Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 225 / Thursday, November 21, 2024 / Notices 92133 

service area rather than specific 

addresses of providers. 

Response: The purpose of FORHP’s 

rural definition is to delineate the land 

area of the United States as rural or nonrural. The areas identified as rural by 

this definition may include both service 

areas and specific provider addresses. 

After consideration of the public 

comments received, HRSA is 

implementing the rugged terrain 

inclusion in the definition of rural area 

as proposed. FORHP is making this 

change consistent with its program 

authority to award grants to support 

rural health and rural health care 

services. 

Updated Definition of Rural Area 

HRSA is updating FORHP’s rural 

definition to include geographic areas 

meeting any one of the following 

criteria: 

(1) Non-metropolitan counties 

(2) Outlying metropolitan counties with 

no population from an urban area of 

50,000 or more people 

(3) Census tracts with RUCA codes 4– 

10 in metropolitan counties 

(4) Census tracts of at least 400 square 

miles in area with population density 

of 35 or less per square mile with 

RUCA codes 2–3 in metropolitan 

counties 

(5) Census tracts with RRS 5 and RUCA 

codes 2–3 that are at least 20 square 

miles in area in metropolitan counties 

The changes will go into effect as of 

November 21, 2024. These changes will 

apply to FORHP’s Notices of Funding 

Opportunity for FY 2025 and future 

years for programs that require funded 

activities and services be provided in 

rural areas, as defined by HRSA. FORHP 

will ensure information about the 

updated rural definition is available to 

the public on the HRSA website and in 

funding opportunities. These changes 

reflect FORHP’s desire to accurately 

identify rural areas using a data-driven 

methodology that relies on established 

geographic identifiers and standard, 

national-level data sources. 

Impact 

Incorporating rugged terrain data into 

the definition of rural area using the 

adopted method adds 84 census tracts 

and approximately 305,000 people to 

the 60.8 million people living in 

FORHP-designated rural areas. This is 

an increase of 0.5 percent in the total 

number of people living in rural areas. 

Table 1 show the number of newly rural 

census tracts by state. 

TABLE 1—NUMBER OF NEWLY RURAL

CENSUS TRACTS BY STATE

State Number 

of tracts 

CA ............................................... 24 

OR .............................................. 16 

NC ............................................... 12 

WA .............................................. 9 

TN ............................................... 7 

CO .............................................. 6 

WV .............................................. 6 

MT ............................................... 2 

AK ............................................... 1 

MD .............................................. 1 

Total ..................................... 84 

Note: Table shows the number of newly 

rural census tracts with RRS 5 and RUCA 

codes 2–3 that are at least 20 square miles in 

area in metropolitan counties. Data in this 

table are based on 2010 census tract geographies and 2020 metropolitan county delineations. For a complete list of impacted census 

tracts see https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/ 

about-us/what-is-rural/data-files. 

Carole Johnson, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27133 Filed 11–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4165–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Human Genome Research 

Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting 

Pursuant to section 1009 of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of the 

following meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: Center for Inherited 

Disease Research Access Committee. 

Date: January 10, 2025. 

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Address: National Human Genome 

Research Institute, National Institutes of 

Health, 6700B Rockledge Drive, Room 3172, 

Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual). 

Contact Person: Barbara J. Thomas, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review 

Branch, National Human Genome Research 

Institute, National Institutes of Health, 6700B 

Rockledge Drive, Room 3172, Bethesda, MD 

20892, (301) 402–8837, barbara.thomas@

nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome 

Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: November 15, 2024. 

David W. Freeman, 

Supervisory Program Analyst, Office of 

Federal Advisory Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27167 Filed 11–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

In compliance with section 

3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 concerning the 

opportunity for public comment on 

proposed collections of information, the 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

will publish periodic summaries of 

proposed projects. To request more 

information on the proposed projects or 

to obtain a copy of the information 

collection plans, call the SAMHSA 

Reports Clearance Officer at (240) 276– 

0361. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collections of information 

are necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Proposed Project: Minority AIDS 

Initiative: Substance Use Disorder 

Prevention and Treatment Pilot 

Program (MAI PT Pilot) Data Collection 

Instruments 

The Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services Administration’s 

(SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse 

Prevention (CSAP) and Center for 

Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) are 

requesting approval from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

monitor the Minority AIDS Initiative: 

Substance Use Disorder Prevention and 

Treatment Pilot Program (MAI PT Pilot) 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1