This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

44897 

Vol. 73, No. 149 

Friday, August 1, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Cooperative State Research, 

Education, and Extension Service 

7 CFR Part 3430 

RIN 0524–AA28 

Competitive and Noncompetitive Nonformula Grant Programs—General 

Grant Administrative Provisions and 

Program-Specific Administrative 

Provisions for the Specialty Crop 

Research Initiative 

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research, 

Education, and Extension Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim Rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Cooperative State 

Research, Education, and Extension 

Service (CSREES) is publishing one set 

of administrative requirements that 

contain elements common to all of the 

competitive and noncompetitive nonformula grant programs the Agency 

administers as an interim rule. Although 

this interim rule becomes effective on 

the date of publication, CSREES is 

requesting comments for a 60-day 

period as identified below. In a 

relatively short period of time, this will 

allow CSREES to apply basic rules to 

grant programs that are currently 

operating without them, including new 

non-formula grant programs created by 

the passage of the Food, Conservation, 

and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) (Pub. L. 

110–234) and to efficiently implement 

changes to programs with existing 

regulations as required by FCEA. The 

provisions in subparts A through E will 

serve as a single Agency resource 

codifying current practices simply and 

coherently for almost all CSREES 

competitive and noncompetitive nonformula grant programs except the 

Small Business Innovation Research 

(SBIR) Program. As specific rules are 

developed for each CSREES grant 

program, CSREES will propose adding a 

subpart for that Federal assistance 

program to this regulation. This interim 

rule is being published with a first set 

of program-specific grant regulations as 

subpart F for the Specialty Research 

Crop Initiative, authorized under 

section 7311 of FCEA. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective 

August 1, 2008. The Agency must 

receive comments on or before 

September 30, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0524–AA28, by any of 

the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

E-mail: RFP-OEP@reeusda.gov. 

Include Regulatory Information Number 

(RIN) number 0524–AA28 in the subject 

line of the message. 

Fax: 202–401–7752. 

Mail: Paper, disk or CD–ROM 

submissions should be submitted to 

Cooperative State Research, Education, 

and Extension Service, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, STOP 2299, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–2299. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Cooperative 

State Research, Education, and 

Extension Service, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Room 2258, Waterfront 

Centre, 800 9th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and the 

RIN for this rulemaking. All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Daly, Policy Section Leader, Office of 

Extramural Programs, Cooperative State 

Research, Education, and Extension 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

STOP 2299, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

2299; Voice: 202–401–3319; Fax: 202– 

401–7752; E-mail: 

edaly@csrees.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Summary 

Authority 

This rulemaking is authorized by 

section 1470 of the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Teaching Policy Act of 1977 

(NARETPA), as amended, Public Law 

95–113 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). It 

furthers the streamlining and 

standardization efforts initiated by the 

Federal Financial Assistance 

Management Improvement Act of 1999, 

Public Law 106–107 (31 U.S.C. 6101 

note) which sunset in November 2007, 

and is in accordance with the efforts of 

CSREES and the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) to streamline and 

simplify the entire grants process while 

meeting the ever-increasing 

accountability and transparency 

standards. 

Context 

CSREES has published administrative 

provisions specific to some of the nonformula grant programs it administers. 

These provisions appear in Parts 3400, 

Special Research Grants Program; 3401, 

Rangeland Research Grants Program; 

3402, Food and Agricultural Sciences 

National Needs Graduate and 

Postgraduate Fellowship Grants 

Program; 3405, Higher Education 

Challenge Grants Program; 3406, 1890 

Institution Capacity Building Grants 

Program; 3411, National Research 

Initiative Competitive Grants Program; 

and 3415, Biotechnology Risk 

Assessment Research Grants Program of 

7 CFR. This interim rule will not apply 

to the Small Business Research 

Innovation (SBIR) Program with 

implementing regulations codified at 7 

CFR 3403. Where the interim 

administrative provisions conflict with 

existing regulations for CSREES 

administered non-formula grant 

programs, the existing regulations (i.e., 

7 CFR parts 3400 through 3402, 3405, 

3406, 3411, and 3415) for these 

programs will supersede until the 

regulation is cancelled or the subpart for 

that specific program is promulgated 

under this part. 

Purpose 

A primary function of CSREES is the 

fair, effective, and efficient 

administration of Federal assistance 

programs implementing agricultural 

research, education, and extension 

programs. The Agency’s development 

and publication of regulations for its 

non-formula grant programs enhance its 

accountability and standardize 

procedures across the grant programs it 

administers while providing 

transparency to the public. More than 


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thirty grant programs administered by 

CSREES are not currently governed by 

administrative provisions; and CSREES’

existing administrative provisions fail to 

take advantage of basic similarities 

between non-formula grant programs 

and the Federal government-wide efforts 

to standardize and streamline the entire 

grant process from pre-award through 

closeout and post-award. The 

cumulative effect is duplicative, 

confusing language, contrary to the 

needs and demands of applicants and 

grantees for consistent and clear grant 

policies and procedures. 

This rulemaking attempts to solve the 

problem by addressing the elements 

common to all of the competitive and 

noncompetitive grant programs CSREES 

administers. In this way, the Agency can 

apply basic rules to grant programs that 

are currently operating without them as 

well as quickly implement regulations 

for any new program. In addition, this 

rule will serve as a single resource, 

except for the SBIR and formula grant 

programs, that codifies current 

processes simply and coherently. 

This interim rule will allow CSREES 

to finally document and codify the grant 

policies and business practices it sought 

to standardize and streamline in concert 

with other Federal grant-making 

agencies in response to various laws 

(including Pub. L. 106–107), 

regulations, and Presidential, 

Departmental, and Agency directives 

and initiatives. As of fiscal year 2008, 

CSREES publishes program solicitations 

or Requests For Applications (RFAs) in 

an Agency-wide template (incorporating 

the Federal government-wide 

requirements and standards) on the 

Grants.gov web site; accepts all 

applications (using the SF–424 form 

families) via Grants.gov; requires all 

competitive and noncompetitive nonformula programs to submit all progress 

and final technical reports via the 

Current Research Information System 

(CRIS); and as of July 1, 2008, 

implemented a more comprehensive 

and updated set of award terms and 

conditions that are consistent with other 

Federal grant-making agencies, yet 

address the unique needs of CSREES 

programs and USDA and CSREES 

business practices. These interim rules 

also address various issues related to 

audit findings and recommendations 

from the USDA Office of Inspector 

General (e.g., timely closeout of expired 

awards and restriction of grant funds 90 

days after the expiration date). In 

response to Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Circular A–123 on 

Internal Controls, Improper Payment 

Information Act (IPIA), and other 

oversight and monitoring requirements, 

CSREES is seeking to clearly establish 

and implement monitoring and 

oversight procedures and systems to 

ensure that Federal assistance funds are 

being efficiently and effectively 

expended in accordance with program 

authorities and Federal assistance laws 

and regulations. 

Alternatives 

CSREES considered publishing 

separate rules for each uncovered grant 

program. However, this would defeat 

the purposes of recent laws, regulations, 

and Presidential, Departmental, and 

Agency initiatives to standardize and 

streamline the entire grant cycle. 

Furthermore, it would be a time 

consuming practice to draft and publish 

a final rule for each uncovered program. 

On the other hand, this interim rule 

provides clearer, more consistent and 

effective grant policies and procedures 

for the grantee which will contribute to 

more efficient and effective program 

delivery and potentially result in less 

audit findings and disallowed costs. The 

Agency expects this interim rule to 

contribute and facilitate more consistent 

processes across grant programs within 

CSREES and across USDA and the 

Federal government. By making better 

use of standard administrative 

provisions, CSREES also anticipates 

being able to publish clearer and more 

consistent RFAs within a shorter time 

frame and provide applicants, grantees, 

staff, and the public with one 

comprehensive set of administrative 

provisions. 

Compliance 

Once implemented, applicants who 

fail to comply with the new 

administrative provisions may not have 

their applications considered for 

funding by CSREES, may have their 

grant suspended or terminated, or may 

be billed for disallowed costs. This 

penalty provision can be enforced and 

is critical to CSREES’ fair, effective, and 

efficient administration of grant 

programs. It is anticipated that having 

one set of administrative provisions 

codified in one part will assist 

applicants and grantees in 

understanding and complying with 

Federal assistance laws and regulations, 

as well as the intent of the authorizing 

regulation. 

Organization 

CSREES organized the regulation as 

follows: Subparts A through E provide 

administrative provisions for all 

competitive and noncompetitive nonformula grants. Subparts F and 

thereafter apply to specific CSREES 

programs and are organized in the 

following groups: Research programs 

(i.e., programs with a predominantly 

research focus), education and 

multicultural programs, extension 

programs, integrated programs (i.e., 

programs that statutorily require the 

integration of two or more 

components—research, education, or 

extension); and other programs. See 

section 3430.2 below for definitions 

(e.g., research, extension, and 

education). 

CSREES is, to the extent practical, 

using the following subpart template for 

each program authority: (1) 

Applicability of regulations, (2) 

purpose, (3) eligibility, (4) definitions 

(those in addition to or different from 

3430.2), (5) project types and priorities, 

(6) funding restrictions (including 

indirect costs), and (7) matching 

requirements. Subparts F and thereafter 

contain the above seven components in 

this order. Additional sections may be 

added for a specific program if there are 

additional requirements or a need for 

additional rules for the program (e.g., 

additional reporting requirements). 

Subpart F—Specialty Crop Research 

Initiative 

As stated above, this interim 

rulemaking includes the programspecific rules as subpart F for the 

Specialty Crop Research Initiative 

(SRCI) which is authorized under 

section 7311 of FCEA. 

Through this program-specific 

regulation under subpart F, § 3430.202, 

CSREES is defining ‘‘integrated’’ and 

‘‘specialty crop.’’ Subpart F also 

provides that individual applicants 

must be U.S. citizens or a national of the 

United States and excludes foreign or 

international organizations. Section 

3430.204 provides that CSREES can 

develop and implement new activities 

and focus areas not identified in 

3430.201 based on input provided by 

stakeholders and as determined by 

CSREES. Section 3430.205 states the 

specific program restrictions and 

clarifies the indirect cost policy for the 

SCRI Program. Section 3430.206 states 

the specific matching requirements for 

this program and that these matching 

requirements cannot be waived. 

Timeline for Implementing Regulations 

CSREES is publishing this rule as 

interim with a 60-day comment period 

and anticipates a final rule by March 1, 

2009. However, in the interim, these 

regulations apply to all CSREES 

competitive and noncompetitive nonformula programs (except for the 

programs implemented by 7 CFR Part 

3400, Special Research Grants Program; 

7 CFR Part 3401, Rangeland Research 


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Grants Program; 7 CFR Part 3402, Food 

and Agricultural Sciences National 

Needs Graduate and Postgraduate 

Fellowship Grants Program; 7 CFR Part 

3405, Higher Education Challenge 

Grants Program; 7 CFR Part 3406, 1890 

Institution Capacity Building Grants 

Program; 7 CFR Part 3411, National 

Research Initiative Competitive Grants 

Program; and 7 CFR Part 3415, 

Biotechnology Risk Assessment 

Research Grants Program) until the 

regulations for these programs (i.e., the 

individual subparts) are in effect or 

superseded by statute). As stated 

previously, this regulation will not 

apply to 7 CFR Part 3403, Small 

Business Innovation Research Grants 

Program. Within the next 18 months, 

CSREES plans to cancel some of the 

existing program-specific regulations 

identified in 7 CFR and incorporate 

these program-specific regulations as 

separate subparts under this part. In 

addition, CSREES is currently drafting a 

CSREES Grants Policy Manual, which 

while incorporating the regulations 

under this part, will provide more 

specific instructions, detailed 

explanations, and background for 

potential applicants, grantees, Agency 

and Departmental staff, and the public. 

II. Administrative Requirements for the 

Proposed Rulemaking 

Executive Order 12866 

This action has been determined not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866, and therefore, has not 

been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget. This interim 

rule will not materially alter the 

budgetary impact of entitlements, 

grants, user fees, or loan programs; nor 

will it have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more; nor 

will it adversely affect the economy, a 

sector of the economy, productivity, 

competition, jobs, the environment, 

public health or safety, or State, local, 

or tribal governments or communities in 

a material way. Furthermore, it does not 

raise a novel legal or policy issue arising 

out of legal mandates, the President’s 

priorities or principles set forth in the 

Executive Order. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 

This interim rule has been reviewed 

in accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended by 

the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 

U.S.C. 601–612. The Department 

concluded that the rule does not involve 

regulatory and informational 

requirements regarding businesses, 

organizations, and governmental 

jurisdictions subject to regulation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

The Department certifies that this 

interim rule has been assessed in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq. (PRA). The Department 

concludes that this interim rule does not 

impose any new information 

requirements; however, the burden 

estimates will increase for existing 

approved information collections 

associated with this rule due to 

additional applicants. These estimates 

will be provided to OMB. In addition to 

the SF–424 form families (i.e., Research 

and Related and Mandatory), SF–272, 

Federal Cash Transactions Report, and 

SF–269, Financial Status Reports; 

CSREES has three currently approved 

OMB information collections associated 

with this rulemaking: OMB Information 

Collection No. 0524–0042, CSREES 

Current Research Information System 

(CRIS); No. 0524–0041, CSREES 

Application Review Process; and No. 

0524–0026, Assurance of Compliance 

with the Department of Agriculture 

Regulations Assuring Civil Rights 

Compliance and Organizational 

Information. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

This interim regulation applies to the 

following Federal assistance programs 

administered by CSREES including 

10.309, Specialty Crop Research 

Initiative. 

The National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 

The Department certifies this interim 

rule has been assessed in accordance 

with the requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (NEPA). The 

Department concludes that the NEPA 

requirements do not apply to this 

rulemaking because this interim rule 

includes no provisions impacting the 

maintenance, preservation or 

enhancement of a healthful 

environment. 

Federal Regulations and Policies on 

Families 

The Department has reviewed this 

interim rule in accordance with the 

requirements of section 654 of the 

Treasury and general Government 

Appropriations Act of 1999, 5 U.S.C. 

601 note. This interim regulation was 

not found to have a potential negative 

effect on family well-being as it is 

defined thereunder. 

Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental and 

Safety Risk 

The Department certifies that this 

interim rule has been assessed regarding 

the environmental health risks and 

safety risks that may disproportionately 

affect children. This interim regulation 

was not found to have a negative affect 

on the health and safety of children. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

and Executive Order 13132 

The Department has reviewed this 

interim rule in accordance with the 

requirements of Executive Order No. 

13132, 64 FR 43225 (August 10, 1999) 

and the Unfunded Mandates Act of 

1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., and has 

found no potential or substantial direct 

effects on the States, on the relationship 

between the national government and 

the States, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. As there 

is no Federal mandate contained herein 

that could result in increased 

expenditures by State, local tribal 

governments or by the private sector, 

the department has not prepared a 

budgetary impact statement. 

Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

The Department has reviewed this 

interim rule in accordance with 

Executive Order 13175, 65 FR 67249 

(Nov. 9, 2000), and has determined that 

it does not have ‘‘tribal implications.’’

The interim rule does not ‘‘have 

substantial direct effects on one or more 

Indian tribes, on the relationship 

between the Federal government and 

Indian Tribes, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities between the 

Federal government and Indian tribes.’’

Executive Order 12630: Governmental 

Actions and Interference With 

Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights 

The Department has reviewed this 

interim rule in accordance with 

Executive Order 12630, 53 FR 8859 

(Mar. 15, 1988) and has determined that 

it does not contain any ‘‘policies that 

have takings implications in regard to 

the licensing, permitting, or other 

condition requirements or limitations 

on private property use, or that require 

dedications or exactions from owners of 

private property.’’

Executive Order 13211: Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

The Department has reviewed this 

interim regulation and has determined 

that the provisions of Executive Order 


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13211, 66 FR 28355 (May 18, 2001), are 

not applicable as this is not a significant 

regulatory action and there are no direct 

or implied effects on energy supply, 

distribution, or use. 

Clarity of This Regulation 

Executive Order 12866, 58 FR 51735 

(September 30, 1993), and the 

President’s memorandum of June 1, 

1998, require each agency to write all 

rules in plain language. The Department 

invites comments on how to make this 

interim rule easier to understand. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 3430 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Agricultural research, 

Education, Extension, Federal 

assistance. 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Cooperative State 

Research, Education, and Extension 

Service is amending chapter XXXIV of 

title 7 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations to add part 3430 to read as 

follows: 

PART 3430—COMPETITIVE AND 

NONCOMPETITIVE NON-FORMULA 

GRANT PROGRAMS—GENERAL 

GRANT ADMINISTRATION 

PROVISIONS 

Subpart A—General Information 

Sec. 

3430.1 Applicability of regulations. 

3430.2 Definitions. 

3430.3 Deviations. 

3430.4 Other applicable statutes and 

regulations. 

Subpart B—Pre-Award: Solicitation and 

Application 

3430.11 Competition. 

3430.12 Requests for applications. 

3430.13 Letter of intent to submit an 

application. 

3430.14 Types of applications; types of 

grants instruments. 

3430.15 Stakeholder input. 

3430.16 Eligibility requirements. 

3430.17 Content of an application. 

3430.18 Submission of an application. 

3430.19 Resubmission of an application. 

3430.20 Acknowledgment of an 

application. 

3430.21 Confidentiality of applications and 

awards. 

Subpart C—Pre-Award: Application Review 

and Evaluation 

3430.31 Guiding principles. 

3430.32 Preliminary application review. 

3430.33 Selection of reviewers. 

3430.34 Evaluation criteria. 

3430.35 Review of noncompetitive 

applications. 

3430.36 Procedures to minimize or 

eliminate duplication of effort. 

3430.37 Feedback to applicants. 

Subpart D—Award 

3430.41 Administration. 

Subpart E—Post-Award and Closeout 

3430.51 Payment. 

3430.52 Cost sharing and matching. 

3430.53 Program income. 

3430.54 Technical reporting. 

3430.55 Financial reporting. 

3430.56 Project meetings. 

3430.57 Hearings and appeals. 

3430.58 Closeout procedures. 

Research Programs 

Subpart F—Specialty Crop Research 

Initiative 

3430.200 Applicability of regulations. 

3430.201 Purpose. 

3430.202 Definitions. 

3430.203 Eligibility. 

3430.204 Project types and priorities. 

3430.205 Funding restrictions. 

3430.206 Matching requirements. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 3316; Pub. L. 106–107 

(31 U.S.C. 6101 note) 

Subpart A—General Information 

§ 3430.1 Applicability of regulations. 

(a) This part provides agency specific 

regulations regarding the application 

for, evaluation, award, and post-award 

administration of Cooperative State 

Research, Education, and Extension 

Service (CSREES) awards, and are 

supplementary to the uniform assistance 

regulations at 7 CFR parts 3016 (State, 

local, and tribal governments), 3019 

(institutions of higher education, 

hospitals, and nonprofits), and 3015 (all 

others), as applicable. 

(b) Competitive programs. This part 

applies to all agricultural research, 

education, and extension competitive 

and related programs for which the 

Cooperative State Research, Education, 

and Extension Service (CSREES) has 

administrative or other authority, as 

well as any other Federal assistance 

program delegated to the CSREES 

administrator. In cases where 

regulations of this part conflict with 

existing regulations of CSREES in title 7 

(i.e., 7 CFR parts 3400 through 3499) of 

the Code of Federal Regulations, 

regulations of this part shall supersede. 

This part does not apply to the Small 

Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 

Program. 

(c) Noncompetitive programs. 

Subparts A, B, D, and E of this part, as 

well as § 3430.35, apply to all 

noncompetitive agricultural research, 

education, and extension programs 

administered by CSREES, as well as any 

other Federal assistance program 

delegated to the CSREES administrator. 

(d) Grant programs administered on 

behalf of other agencies. Subparts A 

through E of this part, as appropriate, 

apply to competitive and 

noncompetitive grants administered on 

behalf of other agencies of the Federal 

government. Requirements specific to 

these grant programs will be included in 

the program solicitations or RFAs. 

(e) Grant programs administered 

jointly with other agencies. Subparts A 

through E of this part, as appropriate, 

apply to competitive and 

noncompetitive grants administered 

jointly with other agencies of the 

Federal government. Requirements 

specific to these grant programs will be 

included in the appropriate program 

solicitations or RFAs published by both 

or either agency. 

(f) Formula fund grants programs. 

This part does not apply to any of the 

formula grant programs administered by 

CSREES. Formula funds are the research 

funds provided to 1862 land-grant 

institutions and agricultural experiment 

stations under the Hatch Act of 1887 (7 

U.S.C. 361a, et seq.); extension funds 

provided to 1862 land-grant institutions 

under sections 3(b) and 3(c)) of the 

Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(b) and 

(c)) and section 208(c) of the District of 

Columbia Public Postsecondary 

Education Reorganization Act, Public 

Law 93–471; agricultural extension and 

research funds provided to 1890 landgrant institutions under sections 1444 

and 1445 of the National Agricultural 

Research, Extension, and Teaching 

Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA) (7 U.S.C. 

3221 and 3222); expanded food and 

nutrition education program funds 

authorized under section 3(d) of the 

Smith-Lever Act to the 1862 land-grant 

institutions and the 1890 land-grant 

institutions; extension funds under the 

Renewable Resources Extension Act for 

the 1862 land-grant institutions and the 

1890 land-grant institutions; research 

funds provided to forestry schools 

under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative 

Forestry Research Act of 1962 (16 U.S.C. 

582a, et seq.); and animal health and 

disease research funds provided to 

veterinary schools and agricultural 

experiment stations under section 1433 

of NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3195). 

§ 3430.2 Definitions. 

As used in this part: 

1862 Land-Grant Institution means an 

institution eligible to receive funds 

under the Act of July 2, 1862, as 

amended (7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.). Unless 

otherwise stated for a specific program, 

this term includes a research foundation 

maintained by such an institution. 

1890 Land-Grant Institution means 

one of those institutions eligible to 

receive funds under the Act of August 

30, 1890, as amended (7 U.S.C. 321 et 

seq.), including Tuskegee University 

and West Virginia State University. 


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Unless otherwise stated for a specific 

program, this term includes a research 

foundation maintained by such an 

institution. 

1994 Land-Grant Institution means 

one of those institutions as defined in 

section 532 of the Equity in Educational 

Land-Grant Status Act of 1994, as 

amended (7 U.S.C. 301 note). These 

institutions are commonly referred to as 

Tribal Colleges or Universities. 

Administrator means the 

Administrator of the Cooperative State 

Research, Education, and Extension 

Service (CSREES) and any other officer 

or employee of the CSREES to whom the 

authority involved is delegated. 

Advisory Board means the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, 

Education, and Economics Advisory 

Board. 

Agricultural research means research 

in the food and agricultural sciences. 

Applied research means research that 

includes expansion of the findings of 

fundamental research to uncover 

practical ways in which new knowledge 

can be advanced to benefit individuals 

and society. 

Authorized Departmental Officer or 

ADO means the Secretary or any 

employee of the Department with 

delegated authority to issue or modify 

grant instruments on behalf of the 

Secretary. 

Authorized Representative or AR 

means the President or Chief Executive 

Officer of the applicant organization or 

the official, designated by the President 

or Chief Executive Officer of the 

applicant organization, who has the 

authority to commit the resources of the 

organization to the project. 

Budget period means the interval of 

time (usually 12 months) into which the 

project period is divided for budgetary 

and reporting purposes. 

Cash contributions means the 

recipient’s cash outlay, including the 

outlay of money contributed to the 

recipient by non-Federal third parties. 

Citizen or national of the United 

States means a citizen or native resident 

of a State; or, a person defined in the 

Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 

U.S.C. 1101(a)(22), who, though not a 

citizen of the United States, owes 

permanent allegiance to the United 

States. When eligibility is claimed 

solely on the basis of permanent 

allegiance, documentary evidence from 

the Immigration and Naturalization 

Service as to such eligibility must be 

made available to CSREES upon request. 

College or university means, unless 

defined in a separate subpart, an 

educational institution in any State 

which: 

(1) Admits as regular students only 

persons having a certificate of 

graduation from a school providing 

secondary education, or the recognized 

equivalent of such a certificate; 

(2) Is legally authorized within such 

State to provide a program of education 

beyond secondary education; 

(3) Provides an educational program 

for which a bachelor’s degree or any 

other higher degree is awarded; 

(4) Is a public or other nonprofit 

institution; and 

(5) Is accredited by a nationally 

recognized accrediting agency or 

association. Unless otherwise stated for 

a specific program, this term includes a 

research foundation maintained by such 

an institution. 

Department means the United States 

Department of Agriculture. 

Education activity or teaching activity 

means formal classroom instruction, 

laboratory instruction, and practicum 

experience in the food and agricultural 

sciences and other related matters such 

as faculty development, student 

recruitment and services, curriculum 

development, instructional materials 

and equipment, and innovative teaching 

methodologies. 

Established and demonstrated 

capacity means that an organization has 

met the following criteria: 

(1) Conducts any systematic study 

directed toward new or fuller 

knowledge and understanding of the 

subject studied; or, 

(2) Systematically relates or applies 

the findings of research or scientific 

experimentation to the application of 

new approaches to problem solving, 

technologies, or management practices; 

and 

(3) Has facilities, qualified personnel, 

independent funding, and prior projects 

and accomplishments in research or 

technology transfer. 

Extension means informal education 

program conducted in the States in 

cooperation with the Unites States 

Department of Agriculture. 

Extension activity means an act or 

process that delivers science-based 

knowledge and informal educational 

programs to people, enabling them to 

make practical decisions. 

Food and agricultural sciences. The 

term ‘‘food and agricultural sciences’’

means basic, applied, and 

developmental research, extension, and 

teaching activities in food and fiber, 

agricultural, renewable natural 

resources, forestry, and physical and 

social sciences, including activities 

relating to the following: 

(1) Animal health, production, and 

well-being. 

(2) Plant health and production. 

(3) Animal and plant germ plasm 

collection and preservation. 

(4) Aquaculture. 

(5) Food safety. 

(6) Soil and water conservation and 

improvement. 

(7) Forestry, horticulture, and range 

management. 

(8) Nutritional sciences and 

promotion. 

(9) Farm enhancement, including 

financial management, input efficiency, 

and profitability. 

(10) Home economics. 

(11) Rural human ecology. 

(12) Youth development and 

agricultural education, including 4–H 

clubs. 

(13) Expansion of domestic and 

international markets for agricultural 

commodities and products, including 

agricultural trade barrier identification 

and analysis. 

(14) Information management and 

technology transfer related to 

agriculture. 

(15) Biotechnology related to 

agriculture. 

(16) The processing, distributing, 

marketing, and utilization of food and 

agricultural products. 

Fundamental research means research 

that increases knowledge or 

understanding of the fundamental 

aspects of phenomena and has the 

potential for broad application, and has 

an effect on agriculture, food, nutrition, 

or the environment. 

Graduate degree means a Master’s or 

doctoral degree. 

Grant means the award by the 

Authorized Departmental Officer of 

funds to an eligible grantee to assist in 

meeting the costs of conducting for the 

benefit of the public, an identified 

project which is intended and designed 

to accomplish the purpose of the 

program as identified in the program 

solicitation or RFA. 

Grantee means the organization 

designated in the grant award document 

as the responsible legal entity to which 

a grant is awarded. 

Insular area means the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 

American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

Federated States of Micronesia, the 

Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 

Republic of Palau, and the Virgin 

Islands of the United States. 

Integrated means to incorporate two 

or three components of the agricultural 

knowledge system (research, education, 

and extension) around a problem area or 

activity. 

Land-grant Institutions means the 

1862 Land-Grant Institutions, 1890 

Land-Grant Institutions, and 1994 LandGrant Institutions. 


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Matching or cost sharing means that 

portion of allowable project or program 

costs not borne by the Federal 

Government, including the value of inkind contributions. 

Merit review means an evaluation of a 

proposed project or elements of a 

proposed program whereby the 

technical quality and relevance to 

regional or national goals are assessed. 

Merit reviewers means peers and other 

individuals with expertise appropriate 

to conduct merit review of a proposed 

project. 

Methodology means the project 

approach to be followed. 

Mission-linked research means 

research on specifically identified 

agricultural problems which, through a 

continuum of efforts, provides 

information and technology that may be 

transferred to users and may relate to a 

product, practice, or process. 

National laboratories include Federal 

laboratories that are government-owned 

contractor-operated or governmentowned government-operated. 

Peer reviewers means experts or 

consultants qualified by training and 

experience to give expert advice on the 

scientific and technical merit of grant 

applications or the relevance of those 

applications to one or more of the 

application evaluation criteria. Peer 

reviewers may be adhoc or convened as 

a panel. 

Prior approval means written 

approval by an Authorized 

Departmental Officer evidencing prior 

consent. 

Private research organization means 

any non-governmental corporation, 

partnership, proprietorship, trust, or 

other organization. 

Private sector means all non-public 

entities, including for-profit and 

nonprofit commercial and noncommercial entities, and including 

private or independent educational 

associations. 

Program Officer means a CSREES 

individual who is responsible for the 

technical oversight of the award on 

behalf of USDA. 

Project means the particular activity 

within the scope of the program 

supported by a grant award. 

Project Director or PD means the 

single individual designated by the 

grantee in the grant application and 

approved by the Authorized 

Departmental Officer who is responsible 

for the direction and management of the 

project, also known as a Principal 

Investigator (PI) for research activities. 

Project period means the total length 

of time, as stated in the award document 

and modifications thereto, if any, during 

which Federal sponsorship begins and 

ends. 

Research means any systematic study 

directed toward new or fuller 

knowledge and understanding of the 

subject studied. 

Scientific peer review is an evaluation 

of the technical quality of a proposed 

project and its relevance to regional or 

national goals, performed by experts 

with the scientific knowledge and 

technical skills to conduct the proposed 

research work. 

Secretary means the Secretary of 

Agriculture and any other officer or 

employee of the Department to whom 

the authority involved is delegated. 

State means any one of the fifty 

States, the District of Columbia, and the 

insular areas. 

Third party in-kind contributions 

means the value of non-cash 

contributions of property or services 

provided by non-Federal third parties, 

including real property, equipment, 

supplies and other expendable property, 

directly benefiting and specifically 

identifiable to a funded project or 

program. 

United States means the several 

States, the District of Columbia, and the 

insular areas. 

Units of State government means all 

State institutions, including the formal 

divisions of State government (i.e., the 

official state agencies such as 

departments of transportation and 

education), local government agencies 

(e.g., a county human services office), 

and including state educational 

institutions (e.g., public colleges and 

universities). 

§ 3430.3 Deviations. 

Any request by the applicant or 

grantee for a waiver or deviation from 

any provision of this part shall be 

submitted to the ADO identified in the 

agency specific requirements. CSREES 

shall review the request and notify the 

applicant/grantee whether the request to 

deviate has been approved within 30 

calendar days from the date of receipt of 

the deviation request. If the deviation 

request is still under consideration at 

the end of 30 calendar days, CSREES 

shall inform the applicant/grantee in 

writing of the date when the applicant/ 

grantee may expect the decision. 

§ 3430.4 Other applicable statutes and 

regulations. 

Several Federal statutes and 

regulations apply to grant applications 

considered for review and to project 

grants awarded under CSREES grant 

programs. These include, but are not 

limited to: 

7 CFR Part 1, subpart A—USDA 

implementation of the Freedom of 

Information Act. 

7 CFR Part 3—USDA implementation of 

OMB Circular No. A–129, regarding debt 

management. 

7 CFR Part 15, subpart A—USDA 

implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights 

Act of 1964, as amended. 

7 CFR Part 331 and 9 CFR Part 121—USDA 

implementation of the Agricultural 

Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002. 

7 CFR Part 3015—USDA Uniform Federal 

Assistance Regulations, implementing OMB 

directives (i.e., OMB Circular Nos. A–21 and 

A–122, now codified at 2 CFR Parts 220) and 

incorporating provisions of 31 U.S.C. 6301–

6308 (formerly the Federal Grant and 

Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977, Pub. L. 

95–224), as well as general policy 

requirements applicable to grantees of 

Departmental financial assistance. 

7 CFR Part 3017—USDA implementation 

of Governmentwide Debarment and 

Suspension (Nonprocurement) and 

Governmentwide Requirements for Drug Free 

Workplace (Grants). 

7 CFR Part 3018—USDA implementation 

of Restrictions on Lobbying. Imposes 

prohibitions and requirements for disclosure 

and certification related to lobbying on 

grantees of Federal contracts, grants, 

cooperative agreements, and loans. 

7 CFR Part 3019—USDA implementation 

of OMB Circular No. A–110, Uniform 

Administrative Requirements for Grants and 

Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher 

Education, Hospitals, and Other Nonprofit 

Organizations. 

7 CFR Part 3052—USDA implementation 

of OMB Circular No. A–133, Audits of States, 

Local Governments, and Nonprofit 

Organizations. 

7 CFR Part 3407—CSREES procedures to 

implement the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969, as amended. 29 U.S.C. 

794 (section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973) 

and 

7 CFR Part 15b (USDA implementation of 

statute)—prohibiting discrimination based 

upon physical or mental handicap in 

Federally assisted programs. 

35 U.S.C. 200 et seq.—Bayh-Dole Act, 

controlling allocation of rights to inventions 

made by employees of small business firms 

and domestic nonprofit organizations, 

including universities, in Federally assisted 

programs (implementing regulations are 

contained in 37 CFR Part 401). 

Subpart B—Pre-Award: Solicitation 

and Application 

§ 3430.11 Competition. 

(a) Standards for competition. Except 

as provided in paragraph (b) of this 

section, CSREES will enter into grants 

and cooperative agreements, unless 

restricted by statute, only after 

competition. 

(b) The CSREES ADO and the Agency 

approving official may make a 

determination in writing that 

competition is not deemed appropriate 

for a particular transaction. Such 


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determination shall be limited to 

transactions where it can be adequately 

justified that a noncompetitive award is 

in the best interest of the Federal 

government and necessary to the goals 

of the program. 

§ 3430.12 Requests for applications. 

(a) For each competitive and 

noncompetitive non-formula program, 

CSREES will prepare a program 

solicitation (also called a request for 

applications (RFA); hereafter referred to 

as RFA in accordance with the OMB 

policy directive, 68 FR 37370–37379 

(June 23, 2003), establishing a standard 

format for Federal agency 

announcements (i.e., program 

solicitations or RFAs) of funding 

opportunities under programs that 

award discretionary grants or 

cooperative agreements. This policy 

directive requires the content of the 

RFA to be organized in a sequential 

manner beginning with overview 

information followed by the full text of 

the announcement and will apply 

unless superseded by statute or another 

OMB policy directive. The RFA may 

include all or a portion of the following 

items: 

(1) Contact information; 

(2) Directions for interested 

beneficiaries to submit written 

comments in a published program 

solicitation or RFA; 

(3) CFDA number; 

(4) Legislative authority and 

background information; 

(5) Purpose, priorities, and fund 

availability; 

(6) Program-specific eligibility 

requirements; 

(7) Program-specific restrictions on 

the use of funds, if applicable; 

(8) Matching requirements, if 

applicable; 

(9) Acceptable types of applications; 

(10) Types of projects to be given 

priority consideration, including 

maximum anticipated awards and 

maximum project lengths, if applicable; 

(11) Program areas, if applicable; 

(12) Funding restrictions, if 

applicable; 

(13) Directions for obtaining 

additional requests for applications and 

application forms; 

(14) Information about how to obtain 

application forms and the instructions 

for completing such forms; 

(15) Instructions and requirements for 

submitting applications, including 

submission deadline(s); 

(16) Explanation of the application 

revaluation process; and 

(17) Specific evaluation criteria used 

in the review process. 

(b) Where program-specific 

requirements differ from the 

requirements established in this part, 

program solicitations will also address 

any such variation(s). Variations may 

occur in the following: 

(1) Award management guidelines; 

(2) Restrictions on the delegation of 

fiscal responsibility; 

(3) Required approval for changes to 

project plans; 

(4) Expected program outputs and 

reporting requirements, if applicable; 

(5) Applicable Federal statutes and 

regulations; 

(6) Confidential aspects of 

applications and awards, if applicable; 

(7) Regulatory information; and 

(8) Definitions. 

§ 3430.13 Letter of intent to submit an 

application. 

CSREES may request or require that 

prospective applicants notify program 

staff of their intent to submit an 

application identified as ‘‘letter of 

intent’’. If applicable, the request or 

requirement will be included in the 

RFA, along with directions for the 

preparation and submission of the letter 

of intent and any relevant deadlines. 

Entities interested in submitting an 

application for a CSREES grant should 

complete and submit a ‘‘Letter of Intent 

to Submit an Application’’ form by the 

due date specified in the RFA. This 

form does not obligate the applicant in 

any way, but will provide useful 

information to CSREES in preparing for 

application review. Applicants that do 

not submit a letter of intent by the 

specified due date are still allowed to 

submit a grant application by the 

application due date specified in the 

RFA, unless otherwise specified in the 

RFA. 

§ 3430.14 Types of applications; types of 

grant instruments. 

(a) Types of applications. The type of 

application acceptable may vary by 

funding opportunity. The RFA will 

stipulate the type of application that 

may be submitted to CSREES in 

response to the funding opportunity. 

Applicants may submit the following 

types of applications as specified in the 

RFA. 

(1) New. An application that is being 

submitted to CSREES for the first time. 

(2) Resubmission. This is a project 

application that had been submitted for 

consideration under the same program 

previously but has not been approved 

for an award under the program. For 

competitive programs, this type of 

application is evaluated, in competition 

with other pending applications in the 

area to which it is assigned. 

Resubmissions are reviewed according 

to the same evaluation criteria as new 

applications. In addition, applicants 

must respond to previous panel review 

summary, unless waived by CSREES. 

(3) Renewal. An application 

requesting additional funding for a 

period subsequent to that provided by a 

current award. A renewal application 

competes with all other applications 

and must be developed as fully as 

though the applicant is applying for the 

first time. Renewal applicants also must 

have filed a progress report via CRIS, 

unless waived by CSREES. 

(4) Continuation. A noncompeting 

application for an additional funding/ 

budget period within a previously 

approved project period. 

(5) Revision. An application that 

proposes a change in the Federal 

Government’s financial obligations or 

contingent liability from an existing 

obligation; or, any other change in the 

terms and conditions of the existing 

award. 

(6) Resubmitted renewal. This is a 

project application that has been 

submitted for consideration under the 

same program previously. This type of 

application has also been submitted for 

renewal under the same program but 

was not approved. For competitive 

programs, this type of application is 

evaluated, in competition with other 

pending applications in the area to 

which it is assigned. Resubmitted 

renewal applications are reviewed 

according to the same evaluation criteria 

as new applications. Applicants must 

respond to previous panel review 

summary and file a progress report via 

CRIS, unless waived by CSREES. 

(b) Types of grant instruments. The 

following is a list of corresponding 

categories of grant instruments issued 

by CSREES. 

(1) Standard. This is a grant 

instrument by which the CSREES agrees 

to support a specified level of effort for 

a predetermined project period without 

the announced intention of providing 

additional support at a future date. 

(2) Renewal. This is an instrument by 

which the CSREES agrees to provide 

additional funding under a standard 

grant as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of 

this section for a project period beyond 

that approved in an original or amended 

award, provided that the cumulative 

period does not exceed any statutory 

time limitation of the award. 

(3) Continuation. This is a grant 

instrument by which the CSREES agrees 

to support a specified level of effort for 

a predetermined period of time with a 

statement of intention to provide 

additional support at a future date, 

provided that performance has been 

satisfactory, appropriations are available 

for this purpose, and continued support 


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would be in the best interest of the 

Federal government and the public. 

(4) Supplemental. This is an 

instrument by which the CSREES agrees 

to provide small amounts of additional 

funding under a standard, renewal, or 

continuation grant as specified in 

paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), and (b)(3) of 

this section and may involve a shortterm (usually six months or less) 

extension of the project period beyond 

that approved in an original or amended 

award, but in no case may the 

cumulative period of the project, 

including short term extensions, exceed 

any statutory time limitation of the 

award. 

(c) Obligation of the Federal 

government. Neither the acceptance of 

any application nor the award of any 

project grant shall commit or obligate 

the United States in any way to make 

any renewal, supplemental, 

continuation or other award with 

respect to any approved application or 

portion of an approved application. 

§ 3430.15 Stakeholder input. 

Section 103 (c)(2) of the Agricultural 

Research, Extension, and Education 

Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) (7 U.S.C. 

7613(c)(2)) requires the Secretary to 

solicit and consider input on each 

program RFA from persons who 

conduct agricultural research, 

education, and extension for use in 

formulating future RFAs for competitive 

programs. CSREES will provide 

instructions for submission of 

stakeholder input in the RFA. CSREES 

will consider any comments received 

within the specified timeframe in the 

development of the future RFAs for the 

program. 

§ 3430.16 Eligibility requirements. 

Program-specific eligibility 

requirements appear in the subpart 

applicable to each program and in the 

RFAs. In addition to program-specific 

eligibility requirements, grants will be 

awarded only to responsible applicants. 

Specific management information 

relating to an applicant shall be 

submitted on a one-time basis, with 

updates on an as-needed basis, as part 

of the responsibility determination prior 

to award of a grant identified under a 

specific CSREES program, if such 

information has not been provided 

previously under this or another 

CSREES program. CSREES will provide 

copies of forms recommended for use in 

fulfilling these requirements as part of 

the preaward process. Although an 

applicant may be eligible based on its 

status as one of these entities, there are 

factors which may exclude an applicant 

from receiving Federal financial and 

nonfinancial assistance and benefits 

under a CSREES program (e.g., 

debarment or suspension of an 

individual involved or a determination 

that an applicant is not responsible 

based on submitted organizational 

management information). 

§ 3430.17 Content of an application. 

The RFA provides instructions about 

how to access a funding opportunity. 

The funding opportunity contains the 

application package, which includes the 

forms necessary for completion of an 

application in response to the RFA, as 

well as the application instructions. The 

application instructions document, ‘‘A 

Guide for the Preparation and 

Submission of CSREES Applications via 

Grants.gov,’’ is intended to assist 

applicants in the preparation and 

submission of applications to CSREES. 

It is also the primary document for use 

in the preparation of CSREES 

applications via Grants.gov. 

§ 3430.18 Submission of an application. 

(a) When to submit. The RFA will 

provide deadlines for the submission of 

letters of intent, if requested and 

required, and applications. CSREES may 

issue separate RFAs and/or establish 

separate deadlines for different types of 

applications, different grant 

instruments, different topics or phases 

of the grant programs. If applications are 

not received by applicable deadlines, 

they will not be considered for funding. 

Exceptions will only be considered 

when extenuating circumstances exist 

and justification and supporting 

documentation are provided to CSREES. 

(b) What to submit. The contents of 

the applicable application package, as 

well as any other information, is to be 

submitted by the due date. 

(c) Where to submit. The RFA will 

provide addresses for submission of 

letters of intent, if requested or required. 

It will also indicate permissible 

methods of submission (i.e., electronic, 

e-mail, hand-delivery, U.S. Postal 

Service, courier). Conformance with 

preparation and submission instructions 

is required and will be strictly enforced 

unless a deviation had been approved in 

advance of application submission. 

CSREES may establish additional 

requirements. CSREES may return 

without review applications that are not 

consistent with the RFA instructions. 

§ 3430.19 Resubmission of an application. 

(a) Previously unfunded applications. 

(1) Applications that are resubmitted to 

a program, after being previously 

submitted but not funded by that 

program, must include the following 

information: 

(i) The CSREES-assigned proposal 

number of the previously submitted 

application; 

(ii) Summary of the previous 

reviewers’ comments; and 

(iii) Explanation of how the previous 

reviewers’ comments or previous panel 

summary have been addressed in the 

current application. 

(2) Resubmitting an application that 

has been revised based on previous 

reviewers’ critiques does not guarantee 

the application will be recommended 

for funding. 

(b) Previously funded applications. (1) 

CSREES competitive programs are 

generally not designed to support 

multiple grant awards activities that are 

essentially repetitive in nature. PDs who 

have had their projects funded 

previously are discouraged from 

resubmitting relatively identical 

applications for further funding. 

Applications that are sequential 

continuations or new stages of 

previously funded projects must 

compete with first-time applications, 

and should thoroughly demonstrate 

how the proposed project expands 

substantially on previously funded 

efforts and promotes innovation and 

creativity beyond the scope of the 

previously funded project. 

(2) An application may be submitted 

only once to CSREES. The submission 

of duplicative or substantially similar 

applications concurrently for review by 

more than one program will result in the 

exclusion of the redundant applications 

from CSREES consideration. 

§ 3430.20 Acknowledgment of an 

application. 

The receipt of all letters of intent and 

applications will be acknowledged by 

CSREES. Applicants who do not receive 

an acknowledgement within a certain 

number of days (as established in the 

RFA, e.g., 30 and 60 days) of the 

submission deadline should contact the 

program contact. Once the application 

has been assigned a proposal number by 

CSREES, that number should be cited 

on all future correspondence. 

§ 3430.21 Confidentiality of applications 

and awards. 

(a) Names of submitting institutions 

and individuals, as well as application 

content and evaluations, will be kept 

confidential, except to those involved in 

the review process, to the extent 

permissible by law. 

(b) If an application contains 

proprietary information that constitutes 

a trade secret, proprietary commercial or 

financial information, confidential 

personal information, or data affecting 

the national security, it will be treated 


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in confidence to the extent permitted by 

law, provided the information is clearly 

marked by the proposer with the term 

‘‘confidential and proprietary 

information’’ and provided at the 

bottom of the project narrative or any 

other attachment included in the 

application that contains such 

information: ‘‘The following pages 

(specify) contain proprietary 

information which (name of proposing 

organization) requests not to be released 

to persons outside the Government, 

except for purposes of evaluation.’’

(c) By law, USDA is required to make 

the final decisions as to whether the 

information is required to be kept in 

confidence. Information contained in 

unsuccessful applications will remain 

the property of the proposer. However, 

USDA will retain for three years one file 

copy of each application received; extra 

copies will be destroyed. Public release 

of information from any application 

submitted will be subject to existing 

legal requirements. Any application that 

is funded will be considered an integral 

part of the award and normally will be 

made available to the public upon 

request, except for designated 

proprietary information that is 

determined by USDA to be proprietary 

information. 

(d) The inclusion of proprietary 

information is discouraged unless it is 

necessary for the proper evaluation of 

the application. If proprietary 

information is to be included, it should 

be limited, set apart from other text on 

a separate page, and keyed to the text by 

numbers. It should be confined to a few 

critical technical items that, if disclosed, 

could jeopardize the obtaining of foreign 

or domestic patents. Trade secrets, 

salaries, or other information that could 

jeopardize commercial competitiveness 

should be similarly keyed and presented 

on a separate page. Applications or 

reports which attempt to restrict 

dissemination of large amounts of 

information may be found unacceptable 

by USDA and constitute grounds for 

return of the application without further 

consideration. Without assuming any 

liability for inadvertent disclosure, 

USDA will limit dissemination of such 

information to its employees and, where 

necessary for the evaluation of the 

application, to outside reviewers on a 

confidential basis. An application may 

be withdrawn at any time prior to the 

final action thereon. 

Subpart C—Pre-Award: Application 

Review and Evaluation 

§ 3430.31 Guiding principles. 

The guiding principle for grant 

application review and evaluation is to 

ensure that each proposal is treated in 

a consistent and fair manner regardless 

of regional and institutional affiliation. 

After the evaluation process by the 

review panel, the CSREES through the 

program officer ensures that applicants 

receive appropriate feedback and 

comments on their proposals, and 

processes the awards in as timely a 

manner as possible. 

§ 3430.32 Preliminary application review. 

Prior to technical examination, a 

preliminary review will be made of all 

applications for responsiveness to the 

administrative requirements set forth in 

the RFA. Applications that do not meet 

the administrative requirements may be 

eliminated from program competition. 

However, USDA retains the right to 

conduct discussions with applicants to 

resolve technical and/or budget issues, 

as deemed necessary by USDA. 

§ 3430.33 Selection of reviewers. 

(a) Requirement. CSREES is 

responsible for performing a review of 

applications submitted to CSREES 

competitive award programs in 

accordance with section 103(a) of the 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

7613(a)). Reviews are undertaken to 

ensure that projects supported by 

CSREES are of high quality and are 

consistent with the goals and 

requirements of the funding program. 

Applications submitted to CSREES 

undergo a programmatic evaluation to 

determine the worthiness of Federal 

support. The evaluations consist of a 

peer panel review and also may entail 

an assessment by Federal employees 

and ad hoc reviewers. 

(b) CSREES Peer Review System. The 

CSREES Application Review Process is 

accomplished through the use of the 

CSREES Peer Review System (PRS), a 

web-based system which allows 

reviewers and potential reviewers to 

update personal information and to 

complete and submit reviews 

electronically to CSREES. 

(c) Relevant training and experience. 

Reviewers will be selected based upon 

training and experience in relevant 

scientific, extension, or education fields 

taking into account the following 

factors: 

(1) Level of relevant formal scientific, 

technical education, and extension 

experience of the individual, as well as 

the extent to which an individual is 

engaged in relevant research, education, 

or extension activities; 

(2) Need to include as reviewers 

experts from various areas of 

specialization within relevant scientific, 

education, and extension fields; 

(3) Need to include as reviewers other 

experts (e.g., producers, range or forest 

managers/operators, and consumers) 

who can assess relevance of the 

applications to targeted audiences and 

to program needs; 

(4) Need to include as reviewers 

experts from a variety of organizational 

types (e.g., colleges, universities, 

industry, state and Federal agencies, 

private profit and nonprofit 

organizations) and geographic locations; 

(5) Need to maintain a balanced 

composition of reviewers with regard to 

minority and female representation and 

an equitable age distribution; and 

(6) Need to include reviewers who 

can judge the effective usefulness to 

producers and the general public of 

each application. 

(d) Confidentiality. The identities of 

reviewers will remain confidential to 

the maximum extent possible. 

Therefore, the names of reviewers will 

not be released to applicants. If it is 

possible to reveal the names of 

reviewers in such a way that they 

cannot be identified with the review of 

any particular application, this will be 

done at the end of the fiscal year or as 

requested. Names of submitting 

institutions and individuals, as well as 

application content and peer 

evaluations, will be kept confidential, 

except to those involved in the review 

process, to the extent permitted by law. 

Reviewers are expected to be in 

compliance with CSREES 

Confidentiality Guidelines. Reviewers 

provide this assurance through PRS. 

(e) Conflicts of interest. During the 

evaluation process, extreme care will be 

taken to prevent any actual or perceived 

conflicts of interest that may impact 

review or evaluation. For the purpose of 

determining conflicts of interest, the 

academic and administrative autonomy 

of an institution shall be determined. 

Reviewers are expected to be in 

compliance with CSREES Conflict-ofinterest Guidelines. Reviewers provide 

this assurance through PRS. 

§ 3430.34 Evaluation criteria. 

(a) To ensure any project receiving 

funds from CSREES is consistent with 

the broad goals of the funding program, 

the content of each proposal/application 

submitted to CSREES will be evaluated 

based on a pre-determined set of review 

criteria. It is the responsibility of the 

Program Officer to develop, adopt, 

adapt, or otherwise establish the criteria 

by which proposals are to be evaluated. 

It may be appropriate for the Program 

Officer to involve other scientists or 

stakeholders in the development of 

criteria, or to extract criteria from 

legislative authority or appropriations 


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language. The review criteria is 

described in the RFA and shall not 

include criteria concerning any cost 

sharing or matching requirements per 

section 7301 of the Food, Conservation, 

and Energy Act of 2008. 

(b) In order that all potential 

applicants for a program have similar 

opportunities to compete for funds, all 

reviewers will receive from the Program 

Officer a description of the review 

criteria. Reviewers are instructed to use 

those same evaluation criteria, and only 

those criteria, to judge the merit of the 

proposals they review. 

§ 3430.35 Review of noncompetitive 

applications. 

(a) Some projects are directed by 

either authorizing legislation and/or 

appropriations to specifically support a 

designated institution or set of 

institutions for particular research, 

education or extension topics of 

importance to the nation, a State or a 

region. Although these projects may be 

awarded noncompetitively, these 

projects or activities are subject to the 

same application process, award terms 

and conditions, Federal assistance laws 

and regulations, reporting and 

monitoring requirements, and postaward administration and closeout 

policies and procedures as competitive 

grant programs. The only difference is 

these applications are not subject to a 

competitive peer review process at the 

Agency level. 

(b) All noncompetitive applications 

recommended for funding are required 

to be merit reviewed and the merit 

review documented by the CSREES 

program official. For awards 

recommended for funding at or greater 

than $10,000, an independent and unit 

merit review are required. 

§ 3430.36 Procedures to minimize or 

eliminate duplication of effort. 

CSREES may implement appropriate 

business processes to minimize or 

eliminate the awarding of CSREES 

grants that unnecessarily duplicate 

activities already being sponsored under 

other grant awards, including awards 

made by other Federal agencies. 

Business processes may include the 

review of the Current and Pending 

Support Form; documented CRIS 

searches prior to award; the conduct of 

project director (PD) workshops, 

conferences, meetings, and symposia; 

and agency participation in Federal 

government-wide and other committees, 

taskforces, or groups that seek to solve 

problems related to agricultural 

research, education, and extension and 

other activities delegated to the CSREES 

administrator. 

§ 3430.37 Feedback to applicants. 

Copies of individual reviews and/or 

summary reviews, not including the 

identity of reviewers, will be sent to the 

applicant PDs after the review process 

has been completed. 

Subpart D—Award 

§ 3430.41 Administration. 

(a) General. Within the limit of funds 

available for such purpose, the CSREES 

ADO shall make grants to those 

responsible, eligible applicants whose 

applications are judged most 

meritorious under the procedures set 

forth in the RFA. The date specified by 

the CSREES ADO as the effective date 

of the grant shall be no later than 

September 30 of the Federal fiscal year 

in which the project is approved for 

support and funds are appropriated for 

such purpose, unless otherwise 

permitted by law. It should be noted 

that the project need not be initiated on 

the grant effective date, but as soon 

thereafter as practical so that project 

goals may be attained within the funded 

project period. All funds granted by 

CSREES shall be expended solely for the 

purpose for which the funds are granted 

in accordance with the approved 

application and budget, the regulations, 

the terms and conditions of the award, 

the applicable Federal cost principles, 

and the Department’s assistance 

regulations (7 CFR parts 3015 and 3019). 

(b) Organizational management 

information. Specific management 

information relating to an applicant 

shall be submitted on a one-time basis 

as part of the responsibility 

determination prior to the award of a 

grant, if such information has not been 

provided previously to CSREES. 

CSREES will provide copies of forms 

recommended for use in fulfilling these 

requirements as part of the preaward 

process. 

(c) Notice of Award. The notice of 

award document (i.e., Form CSREES–

2009, Award Face Sheet) will provide 

pertinent instructions and information 

including, at a minimum, the following: 

(1) Legal name and address of 

performing organization or institution to 

whom the Administrator has awarded a 

grant; 

(2) Title of project; 

(3) Name(s) and institution(s) of 

Project Director(s); 

(4) Identifying award number 

assigned by CSREES or the Department; 

(5) Project period; 

(6) Total amount of CSREES financial 

assistance approved; 

(7) Legal authority(ies) under which 

the grant is awarded; 

(8) Appropriate CFDA number; 

(9) Approved budget plan or 

referenced thereof; and 

(10) Other information or provisions 

(including the Terms and Conditions) 

deemed necessary by CSREES to carry 

out its respective granting activities or 

to accomplish the purpose of a 

particular grant. 

(d) Other terms and conditions. 

CSREES may, with respect to any grant, 

impose additional conditions prior to or 

at the time of any award when, in the 

CSREES’ judgment, such conditions are 

necessary to assure or protect 

advancement of the approved project, 

the interests of the public, or the 

conservation of grant funds. 

Subpart E—Post-Award and Closeout 

§ 3430.51 Payment. 

(a) All payments will be made in 

advance unless a deviation is accepted 

(see § 3430.3) or as specified in 

paragraph (b) of this section. All 

payments to the grantee shall be made 

via the U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services’ Payment Management 

System (DHHS–PMS) or another 

electronic funds transfer (EFT) method 

except for awards to other Federal 

agencies. Grantees are expected to 

request funds via DHHS–PMS for 

reimbursement basis in a timely 

manner. 

(b) If CSREES has determined that 

advance payment is not feasible and 

that the grantee does not maintain or 

demonstrate the willingness to 

maintain: Written procedures that 

minimize the time elapsing between the 

transfer of funds and disbursement by 

the grantee, and financial management 

systems that meet the standards for fund 

control and accountability as 

established in § 3430.61; CSREES shall 

use the reimbursement method. 

§ 3430.52 Cost sharing and matching. 

(a) General. Grantees may be required 

to match the Federal funds received 

under a CSREES grant. The required 

percentage of matching, type of 

matching (e.g., cash and/or in-kind 

contributions), sources of match (e.g., 

non-Federal), and whether CSREES has 

any authority to waive the match will be 

specified in the subpart applicable to 

the specific grant program, as well as in 

the RFA. 

(b) Indirect Costs. Grantees’ matching 

contribution may also include 

unrecoverable indirect costs. Such costs 

may be accepted as part of the grantee’s 

resource contribution provided the total 

amount of indirect cost claimed under 

the Federal and non-Federal portions of 

the costs, when combined, do not 

exceed the applicant’s negotiated 


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indirect cost rate or if applicable, the 

statutory cap on indirect costs. Indirect 

costs provisions for each specific grant 

program are identified in the ‘‘Funding 

restrictions’’ section of the subpart for 

each individual grant program. 

§ 3430.53 Program income. 

(a) CSREES shall apply the standards 

set forth in this section in requiring 

grantee organizations to account for 

program income related to projects 

financed in whole or in part with 

Federal funds. 

(b) Unless otherwise provided in the 

authorizing statute, program income 

earned during the project period shall 

be retained by the grantee and, in 

accordance with the terms and 

conditions of the award, shall be added 

to funds committed to the project by 

CSREES and grantee and used to further 

eligible project or program objectives. 

Any specific program deviations will be 

identified in the individual subparts. 

(c) Unless the program regulations 

identified in the individual subpart 

provide otherwise, grantees shall follow 

the terms and conditions of the award. 

§ 3430.54 Technical reporting. 

(a) Requirement. All projects 

supported with Federal funds under this 

part must be documented in the Current 

Research Information System (CRIS). 

(b) Initial Documentation in the CRIS 

Database. Information collected in the 

‘‘Work Unit Description’’ (Form AD–

416) and ‘‘Work Unit Classification’’

(Form AD–417) is required upon project 

initiation for all new awards in CRIS 

(i.e., prior to award). 

(c) Annual CRIS Reports. Unless 

stated differently in the grant terms and 

conditions, an annual 

‘‘Accomplishments Report’’ (Form AD–

421) is due 90 calendar days after the 

award’s anniversary date (i.e., one year 

following the month and day of which 

the project period begins and each year 

thereafter up until a final report is 

required). An annual report covers a 

one-year period. In addition to the Form 

AD–421, the following information, 

when applicable, must be submitted to 

the programmatic contact person 

identified in block 4 of the Award Face 

Sheet (Form CSREES–2009): A 

comparison of actual accomplishments 

with the goals established for the 

reporting period (where the output of 

the project can be expressed readily in 

numbers, a computation of the cost per 

unit of output should be considered if 

the information is considered useful); 

the reasons for slippage if established 

goals were not met; and additional 

pertinent information including, when 

appropriate, analysis and explanation of 

cost overruns or unexpectedly high unit 

costs. The annual report of ‘‘Funding 

and Staff Support’’ (Form AD–419) is 

due February 1 of the year subsequent 

to the Federal fiscal year being reported. 

(d) CRIS Final Report. The CRIS final 

report, ‘‘Accomplishments Report’’

(Form AD–421), covers the entire period 

of performance of the award. The report 

should encompass progress made 

during the entire timeframe of the 

project instead of covering 

accomplishments made only during the 

final reporting segment of the project. In 

addition to providing the information 

required under paragraph (c) of this 

section, the final report must include 

the following when applicable: A 

disclosure of any inventions not 

previously reported that were conceived 

or first actually reduced to practice 

during the performance of the work 

under the award; a written statement on 

whether or not the awardee elects (or 

plans to elect) to obtain patent(s) on any 

such invention; and identify equipment 

purchased with any Federal funds 

under the award and indicate 

subsequent use of such equipment. 

(e) CRIS Web Site Via Internet. The 

CRIS database is available to the public 

on the World Wide Web. CRIS project 

information is available via the Internet 

CRIS Web site at http:// 

cris.csrees.usda.gov. To submit forms 

electronically, the CRIS forms Web site 

can be accessed through the CRIS Web 

site or accessed directly at http:// 

csf.uvm.edu/cris. 

(f) Grantees may be required to submit 

other technical reports or submit the 

CRIS reports more frequently than 

annual. Additional requirements for a 

specific grant program are described in 

the applicable subpart after subpart F 

and are identified in the RFA. The 

Award Face Sheet (Form CSREES–2009) 

also will specify these additional 

reporting requirements. 

§ 3430.55 Financial reporting. 

(a) SF–269, Financial Status Report. 

Unless stated differently in the grant 

terms and conditions, a SF–269, 

Financial Status Report, is due 90 days 

after the expiration of the grant and 

should be submitted to the Awards 

Management Branch (AMB) at Awards 

Management Branch; Office of 

Extramural Programs, CSREES; U.S. 

Department of Agriculture; STOP 2271; 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW.; 

Washington, DC 20250–2271. The 

awardee shall report program outlays 

and program income on the same 

accounting basis (i.e., cash or accrual) 

that it uses in its normal accounting 

system. When submitting a final SF–

269, Financial Status Report, the total 

matching contribution, if required, 

should be shown in item 12., Remarks. 

The final SF–269 must not show any 

unliquidated obligations. If the awardee 

still has valid obligations that remain 

unpaid when the report is due, it shall 

submit a provisional report (showing 

the unliquidated obligations) by the due 

date and a final report when all 

obligations have been liquidated. When 

submitting a provisional report, the 

awardee shall inform AMB when it 

expects a final report. If AMB waives 

the requirement for provisional reports, 

the grantee will be so notified. SF–269, 

Financial Status Reports, must be 

submitted by all grantees, including 

Federal agencies and national 

laboratories. 

(b) Grants with Required Matching. 

For grants requiring a matching 

contribution, an annual SF–269, 

Financial Status Report, is required and 

this requirement will be indicated on 

the Award Face Sheet, Form CSREES–

2009, in which case it must be 

submitted no later than 90 days 

following the end of the Federal fiscal 

year, September 30th. 

(c) Overdue SF–269, Financial Status 

Reports. Grantees with overdue SF–269, 

Financial Status Reports, or other 

required financial report (as identified 

in the grant terms and conditions), will 

have their applicable balances at 

DHHS–PMS restricted or placed on 

‘‘manual review,’’ which restricts the 

grantee’s ability to draw funds thus 

requiring prior approval from CSREES. 

If any remaining available balances are 

needed by the grantee, the grantee will 

be required to contact AMB to request 

permission to draw any additional 

funds and may be required to provide 

documentation to support the draw. 

(d) SF–272, Federal Cash 

Transactions Report. Grantees 

(receiving electronic payments through 

DHHS–PMS) are required to submit 

their SF–272, Federal Cash Transactions 

Report, via the DHHS–PMS by the 

specified dates. Failure to submit this 

quarterly report by the due date may 

result in funds being restricted by 

DHHS–PMS. Grantees (not receiving 

payments through DHHS–PMS) may be 

exempt from this reporting requirement. 

(e) Additional reporting requirements. 

CSREES may require additional 

financial reporting requirements as 

follows: CSREES may require forecasts 

of Federal cash requirements in the 

‘‘Remarks’’ section of the report; and 

when practical and deemed necessary, 

CSREES may require grantees to report 

in the ‘‘Remarks’’ section the amount of 

cash advances received in excess of 

three days (i.e., short narrative with 

explanations of actions taken to reduce 


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the excess balances). When CSREES 

needs additional information or more 

frequent reports, the following will be 

observed: When additional information 

is needed to comply with legislative 

requirements, CSREES will issue 

instructions to require grantees to 

submit such information under the 

‘‘Remarks’’ section of the reports; and 

CSREES determines that a grantee’s 

accounting system is inadequate, 

additional pertinent information to 

further monitor awards may be obtained 

upon written notice to the grantee until 

such time as the system is brought up 

to standard. CSREES, in obtaining this 

information, shall comply with the PRA 

clearance requirements and the 

implementing regulations codified at 5 

CFR part 1320. 

§ 3430.56 Project meetings. 

In addition to reviewing (and 

monitoring the status of) progress and 

final technical reports and financial 

reports, CSREES program officers may 

use regular and periodic conference 

calls to monitor the grantee’s 

performance as well as PD conferences, 

workshops, meetings, and symposia to 

not only monitor the grants, but to 

facilitate communication and the 

sharing of project results. These 

opportunities also serve to eliminate or 

minimize CSREES funding unneeded 

duplicative project activities. Required 

attendance at these conference calls, 

conferences, workshops, meetings, and 

symposia will be identified in the RFA 

and the grantee should develop a 

proposal accordingly. 

§ 3430.57 Hearings and appeals. 

(a) Scope of the post-award disputes 

covered. The disputes covered by this 

section include: Cost disallowances 

pursuant to the ADO’s decision (e.g., 

specific disallowances under an 

individual grant or as the result of an 

audit report); termination orders; and 

the final settlement amount under a 

termination. 

(b) Procedures. The grantee should 

submit a letter to the ADO from the 

applicant’s AR, via mail, e-mail, or fax, 

noting the grantee’s dispute and 

identifying the Grants Officer’s decision 

in question, giving reasons for a request 

to review and providing any other 

material pertinent to the request. The 

letter to the ADO must be dated no later 

than 60 days after the date of the letter 

notifying the grantee of the decision in 

question. CSREES retains the right to 

consider requests for review after the 

60-day period in extenuating 

circumstances. The ADO will review or 

designate an individual to review the 

request. A report will be prepared with 

a recommendation within 60 days and 

forwarded to the Deputy Administrator, 

Office of Extramural Programs for 

disposition. 

§ 3430.58 Closeout. 

Most CSREES awards are supported 

with annual appropriations. On 

September 30th of the 5th fiscal year 

after the period of availability for 

obligation, the funds for these 

appropriations accounts expire per 31 

U.S.C. 1552 and the account is closed. 

Funds that have not been drawn 

through DHHS–PMS by the grantee or 

disbursed through any other system or 

method by August 31st (of the fifth year 

appropriation) are subject to be returned 

to the U.S. Department of Treasury after 

that date. Please note that the August 

31st requirement also applies to awards 

with a 90-day period concluding on a 

date after September 30th of that 

following fifth year. Please note expired 

appropriations cannot be restored after 

this date. More specific instructions are 

provided in the CSREES award terms 

and conditions. 

Research Programs 

Subpart F—Specialty Crop Research 

Initiative 

§ 3430.200 Applicability of regulations. 

The regulations in this subpart apply 

to the program authorized under section 

412 of the Agricultural Research, 

Extension, and Education Reform Act of 

1998 (7 U.S.C. 7621 et seq.). 

§ 3430.201 Purpose. 

The purpose of this program is to 

address the critical needs of the 

specialty crop industry by developing 

and disseminating science-based tools 

to address needs of specific crops and 

their regions, including: Research in 

plant breeding, genetics, and genomics 

to improve crop characteristics, such as 

product, taste, quality, and appearance; 

environmental responses and 

tolerances; nutrient management, 

including plant nutrient uptake 

efficiency; pest and disease 

management, including resistance to 

pests and diseases resulting in reduced 

application management strategies; and 

enhanced phytonutrient content; efforts 

to identify and address threats from 

pests and diseases, including threats to 

specialty crop pollinators; efforts to 

improve production efficiency, 

productivity, and profitability over the 

long term (including specialty crop 

policy and marketing); new innovations 

and technology, including improved 

mechanization and technologies that 

delay or inhibit ripening; and methods 

to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and 

respond to potential food safety hazards 

in the production and processing of 

specialty crops, including fresh 

produce. CSREES will award research 

and extension, including integrated 

grants to eligible institutions listed in 

§ 3430.203. In addition to the focus 

areas defined in this section, CSREES 

may include additional activities or 

focus areas that will further address the 

critical needs of the specialty crop 

industry. Some of these activities or 

focus areas may be identified by 

stakeholder groups or by USDA in 

response to emerging critical needs of 

the specialty crop industry. 

§ 3430.202 Definitions. 

The definitions applicable to the 

program under this subpart include: 

Integrated means for the purposes of 

this program to incorporate the research 

and extension components of the 

agricultural knowledge system around a 

problem area or activity. 

Specialty crop means fruits and 

vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and 

horticulture and nursery crops 

(including floriculture). 

§ 3430.203 Eligibility. 

Eligible applicants for the grant 

program implemented under this 

subpart include: Federal agencies; 

national laboratories; colleges and 

universities; research institutions and 

organizations; private organizations or 

corporations; State agricultural 

experiment stations; individuals; and 

groups consisting of 2 or more entities 

identified in this sentence. To be 

eligible under this part, individuals 

must be a citizen or national of the 

United States as defined in § 3430.2 of 

this part. Eligible institutions do not 

include foreign and international 

organizations, unless otherwise 

provided in the RFA. 

§ 3430.204 Project types and priorities. 

For each RFA, CSREES may develop 

and include the appropriate project 

types and focus areas (in addition to the 

five activities or focus areas identified 

in 3430.201) based on the critical needs 

of the specialty crop industry as 

identified through stakeholder input 

and deemed appropriate by CSREES. Of 

the funds made available each fiscal 

year, not less than 10 percent of these 

funds shall be allocated for each activity 

or focus area identified in § 3430.201. In 

making awards for this program, USDA 

will give higher priority to projects that 

are multistate, multi-institutional, and 

multidisciplinary; and include explicit 

mechanisms to communicate the results 

to producers and the public. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 149 / Friday, August 1, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 44909 

§ 3430.205 Funding restrictions. 

Funds made available under this 

subpart shall not be used for the 

construction of a new building or 

facility or the acquisition, expansion, 

remodeling, or alteration of an existing 

facility (including site grading and 

improvement, and architect fees). 

Indirect costs are subject to NARETPA 

section 1462(a) limiting indirect costs to 

22 percent of the total Federal funds 

provided under each award unless 

superseded by another authority. The 

maximum allowed indirect cost of 22 

percent may be claimed under the 

Federal portion of the award budget, or 

the maximum allowed indirect cost of 

22 percent may be claimed as a 

matching contribution (if no indirect 

costs are requested on the Federal 

portion of the budget). However, the 

maximum allowed indirect cost of 22 

percent may not be claimed on both the 

Federal portion of the budget for the 

award and as a matching contribution; 

but a grantee may, for example, request 

11 percent of indirect costs on both the 

Federal portion of the budget for the 

award and as a matching contribution. 

Or, a grantee may request any other, 

similar percentage combination that, 

when combined, does not exceed a 

maximum indirect cost rate of 22 

percent. 

§ 3430.206 Matching requirements. 

Grantees are required to provide 

funds or in-kind support from nonFederal sources in an amount that is at 

least equal to the amount provided by 

the Federal government. The matching 

contribution must be provided from 

non-Federal sources except when 

authorized by statute. The matching 

requirements under this subpart cannot 

be waived. 

Signed at Washington, DC, on July 28, 

2008. 

Colien Hefferan, 

Administrator, Cooperative State Research, 

Education, and Extension Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–17594 Filed 7–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

14 CFR Part 97 

[Docket No. 30621; Amdt. No. 3281] 

Standard Instrument Approach 

Procedures, and Takeoff Minimums 

and Obstacle Departure Procedures; 

Miscellaneous Amendments 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule establishes, amends, 

suspends, or revokes Standard 

Instrument Approach Procedures 

(SIAPs) and associated Takeoff 

Minimums and Obstacle Departure 

Procedures for operations at certain 

airports. These regulatory actions are 

needed because of the adoption of new 

or revised criteria, or because of changes 

occurring in the National Airspace 

System, such as the commissioning of 

new navigational facilities, adding new 

obstacles, or changing air traffic 

requirements. These changes are 

designed to provide safe and efficient 

use of the navigable airspace and to 

promote safe flight operations under 

instrument flight rules at the affected 

airports. 

DATES: This rule is effective August 1, 

2008. The compliance date for each 

SIAP, associated Takeoff Minimums, 

and ODP is specified in the amendatory 

provisions. 

The incorporation by reference of 

certain publications listed in the 

regulations is approved by the Director 

of the Federal Register as of August 1, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Availability of matter 

incorporated by reference in the 

amendment is as follows: 

For Examination—

1. FAA Rules Docket, FAA 

Headquarters Building, 800 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; 

2. The FAA Regional Office of the 

region in which the affected airport is 

located; 

3. The National Flight Procedures 

Office, 6500 South MacArthur Blvd., 

Oklahoma City, OK 73169 or, 

4. The National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For 

Information on the availability of this 

material at NARA, call 202–741–6030, 

or go to: http://www.archives.gov/ 

federal_register/ 

code_of_federal_regulations/ 

ibr_locations.html. 

Availability—All SIAPs are available 

online free of charge. Visit nfdc.faa.gov 

to register. Additionally, individual 

SIAP and Takeoff Minimums and ODP 

copies may be obtained from: 

1. FAA Public Inquiry Center (APA–

200), FAA Headquarters Building, 800 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; or 

2. The FAA Regional Office of the 

region in which the affected airport is 

located. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Harry J. Hodges, Flight Procedure 

Standards Branch (AFS–420) Flight 

Technologies and Programs Division, 

Flight Standards Service, Federal 

Aviation Administration, Mike 

Monroney Aeronautical Center, 6500 

South MacArthur Blvd., Oklahoma City, 

OK 73169 (Mail Address: P.O. Box 

25082 Oklahoma City, OK 73125) 

telephone: (405) 954–4164. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

amends Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 97 (14 CFR part 97) by 

amending the referenced SIAPs. The 

complete regulatory description of each 

SIAP is listed on the appropriate FAA 

Form 8260, as modified by the National 

Flight Data Center (FDC)/Permanent 

Notice to Airmen (P–NOTAM), and is 

incorporated by reference in the 

amendment under 5 U.S.C. 552(a), 1 

CFR part 51, and § 97.20 of Title 14 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations. 

The large number of SIAPs, their 

complex nature, and the need for a 

special format make their verbatim 

publication in the Federal Register 

expensive and impractical. Further, 

airmen do not use the regulatory text of 

the SIAPs, but refer to their graphic 

depiction on charts printed by 

publishers of aeronautical materials. 

Thus, the advantages of incorporation 

by reference are realized and 

publication of the complete description 

of each SIAP contained in FAA form 

documents is unnecessary. This 

amendment provides the affected CFR 

sections and specifies the types of SIAP 

and the corresponding effective dates. 

This amendment also identifies the 

airport and its location, the procedure 

and the amendment number. 

The Rule 

This amendment to 14 CFR part 97 is 

effective upon publication of each 

separate SIAP as amended in the 

transmittal. For safety and timeliness of 

change considerations, this amendment 

incorporates only specific changes 

contained for each SIAP as modified by 

FDC/P–NOTAMs. 

The SIAPs, as modified by FDC P–

NOTAM, and contained in this 

amendment are based on the criteria 

contained in the U.S. Standard for 

Terminal Instrument Procedures 

(TERPS). In developing these changes to 

SIAPs, the TERPS criteria were applied 

only to specific conditions existing at 

the affected airports. All SIAP 

amendments in this rule have been 

previously issued by the FAA in a FDC 

NOTAM as an emergency action of 

immediate flight safety relating directly 

to published aeronautical charts. The 

circumstances which created the need 

for all these SIAP amendments requires 

making them effective in less than 30 

days. 


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