Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2024 / Notices 12815 

The agenda will include time for 

individuals to make oral statements of 

three minutes or less. Individuals 

wishing to make an oral statement 

should make a request in writing at least 

three days prior to the meeting date to 

be scheduled on the agenda. Written 

comments may be submitted to the 

Forest Service up to 14 days after the 

meeting date listed under DATES. 

Please contact the person listed under 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, by 

or before the deadline, for all questions 

related to the meeting. All comments, 

including names and addresses when 

provided, are placed in the record and 

are available for public inspection and 

copying. The public may inspect 

comments received upon request. 

Meeting Accommodations: The 

meeting location is compliant with the 

Americans with Disabilities Act, and the 

USDA provides reasonable 

accommodation to individuals with 

disabilities where appropriate. If you are 

a person requiring reasonable 

accommodation, please make requests 

in advance for sign language 

interpretation, assistive listening 

devices, or other reasonable 

accommodation to the person listed 

under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section, or contact USDA’s 

TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice and TTY) or USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. 

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. 

Equal opportunity practices in 

accordance with USDA’s policies will 

be followed in all appointments to the 

Council. To ensure that the 

recommendations of the Council have 

taken into account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include to the extent 

possible, individuals with demonstrated 

ability to represent minorities, women, 

and persons with disabilities. USDA is 

an equal opportunity provider, 

employer, and lender. 

Dated: February 13, 2024. 

Cikena Reid, 

USDA Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03325 Filed 2–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket #: RBS–23–Business–0029] 

Notice of Funding Opportunity for 

Rural Energy for America Program 

Technical Assistance Grant Program 

for Fiscal Year 2024 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RBCS or the 

Agency), a Rural Development (RD) 

agency of the United States Department 

of Agriculture (USDA), announces that 

it is accepting applications under the 

Rural Energy for America (REAP) 

Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) 

Program for fiscal year (FY) 2024. These 

grant funds will be made to qualified 

types of Applicants (‘‘Applicants’’) to 

provide technical assistance to 

Agricultural Producers and Rural Small 

Businesses applying to REAP (‘‘REAP 

Applicants’’), with priority for 

applications that: assist Agricultural 

Producers and Tribal entities, provide 

assistance to projects located in a 

Disadvantaged Community or a 

Distressed Community, support projects 

using Underutilized Renewable Energy 

Technologies (‘‘Underutilized 

Technologies’’), and/or support grant 

applications of $20,000 or less. This 

Program has $16,000,000 available for 

FY 2024 utilizing funding provided 

under the Inflation Reduction Act of 

2022. All Applicants are responsible for 

any expenses incurred in developing 

their applications. 

DATES: Completed applications for 

grants must be submitted electronically 

via https://www.Grants.gov or to the 

USDA RD State Office (RDSO) State 

Energy Coordinator of the State where 

the project is located via email no later 

than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 

March 15, 2024. The RDSO State Energy 

Coordinator for the applicable State can 

be found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

contact-us/state-energy-coordinators. 

ADDRESSES: This funding announcement 

will be announced on https://

www.Grants.gov. 

Entities wishing to apply for 

assistance may download the 

application documents and 

requirements provided in this notice 

from https://www.Grants.gov. 

Application information for electronic 

submissions may be found at FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan 

Burns at jonathan.burns@usda.gov, 

Business Loan and Grant Analyst, Direct 

Programs Branch, RBCS, USDA, (774) 

678–7238. 

For further information on submitting 

program applications under this notice, 

please contact the RDSO in the state 

where the Applicant’s headquarters is 

located. A list of RDSO contacts is 

provided at the following link: https:// 

www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/state-offices. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview 

Federal Awarding Agency Name: 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

(RBCS). 

Funding Opportunity Title: Rural 

Energy for America (REAP) Technical 

Assistance Grant (TAG) Program. 

Announcement Type: Notice of 

Funding of Opportunity (NOFO). 

Funding Opportunity Number: RD– 

BCP–24–TAG–REAP. 

Assistance Listing: 10.868. 

Dates: Electronic submissions must be 

made no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on 

March 15, 2024. Late or incomplete 

applications will not be eligible for 

funding. 

A. Program Description 

1. Purpose of the Program. The 

purpose of the REAP TAG Program is to 

enable Applicants to provide technical 

assistance to Agricultural Producers and 

Rural Small Businesses applying to 

REAP, with priority for applications 

assisting at least two or more of the 

following types of REAP Applicants: (a) 

Agricultural Producers, (b) REAP 

applicants pursuing projects located in 

disadvantaged or distressed 

communities, (c) Tribal entities, (d) 

REAP Applicants pursuing projects 

using Underutilized Technologies, and 

(e) REAP Applicants pursuing projects 

under $20,000. To meet this purpose, 

the Agency will make grants to eligible 

entities to provide services to assist 

potential REAP Applicants in 

submitting Complete Applications. 

2. Statutory and Regulatory Authority. 

The REAP TAG Program is authorized 

under the Inflation Reduction Act of 

2022 (Pub. L. 117–169, ‘‘IRA’’), Title II, 

Subtitle C, Section 22002(b), and will be 

administered by RBCS. 

3. Definitions. The definitions and 

abbreviations applicable to this notice 

are published at 7 CFR 4280.103. 

For purposes of this Notice only, 

Underutilized Renewable Energy 

Technologies (‘‘Underutilized 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
12816 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2024 / Notices 

Technologies’’) are defined as those 

technologies that make up less than 20 

percent of the total grant dollars 

obligated at the end of the FY, two (2) 

years previous to the current year. For 

example, FY 2022 award data will be 

utilized to determine which 

technologies are Underutilized 

Technologies for the FY 2024 

competition. The eligible Underutilized 

Technologies will be fixed at the time of 

award for the duration of the period of 

performance. 

For awareness, the number of 

employees calculation used to 

determine the size of a business concern 

in the definition of Small Business is 

being updated to 24 months versus 12 

months, to align with recent changes 

made by the Small Business 

Administration. 

4. Application of Awards. The Agency 

will review, evaluate, and score 

applications as indicated in this notice. 

Awards under the REAP TAG Program 

will be made on a competitive basis 

using specific selection criteria 

contained in Section E.1. of this notice. 

The Agency advises all interested 

parties that the Applicant bears the full 

burden in preparing and submitting an 

application in response to this notice. 

B. Federal Award Information 

Type of Awards: Grants. 

Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2024. 

Available Funds: The FY 2024 total 

funding amount is $16,000,000. RBCS 

may, at its discretion, increase the total 

level of funding available in this 

funding round, or in any category in this 

funding round, from any available 

source provided the awards meet the 

requirements of the statute which made 

the funding available to the Agency. 

Based on projected need for REAP 

technical assistance grants as 

determined on a state-by-state basis by 

each RDSO, funding will be provided as 

follows: 

The following States will make 

$250,000 available for the REAP TAG 

Program: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, 

California, Colorado, Florida/United 

States Virgin Islands, Georgia, Idaho, 

Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, 

Delaware, Maryland, Mississippi, 

Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North 

Carolina, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, 

South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, 

Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. 

The following States will make 

$500,000 available for the REAP TAG 

Program: Alaska, Connecticut, Kansas, 

Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New 

Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, 

Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 

Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, 

West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

No REAP TAG funds will be available 

in Hawaii and Western Pacific, Illinois, 

Iowa, Michigan, or Minnesota. Instead, 

these States will receive equivalent 

assistance in the form of additional 

staffing resources outside of this 

funding announcement. Applications 

filed in these States will not be eligible 

for funding. 

All remaining unobligated funds at 

the end of FY 2024 will be used for the 

Underutilized Technologies Fund 

established in the Federal Register 

notice 88 FR 19239, Notice of 

Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) for 

the Rural Energy for America Program 

for FYs 2023 and 2024, published on 

March 31, 2023. 

Award Amounts: A grant award will 

not exceed $250,000 or $500,000 

depending on the State or territory (see 

Available funds section above). A single 

Applicant will not be granted more than 

one (1) grant award. RDSOs may select 

a single or multiple Applicants that are 

awarded a REAP TAG grant in each 

state or territory. No award amount of 

less than $100,000 will be made. 

Anticipated Award Date: Awards will 

be made before June 30, 2024. 

Performance Period: The grant period 

is at the discretion of the Applicant but 

can be no longer than three (3) years 

from the date of the award. Additional 

funding opportunity announcements 

may be made in future years. 

Renewal or Supplemental Awards: 

Applicants may apply for funding in 

future funding cycles. No unfunded 

applications will carry over to the next 

funding cycle. Applicants must re-apply 

for an additional grant, and receipt of 

past REAP TAG Program awards does 

not guarantee receipt of future awards. 

Applicants applying that have 

previously received a REAP TAG award 

must be performing at a satisfactory 

level as determined by the Agency at the 

TAG application date, including but not 

limited to meeting the budget, timelines, 

reporting, goals, and objectives as 

defined in the previous REAP TAG 

award work plan. 

Type of Assistance Instrument: 

Financial Assistance Agreement. 

C. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants. Eligible 

Applicants must meet the eligibility 

requirements, as applicable, specified in 

paragraphs (a) through (c) of this 

section. 

(a) Eligible Applicants are: 

(1) A unit of State, Tribal, or local 

government or an instrumentality of a 

State, Tribal, or local government; 

(2) A land-grant college or university, 

or other Institution of Higher Education; 

(3) A rural electric cooperative; 

(4) A Public Power Entity; 

(5) A Council, as defined under the 

Resource Conservation and 

Development Program, at 16 U.S.C. 

3451. 

(6) A Not-for-profit entity; 

(b) The Applicant must have 

sufficient capacity to perform the 

activities proposed in the application to 

ensure success as determined by the 

Agency. The Agency will make this 

assessment based on the information 

provided in the application and any 

additional requests for clarifying 

information. 

(c) The Applicant must have the legal 

authority necessary to apply for and 

carry out the purpose of the grant. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching. There are 

no cost sharing or matching 

requirements associated with this grant. 

3. Other. All submitted applications 

must meet the eligibility requirements 

in this notice. Applications will not be 

considered for funding if they do not 

provide sufficient information to 

determine eligibility or are missing 

required elements. Applicants will 

apply for a single state or territory in 

which they intend to complete work. 

Applicants that serve Tribes or Tribal 

entities located in multiple states are 

permitted to provide technical 

assistance to those Tribes and Tribal 

entities in multiple states. Applicants 

may not apply in multiple states or 

territories. Only one application will be 

accepted per applicant. Applications 

requesting more than the maximum 

grant amount or less than the minimum 

grant amount will not be eligible. 

(a) Eligible Activities. Includes 

recruitment of Renewable Energy or 

energy efficiency projects, identification 

and/or use of electrical engineering 

services related to generating complete 

REAP applications, preparation of REAP 

applications for Agency financial 

assistance, as well as preparing reports 

and assessments necessary to request 

financial assistance. Contracted services 

are allowable. All activities must be 

directly related to providing technical 

assistance to Agricultural Producers or 

Rural Small Businesses to apply for 

assistance under REAP. Eligible 

activities include but are not limited to: 

(1) Assisting Agricultural Producers 

or Rural Small Businesses to apply for 

assistance under REAP for Energy 

Efficiency Improvements, or Renewable 

Energy Systems. 

(2) Providing information on how to 

improve the energy efficiency of the 

operations and to use Renewable Energy 

technologies and resources in their 

operations. 

(3) Conducting and promoting Energy 

Assessments and energy audits as 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2024 / Notices 12817 

defined in 7 CFR 4280.103 or other 

electrical engineering services necessary 

to complete a REAP application. 

(4) Preparing a technical report in 

accordance with 7 CFR 4280.110(g). 

(5) Assisting with filing for System 

Award Management (SAM and Unique 

Entity Identifier (UEI)) registrations. 

(6) Assisting with completing a REAP 

grant application in accordance with 7 

CFR 4280.116. 

(7) Assisting with planning 

construction and performance 

development in accordance with 7 CFR 

4280.125. 

(8) Assisting with completion of 

environmental reports and/or 

documentation required for submittal of 

applications. 

(9) Assisting Tribal entities to 

determine applicant and project 

eligibility. 

(b) Ineligible activities. Includes, but 

are not limited to: 

(1) Projects where funding is not 

targeted directly to assisting 

Agricultural Producers or Rural Small 

Businesses. 

(2) Projects which propose to provide 

Energy Audits or Renewable Energy 

Development Assistance for residential 

purposes. 

(c) Eligible Project Costs. Those costs 

incurred after the date the Financial 

Assistance Agreement has been 

executed and that are directly related to 

technical assistance to Agricultural 

Producers or Rural Small Businesses to 

apply for assistance under REAP, which 

include but are not limited to: 

(1) Salaries, including fringe benefits; 

(2) Travel expenses; 

(3) Office supplies (e.g., paper, pens, 

file folders, items with per unit 

acquisition cost of $5,000 or less with a 

useful life of 1 year or less); and 

(4) Indirect cost of up to a maximum 

of 5 percent for administering the grant, 

regardless of existing negotiated cost 

rates. 

(d) Ineligible Project Costs. Includes, 

but are not limited to: 

(1) Payment for any constructionrelated activities; 

(2) Purchase or lease of equipment; 

(3) Payment of any judgment or debt 

owed to the United States; 

(4) Any goods or services provided by 

a Person or entity who has a conflict of 

interest as provided in 7 CFR 4280.106; 

(5) Any costs of preparing the 

application package for funding under 

this notice; 

(6) Funding of political or lobbying 

activities; and 

(7) Payment or waiver of student 

tuition. 

(e) Do Not Pay. The Agency will 

check the Do Not Pay portal to 

determine if the Applicant has been 

debarred or suspended at the time of 

application and also prior to funding 

any grant award. 

D. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package. Application information is 

available at https://www.grants.gov/ and 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/energy-programs/rural-energyamerica-technical-assistance-grantprogram. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission. An application must 

contain all the required elements 

outlined in paragraphs (a) through (f) of 

this section. The project will be 

determined incomplete and will not be 

eligible to compete for funding should 

these elements not be complete. Each 

application must address the applicable 

scoring criteria presented in Section E.1. 

of this notice for the type of funding 

being requested. 

(a) Form SF–424, Application for 

Federal Assistance (For NonConstruction). 

(b) Form SF 424A, Budget 

Information—Non-Construction 

Programs. 

(c) Certification that the Applicant is 

a legal entity in good standing (as 

applicable) and operating in accordance 

with the laws of the State(s) or Tribe 

where the Applicant has a place of 

business. 

(d) The Applicant must identify 

whether the Applicant has a known 

relationship or association with an 

Agency employee. If there is a known 

relationship, the Applicant must 

identify each Agency employee with 

whom the Applicant has a known 

relationship. 

(e) A proposed scope of work to 

include the items listed in paragraphs 

(1) to (10) of this section. The proposed 

scope of work must be typed, singlespaced, in 11-point font, not to exceed 

12 8.5 x 11′′ pages. 

(1) A brief summary, including a 

project title, describing the proposed 

project; 

(2) Goals of the proposed project; 

(3) Geographic scope or service area of 

the proposed project and the method 

and rationale used to select the service 

area; 

(4) Identification of the specific needs 

for the service area and the target 

audience to be served. List or describe 

the types of technical assistance and 

proposed services to be provided. State 

the number of Agricultural Producers 

and/or Rural Small Businesses to be 

served and identified, including name 

and contact information, if available, as 

well as the method and rationale used 

to select the Agricultural Producers and/ 

or Rural Small Businesses; 

(5) Timeline describing the proposed 

tasks to be accomplished and the 

schedule for implementation of each 

task. Include whether organizational 

staff, consultants, or contractors will be 

used to perform each task; 

(6) Marketing strategies to include a 

discussion on how the Applicant will be 

marketing and providing outreach 

activities to the proposed service area 

ensuring that Agricultural Producers 

and/or Rural Small Businesses are 

served; 

(7) Applicant’s experience as follows: 

(i) The Applicant’s experience in 

completing similar activities, such as 

Renewable Energy Site Assessments, 

Energy Assessments or Audits, and 

Renewable Energy Technical Assistance 

provided directly to Agricultural 

Producers and Rural Small Businesses 

or Tribal entities, including the number 

of similar projects the Applicant has 

performed and the number of years the 

Applicant has been performing a similar 

service. Include personnel on staff or to 

be contracted to provide the service and 

their experience with similar projects. 

(ii) The amount of experience in 

administering similar activities as 

applicable to the purpose of the 

proposed project. Provide commentary 

if the Applicant has any existing 

programs that can demonstrate the 

achievement of energy savings or energy 

generation with Agricultural Producers 

and/or Rural Small Businesses the 

Applicant has served. If the Applicant 

has received one or more accolades 

within the last 5 years in recognition of 

its Renewable Energy, energy savings, or 

energy-based technical assistance, 

please describe the achievement(s). 

(iii) The Applicant’s experience 

working with Agricultural Producers, 

Tribal entities, and/or disadvantaged or 

distressed communities. 

(8) Latest financial information to 

show the Applicant’s financial viability 

to carry out the proposed work. A 

current audit report is preferred; 

however, Applicants not subject to 2 

CFR 200, subpart F may submit a 

current (less than 90 days from date of 

application) balance sheet, income 

statement, and statement of cash flows 

in lieu of an audit report. 

(9) Itemized budget including 

contracted services and itemized staff 

salaries and benefits; and estimated 

breakdown of costs, including those to 

be funded by the Applicant as well as 

other sources. Sufficient detail should 

be provided to permit the approval 

official to determine reasonableness, 

applicability, and allowability. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
12818 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2024 / Notices 

(10) Summarize the Applicant’s 

capacity to perform the proposed 

technical assistance activities including 

a summary of all other programs and 

activities the Applicant will also 

perform during the proposed project 

performance period. 

(f) Documentation on each of the 

scoring criteria listed in Section E.1. of 

this notice. Documentation in support of 

scoring criteria must be typed, singlespaced, in an 11-point font, not to 

exceed 12 8.5 x 11′′ pages. Acceptable 

file types include .doc, .docx, .pdf, .jpg, 

.jpeg, .png, .gif, .xls, .xlsx, .txt, .ppt, and 

.pptx. If the Applicant would like to 

submit another file type, please contact 

the RDSO first for approval. 

3. System for Award Management and 

Unique Entity Identifier. 

(a) At the time of application, each 

Applicant must have an active 

registration in the System for Award 

Management (SAM) in accordance with 

2 CFR part 25. 

(b) Applicants must maintain an 

active SAM registration, with current, 

accurate and complete information, at 

all times during which it has an active 

Federal award or an application under 

consideration by a Federal awarding 

agency. 

(c) Applicant must ensure they 

complete the Financial Assistance 

General Certifications and 

Representations in SAM. 

(d) Applicants must provide a valid 

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) on the SF 

424 form submitted as part of a 

complete application. 

(e) The Agency will not make an 

award until the Applicant has complied 

with all SAM requirements including 

providing the UEI. If an Applicant has 

not fully complied with the 

requirements by the time the Agency is 

ready to make an award, the Agency 

may determine that the Applicant is not 

qualified to receive a federal award and 

use that determination as a basis for 

making a Federal award to another 

Applicant. 

4. Submission Dates and Times. 

(a) Application Technical Review. 

Prior to official submission of 

applications, Applicants may request 

technical reviews or other application 

guidance from the Agency, as long as 

such requests are made prior to March 

1, 2024. Agency contact information can 

be found in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

(b) Application Deadline Date. 

Electronic submissions via https://

www.Grants.gov or to a RDSO State 

Energy Coordinator via email must be 

received no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on 

March 15, 2024. The State Energy 

Coordinator in the applicable State to be 

eligible for funding under this grant 

opportunity contact list can be found at: 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/ 

state-energy-coordinators 

(c) Applications Received After 

Deadline Date. If complete applications 

are not received by the March 15, 2024, 

deadline, the application will neither be 

reviewed nor considered for funding 

under any circumstances. The Agency 

will not solicit or consider new scoring 

or eligibility information that is 

submitted after the application 

deadline. RBCS reserves the right to ask 

Applicants for clarifying information 

and additional verification of assertions 

in the application. 

5. Funding Restrictions. Applications 

must be for eligible purposes as defined 

above. 

E. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria. All eligible and Complete 

Applications will be evaluated and 

scored based on the selection criteria 

and weights outlined in this section. 

Failure to address any one of the criteria 

by the application deadline will result 

in the application being determined 

ineligible, and the application will not 

be considered for funding. 

Documentation in support of scoring 

criteria must be typed, single-spaced, in 

an 11-point font, not to exceed 12 8.5 × 

11′′ pages. 

(a) Experience. A maximum of 20 

points will be awarded for this criterion. 

Applicants should provide a narrative 

description of their organizational and 

aggregate staff experience at 

implementing successful technical 

assistance programs. Applicants can 

discuss internal and contracted 

experience. 

(1) Applicants should note prior 

projects or experience related to energy 

efficiency, Renewable Energy Systems, 

federal funding, and the provision of 

technical assistance. Up to 15 points 

will be awarded based on years of 

successful implementation as well as 

the type and quality of the work by the 

Applicant. 

(i) More than 10 years of successful 

implementation, 15 points will be 

awarded; 

(ii) More than 5 years to less than 10 

years of successful implementation, 10 

points will be awarded; 

(iii) More than 3 to less than 5 years 

of successful implementation, 5 points 

will be awarded; 

(iv) More than 1 to less than 3 years 

of successful implementation, 3 points 

will be awarded; or 

(v) Applicants with less than 1 year of 

experience, 0 points will be awarded. 

(2) Applicants should note prior 

projects or experience working with the 

types of REAP Applicants it seeks to 

support (e.g. Agricultural Producers, 

Tribal entities, and/or disadvantaged or 

distressed communities). Up to 5 points 

will be awarded based on previous 

successful implementation related to 

work with proposed REAP Applicant 

types it seeks to support. 

(b) Soundness of approach. A 

maximum of 30 total points will be 

awarded for this criterion. A maximum 

of 15 points will be awarded for each 

criterion listed below. Applicants 

should address each component with a 

brief narrative response. 

(1) Work plan clearly articulates a 

well thought out approach to 

accomplishing objectives & clearly 

identifies who will be served by the 

project and demonstrates knowledge of 

and experience working with those 

served; (Tribal entities, Rural Small 

businesses and Agricultural 

Producers)—0 to 15 points will be 

awarded; and 

(2) Goals & objectives are clearly 

defined, tied to the need as defined in 

the work plan, and are measurable in 

terms of new applications generated—0 

to 15 points will be awarded. 

(c) Recruitment of Priority REAP 

Projects. 20 points will be awarded for 

this criterion. Applicants should 

provide a narrative addressing which of 

the following priority REAP project(s) 

will be targeted and how those project(s) 

will be targeted. Exactly 20 points will 

be awarded for Applicants’ satisfactory 

targeting of at least two of the following 

priorities: 

(1) Projects requesting $20,000 or less 

in REAP funds. 

(2) Projects located in a 

Disadvantaged Community or a 

Distressed Community. A 

Disadvantaged Community will be 

determined by the Agency by using the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

Climate and Economic Justice Screening 

Tool (which is incorporated into the 

USDA look-up map) which identifies 

communities burdened by climate 

change and environmental injustice. 

Additionally, all communities within 

the boundaries of Federally Recognized 

Tribes and Alaska Native Villages will 

also be determined to be Disadvantaged 

Communities by the Agency. A 

Distressed Community will be 

determined by the Agency by using the 

Economic Innovation Group’s 

Distressed Communities Index (which is 

incorporated into the USDA look-up 

map), which uses several socioeconomic measures to identify 

communities with low economic wellbeing. To determine if your project is 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2024 / Notices 12819 

located in a Disadvantaged Community 

or a Distressed Community, please use 

the following USDA look-up map: 

https://ruraldevelopment.maps.arcgis.

com/apps/webappviewer/index.

html?id=4acf083be4c44bb7864d90f9

7de0c788. 

(3) Projects submitted by Tribes and/ 

or proposing to serve primarily Tribal 

entities. 

(4) Projects submitted by Agricultural 

Producers. 

(5) Projects seeking funding for 

Underutilized Technologies, as defined 

in Section A.3 of this notice. 

(d) Performance measures. A 

maximum of 10 points will be awarded 

for this criterion. Applicants can receive 

up to 10 points based on the proposed 

performance measures to evaluate the 

progress and impact of the proposed 

project. Performance measures should 

be based on the Applicant’s proposed 

scope of work as described in Section 

D.2(g) of this notice and must include a 

description for how the results of the 

technical assistance will be measured 

and the benchmarks to be used for 

measuring effectiveness. Indicators to be 

used should be specific and 

quantifiable. 

(e) State Director discretionary points. 

The State Director may award up to 20 

discretionary points to address 

geographic distribution of funds, ensure 

selection of Priority REAP Projects as 

described in Section E.1(c) of this notice 

that meet the needs of the respective 

state or region, or if selecting the 

application helps further a Presidential 

initiative or a Secretary of Agriculture 

priority (https://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

priority-points/rural-developmentpriorities-fy-2024). 

2. Review and Selection Process. The 

Agency will review applications to 

determine if applications are eligible for 

assistance based on the eligibility 

requirements in Section C of this notice. 

Applicants meeting those eligibility 

requirements will be scored based on 

the criteria in Section E.1. of this notice. 

Only those meeting the minimum score 

of 40 points will be considered for 

funding. The total maximum points that 

an Applicant may receive is 100 points. 

Applications will be evaluated based 

only on required information submitted 

by the Applicant in the application. All 

applications that are complete and 

eligible will be scored and ranked 

competitively against all other 

applications received in a particular 

state by the Agency. The Agency 

reserves the right to offer the Applicant 

less than the grant funding requested. 

Funding of projects is subject to the 

Applicant’s satisfactory submission of 

the additional items required by Section 

F and the USDA RD Letter of 

Conditions. 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

1. Federal Award Notices. Successful 

Applicants will receive notification for 

funding from the RDSO. Applicants 

must comply with all applicable statutes 

and regulations before the grant award 

can be approved. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements. 

In addition, all recipients of Federal 

financial assistance are required to 

report information about executive 

compensation (see, 2 CFR part 170 

(https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/ 

part-170). The Applicant will be 

required to have the necessary processes 

and systems in place to comply with the 

Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109– 

282) and reporting requirements (see, 2 

CFR 170.200(b) (https://www.ecfr.gov/ 

current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part170/subpart-B/section-170.200), unless 

the recipient is exempt under 2 CFR 

170.110(b) (https://www.ecfr.gov/ 

current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part170/subpart-A/section-170.110). 

The following additional 

requirements apply to Applicants 

selected for this program: 

(a) Form RD 1940–1, ‘‘Request for 

Obligation of Funds.’’ 

(b) Form RD 1942–46, ‘‘Letter of 

Intent to Meet Conditions.’’ 

(c) Form SF–LLL, ‘‘Disclosure of 

Lobbying Activities,’’ if applicable. 

(d) Form SF 270, ‘‘Request for 

Advance or Reimbursement.’’ 

(e) Form RD 400–4, ‘‘Assurance 

Agreement’’ must be completed by the 

Applicant. 

(f) Form RD 400–1, ‘‘Equal 

Opportunity Agreement.’’ 

(g) Grantees must collect and 

maintain data provided by REAP 

Applicants on race, sex, and national 

origin. Race and ethnicity data will be 

collected in accordance with OMB 

Federal Register notice, ‘‘Revisions to 

the Standards for the Classification of 

Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity’’ (62 

FR 58782), October 30, 1997. Sex data 

will be collected in accordance with 

title IX of the Education Amendments of 

1972. These items should not be 

submitted with the application but 

should be available upon request by the 

Agency. 

(h) The Applicant must comply with 

title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 

title IX of the Education Amendments of 

1972, Americans with Disabilities Act 

(ADA), section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

Act of 1973, Age Discrimination Act of 

1975, Executive Order 12250, Executive 

Order 13166 Limited English 

Proficiency (LEP), and 7 CFR part 1901, 

subpart E. 

3. Grant Disbursement. The Agency 

will disburse grant funds on a 

reimbursement basis. A form SF–270 

must be completed by the grantee and 

submitted to the Agency, along with 

adequate documentation to support 

costs charged to the Federal award that 

comply with 2 CFR 200 subpart E, no 

more often than monthly to request their 

reimbursement of funds. 

4. Reporting. 

(a) Project Performance/Reporting. 

After grant approval and through grant 

completion, awardees will be required 

to provide the following, as indicated in 

the Financial Assistance Agreement: 

(1) Federal Financial Report, Form 

SF–425, and a project performance 

report will be required on a semiannual 

basis (due 30 working days after end of 

the semiannual period). For the 

purposes of this grant, semiannual 

periods end on March 31st and 

September 30th. The project 

performance reports shall include the 

elements prescribed in the Financial 

Assistance Agreement, including, as 

appropriate, but not limited to: 

(i) A description of the activities that 

the funds reflected in the financial 

status report were used for including the 

number of recipients (Agricultural 

Producers and Rural Small Businesses) 

assisted, and the type of assistance 

provided, a list of recipients with each 

recipient’s North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) code, the 

location of each recipient, and 

Renewable Energy technology that 

would be used or Energy Efficiency 

Improvement if the projects were 

implemented. Also provide the number 

of and identify the recipients who 

submitted REAP grant applications and 

the recipients receiving REAP grant 

awards (noting those with 

disadvantaged or distressed community 

status and underutilized technology 

status). 

(ii) A comparison of actual 

accomplishments to the objectives for 

that period; 

(iii) Reasons why established 

objectives were not met, if applicable; 

(iv) Problems, delays, or adverse 

conditions which will affect attainment 

of overall program objectives, prevent 

meeting time schedules or objectives, or 

preclude the attainment of objectives 

during established time periods. This 

disclosure shall be accomplished by a 

Statement of the action taken or planned 

to resolve the situation; 

(v) Objectives and timetables 

established for the next reporting 

period; 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
12820 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2024 / Notices 

(vi) A demographic summary of the of 

the agricultural producers and business 

owners receiving the technical 

assistance. 

(2) A final project and financial status 

report within 90 days after the 

expiration or termination of the grant. 

(3) Outcome project performance 

report. One year after project 

completion, awardees must provide a 

project performance report describing 

their outcomes as related to REAP TAG 

Program goals as identified in your 

Financial Assistance Agreement. The 

final report will also address the 

following: 

(i) The most challenging or 

unexpected aspects of this grant. 

(ii) What advice you would give to 

other organizations applying for this 

grant. 

(iii) The strengths and limitations of 

this grant. 

(iv) If you had the opportunity, what 

would you have done differently? 

(v) Are there any post-grant plans for 

this Project? 

The report is due 60 days after the 

first full year following the year in 

which the expansion project was 

completed. 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s) 

For general questions about this 

announcement, please contact your 

RDSO as provided in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice or the program 

website at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

reap. 

H. Other Information 

1. Paperwork Reduction Act. In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the information 

collection requirements associated with 

the program, as covered in this notice, 

have been approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

OMB Control Number 0503–0028. 

2. National Environmental Policy Act. 

All Applicants under this notice are 

subject to the requirements of 7 CFR 

1970, available at: https://rd.usda.gov/ 

resources/environmental-studies/ 

environmental-guidance. However, 

awards for technical assistance and 

training under this notice are classified 

as a Categorical Exclusion according to 

7 CFR 1970.53(b), and usually do not 

require any additional documentation. 

RBCS will review each grant application 

to determine its compliance with 7 CFR 

part 1970. The Applicant may be asked 

to provide additional information or 

documentation to assist RBCS with this 

determination. 

3. Federal Funding Accountability 

and Transparency Act. All Applicants, 

in accordance with 2 CFR part 25, must 

be registered in SAM and have a UEI 

number as stated in Section D.3 of this 

notice. All recipients of Federal 

financial assistance are required to 

report information about first-tier subawards and executive total 

compensation in accordance with 2 CFR 

part 170. 

4. Civil Rights Act. All grants made 

under this notice are subject to Title VI 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as 

required by the USDA (7 CFR part 15, 

subpart A—Nondiscrimination in 

Federally-Assisted Programs of the 

Department of Agriculture—Effectuation 

of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964) and Section 504 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VIII of 

the Civil Rights Act of 1968, Title IX, 

Executive Order 13166 (Limited English 

Proficiency), Executive Order 11246, 

and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 

1974. 

5. Nondiscrimination Statement. In 

accordance with Federal civil rights 

laws and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) civil rights 

regulations and policies, the USDA, its 

Mission Areas, agencies, staff offices, 

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. 

Program information may be made 

available in languages other than 

English. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means of 

communication to obtain program 

information (e.g., Braille, large print, 

audiotape, American Sign Language) 

should contact the responsible Mission 

Area, Agency, or staff office or the 711 

Relay Service. 

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/default/ 

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: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Kathryn E. Dirksen Londrigan, 

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA Rural Development. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03333 Filed 2–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Notice of Public Meeting of the 

Minnesota Advisory Committee to the 

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 

AGENCY: Commission on Civil Rights. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights (Commission) and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, that 

the Minnesota Advisory Committee 

(Committee) to the U.S. Commission on 

Civil Rights will hold a public meeting 

via Zoom at 1:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, 

April 2, 2024. The purpose of this 

meeting is to discuss the Committee’s 

report, Examining Fair Housing and 

Equal Access to Housing Opportunities 

in Minnesota. 

DATES: Tuesday, April 2, 2024, from 

1:00 p.m.–2:15 p.m. Central Time. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via Zoom Webinar. 

Registration Link (Audio/Visual): 

https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/ 

register/WN_JgQhlf83QviglF4Ky9vEpQ. 

Join by Phone (Audio Only): (833) 

435–1820 USA Toll-Free; Meeting ID: 

160 264 8007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ana 

Victoria Fortes, Designated Federal 

Officer, at afortes@usccr.gov or (202) 

519–2938. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

committee meeting is available to the 

public through the registration link 

above. Any interested member of the 

public may listen to the meeting. An 

open comment period will be provided 

to allow members of the public to make 

a statement as time allows. Per the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, public 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1