is 

accomplished within the timeframes 

that are specified in 7 CFR 1944.674. 

As part of the application, all 

applicants must also provide a Dun and 

Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number. As required by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), all grant applicants must 

provide a DUNS number when applying 

for Federal grants, on or after October 1, 

2003. Organizations can receive a DUNS 

number at no cost by calling the 

dedicated toll-free DUNS Number 

request line at 1–866–705–5711. 

Additional information concerning this 

requirement is provided in a policy 

directive issued by OMB and published 

in the Federal Register on June 27, 2003 

(Vol. 68, No. 124, pages 38402–38405). 

To comply with the President’s 

Management Agenda, the Department of 

Agriculture is participating as a partner 

in the new government-wide Grants.gov 

site in FY 2004. Housing Preservation 

Grants (Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance # 10.433) is one of the 

programs included at this website. If 

you are an applicant under the Housing 

Preservation Grant Program, you may 

submit your application to the Agency 

in either electronic or paper format. 

Please be mindful that the application 

deadline for electronic format differs 

from the deadline for paper format. The 

electronic format deadline will be based 

on Washington DC time. The paper 

format deadline is local time for each 

Rural Development State Office. 

Users of Grants.gov will be able to 

download a copy of the application 

package, complete it off line, and then 

upload and submit the application via 

the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail 

an electronic copy of a grant application 

to RHS; however, the Agency 

encourages your participation in 

Grants.gov.

• When you enter the Grants.gov site, 

you will find information about 

submitting an application electronically 

through the site as well as the hours of 

operation. RHS strongly recommends 

that you do not wait until the 

application deadline date to begin the 

application process through Grants.gov.

To use Grants.gov, applicants must have 

a DUNS number. 

• You may submit all documents 

electronically through the website, 

including all information typically 

included on the application for Rural 

Housing Preservation Grants, and all 

necessary assurances and certifications. 

• Your application must comply with 

any page limit requirements described 

in this Notice. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application through the website, 

you will receive an automatic 

acknowledgement from Grants.gov that 

contains a Grants.gov tracking number. 

• RHS may request that you provide 

original signatures on forms at a later 

date. 

• If you experience technical 

difficulties on the closing date and are 

unable to meet the 5 p.m. (Washington, 

DC time) deadline, print out your 

application and submit it to your State 

Office. If you must submit the 

application to your State Office, you 

must meet the closing date and local 

time deadline. 

You may access the electronic grant 

application for Housing Preservation 

Grants at: http://www.grants.gov.

Please note that you must locate the 

downloadable application package for 

this program by the CFDA Number or 

FedGrants Funding Opportunity 

Number, which can be found at http://

www.fedgrants.gov.

Funding Information 

The funding instrument for the HPG 

Program will be a grant agreement. The 

term of the grant can vary from 1 to 2 

years, depending on available funds and 

demand. No maximum or minimum 

grant levels have been established at the 

National level. If and when a final 

appropriation act is enacted providing 

funding for the HPG Program, you 

should contact the Rural Development 

State Office to determine the allocation 

and the State maximum grant level, if 

any. From funds available for the HPG 

Program, there will be monies set aside 

for grants located in Empowerment 

Zones, Enterprise Communities, and 

Rural Economic Area Partnership Zones 

and other funds will be distributed 

under a formula allocation to States 

pursuant to 7 CFR part 1940, subpart L.

Dated: February 2, 2004. 

Arthur A. Garcia, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2593 Filed 2–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service 

Notice for Requests for Proposals for 

Guaranteed Loans Under the Section 

538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) for Fiscal Year 2004

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This is a request for proposals 

for guaranteed loans under the section 

538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) pursuant to 7 CFR 

3565.4 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 subject 

to the availability of funding. FY 2003 

funding for the section 538 program was 

$99.350 million. This notice is being 

issued prior to passage of a final 

appropriations bill to allow applicants 

sufficient time to leverage financing and 

submit proposals in the form of 

‘‘RESPONSES’’, and give the Agency 

maximum time to process applications 

within the current fiscal year. A Notice 

of Funding Availability will be 

published announcing the funding level 

for the GRRHP for FY 2004 once an 

appropriation act has been enacted. The 

commitment of program dollars will be 

made to applicants of selected responses 

that have fulfilled the necessary 

requirements for obligation, to the 

extent an appropriation act provides 

funding for GRRHP for FY 2004. 

Expenses incurred in developing 

applications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. The following paragraphs outline 

the timeframes, eligibility requirements, 

lender responsibilities, and the overall 

response and application processes. 

The GRRHP operates under 7 CFR 

part 3565. The GRRHP Origination and 

Servicing Handbook (HB–1–3565) is 

available to provide lenders and the 

general public with guidance on 

program administration. HB–1–3565, 

which contains a copy of 7 CFR part 

3565 in Appendix 1, can be found at the 

Rural Development Instructions Web 

site at http://rdinit.usda.gov/regs.

Eligible lenders are invited to submit 

responses for the development of 

affordable rental housing to serve rural 

America. The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS) will review responses submitted 

by eligible lenders, on the lender’s 

letterhead, and signed by both the 

prospective borrower and lender. 

Although a complete application is not 

required in response to this notice, 

eligible lenders may submit a complete 

application concurrently with the 

response. The submission of a complete 

application will not affect the scoring 

process.

DATES: Program dollars will be allocated 

through a continuous selection process 

to the extent and when an appropriation 

act provides funding for GRRHP for FY 

2004. The RHS will review all responses 

on an on-going basis through May 14, 

2004. Those responses that are selected 

that subsequently submit complete 

applications and meet all Federal 

environmental requirements will 

receive commitments to the extent an 

appropriation act provides funding for