This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

47185 

Vol. 74, No. 177 

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

Notice of Acceptance of Proposals for 

the Section 538 Multi-Family Housing 

Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) Demonstration 

Program for Fiscal Year 2009 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Through this Notice, the 

Agency announces the implementation 

of a demonstration program under the 

section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental 

Housing Program (GRRHP) pursuant to 

7 CFR 3565.4 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 

and 7 CFR 3565.17 demonstration 

programs. The Demonstration Program’s 

purpose is to test the viability and 

efficacy of the concept of a continuous 

loan note guarantee through the 

construction and permanent loan 

financing phases of a project. Those 

applications that meet the 

Demonstration Program’s qualifying 

criteria and are selected to participate 

will be offered one loan note guarantee 

upon closing of the construction loan 

that will be in effect throughout both of 

the project’s construction and 

permanent phases without interruption. 

The Agency will permit 

approximately $10 million in previously 

obligated program loan authority to 

participate in this Demonstration 

Program. 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. 

Eligible Lenders wishing to have their 

GRRHP obligated, but unfunded 

guaranteed 538 applications considered 

for the FY 2009 Demonstration Program 

must send a signed request on its 

letterhead with the proposed project 

details as outlined in the 

‘‘Demonstration Program Response 

Submission Address’’ section of this 

Notice. No other applications will be 

considered. 

Demonstration Program Guidelines 

The following guidelines are being 

provided to facilitate a structured 

implementation of the program: 

1. Demonstration guarantee. The 

Demonstration guarantee is a guarantee 

that will be offered to selected lenders 

who submit applications in response to 

this Notice. The Demonstration 

guarantee will consist of one loan note 

guarantee that will be issued upon 

closing of the construction loan and will 

be in effect throughout both of the 

project’s construction and permanent 

financing phases without interruption. 

2. Upon approval of an eligible 

previously obligated guaranteed 538 

application from an approved lender, 

the Agency will modify the outstanding 

conditional commitment to provide a 

demonstration guarantee for the 

construction and permanent financing 

phases of the project, subject to the 

availability of funds. 

3. Guarantee percentage and payment. 

Both construction loan advances and 

permanent loans are eligible for a 

guarantee subject to the following 

limitations: 

Construction loan advances and 

permanent loans. The Agency can 

guarantee the ‘‘construction and 

permanent’’ financing phases of a 

project. The Agency cannot, however, 

guarantee only the ‘‘construction’’ 

financing phase of a project. Guarantees 

under the demonstration guarantee will 

cover construction loan advances and 

the subsequent permanent loan. The 

maximum guarantee of construction 

advances will not at any time exceed the 

lesser of 90 percent of the amount of 

principal and interest up to default 

advanced for eligible uses of loan 

proceeds or 90 percent of the original 

principal amount and interest up to 

default of a loan. Penalties incurred as 

a result of default are not covered by the 

guarantee. The Agency may provide a 

lesser guarantee based upon its 

evaluation of the credit quality of the 

loan. 

4. A lender making a construction 

loan must demonstrate an ability to 

originate and service construction loans. 

5 Guarantee during construction. The 

Agency will issue a demonstration 

guarantee only to an approved lender. 

6. Demonstration guarantee program 

compliance requirement. For a 

demonstration guarantee, after the loan 

note guarantee is issued, the following 

items will have to be submitted and 

approved by the Agency within the 

timeframe stipulated by the Agency: 

(i) A certificate of substantial 

completion; 

(ii) A certificate of occupancy or 

similar evidence of local approval; 

(iii) A final cost certification in a form 

acceptable to the Agency; 

(iv) A complete copy of the 

permanent loan closing docket, if a 

separate closing is conducted for the 

permanent loan; and 

(v) Any other information necessary 

for the Agency to comply with its 

regulations. 

Items (i), (ii) and (iii) are only 

required if the project is constructed. To 

facilitate the implementation of the 

program, certain program forms may be 

addended to include relevant 

Demonstration Program requirements. 

The selected applicants will be 

subject to the Demonstration Program 

guidelines in this Notice, and GRRHP’s 

controlling statute, regulations, and 

handbook as amended. The GRRHP 

operates under the Housing Act of 1949, 

as amended, and regulations at 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 address http:// 

www.rurdev.usda.gov/regs/ 

hblist.html#hbw6. 

Demonstration Program Eligibility: 

GRRHP obligated applications that meet 

the following criteria will be eligible for 

consideration to be selected into the 

Demonstration Program: 

1. The project must have been 

awarded and continue to receive Low 

Income Housing Tax Credits. 

2. The project must have a loan to cost 

(LTC) ratio equal to or lower than 50%. 

3. The Lender must have submitted a 

timely response to this Notice in 

accordance with the ‘‘Demonstration 

Program Response Submission 

Address’’ section of this Notice. 

4. A Lender must have submitted its 

application under the GRRHP 2008 

Notice published February 4, 2008, 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
47186 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 177 / Tuesday, September 15, 2009 / Notices 

Volume 73 FR 6469–6477, the GRRHP 

2009 Notice published January 21, 2009, 

Volume 74 FR, 3551–3558, or the 

GRRHP 2009 Notice published on June 

26, 2009, Volume 74 FR, 30503–30510. 

5. The application to be considered 

must have been obligated from October 

1, 2008 to December 18, 2009. However, 

if Demonstration funds have not been 

fully utilized by December 18, 2009, the 

Agency may consider applications 

obligated on or after October 1, 2007. 

6. The Lender must not have closed 

the construction loan prior to its 

selection to participate in the 

Demonstration Program. 

Demonstration Program Selection 

Process 

Selections from qualified applications 

that have requested consideration and 

met all requirements for this 

Demonstration Program will be based on 

priority scores they received on their 

previously submitted applications, with 

the highest scoring applications, being 

selected first, until all available 

Demonstration Program Authority is 

used. In the event of a tie, priority will 

be given to the application that: is in the 

smaller rural community, and in case of 

a subsequent tie to the application that 

has the lowest LTC ratio. 

The first round of selections into the 

Demonstration Program will be made on 

September 18, 2009. In the event there 

are not enough qualified requests for 

selection into the Demonstration 

Program to utilize all the available 

Demonstration Program Authority, then 

until all funds are exhausted, an 

additional selection process will be 

conducted on the 3rd Friday of each the 

month starting October 16, 2009, with 

December 18, 2009 being the last 

selection date. All applicants will be 

notified of the selection results no later 

than 30 business days from the date of 

selection. 

Demonstration Program Response 

Submission Address 

Eligible lenders wishing to have their 

obligated applications considered for 

selection into the Demonstration 

Program must submit a signed request 

(not to exceed one page) on its 

letterhead that includes the following 

information: 

1. Developer’s Name 

2. Borrower’s Name 

3. Project’s Name 

4. Project’s Address (City and State) 

5. Project Type (Family, Senior, or 

Mixed) 

6. Project’s Total Units 

7. Project’s Total Development Cost 

(TDC) 

8. Amount of 538 Loan Guarantee 

9. Amount of Tax Credits Awarded 

10. Amount and Source of Other 

Financing 

11. Loan to Cost (LTC) % 

12. Area Population 

13. Date obligated or date of 

Conditional Commitment 

Send the Demonstration Program 

Response Submission Letter with all of 

the information listed above, along with 

a copy of the State Office’s ‘‘Proceed 

with Application/NOFA Response 

Selection’’ letter and a copy of the tax 

credit award notification to: Tammy S. 

Daniels, Financial and Loan Analyst, 

Multi-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan 

Division, Guaranteed Rural Rental 

Housing Program, USDA Rural 

Development, South Agriculture 

Building, Room 1233, STOP 0781, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0781. 

Requests may also be faxed to 202– 

690–3444 or sent by e-mail (signed PDF 

copies of the above submissions) to 

tammy.daniels@wdc.usda.gov. Eligible 

lenders mailing a request must provide 

sufficient time to permit delivery to the 

Submission Address. If all the funds set 

aside for the Demonstration Program 

have not been utilized, the Agency will 

continue to accept requests for inclusion 

into the FY 2009 Demonstration 

Program until December 17, 2009. 

Acceptance by a U.S. Post Office or 

private mailer does not constitute 

delivery. Postage due responses and 

applications will not be accepted. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the information 

collection requirements contained in 

this Notice is approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

OMB Control Number 0575–0174. 

Nondiscrimination Statement 

‘‘The U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) prohibits discrimination in all 

its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, sex, 

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, 

sexual orientation, marital status or 

family status (not all prohibited basis 

apply to all programs). Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative 

means for communication of program 

information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact the 

USDA’s Target Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice or TDD). To file a complaint of 

discrimination, write USDA, Director, 

Office of Civil Rights, Room 326–W, 

Whitten Building, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

9410, or call toll free, (866) 632–9992 

(Voice). TDD users can contact USDA 

through local relay (800) 720–6382 

(TDD) or (866) 377–8642 (relay voice 

users). USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider and employer.’’ 

Dated: September 3, 2009. 

Sylvia Bolivar, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–21859 Filed 9–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Farm Service Agency 

Information Collection; Disaster 

Assistance (General) 

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Farm Service Agency (FSA) is seeking 

comments from all interested 

individuals and organizations on an 

extension and revision of a currently 

approved information collection 

associated with Disaster Assistance 

programs. The information collection is 

needed to identify disaster areas and 

establish eligibility for both primary and 

contiguous counties for assistance from 

FSA. This assistance includes FSA 

emergency loans and the Supplemental 

Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) 

program (required by the 2008 Farm 

Bill) that are available to eligible and 

qualified farmers and ranchers. SURE 

provides assistance to eligible producers 

who suffered crop production or crop 

quality losses, or both due to natural 

disaster. The total burden hours have 

been revised to reflect the number of 

Secretarial requests for natural disaster 

assistance during the 2008 crop year. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 16, 2009. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on this notice. In your 

comments, include date, volume, and 

page number of this issue of the Federal 

Register. You may submit comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Mail: Candance Thompson, Acting 

Director, Production, Emergencies and 

Compliance Division, to Farm Service 

Agency, USDA, Mail Stop 0517, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0517 

• E-mail: 

Candy.Thompson@wdc.usda.gov. 

• Fax: (202) 690–2130. 

You may also send comments to the 

Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Washington, DC 20503. Copies of the 


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