Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 117 / Tuesday, June 22, 2021 / Notices 32681 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–6261–N–01] 

Allocations, Common Application, 

Waivers, and Alternative Requirements 

for Community Development Block 

Grant Disaster Recovery Grantees; 

Electrical Power Systems in Puerto 

Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Community Planning and 

Development, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On April 10, 2018, HUD 

allocated nearly $28 billion in 

Community Development Block Grant 

disaster recovery (CDBG–DR) funds 

appropriated by the Further Additional 

Supplemental Appropriations for 

Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2018. 

HUD allocated $10.03 billion for the 

purpose of addressing unmet needs 

from disasters that occurred in 2017; $2 

billion for enhanced or improved 

electrical power systems in Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and $15.9 

billion for mitigation activities. This 

notice governs the use of the $2 billion 

CDBG–DR allocation for enhanced or 

improved electrical power systems in 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

DATES: Applicability Date: June 28, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessie Handforth Kome, Director, Office 

of Block Grant Assistance, Department 

of Housing and Urban Development, 

451 7th Street SW, Room 7282, 

Washington, DC 20410, telephone 

number 202–708–3587. Persons with 

hearing or speech impairments may 

access this number via TTY by calling 

the Federal Relay Service at 800–877– 

8339. Facsimile inquiries may be sent to 

Ms. Kome at 202–708–0033. (Except for 

the ’’800’’ number, these telephone 

numbers are not toll-free). Email 

inquiries may be sent to disaster_

recovery@hud.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Overview and Policy Objectives 

II. Allocation 

III. Use of Funds 

IV. Overview of the Grant Process 

V. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and 

Alternative Requirements 

A. Grant Administration 

B. Infrastructure and Other Nonresidential 

Structures 

C. Certifications and Collection of 

Information 

VI. Duration of Funding 

VII. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

VIII. Finding of No Significant Impact 

I. Overview and Policy Objectives 

The Further Additional Supplemental 

Appropriations for Disaster Relief 

Requirements Act, 2018 (Division B, 

Subdivision 1 of the Bipartisan Budget 

Act of 2018), (Pub. L. 115–123 approved 

February 9, 2018) (the ‘‘Appropriations 

Act’’), made available nearly $28 billion 

in Community Development Block 

Grant disaster recovery (CDBG–DR) 

funds. Of this amount, the 

Appropriations Act directed HUD to 

allocate not less than $2 billion for 

electrical power system enhancements 

and improvements for Puerto Rico and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). This 

notice establishes requirements for 

necessary expenses of electrical power 

system enhancements and 

improvements (‘‘electrical power system 

improvements’’) in the most impacted 

and distressed area as defined by HUD 

in section II of this notice and as 

previously identified in the allocation 

methodology published by HUD in the 

August 14, 2018 Federal Register (83 FR 

40314, 40323). 

In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria 

damaged significant elements of the 

electricity systems in Puerto Rico and 

the USVI. Following the hurricanes, five 

months of repairs were required in order 

to restore power to the USVI, and 

approximately eleven months of repairs 

were needed to restore power to Puerto 

Rico. CDBG–DR funds for electrical 

power system improvements provide a 

unique and significant opportunity for 

these grantees to carry out strategic and 

high-impact activities to address 

necessary expenses and mitigate 

disaster risks to their electrical power 

systems, improve system reliability, 

resiliency, efficiency, sustainability and 

address each system’s long-term 

financial viability (electrical power 

system and electrical power system 

improvements are defined in section 

V.A.8.a. in this notice). The Department 

seeks to maximize the impact of these 

CDBG–DR funds by encouraging the 

formation of public-private 

partnerships, partnerships with local, 

community and neighborhood 

organizations, and through enhanced 

coordination with other Federal 

programs. In the action plan governing 

the use of these funds, grantees are also 

required to describe how the funds will 

be used to address the needs of 

vulnerable populations, protected 

classes, and underserved communities, 

how the funded activities primarily 

benefit low- and moderate-income 

persons, and how the planned 

improvements will be designed and 

implemented to address the impacts of 

climate change. 

The use of CDBG–DR funds for 

electrical power system improvements 

requires careful planning, robust 

oversight, and coordination with other 

Federal disaster recovery, mitigation, 

and sustainability efforts to enhance the 

resiliency of grantee’s electrical power 

systems, as an integral component of the 

grantee’s energy infrastructure. The 

Department places great focus on and 

will give increased attention to the 

financial and operational capacity of 

each grantee’s subrecipients and the 

departments and divisions of the 

grantee that may receive funds, 

including public utilities that currently 

operate and maintain each grantee’s 

electrical power system. As described in 

section V.A.1.b.(2), grantees must 

identify any management and 

operational reforms that have been or 

will be implemented to improve the 

outcomes associated with the use of 

CDBG–DR funds for electrical power 

system improvements. The 

Administration also seeks to encourage 

private, community, and philanthropic 

sector investments in electrical power 

system improvements, and to maximize 

the long-term benefits of this CDBG–DR 

funding to each grantee’s jurisdiction. 

II. Allocation 

The Appropriations Act provides that 

grants shall be awarded directly to a 

State, local government, or Indian tribe 

at the discretion of the Secretary. To 

comply with statutory direction that 

funds be used for disaster-related 

expenses in the most impacted and 

distressed areas, HUD has identified the 

most impacted and distressed areas 

based on the best available data for all 

eligible affected areas. A detailed 

explanation of HUD’s allocation 

methodology was previously published 

in HUD’s August 14, 2018 Federal 

Register notice at 83 FR 40323. For 

Puerto Rico and the USVI, all 

components of each jurisdiction are 

considered most impacted and 

distressed for purposes of the allocation 

identified in Table 1. 


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TABLE 1—ALLOCATIONS FOR ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS UNDER PUBLIC LAW

115–123 

Disaster No. Grantee 

Electrical power system 

allocation under Public 

Law 115–123 

4339 ............. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ................................................................................................................. $1,932,347,000 

4340 ............. U.S. Virgin Islands .................................................................................................................................... 67,653,000 

III. Use of Funds 

As required by the Appropriations 

Act, prior to HUD’s obligation of the 

funds to the grantee, a grantee shall 

submit a plan to HUD for approval 

detailing the proposed use of all funds. 

The action plan submitted in response 

to this notice must describe uses that (1) 

are electrical power system 

improvements and satisfy all 

requirements for electrical power 

system improvement activities as 

described in V.A.8.; and (2) meet the 

criteria for a national objective, as 

established by this notice. 

Section V.A.8. of this notice 

establishes a waiver and alternative 

requirement that creates electrical 

power system improvements as a 

CDBG–DR eligible activity. As described 

in section V.A.2.a.(1) of this notice, in 

the action plan, a grantee must assess 

the unmet needs for the enhancement or 

improvement of their respective 

electrical power system. The unmet 

needs assessment must inform the 

action plan and guide the development 

and prioritization of planned activities 

to improve each grantee’s electrical 

power system. The action plan must 

include the criteria to be used by the 

grantee to prioritize the expenditure of 

CDBG–DR funds identified in this 

notice for the specific components of its 

electrical power system and describe 

how the use of these CDBG–DR funds 

will improve the cost-effectiveness, 

reliability, resilience, efficiency, 

sustainability, and long-term financial 

viability of its electrical power systems. 

Puerto Rico is subject to the 

requirements of the State CDBG 

program, as modified by applicable 

waivers and alternative requirements. 

Section 102(a)(2) of the HCDA defines 

‘‘state’’ to include the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(2)). HUD 

waives the provisions of 24 CFR part 

570, subpart F to authorize the USVI to 

administer its CDBG–DR allocation in 

accordance with the regulatory and 

statutory provisions governing the State 

CDBG program, as modified by this 

notice. This includes the requirement 

that the aggregate total for 

administrative and technical assistance 

expenditures by the USVI must not 

exceed 5 percent of any CDBG–DR grant 

made pursuant to the Appropriations 

Act, plus 5 percent of program income 

generated by the grant. 

Funds allocated pursuant to this 

notice shall not be subject to previous 

notices that govern CDBG–DR or CDBG 

Mitigation (CDBG–MIT) funds awarded 

to Puerto Rico or the USVI. The use of 

other CDBG–DR funds or CDBG–MIT 

funds, allocated pursuant to other 

notices for electrical power system 

improvements, shall be subject to the 

requirements of the notices governing 

the use of those funds and to the 

requirements established in section 

V.B.4 of this notice. 

All references in this notice 

pertaining to timelines and/or deadlines 

are in terms of calendar days unless 

otherwise noted. 

IV. Overview of Grant Process 

The grant process outlined below 

aligns with the typical process for 

awarding CDBG–DR grants. To begin 

expending CDBG–DR funds pursuant to 

this notice, the following steps are 

required: 

• Grantee develops or amends its 

citizen participation plan for disaster 

recovery to include the grant for 

electrical power system improvements 

in accordance with the requirements in 

section V.A.3 of this notice. 

• Grantee consults with stakeholders, 

including the required consultation 

with the Federal members of the Energy 

Technical Coordination Team (TCT) 

described in section V.A.2.e.(1) of this 

notice, affected local government public 

utilities, rural electrical cooperatives, 

regulators, commercial and industrial 

users of the system, residential 

customers and public interest groups 

representing residential customers of 

the system and others pursuant to 

section V.A.6 of this notice. 

• Grantees under this notice have 

previously submitted materials in 

support of the Department’s certification 

of the proficiency of its financial 

controls and procurements processes 

and the adequacy of its procedures to 

prevent any duplication of benefits as 

defined by section 312 of the Robert T. 

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

Assistance Act (Stafford Act), 42 U.S.C. 

5155, to ensure timely expenditure of 

funds, maintain a comprehensive 

website regarding all assisted mitigation 

activities, and detect and prevent waste, 

fraud, and abuse of funds for purposes 

of its CDBG–MIT grant. Accordingly, as 

described in section V.A.1.a., for CDBG– 

DR grants governed by this notice, HUD 

will rely on the grantees’ submissions 

and certifications in support of the 

CDBG–MIT certifications, provided, 

however, that each grantee shall be 

required to submit updates to reflect any 

material changes in its certification 

submissions, as necessary. Grantees 

must submit the required information 

within 60 days of the applicability date 

of this notice. 

• Grantee publishes its action plan for 

electrical power system improvements 

on the grantee’s required disaster 

recovery website for no less than 45 

calendar days to solicit public comment 

and convenes not less than two public 

hearings on the proposed plan. The 

grantee may convene virtual hearings in 

lieu of in-person hearings, pursuant to 

section V.A.3.b. of this notice. 

• Grantee responds to public 

comments and submits its action plan 

within 120 days of the applicability date 

of this notice (which includes Standard 

Form 424 (SF–424) and certifications), 

its implementation plan and capacity 

assessment in accordance with the 

requirements in section V.A.1.b, and 

projection of expenditures and 

outcomes to HUD in accordance with 

V.A.2.g. 

• Grantee may begin to enter 

activities into the Disaster Recovery 

Grant Reporting (DRGR) system before 

or after submission of the action plan to 

HUD. Any activities that are changed as 

a result of HUD’s review must be 

updated once HUD approves the action 

plan. 

• HUD reviews (within 60 days from 

the date of receipt) the action plan 

according to criteria identified in this 

notice, and either approves or 

disapproves the plan. 

• HUD will send an action plan 

approval letter, grant conditions, and an 

unsigned grant agreement to the grantee. 

If the action plan is not approved, HUD 

will notify the grantee of the 

deficiencies. The grantee must then 


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resubmit the action plan within 45 days 

of the notification. 

• Grantee must sign and return the 

grant agreement to HUD. 

• HUD will sign the grant agreement 

and establish the grantee’s CDBG–DR 

line of credit amount to reflect the total 

amount of available funds. Grantee 

posts the final HUD-approved action 

plan on its official website. 

• Grantee enters the activities from its 

approved action plan into the DRGR 

system if it has not previously done so 

and submits its DRGR action plan to 

HUD (funds can be drawn from the line 

of credit only for activities that are 

established in the DRGR system). 

• Grantee may draw down CDBG–DR 

funds from its line of credit after the 

Responsible Entity completes applicable 

environmental review(s) pursuant to 24 

CFR part 58 or adopts another Federal 

agency’s environmental review as 

authorized under the Appropriations 

Act, and, as applicable, receives from 

HUD the Authority to Use Grant Funds 

(AUGF) form. 

• Substantial amendments are subject 

to requirements in V.A.2.d., including a 

30-day public comment period and 

posting the substantial amendment to 

the grantee’s website followed by a 60- 

day review period for HUD. 

V. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, 

and Alternative Requirements 

This section of the notice describes 

requirements established by the 

Appropriations Act, as well as waivers 

and alternative requirements that apply 

to the CDBG–DR funds for electrical 

power system improvements. These 

waivers and alternative requirements 

provide flexibility in program design 

and implementation to support the 

grantees’ prudent implementation of 

activities to address necessary expenses 

and mitigate disaster risks to their 

electrical power systems, improve 

system reliability, resiliency, efficiency, 

sustainability and address each system’s 

long-term financial viability, while 

ensuring that statutory requirements are 

met. For each waiver and alternative 

requirement, the Secretary has 

determined that good cause exists and 

that the waivers and alternative 

requirements are not inconsistent with 

the overall purpose of title I of the 

HCDA. 

The Appropriations Act authorizes 

the Secretary to waive or specify 

alternative requirements for any 

provision of any statute or regulation 

that the Secretary administers in 

connection with the obligation by the 

Secretary, or use by the recipient, of 

these funds, except for requirements 

related to fair housing, 

nondiscrimination, labor standards, and 

the environment. HUD also has 

regulatory waiver authority under 24 

CFR 5.110, 91.600, and 570.5. 

Grantees may request additional 

waivers and alternative requirements 

from the Department as needed to 

address specific needs related to their 

electrical power system improvement 

activities. Grantee requests for waivers 

and alternative requirements must be 

accompanied by relevant data to 

support the request and must 

demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 

Department that there is good cause for 

the waiver or alternative requirement. 

Grantees must work with their assigned 

HUD CPD representative to request 

additional waivers or alternative 

requirements and such waivers and 

alternative requirements shall be subject 

to approval by HUD headquarters. 

Except when noted, the waivers and 

alternative requirements described 

below apply only to CDBG–DR funds 

subject to the requirements of this 

notice. Waivers and alternative 

requirements must be published in the 

Federal Register and are effective five 

(5) days after publication. 

Except as described for CDBG–DR 

funds, statutory and regulatory 

provisions governing the State CDBG 

program shall apply to both Puerto Rico 

and the USVI including but not limited 

to, the principle of maximum feasible 

deference as provided at 24 CFR 

570.480. Statutory provisions for the 

State CDBG program (title I of the 

HCDA) can be found at 42 U.S.C. 5301 

et seq. State CDBG regulations can be 

found at 24 CFR part 570. References to 

the action plan in these regulations refer 

to the action plan required by this 

notice. 

V.A. Grant Administration and Action 

Plan Requirements 

V.A.1. Pre-award evaluation of 

management and oversight of funds. 

HUD plans to work with other Federal 

agencies and the grantee to closely 

consult with and provide coordinated 

federal technical assistance to the 

grantee in its planning and 

implementation of all aspects of the 

electrical power system improvements 

to be funded with CDBG–DR grants 

described in this notice. This 

coordinated Federal technical assistance 

aligns with the view that these electrical 

power system improvements by grantees 

will require a high level of interaction 

between HUD, the grantee, and other 

Federal agencies in order to ensure longterm performance and compliance. In 

establishing an alternative eligible 

activity for electrical power system 

improvements in section V.A.8.a. of this 

notice, HUD recognizes the unique 

nature of the activities to be funded 

with this allocation, the extent to which 

implementation of this activity is 

dependent upon each grantee’s public 

utility, and the financial management 

and program risks to grantees that are 

presented by the on-going operational 

and financial challenges of their 

respective public utilities. Accordingly, 

HUD will also give increased attention 

to the financial and operational capacity 

of each grantee’s subrecipients, 

subgrantees, and any other departments 

and divisions of the grantee that will 

carry out activities funded with this 

grant, including each of the public 

utilities that currently operate and 

maintain each grantee’s electrical power 

system. 

Consistent with 2 CFR part 200, HUD 

will use grant conditions to reduce risk, 

to contribute to improved outcomes in 

the use of this CDBG–DR funding, and 

to help strengthen grantee management 

practices and improve the grantee’s 

capacity to respond to future disasters. 

Among the conditions which may be 

established are requirements for 

notifying HUD of the planned 

disposition of components of the 

electrical power system acquired or 

improved with CDBG–DR funds and for 

the management of any program income 

resulting from such disposition and 

standards for the procurement of 

electrical power system improvements, 

including those established by the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s Rural 

Utility Service. 

As electrical power system 

improvements necessarily rely on the 

grantee’s public utility, and for grantees 

that are considered by HUD to have 

‘‘unmitigated high risks,’’ that impact 

their ability to carry out large-scale 

projects, HUD, in consultation with the 

U.S. Department of Treasury, may 

consider possible grant conditions. 

These grant conditions may include but 

are not limited to requiring the grantee 

to provide periodic reports on how the 

expenditure of CDBG–DR funds is 

contributing to the financial stability of 

the public utility including steps the 

utility is taking (e.g., cost-cutting 

measures, increases in operational 

efficiency, increases to customer base 

and investments of public utility funds 

in the system). 

The Department may, based on its 

assessment of risk, restrict the 

availability of funds until such time as 

various grant conditions are met by a 

grantee. Grantees are reminded that 

HUD may, at any time, establish new 

grant conditions based on the risk 

arising from the performance of a 

grantee or its subrecipients or may 


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pursue remedies based on performance 

consistent with subpart O of the CDBG 

regulations (including corrective and 

remedial actions in 24 CFR 570.910, 

570.911, and 570.913) or under subpart 

I of the CDBG regulations at 24 CFR part 

570 in accordance with the waiver and 

alternative requirement in V.A.20. 

V.A.1.a. Certification of financial 

controls and procurement processes, 

and adequate procedures for proper 

grant management. The Appropriations 

Act requires that the Secretary certify, in 

advance of signing a grant agreement, 

that the grantee has in place proficient 

financial controls and procurement 

processes and has established adequate 

procedures to prevent any duplication 

of benefits as defined by section 312 of 

Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5155, to ensure 

timely expenditure of funds, maintain a 

comprehensive website regarding all 

disaster recovery activities assisted with 

these funds, and detect and prevent 

waste, fraud, and abuse of funds. 

Sections V.A.1.a. and VI.1.k. of the 

August 30, 2019 CDBG–MIT Federal 

Register notice (84 FR 45844–45 and 

45869) required CDBG–MIT grantees to 

provide submissions that offer evidence 

that its controls, processes, and 

procedures are proficient and adequate, 

and a related certification from the 

grantee to the Secretary. To enable the 

Secretary to make this certification, 

HUD will rely on the grantee’s 

submissions and certifications to the 

Secretary previously provided for the 

grantee’s CDBG–MIT grant, provided, 

however, that HUD’s approval will be 

conditioned on the requirement that the 

grantee must update its previous 

submissions to reflect any material 

changes. 

If this CDBG–DR grant is to be 

administered by an agency that does not 

administer a grantee’s CDBG–MIT grant, 

the administering agency for this 

CDBG–DR grant must submit the 

documentation for the certification of 

financial controls and procurement 

processes, and adequate procedures for 

proper grant management as described 

in Sections V.A.1.a. of the August 30, 

2019 CDBG–MIT Federal Register 

notice (84 FR 45844–45). 

Grantees must submit the required 

information within 60 days of the 

applicability date of this notice. 

V.A.1.b. Implementation plan and 

capacity assessment. CDBG–DR funds 

typically require grantees to adopt new 

roles and responsibilities within their 

organization and to establish new 

working relationships with other 

entities external to the organization. The 

use of CDBG–DR funds for electrical 

power system improvements presents 

unique risks for grantees, requiring 

enhanced levels of technical expertise 

and close coordination among multiple 

agencies of the grantee, federal agencies, 

public utilities, local governments, and 

other stakeholders. Before signing a 

grant agreement, HUD requires each 

grantee to demonstrate that it has 

sufficient capacity to manage these 

funds and the associated risks. 

Evidence of grantee management 

capacity must be provided through the 

grantee’s implementation plan and 

capacity assessment submitted with the 

grantee’s action plan. These 

submissions must meet the criteria in 

(1) and (2) below. A grantee has 

sufficient management capacity if it 

submits documentation showing that 

each of the following criteria are 

satisfied: 

(1) Timely information on 

applications. A grantee has adequate 

procedures to enable applicants to 

determine the status of their 

applications for CDBG–DR assistance, at 

all phases, if its procedures indicate 

methods for communication (i.e., 

website, telephone, case managers, 

letters, etc.), ensure the accessibility and 

privacy of individualized information 

for all applicants, indicate the frequency 

of applicant status updates, and identify 

which personnel or unit is responsible 

for informing applicants of the status of 

CDBG–DR applications. 

(2) Implementation plan. To enable 

HUD to assess risk as described in 2 

CFR 200.206, the grantee must submit 

an implementation plan to the 

Department. The plan must describe the 

grantee’s capacity to carry out electrical 

power system improvement activities, 

how it will address any capacity gaps, 

and how agency staff of the grantee that 

administers other CDBG–DR funds and 

CDBG–MIT funds will work with other 

agencies of the grantee that administer 

the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA) funded mitigation and 

public assistance funds and other 

Federally funded activities that support 

electrical power system improvements. 

Additionally, grantees must identify any 

management and operational reforms 

that have been or will be implemented 

by the grantee or its planned 

subrecipients, subgrantees, and any 

other agencies of the grantee that will 

carry out a portion of the grant, in order 

to improve operational efficiency, 

accountability, and the outcomes 

associated with the use of CDBG–DR 

funds for electrical power system 

improvements. HUD will determine a 

plan is adequate to reduce risk if, at a 

minimum, it adequately addresses (a) 

through (f) below: 

(a) Capacity assessment. The grantee 

has assessed its capacity to carry out 

electrical power system improvement 

activities and has developed a timeline 

with milestones describing when and 

how the grantee will address all 

capacity gaps that are identified. The 

assessment must include a list of any 

open CDBG–DR or CDBG–MIT findings 

by HUD or its Office of the Inspector 

General and an update on the corrective 

actions undertaken to address each 

finding. HUD may include additional 

requirements in the grantee’s grant 

conditions to prevent similar findings 

for this grant. 

(b) Staffing. The plan shows that the 

grantee has accurately assessed staff 

capacity and identified adequate 

personnel who have documented 

experience in the timely development 

and implementation of electrical power 

system improvements, including in 

particular, the distribution, substation, 

and communication components of the 

system; staff that are responsible for 

procurement and contract management, 

including compliance with the 

regulations implementing Section 3 of 

the Housing and Urban Development 

Act of 1968 (24 CFR part 75) (Section 3); 

staff with experience and capacity in 

compliance with fair housing and 

environmental requirements; and 

personnel responsible for monitoring, 

quality assurance, and proper financial 

management. The grantee’s staffing plan 

may include the procurement of 

external consulting services with 

expertise in the development and 

implementation of electrical power 

system improvements. An adequate 

plan must also describe the grantee’s 

internal audit function and the extent to 

which the internal audit function has 

been enhanced to account for the 

technical and specialized nature of the 

electrical power system improvements 

to be funded, including responsible 

audit staff reporting independently to 

the chief elected official or executive 

officer or governing board of the 

designated administering entity. To help 

complete this staffing exercise, grantees 

may choose to use the ‘‘Staffing 

Analysis Worksheet’’ available on the 

HUD Exchange at https://

www.hudexchange.info/programs/cdbgdr/toolkits/program-launch/#capacity. 

(c) Internal and interagency 

coordination. The plan describes how 

the grantee will ensure effective 

communication and coordination 

between different departments and 

divisions within the grantee’s 

organizational structure and other 

grantee agencies and governmental 

entities involved in the design and 

implementation of electrical power 

system improvement planning and 

projects; agencies or divisions 


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responsible for environmental reviews; 

grantee agencies responsible for the 

development and implementation of 

components of the planned electrical 

power system improvements; local and 

regional planning as well as other 

agencies to be engaged by the grantee in 

order to ensure consistency and the 

integration of CDBG–DR electrical 

power system improvements with local 

and regional planning and development 

activities. This includes the required 

consultation with the Federal members 

of the TCT on the action plan as 

described in section V.A.2.e.(1) of this 

notice. In order to illustrate compliance 

with the requirement at V.A.2.e.(1), each 

grantee shall document in its 

implementation plan its required 

consultations with the Federal members 

of the TCT and its efforts to coordinate 

the various sources of federal assistance 

provided for electrical power system 

improvements. 

(d) Subrecipients, public utilities, and 

other entities. The implementation plan 

must describe the criteria to be used by 

the grantee to evaluate the capacity of 

all potential subrecipients or other 

agencies of the grantee that will receive 

a subaward or otherwise carry out 

activities funded with this grant, 

including criteria specific to the 

designation of any public utility that is 

anticipated to receive funding to 

implement electrical power system 

improvements. These criteria shall 

include an evaluation of the capacity of 

subrecipient or other entities to 

coordinate electrical power system 

improvements with other infrastructure 

activities of the grantee. 

The plan must also indicate how the 

grantee will monitor other agencies of 

the grantee that will administer the 

funds, how the grantee will enhance its 

monitoring of subrecipients, other 

agencies of the grantee, contractors, and 

other program participants, how and 

why monitoring is to be conducted, and 

which items are to be monitored. 

(e) Technical assistance. The grantee’s 

implementation plan describes how it 

will procure and provide technical 

assistance for any personnel that the 

grantee does not employ at the time of 

action plan submission, and to fill their 

gaps in knowledge or technical 

expertise required for successful and 

timely implementation where identified 

in the capacity assessment. 

(f) Accountability. The grantee’s plan 

identifies the lead agency responsible 

for implementation of the CDBG–DR 

grant and indicates that the head of that 

agency will report directly to the chief 

executive officer of the grantee. 

HUD will monitor the grantee’s use of 

funds for consistency with the action 

plan, implementation plan and capacity 

assessment, and whether a grantee 

meets the performance and timeliness 

objectives established therein. A 

material failure to comply with the 

grantee’s approved action plan or 

implementation plan and capacity 

assessment will prompt HUD to exercise 

any of the corrective or remedial actions 

described in section V.A.20. 

V.A.2. CDBG–DR Action Plan waiver 

and alternative requirement. 

Requirements for CDBG action plans, in 

42 U.S.C. 5304(a)(1), 42 U.S.C. 5304(m), 

42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(2)(C)(iii), 42 U.S.C. 

5306(a)(1), 42 U.S.C. 12705(a)(2), 24 

CFR 91.320, and 24 CFR 91.220, are 

waived for these CDBG–DR grants. 

Instead, grantees must submit to HUD a 

disaster recovery action plan for 

electrical power system improvements 

which will describe activities that 

conform to applicable requirements as 

specified in this notice. The Secretary 

may disapprove an action plan as 

substantially incomplete if it is 

determined that the plan does not 

satisfy all the required elements 

identified in this notice. 

V.A.2.a. Action Plan. The action plan 

must identify the proposed use of all 

grant funds, including criteria of 

eligibility to be used by the grantee to 

prioritize the expenditure of CDBG–DR 

funds for the specific components of its 

electrical power system; how the uses 

address necessary expenses related to 

disaster relief, long-term recovery, 

restoration of infrastructure and 

housing, and economic revitalization; 

and how the uses are to be determined 

to improve the cost-effectiveness, 

reliability, resilience, efficiency, 

sustainability and long-term financial 

viability of electrical power systems. 

The use of funds shall be consistent 

with the electrical power system unmet 

needs identified by the grantee in its 

action plan. Funds dedicated for uses 

not described in accordance with this 

section will not be obligated until the 

grantee submits, and HUD approves, an 

action plan amendment programming 

the use of those funds, at the necessary 

level of detail to allow the public and 

HUD to identify and understand the use 

of all funds for specific activities. In the 

unmet needs assessment and in its 

description of the connection of 

electrical power system improvements 

to unmet needs, grantees shall reference 

any long-term infrastructure plan of the 

grantee’s public utility developed in 

consultation with the FEMA, for the use 

of FEMA funds for electrical power 

system improvements; or with any 

utility integrated resource plan or other 

strategic plan adopted by the grantee for 

the development of its energy 

infrastructure, as such plans may be 

amended from time to time. The action 

plan must consider and incorporate, as 

appropriate, electrical power system 

industry standards established by 

relevant Federal agencies and related 

bodies, including, but not limited to, 

requirements set by the USDA Rural 

Utilities Service (RUS), National 

Institute of Standards and Technology, 

and North American Electrical 

Reliability Corporation. In drafting the 

action plan, grantees shall consult with 

the Federal members of the TCT as 

provided in section V.A.2.e. of this 

notice. HUD will review and consider 

the comments from the Federal 

members of the TCT, obtained by the 

grantee, on the action plan. 

HUD is establishing an additional 

alternative requirement that grantees 

shall implement CDBG–DR electrical 

power system improvement activities in 

accordance with their action plans and 

pursuant to the descriptions provided 

by the grantee in the action plan in 

response to elements (1) through (12) 

below. To the extent that the terms of 

any concessionary agreement or 

receivership governing a public utility 

of the grantee are not consistent with 

the requirements of this notice, the 

terms of this notice shall continue to 

govern the CDBG–DR funds subject to 

this notice and their use for electrical 

power system improvements. 

(1) Electrical Power System Unmet 

Needs Assessment. Each grantee must 

develop an unmet needs assessment to 

inform the use of CDBG–DR funds for 

electrical power system improvements. 

The action plan must include an 

estimate of unmet needs based on 

planned electrical power system 

improvements, including mitigation and 

resilience measures, that are not likely 

to be addressed by other sources of 

funds. Grantees must account for the 

various forms of assistance available to, 

or likely to be available for such 

improvements, using the most recent 

available data to estimate the portion of 

need unlikely to be addressed by 

insurance proceeds, other Federal 

assistance, or any other funding sources 

(thus producing an estimate of unmet 

need). Grantees must cite data sources 

for the assessment. At a minimum, the 

unmet needs assessment must: (i) 

Evaluate all aspects of the electrical 

power system that were damaged by the 

disaster and that are at greatest risk from 

future disasters; (ii) estimate unmet 

needs to ensure that CDBG–DR funds 

are planned for uses that meet electrical 

power system needs that are not likely 

to be addressed by FEMA or other 

sources of funds by accounting for the 

various forms of assistance available to, 


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or likely to be available to, the grantee 

or its subrecipients (e.g., obligated and 

projected FEMA funds, public utility 

resources, other grantee funds); and (iii) 

account for the costs of incorporating 

mitigation and resilience measures to 

protect against the anticipated effects of 

future extreme weather events and other 

natural hazards and long-term risks and 

the costs of incorporating improvements 

to address long term carbon reduction 

goals. 

CDBG–DR funds may be used to 

reimburse planning and administrative 

costs for developing the action plan, 

including the needs assessment, 

environmental review, and citizen 

participation requirements. Although 

the needs assessment for these CDBG– 

DR funds necessarily differs somewhat 

from what is conducted by grantees for 

CDBG–DR allocations provided for 

housing, infrastructure, and economic 

revitalization needs, HUD has 

developed a Disaster Impact and Unmet 

Needs Assessment Kit that may be 

helpful to grantees as a guide through a 

process for identifying and prioritizing 

critical unmet needs for electrical power 

system improvements. The Kit is 

available on the HUD Exchange website 

at: https://www.hudexchange.info/ 

resource/2870/disaster-impact-andunmet-needs-assessment-kit/. In 

preparing the needs assessment, 

grantees are advised to review the 

process and methodology previously 

used to assess the grantee’s unmet 

infrastructure needs for its recent 

allocations of CDBG–DR funds for 

disaster recovery. 

Electrical power system improvement 

needs evolve over time, and grantees 

must amend the needs assessment and 

action plan as additional resources 

become available, including through 

any additional needs that may be 

identified through an infrastructure plan 

developed for the use of FEMA Public 

Assistance funds for electrical power 

system improvements, through any 

utility integrated resource plan for 

Puerto Rico, and through any equivalent 

strategy or development plan adopted 

by the USVI for its energy sector, as 

such strategy or plans may be amended 

from time to time. 

(2) Connection of Electrical Power 

System Improvements to Unmet Needs 

and Expenditures. The grantee must 

address how the proposed expenditures 

for each distinct functional component 

of its planned electrical power system 

improvements, as identified in the 

definition in section V.A.8.a.(ii) of this 

notice, addresses an estimated unmet 

need identified in its electrical power 

system unmet needs assessment. For 

each functional component, the grantee 

shall also identify the amount of funds 

to be used as non-federal match for that 

component. 

The grantee’s action plan (and 

subsequent amendments) must include 

a single chart or table that illustrates, at 

the most practical level, how all funds 

are budgeted (e.g., by program, 

subrecipient, grantee-administered 

activity, or other category) and that 

identifies each component of the 

electrical power system to be funded. 

The budget shall identify the predevelopment, planning, construction, 

and installation costs of each 

component; the percentage of funds to 

be expended for each component; the 

percentage of funds for each component 

that are to be expended as the nonFederal match for other Federal funds; 

and a timeline for the full expenditure 

of each system component and for the 

full grant allocation. Each grantee shall 

describe how its proposed expenditures 

are consistent with any infrastructure 

plan developed by the grantee’s public 

utility in consultation with FEMA for 

the expenditure of Public Assistance 

funds for electrical power system 

improvements, with any utility 

integrated resource plan adopted by 

Puerto Rico, and any strategy or 

development plan adopted by the USVI 

for its energy sector, as such plans may 

be amended from time to time. 

(3) Long-term Planning 

Considerations. The grantee must 

describe how it plans to promote local 

and regional long-term planning and 

development as informed by its 

electrical power system needs 

assessment. 

(4) Coordination of Electrical Power 

System Improvements and Planned 

Leverage. Each grantee must describe 

how it will align its electrical power 

system improvements with other 

planned improvements to its other 

energy systems and its other 

infrastructure development efforts and 

foster the potential for additional 

electrical power system funding from 

multiple sources, such as leveraging 

other existing capital improvement 

projects and the potential for private 

investment. Grantees must describe how 

it plans to foster the potential to 

leverage these CDBG–DR funds with 

other funding provided through publicprivate partnerships and by other 

Federal, State, local, public utility, 

private, and nonprofit sources to 

generate more effective and 

comprehensive mitigation and electrical 

power system improvement outcomes. 

Examples of other Federal sources 

include funding provided by HUD, 

FEMA (specifically the Public 

Assistance Program and the Hazard 

Mitigation Grant Program), the 

Economic Development Administration, 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 

the Department of Transportation, and 

the Department of Agriculture. The 

grantee must describe how it will seek 

to maximize the outcomes of electrical 

power system improvements and the 

degree to which CDBG–DR funds are 

effectively leveraged, for example 

through public-private partnerships or 

partnerships with local, community and 

neighborhood organizations and a 

commitment of funding by the grantee. 

The grantee shall identify any leveraged 

funds for each electrical power system 

improvement activity in the DRGR 

system. 

(5) Plans to Minimize Displacement 

and Ensure Accessibility. The grantee 

must describe how it plans to minimize 

displacement of persons or entities, and 

assist any persons or entities displaced 

through its electrical power system 

improvement activities. This 

description shall focus on proposed 

activities that may directly or indirectly 

result in displacement and the 

assistance that shall be required for 

those displaced. The grantee is 

reminded that it must take into 

consideration the functional needs of 

persons with disabilities in the 

relocation process. Guidance on 

relocation considerations for persons 

with disabilities may be found in 

Chapter 3 of HUD’s Relocation 

Handbook 1378.0 available on the HUD 

Exchange website at: https://

www.hud.gov/program_offices/ 

administration/hudclips/handbooks/ 

cpd/13780. 

(6) Construction and Resiliency 

Standards. Each grantee must describe 

how it plans to: (a) Emphasize quality, 

durability, resiliency, energy efficiency 

and sustainability in its electrical power 

system improvements; (b) promote 

sound, sustainable long-term recovery 

planning informed by a post-disaster 

evaluation of hazard risk, especially 

construction standards and land-use 

decisions that reflect responsible 

floodplain and wetland management 

and take into account continued sea 

level rise—this information should be 

based on the history of FEMA flood 

mitigation efforts and take into account 

projected increase in sea level (if 

applicable) and the frequency and 

intensity of precipitation events; and (c) 

adhere to the elevation requirements 

established in section V.B.1. of this 

notice, if applicable. For grantees 

addressing flood risks, the grantee must 

describe how it will document its 

decision to elevate structures associated 

with its electrical power system 

improvements and how it evaluated and 


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determined the elevation to be cost 

reasonable relative to other alternatives 

or strategies, such as the demolition of 

substantially damaged structures with 

reconstruction of an elevated structure 

on the same site or infrastructure 

improvements to reduce the risk of loss 

of life and property. 

(7) Operation and Maintenance Plans. 

Each grantee must describe its plan for 

ensuring the long-term operation and 

maintenance (O&M) of the electrical 

power system improvements funded 

with CDBG–DR funds. The grantee shall 

specify the non-CDBG sources of 

funding to be used for the O&M of the 

electrical power system improvements, 

and the grantee’s plan and plans of its 

intended subrecipients to contribute to 

the proposed electrical power system 

improvements with non-CDBG sources 

of funding. The grantee shall describe 

how it will use reserve funds, borrowing 

authority or retargeting of existing 

financial resources to support the O&M 

plan, and how it plans to ensure that 

public utility resources and other source 

of funding, as applicable, are committed 

to the O&M of improvements assisted 

with CDBG–DR funds, over the useful 

life of the improvements. The grantee 

must also describe in its action plan 

how it plans to ensure and monitor 

funding of long-term O&M for CDBG– 

DR electrical power system 

improvements. Funding options might 

include grantee funds, local and public 

utility resources, borrowing authority, 

or retargeting of other existing financial 

resources. 

Grantees must describe any proposed 

changes to existing taxation policies or 

collection practices, or changes to 

public utility revenue billing and 

collection and other financing policies 

that are to be used to support the O&M 

plan. If operations and maintenance 

plans are reliant on any proposed 

changes to existing taxation policies, tax 

collection practices, or changes to 

public utility revenue billing and 

collection, those changes and relevant 

milestones should be expressly 

included in the action plan. 

Additionally, the grantee must describe 

any State, local, or other resources (e.g., 

public utility financing) that have been 

identified for the operation and 

maintenance costs of electrical power 

system improvements assisted with 

CDBG–DR funds. 

With respect to this element of the 

action plan, HUD advises grantee and 

subrecipients that HUD may impose a 

grant condition based on risk that 

requires the grantee to establish or adopt 

standards for O&M of the functional 

components of the electrical power 

system, including recognized standards 

for vegetation management. 

(8) Cost Verification. Each grantee 

must describe its controls for assuring 

that electrical power system 

improvement costs, including 

acquisition and construction costs, are 

reasonable and consistent with market 

costs at the time and place of the 

acquisition or construction. 

Grantees are encouraged to consider 

the use of an independent, qualified 

third-party engineer, construction 

manager, or other professional (e.g., a 

cost estimator) to verify the planned 

project specifications and costs and any 

significant changes to the specifications 

or costs of the contract (e.g., change 

orders) during implementation are 

reasonable. The method and degree of 

analysis may vary dependent upon the 

circumstances surrounding a particular 

project (e.g., project type, risk, costs), 

but the description, at a minimum, must 

address controls for CDBG–DR electrical 

power system improvements above a 

certain total project cost threshold 

identified by the grantee’s cost 

verification requirements. 

(9) Intergovernmental Coordination. 

Grantees must describe how it will 

coordinate with other relevant 

governmental agencies of Puerto Rico or 

the USVI, as applicable, units of local 

government, public utilities and rural 

electrical cooperatives, and other 

entities, to assure the consistency of all 

CDBG–DR funded electrical power 

system improvements with other 

disaster recovery and mitigation 

planning and development activities. 

(10) Integration with Disaster 

Recovery and Mitigation Funds. 

Grantees must describe how they will 

integrate the electrical power system 

improvements into on-going and 

planned rebuilding, recovery, and 

mitigation activities, and the extent to 

which the proposed electrical power 

system improvement activities are 

consistent with the objectives outlined 

in other CDBG–DR or CDBG–MIT action 

plans, and in regionally or locally 

established plans and policies that are 

designed to reduce future risks to the 

jurisdiction. 

(11) Vulnerable Populations, 

Underserved Communities, and Lowand Moderate-Income Persons. The 

grantee must assess how the use of the 

CDBG–DR funds and its planning 

decisions will impact vulnerable 

populations, protected classes under fair 

housing and civil rights laws, and 

underserved communities that were 

economically distressed prior to the 

disaster. Based on this assessment, 

grantees must describe in the action 

plan whether their programs and 

projects will provide electrical power 

system improvements to communities 

with concentrations of vulnerable 

populations, including low-income 

rural areas, racially and ethnically 

concentrated areas as well as 

concentrated areas of poverty, and 

specify the activities that the grantees 

plans to undertake to assist in providing 

lower electricity rates or increasing 

reliability, quality, and durability of 

electrical infrastructure for these 

populations or areas. 

HUD generally defines vulnerable 

populations as a group or community 

whose circumstances present barriers to 

obtaining or understanding information 

or accessing resources, and grantees 

must identify those populations in the 

action plan through their assessment. 

The term ‘‘underserved communities’’ 

refers to populations sharing a 

particular characteristic, as well as 

geographic communities, that have been 

systematically denied a full opportunity 

to participate in aspects of economic, 

social, and civic life. 

The grantee shall also describe how 

the planned electrical power system 

improvements will meet the overall 

benefit requirement for low- and 

moderate-income benefit as provided in 

section V.A.8.c. of this notice. 

(12) Climate Considerations. Grantees 

must describe how the electrical power 

system improvements will be designed 

and implemented to address the impacts 

of climate change, including any naturebased solutions and other improvements 

that will enhance the ability of the 

grantee to implement renewable and 

clean energy sources and strategies, and 

align with long-term goals for 

decarbonizing the electricity sector. 

Nature-based solutions and 

improvements shall mean natural 

processes or systems, or engineered 

systems that mimic natural systems and 

processes, that are integrated into 

investments in electrical power system 

improvements to enhance the resilience 

of the electrical power system to future 

disasters. 

V.A.2.b. Review and Approval of 

Action Plan. The action plan (including 

SF–424 and certifications) must be 

submitted to HUD for review and 

approval. Grantees must submit an 

action plan within 120 days of the 

applicability date of this notice, unless 

the grantee has requested, and HUD has 

approved an extension of the 

submission deadline. HUD will review 

each action plan within 60 days from 

the date of receipt. The Secretary may 

disapprove an action plan as 

substantially incomplete if it is 

determined that the action plan does not 

meet the requirements of this notice. 


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V.A.2.c. Clarity of action plan. Every 

grantee must include sufficient 

information so that all interested parties 

will be able to understand and comment 

on the action plan and, if applicable, be 

able to prepare responsive applications 

to the grantee. 

V.A.2.d. Amending the action plan. 

The grantee must amend its action plan 

to update its electrical power system 

needs assessment, modify, or create new 

activities, or reprogram funds. Each 

amendment must be highlighted, or 

otherwise identified, within the context 

of the entire action plan. The beginning 

of every action plan amendment must 

include: (1) A section that identifies 

exactly what content is being added, 

deleted, or changed; (2) a chart or table 

that clearly illustrates where funds are 

coming from and where they are moving 

to; (3) a revised budget allocation table 

that reflects the entirety of all funds, as 

amended; and (4) a description of how 

the amendment is consistent with a 

grantee’s electrical power system needs 

assessment. Every amendment to the 

action plan (substantial and nonsubstantial) must be numbered 

sequentially and posted on the grantee’s 

website. A grantee’s current version of 

its entire action plan must be accessible 

for viewing as a single document at any 

given point in time, rather than the 

public or HUD having to view and 

cross-reference changes among multiple 

amendments. 

(1) Substantial amendment. The 

grantee must provide a 30-day public 

comment period and reasonable 

method(s) (including electronic 

submission) for receiving comments on 

such amendments. In its action plan, 

each grantee must specify criteria for 

determining what changes in the 

grantee’s plan constitute a substantial 

amendment to the plan. At a minimum, 

the following modifications will 

constitute a substantial amendment: A 

change in program benefit or eligibility 

criteria; the addition or deletion of an 

activity or of a component of the 

electrical power system improvements; 

or the allocation or reallocation of a 

monetary threshold specified by the 

grantee in its action plan. The grantee 

may substantially amend the action plan 

if it follows the same procedures 

required for CDBG–DR funds for the 

preparation and submission of an action 

plan in this notice, provided, however, 

that a substantial action plan 

amendment shall require a 30-day 

public comment period and does not 

require public hearings. 

(2) Non-substantial amendment. The 

grantee must notify HUD, but is not 

required to seek public comment, when 

it makes any plan amendment that is 

not substantial. HUD must be notified at 

least 5 business days before the 

amendment becomes effective. The 

Department will acknowledge receipt of 

the notification of non-substantial 

amendments via email within 5 

business days. Non-substantial 

amendments shall be numbered in 

sequence with other non-substantial and 

substantial amendments and 

incorporated into the action plan. 

V.A.2.e. Additional consultation 

requirements. To encourage effective 

coordination between the grantees and 

their Federal partners in the planning 

and implementation of electrical power 

system improvements, the alternative 

requirement in paragraph V.A.6. 

requires the grantee to comply with the 

consultation requirements in this 

section. Each grantee must consult not 

less than quarterly with the Federal 

members of the Energy Technical 

Coordination Team (TCT), co-led by 

FEMA and the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE). Such consultation shall 

be required during the grant period of 

performance unless HUD notifies the 

grantee that consultation is no longer 

required. HUD will provide the grantee 

with instructions for consultation. 

A grantee’s consultation with the TCT 

must include soliciting and considering 

input from the TCT’s Federal members 

on one or more of the areas defined 

below: 

(1) The action plan required by this 

notice prior to the grantee’s publication 

of the plan and on any subsequent 

substantial amendments to the action 

plan, including the grantee’s proposed 

budget for electrical power system 

improvements to be funded with CDBG– 

DR funds as described in section 

V.A.2.a.(2) of this notice; 

(2) The evaluation of the capacity of 

any public utility that will receive a 

subaward or otherwise carry out a 

portion of the grant and the mitigation 

of risk associated with the public 

utility’s use of CDBG–DR funds. 

Consultation with the TCT Federal 

members shall occur before entering a 

subaward or other agreement with the 

public utility, and shall include: (a) 

Providing the TCT Federal members 

with the grantee’s assessment of the 

public utility’s financial and operational 

capacity; (b) a request for 

recommendations for appropriate 

controls to mitigate the financial 

management, program, and other risks 

of noncompliance related to the public 

utility’s use of Federal funding for 

electrical power system improvements; 

and (c) a request for the TCT’s 

recommendations for improving the 

public utility’s operational capacity; 

(3) The identification of opportunities 

to sequence and coordinate permits and 

approvals necessary to carry out CDBG– 

DR funded electrical power system 

improvement activities, including 

environmental reviews; 

(4) The technical evaluation of 

proposed electrical power system 

improvements using models and other 

sources of expert assistance available 

through TCT Federal members; and 

(5) The implementation of applicable 

electrical power system industry 

standards and the commercial 

availability of system components that 

the grantee proposes to fund. 

HUD may engage with the individual 

federal agencies in the TCT to provide 

additional technical support for grantee 

electrical power system improvements, 

as needed. Notwithstanding the 

consultation and advisory roles that 

may be provided by FEMA and DOE as 

co-agency TCT leads, the Department of 

the Treasury as financial lead, and other 

federal partner agencies, each federal 

agency shall retain the authorities and 

responsibilities provided to that agency 

pursuant to federal laws and 

regulations. 

V.A.2.f. Waiver of 45-day review 

period for action plan and substantial 

action plan amendments. The 

Department recognizes the unique 

purposes and complex requirements of 

this CDBG–DR allocation for electrical 

power system improvements and that 

these funds represent an opportunity for 

grantees to use this assistance in areas 

impacted by the 2017 disasters. While 

HUD may disapprove an action plan or 

substantial action plan amendment if it 

is substantially incomplete or for other 

reasons identified in 24 CFR 91.500, 

HUD works with grantees to resolve or 

provide additional information during 

the review period to avoid the need to 

disapprove an action plan or substantial 

action plan amendments. There are 

often many issues related to the action 

plan or substantial action plan 

amendments that can be fully resolved 

via further discussion and revision 

during an extended review period, 

rather than through HUD’s disapproval 

of the action plan or amendments, 

which in turn would require grantees to 

take additional time to revise and 

resubmit their action plan or respective 

amendments and delay recovery. As 

such, the Secretary has determined that 

good cause exists and waives 24 CFR 

91.500(a) to extend HUD’s review 

period for action plan and substantial 

amendments from 45 days to 60 days. 

V.A.2.g. Projection of expenditures 

and outcomes. Each grantee must 

submit projected expenditures and 

outcomes as part of the action plan. The 


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projections must be based on each 

quarter’s expected performance— 

beginning with the quarter funds are 

available to the grantee and continuing 

each quarter until all funds are 

expended. The projections will enable 

HUD, the public, and the grantee to 

track proposed versus actual 

performance. The projections must also 

be clearly and conspicuously displayed 

on the grantee’s website. If a grantee’s 

performance indicates a pattern of 

deviation from projected expenditures 

and outcomes, HUD may review the 

grantee’s capacity assessment and 

implementation plan and require an 

update to that plan or impose corrective 

actions to mitigate the risks associated 

with failure to meet projections. The 

published action plan must be amended 

for any subsequent changes, updates, or 

revision of the projections. Guidance on 

the preparation of projections is 

available here: https://

www.hudexchange.info/resource/5734/ 

cdbg-dr-grantee-projections-ofexpenditures-and-outcomes/. 

V.A.3. Citizen participation waiver 

and alternative requirement. To permit 

a more robust process and ensure that 

electrical power system improvement 

activities are developed through 

methods that allow all stakeholders to 

participate, and because citizens that are 

continuing to recover from disasters are 

best suited to ensure that grantees will 

be advised of any missed opportunities 

and additional risks that need to be 

addressed, provisions of 42 U.S.C. 

5304(a)(2) and (3), 42 U.S.C. 12707, 24 

CFR 570.486, 24 CFR 91.105(b) and (c), 

and 24 CFR 91.115(b) and (c), with 

respect to citizen participation 

requirements, are waived and replaced 

by the requirements below. The grantee 

is required to provide a reasonable 

opportunity (at least 45 days) for citizen 

comment and ongoing citizen access to 

information about the use of grant 

funds. The revised citizen participation 

requirements for this notice include 

sections V.A.3.a to V.A.3.e. below. 

V.A.3.a. Publication of the action plan 

and opportunity for public comment. 

HUD continues to emphasize the 

importance of a robust citizen 

participation process, which shall 

include at least two public hearings on 

the proposed action plan. The grantee 

must either amend its existing citizen 

participation plan or adopt a new plan 

that incorporates the electrical power 

system improvements through CDBG– 

DR funds with the specific citizen 

participation requirements outlined in 

this section. At least one of these public 

hearings is to occur prior to a grantee’s 

publication of its action plan on its 

website for public comment, and unless 

the grantee conducts a virtual hearing 

pursuant to section V.A.3.b. below, all 

hearings are to be convened at different 

locations that reflect geographic balance 

and ensure maximum accessibility. 

Before the grantee submits the action 

plan for this grant to HUD or any 

substantial amendment to the action 

plan as provided in section V.A.2.d. of 

this notice, the grantee will publish the 

proposed action plan or amendment. 

The manner of publication must include 

prominent posting on the grantee’s 

official website and must afford citizens, 

affected local governments, and other 

interested parties a reasonable 

opportunity to examine the plan or 

amendment’s contents. The topic of 

electrical power system improvements, 

as part of the grantee’s broader disaster 

recovery efforts, must be navigable by 

citizens from the grantee’s (or relevant 

agency’s) homepage. 

Grantees are also encouraged to notify 

affected citizens through electronic 

mailings, press releases, statements by 

public officials, media advertisements, 

public service announcements, and/or 

contacts with neighborhood 

organizations. Grantees should also 

consider recording public hearings and 

making them available online for live 

viewing and creating archival video of 

the public meetings on the grantee’s 

website. Plan publication efforts and 

public hearings must comply with civil 

rights requirements, including meeting 

the effective communications 

requirements under Section 504 of the 

Rehabilitation Act (see, 24 CFR 8.6) and 

the Americans with Disabilities Act (see 

28 CFR 35.160); and must provide 

meaningful access for persons with 

Limited English Proficiency (LEP) (see 

HUD’s LEP Guidance, 72 FR 2732 

(2007)). 

Grantees are responsible for ensuring 

that all citizens have equal access to 

information about the CDBG–DR 

programs, including persons with 

disabilities and persons with limited 

English proficiency (LEP). Each grantee 

must ensure that electrical power 

system improvement funding and 

program information is available in the 

appropriate languages for the geographic 

areas to be served (see HUD’s LEP 

Guidance, March 16, 2007, 72 FR 2732) 

and take appropriate steps to ensure 

effective communications with persons 

with disabilities under Section 504 (see, 

24 CFR 8.6) and the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (see 28 CFR 35.106). 

Since grantees receiving CDBG–DR 

funds may make grants throughout the 

state, including to Entitlement 

communities, grantees should carefully 

evaluate the needs of persons with 

disabilities and those with limited 

English proficiency. In assessing its 

language needs for translation of notices 

and other vital documents for nonEnglish speaking residents, the grantee 

should consult the Final Guidance to 

Federal Financial Assistance Recipients 

Regarding Title VI, Prohibition Against 

National Origin Discrimination 

Affecting Limited English Proficient 

Persons, published on January 22, 2007, 

in the Federal Register (72 FR 2732) and 

at: https://www.lep.gov/sites/lep/files/ 

resources/HUD_guidance_Jan07.pdf. 

V.A.3.b. Clarification on public 

hearings and consideration of public 

comments. Public hearings required by 

this notice may include virtual public 

hearings (alone, or in concert with an 

in-person hearing) if the virtual hearing 

allows for questions in real time, with 

answers coming directly from the 

grantee’s representatives to all 

‘‘attendees,’’ subject to the requirements 

of this paragraph. Virtual hearings 

provide grantees with additional 

flexibility in the implementation of 

CDBG–DR funds during the Coronavirus 

Disease (COVID–19) pandemic to enable 

social distancing during the public 

health emergency. Grantees subject to 

this notice may hold virtual hearings in 

lieu of in-person public hearings to 

fulfill the public hearing requirements 

in section V.A.3.a. of this notice. 

For each virtual hearing, the grantee 

shall provide reasonable notification 

and access for citizens in accordance 

with the grantee’s certifications, timely 

responses to all citizen questions and 

issues, and public access to all 

questions and responses. 

The grantee must consider all 

comments, received orally or in writing, 

on the action plan or any substantial 

amendment. A summary of these 

comments or views, and the grantee’s 

response to each must be submitted to 

HUD with the action plan or substantial 

amendment. Grantee responses shall 

address the substance of the comment 

rather than merely acknowledge that the 

comment was received. 

V.A.3.c. Public website. HUD is 

requiring grantees to maintain a public 

website which provides information 

accounting for how all CDBG–DR funds 

for electrical power system 

improvements are used, managed, and 

administered, including links to all 

action plans, action plan amendments, 

performance reports, CDBG–DR citizen 

participation requirements, and activity/ 

program information for activities 

described in the action plan, including 

details of all contracts and ongoing 

procurement policies. To meet this 

requirement, each grantee must make 

the following items available on its 

website: The action plan (including all 


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amendments); each Quarterly 

Performance Report (QPR) (as created 

using the DRGR system); procurement 

policies and procedures; all executed 

contracts that will be paid with CDBG– 

DR funds; and the status of services or 

goods currently being procured (e.g., a 

summary list of procurements, the 

phase of the procurement, requirements 

for proposals, and any liquidation of 

damages associated with a contractor’s 

failure or inability to implement the 

contract, etc.). The grantee should post 

only contracts as defined in 2 CFR 

200.1. 

V.A.3.d. Application status and 

funding criteria. The grantee must 

provide multiple methods of 

communication, such as websites, tollfree numbers, or other means that 

provide applicants for CDBG–DR 

assistance with timely information to 

determine the status of their 

application, as provided for in section 

V.A.1.b.(1) of this notice. 

When applications are solicited for 

programs carried out directly by the 

grantee, all criteria used to select 

applications for funding, including the 

relative importance of each criterion 

and the time frame for consideration of 

applications must be included in the 

action plan. When funds are subgranted 

to local governments or Indian tribes, 

grantees must include all criteria used 

to distribute funds to local governments 

or Indian tribes including the relative 

importance of each criterion. The 

grantee shall maintain documentation to 

demonstrate that each funded and 

unfunded application or response was 

reviewed and acted upon by the grantee 

in accordance with the published 

eligibility requirements and funding 

criteria in its action plan. 

V.A.3.e. Citizen complaints. The 

grantee will provide a timely written 

response to every citizen complaint. The 

response must be provided within 15 

working days of the receipt of the 

complaint. Complaints regarding fraud, 

waste, or abuse of government funds 

should be forwarded to the HUD OIG 

Fraud Hotline (phone: 1–800–347–3735 

or email: hotline@hudoig.gov). 

V.A.4. HUD performance review 

authorities and grantee reporting 

requirements in the Disaster Recovery 

Grant Reporting (DRGR) System. 

V.A.4.a. Performance review 

authorities. 42 U.S.C. 5304(e) requires 

that the Secretary shall, at least on an 

annual basis, make such reviews and 

audits as may be necessary or 

appropriate to determine whether the 

grantee has carried out its activities in 

a timely manner, whether the grantee’s 

activities and certifications are carried 

out in accordance with the requirements 

and the primary objectives of the HCDA 

and other applicable laws, and whether 

the grantee has the continuing capacity 

to carry out those activities in a timely 

manner. 

This notice waives the requirements 

for submission of a performance report 

pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 12708(a), and 24 

CFR 91.520. Alternatively, HUD is 

requiring that grantees enter information 

in the DRGR system in sufficient detail 

to permit the Department’s review of 

grantee performance on a quarterly basis 

through the QPR and to enable remote 

review of grantee data to allow HUD to 

assess compliance and risk. HUD-issued 

general and appropriation-specific 

guidance for DRGR reporting 

requirements can be found on the HUD 

Exchange at: https://

www.hudexchange.info/programs/drgr/. 

V.A.4.b. DRGR action plan. Each 

grantee must enter its action plan for 

disaster recovery, including 

performance measures, into HUD’s 

DRGR system. As more detailed 

information about uses of funds is 

identified by the grantee, it must be 

entered into the DRGR system at a level 

of detail that is sufficient to serve as the 

basis for acceptable performance reports 

and permits HUD review of compliance 

requirements. The action plan must also 

be entered into the DRGR system so that 

the grantee is able to draw its CDBG–DR 

funds. The grantee may enter activities 

into the DRGR system before or after 

submission of the written action plan to 

HUD but will not be able to budget grant 

funds to these activities until after the 

grant agreement has been signed. To 

enter an activity into the DRGR system, 

the grantee must know the activity type, 

national objective, and the organization 

that will be responsible for the activity. 

In addition, a Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number must be entered 

into the system for each Responsible 

Organization identified in DRGR as 

carrying out a CDBG–DR funded 

activity. 

A grantee will gain access to its line 

of credit upon review and approval of 

the initial DRGR action plan. Each 

activity entered into the DRGR system 

must also be categorized under a 

‘‘project.’’ Typically, projects are based 

on groups of activities that accomplish 

a similar, broad purpose (e.g., housing, 

infrastructure, or economic 

development) or are based on an area of 

service (e.g., Community A). If a grantee 

describes only one program within a 

broader category (e.g., microgrids), that 

program is entered as a project in the 

DRGR system. Further, the budget of the 

program would be identified as the 

project’s budget. If a grantee has only 

identified the Method of Distribution 

(MOD) upon HUD’s approval of the 

published action plan, the MOD 

categories typically serve as the projects 

in the DRGR system, rather than activity 

groupings. Activities are added to MOD 

projects as specific CDBG–DR programs 

and projects are identified for funding. 

V.A.4.c. Tracking oversight activities 

in the DRGR system; use of DRGR data 

for HUD review and dissemination. 

Each grantee must also enter into the 

DRGR system summary information on 

monitoring visits and reports, audits, 

and technical assistance it conducts as 

part of its oversight of its disaster 

recovery programs. The grantee’s QPR 

will include a summary indicating the 

number of grantee oversight visits and 

reports (see V.A.4.e. for more 

information on the QPR). HUD will use 

data entered into the DRGR action plan 

and the QPR, transactional data from the 

DRGR system, and other information 

provided by the grantee, to provide 

reports to Congress and the public, as 

well as to: (1) Monitor for anomalies or 

performance problems that suggest 

fraud, abuse of funds, and duplication 

of benefits; (2) reconcile budgets, 

obligations, funding draws, and 

expenditures; (3) calculate expenditures 

to determine compliance with 

administrative and public service caps 

and the overall percentage of funds that 

benefit low- and moderate-income 

persons; and (4) analyze the risk of 

grantee programs to determine priorities 

for the Department’s monitoring. 

Grantees must establish internal 

controls to ensure that no personally 

identifiable information shall be 

reported in DRGR. 

V.A.4.d. Tracking program income in 

the DRGR system. Grantees must use the 

DRGR system to draw grant funds. 

Grantees must also use the DRGR 

system to track program income 

receipts, disbursements, revolving loan 

funds, and leveraged funds (if 

applicable). If a grantee permits 

subrecipients to retain program income 

prior to grant closeout, the grantee must 

establish program income accounts in 

the DRGR system. The DRGR system 

requires grantees to use program income 

before drawing additional grant funds 

and ensures that program income 

retained by one organization will not 

affect grant draw requests for other 

organizations. 

V.A.4.e. DRGR system Quarterly 

Performance Report (QPR). Each grantee 

must submit a QPR through the DRGR 

system no later than 30 days following 

the end of each calendar quarter. Within 

3 days of submission to HUD, each QPR 

must be posted on the grantee’s official 

website. In the event the QPR is rejected 

by HUD, the grantee must post the 


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revised version, as approved by HUD, 

within 3 days of HUD approval. The 

grantee’s first QPR is due after the first 

full quarter after HUD signs the grant 

agreement. For example, a grant 

agreement signed in April requires a 

QPR to be submitted by October 30. 

QPRs must be submitted on a quarterly 

basis until all funds have been 

expended and all expenditures and 

accomplishments have been reported. If 

a satisfactory report is not submitted in 

a timely manner, HUD may suspend 

access to CDBG–DR funds until a 

satisfactory report is submitted, or may 

withdraw and reallocate funding if HUD 

determines, after notice and opportunity 

for a hearing, that the jurisdiction did 

not submit a satisfactory report. 

Each QPR will include information 

about the uses of funds in activities 

identified in the DRGR action plan 

during the applicable quarter. This 

includes, but is not limited to, the 

project name, activity, location, and 

national objective; funds budgeted, 

obligated, drawn down, and expended; 

the funding source and total amount of 

any non-CDBG–DR funds to be 

expended on each activity; beginning 

and actual completion dates of 

completed activities; achieved 

performance outcomes, such as the 

number of low- and moderate-income 

persons served; and the race and 

ethnicity of persons assisted under 

direct-benefit activities. For electrical 

power system improvements installed 

or applied on private lands, the address 

of each CDBG–DR assisted property 

must be recorded in the QPR. Grantees 

must not include such addresses in its 

public QPR; when entering addresses in 

the QPR, the grantee must select ‘‘Not 

Visible on PDF’’ to exclude them from 

the report required to be posted on its 

website. The DRGR system will 

automatically display the amount of 

program income receipted, the amount 

of program income reported as 

disbursed, and the amount of grant 

funds disbursed in the QPR. In the 

section titled ‘‘Overall Progress 

Narrative’’ in the DRGR system, the 

grantee must report on its activities and 

progress in that quarter to implement 

steps necessary to meet the low- and 

moderate-income national objective for 

electrical power system improvements 

as provided in section V.A.8. of this 

notice. Each grantee must also include 

a description of active steps it has taken 

to affirmatively further fair housing, 

within the ‘‘Overall Progress Narrative’’ 

section. 

V.A.5. Direct grant administration 

and means of carrying out eligible 

activities. Requirements at 42 U.S.C. 

5306(d) are waived to the extent 

necessary to allow each grantee to use 

its CDBG–DR grant directly to carry out 

CDBG–DR eligible activities, rather than 

distribute all funds to local 

governments. Pursuant to this waiver, 

the standard at 24 CFR 570.480(c) and 

the provisions at 42 U.S.C. 5304(e)(2) 

will also include activities that the 

grantee carries out directly. Eligible 

CDBG–DR activities may be carried out 

by the grantee, subject to the grantee’s 

laws and consistent with the 

requirement of 24 CFR 570.200(f), 

through its employees, through 

procurement contracts, or through 

assistance provided under agreements 

with subrecipients. Each grantee 

continues to be responsible for civil 

rights, labor standards, and 

environmental protection requirements, 

for compliance with 24 CFR 570.489 (g) 

and (h) relating to conflicts of interest 

and for compliance with 24 CFR 

570.489(m) relating to monitoring and 

management of subrecipients. 

V.A.5.a. Use of administrative funds 

across multiple grants. The Additional 

Supplemental Appropriations for 

Disaster Relief Act, 2019 (Pub. L. 116– 

20, approved June 6, 2019), authorizes 

special treatment of grant administrative 

funds for grantees that receive grants 

under certain CDBG–DR appropriations 

acts. Accordingly, grantees that received 

CDBG–DR or CDBG–MIT funds under 

Public Laws 114–113, 114–223, 114– 

254, 115–31, 115–56, 115–123, and 115– 

254, or any future act may use eligible 

administrative funds (up to 5 percent of 

each grant award plus up to 5 percent 

of program income generated by the 

grant) appropriated by these acts 

without regard to the particular disaster 

appropriation from which such funds 

originated. If the grantee chooses to 

exercise this authority, the grantee must 

ensure that it has appropriate financial 

controls to ensure that the amount of 

grant administration expenditures for 

each of the aforementioned grants will 

not exceed 5 percent of the total grant 

award for each grant (plus 5 percent of 

program income generated by the grant), 

review and modify its financial 

management policies and procedures 

regarding the tracking and accounting of 

administration costs, as necessary, and 

address the adoption of this treatment of 

administrative costs in the applicable 

portions of the submissions it makes to 

HUD to support HUD’s certifications as 

required by subsection V.A.1.a. 

Grantees are reminded that all costs 

incurred for administration must still 

qualify as an eligible administration 

expense. HUD will issue additional 

guidance on this provision that grantees 

will be required to follow to ensure 

compliance and maintain proper 

financial controls. 

V.A.6. Requirements for consultation. 

Currently, the HCDA and HUD 

regulations require a state grantee to 

consult with affected local governments 

in nonentitlement areas of the state in 

determining the state’s proposed 

method of distribution. HUD is waiving 

42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(2)(C)(iv), 42 U.S.C. 

5306(d)(2)(D), 24 CFR 91.325(b)(2), and 

24 CFR 91.110, and instituting the 

following alternative requirements. Each 

grantee that will receive an electrical 

power system improvement grant under 

Public Law 115–123 shall consult with 

all disaster-affected local governments 

(including any CDBG Entitlement 

grantees), Indian tribes, and local public 

housing authorities in determining the 

use of funds. This ensures that each 

grantee sufficiently assesses the impacts 

of all areas affected by the disaster. 

Additionally, each grantee must 

complete consultation with the Federal 

members of the TCT required by section 

V.A.2.e. of this notice. Grantees must 

maintain documentation of all 

consultations required by this paragraph 

to demonstrate compliance with this 

requirement. 

V.A.7. Grant Administration 

responsibilities and general 

administration cap. 

V.A.7.a. Grantee responsibilities. Each 

grantee shall administer its award in 

compliance with all applicable laws and 

regulations and shall be financially 

accountable for the use of all funds 

provided for CDBG–DR funds. 

V.A.7.b. General administration cap. 

For this allocation, the CDBG program 

administration requirements must be 

modified to be consistent with the 

Appropriations Act. Accordingly, 5 

percent of the grant and 5 percent of 

program income generated by the grant 

may be used for administrative costs by 

the grantee or by subrecipients. Thus, 

the total of all costs classified as 

administrative for the grantee must be 

less than or equal to the 5 percent cap. 

(1) Combined technical assistance and 

administrative expenditures cap. The 

provisions of 42 U.S.C. 5306(d), 24 CFR 

570.489(a)(1)(i) and (iii), and 24 CFR 

570.489(a)(2) will not apply to the 

extent that they cap administration and 

technical assistance expenditures, limit 

the ability of each grantee to charge a 

nominal application fee for grant 

applications for activities it carries out 

directly, and require a dollar-for-dollar 

match of grantee funds for 

administrative costs exceeding 

$100,000. 42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(5) and (6) 

are waived and replaced with the 

alternative requirement that the 

aggregate total for administrative and 


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technical assistance expenditures must 

not exceed 5 percent of the grant 

amount plus 5 percent of program 

income generated by the grant. Under 

this alternative requirement, the grantee 

is limited to spending a maximum of 15 

percent of its total grant on planning 

costs. Planning costs subject to this cap 

are those defined in 42 U.S.C. 

5305(a)(12). 

V.A.8. Purpose, eligibility, overall 

benefit, and national objective 

alternative requirements. 

V.A.8.a. Purpose. As stated in section 

III, the Appropriations Act requires 

grantees to use funds for electrical 

power system improvements. HUD 

encourages grantees to use CDBG–DR 

funds for electrical power system 

improvements in a manner that 

leverages other sources of federal and 

public utility funds to increase the longterm impact of Federal investments on 

the electrical power system. 

For purposes of this notice: 

(i) An electrical power system shall be 

defined as an interconnected or 

autonomous set of transmission lines, 

distribution lines, substations, central 

power generation stations, other sources 

of power, distributed energy resources, 

or enabling technologies and services, 

such as industry standard billing, 

accounting information technology, 

cybersecurity enhancements, microgrids 

and fuel transfer delivery systems, that 

are necessary for the provision of 

reliable, resilient, stable, and costeffective electrical service; and 

(ii) electrical power system 

improvements shall be defined as the 

acquisition, construction, 

reconstruction, rehabilitation or 

installation of facilities, improvements, 

or other components (including interim 

assistance, and financing public or 

private acquisition for reconstruction or 

rehabilitation, and reconstruction or 

rehabilitation, of privately owned 

property) that are undertaken to extend, 

upgrade, and otherwise enhance and 

improve the cost-effectiveness, 

reliability, efficiency, sustainability, or 

long-term financial viability of the 

grantee’s electrical power system 

including activities to increase the 

resilience of the electrical power system 

to future disasters and to address the 

impacts of climate change. 

The refinancing or paying down of 

debt shall be an electrical power system 

improvement only for the purpose of 

acquiring a facility and subject to the 

requirements of section V.B.3 of this 

notice. 

To align with long term 

decarbonization goals, the term 

electrical power system improvements, 

as applied to central power generating 

stations, shall only include an 

improvement or replacement of a 

central power generating station 

operating on the applicability date of 

this notice if HUD, in consultation with 

DOE and EPA, determines that such 

improvement or replacement will result 

in a net decrease in carbon emissions 

from that generating power station at 

comparable levels of operation. A 

central power generating station is 

defined as a large-scale centralized 

facility for the generation of electricity 

that qualifies as a ‘‘major stationary 

source of air pollutants’’ per the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 70. 

V.A.8.b. Eligibility. A grantee must 

use grant funds for electrical power 

system improvements that satisfy all 

requirements for an electrical power 

system improvement activity as 

described in V.A.8.a. above. HUD will 

consider grantee requests for additional 

waivers and alternative requirements if 

needed to carry out other activities that 

enhance or improve their electrical 

power systems. All requests must 

include supporting data that 

demonstrates the need for the waiver 

and alternative requirement. Grantees 

should work with the assigned CPD 

representative to request any additional 

waivers or alternative requirements 

from HUD headquarters. 

HUD is granting the following waiver 

and alternative requirement to establish 

a new eligible activity, the electrical 

power systems improvements activity. 

The Department has determined that the 

aggregate of electrical power system 

improvements to be completed with 

CDBG–DR funds subject to this notice 

are together, critical components of the 

region’s long-term recovery from 

Hurricane Maria and to the resilience of 

the region to future weather events. 

HUD recognizes that the broad scope of 

these activities may limit the ability of 

grantees to categorize these CDBG–DR 

funds into discrete categories of CDBG 

eligibility and to appropriately assign a 

CDBG national objective to each 

component of the planned 

improvements. For grants under other 

appropriations acts, HUD has 

established similar waivers to create an 

eligible activity for large complex 

projects that are composed of multiple 

activities that, in and of themselves, 

may not all be CDBG-eligible, but which 

nonetheless contribute to the mitigation 

of disaster risk and to long-term disaster 

recovery. This waiver will similarly ease 

administration and facilitate the use of 

grant funds for their intended purpose. 

Accordingly, HUD is waiving section 

105(a) (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) of the HCDA 

and establishing an alternative 

requirement only to the extent necessary 

to create a new eligible activity, 

electrical power system improvements, 

which shall be applicable only for the 

grant funded pursuant to this notice. 

Under this activity, all uses of funds 

that meet the definition of electrical 

power system improvements above and 

comply with the alternative 

requirements below are both eligible 

under this waiver and alternative 

requirement and meet the statutory 

purpose of the funds. This activity 

includes the use of funds for payment 

of the non-Federal share required in 

connection with a Federal grant-in-aid 

program undertaken as part of an 

activity that meets the definition of 

electrical power system improvements 

and otherwise complies with grant 

requirements. This activity also 

includes relocation payments and 

assistance for displaced individuals, 

families, businesses, organizations, and 

farm operations, when determined by 

the grantee to be appropriate. 

Electrical power system 

improvements that can be demonstrated 

to have a public benefit may be installed 

or applied on private lands. The 

definition of an electrical power system 

and the use of funds for electrical power 

system improvements shall not include 

ineligible activities as provided at 24 

CFR 570.207, including costs for the 

operation and maintenance of the 

system. This definition and the use of 

funds for electrical power system 

improvements shall also not include the 

use of CDBG–DR funds for the operation 

and maintenance costs of a public 

utility or the costs of fuel or energy 

purchase contracts in effect prior to the 

applicability date of this notice. HUD 

encourages grantees to use CDBG–DR 

funds for electrical power system 

improvements in a manner that 

leverages other sources of federal and 

public utility funds to increase the longterm impact of Federal investments on 

the electrical power system. 

V.A.8.c. Overall benefit and national 

objective requirements. The primary 

objective of the HCDA is the 

‘‘development of viable urban 

communities, by providing decent 

housing and a suitable living 

environment and expanding economic 

opportunities, principally for persons of 

low and moderate income’’ (42 U.S.C. 

5301(c)). Consistent with the HCDA, 

this notice requires grantees to comply 

with the overall benefit requirements in 

the HCDA and 24 CFR 570.484 that 70 

percent of funds be used for activities 

that benefit low- and moderate-income 

persons. For purposes of this grant, 

HUD is establishing an alternative 

requirement that the overall benefit test 

shall apply only to the use of CDBG–DR 


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funds provided under the 

Appropriations Act for electrical power 

system improvements and related 

program income, and not to all CDBG 

funds received by the grantee during 

another period selected by the grantee 

in accordance with 570.484(a). 

CDBG–DR electrical power system 

improvements will be considered to 

meet the criteria for activities 

benefitting low- and moderate-income 

persons—area benefit activities at 24 

CFR 570.483(b)(1) if, at grant closeout, 

they meet the following criteria unless 

there is substantial evidence to the 

contrary. In assessing any such 

evidence, the full range of direct effects 

of the assisted activity will be 

considered. (The recipient shall 

appropriately ensure that activities that 

meet these criteria do not benefit 

moderate income persons to the 

exclusion of low-income persons.) The 

criteria are that at least 70 percent of the 

grant funds allocated by this notice, not 

including planning and administrative 

costs, have been used to: 

(i) Provide at least fifty-one percent of 

the grantee’s low- and moderate-income 

residents with either a subsidized rate 

for electricity below that charged to 

other residential ratepayers or a lower 

rate for electricity than was charged 

prior to complete implementation of the 

CDBG–DR funding electrical power 

system improvements; or 

(ii) measurably improve the reliability 

of the electrical power system in lowand moderate-income areas that are 

primarily residential. For purposes of 

this paragraph, measurably improved 

reliability shall mean a documented 

decrease in power supply interruptions, 

excluding planned interruptions and 

interruptions caused by major events. 

To document compliance with this 

national objective criterion, a grantee’s 

policies and procedures shall provide 

for the measurement of improved 

reliability in low- and moderate income 

areas that are primarily residential, 

using relevant legal and regulatory 

standards, as amended from time to 

time, including those identified by 

Puerto Rico Act 17–2019 (for Puerto 

Rico only), FEMA Section 1235(b) 

Consensus-Based Codes and Standards, 

RUS Bulletins for Electric Power, 

Institute of Electrical and Electronics 

Engineers (IEEE) standards and 

guidance, EPA environmental 

protections, and, as appropriate, North 

American Electric Reliability 

Corporation (NERC) standards and 

guidance. 

HUD will monitor the grantee and its 

subrecipients for the duration of the 

grant to substantiate that the grantee is 

demonstrating adequate progress in 

documenting CDBG–DR expenditures 

that will result in subsidized or lower 

electricity costs of low- and moderateincome residents, or improved 

reliability for low- and moderate-income 

areas, as applicable. 

Grantees may also use CDBG–DR 

funds allocated pursuant to this notice 

to meet the urgent need national 

objective, pursuant to the waiver and 

alternative requirement provided below. 

Unless a grantee has received prior 

approval from HUD, CDBG–DR funds 

for electrical power system 

improvements cannot meet the CDBG 

national objective for the elimination of 

slum and blight as provided at 24 CFR 

570.208(b) and 24 CFR 570.483(c). 

Grantees shall not rely on the national 

objective criteria for elimination of slum 

and blighting conditions without 

approval from HUD because this 

national objective generally is not 

appropriate in the context of electrical 

power system improvements. 

The CDBG certification requirements 

for documentation of urgent need, 

located at 24 CFR 570.483(d), are 

waived for the grants under this notice 

and replaced with the following 

alternative requirement. In the context 

of disaster recovery, the standard urgent 

need certification requirements may 

impede recovery. Since the Department 

only provides CDBG–DR awards to 

grantees with documented disasterrelated impacts and each grantee is 

limited to spending funds only for the 

benefit of areas that received a 

presidential disaster declaration as 

identified in Table 1 of this notice, the 

following streamlined alternative 

requirement recognizes the urgency in 

addressing serious threats to community 

welfare following a major disaster. A 

grantee need not issue formal 

certification statements to qualify an 

activity as meeting the urgent need 

national objective. Instead, it must 

document how each program and/or 

activity funded under the urgent need 

national objective responds to a 

disaster-related impact. For each 

activity that will meet an urgent need 

national objective, the grantee must 

reference in its action plan needs 

assessment the type, scale, and location 

of the disaster-related impacts that each 

program and/or activity is addressing 

over the course of the applicable 

deadline for the expenditure of 

obligated grant funds. 

To meet the 70 percent overall benefit 

requirement, grantees may also use the 

low- and moderate-income benefit 

national objective criteria at 24 CFR 

570.483(b) to the extent that an eligible 

activity authorized by this notice 

qualifies under the criteria for that 

national objective. At least 70 percent of 

the entire CDBG–DR grant must be used 

for activities that benefit low- and 

moderate-income persons. 

V.A.9. Use of subrecipients. The State 

CDBG program rule does not make 

specific provisions for the treatment of 

entities that the CDBG Entitlement 

program calls ‘‘subrecipients.’’ The 

waiver allowing the state to directly 

carry out activities creates a situation in 

which the state may use subrecipients to 

carry out activities in a manner similar 

to an entitlement community. Therefore, 

in taking advantage of the waiver to 

carry out activities directly, grantees 

shall be subject to the requirements at 

24 CFR 570.503 and 570.500(c), except 

that in compliance with 570.489(g), 

grantees shall establish procurement 

requirements for local governments and 

subrecipients (which may or may not 

include procurement provisions of 2 

CFR part 200 that are applicable to a 

grantee’s subrecipients). 

V.A.10. Recordkeeping. When a 

grantee receiving CDBG–DR grants for 

electrical power system improvements 

under Public Law 115–123 carries out 

activities directly, 24 CFR 570.490(b) is 

waived, and the following alternative 

provision shall apply: The grantee shall 

establish and maintain such records as 

may be necessary to facilitate review 

and audit by HUD of the grantee’s 

administration of CDBG–DR funds, 

under 24 CFR 570.493. Consistent with 

applicable statutes, regulations, waivers 

and alternative requirements, and other 

Federal requirements, the content of 

records maintained by the grantee shall 

be sufficient to: (1) Enable HUD to make 

the applicable determinations described 

at 24 CFR 570.493; (2) make compliance 

determinations for activities carried out 

directly by the grantee; and (3) show 

how activities funded are consistent 

with the descriptions of activities 

proposed for funding in the action plan 

and/or DRGR system. For fair housing 

and equal opportunity (FHEO) 

purposes, as applicable, such records 

shall include data on the racial, ethnic, 

and gender characteristics of persons 

who are applicants for, participants in, 

or beneficiaries of the program. The 

grantee must report FHEO data in the 

DRGR system at the activity level. 

V.A.11. Responsibility for review and 

handling of noncompliance. This 

change is in conformance with the 

waiver allowing the grantee to carry out 

activities directly. 24 CFR 570.492 is 

waived and the following alternative 

requirement applies to grantees 

receiving CDBG–DR grants for electrical 

power system improvements under 

Public Law 115–123: The grantee shall 

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site reviews of any subrecipients, 

designated public agencies, local 

governments and other entities as may 

be necessary or appropriate to meet the 

requirements of section 104(e)(2) of the 

HCDA, as amended, and as modified by 

this notice. In the case of 

noncompliance with these 

requirements, the grantee shall take 

such actions as may be appropriate to 

prevent a continuance of the deficiency, 

mitigate any adverse effects or 

consequences, and prevent a recurrence. 

The grantee shall establish remedies for 

noncompliance by any designated 

subrecipients, public agencies, or local 

governments. 

Each CDBG–DR grantee shall attend 

and require subrecipients to attend 

fraud-related training provided by HUD 

OIG to assist in the proper management 

of CDBG–DR grant funds. The prior 

participation of the grantee or a 

subrecipient in this training for 

purposes of the grantee’s CDBG–MIT 

grant or CDBG–DR grants provided 

pursuant to Public Laws 115–56 and 

115–123 shall satisfy this requirement. 

V.A.12. Relocation, and real property 

acquisition requirements. Activities and 

projects undertaken with CDBG–DR 

funds are subject to the Uniform 

Relocation Assistance and Real Property 

Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as 

amended, (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) 

(‘‘URA’’) and section 104(d) of the 

HCDA (42 U.S.C. 5304(d)) (Section 

104(d)). The implementing regulations 

for the URA are at 49 CFR part 24. The 

regulations for section 104(d) are at 24 

CFR part 42, subpart C. The Department 

recognizes that these waivers and 

alternative requirements are likely to 

have limited application in a grantee’s 

implementation of electrical power 

system improvements. Nonetheless, in 

the course of implementing electrical 

power system improvements, these 

waivers and alternative requirements 

may continue to be necessary. For the 

purpose of promoting the availability of 

decent, safe, and sanitary housing, HUD 

is waiving the following URA and 

section 104(d) requirements with 

respect to the use of CDBG–DR funds: 

V.A.12.a. Relocation assistance. The 

relocation assistance requirements at 

section 104(d)(2)(A) of the HCDA and 24 

CFR 42.350 are waived to the extent that 

they differ from the requirements of the 

URA and implementing regulations at 

49 CFR part 24, as modified by this 

notice, for activities related to electrical 

power system improvements. Without 

this waiver, disparities exist in 

relocation assistance associated with 

activities typically funded by HUD and 

FEMA (e.g., acquisition and relocation). 

Both FEMA and CDBG funds are subject 

to the requirements of the URA; 

however, CDBG funds are subject to 

section 104(d), while FEMA funds are 

not. The URA provides at 49 CFR 

24.402(b) that a displaced person is 

eligible to receive a rental assistance 

payment that is calculated to cover a 

period of 42 months. By contrast, 

section 104(d) allows a lower-income 

displaced person to choose between the 

URA rental assistance payment and a 

rental assistance payment calculated 

over a period of 60 months. This waiver 

of the section 104(d) relocation 

assistance requirements assures uniform 

and equitable treatment by setting the 

URA and its implementing regulations 

as the sole standard for relocation 

assistance for CDBG–DR funds. 

V.A.12.b. Arm’s length voluntary 

purchase. The requirements at 49 CFR 

24.101(b)(2)(i) and (ii) are waived to the 

extent that they apply to an arm’s length 

voluntary purchase carried out by a 

person who was allocated CDBG–DR 

funds and does not have the power of 

eminent domain, in connection with the 

purchase and occupancy of a principal 

residence by that person. Given the 

often-large-scale acquisition needs of 

grantees, this waiver is necessary to 

reduce burdensome administrative 

requirements to implement electrical 

improvement activities. Grantees are 

reminded that tenants occupying real 

property acquired through voluntary 

purchase may be eligible for relocation 

assistance. 

V.A.12.c. Optional relocation policies. 

The regulation at 24 CFR 570.606(d) is 

waived to the extent that it requires 

optional relocation policies to be 

established at the grantee level. Unlike 

the regular CDBG program, States may 

carry out electrical improvement 

activities directly or through 

subrecipients, but 24 CFR 570.606(d) 

does not account for this distinction. 

This waiver makes clear that grantees 

receiving CDBG–DR funds may establish 

optional relocation policies or permit 

their subrecipients to establish separate 

optional relocation policies. This waiver 

is intended to provide grantees with 

maximum flexibility in developing 

optional relocation policies with CDBG– 

DR funds. 

V.A.12.d. Waiver of Section 414 of the 

Stafford Act. Section 414 of the Robert 

T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

5121 et seq.). Section 414 of the Stafford 

Act (42 U.S.C. 5181) provides that 

‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person otherwise eligible for 

any kind of replacement housing 

payment under the Uniform Relocation 

Assistance and Real Property 

Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (Pub. L. 

91–646) [42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.] 

[‘‘URA’’] shall be denied such eligibility 

as a result of his being unable, because 

of a major disaster as determined by the 

President, to meet the occupancy 

requirements set by [the URA].’’ 

Accordingly, homeowner occupants and 

tenants displaced from their homes as a 

result of the identified disaster and who 

would have otherwise been displaced as 

a direct result of any acquisition, 

rehabilitation, or demolition of real 

property for a Federally funded program 

or project may become eligible for a 

replacement housing payment 

notwithstanding their inability to meet 

occupancy requirements prescribed in 

the URA. 

Section 414 of the Stafford Act 

(including its implementing regulation 

at 49 CFR 24.403(d)(1)), is waived to the 

extent that it would apply to real 

property acquisition, rehabilitation, or 

demolition of real property for a CDBG– 

DR funded project, undertaken by the 

grantee or subrecipient, commencing 

more than one year after the 

Presidentially declared disaster, 

provided that the project was not 

planned, approved, or otherwise 

underway prior to the disaster. For 

purposes of this paragraph, a CDBG–DR 

funded project shall be determined to 

have commenced on the earliest of: (1) 

The date of an approved Request for 

Release of Funds and certification, 

(RROF/C), or (2) the date of completion 

of the site-specific review when a 

program utilizes tiered environmental 

reviews, or (3) the date of sign-off by the 

Responsible Entity Agency Official 

when a project converts to exempt 

under 24 CFR 58.34(a)(12). The 

Secretary has the authority to waive 

provisions of the Stafford Act and its 

implementing regulations that the 

Secretary administers in connection 

with the obligation of CDBG–DR funds 

covered under this waiver and 

alternative requirement, or the grantee’s 

use of these funds. The Department has 

determined that good cause exists for a 

waiver and that such waiver is not 

inconsistent with the overall purposes 

of title I of the HCDA. 

The waiver will simplify the 

administration of the disaster recovery 

process and reduce the administrative 

burden associated with the 

implementation of Stafford Act Section 

414 requirements for projects 

commencing more than one year after 

the date of the Presidentially declared 

disaster, considering the majority of 

such persons displaced by the disaster 

will have returned to their dwellings or 

found another place of permanent 

residence. This waiver does not apply 

with respect to persons that meet the 


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occupancy requirements to receive a 

replacement housing payment under the 

URA nor does it apply to persons 

displaced or relocated temporarily by 

other HUD-funded programs or projects. 

Such persons’ eligibility for relocation 

assistance and payments under the URA 

is not impacted by this waiver. 

V.A.13. Environmental requirements. 

V.A.13.a. Clarifying note on the 

process for environmental release of 

funds when a state carries out activities 

directly. Usually, a state distributes 

CDBG funds to units of general local 

government and takes on HUD’s role in 

receiving environmental certifications 

from the grant subrecipients and 

approving releases of funds. For this 

grant, HUD will allow a grantee to also 

carry out activities directly, in addition 

to distributing funds to subrecipients. 

Thus, per 24 CFR 58.4, when a grantee 

carries out activities directly, the 

grantee must submit the Certification 

and Request for Release of Funds to 

HUD for approval. 

V.A.13.b. Adoption of another 

agency’s environmental review. In 

accordance with the Appropriations 

Act, grant recipients of Federal funds 

that use such funds to supplement 

Federal assistance provided under 

sections 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 

408(c)(4) or 502 of the Stafford Act may 

adopt, without review or public 

comment, any environmental review, 

approval, or permit performed by a 

Federal agency, and such adoption shall 

satisfy the responsibilities of the 

recipient with respect to such 

environmental review, approval, or 

permit that is required by the HCDA. 

The grant recipient must notify HUD 

in writing of its decision to adopt 

another agency’s environmental review. 

The notification must be stated on an 

RROF/C Form 7015.15 and indicate that 

another Federal agency’s review is being 

adopted and include the name of the 

Federal agency, the name of the project, 

and the date of the project’s review. In 

accordance with the Appropriations 

Act, and notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 

5304(g)(2), the Secretary may, upon 

receipt of a RROF/C, immediately 

approve the release of funds for an 

activity or project assisted with CDBG– 

DR funds if the recipient has adopted an 

environmental review, approval, or 

permit, or the activity or project is 

categorically excluded from review 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.). The grant recipient must retain a 

completed electronic or paper copy of 

the review in the grantee’s 

environmental records. 

V.A.13.c. Unified federal review. 

Section 1106 of the Sandy Recovery 

Improvement Act of 2013 (Div. B of Pub. 

L. 113–2, enacted January 29, 2013) 

directed the establishment of an 

‘‘expedited and unified interagency 

review process to ensure compliance 

with environmental and historic 

requirements under Federal law relating 

to disaster recovery projects, in order to 

expedite the recovery process, 

consistent with applicable law.’’ The 

process aims to coordinate 

environmental and historic preservation 

reviews to expedite planning and 

decision-making for disaster recovery 

projects. This can improve the Federal 

Government’s assistance to States, local, 

and tribal governments; communities; 

families; and individual citizens as they 

recover from future Presidentially 

declared disasters. Grantees receiving an 

allocation of funds under this notice are 

encouraged to participate in this 

process. Tools for the unified Federal 

review process (UFR) process can be 

found here: https://www.fema.gov/ 

emergency-managers/practitioners/ 

environmental-historic/review/library. 

V.A.13.d. Historic preservation 

reviews. To facilitate expedited historic 

preservation reviews under section 106 

of the National Historic Preservation Act 

of 1966 (54 U.S.C. Section 306108), 

HUD strongly encourages grantees to 

allocate general administration funds to 

retain a qualified historic preservation 

professional and support the capacity of 

the State Historic Preservation Officer/ 

Tribal Historic Preservation Officer to 

review CDBG–DR projects. For more 

information on qualified historic 

preservation professional qualifications 

standards see https://www.nps.gov/ 

history/local-law/arch_stnds_9.htm. 

As appropriate, grantees may use 

provisions in existing Section 106 

Programmatic Agreements (PAs), i.e., 

the HUD Addendum to the FEMA PA 

for Puerto Rico and the HUD Addendum 

to the FEMA PA for USVI, to expedite 

Section 106 reviews. HUD and the 

grantee may also participate in an 

interagency PA developed for the 

electric grid effort. 

V.A.13.e. Tiered environmental 

reviews. HUD encourages grantees as 

Responsible Entities to develop a Tiered 

approach to streamline the 

environmental review process, as 

appropriate, for whenever the action 

plan contains a program with multiple, 

similar activities that will result in 

similar impacts. Tiering, as defined in 

40 CFR 1508.1(ff), is a means of making 

the environmental review process more 

efficient by allowing parties to 

‘‘eliminate repetitive discussions of the 

same issues, focus on the actual issues 

ripe for decision, and exclude from 

consideration issues already decided or 

not yet ripe at each level of 

environmental review’’ (40 CFR 

1501.11). In addition, ‘‘[t]iering is 

appropriate when there is a requirement 

to evaluate a policy or proposal in the 

early stages of development or when 

site-specific analysis or mitigation is not 

currently feasible and a more narrow or 

focused analysis is better done at a later 

date’’ (24 CFR 58.15). 

A tiered review consists of two stages: 

A broad-level review and subsequent 

site-specific reviews. The broad-level 

review will identify and evaluate the 

issues that can be fully addressed and 

resolved, notwithstanding possible 

limited knowledge of the project. In 

addition, it must establish the 

standards, constraints, and processes to 

be followed in the site-specific reviews. 

As individual sites are selected for 

review, the site-specific reviews 

evaluate the remaining issues based on 

the policies established in the broadlevel review. Together, the broad-level 

review and all site-specific reviews will 

collectively comprise a complete 

environmental review addressing all 

required elements. Public notice and the 

Request for Release of Funds (HUDForm 7015.15) are processed at the 

broad level. However, funds cannot be 

spent or committed on a specific site or 

activity until the site-specific review has 

been completed for the site. 

V.A.14. Duplication of benefits. 

Section 312 of the Stafford Act, as 

amended, generally prohibits any 

person, business concern, or other entity 

from receiving financial assistance with 

respect to any part of a loss resulting 

from a major disaster for which such 

person, business concern, or other entity 

has received financial assistance under 

any other program or from insurance or 

any other source. To comply with 

Section 312 and the requirement that all 

costs are necessary and reasonable, each 

grantee must ensure that each activity 

provides assistance to a person or entity 

only to the extent that the person or 

entity has an electrical power system 

improvement need that has not been 

fully met. Accordingly, grantees must 

comply with the requirements of the 

Federal Register notice published on 

June 20, 2019, entitled, ‘‘Updates to 

Duplication of Benefits Requirements 

Under the Stafford Act for Community 

Development Block Grant (CDBG) 

Disaster Recovery Grantees’’ (2019 DOB 

Notice) (84 FR 28836). Requirements on 

CDBG–DR funds and CDBG–DR grants 

in the 2019 DOB Notice shall apply 

equally to CDBG–DR funds for electrical 

power system improvements. All 

CDBG–DR grants for electrical power 

system improvements under the 

Appropriations Act are subject to the 


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requirement under the tenth proviso 

following the Community Development 

Fund heading of Public Law 115–123 

(Declined Loans Provision) and the 

requirements for its implementation in 

the 2019 DOB Notice. The Declined 

Loan Provision states: ‘‘Provided 

further, That with respect to any such 

duplication of benefits, the Secretary 

and any grantee under this section shall 

not take into consideration or reduce the 

amount provided to any applicant for 

assistance from the grantee where such 

applicant applied for and was approved, 

but declined assistance related to such 

major disasters that occurred in 2014, 

2015, 2016, and 2017 from the Small 

Business Administration under section 

7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 636(b)).’’ 

The 2019 DOB Notice also 

implements requirements regarding the 

treatment of loans resulting from recent 

amendments to section 312 of the 

Stafford Act that apply to CDBG–DR 

grants for electrical power system 

improvements under the Appropriations 

Act until those provisions sunset in 

2023 as described in the 2019 DOB 

notice. FEMA, the agency that 

administers the Stafford Act, has 

advised that pursuant to recent 

amendments to Section 312 of the 

Stafford Act in the Disaster Recovery 

Reform Act (Pub. L. 115–254, Division 

D), for disasters occurring between 2016 

and 2021, a loan is not a duplication of 

other forms of financial assistance, 

provided that all Federal assistance is 

used toward a loss suffered as a result 

of a major disaster or emergency. 

V.A.15. Use of CDBG–DR funds as 

match for electrical power system 

improvements. Pursuant to the waiver 

and alternative requirement in section 

V.A.8. of this notice, CDBG–DR funds 

for electrical power system 

improvements, may be used to meet a 

matching requirement, share, or 

contribution for any other Federal 

program when used to carry out an 

eligible CDBG–DR activity permitted by 

this notice. This includes Public 

Assistance and other grants 

administered by FEMA as well as grants 

provided by the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) (by law, as codified 

in the HCDA as a note to 42 U.S.C. 5305, 

the maximum amount of CDBG–DR 

funds that may be contributed to a 

project funded by the USACE is 

$250,000). 

Grantees may only use CDBG–DR 

funds allocated pursuant to this notice 

to meet the match requirement of an 

activity that meets the definition of an 

electrical power system improvement 

and other requirements of this notice. In 

considering the use of CDBG–DR funds 

as match, grantees are further advised 

that the Appropriations Act prohibits 

the use of CDBG–DR funds for any 

activity that is reimbursable by, or for 

which funds are also made available by 

FEMA or the USACE. The Department 

notes the substantial amount of FEMA 

Public Assistance funding that has also 

been committed to electrical power 

system improvements. Accordingly, 

grantees are advised that when CDBG– 

DR funds for electrical power system 

improvements are used in combination 

with FEMA or USACE funds, the 

grantee must document that such 

CDBG–DR funds were not used to pay 

for costs that could be charged to the 

FEMA or USACE award (although 

CDBG–DR funds may be used for 

CDBG–DR eligible costs of the other 

Federal agency-funded award up to the 

amount required for the non-Federal 

match and for costs that cannot be 

charged to the FEMA or USACE award). 

Statutory order of assistance provisions 

also prohibit the use of CDBG–DR funds 

to ‘‘front’’ costs that will later be 

reimbursed with FEMA or USACE 

funds. CDBG–DR funds may be used for 

the costs of compliance with CDBG–DR 

requirements that cannot be charged to 

the FEMA or USACE grant. The grantee 

shall be required to record in DRGR the 

expenditure of funds for the activity for 

which the match is provided and to 

indicate that the funds were used to 

meet a non-Federal match share 

requirement. 

V.A.16. Procurement. Grantees must 

adhere to the following procurement 

regulation and additional alternative 

requirement: Grantees must comply 

with the procurement requirements at 

24 CFR 570.489(g) and evaluate the cost 

or price of the product or service. 

Grantees shall establish requirements 

for procurement policies and 

procedures for subrecipients based on 

full and open competition consistent 

with the requirements of 24 CFR 

570.489(g), and shall require an 

evaluation of the cost or price of the 

product or service (including 

professional services such as 

engineering). 

Additionally, if the agency of the 

grantee that is designated as the 

administering agency chooses to 

provide funding to another agency of 

the grantee, the administering agency 

must specify in its procurement policies 

and procedures whether the agency 

implementing the program must follow 

the procurement policies and 

procedures that the administering 

agency is subject to, or whether the 

agency must follow the same policies 

and procedures to which other 

subrecipients are subject. 

V.A.17. Timely distribution of funds. 

The Appropriations Act, as amended, 

requires that funds provided under the 

Act be expended within two years of the 

date that HUD obligates funds to a 

grantee and authorizes the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

provide a waiver of this requirement. 

OMB has provided HUD with a waiver 

of this two-year expenditure 

requirement. HUD is also waiving the 

provisions at 24 CFR 570.494 and 24 

CFR 570.902 regarding timely 

distribution and expenditure of funds 

and establishing an alternative 

requirement, providing that each 

grantee must expend one hundred 

percent of its allocation within six years 

of HUD’s execution of the grant 

agreement absent a waiver and 

alternative requirement as requested by 

the grantee and approved by HUD. A 

grantee request for a waiver of an 

expenditure deadline must document 

the grantee’s progress in the 

implementation of the grant; outline the 

long-term nature and complexity of the 

electrical power system improvement 

programs and projects that have yet to 

be fully implemented; and propose an 

alternative deadline for the expenditure 

of the funds. 

V.A.18. Program income waiver and 

alternative requirement. The 

Department is waiving applicable 

program income rules at 42 U.S.C. 

5304(j) and 24 CFR 570.489(e), only to 

the extent necessary to provide 

additional flexibility to grantees 

described below. The alternative 

requirements include requirements 

regarding the use of program income 

received before and after grant close out 

and address revolving loan funds. 

V.A.18.a. Definition of program 

income. For purposes of this notice, 

‘‘program income’’ is defined as gross 

income generated from the use of 

CDBG–DR funds, except as provided in 

V.A.18.a(iv) and V.A.18.b. and received 

by a grantee or a subrecipient (including 

Indian tribes). When income is 

generated by an activity that is only 

partially assisted with CDBG–DR funds, 

the income shall be prorated to reflect 

the percentage of CDBG–DR funds used 

(e.g., a single loan supported by CDBG– 

DR funds and other funds; a single 

parcel of land purchased with CDBG 

funds and other funds). Program income 

includes, but is not limited to, the 

following: 

(i) Proceeds from the disposition by 

sale or long-term lease of real property 

purchased or improved with CDBG–DR 

funds. 

(ii) Proceeds from the disposition of 

equipment purchased with CDBG–DR 

funds. 


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(iii) Gross income from the use or 

rental of real or personal property 

acquired by a State, local government, 

or subrecipient thereof with CDBG–DR 

funds, less costs incidental to generation 

of the income (i.e., net income). 

(iv) Net income from the use or rental 

of real property owned by a State, local 

government, or subrecipient thereof, 

that was constructed or improved with 

CDBG–DR funds. 

(v) Payments of principal and interest 

on loans made using CDBG–DR funds. 

(vi) Proceeds from the sale of loans 

made with CDBG–DR funds. 

(vii) Proceeds from the sale of 

obligations secured by loans made with 

CDBG–DR funds. 

(viii) Interest earned on program 

income pending disposition of the 

income, including interest earned on 

funds held in a revolving fund account. 

(ix) Funds collected through special 

assessments made against 

nonresidential properties and properties 

owned and occupied by households not 

low- and moderate-income, where the 

special assessments are used to recover 

all or part of the CDBG–DR portion of 

a public improvement. 

(x) Gross income paid to a state, local 

government, or a subrecipient thereof, 

from the ownership interest in a forprofit entity in which the income is in 

return for the provision of CDBG–DR 

assistance. 

V.A.18.b. Program income—does not 

include: 

(i) The total amount of funds that is 

less than $35,000 received in a single 

year and retained by a state, local 

government, or a subrecipient thereof. 

V.A.18.c. Retention of program 

income. Grantees may permit a local 

government that receives or will receive 

program income to retain the program 

income but are not required to do so. 

V.A.18.d. Program income—use, close 

out, and transfer. 

(i) Program income received (and 

retained, if applicable) before or after 

close out of the grant that generated the 

program income, and used to continue 

disaster recovery activities, is treated as 

additional CDBG–DR funds subject to 

the requirements of this notice and must 

be used in accordance with the grantee’s 

action plan for disaster recovery. To the 

maximum extent feasible, program 

income shall be used or distributed 

before additional withdrawals from the 

U.S. Treasury are made, except as 

provided V.A.18.e. below. 

(ii) In addition to the regulations 

dealing with program income found at 

24 CFR 570.489(e) and 570.504(c) (for 

subrecipients), as modified by the 

waivers and alternative requirements in 

this paragraph V.A.18., the following 

rule applies: 

(1) All program income received from 

CDBG–DR-funded electrical power 

system improvements under this notice, 

including proceeds from the disposition 

by sale or long-term lease of any 

component of the electrical power 

system, remain subject to the 

requirements of this notice and shall be 

used only for electrical power system 

improvements. Program income, 

however, received after grant closeout 

pursuant to this notice, may be held in 

trust by the grantee for the exclusive 

benefit of low-income residents for the 

purpose of reducing electricity costs to 

those residents through a subsidized 

electricity rate that is below that 

provided to other residents, or through 

electricity rates that are lower than was 

previously charged prior to completion 

of the electrical power system 

improvements. 

V.A.18.e. Revolving funds. A grantee 

may establish revolving funds to carry 

out specific, identified activities. 

Grantees may also establish a revolving 

fund to distribute funds to local 

governments or tribes to carry out 

specific, identified activities. A 

revolving fund, for this purpose, is a 

separate fund (with a set of accounts 

that are independent of other program 

accounts) established to carry out 

specific activities. These activities must 

generate payments used to support 

similar activities going forward. These 

payments to the revolving fund are 

program income and must be 

substantially disbursed from the 

revolving fund before additional grant 

funds are drawn from the U.S. Treasury 

for payments that could be funded from 

the revolving fund. Such program 

income is not required to be disbursed 

for nonrevolving fund activities. A 

revolving fund established by a CDBG– 

DR grantee shall not be directly funded 

or capitalized with CDBG–DR grant 

funds, pursuant to 24 CFR 570.489(f)(3). 

V.A.19. Review of continuing capacity 

to carry out CDBG-funded activities in a 

timely manner. If HUD determines that 

the grantee has not carried out its 

CDBG–DR activities and certifications in 

accordance with the requirements for 

CDBG–DR funds, HUD will undertake a 

further review to determine whether or 

not the grantee has the continuing 

capacity to carry out its activities in a 

timely manner. In making the 

determination, the Department will 

consider the nature and extent of the 

recipient’s performance deficiencies, 

types of corrective actions the recipient 

has undertaken, and the success or 

likely success of such actions, and apply 

the corrective and remedial actions 

specified in section V.A.20. below. 

V.A.20. Corrective and remedial 

actions. To ensure compliance with the 

requirements of the Appropriations Act 

and to effectively administer CDBG–DR 

grants in a manner that facilitates 

resilience, particularly the alternative 

requirements permitting the grantee to 

act directly to carry out eligible 

activities, HUD is waiving 42 U.S.C. 

5304(e) to the extent necessary to 

establish the following alternative 

requirement: HUD may undertake 

corrective and remedial actions for the 

grantee in accordance with the 

authorities applicable to entitlement 

grantees in subpart O (including 

corrective and remedial actions in 24 

CFR 570.910, 570.911, and 570.913) or 

under subpart I of the CDBG regulations 

at 24 CFR part 570. In response to a 

deficiency, HUD may issue a warning 

letter followed by a corrective action 

plan that may include a management 

plan which assigns responsibility for 

further administration of the grant to 

specific entities or persons. Failure to 

comply with a corrective action may 

result in the termination, reduction, or 

limitation of payments to a grantee 

receiving CDBG–DR funds. 

V.A.21. Noncompliance and grant 

conditions. Failure to implement a 

CDBG–DR grant in accordance with a 

grantee’s approved financial 

certification, the capacity and 

implementation plan, the action plan, as 

well as grant conditions established by 

the Department or other applicable 

requirements, shall constitute a 

performance deficiency. To correct that 

deficiency, the Department may exercise 

any of the corrective and remedial 

actions authorized in subpart O of the 

CDBG regulations (including corrective 

and remedial actions in 24 CFR 570.910, 

570.911, and 570.913) or under subpart 

I of the CDBG regulations at 24 CFR part 

570. Grantees are advised that such 

remedies may include suspension of 

administrative funds as well as a 

reduction of the grantee’s CDBG–DR 

grant or its annual CDBG grant. 

The Department may also establish 

special grant conditions for individual 

CDBG–DR grants to mitigate the risks 

posed by the grantee, including risks 

related to the grantee’s capacity to carry 

out the specific programs and projects 

proposed in its action plan. These 

conditions will be designed to provide 

additional assurances that electrical 

power system improvements are 

implemented in a manner to prevent 

waste, fraud, and abuse and that the 

funded electrical power system 

improvements are effectively operated 

and maintained. 


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V.A.22. Reduction, withdrawal, or 

adjustment of a grant, or other 

appropriate action. Prior to a reduction, 

withdrawal, or adjustment of a CDBG– 

DR grant, or other actions taken 

pursuant to this section, the recipient 

shall be notified of the proposed action 

and be given an opportunity for an 

informal consultation. Consistent with 

the procedures described for CDBG–DR 

funds, the Department may adjust, 

reduce, or withdraw the CDBG–DR grant 

or take other actions as appropriate, 

except for funds that have been 

expended for eligible, approved 

activities. 

V.A.23. Federal accessibility 

requirements. Grantees are reminded 

that the use of CDBG–DR funds must 

meet accessibility standards, including, 

but not limited to, the Fair Housing Act, 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 

and Titles II and III of the Americans 

with Disabilities Act. Grantees should 

review the Fair Housing Act 

Accessibility Guidelines at https://

www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_

housing_equal_opp/disabilities/fhefhag, 

the Uniform Federal Accessibility 

Standards (UFAS) at https://

www.hudexchange.info/resource/796/ 

ufas-accessibility-checklist/, and the 

2010 ADA Standards. The HUD notice 

on ‘‘Nondiscrimination on the Basis of 

Disability in Federally Assisted 

Programs and Activities,’’ 79 FR 29671 

(May 23, 2014), explains when HUD 

recipients can use 2010 ADA Standards 

with exceptions, as an alternative to 

UFAS to comply with Section 504. 

V.B. Infrastructure and Other 

Nonresidential Structures 

V.B.1. Construction standard 

alternative requirement for elevation of 

nonresidential structures. 

Nonresidential structures must be 

elevated to the standards described in 

this paragraph or floodproofed, in 

accordance with FEMA floodproofing 

standards at 44 CFR 60.3(c)(3)(ii) or 

successor standard, up to at least two 

feet above the 100-year (or 1 percent 

annual chance) floodplain. In addition, 

structural or nonstructural methods may 

be used to reduce or prevent damage, 

and the structure may be designed to 

adapt to, withstand and rapidly recover 

from a flood event. All Critical Actions, 

as defined at 24 CFR 55.2(b)(3), within 

the 500-year (or 0.2 percent annual 

chance) floodplain must be elevated or 

floodproofed (in accordance with the 

FEMA standards) to the higher of the 

500-year floodplain elevation or three 

feet above the 100-year floodplain 

elevation. If the 500-year floodplain or 

elevation is unavailable, and the Critical 

Action is in the 100-year floodplain, 

then the structure must be elevated or 

floodproofed at least three feet above the 

100-year floodplain elevation. Critical 

Actions are defined as an ‘‘activity for 

which even a slight chance of flooding 

would be too great, because such 

flooding might result in loss of life, 

injury to persons or damage to 

property.’’ For example, Critical Actions 

include principal utility lines, hospitals, 

nursing homes, police stations, and fire 

stations. 

Grantee may, in the alternative, use a 

FEMA-approved flood standard when 

each of the following conditions is in 

place: (i) CDBG–DR funds are used as 

the non-federal match for FEMA 

assistance; (ii) the FEMA-assisted 

activity, for which CDBG–DR funds will 

be used as match, commenced prior to 

HUD’s obligation of CDBG–DR funds to 

the grantee; and (iii) the grantee has 

determined and demonstrated with 

records in the activity file that 

implementation costs of the required 

CDBG–DR elevation or flood proofing 

up to two feet (or three feet for critical 

actions) is not reasonable as that term is 

defined in the applicable cost principles 

at 2 CFR 200.404. Under this provision 

and criterion (ii) above, HUD considers 

the FEMA-assisted activity to have 

‘‘commenced’’ on the date on which the 

HUD grantee has incurred a project cost 

that has been or will be charged to an 

approved FEMA PW. This may include 

pre-award costs if FEMA determines 

that the costs are eligible. 

Non-structural infrastructure must be 

resilient to flooding. The vertical flood 

elevation establishes the level to which 

a facility must be resilient. This may 

include using structural or 

nonstructural methods to reduce or 

prevent damage; or, designing it to 

withstand and rapidly recover from a 

flood event. In selecting the appropriate 

resilience approach, grantees should 

consider several factors such as flood 

depth, velocity, rate of rise of 

floodwater, duration of floodwater, 

erosion, subsidence, the function or use 

and type of facility, and other factors. 

Applicable state and local codes and 

standards for floodplain management 

that exceed these requirements, 

including elevation, setbacks, and 

cumulative substantial damage 

requirements, will be followed. Grantees 

are reminded that the elevation of 

structures must comply with all 

applicable Federal accessibility 

standards outlined in section V.A.22. 

Grantees, recipients, and 

subrecipients must implement 

procedures and mechanisms to ensure 

that assisted property owners comply 

with all flood insurance requirements, 

prior to providing assistance. For 

additional information, please consult 

with the field environmental officer in 

the local HUD field office or review the 

guidance on flood insurance 

requirements on HUD’s website. 

V.B.2. Limitation of use of eminent 

domain. CDBG–DR funds may not be 

used to support any Federal, state, or 

local projects that seek to use the power 

of eminent domain, unless eminent 

domain is employed only for a public 

use. For purposes of this paragraph, 

public use shall not be construed to 

include economic development that 

primarily benefits private entities. Any 

use of funds for mass transit, railroad, 

airport, seaport or highway projects, as 

well as utility projects which benefit or 

serve the general public (including 

energy related, communication-related, 

water related, and wastewater-related 

infrastructure), other structures 

designated for use by the general public 

or which have other common-carrier or 

public-utility functions that serve the 

general public and are subject to 

regulation and oversight by the 

government, and projects for the 

removal of an immediate threat to 

public health and safety or brownfields 

as defined in the Small Business 

Liability Relief and Brownfields 

Revitalization Act (Pub. L. 107–118) 

shall be considered a public use for 

purposes of eminent domain. 

V.B.3. Refinancing or payment of debt 

for acquisition. Pursuant to the 

definition of electrical power system 

improvements established in section 

V.A.8.a.(ii) of this notice, the 

refinancing or paying down of debt shall 

be eligible only for the purpose of 

acquiring a facility only upon HUD’s 

consultation with the federal agencies 

that comprise the TCT, and a 

demonstration by the grantee that such 

acquisition is critical to the 

improvement of the grantee’s electrical 

power system and to long term financial 

stability of the grantee’s public utility 

and will allow the grantee to meet a 

low- and moderate-income national 

objective as established by this notice. 

V.B.4. HUD consultation on use of 

other CDBG–DR and CDBG–MIT funds. 

The unprecedented levels of HUD and 

other federal funding for disaster 

recovery and mitigation provided to 

Puerto Rico and the USVI and the 

specialized nature of the electrical 

power system improvement activity 

funded pursuant to this notice, warrant 

additional consultation by HUD with its 

federal partners when a grantee 

proposes to use other CDBG–DR funds 

or CDBG–MIT funds for electrical power 

system improvement to ensure that all 

funds are used for necessary expenses, 

as required by the Appropriations Act. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 117 / Tuesday, June 22, 2021 / Notices 32699 

Accordingly, grantees are prohibited 

from using CDBG–DR funds previously 

obligated for recovery from a 2017 

disaster or CDBG–MIT funds for 

activities to enhance or improve 

electrical power systems until HUD 

properly consults and coordinates with 

its Federal members through the TCT on 

other Federally funded investments for 

this purpose. This limitation includes a 

prohibition on the use of CDBG–DR or 

CDBG–MIT funds to meet the matching 

requirement, share, or contribution for 

any Federally funded project that is 

providing funding for electrical power 

systems until HUD completes its 

consultation. HUD will inform the 

grantee when its consultation has been 

completed. 

V.B.5. Prohibiting assistance to 

private utilities. Funds made available 

under this notice may not be used to 

assist privately-owned utilities. A 

CDBG–DR grantee may seek a waiver of 

this prohibition when it has identified 

an electrical power system improvement 

project that is a priority and where 

assistance to a privately-owned utility is 

demonstrated to be necessary to 

implement the project. 

V.C. Certifications and Collection of 

Information 

V.C.1. Certifications’ waiver and 

alternative requirement. 24 CFR 91.325 

is waived. Each grantee receiving a 

direct allocation under this notice must 

make the following certifications with 

its action plan: 

a. The grantee certifies that it has in 

effect and is following a residential antidisplacement and relocation assistance 

plan in connection with any activity 

assisted with funding under the CDBG 

program. 

b. The grantee certifies its compliance 

with restrictions on lobbying required 

by 24 CFR part 87, together with 

disclosure forms, if required by part 87. 

c. The grantee certifies that the action 

plan for disaster recovery is authorized 

under State and local law (as applicable) 

and that the grantee, and any entity or 

entities designated by the grantee, and 

any contractor, subrecipient, or 

designated public agency carrying out 

an activity with CDBG–DR funds, 

possess(es) the legal authority to carry 

out the program for which it is seeking 

funding, in accordance with applicable 

HUD regulations and this notice. The 

grantee certifies that activities to be 

undertaken with funds under this notice 

are consistent with its action plan. 

d. The grantee certifies that it will 

comply with the acquisition and 

relocation requirements of the URA, as 

amended, and implementing regulations 

at 49 CFR part 24, except where waivers 

or alternative requirements are provided 

for in this notice. 

e. The grantee certifies that it will 

comply with section 3 of the Housing 

and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 

U.S.C. 1701u) and implementing 

regulations at 24 CFR part 135. 

f. The grantee certifies that it is 

following a detailed citizen 

participation plan that satisfies the 

requirements of 24 CFR 91.115 (except 

as provided for in notices providing 

waivers and alternative requirements for 

this grant). Also, each local government 

receiving assistance from a State grantee 

must follow a detailed citizen 

participation plan that satisfies the 

requirements of 24 CFR 570.486 (except 

as provided for in notices providing 

waivers and alternative requirements for 

this grant). 

g. State grantee certifies that it has 

consulted with affected local 

governments in counties designated in 

covered major disaster declarations in 

the non-entitlement, entitlement, and 

tribal areas of the State in determining 

the uses of funds, including the method 

of distribution of funding, or activities 

carried out directly by the State. 

h. The grantee certifies that it is 

complying with each of the following 

criteria: 

(1) Funds will be used solely for 

necessary expenses of electrical power 

system enhancements and 

improvements in the most impacted and 

distressed areas as defined by HUD in 

section II of this notice. 

(2) With respect to activities expected 

to be assisted with CDBG–DR funds, the 

action plan has been developed so as to 

give the maximum feasible priority to 

activities that will benefit low- and 

moderate-income families. 

(3) The aggregate use of CDBG–DR 

funds shall principally benefit low- and 

moderate-income families in a manner 

that ensures that at least 70 percent (or 

another percentage permitted by HUD in 

a waiver published in an applicable 

Federal Register notice) of the grant 

amount is expended for activities that 

benefit such persons. 

(4) The grantee will not attempt to 

recover any capital costs of public 

improvements assisted with CDBG–DR 

grant funds, by assessing any amount 

against properties owned and occupied 

by persons of low- and moderateincome, including any fee charged or 

assessment made as a condition of 

obtaining access to such public 

improvements, unless: (a) Disaster 

recovery grant funds are used to pay the 

proportion of such fee or assessment 

that relates to the capital costs of such 

public improvements that are financed 

from revenue sources other than under 

this title; or (b) for purposes of assessing 

any amount against properties owned 

and occupied by persons of moderate 

income, the grantee certifies to the 

Secretary that it lacks sufficient CDBG 

funds (in any form) to comply with the 

requirements of clause (a). 

i. The grantee certifies that the grant 

will be conducted and administered in 

conformity with title VI of the Civil 

Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d), 

the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601– 

3619), and implementing regulations, 

and that it will affirmatively further fair 

housing. An Indian tribe grantee 

certifies that the grant will be conducted 

and administered in conformity with 

the Indian Civil Rights Act. 

j. The grantee certifies that it has 

adopted and is enforcing the following 

policies, and, in addition, must certify 

that they will require local governments 

that receive grant funds to certify that 

they have adopted and are enforcing: 

(1) A policy prohibiting the use of 

excessive force by law enforcement 

agencies within its jurisdiction against 

any individuals engaged in nonviolent 

civil rights demonstrations; and 

(2) A policy of enforcing applicable 

State and local laws against physically 

barring entrance to or exit from a facility 

or location that is the subject of such 

nonviolent civil rights demonstrations 

within its jurisdiction. 

k. The grantee certifies that it (and 

any subrecipient or administering 

entity) currently has or will develop and 

maintain the capacity to carry out 

disaster recovery activities in a timely 

manner and that the grantee has 

reviewed the requirements of this 

notice. The grantee certifies to the 

accuracy of its previously submitted 

CDBG–MIT Financial Management and 

Grant Compliance certification checklist 

and addendums, or other recent 

certification submission, if approved by 

HUD, and related supporting 

documentation referenced at V.A.1.a. in 

this notice and Implementation Plan 

and Capacity Assessment and related 

submissions to HUD referenced at 

V.A.1.b. of this notice. 

l. The grantee certifies that it will not 

use CDBG–DR funds for any activity in 

an area identified as flood prone for 

land use or hazard mitigation planning 

purposes by the State, local, or tribal 

government or delineated as a Special 

Flood Hazard Area (or 100-year 

floodplain) in FEMA’s most current 

flood advisory maps, unless it also 

ensures that the action is designed or 

modified to minimize harm to or within 

the floodplain, in accordance with 

Executive Order 11988 and 24 CFR part 

55. The relevant data source for this 

provision is the State, local, and tribal 


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government land use regulations and 

current hazard mitigation plans and the 

latest-issued FEMA data or guidance, 

which includes advisory data (such as 

Advisory Base Flood Elevations) or 

preliminary and final Flood Insurance 

Rate Maps. 

m. The grantee certifies that its 

activities concerning lead-based paint 

will comply with the requirements of 24 

CFR part 35, subparts A, B, J, K, and R. 

n. The grantee certifies that it will 

comply with environmental 

requirements at 24 CFR part 58. 

o. The grantee certifies that it will 

comply with applicable laws. 

Warning: Any person who knowingly 

makes a false claim or statement to HUD 

may be subject to civil or criminal 

penalties under 18 U.S.C. 287, 1001 and 

31 U.S.C. 3729. 

VI. Duration of Funding 

The Appropriations Act makes the 

funds available for obligation by HUD 

until expended. This notice requires 

each grantee to expend 100 percent of 

its CDBG–DR grant on eligible activities 

within 6 years of HUD’s obligation of 

funds under Public Law 115–123 for 

electrical power system improvements. 

HUD may extend the period of 

performance administratively, if good 

cause for such an extension exists at 

that time, as requested by the grantee, 

and approved by HUD. When the period 

of performance has ended, HUD will 

close out the grant and any remaining 

funds not expended by the grantee on 

appropriate programmatic purposes will 

be recaptured by HUD. 

VII. Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance numbers for the grants under 

this notice are as follows: 14.218 and 

14.228. 

VIII. Finding of No Significant Impact 

A Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) with respect to the 

environment has been made in 

accordance with HUD regulations at 24 

CFR part 50, which implement section 

102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4332(2)(C)). The FONSI is available for 

inspection on HUD’s website and inperson for public inspection between 8 

a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in the 

Regulations Division, Office of General 

Counsel, Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, 

Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410– 

0500. Due to security measures at the 

HUD Headquarters building, an advance 

appointment to review the docket file 

must be scheduled by calling the 

Regulations Division at 202–708–3055 

(this is not a toll-free number). Hearingor speech-impaired individuals may 

access this number through TTY by 

calling the Federal Relay Service at 800– 

877–8339 (this is a toll-free number). 

James Arthur Jemison II, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Community Planning and Development. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12934 Filed 6–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNM980300 L07772100.XX0000 

212L1109AF] 

Notice of Public Meeting, Southern 

New Mexico Resource Advisory 

Council, New Mexico 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management’s (BLM) Southern 

New Mexico Resource Advisory Council 

(RAC) will meet as indicated below. 

DATES: The RAC will meet on August 5, 

2021, from 9:00 a.m.–3:45 p.m. MST. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be open to 

the public and held via the Zoom 

Webinar Platform. To participate, 

individuals must register virtually at: 

https://blm.zoomgov.com/webinar/ 

register/WN_

3JGATj0pQYOujXLG6RR51Q. 

Individuals wishing to submit written 

comments for consideration by the RAC 

should send their comments to Glen 

Garnand at the BLM’s Pecos District 

Office, 2909 West 2nd Street, Roswell, 

New Mexico 88201, or to ggarnand@

blm.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Glen Garnand, Pecos District Office, 

Bureau of Land Management, 2909 West 

2nd Street, Roswell, New Mexico 88201; 

575–627–0209; ggarnand@blm.gov. 

Persons who use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800– 

877–8229 to contact the above 

individual during normal business 

hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week, to leave a message 

or question with the above individual. 

You will receive a reply during normal 

business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 12- 

member Southern New Mexico RAC 

provides recommendations to the 

Secretary of the Interior, through the 

BLM, on a variety of planning and 

management issues associated with 

public land management in the RAC’s 

area of jurisdiction. 

Planned agenda items include 

updates on new Secretary’s Orders; 

Land and Water Conservation Fund 

projects for each field office; grazing 

allotment permit renewal regulations; 

and the Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks 

National Monument. 

This meeting is open to the public, 

and the BLM welcomes comments from 

all interested parties. There will be a 

half-hour public comment period 

starting at 2:30 p.m. MST for any 

interested members of the public who 

wish to address the RAC. Depending on 

the number of persons wishing to speak 

and time available, the time for 

individual comments may be limited. 

Individuals may also submit written 

comments. Written comments filed in 

advance of the meeting will be 

presented to RAC members for 

consideration prior to the meeting. 

Please include ‘‘RAC Comment’’ in your 

submission. 

Public Disclosure of Comments: 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority: 43 CFR 1784.4–2 

William Childress, 

BLM Las Cruces District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13089 Filed 6–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P 

LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION 

Sunshine Act Meeting 

TIME AND DATE: The Legal Services 

Corporation’s (LSC) Board Finance 

Committee will meet remotely on 

Wednesday, June 30, 2021. The meeting 

will commence at 1:00 p.m. EDT, 

continuing until the conclusion of the 

Committee’s agenda. 

PLACE: PUBLIC NOTICE OF VIRTUAL 

REMOTE MEETING 

LSC will conduct the June 30, 2021 

meeting virtually via ZOOM. 

Public Observation: Unless otherwise 

noted herein, the Finance Committee 

meeting will be open to public 


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