[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 47 (Thursday, March 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10710-10713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5407]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service


Inviting Applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants

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 
grants of up to $50,000 per application from the Rural Business 
Opportunity Grant (RBOG) program for fiscal year (FY) 2009, to be 
competitively awarded. For multi-state projects, grant funds of up to 
$150,000 will be available on a competitive basis. These limits do not 
apply to specific funding for certain specifically designated rural 
areas as discussed below. This notice is being issued prior to passage 
of a final

[[Page 10711]]

appropriations bill, which may or may not provide funding for this 
program, to allow applicants sufficient time to apply for and obtain 
leverage financing, submit applications, and give the Agency time to 
process applications within the current fiscal year. The Agency will 
publish a subsequent notice identifying the amount received in the 
appropriations, if any. Expenses incurred in developing applications 
will be at the applicant's risk.

DATES: The deadline for the receipt of applications in the Rural 
Development State Office is March 31, 2009. The RBOG appropriation for 
FY 2009 may provide specific funding for rural areas designated: 
Federally Recognized Native American Tribes' (FRNAT), Empowerment 
Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area Partnerships, 
and these applications must also be received in the Rural Development 
State Office by March 31, 2009. The Agency reserves the right to extend 
this application deadline. Any applications received at a Rural 
Development State Office after these dates for this type of assistance 
will not be considered for FY 2009 funding.

ADDRESSES: Entities wishing to apply for assistance should contact a 
Rural Development State Office for further information and copies of 
the application package. Submit applications to the USDA Rural 
Development State Office in the state where your project is located. A 
list of the USDA Rural Development State Office addresses and telephone 
numbers are as follows:

District of Columbia

USDA Rural Development, Specialty Lenders Division, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Room 6867, STOP 3225, Washington, DC 
20250-3225, (202) 720-1400.

    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/TDD 
(334) 279-3495.

Alaska

USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, 
Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7705/TDD (907) 761-8905.

Arizona

USDA Rural Development State Office, 230 N. 1st Ave., Suite 206, 
Phoenix, AZ 85003, (602) 280-8701/TDD (602) 280-8705.

Arkansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, 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, <greek-i> 4169, 
Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800/TDD (530) 792-5848.

Colorado

USDA Rural Development State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E-100, 
Lakewood, CO 80215, (720) 544-2903/TDD (720) 544-2976.

Delaware-Maryland

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1221 College Park Drive, Suite 
200, Dover, DE 19904, (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 
E. Hancock Avenue, 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, (808) 933-8380/TDD (808) 933-
8321.

Idaho

USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Drive, Suite 
A1, Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5600/TDD (208) 378-5644.

Illinois

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

Indiana

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

Iowa

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

Kansas

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1303 S.W. 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, (859) 224-7300/TDD (859) 224-7422.

Louisiana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street, 
Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7921/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, (517) 324-5190/TDD (517) 324-5169.

Minnesota

USDA Rural Development State Office, 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, (601) 965-4316/TDD (601) 
965-5850.

Missouri

USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, 
Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-0976/TDD 
(573) 876-9480.

Montana

USDA Rural Development State Office, 900 Technology Boulevard, Suite 
B, P.O. Box 850, Bozeman, MT 59771, (406) 585-2580/TDD (406) 585-
2562.

Nebraska

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100 
Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5551/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, 8000 Midlantic Drive, 5th Floor 
North, Suite 500, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787-7700/TDD (856) 
787-7784.

New Mexico

USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE., 
Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (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-
6400/TDD (315) 477-6447.

North Carolina

USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, 
Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 873-2000/TDD (919) 873-2003.

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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 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 801, 
Portland, OR 97232, (503) 414-3300/TDD (503) 414-3387.

Pennsylvania

USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 
330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2299/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, (803) 
765-5163/TDD (803) 765-5697.

South Dakota

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

Tennessee

USDA Rural Development State Office, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 
300, Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1300.

Texas

USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 
101 South Main, Temple, TX 76501, (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) 524-4320/TDD (801) 524-3309.

Vermont/New Hampshire

USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main 
Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6000/TDD (802) 223-6365.

Virginia

USDA Rural Development State Office, 1606 Santa Rosa Road, Suite 
238, Richmond, VA 23229-5014, (804) 287-1550/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, 75 High Street, Room 320, 
Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4860/TDD (304) 284-4836.

Wisconsin

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

Wyoming

USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 East B, Federal Building, 
Room 1005, P.O. Box 11005, Casper, WY 82602-5006, (307) 233-6700/TDD 
(307) 233-6733.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview

    Federal Agency: Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS).
    Funding Opportunity Type: Rural Business Opportunity Grants.
    Announcement Type: Initial Solicitation Announcement.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 10.773.
    Dates: Application Deadline: Completed applications for these funds 
must be received in the Rural Development State Office no later than 
March 31, 2009, to be eligible for FY 2009 grant funding. Applications 
received after this date will not be eligible for FY 2009 grant 
funding.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    The RBOG program is authorized under section 306(a)(11) of the 
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 U.S.C. 
1926(a)(11)). The Rural Development State Offices administer the RBOG 
program on behalf of USDA Rural Development at the State level. 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 technical assistance for business development and economic 
development planning. To ensure that a broad range of communities have 
the opportunity to benefit from the program, no grant will exceed 
$50,000, unless it is a multi-State project where funds may not exceed 
$150,000. As indicated in the summary, these limits do not apply to 
specified funding for rural areas designated: FRNAT's, Empowerment 
Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Rural Economic Area Partnerships.
    Awards are made on a competitive basis using specific selection 
criteria contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G. Information required 
to be in the application package include an SF-424, ``Application for 
Federal Assistance;'' applicant's organizational documents; Scope of 
Work Narrative; Income Sheet; Balance Sheet or current audit if 
available; AD-1047, ``Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, 
and Other Responsibility Matters--Primary Covered Transactions;'' AD-
1048, ``Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility 
and Voluntary Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions;'' AD-1049, 
``Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements;'' 
Restrictions on Lobbying, RD 400-1, ``Equal Opportunity Agreement;'' 
and RD 400-4, ``Assurance Agreement.'' See 7 CFR 4284.639 for 
additional application requirements. Information required to be in the 
application package are contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G. The 
State Director may assign up to 15 discretionary points to an 
application, and the Agency Administrator may assign up to 20 
additional discretionary points for projects funded from the National 
Office reserve. Discretionary points awarded by the State Director or 
Administrator must be based on geographic distribution of funds, 
special importance for implementation of a strategic plan in 
partnership with other organizations, or extraordinary potential for 
success due to superior project plans or qualifications of the grantee. 
To ensure the equitable distribution of funds, a maximum of two 
projects from each State that score the greatest number of points based 
on the selection criteria and discretionary points will be considered 
by the National Office for funding. Applications will be tentatively 
scored by the State Offices and submitted to the National Office for 
final review and selection.
    The National Office will review the scores based on the grant 
selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G. 
All applicants will be notified by USDA Rural Development of the 
Agency's decision on the awards.

Definitions

    The definitions are published at 7 CFR 4284.603.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Grant.
    Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2009.
    Total Funding: To be determined by appropriations bill, if any.
    Approximate Number of Awards: To be determined by amount received 
in appropriations bill, if any.
    Maximum Award: $50,000 (except as otherwise specifically provided 
herein).

[[Page 10713]]

    Anticipated Award Date: June 30, 2009.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

    Grants may be made to public bodies, nonprofit corporations, Indian 
tribes on Federal or State reservations and other federally recognized 
tribal groups, and cooperatives with members that are primarily rural 
residents and that conduct activities for the mutual benefit of the 
members.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

    Matching funds are not required.

C. Other Eligibility Requirements

    Applications will only be accepted for projects to assist in 
promoting sustainable economic development in rural communities.

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 2009 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 
offline, and then upload and submit the application via the Grants.gov 
Web site. Applications may not be submitted by electronic mail.
    <bullet> 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. 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.
    <bullet> You may submit all documents electronically through the 
Web site, including all information typically included on the 
application for RBOGs and all necessary assurances and certifications.
    <bullet> After electronically submitting an application through the 
Web site, the applicant will receive an automatic acknowledgment from 
Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
    <bullet> USDA Rural Development may request that the applicant 
provide original signatures on forms at a later date.
    <bullet> 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.fedgrants.gov.
    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.

B. Content and Form of Submission

    An application must contain all of the required elements. Each 
application received in a Rural Development State Office will be 
reviewed to determine if it is consistent with the eligible purposes 
contained in section 306 of the CONACT. Each selection priority 
criterion outlined in 7 CFR 4284.639, 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 4284, subpart G, 
will be provided to any interested applicant making a request to a 
Rural Development State Office listed in this notice, or can be 
obtained at the Rural Development Web link: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/regs/regs_toc.html.

C. Submission Dates and Times

    Application Deadline date: March 31, 2009.
    Explanation of Deadlines: Applications for funds must be in the 
Rural Development State Office by the deadline date.

V. Application Review Information

    The National Office will score applications based on the grant 
selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G 
and will select a grantee subject to the grantee's satisfactory 
submission of the additional items required by 7 CFR part 4284, subpart 
G and the RBS 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 grant award will be 
approved. Unsuccessful applications will receive notification by mail.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

    Additional requirements that apply to grantees selected for this 
program can be found in the 7 CFR part 4284, subpart G.

VII. Agency Contacts

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

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, Director, 
Office of Adjudication and Compliance, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 
720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and 
lender.''

    Dated: March 4, 2009.
Pat Fiala,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. E9-5407 Filed 3-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P