[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23264-23266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11182]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service


Inviting Preapplications for Technical Assistance for Rural 
Transportation Systems

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within 
the Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of one 
single $500,000 grant from the passenger transportation portion of the 
Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) Program for Fiscal Year 1998 to 
be competitively awarded to a qualified national organization.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of a preapplication in the Rural 
Development State Office is June 15, 1998. Preapplications received at 
a Rural Development State Office after that date will not be considered 
for Fiscal Year 1998 funding.

ADDRESSES: For further information, entities wishing to apply for 
assistance should contact a Rural Development State Office to receive 
further information and copies of the preapplication package. A list of 
Rural Development State Offices follows:

Alabama

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

[[Page 23265]]

Alaska

USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, 
Palmer, AK 99645, (907) 745-2176

Arizona

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3003 North Central Avenue, 
Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012, (602) 280-8700

Arkansas

USDA Rural Development State Office,
700 West Capitol Ave. Rm. 5411,
Little Rock, AR 72201-3225,
(501) 324-6281

California

USDA Rural Development State Office,
194 West Main Street, Suite F,
Woodland, CA 95695-2915,
(530) 668-2000

Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office,
655 Parfet Street, Room E-100,
Lakewood, CO 80215,
(303) 236-2801

Delaware and Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office,
5201 South Dupont Hwy,
P.O. Box 400,
Camden, DE 19934-9998,
(302) 697-4300

Florida/Virgin Islands

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

Georgia

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Stephens Federal Building 355 E. Hancock Avenue,
Athens, GA 30601,
(706) 546-2162

Hawaii/Western Pacific Territories

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Federal Building, Room 311, 154
Waianuenue Avenue,
Hilo, HI 96720,
(808) 933-3000

Idaho

USDA Rural Development State Office,
3232 Elder Street,
Boise, ID 83705,
(208) 378-5600

Illinois

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Illini Plaza, Suite 103,
1817 South Neil Street,
Champaign, IL 61820,
(217) 398-5235

Indiana

USDA Rural Development State Office,
5975 Lakeside Boulevard,
Indianapolis, IN 46278,
(317) 290-3100

Iowa

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

Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office,
1200 SW Executive Drive,
P.O. Box 4653,
Topeka, KS 66604,
(913) 271-2700

Kentucky

USDA Rural Development State Office,
771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200,
Lexington, KY 40503,
(606) 224-7300

Louisiana

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

Maine

USDA Rural Development State Office
444 Stillwater Avenue, Suite 2,
P.O. Box 405,
Bangor, ME 04402-0405,
(207) 990-9106

Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut

USDA Rural Development State Office,
451 West Street,
Amherst, MA 01002,
(413) 253-4300

Michigan

USDA Rural Development State Office,
3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200,
East Lansing, MI 48823,
(517) 337-6635

Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office,
410 AgriBank Building,
375 Jackson Street,
St. Paul, MN 55101,
(612) 602-7800

Mississippi

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Federal Building, Suite 831,
100 West Capitol Street,
Jackson, MS 39269,
(601) 965-4316

Missouri

USDA Rural Development State Office,
601 Business Loop 70 West,
Parkade Center, Suite 235,
Columbia, MO 65203,
(573) 876-0976

Montana

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Unit 1, Suite B,
900 Technology Boulevard,
Bozeman, MT 59715,
(406) 585-2580

Nebraska

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Federal Building, Room 152,
100 Centennial Mall N,
Lincoln, NE 68508,
(402) 437-5551

Nevada

USDA Rural Development State Office,
1390 South Curry Street,
Carson City, NV 89703-5405,
(702) 887-1222

New Jersey

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Tarnsfield Plaza, Suite 22,
790 Woodlane Road,
Mt. Holly, NJ 08060,
(609) 265-3600

New Mexico

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

New York

USDA Rural Development State Office,
The Galleries of Syracuse,
441 South Salina Street, Suite 357,
Syracuse, NY 13202,
(315) 477-6400

North Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office,
4405 Bland Road, Suite 260,
Raleigh, NC 27609,
(919) 873-2000

North Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Federal Building, Room 208,
220 East Rosser, P.O. Box 1737,
Bismarck, ND 58502,
(701) 250-4781

Ohio

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Federal Building, Room 507,
200 North High Street,
Columbus, OH 43215,
(614) 469-5606

Oklahoma

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

Oregon

USDA Rural Development State Office,
101 SW Main Street, Suite 1410,
Portland, OR 97204-2333,
(503) 414-3300

Pennsylvania

USDA Rural Development State Office,
1 Credit Union Place, Suite 330,
Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996,
(717) 237-2299

Puerto Rico

USDA Rural Development State Office,
New San Juan Office Building, Rm. 501,
159 Carlos E. Chardon Street,
Hato Rey, PR 00918-5481,
(787) 766-5095

South Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Strom Thurmond Federal Building,
1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007,
Columbia, SC 29201,
(803) 765-5163

[[Page 23266]]

South Dakota

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Federal Building, Room 210,
200 4th Street SW,
Huron, SD 57350,
(605) 352-1100

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,
101 South Main, Suite 102,
Temple, TX 76501,
(254) 742-9700

Utah

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building,
125 South State Street, Rm. 4311,
P.O. Box 11350,
Salt Lake City, UT 84147-0350,
(801) 524-4063

Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office,
City Center, 3rd Floor,
89 Main Street,
Montpelier, VT 05602,
(802) 828-6002

Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office,
Culpeper Building, Suite 238,
1606 Santa Rosa Road,
Richmond, VA 23229,
(804) 287-1550

Washington

USDA Rural Development State Office,
1835 Blacklake Boulevard, SW., Suite B,
Olympia, WA 98512-5715,
(360) 704-7700

West Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office,
75 High Street, Room 320,
P.O. Box 678,
Morgantown, WV 26505,
(304) 291-4791

Wisconsin

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

Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office,
100 East B, Federal Building, Rm 1005,
P.O. Box 82602,
Casper, WY 82601,
(307) 261-6300

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The passenger transportation portion of the 
RBEG program is authorized by section 310B(c)(2) of the Consolidated 
Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 U.S.C. 1932). The RBEG 
program is administered on behalf of RBS at the State level by the 
Rural Development State Offices. The primary objective of the program 
is to improve the economic conditions of rural areas. Assistance 
provided to rural areas under this program may include on-site 
technical assistance to local and regional governments, public transit 
agencies, and related nonprofit and for-profit organizations in rural 
areas; the development of training materials; and the provision of 
necessary training assistance to local officials and agencies in rural 
areas.
    Awards under the RBEG passenger transportation program are made on 
a competitive basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 
CFR part 1942, subpart G, and in accordance with section 310B(c)(2) of 
the CONACT. That subpart also contains the information required to be 
in the preapplication package. Up to 25 Administrator's points may be 
added to an application's priority score based on the extent to which 
the application targets assistance to Empowerment Zones/Enterprise 
Communities, Champion Communities, or other rural communities that have 
experienced pervasive poverty, out-migration of population, or sudden 
severe structural changes in the local economy. A project that scores 
the greatest number of points based on the selection criteria and 
Administrator's points will be selected. Preapplications will be 
tentatively scored by the State Offices and submitted to the National 
Office for review, final scoring, and selection.
    To be considered ``national'', a qualified organization is required 
to provide evidence that it operates in multi-state areas. There is not 
a requirement to use the grant funds in a multi-state area. Under this 
program, grants are made to a qualified private nonprofit organization 
for the provision of technical assistance and training to rural 
communities for the purpose of improving passenger transportation 
services or facilities. Public bodies are not eligible for passenger 
transportation RBEG grants.
    Refer to section 310B(c)(2) (7 U.S.C. 1932) of the CONACT and 7 CFR 
part 1942 subpart G for the information collection requirements of the 
RBEG program.

Fiscal Year 1998 Preapplication Submission

    Each preapplication received in a Rural Development State Office 
will be reviewed to determine if the preapplication is consistent with 
the eligible purposes outlined in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, and 
section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. Each selection priorities criterion 
outlined in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, section 1942.305(b)(3), must be 
addressed in the preapplication. 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 preapplication. Copies of 7 CFR part 
1942, subpart G, will be provided to any interested applicant making a 
request to a Rural Development State Office listed in this notice. All 
projects to receive technical assistance through these passenger 
transportation grant funds are to be identified when the preapplication 
is submitted to the Rural Development State Office. Multiple project 
preapplications must identify each individual project, indicate the 
amount of funding requested for each individual project, and address 
the criteria as stated above for each individual project. For a 
multiple-project preapplication, the average of the individual project 
scores will be the score for that preapplication.
    All eligible preapplications, along with tentative scoring sheets 
and the Rural Development State Director's recommendation, will be 
referred to the National Office no later than July 15, 1998, for final 
scoring and selection for award.
    The National Office will score preapplications based on the grant 
selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, 
and Administrator's points, and will select an awardee subject to the 
awardee's satisfactory submission of a formal application and related 
materials in the manner and time frame established by RBS in accordance 
with 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G. It is anticipated that the grant 
awardee will be selected by August 28, 1998. All applicants will be 
notified by RBS of the Agency decision on the award.
    The information collection requirements within this Notice are 
covered under OMB No. 0570-0022 and 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G.

    Dated: April 20, 1998.
Wilbur F. Hagy III,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 98-11182 Filed 4-27-98; 8:45 am]
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