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###### Department of Agriculture

###### Rural Business-Cooperative Service

# AGENCY:

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

# ACTION:

Notice.

# SUMMARY:

This Notice is to invite applications for loans and grants under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) program pursuant to 7 CFR part 4280, subpart A for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. Funding to support $33 million in loans and $10 million in grants is currently available. The commitment of program dollars will be made to applicants of selected responses that have fulfilled the necessary requirements for obligation. Expenses incurred in developing applications will be at the applicant's risk.

# DATES:

The deadline for receipt of applications in the USDA Rural Development State Office is no later than 4:30 p.m. (local time) on the last business day of each month in FY 2012.

      ( print page 12793)    

# ADDRESSES:

Submit applications in paper format to the USDA Rural Development State Office in the state where your project is located. A list of the USDA Rural Development State Offices addresses and telephone numbers are as follows: 

## Alabama

USDA Rural Development State Office, Sterling Centre, Suite 601, 4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3400/TDD (334) 279-3495

## Alaska

USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7707/TDD (907) 761-8905

## Arizona

USDA Rural Development State Office, 230 North First Avenue, Suite 206, Phoenix, AZ 85003-1706, (602) 280-8702/TDD (602) 280-8705

## Arkansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room 3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3200/TDD (501) 301-3279

## California

USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G Street, Agency 4169, Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800/TDD (530) 792-5848

## Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office, Denver Federal Center, Building 56, Room 2300, P.O. Box 25426, Denver, CO 80225-0426, (720) 544-2903/TDD (800) 659-3656

## Delaware-Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1221 College Park Drive, Suite 200, Dover, DE 19904-8724, (302) 857-3580/TDD (302) 857-3585

## Florida/Virgin Islands

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4440 NW. 25th Place, P.O. Box 147010, Gainesville, FL 32614-7010, (352) 338-3400/TDD (352) 338-3499

## Georgia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 East Hancock Avenue, Stop 300, Athens, GA 30601-2768, (706) 546-2162/TDD (706) 546-2034

## Hawaii

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 311, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720-2486, (808) 933-8302/TDD (808) 933-8321

## Idaho

USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Drive, Suite A1, Boise, ID 83709-1574, (208) 378-5601/TDD (208) 378-5644

## Illinois

USDA Rural Development State Office, 2118 West Park Court, Suite A, Champaign, IL 61821-2986, (217) 403-6200/TDD (217) 403-6240

## Indiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278-1996, (317) 290-3100 ext. 4/TDD (317) 290-3343

## Iowa

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 873, 210 Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-2117, (515) 284-4663/TDD (515) 284-4858

## Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1303 SW. First American Place, Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66604-4040, (785) 271-2700/TDD (785) 271-2767

## Kentucky

USDA Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40503-5439, (859) 224-7300/TDD (859) 224-7422

## Louisiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA 71302-3327, (318) 473-7920/TDD (318) 473-7655

## Maine

USDA Rural Development State Office, 967 Illinois Avenue, Suite 4, P.O. Box 405, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9160/TDD (207) 942-7331

## Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut

USDA Rural Development State Office, 451 West Street, Suite 2, Amherst, MA 01002-2999, (413) 253-4300/TDD (413) 253-4590

## Michigan

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East Lansing, MI 48823-6350, (517) 324-5190/TDD (517) 324-5169

## Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office, 410 Agri-Bank Building, 375 Jackson Street, Suite 410, St. Paul, MN 55101-1853, (651) 602-7800/TDD (651) 602-3799

## Mississippi

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269-1608, (601) 965-4211/TDD (601) 965-5850

## Missouri

USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203-2579, (573) 876-0987/TDD (573) 876-9480

## Montana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 2229 Boot Hill Court, P.O. Box 850, Bozeman, MT 59718-4011, (406) 585-2580/TDD (406) 585-2562

## Nebraska

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, NE 68508-3803, (308) 632-2195/TDD (402) 437-5093

## Nevada

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703-5146, (775) 887-1222/TDD (775) 885-0633

## New Jersey

USDA Rural Development State Office, 5th Floor North, Suite 500, 8000 Midlantic Drive, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054-1522, (856) 787-7700/TDD (856) 787-7784

## New Mexico

USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street, Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109-3434, (505) 761-4950/TDD (505) 761-4938

## New York

USDA Rural Development State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 South Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, (315) 477-6435/TDD (315) 477-6447

## North Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC 27609-6293, (919) 873-2015/TDD (919) 873-2003

## North Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East Rosser, P.O. Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, (701) 530-2037/TDD (701) 530-2113

## Ohio

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, (614) 255-2400/TDD (614) 255-2554

## Oklahoma

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1000/TDD (405) 742-1007

## Oregon

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1201 Northeast Lloyd Blvd., Suite 801, Portland, OR 97232-1274, (503) 414-3305/TDD (503) 414-3387

## Pennsylvania

USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2262/TDD (717) 237-2261

## Puerto Rico

USDA Rural Development State Office, IBM Building, Suite 601, 654 Munos Rivera Avenue, San Juan, PR 00918-6106, (787) 766-5095/TDD (787) 766-5332

## South Carolina

                            USDA Rural Development State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201-2449, (803) 765-5163/TDD (803) 765-5697                                  ( print page 12794)    

## South Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200 Fourth Street SW., Huron, SD 57350-2461, (605) 352-1100/TDD (605) 352-1147

## Tennessee

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37203-1071, (615) 783-1300

## Texas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South Main, Temple, TX 76501-7651, (254) 742-9700/TDD (254) 742-9712

## Utah

USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 84138, (801) 524-4321/TDD (801) 524-3309

## Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602-4449, (802) 828-6080/TDD (802) 223-6365

## Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229-5014, (804) 287-1552/TDD (804) 287-1753

## Washington

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1835 Black Lake Boulevard SW., Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512-5715, (360) 704-7740/TDD (360) 704-7760

## West Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1550 Earl Core Road, Suite 101, Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4860/TDD (304) 284-4836

## Wisconsin

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens Point, WI 54481-7044, (715) 345-7600/TDD (715) 345-7614

## Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office, P.O. Box 11005, 100 East B Street, Room 1005, Casper, WY 82601-5006, (307) 233-6703/TDD (307) 233-6733

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The Rural Development State Office identified in this Notice where the project will be located.

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 

## Overview

*Federal Agency:*                     Rural Business-Cooperative Service.                

*Funding Opportunity Type:*                     Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants.                

*Announcement Type:*                     Initial Announcement.                

*Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number:*                     10.854.                

*Dates:*                     Application Deadline: Completed applications must be received in the State Office by 4:30 p.m. (local time) on the last business day of each month in FY 2012.                

## I. Funding Opportunity Description

The regulations for these programs are at 7 CFR part 4280, subpart A. The primary objective of the program is to promote rural economic development and job creation projects. Assistance provided to rural areas, as defined, under this program may include business startup costs, business expansion, business incubators, technical assistance feasibility studies, advanced telecommunications services and computer networks for medical, educational, and job training services and community facilities projects for economic development. Awards are made on a competitive basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 CFR part 4280, subpart A. Information required to be in the application includes an SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance;” a Resolution of the Board of Directors; AD-1047, “Debarment/Suspension Certification;” Assurance Statement for the Uniform Act; Restrictions on Lobbying, AD 1049, “Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements;” Form RD 400-1, “Equal Opportunity Agreement;” Form RD 400-4, “Assurance Agreement;” Seismic Certification (if construction); Form RD 1940-20, “Request for Environmental Information;” RUS Form 7,”Financial and Statistical Report;” and RUS Form 7a, “Investments, Loan Guarantees, and Loans,” or similar information; and written narrative of project description. Applications will be tentatively scored by the State Offices and submitted to the National Office for review.

### Definitions

The definitions are published at 7 CFR 4280.3.

## II. Award Information

*Type of Awards:*                     Loans and Grants.                

*Fiscal Year Funds:*                     FY 2012.                

*Maximum Anticipated Award:*                     Loans—$1,000,000; Grant—$300,000.                

*Anticipated Award Dates:*                     The last day of the month following the month in which application was received.                

## III. Eligibility Information

### A. Eligible Applicants

Loans and grants may be made to any entity that is identified by USDA Rural Development as an eligible borrower under the Rural Electrification Act. In accordance with 7 CFR 4280.13, applicants that are not delinquent on any Federal debt or otherwise disqualified from participation in these programs are eligible to apply. An applicant must be eligible under 7 U.S.C. 940c.

### B. Cost Sharing or Matching

For loans, either the Ultimate Recipient or the Intermediary must provide supplemental funds for the project equal to at least 20 percent of the loan to the Intermediary. For grants, the Intermediary must establish a Revolving Loan Fund and contribute an amount equal to at least 20 percent of the Grant. The supplemental contribution must come from Intermediary's funds which may not be from other Federal Grants, unless permitted by law.

### C. Other Eligibility Requirements

Applications will only be accepted for projects that promote rural economic development and job creation.

### D. Completeness Eligibility

Applications will not be considered for funding if they do not provide sufficient information to determine eligibility or are missing required elements.

## IV. Fiscal Year 2012 Application and Submission Information

### A. Address to Request Application Package

For further information, entities wishing to apply for assistance should contact the Rural Development State Office identified in this Notice to obtain copies of the application package.

                    Applicants are encouraged to submit applications through the Grants.gov Web site at:                     *http://www.grants.gov.*                     Applications may be submitted in either electronic or paper format. 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 Web site. Applications may not be submitted by electronic mail.                
    - When you enter the Grants.gov Web site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site as well as the hours of operation. USDA Rural Development 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 Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number which can be obtained at no cost via a toll-free request line at 1-866-705-5711 or at http://www.dnb.com. 
    - You may submit all documents electronically through the Web site,       ( print page 12795)                          including all information typically included on the application for REDLGs and all necessary assurances and certifications.                
    - After electronically submitting an application through the Web site, the applicant will receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
    - USDA Rural Development may request that the applicant provide original signatures on forms at a later date.
    - If applicants experience technical difficulties on the closing date and are unable to meet the deadline, you may submit a paper copy of your application to your respective Rural Development State Office. Paper applications submitted to a Rural Development State Office must meet the closing date and local time deadline.

                    Please note that applicants must locate the downloadable application package for this program by the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number or FedGrants Funding Opportunity Number, which can be found at                     *http://www.grants.gov.*

### B. Content and Form of Submission

An application must contain all of the required elements. Each selection priority criterion outlined in 7 CFR 4280.42(b), must be addressed in the application. Failure to address any of the criteria will result in a zero-point score for that criterion and will impact the overall evaluation of the application. Copies of 7 CFR part 4280, subpart A, will be provided to any interested applicant making a request to a Rural Development State Office listed in this notice.

### C. Submission Dates and Times

*Application Deadline Dates:*                     4:30 p.m. (local time) on the last business day of each month.                

*Explanation of Deadlines:*                     Applications must be in the Rural Development State Office by the deadline dates as indicated above.                

## V. Application Review Information

The National Office will score applications based on the grant selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 4280, subpart A, and will select an Intermediary subject to the Intermediary's satisfactory submission of the additional items required by 7 CFR part 4280, subpart A, and the USDA Rural Development Letter of Conditions.

## VI. Award Administration Information

### A. Award Notices

Successful applicants will receive notification for funding from the Rural Development State Office. Applicants must comply with all applicable statutes and regulations before the loan/grant award will be approved. Provided the application requirements have not changed, an application not selected will be reconsidered in three subsequent funding competitions for a total of four competitions. If an application is withdrawn, it can be resubmitted and will be evaluated as a new application.

### B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Additional requirements that apply to Intermediary's selected for this program can be found in 7 CFR part 4280, subpart A. Applicable provisions of 7 CFR parts 3015, 3019, and 3052 also apply.

## VII. Agency Contacts

For general questions about this announcement, please contact your Rural Development State Office identified in this Notice.

## VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the information collection requirement contained in this Notice is approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570-0024.

#### Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act

                    All grant applicants, in accordance with 2 CFR part 25, must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number System (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/​webor.*                     Similarly, in accordance with 2 CFR part 25, all applicants must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) prior to submitting an application. Applicants may register for the CCR at                     *http://www.ccr.gov,*                     or by calling 1-866-606-8220 and press “1” for CCR. 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.                

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, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TTD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

February 23, 2012.

Judith A. Canales,

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.

[FR Doc. 2012-5043 Filed 3-1-12; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P