1918 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2021 / Notices 

in breeding, exporting, importing, and 

containing bees and related articles. The 

information APHIS collects serves as the 

supporting documentation needed to 

issue required PPQ forms and 

documents that allow importation of 

bees and related articles or authorizes 

the release of bees. This documentation 

is vital to helping APHIS ensure that 

exotic bee diseases and parasites, and 

undesirable species and subspecies of 

honeybees, do not spread into or within 

the United States. Without the 

information, APHIS could not verify 

that imported bees and related articles 

do not present a significant risk of 

introducing exotic bee disease, 

parasites, and undesirable species and 

subspecies of honeybees. 

Description of Respondents: 

Businesses or other-for-profit; Foreign 

Federal Government. 

Number of Respondents: 18. 

Frequency of Responses: 

Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion. 

Total Burden Hours: 54. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00229 Filed 1–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

Rural Housing Service 

Rural Utilities Service 

[Docket No. RBS–20–BUSINESS–0040] 

Notice of Solicitation of Applications 

(NOSA) for the Strategic Economic and 

Community Development Program for 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, Rural Housing Service, and 

Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Agriculture Act of 2018 

(2018 Farm Bill) re-authorized the 

Strategic Economic and Community 

Development (SECD) priority with some 

modifications. Section 6401 of the 2018 

Farm Bill enables the Secretary of 

Agriculture to prioritize projects that 

support multi-jurisdictional and multisectoral strategic community investment 

plans, recently included in the existing 

regulation In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, the 

Agency implements SECD through 

reserving funds from covered program’s 

appropriations. The purpose of this 

notice is to provide requirements to 

applicants submitting applications for 

the covered programs’ reserved funds 

and to establish the above mentioned 

priority. 

DATES: To apply for SECD priority 

points and funding in FY 2021, 

applicants must submit Form RD 1980– 

88, ‘‘Strategic Economic and 

Community Development (Section 

6401),’’ to the appropriate covered 

program by the deadline established for 

receipt of applications within 

individual covered programs as 

established on the Agency website or in 

the program’s Federal Register Notice. 

All applicants are responsible for any 

additional expenses incurred in 

preparing and submitting applications. 

ADDRESSES: Submit applications to the 

USDA Rural Development Office 

servicing the area where the project is 

located. A list of the USDA Rural 

Development Offices can be found listed 

by state at: http://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

contact-us/state-offices. If you have 

been assigned a OneRD Loan Guarantee 

Initiative Customer Relationship 

Manager (CRM), please submit 

applications to them. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

more information, please contact your 

respective Rural Development State 

Office listed here: http://

www.rd.usda.gov/browse-state. 

Or if you have been assigned a OneRD 

Loan Guarantee Initiative CRM, please 

contact them. 

For all other inquiries, contact: Greg 

Batson, Rural Development Innovation 

Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Stop 0793, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW, Washington, DC 20250–0783, 

Telephone: (573) 239–2945. Email: 

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-communitydevelopment. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Agriculture Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) 

re-authorized the Strategic Economic 

and Community Development (SECD) 

priority with some modifications. 

Section 6401 of the 2018 Farm Bill 

enables the Secretary of Agriculture to 

prioritize projects that support multijurisdictional and multi-sectoral 

strategic community investment plans. 

These changes were implemented in a 

recent amendment to 7 CFR 1980 

subpart K, which was published in the 

Federal Register on September 22, 2020. 

In FY 2021, the Agency implements 

SECD through reserving funds from 

covered programs’ appropriations. 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. 

Priority 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. 

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 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. See https://

www.cdc.gov/pwid/vulnerable-countiesdata.html. 

Key strategies include: 

• Prevention: Reducing the occurrence 

of Substance Use Disorder (including 

opioid misuse) and fatal substancerelated overdoses through community 

and provider education and harm 

reduction measures such as the 

strategic placement of overdose 

reversing devices, such as naloxone; 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2021 / Notices 1919 

• 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 to areas for 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. 

This action has been reviewed and 

determined not to be a rule or regulation 

as defined in Executive Order 12866, as 

amended by Executive Order 13258. 

I. Background 

Section 6401 of the 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized Section 6025 of the 

Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm 

Bill) with some modifications. The 

provision provides priority to projects 

that support multi-jurisdictional and 

multi-sectoral strategic community 

investment plans when applying for 

program funds under the rural 

development mission area. These 

changes were implemented in a recent 

amendment to 7 CFR 1980 subpart K, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register on September 22, 2020. In FY 

2021, the Agency will reserve funds 

from the covered programs, using SECD 

regulation 7 CFR part 1980, subpart K. 

This notice provides applicants with 

eligible projects the opportunity to 

apply for reserve funding in FY 2021. 

A. Statutory Authority 

This priority is authorized under 

Section 6401 of the 2018 Farm Bill. 

B. Programs 

Section 6401 of the 2018 Farm Bill 

authorizes any program under the 

Consolidated Farm and Rural 

Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008v), as 

determined by the Secretary, to give 

priority to applications that support the 

implementation of multi-jurisdictional 

and multi-sectoral strategic community 

investment plans. In FY 2021, the 

Agency implements SECD through 

reserving funds from the covered 

programs, using SECD regulation 7 CFR 

part 1980, subpart K. 

Accordingly, the Agency is giving 

priority to projects implementing 

strategic community investment plans 

through the following Rural 

Development programs: 

• Community Facility Loans; see 7 

CFR part 1942, subpart A. 

• Community Facilities Grants; see 7 

CFR part 3570, subpart B. 

• Community Programs Guaranteed 

Loans; see 7 CFR part 3575. 

• Water and Waste Disposal Programs 

Guaranteed Loans; see 7 CFR part 1779. 

• Water and Waste Loans and Grants; 

see 7 CFR part 1780. 

• Business and Industry Guaranteed 

Loans; see 7 CFR part 4279, subparts A 

and B; 7 CFR part 4287, subpart B. 

• Rural Business Development 

Grants; see 7 CFR part 4280, subpart E. 

• Community Connect Grant; see 7 

CFR part 1739. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Awards: Guaranteed loans, 

direct loans and grants. 

Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2021 

appropriated funds. 

Available Funds: The amount of 

funds available will depend on the 

amount of funds the covered programs 

have available during the fiscal year. 

Regional Planning Priority 

For FY 2021 applications, the 

following table specifies the percentage 

of funds being reserved: 

Program 

Percentage 

of funds 

reserved 

for SECD 

Community Facility Loans ................... 10 

Community Facilities Grant Program .. 10 

Community Programs Guaranteed 

Loans ............................................... 10 

Water and Waste Disposal Programs 

Guaranteed Loans ........................... 10 

Water and Waste Loans ..................... 5 

Water and Waste Grants .................... 3 

Business and Industry Guaranteed 

Loan ................................................. 5 

Rural Business Development Grants .. 5 

Community Connect ............................ 10 

Award Amounts: Guaranteed loans, 

direct loans and grants will be awarded 

in amounts consistent with each 

applicable covered program. 

Award Dates: Awards for SECD 

applications submitted in FY 2021 to 

the Business and Industry (B&I) 

Guaranteed Loan Program, Community 

Connect Grant Program, Community 

Facilities (CF) Program and Water and 

Environmental Program (WEP) will be 

obligated on or before June 30, 2021. For 

SECD applications submitted to the 

Rural Business Development Grant 

(RBDG) Program, awards will be 

obligated on or before July 31, 2021. The 

agency will return any reserved funds 

that are not obligated by the covered 

program’s obligation deadlines to the 

covered program’s regular funding 

account for obligation of all eligible 

projects in that program. 

III. Eligibility Information 

A. Eligible Requirements 

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 I. A. 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 in order 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 Section 6401 

regulation does not change those 

definitions, therefore, the applicable 

program regulations as outlined in I.A. 

should be reviewed as necessary. 

The third criterion is that the project 

supports the implementation of a 

strategic community investment plan on 

a multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral 

basis as defined in 7 CFR 1980.1005. 

In order to be considered for the 

reserved funds from covered programs 

in FY 2021, applicants must (1) meet all 

requirements of the covered program; 

(2) meet all requirements in accordance 

with 7 CFR part 1980, subpart K (see7 

CFR 1980.1010); and (3) submit Form 

RD 1980–88 and supporting 

documentation. Form RD 1980–88 

requests such information as (see 7 CFR 

1980.1015): 

• Identification of the applicant; i.e., 

a State, county, municipal, or tribal 

government or non-profit entity, council 

of government, school district or special 

district; 

• Identification by name of the plan 

being supported by the project, the date 

the plan became effective and is to 

remain in effect, and a detailed 

description of how the project directly 

supports one or more of the plan’s 

objectives; 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
1920 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2021 / Notices 

• Sufficient information to show that 

the project will be carried out in a rural 

area; and 

• Identification of any current or 

previous applications the applicant has 

submitted for funds from the covered 

programs. 

B. Cost Sharing or Matching 

Any and all cost sharing, matching, 

and cost participation requirements of 

the applicable covered program apply to 

projects seeking SECD reserved funds. 

The Section 6401 regulation does not 

change such requirements. 

C. Other Eligibility Requirements 

Any and all other eligibility 

requirements (beyond those identified 

in III.A of this notice) found in the 

covered programs applying to 

applicants, their projects, and the 

beneficiaries of those projects are 

unchanged by either this notice or the 

Section 6401 regulation. 

IV. Application Evaluation and 

Selection for Covered Programs Funds 

A. Scoring of Applications 

All FY 2021 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 the reserved funds in FY 

2021, the Agency will review, evaluate, 

and score each Form RD 1980–88, based 

on the criteria specified in 7 CFR 

1980.1020, to award the SECD reserved 

funds. 

B. 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. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

A. Award Notices 

The Agency will notify SECD 

applicants who receive funding in a 

manner consistent with award 

notifications for the covered program. 

B. 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 

underlying program. 

C. Reporting Requirements 

Any and all post-award reporting 

requirements contained in the covered 

program apply to all projects receiving 

funding in response to this notice. 

VII. Additional 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 0570–0068. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

This document has been reviewed in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 1970, 

subpart A, ‘‘Environmental Policies.’’ It 

is the determination of the Agency that 

this action does not constitute a major 

Federal action significantly affecting the 

quality of the human environment, and, 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 

Public Law 91–190, neither an 

Environmental Assessment nor an 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

required. 

Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act 

All applicants, in accordance with 2 

CFR part 25, must have a DUNS 

number, which can be obtained at no 

cost via a toll-free request line at 1–866– 

705–5711 or online at http://

fedgov.dnb.com/webform. Similarly, all 

grant applicants must be registered in 

the System for Award Management 

(SAM) prior to submitting an 

application. Applicants may register for 

the SAM 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. 

Nondiscrimination 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’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;, Fax: (202) 690–7442; 

or, Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

Bette Brand, 

Deputy Under Secretary, Rural Development. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00234 Filed 1–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

[Docket No. RHS–21–CF–0001] 

Community Facilities Technical 

Assistance and Training Grant for 

Fiscal Year 2021 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Solicitation of 

Applications. 

SUMMARY: This Notice announces that 

the Rural Housing Service (Agency) is 

accepting Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 

applications for the Community 

Facilities Technical Assistance and 

Training (TAT) Grant program. The 

Agency will publish the amount of 

funding received in the final 

appropriations act on its website at 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/ 

notices-solicitation-applications-nosas. 

Awards will be made from available 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES