Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Notices 29555 

Sign Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA TARGET 

Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or contact USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form, AD– 

3027, found online at https://

www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-aprogram-discrimination-complaint and 

at any USDA office or write a letter 

addressed to USDA and provide in the 

letter all the information requested in 

the form. To request a copy of the 

complaint form, call (866) 632–9992. 

Submit your completed form or letter to 

USDA by mail to: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410 or email: OAC@

usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Richard Flournoy, 

Acting Administrator, Risk Management 

Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11603 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

[Docket No. RHS–21–MFH–0008] 

Notice of Solicitation of Applications 

for the Section 533 Housing 

Preservation Grants for Fiscal Year 

2021 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS), a Rural Development agency 

(Agency) of the United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

announces that it is soliciting 

competitive applications under its 

Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) 

program. This action is taken to comply 

with Agency regulations which requires 

the Agency to announce the opening 

and closing dates for receipt of preapplications for HPG funds from eligible 

applicants. The Agency will publish the 

amount of funding on its website at: 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/housing-preservation-grants. 

Expenses incurred in developing preapplications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. 

DATES: The closing deadline for receipt 

of all paper pre-applications in response 

to this Notice is 5:00 p.m., local time for 

each Rural Development State Office on 

July 7, 2021. If submitting the preapplication in electronic format, the 

closing deadline for receipt is 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Daylight Time on July 19, 2021. 

Rural Development State Office 

locations can be found at: http://

www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/stateoffices. RHS will not consider any preapplication that is received after the 

closing deadline. Applicants intending 

to mail pre-applications must provide 

sufficient time to permit delivery on or 

before the closing deadline date and 

time. Acceptance by the United States 

Postal Service or private mailer does not 

constitute delivery. Facsimile (FAX) and 

postage due pre-applications will not be 

accepted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information, applicants may 

contact Bonnie Edwards-Jackson, 

Finance and Loan Analyst, MultiFamily Housing Production and 

Preservation Division, telephone (202) 

690–0759 (voice) (this is not a toll-free 

number) or (800) 877–8339 (TDDFederal Information Relay Service) or 

via email at bonnie.edwards@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview 

Federal Agency Name: Rural Housing 

Service, USDA. 

Funding Opportunity Title: Housing 

Preservation Grants. 

Announcement Type: Notice. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number: 10.433. 

A. Program Description 

The HPG program is a grant program, 

authorized under 42 U.S.C. 1490m and 

implemented at 7 CFR part 1944, 

subpart N, which provides qualified 

public agencies, private non-profit 

organizations including, but not limited 

to, Faith-Based and neighborhood 

partnerships, and other eligible entities; 

grant funds to assist low- and very lowincome homeowners in repairing and 

rehabilitating their homes in rural areas. 

In addition, the HPG program assists 

cooperative housing complexes and 

rental property owners in rural areas in 

repairing and rehabilitating their units if 

they agree to make such units available 

to very low- and low-income persons. 

Rental property owners can include 

Section 515 rental properties if the 

eligibility requirements for the HPG 

program are met. In accordance with 7 

CFR 1944.663, rental property owners 

must agree to make the units repaired or 

rehabilitated available for occupancy to 

very low- or low-income persons for a 

period of not less than five years. The 

minimum five-year restriction to rent 

the very low- and low-income tenants 

will only apply to the units that are 

repaired with the HPG funding. Any 

units within the property that were not 

repaired with HPG funding will not be 

subject to the five-year restriction. 

B. Federal Award Information 

The funding instrument for the HPG 

program will be a grant agreement. The 

term of the grant can vary from one to 

two years, depending on available funds 

and demand. No maximum or minimum 

grant levels have been established at the 

National level. In accordance with 7 

CFR 1944.652, coordination and 

leveraging of funding for repair and 

rehabilitation activities with housing 

and community development 

organizations or activities operating in 

the same geographic area are expected, 

but not required. Applicants should 

contact the Rural Development State 

Office to determine the allocation for 

their state. 

The amount of funding available for 

the HPG program may be found at the 

following link: http://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

programs-services/housingpreservation-grants. In addition, the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 

(Pub. L. 116–260) established a set-aside 

for grants located in Rural Economic 

Area Partnership Zones (REAP Zones). 

The State Office will indicate on the list 

submitted to the National Office if the 

pre-application is eligible for the REAP 

Zones set-aside. The National Office 

will then compile a national list, rank 

the REAP Zones applicants based on the 

point allocations set forth in this 

Federal Register Notice, and distribute 

the HPG REAP Zones set-aside starting 

with the highest scoring eligible HPG 

REAP Zones applicants. Other funds 

will be distributed under a formula 

allocation to States pursuant to 7 CFR 

part 1940, subpart L, ‘‘Methodology and 

Formulas for Allocation of Loan and 

Grant Program Funds.’’ Decisions on 

funding will be based on preapplication scores. Anyone interested in 

submitting a pre-application for funding 

under this program is encouraged to 

consult the Rural Development website, 

http://www.rd.usda.gov/programsservices/housing-preservation-grants, 

periodically for updated information 

regarding the status of funding 

authorized for this program. 

The commitment of program dollars 

will be made to selected applicants that 

have fulfilled the necessary 

requirements for obligation. 


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C. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants. Eligible entities 

for these competitively awarded grants 

include State and local Governments; 

non-profit corporations, which may 

include, but not be limited to FaithBased and community organizations; 

federally recognized Indian Tribes; and 

consortia of eligible entities. HPG 

applicants who were previously 

selected for HPG funds are eligible to 

submit new pre-applications to apply 

for FY 2021 HPG program funds. More 

eligibility requirements can be found at 

7 CFR 1944.658, 1944.661, 1944.662 and 

1944.686. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching. Pursuant 

to 7 CFR 1944.652, grantees are 

expected to coordinate and leverage 

funding for repair and rehabilitation 

activities; as well as replacement 

housing, with housing and community 

development organizations or activities 

operating in the same geographic area. 

While HPG funds may be leveraged with 

other resources, cost sharing or 

matching is not a requirement for the 

HPG applicant as the HPG applicant 

would not be denied an award of HPG 

funds if all other project selection 

criteria have been met. 

3. Other. Awards made under this 

Notice are subject to the provisions 

contained in the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116– 

260) sections 744 and 745, Division E 

‘‘Financial Services and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2021, 

Title VII ‘‘General Provisions— 

Government-wide,’’ regarding Corporate 

Felony Convictions and Corporate 

Federal Tax Delinquencies. To comply 

with these provisions, only applicants 

that are or propose to be, corporations 

will submit this form as part of their 

pre-application. Form AD–3030, 

‘‘Representations Regarding Felony 

Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status 

for Corporate Applicants,’’ can be found 

here: http://www.ocio.usda.gov/ 

document/ad3030. 

D. Pre-Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Pre-application 

Package: Applicants wishing to submit 

a paper pre-application in response to 

this Notice must contact the Rural 

Development State Office serving the 

State of the proposed HPG housing 

project in order to receive further 

information and copies of the paper preapplication package. You may find the 

addresses and contact information for 

each State Office following this link: 

http://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/ 

state-offices. Rural Development will 

date, and time stamp incoming paper 

pre-applications to evidence timely 

receipt and; upon request, will provide 

the applicant with a written 

acknowledgment of receipt (due to 

Covid–19, if submitting a paper preapplication, applicants must contact the 

applicable State Office to confirm 

mailing instructions). You may access 

the electronic grant pre-application for 

Housing Preservation Grants at: http://

www.grants.gov. 

2. Content and Form of Preapplication: 7 CFR part 1944, subpart N 

provides details on what information 

must be contained in the preapplication package. Entities wishing to 

apply for assistance should contact the 

Rural Development State Office to 

receive further information, the State 

allocation of funds, and copies of the 

pre-application package. Unless 

otherwise noted, applicants wishing to 

apply for assistance must make its 

statement of activities available to the 

public for comment. The applicant(s) 

must announce the availability of its 

statement of activities for review in a 

newspaper of general circulation in the 

project area and allow at least 15 days 

for public comment. The start of this 15- 

day period must occur no later than 16 

days prior to the last day for acceptance 

of pre-applications by the United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA)– 

Rural Development. Federally 

recognized Indian Tribes, pursuant to 7 

CFR 1944.674, are exempt from the 

requirement to consult with local 

leaders including announcing the 

availability of its statement of activities 

for review in a newspaper. 

All applicants will file an original 

copy of Standard Form (SF)–424, 

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance,’’ 

and supporting information with the 

appropriate Rural Development State 

Office. This form may be found on the 

USDA eForms website (https://

forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eForms/ 

welcomeAction.do?Home). A preapplication package; including SF–424, 

is available in any Rural Development 

State Office. All pre-applications shall 

be accompanied by the following 

information which Rural Development 

will use to determine the applicant’s 

eligibility to undertake the HPG 

program and to evaluate the preapplication under the project selection 

criteria of 7 CFR 1944.679. 

(a) A statement of activities proposed 

by the applicant for its HPG program as 

appropriate to the type of assistance the 

applicant is proposing, including: 

(1) A complete discussion of the type 

of and conditions for financial 

assistance for housing preservation, 

including whether the request for 

assistance is for a homeowner assistance 

program, a rental property assistance 

program, or a cooperative assistance 

program. 

(2) The process for selecting 

recipients for HPG assistance, 

determining housing preservation needs 

of the dwelling, performing the 

necessary work, and monitoring/ 

inspecting work performed. 

(3) A description of the process for 

coordinating with other public and 

private organizations and programs that 

provide assistance in rehabilitation of 

historic properties in accordance with 7 

CFR 1944.673. 

(4) The development standard(s) the 

applicant will use for the housing 

preservation work; and, if not the Rural 

Development standards for existing 

dwellings, the evidence of its 

acceptance by the jurisdiction where the 

grant will be implemented. 

(5) The time schedule for completing 

the program. 

(6) The staffing required to complete 

the program. 

(7) The estimated number of very lowand low-income minority and nonminority persons the grantee will assist 

with HPG funds; and, if a rental 

property or cooperative assistance 

program, the number of units and the 

term of restrictive covenants on their 

use for very low- and low-income. 

(8) The geographical area(s) to be 

served by the HPG program. 

(9) The annual estimated budget for 

the program period based on the 

financial needs to accomplish the 

objectives outlined in the proposal. The 

budget should include proposed direct 

and indirect administrative costs; such 

as personnel, fringe benefits, travel, 

equipment, supplies, contracts, and 

other cost categories, detailing those 

costs for which the grantee proposes to 

use the HPG grant separately from nonHPG resources, if any. The applicant 

budget should also include a schedule 

(with amounts) of how the applicant 

proposes to draw HPG grant funds, i.e., 

monthly, quarterly, lump sum for 

program activities, etc. 

(10) A copy of an indirect cost 

proposal when the applicant has 

another source of Federal funding in 

addition to the Rural Development HPG 

program. 

(11) A brief description of the 

accounting system to be used. 

(12) The method of evaluation to be 

used by the applicant to determine the 

effectiveness of its program which 

encompasses the requirements for 

quarterly reports to Rural Development 

in accordance with 7 CFR 1944.683(b) 

and the monitoring plan for rental 

properties and cooperatives (when 


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applicable) according to 7 CFR 

1944.689; 

(13) The source and estimated amount 

of other financial resources to be 

obtained and used by the applicant for 

both HPG activities and housing 

development and/or supporting 

activities. 

(14) The use of program income; if 

any, and the tracking system used for 

monitoring same. 

(15) The applicant’s plan for 

disposition of any security instruments 

held by them as a result of its HPG 

activities in the event of its loss of legal 

status. 

(16) Any other information necessary 

to explain the proposed HPG program; 

and 

(17) The outreach efforts outlined in 

7 CFR 1944.671(b). 

(b) Complete information about the 

applicant’s experience and capacity to 

carry out the objectives of the proposed 

HPG program. 

(c) Evidence of the applicant’s legal 

existence, including, in the case of a 

private non-profit organization; which 

may include, but not be limited to, 

Faith-Based and community 

organizations; a copy of, or an accurate 

reference to, the specific provisions of 

State law under which the applicant is 

organized; a certified copy of the 

applicant’s Articles of Incorporation and 

Bylaws or other evidence of corporate 

existence; certificate of incorporation for 

applicants other than public bodies; 

evidence of good standing from the 

State when the corporation has been in 

existence one year or more; and the 

names and addresses of the applicant’s 

members, directors and officers. If other 

organizations are members of the 

applicant-organization, or the applicant 

is a consortium, pre-applications should 

be accompanied by the names, 

addresses, and principal purpose of the 

other organizations. If the applicant is a 

consortium, documentation showing 

compliance with paragraph (4)(ii) under 

the definition of ‘‘organization’’ in 7 

CFR 1944.656 must also be included. 

(d) For a private non-profit entity; 

which may include, but not be limited 

to, Faith-Based and community 

organizations, the most recent audited 

statement and a current financial 

statement dated and signed by an 

authorized officer of the entity showing 

the amounts and specific nature of 

assets and liabilities together with 

information on the repayment schedule 

and status of any debt(s) owed by the 

applicant. 

(e) A brief narrative statement which 

includes information about the area to 

be served and the need for improved 

housing (including both percentage and 

the actual number of both low-income 

and low-income minority households 

and substandard housing), the need for 

the type of housing preservation 

assistance being proposed, the 

anticipated use of HPG resources for 

historic properties, the method of 

evaluation to be used by the applicant 

in determining the effectiveness of its 

efforts. 

(f) A statement containing the 

component for alleviating any 

overcrowding as defined by 7 CFR 

1944.656. 

(g) A signed copy of the 

documentation in accordance with 7 

CFR 1944.673 (as a companion to (a)(3) 

above). 

(h) The applicant must submit written 

statements and related correspondence 

reflecting compliance with 7 CFR 

1944.674(a) and (c) regarding 

consultation with local Government 

leaders in the preparation of its program 

and the consultation with local and 

State Government pursuant to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372. 

(i) The applicant is to make its 

statement of activities available to the 

public for comment prior to submission 

to Rural Development pursuant to 7 CFR 

1944.674(b). The pre-application must 

contain a description of how the 

comments (if any were received) were 

addressed. 

(j) The applicant must submit an 

original and one copy of Form RD 400– 

1, ‘‘Equal Opportunity Agreement’’ and 

Form RD 400–4, ‘‘Assurance 

Agreement’’ in accordance with 7 CFR 

1944.676. 

Applicants should review 7 CFR part 

1944, subpart N for a comprehensive list 

of all application requirements. 

3. System for Awards Management: 

All program applicants must be 

registered in the System for Awards 

Management (SAM) prior to submitting 

a pre-application, unless determined 

exempt under 2 CFR 25.110. You may 

register in SAM at no cost at https://

sam.gov/SAM/. Recipients must 

maintain an active SAM registration 

with current information at all times 

during which it has an active Federal 

award or an application under 

consideration by the Agency. The 

applicant must ensure that the 

information in the database is current, 

accurate and complete. Applicants must 

ensure they complete the Financial 

Assistance General Certifications and 

Representations in SAM. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: In 

accordance with 7 CFR 1944.674, the 

HPG program is subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

which requires intergovernmental 

consultation with State and local 

officials. Applications from Federally 

recognized Indian tribes are not subject 

to this requirement. 

5. Funding Restrictions: There are no 

limits on proposed direct and indirect 

costs. Expenses incurred in developing 

pre-applications will be at the 

applicant’s risk. 

6. Other Submission Requirements: 

USDA is participating as a partner in the 

Government-wide Grants.gov website. 

Housing Preservation Grants [Catalog of 

Federal Domestic Assistance #10.433] is 

one of the programs included at this 

website. If you are an applicant under 

the HPG program, you may submit your 

pre-application to the Agency in either 

electronic or paper format. Please be 

mindful that the pre-application 

deadline for electronic format differs 

from the deadline for paper format. The 

electronic format deadline will be based 

on Eastern Daylight Time. The paper 

format deadline is local time for each 

Rural Development State Office. 

Users of Grants.gov will be able to 

download a copy of the pre-application 

package, complete it offline, and then 

upload and submit the pre-application 

via the Grants.gov site. You may not 

email an electronic copy of a grant preapplication to USDA Rural 

Development; however, the Agency 

encourages your participation in 

Grants.gov. 

The following are useful tips and 

instructions on how to use the website: 

• When you enter the Grants.gov 

website, you will find information about 

submitting an application electronically 

through the website as well as the hours 

of operation. USDA-Rural Development 

strongly recommends that you do not 

wait until the pre-application deadline 

date to begin the application process 

through Grants.gov. To use Grants.gov, 

applicants must have a DUNS number. 

The DUNS number can be obtained at 

no cost via a toll-free request line at 

(866) 705–5711. 

• You may submit all documents 

electronically through the website, 

including all information typically 

included on the pre-application for 

HPG, and all necessary assurances and 

certifications. 

• After you electronically submit 

your pre-application through the 

website, you will receive an automatic 

acknowledgement from Grants.gov that 

contains a Grants.gov tracking number. 

• RHS may request that you provide 

original signatures on forms at a later 

date. 

• If you experience technical 

difficulties on the closing date and are 

unable to meet the 5:00 p.m. (Eastern 

Daylight Time) deadline, print out your 

pre-application and submit it to your 


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State Office; you must meet the closing 

date and local time deadline. 

• Please note that you must locate the 

downloadable pre-application package 

for this program by the CFDA Number 

or FedGrants Funding Opportunity 

Number, which can be found at http:// 

www.grants.gov. 

Please Note: If you receive a grant 

award under this Notice, USDA reserves 

the right to post all information that is 

not protected by the Privacy Act 

submitted as part of the pre-application/ 

application package on a public website 

with free and open access to any 

member of the public. 

E. Pre-Application Review Information 

1. Criteria. All paper pre-applications 

for Section 533 HPG funds must be filed 

with the appropriate Rural Development 

State Office and all paper or electronic 

pre-applications must meet the 

requirements of this Notice and 7 CFR 

part 1944, subpart N. Pre-applications 

determined not eligible and/or not 

meeting the selection criteria will be 

notified by the Rural Development State 

Office. 

2. Review and Selection Process. The 

Rural Development State Offices will 

utilize the following threshold project 

selection criteria for applicants in 

accordance with 7 CFR 1944.679: 

(a) Providing a financially feasible 

program of housing preservation 

assistance. ‘‘Financially feasible’’ is 

defined as proposed assistance which 

will be affordable to the intended 

recipient or result in affordable housing 

for very low- and low-income persons. 

(b) Serving eligible rural areas with a 

concentration of substandard housing 

for households of very low- and lowincome. 

(c) Being an eligible applicant as 

defined in 7 CFR 1944.658. 

(d) Meeting the requirements of 

consultation and public comment in 

accordance with 7 CFR 1944.674. 

(e) Submitting a complete preapplication as outlined in 7 CFR 

1944.676. 

3. Scoring. For applicants meeting all 

of the requirements listed above, the 

Rural Development State Offices will 

use weighted criteria in accordance with 

7 CFR part 1944, subpart N as selection 

for the grant recipients. Each preapplication and its accompanying 

statement of activities will be evaluated 

and, based solely on the information 

contained in the pre-application, the 

applicant’s proposal will be numerically 

rated on each criterion within the range 

provided. The highest-ranking 

applicant(s) will be selected based on 

allocation of funds available to the 

State. 

(a) Points are awarded based on the 

percentage of very low-income persons 

that the applicant proposes to assist, 

using the following scale: 

(1) More than 80%: 20 points 

(2) 61% to 80%: 15 points 

(3) 41% to 60%: 10 points 

(4) 20% to 40%: 5 points 

(5) Less than 20%: 0 points 

(b) The applicant’s proposal may be 

expected to result in the following 

percentage of HPG fund use (excluding 

administrative costs) to total cost of unit 

preservation. This percentage reflects 

maximum repair or rehabilitation with 

the least possible HPG funds due to 

leveraging, innovative financial 

assistance, owner’s contribution, or 

other specified approaches. Points are 

awarded based on the following 

percentage of HPG funds (excluding 

administrative costs) to total funds: 

(1) 50% or less: 20 points 

(2) 51% to 65%: 15 points 

(3) 66% to 80%: 10 points 

(4) 81% to 95%: 5 points 

(5) 96% to 100%: 0 points 

(c) The applicant has demonstrated its 

administrative capacity in assisting very 

low- and low-income persons to obtain 

adequate housing based on the 

following: 

(1) The organization or a member of 

its staff has at least one or more years 

experience successfully managing and 

operating a rehabilitation or 

weatherization type program: 10 points. 

(2) The organization or a member of 

its staff has at least one or more years 

experience successfully managing and 

operating a program assisting very lowand low-income persons obtain housing 

assistance: 10 points. 

(3) If the organization has 

administered grant programs, there are 

no outstanding or unresolved audit or 

investigative findings which might 

impair carrying out the proposal: 10 

points. 

(d) The proposed program will be 

undertaken entirely in rural areas 

outside Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

(MSAs) identified by Rural 

Development as having populations 

below 10,000 or in remote parts of other 

rural areas (i.e., rural areas contained in 

MSAs with less than 5,000 population) 

as defined in 7 CFR 1944.656: 10 points. 

(e) The program will use less than 20 

percent of HPG funds for administration 

purposes: 

(1) More than 20%: Not eligible 

(2) 20%: 0 points 

(3) 19%: 1 point 

(4) 18%: 2 points 

(5) 17%: 3 points 

(6) 16%: 4 points 

(7) 15% or less: 5 points 

(f) The proposed program contains a 

component for alleviating overcrowding 

as defined in 7 CFR 1944.656: 5 points. 

In the event more than one preapplication receives the same amount of 

points, those pre-applications will then 

be ranked based on the actual 

percentage figure used for determining 

the points in item (a) in the ‘‘Scoring’’ 

section of this Notice (7 CFR 1944.679 

(b)(1)). 

Example of 1st tie-break: 

Both Applicants score 80 points 

Applicant X’s percentage in ‘‘Scoring’’ 

section item (a) is 65% 

Applicant B’s percentage in ‘‘Scoring’’ 

section item (a) is 75% 

Applicant B is ranked higher than 

Applicant X 

Applicant B will be funded before 

Applicant X 

Further, in the event that preapplications are still tied, then those 

pre-applications still tied will be ranked 

based on the percentage figures used for 

determining the points in item (b) in the 

‘‘Scoring’’ section of this Notice (7 CFR 

1944.679 (b)(2)). 

Example of 2nd tie-break: 

Both Applicants score 80 points 

Both Applicants percentage in 

‘‘Scoring’’ section item (a) is 65% 

Applicant X’s percentage in ‘‘Scoring’’ 

section item (b) is 55% 

Applicant B’s percentage in ‘‘Scoring’’ 

section item (b) is 60% 

Applicant X is ranked with a lower 

percentage than Applicant B 

Applicant X will be funded before 

Applicant B 

Further, 7 CFR 1944.679 (c), for 

applications where HPG assistance to 

rental properties or co-ops is proposed, 

those still tied will be further ranked 

based on the number of years the units 

are available for occupancy under the 

program (a minimum of five years is 

required). For this part, ranking will be 

based from most to least number of 

years. 

Example of 3rd tie-break: 

Both Applicants score 80 points 

Both Applicants percentage in 

‘‘Scoring’’ section item (a) is 65% 

Both Applicants percentage in 

‘‘Scoring’’ section item (b) is 55% 

Applicant X’s rental unit will be 

available for occupancy under the 

program for 10 years 

Applicant B’s rental unit will be 

available for occupancy under the 

program for 5 years 

Applicant X is ranked higher than 

Applicant B 

Applicant X will be funded before 

Applicant B 

If any of the applicants that remain 

tied after the 1st and 2nd tie-breaks are 


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offering to assist single family owners, 

then the 3rd tie-break would not be 

applicable, and a lottery would be used 

to select the applicant to be funded. 

If there is still a tie after the first two 

[or three, when applicable] tie-breaks, 

then a lottery system will be used to 

select the applicant to be funded. The 

lottery will be conducted at the National 

Office. The lottery will consist of the 

names of each pre-application with 

equal scores printed onto a same size 

piece of paper, which will then be 

placed into a receptacle that fully 

obstructs the view of the names. The 

Director of the Production and 

Preservation Division, in the presence of 

two witnesses, will draw a piece of 

paper from the receptacle. The name on 

the piece of paper drawn will be the 

applicant to be funded. 

After the award selections are made, 

all applicants will be notified of the 

status of their pre-applications by mail 

with form AD–622 Form, ‘‘Notice of PreApplication Review Action.’’ Applicants 

will be given their review rights or 

appeal rights in accordance with 7 CFR 

1944.682. 

F. Federal Award Administration 

Information 

1. Federal Award Notices. The Agency 

will notify; in writing, applicants whose 

pre-applications have been selected for 

funding. At the time of notification, the 

Agency will advise the applicant what 

further information and documentation 

is required along with a timeline for 

submitting the additional information. If 

the Agency determines it is unable to 

select the pre-application for funding, 

the applicant will be informed in 

writing. Such notification will include 

the reasons the applicant was not 

selected. The Agency will advise 

applicants, whose pre-applications did 

not meet eligibility and/or selection 

criteria, of their review rights or appeal 

rights in accordance with 7 CFR 

1944.682. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements. Rural Development is 

encouraging applications for projects 

that will support rural areas with 

persistent poverty. This emphasis will 

support Rural Development’s mission of 

improving the quality of life for Rural 

Americans and commitment to directing 

resources to those who most need them. 

(a) The following additional 

requirements apply to grantees selected 

for this program: 

(1) Complete Form RD 1942–46 

‘‘Letter of Intent to Meet Conditions.’’ 

(2) Complete Form RD 1940–1, 

‘‘Request for Obligations of Funds.’’ 

(3) Complete FMMI Vendor Code 

Request Form. 

(4) Provide a copy of your 

organization’s Negotiated Indirect Cost 

Rate Agreement. 

(5) Certify that all work completed for 

the award will benefit a rural area. 

(6) Certify that you will comply with 

the Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2006 and report 

information about subawards and 

executive compensation. 

(7) Certify that the U.S. has not 

obtained an outstanding judgement 

against your organization in a Federal 

Court (other than in the United States 

Tax Court). 

(8) Execute Form SF–424B, 

‘‘Assurance—Non-Construction 

Programs.’’ 

(9) Execute Form SF–LLL, ‘‘Disclosure 

Form to Report Lobbying,’’ if applicable 

or certify that your organization does 

not lobby. 

(b) The applicant must provide 

evidence of compliance with other 

federal statutes, including but not 

limited to the following: 

(1) Debarment and suspension 

information is required in accordance 

with 2 CFR part 417 (Nonprocurement 

Debarment and Suspension) 

supplemented by 2 CFR part 180, if it 

applies. The section heading is ‘‘What 

information must I provide before 

entering into a covered transaction with 

a Federal agency?’’ located at 2 CFR 

180.335. It is part of OMB’s Guidance 

for Grants and Agreements concerning 

Government-wide Debarment and 

Suspension. 

(2) All of your organization’s known 

workplaces by including the actual 

address of buildings (or parts of 

buildings) or other sites where work 

under the award takes place. Workplace 

identification is required under the 

drug-free workplace requirements in 

Subpart B of 2 CFR part 421, which 

adopts the Governmentwide 

implementation (2 CFR part 182) of the 

Drug-Free Workplace Act. 

(3) 2 CFR parts 200 and 400 (Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards). 

(4) 2 CFR part 182 (Governmentwide 

Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace 

(Financial Assistance)) and 2 CFR part 

421 (Requirements for Drug Free 

Workplace (Financial Assistance)). 

(5) Executive Order 13166, 

‘‘Improving Access to Services for 

Persons with Limited English 

Proficiency.’’ For information on limited 

English proficiency and agency-specific 

guidance, go to http://www.lep.gov. 

The following forms for acceptance of 

a federal award are now collected 

through your registration or annual 

recertification in SAM.gov in the 

Financial Assistance General 

Certifications and Representations 

section: 

• Form RD 400–4, ‘‘Assurance 

Agreement.’’ 

• Form AD–1047, ‘‘Certification 

Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and 

Other Responsibility Matters-Primary 

Covered Transactions.’’ 

• Form AD–1048, ‘‘Certification 

Regarding Debarment, Suspension, 

Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion. 

Lower Tier Covered Transactions.’’ 

• Form AD–1049, ‘‘Certification 

Regarding Drug-Free Workplace 

Requirements (Grants).’’ 

• Form AD–3031, ‘‘Assurance 

Regarding Felony Conviction or Tax 

Delinquent Status for Corporate 

Applicants.’’ 

3. Reporting. Post-award reporting 

requirements can be found in the Grant 

Agreement. The grantee will provide an 

audit report or financial statements in 

accordance with Uniform Audit 

Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 

CFR part 200, subpart F. 

G. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The reporting requirements contained 

in this Notice have been approved by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

under OMB Number 0575–0115. 

H. Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and USDA civil rights 

regulations and policies, the USDA, its 

Agencies, offices, and employees and 

institutions participating in or 

administering USDA programs are 

prohibited from discrimination based on 

race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity, (including gender 

expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/ 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior 

civil rights activity, in any program or 

activity conducted or funded by USDA 

(not all bases apply to all programs). 

Remedies and complaint filing 

deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, American Sign 

Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET 

Center, at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or contact USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service, at (800) 877– 

8339. Additionally, program 

information may be made available in 

languages other than English. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form AD– 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
29560 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 104 / Wednesday, June 2, 2021 / Notices 

3027 (PDF), found online at: https://

www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-aprogram-discrimination-complaint, and 

at any USDA office or write a letter 

addressed to USDA and provide in the 

letter all of the information requested in 

the form. To request a copy of the 

complaint form, call (866) 632–9992. 

Submit your completed form or letter to 

USDA by: 

(1) Mail: United States Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; 

(2) Fax: (202) 690–7442; or 

(3) Email: OAC@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Chadwick Parker, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11564 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Foreign-Trade Zones Board 

[B–42–2021] 

Foreign-Trade Zone 249—Pensacola, 

Florida; Application for Reorganization 

and Expansion Under Alternative Site 

Framework 

An application has been submitted to 

the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board by 

the Pensacola-Escambia County 

Promotion & Development Commission, 

grantee of FTZ 249, requesting authority 

to reorganize and expand the zone 

under the alternative site framework 

(ASF) adopted by the FTZ Board (15 

CFR 400.2(c)). The ASF is an option for 

grantees for the establishment or 

reorganization of zones and can permit 

significantly greater flexibility in the 

designation of new subzones or ‘‘usagedriven’’ FTZ sites for operators/users 

located within a grantee’s ‘‘service area’’ 

in the context of the FTZ Board’s 

standard 2,000-acre activation limit for 

a zone. The application was submitted 

pursuant to the Foreign-Trade Zones 

Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a–81u), 

and the regulations of the Board (15 CFR 

part 400). It was formally docketed on 

May 26, 2021. 

FTZ 249 was approved by the FTZ 

Board on May 23, 2001 (Board Order 

1167, 66 FR 30408, June 6, 2001. The 

current zone includes the following 

sites: Site 1 (40 acres)—Port of 

Pensacola, 700 S. Barracks Street, 

Pensacola; Site 2 (1,400 acres)— 

Pensacola Regional Airport Complex, 

2430 Airport Boulevard, Pensacola; Site 

3 (70 acres)—Pensacola Shipyard 

Marine Complex, 700 South Myrick 

Street, Pensacola; Site 4 (10 acres)—FDC 

Industrial Warehouse, 10 Spruce Street, 

Pensacola; and, Site 5 (140 acres)— 

Century Industrial Park, Escambia 

County Road 4 and Industrial 

Boulevard, Century. 

The grantee’s proposed service area 

under the ASF would be Escambia, 

Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties, 

Florida, as described in the application. 

If approved, the grantee would be able 

to serve sites throughout the service area 

based on companies’ needs for FTZ 

designation. The application indicates 

that the proposed service area is within 

and adjacent to the Pensacola U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection port of 

entry. 

The applicant is requesting authority 

to reorganize its existing zone to include 

Sites 1, 2, 3 and 5 as ‘‘magnet’’ sites and 

that Site 4 be removed. The ASF allows 

for the possible exemption of one 

magnet site from the ‘‘sunset’’ time 

limits that generally apply to sites under 

the ASF, and the applicant proposes 

that Site 1 be so exempted. The 

applicant is also requesting approval of 

the following ‘‘usage-driven’’ sites for 

SnackCrate, Inc.: Site 6 (1 acre)—201 

East Wright Street, Pensacola; Site 7 (1 

acre)—3330 Bill Metzger Lane, 

Pensacola; and, Site 8 (1 acre)—3867 

Palafox Street, Pensacola. The 

application would have no impact on 

FTZ 249’s previously authorized 

subzone. 

In accordance with the FTZ Board’s 

regulations, Christopher Kemp of the 

FTZ Staff is designated examiner to 

evaluate and analyze the facts and 

information presented in the application 

and case record and to report findings 

and recommendations to the FTZ Board. 

Public comment is invited from 

interested parties. Submissions shall be 

addressed to the FTZ Board’s Executive 

Secretary and sent to: ftz@trade.gov. The 

closing period for their receipt is August 

2, 2021. Rebuttal comments in response 

to material submitted during the 

foregoing period may be submitted 

during the subsequent 15-day period to 

August 16, 2021. 

A copy of the application will be 

available for public inspection in the 

‘‘Reading Room’’ section of the FTZ 

Board’s website, which is accessible via 

www.trade.gov/ftz. For further 

information, contact Christopher Kemp 

at Christopher.Kemp@trade.gov. 

Dated: May 26, 2021. 

Elizabeth Whiteman, 

Acting Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11538 Filed 6–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

Advisory Committee on Supply Chain 

Competitiveness: Notice of Public 

Meetings 

AGENCY: International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the 

schedule and proposed topics of 

discussion for the upcoming public 

meeting of the Advisory Committee on 

Supply Chain Competitiveness 

(Committee). 

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 

24, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via Webex. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Boll, Office of Supply Chain, 

Professional & Business Services 

(OSCPBS), International Trade 

Administration. Telephone: 202–482– 

1135. Email: richard.boll@trade.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The Committee was 

established under the discretionary 

authority of the Secretary of Commerce 

and in accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

App.). It provides advice to the 

Secretary of Commerce on the necessary 

elements of a comprehensive policy 

approach to supply chain 

competitiveness and on regulatory 

policies and programs and investment 

priorities that affect the competitiveness 

of U.S. supply chains. For more 

information about the Committee visit: 

https://www.trade.gov/acscc. 

Matters To Be Considered: Committee 

members are expected to continue 

discussing the major competitivenessrelated topics raised at the previous 

Committee meetings, including supply 

chain resilience and congestion; trade 

and competitiveness; freight movement 

and policy; trade innovation; regulatory 

issues; finance and infrastructure; and 

workforce development. The 

Committee’s subcommittees will report 

on the status of their work regarding 

these topics. The agenda may change to 

accommodate other Committee 

business. The Office of Supply Chain, 

Professional & Business Services will 

post the final detailed agenda on its 

website, https://www.trade.gov/acscc, at 

least one week prior to the meeting. 

The meeting is open to the public and 

press on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Space is limited. Please contact Richard 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES