57716 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5018–N–01] 

Regulatory and Administrative Waivers 

Granted for Public and Indian Housing 

Programs to Assist with Recovery and 

Relief in Hurricane Katrina Disaster 

Areas 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Public and Indian 

Housing, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

of HUD regulations and other 

administrative requirements governing 

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian 

Housing (PIH) programs that have been 

waived in order to facilitate the delivery 

of safe and decent housing under these 

programs to families and individuals 

who have been displaced from their 

housing by Hurricane Katrina. Entities 

that administer PIH programs, which 

include public housing agencies (PHAs), 

Indian and tribally designated housing 

entities (TDHEs), and local and tribal 

governments, and are located in an area 

declared by the President to be a federal 

disaster area as a result of Hurricane 

Katrina, may defer compliance with the 

regulations and other requirements 

listed in this notice for an initial period 

of 12 months or such other period as 

may be specified in this notice. PIH 

program administrators that are not 

located in a disaster area but assisting 

with Hurricane Katrina recovery and 

relief may request waiver of the 

regulations and administrative 

requirements listed in this notice, and 

HUD review and response is available 

through an expedited waiver request 

and response process. PIH program 

administrators, located in an area 

declared a federal disaster area as a 

result of Hurricane Katrina, or PIH 

program administrators not located in 

such an area but assisting with 

Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery 

efforts, may request waiver of a 

regulation or other administrative 

requirement through the expedited 

waiver process provided in this notice. 

This notice applies only to PIH 

programs or to cross-cutting regulatory 

or administrative requirements that are 

applicable to PIH program 

administrators. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 27, 

2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: PIH 

Disaster Relief Officer, Office of Policy 

Programs and Legislation, Office of 

Public and Indian Housing, Department 

of Housing and Urban Development, 

451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 4116, 

Washington, DC 20410–5000, telephone 

number (202) 708–4016, extension 4245, 

or (202) 708–0713, extension 7651. 

Persons with hearing or speech 

impairments may access this number 

via TTY by calling the Federal 

Information Relay Service at (800) 877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information 

In late August 2005, Hurricane 

Katrina hit the Gulf Coast area of the 

United States, causing unprecedented 

and catastrophic damage to property, 

significant loss of life, and the 

displacement of tens of thousands of 

individuals and families from their 

homes and communities. The President 

has called upon all federal agencies to 

do everything in their power to assist 

the victims of Hurricane Katrina, with 

the top priority being to save and 

sustain lives. With recognition that 

shelter is key to saving and sustaining 

lives, and following the President’s 

direction to eliminate or reduce ‘‘red 

tape’’ that will impede the delivery of 

federal financial assistance and other 

needed benefits, this notice identifies 

HUD regulations and other 

administrative requirements governing 

HUD’s PIH programs that are waived or 

temporarily suspended or deferred in an 

area declared by the President to be a 

federal disaster area as a result of 

Hurricane Katrina (‘‘disaster area’’). In 

addition, HUD will provide an 

expedited review process to waive the 

requirements listed in this notice upon 

request from PIH program 

administrators that are not located in 

disaster areas but are assisting with 

Hurricane Katrina recovery and relief 

efforts. 

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian 

Housing examined the regulations 

governing PIH programs and 

recommended waiver or temporary 

suspension or deferral of those 

regulations that the office believes could 

impede PIH program administrators in 

their effort to expeditiously assist with 

housing current PIH program 

participants who lost housing as a result 

of Hurricane Katrina as well as others 

who now need housing assistance under 

PIH programs as a result of the 

hurricane. PIH program administrators 

that are located in a disaster area may 

defer compliance with the requirements 

listed in this notice for an initial period 

of 12 months under the notification 

process described in this notice. The 

requirements listed in this notice that 

have been deferred, or temporarily 

suspended by waiver include regulatory 

and other administrative provisions that 

require periodic reporting and other 

information delivery by PHAs, Indian 

tribes, and TDHEs. While such reporting 

is important to ensure effective and 

efficient administration of PIH 

programs, these requirements have been 

waived in order that PIH program 

administrators may focus their time and 

resources on identifying and providing 

decent and safe housing during this 

period of unparalleled displacement of 

families and individuals. 

For the majority of the regulations and 

administrative requirements listed in 

this notice and for which a waiver was 

granted, HUD did not waive the 

requirements entirely but deferred 

compliance until such time as 

compliance may be feasible; for 

example, in many cases HUD extended 

deadlines for reports or other 

documents that PIH program 

administrators must submit to HUD. 

Because the devastation caused by 

Hurricane Katrina is unprecedented, 

and the need for housing and other 

basic life saving and sustaining relief is 

widespread and immediate, HUD is 

relying on its experienced partners in 

the HUD housing-assistance programs 

who are in the front-line of recovery 

efforts to meet the challenge of 

providing decent, safe, and sanitary 

housing as expeditiously as possible 

and to comply to the extent possible 

with the regulations that promote that 

goal. HUD does not want the time and 

resources of PHAs, Indian tribes, and 

THDEs diverted by requirements that 

are important but can be deferred until 

such time as a degree of normalcy in 

operations returns to the disaster areas. 

As the recovery period proceeds, HUD 

may identify other regulations for which 

waiver or temporary deferral or 

suspension is needed or determine that 

other alternative requirements may be 

necessary to assist with facilitation of 

delivery of housing to those most in 

need. Any additional HUD waivers or 

suspensions or other alternative 

requirements will be announced by 

direct notice to PIH program 

administrators and by Federal Register 

publication. 

PIH program administrators that are 

not located in a disaster area but are 

assisting with Hurricane Katrina 

recovery and relief efforts may request 

waiver of the regulations and 

administrative requirements listed in 

this notice through the expedited waiver 

request and response process set forth in 

this notice. 

In addition to the waiver of regulatory 

requirements, some statutory provisions 

contain built-in waiver provisions that 

allow administrative waiver of the 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Notices 57717 

statutory requirements for cause. Certain 

of those provisions are included in 

Section III.A of this notice. 

This notice lists HUD regulatory and 

administrative requirements that the 

Office of PIH determined needed to be 

waived or temporarily deferred or 

suspended during the Hurricane Katrina 

recovery period. If, PHAs, Indian tribes, 

and TDHEs, and other PIH program 

administrators identify other regulations 

that they believe should be waived, they 

should seek a waiver by submitting a 

waiver request, which specifies the need 

for a waiver, to the email address 

provided below in Section II, which 

describes the expedited waiver process. 

II. Waiver Process 

A. For PIH Program Administrators in 

Declared Disaster Areas 

Entities that administer public or 

Indian housing or voucher programs 

and are located in the areas declared a 

federal disaster area as a result of 

Hurricane Katrina may defer or suspend 

compliance with the regulations and 

other administrative requirements listed 

in this notice, with the exception of the 

waiver of the provision in Section 

III.B.12, upon the effective date of this 

notice, for an initial period of 12 months 

or for such other period as may be 

specified in this notice. These entities, 

however, should notify HUD within two 

weeks of determination of the need to 

utilize the waived requirements in this 

notice, or as soon as possible, by 

contacting HUD in the manner detailed 

in the following paragraph. 

An official of the PHA, TDHE, tribal 

or local government that seeks the 

suspension of compliance with 

requirements listed in this notice must 

contact HUD in writing (e-mail 

communication is allowed) and identify 

the requirements by section and number 

utilized in this notice (e.g., Section 

III.A.2. Section III.B. 1, 2, 3, etc, or ‘‘all 

of the waived or suspended 

requirements in Section III.’’). The 

following e-mail address has been 

established in order to expedite the 

process: PIH_Disaster_Relief@hud.gov. 

In addition, a checklist of the waived or 

suspended requirements is available at 

HUD’s Web site at http://www.hud.gov/ 

katrina/proguidance.cfm, and an 

eligible PHA can use this checklist to 

identify the waived or suspended 

requirements that it will utilize. 

This is a notification process only, 

and HUD asks that this notification be 

made to HUD no later than two weeks 

after a PHA determines the need to rely 

on one or more or all of the waived or 

suspended requirements in this notice. 

While, as noted earlier, HUD does not 

want to impose additional 

administrative requirements on PIH 

program administrators located in the 

disaster areas during this period, it is 

important for HUD to know (and helpful 

for HUD to know) how these entities are 

administering their PIH programs 

during the recovery period, as HUD has 

tried to make this notification process as 

easy as possible. HUD will maintain 

information on the names of the PHAs, 

Indian tribes, or TDHEs that have 

deferred compliance with certain 

regulatory and administrative 

requirements in accordance with this 

notice. The regulation or administrative 

requirement will remain inapplicable 

for a period of 12 months and will be 

considered waived or suspended by 

HUD for an additional three months 

upon notification to HUD following the 

same notification process described 

above. 

B. For PIH Program Participants in NonDisaster Declared Areas 

PIH program administrators that are 

not located in a disaster area but are 

contributing to Hurricane Katrina relief 

and recovery efforts may request a 

waiver of the regulations or 

administrative requirements listed in 

this notice by sending a request for a 

waiver to the 

PIH_Disaster_Relief@hud.gov 

e-mail address. The request must 

specify the need for the waiver of the 

requirement. Waiver requests submitted 

through this e-mail address will receive 

priority processing. 

C. Regulations and Requirements Not 

Waived in this Notice 

For any regulation or other 

administrative requirement not listed in 

this notice for which a PIH program 

administrator seeks waiver or 

suspension, the program administrator 

may seek a waiver by sending a request 

to the PIH_Disaster_Relief@hud.gov email address. The request must specify 

the need for the waiver of the 

requirement. As noted earlier, waiver 

requests submitted through this e-mail 

address will receive priority processing, 

and HUD will respond to the requestor 

by e-mail. 

The expedited waiver process is 

provided only for waiver or suspension 

of requirements that will assist with the 

Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery 

efforts. HUD will not respond to any 

waiver requests submitted to this e-mail 

address that are unrelated to relief and 

recovery of the disaster areas. 

III. Authority to Grant Waivers 

Generally, waivers of HUD regulations 

are handled on a case-by-case basis. 

Under statutory requirements set forth 

in section 7(q) of the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development Act 

(42 U.S.C. 3535(q)), a regulated party 

that seeks a waiver of a HUD regulation 

must request a waiver from HUD in 

writing and the waiver request must 

specify the need for the waiver. HUD 

then responds to the request in writing 

and, if the waiver is granted, HUD 

includes a summary of the waiver 

granted (and all regulatory waivers 

granted during a three-month period) in 

a Federal Register notice that is 

published quarterly. Since the damage 

to property and the displacement of 

families and individuals in the disaster 

areas is massive, and the need for 

regulatory relief in many areas 

pertaining to HUD-assisted housing is 

readily apparent, HUD is suspending its 

usual regulatory waiver protocols for the 

disaster areas and has substituted an 

expedited process that meets the 

requirements of section 7(q). 

In a quarterly notice of regulations 

waived, HUD will identify the PIH 

program administrators in the disaster 

areas that are utilizing one or more of 

the waived regulations in this notice or 

other regulations for which a waiver 

was requested or granted. The quarterly 

notice will also identify PIH program 

administrators that are located in nonfederally declared disaster areas and are 

contributing to Hurricane Katrina relief 

and recovery efforts that requested and 

were granted waivers in accordance 

with the waiver process provided in this 

notice. 

The regulatory and administrative 

requirements set forth in Section III of 

this notice have been waived or 

temporarily deferred or suspended as 

provided in this notice. This action was 

determined necessary to assist PIH 

program administrators in the disaster 

areas in facilitating the identification 

and delivery of housing for families and 

individuals displaced from their homes 

by Hurricane Katrina. PIH program 

administrators referenced in Section III 

of this notice (e.g., PHAs, TDHEs), even 

if, at times, not specifically described as 

PIH program administrators located in a 

disaster area, refer only to 

administrators located in disaster areas. 

A. Statutory Requirements with Built-In 

Waiver Authority 

1. Extension of Deadline for Obligation 

and Expenditure of Capital Funds 

Section 9(j)(2) of the U.S. Housing Act 

of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(j)(2)) (1937 

Act) authorizes the Secretary to extend 

the time period for obligation of capital 

funds by PHAs, as set forth in section 

9(j)(1), for such period as the Secretary 

57718 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Notices 

determines necessary if the Secretary 

determines that the failure of the agency 

to obligate assistance in a timely manner 

is attributable to, among other criteria 

listed, an event beyond the control of 

the PHA, or any other reason 

established by the Secretary by notice 

published in the Federal Register. 

Pursuant to section 9(j)(1) of the 1937 

Act, PHAs are required to obligate 

capital funds not later than 24 months 

after the date on which the funds 

became available, or the date on which 

the PHA accumulates adequate funds to 

undertake modernization, substantial 

rehabilitation, or new construction of 

units, plus the period of any extension 

approved under section 9(j)(2). The 

occurrence of Hurricane Katrina was 

beyond the control of the PHAs located 

in the disaster areas and caused such 

massive and widespread destruction 

and displacement that the obligation 

deadline under section 9(j)(1) of the 

1937 Act is hereby extended pursuant to 

section 9(j)(2) of the 1937 Act for an 

additional 12 months for PHAs located 

in the areas declared a Federal disaster 

area. 

In addition, section 9(j)(5)(A) of the 

1937 Act requires a PHA to expend 

capital funds not later than four years 

after the date on which the funds 

become available for obligation, plus the 

period of any extension approved under 

section 9(j)(2). The expenditure period 

under section 9(j)(5) is accordingly also 

extended in the affected areas for 12 

months to include the extension 

approved under section 9(j)(2). The 

extension of the section 9(j) obligation 

and extension deadlines made in this 

notice also apply to the implementing 

regulation for section 9(j) at 24 CFR 

905.120. 

2. Waiver of ICDBG 50 Percent 

Downpayment Assistance Limitation for 

Low- and Moderate-Income 

Homebuyers 

Section 122 of the Housing and 

Community Development Act of 1974 

(42 U.S.C. 5321) authorizes the 

Secretary to suspend requirements for 

activities to address the damage in a 

Presidentially declared disaster area. 

Section 105(a)(24)(D) (42 U.S.C. 5305) 

permits a grantee to provide 

downpayment assistance to low- and 

moderate-income homebuyers, but 

limits the assistance to 50 percent of the 

amount of downpayment the 

homebuyer must provide. Because of 

the extraordinary need for housing 

among low- and moderate-income 

evacuees, HUD finds good cause to 

permit downpayment assistance of up to 

100 percent for the purchase of homes 

in the disaster area. 

B. Regulatory Requirements. 

1. 24 CFR 5.216(g)(5) (Disclosure and 

Verification of Social Security and 

Employer Identification Numbers) 

Section 5.216 addresses the disclosure 

and verification of Social Security 

Numbers and employer identification 

numbers of applicants for assistance 

under certain HUD assisted housing 

programs. Section 5.216(g) imposes 

special documentation requirements on 

applicants, and subsection (g)(5) 

establishes the time limit for submission 

of this documentation. The time period 

required for submission of verification 

documents is waived for a period of 

three months in the case of all families 

and for a period not to exceed 12 

months with approval. 

2. 24 CFR 5.512(c) (Verification of 

Eligible Immigration Status; Secondary 

Verification) 

Section 5.512 provides the process by 

which verification of eligible 

immigration status must be undertaken 

for families seeking assistance under 

certain HUD programs. While the 

declaration of eligibility and this 

verification process is required by 

statute and cannot be waived, HUD does 

have the authority to waive certain 

deadlines. Section 5.512(d) provides the 

time frame under which a secondary 

verification must be requested of the 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE) by the responsible entity when the 

primary verification (the automated 

verification system) is not conclusive of 

immigration status. The responsible 

entity must request ICE to undertake a 

secondary verification within 10 days of 

receipt of the results of the primary 

verification, and must provide the ICE 

with all records on the applicant 

evidencing citizen or eligible 

immigration status that the applicant 

has provided to the responsible entity. 

This notice provides that the time frame 

under which a secondary verification 

must be requested is expanded from 10 

days of the date of the results of the 

primary verification to 90 days from 

such date. 

3. 24 CFR 5.801(c) and 5.801(d)(1) 

(Uniform Financial Reporting Standards 

(UFRS); Reporting Due Date) 

These sections establish uniform 

financial reporting standards for PHAs 

and other owners and administrators of 

HUD-assisted housing. Section 5.801(c) 

establishes the financial information 

requirements and § 5.801(d)(1) 

establishes the filing deadline for 

financial information and provides that 

PHAs must submit their unaudited 

financial information no later than 60 

days after the end of their fiscal year. 

This deadline is changed from 60 days 

to 180 days after the end of the PHA’s 

fiscal year. In addition, § 5.801(d)(1) 

requires that PHAs submit their audited 

financial information no later than nine 

months after the PHA’s fiscal year end. 

For PHAs with fiscal years ending 

December 31, 2004, and March 31, 2005, 

this deadline is changed from nine 

months to 13 months after the end of the 

PHA’s fiscal year. Although PHAs are 

still required to submit unaudited and 

audited financial information pursuant 

to UFRS, they will not be scored under 

the Public Housing Assessment System 

(PHAS), as more fully discussed in 

Section III.B.4. below. 

4. 24 CFR part 902 (Public Housing 

Assessment System (PHAS)) 

Part 902 sets out the indicators by 

which HUD measures the performance 

of a PHA. These indicators measure a 

PHA’s physical condition, financial 

condition, management operations, and 

resident service and satisfaction. For 

PHAs in the areas declared a federal 

disaster area beginning with fiscal year 

end September 30, 2005, and for those 

with fiscal years ending March 31, 2005, 

and June 30, 2005, that have not yet 

received their physical condition 

inspections for 2005, the PHAs score 

will be the same as their previous year 

score. However, PHAs are still required 

to submit unaudited and audited 

information in accordance with Section 

III.B.3. 

5. 24 CFR 903.5 (Annual Plan 

Submission Deadline) 

Section 5A(h)(2) of the 1937 Act (42 

U.S.C. 1437c–1(h)(2)) and 24 CFR 903.5 

provide that a PHA Annual Plan must 

be submitted no later than 75 days 

before the commencement of a PHA’s 

fiscal year. Each PHA affected may have 

a different fiscal year and for those 

PHAs that are approaching this 

submission deadline, this requirement 

may be impossible to meet because the 

PHAs are not operating. Since this 

requirement is a statutory one and not 

waivable by HUD without further 

authority, HUD is seeking legislative 

relief. However, HUD will accept as a 

submission a letter from the PHA stating 

that HUD should consider its existing 

annual plan to be the plan for the next 

year or until it submits another annual 

plan. For Capital Fund activities, PHAs 

may obligate their Capital Funds for any 

activity listed in their existing and 

approved 5-year plan. PHAs should also 

submit amendments to their 5-year plan 

to the extent necessary. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Notices 57719 

6. 24 CFR 905.10(i) (Capital Fund 

Formula; Limitation of Replacement 

Housing Funds to New Development) 

Section 905.10 describes the Capital 

Fund formula. Section 905.10(i) limits 

the use of replacement housing funds to 

the development of new public housing. 

This section is waived to allow 

replacement housing funds to be used 

for two other areas, public housing 

modernization and homeownership for 

public housing families, which will 

help address housing needs as a result 

of the displacement caused by 

Hurricane Katrina. 

7. 24 CFR 941.306 (Maximum Project 

Cost) 

Section 941.306 establishes the 

calculation of maximum project cost 

and the calculation of the total 

development cost. In order to facilitate 

the use of capital funds for repairs and 

construction for needed housing in the 

disaster areas, HUD has waived the total 

development cost (TDC) and housing 

cost cap limits for all work funded by 

the Capital Fund and HOPE VI funds 

until issuance of new TDC levels. Until 

new TDC levels are issued, PHAs 

should strive to keep housing costs 

reasonable given local market 

conditions. 

8. 24 CFR 965.302 (Requirements for 

Energy Audits) 

This section establishes the 

requirement that all PHAs complete an 

energy audit for each PHA-owned 

project under management, not less than 

once every five years. PHAs that are 

required to conduct or update an audit 

this year are given an additional 12 

months after September 30, 2005, to 

complete the audit. HUD is relieving 

PHAs of this administrative burden so 

that they may focus on the more urgent 

need to house impacted families. 

9. 24 CFR 982.54 (Administrative Plan) 

This section provides that a PHA 

must adopt a written administrative 

plan that establishes local policies for 

the administration of the Housing 

Choice Voucher Program in accordance 

with HUD requirements. In order to 

allow PHAs to exercise maximum 

flexibility with program administration 

as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the 

PHA may temporarily revise the 

administrative plan to address unique 

circumstances without PHA Board of 

Commissioners approval or other 

authorized PHA official approval if such 

Board or officials also waive this 

requirement. 

10. 24 CFR 982.206 (Waiting List; 

Opening and Public Notice) 

This section requires a PHA to give 

the public notice that families may 

apply for tenant-based assistance. The 

regulation requires a PHA to publish a 

notice of the opening of the list in a 

local newspaper of general circulation, 

and also by minority media and other 

suitable means. The requirement to 

publish in a newspaper of general 

circulation and also by minority media 

is waived, and a PHA may provide such 

information on its Web site and at any 

of its offices and in a voice mail message 

for any callers that may inquire whether 

a list is opened. 

11. 24 CFR 982.401(d) (Housing Quality 

Standards: Space Requirements) 

By regulation, § 982.401 establishes 

housing quality standards. Section 

982.401(d) provides, among other 

things, the requirement for adequate 

space for the family. With respect to 

space, this section provides that each 

dwelling unit must have at least one 

bedroom or living/sleeping room for 

each two persons. The spacing 

requirements of this section can be 

waived only if the family understands 

and consents to a waiver of this 

provision. Again, as noted from the 

outset, the waiver of these regulations 

does not represent a long-term change 

but rather a temporary suspension of 

requirements to address emergency 

needs. 

12. 24 CFR 982.503(b) (Waiver of 

Payment Standard Limit; Establishing 

Payment Standard Amounts). [Waiver of 

this Provision Available Through 

Waiver Request.] 

Section 982.503(b) imposes a cap on 

the amount a PHA may establish as its 

payment standard amount at 110 

percent of the published fair market rent 

(FMR). In order to expand the housing 

available to families displaced by 

Hurricane Katrina, PHAs in disaster 

areas may establish separate payment 

standards amounts up to 120 percent of 

the published FMR. Higher exception 

rents above 120 percent may be 

requested through the described 

expedited waiver process, but must be 

justified by rental housing data. In all 

cases, the actual gross rent for the unit 

leased by the family may not exceed 

what is charged for comparable 

unassisted units in the area. 

Note that areas whose rental housing 

markets have been significantly affected 

by families displaced by Hurricane 

Katrina may request a waiver through 

the expedited waiver review process, set 

forth in Section II of this notice, for 

approval of payment standards in excess 

of 110 percent of the published FMRs. 

However, the PHA must provide 

information indicating that (1) they have 

a significant number of displaced 

families and (2) area rents have 

increased. 

13. 24 CFR 984.303 (Contract of 

Participation; Family Self-Sufficiency 

(FSS) Program; Extension of Contract) 

and 24 CFR 984.105 (Minimum Program 

Size) 

Part 984 of HUD’s regulations provide 

the requirements for the Section 8 and 

Public Housing FSS Program. Section 

984.303 sets out the requirements for 

the contract of participation and 

§ 984.303(d) allows for an extension of 

the FSS program for a period not to 

exceed two years. For those families at 

the end of their initial contract term, the 

two-year limitation is waived and PHAs 

may provide an extension for a period 

not to exceed three years. This 

additional time period would account 

for any time lost on the FSS contract as 

a result of the displacement of families 

participating in the FSS program. 

Section 984.105 sets out the 

requirements for minimum FSS program 

size. This notice exempts PHAs from the 

minimum program size (§ 984.105(a) 

and (b)) for a period of two years. 

14. 24 CFR part 985 (Section 8 

Management Assessment Program 

(SEMAP)) 

Part 985 sets out the requirements by 

which section 8 tenant-based assistance 

programs are assessed. Similar to the 

action that HUD has taken with respect 

to the PHAS regulations in 24 CFR part 

902, PHAs administering a section 8 

tenant-based assistance program are 

eligible to defer compliance with the 

SEMAP requirements for a period of 12 

months. 

15. 24 CFR 990.145 (Dwelling Units 

with Approved Vacancies) 

Section 990.145 of the revised 

Operating Fund Program regulation (79 

FR 54984, September 19, 2005) lists the 

categories of vacant units that are 

eligible to receive operating subsidy 

and, therefore, are considered approved 

vacancies. PHAs that had vacant units 

during the reporting period that were 

not ‘‘approved’’ vacancies pursuant to 

§ 990.145, but were available for 

occupancy, may treat those units as 

approved vacancies if: (1) The PHA 

anticipates the units will be occupied by 

families and individuals affected by the 

disaster during the upcoming funding 

year, or (2) the PHA is holding the units 

vacant for families and individuals 

affected by the disaster. 

57720 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Notices 

16. 24 CFR 1000.156 and 1000.158 

(IHBG Moderate Design Requirements 

for Housing Development) 

The IHBG program regulations at 

§§ 1000.156 and 1000.158 require that 

housing developed with IHBG funds 

must be of moderate design. Under 

these regulatory sections, IHBG 

recipients must either adopt written 

moderate design standards or comply 

with the TDC limits issued by HUD. In 

recognition of the higher development 

costs in communities affected by 

Hurricane Katrina, and to facilitate the 

development of housing for families in 

these communities, these moderate 

design requirements are waived for 

IHBG recipients until issuance of new 

TDC levels. Until new TDC levels are 

issued, IHBG recipients should strive to 

keep housing costs reasonable given 

local market conditions. 

17. 24 CFR 1000.214 (Indian Housing 

Plan (IHP) Submission Deadline) 

To receive an IHBG formula 

allocation, an Indian tribe or its TDHE 

must annually submit an IHP to HUD 

describing the affordable housing 

activities the Indian tribe or TDHE will 

undertake. Section 1000.214 requires 

that the IHP must be submitted to HUD 

no later than July 1 of each year. This 

section is waived to permit tribes and 

TDHEs to undertake affordable housing 

activities on behalf of families displaced 

by Hurricane Katrina, although these 

activities may not have been identified 

in the IHP originally submitted by the 

tribe or TDHE. 

18. 24 CFR 1003.400(c) and Section I.C. 

of FY 2005 Indian Community 

Development Block Grants (ICDBG) 

Program Notice of Funding Availability 

(NOFA) (Grant Ceilings for ICDBG 

Imminent Threat Applications) 

The ICDBG regulations at 

§ 1003.400(c) provide that HUD will 

establish grant ceilings for imminent 

threat applications. On March 21, 2005 

(70 FR 13655), HUD published its FY 

2005 ICDBG NOFA as part of HUD’s FY 

2005 SuperNOFA. Section I.C. of the FY 

2005 ICDBG NOFA specifies that the 

grant ceiling for ICDBG imminent threat 

requests for FY 2005 is $425,000. This 

grant ceiling is waived to permit 

applicants to request imminent threat 

funding in excess of $425,000 if 

necessary to address disaster-related 

needs in their communities. 

19. 24 CFR 1003.401 and Section I.C. of 

FY 2005 ICDBG NOFA (Application 

Requirements for ICDBG Imminent 

Threat Funds) 

The ICDBG regulations at Section 

1003.401 provide that, in response to 

applications for assistance, HUD may 

make ICDBG funds available to 

applicants to address imminent threats 

to health and safety. The regulation 

further provides that applications must 

contain the information specified in the 

annual ICDBG NOFA. The required 

information that must be contained for 

imminent threat applications for FY 

2005 is located in Section I.C. of the FY 

2005 ICDBG NOFA. These application 

requirements are waived to permit 

Indian tribes located in areas affected by 

Hurricane Katrina to more expeditiously 

request and receive ICDBG imminent 

threat funds. Applicants located in these 

areas are still required to submit a 

request for imminent threat assistance to 

HUD in accordance with Section 

1003.401 and the FY 2005 ICDBG 

NOFA, but it is no longer necessary for 

the request to contain the information 

listed in section I.C. of the NOFA. 

20. 24 CFR 1003.604 (ICDBG Citizen 

Participation Requirements) 

The ICDBG regulations at § 1003.604 

require applicants to consult with 

residents prior to submitting their 

funding applications. The consultation 

requirements have the potential to delay 

the ability of ICDBG recipients to 

address urgent housing, health, and 

safety needs of persons displaced by 

Hurricane Katrina. Accordingly, this 

section is waived to permit eligible 

ICDBG applicants to address disasterrelated needs without the need for prior 

resident consultation. 

Dated: September 27, 2005. 

Roy A. Bernardi, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–19758 Filed 9–30–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–33–P