61148 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5267–N–01] 

The Performance Review Board 

AGENCY: Office of the Deputy Secretary, 

HUD. 

ACTION: Notice of appointments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Housing 

and Urban Development announces the 

appointments of Ronald Y. Spraker and 

Jon L. Gant as members; and Dominique 

G. Blom as an alternate member of the 

Departmental Performance Review 

Board. The address is: Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, 

Washington, DC 20410–0050. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Persons desiring any further information 

about the Performance Review Board 

and its members may contact Earnestine 

Pruitt, Director, Executive Personnel 

Management Division, Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, 

Washington, DC 20410. Telephone (202) 

708–1381. (This is not a toll-free 

number.) 

Dated: October 7, 2008. 

Roy A. Bernardi, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–24371 Filed 10–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5254–N–01] 

Reconsideration of Waivers Granted to 

and Alternative Requirements for the 

State of Louisiana’s CDBG Disaster 

Recovery Grant Under the Department 

of Defense Emergency Supplemental 

Appropriations To Address Hurricanes 

in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic 

Influenza Act, 2006 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice of waivers, alternative 

requirements, and statutory program 

requirements. 

SUMMARY: This notice describes the 

statutorily required reconsideration of 

additional waivers and alternative 

requirements applicable to the 

Community Development Block Grant 

(CDBG) disaster recovery grant provided 

to the State of Louisiana on June 14, 

2006, and March 7, 2007, for the 

purpose of assisting in the recovery in 

the most impacted and distressed areas 

related to the consequences of 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. 

Although the reconsideration period is 

normally 2 years following grant of the 

waiver, HUD is reconsidering and 

altering some waivers early at the state’s 

request. 

DATES: Effective Date: October 20, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessie Handforth Kome, Director, 

Disaster Recovery and Special Issues 

Division, Office of Block Grant 

Assistance, Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, 

SW., Room 7286, Washington, DC 

20410, telephone number 202–708– 

3587. Persons with hearing or speech 

impairments may access this number 

via TTY by calling the Federal 

Information Relay Service at 800–877– 

8339. FAX inquiries may be sent to Ms. 

Kome at 202–401–2044. (Except for the 

‘‘800’’ number, these telephone numbers 

are not toll free.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority To Grant Waivers 

The Department of Defense, 

Emergency Supplemental 

Appropriations to Address Hurricanes 

in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic 

Influenza Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109–148, 

approved December 30, 2005) (the 2006 

Act) appropriated $11.5 billion in 

Community Development Block Grant 

funds for necessary expenses related to 

disaster relief, long-term recovery, and 

restoration of infrastructure directly 

related to the consequences of the 

covered disasters. The State of 

Louisiana received an allocation and 

grant of $6,200,000,000 from this 

appropriation. The 2006 Act authorized 

the Secretary to waive, or specify 

alternative requirements for, any 

provision of any statute or regulation 

that the Secretary administers in 

connection with the obligation by the 

Secretary or use by the recipient of these 

funds and guarantees, except for 

requirements related to fair housing, 

nondiscrimination, labor standards, and 

the environment (including 

requirements concerning lead-based 

paint), upon a request by the state and 

a finding by the Secretary that such a 

waiver would not be inconsistent with 

the overall purpose of the statute. The 

following waivers, alternative 

requirements, and reconsidered waivers 

are in response to written requests from 

the State of Louisiana. 

The Secretary finds that the following 

waivers and alternative requirements, as 

described below, are not inconsistent 

with the overall purpose of 42 U.S.C. 

5301 et seq.; Title I of the Housing and 

Community Development Act of 1974, 

as amended (the 1974 Act); or of 42 

U.S.C. 12704 et seq., the CranstonGonzalez National Affordable Housing 

Act, as amended. 

Under the requirements of the 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development Act, as amended (42 

U.S.C. 3535(q)), regulatory waivers must 

be published in the Federal Register. As 

in the June 14, 2006, notice, the 

Department is also using this 

reconsideration notice to provide 

information about other ways in which 

the requirements for this grant vary from 

regular CDBG program rules. The 

compilation of this information in a 

single notice has created a helpful 

resource for Louisiana grant 

administrators and HUD field staff. Note 

that waivers and alternative 

requirements regarding the common 

application and reporting process for all 

grantees under this appropriation were 

published in a prior notice (71 FR 7666, 

published February 13, 2006, and 

updated in 73 FR 46312, published 

August 8, 2008). 

Except as described in notices 

regarding this grant, the statutory and 

regulatory provisions governing the 

CDBG program for states, including 

those at 24 CFR part 570, shall apply to 

the use of these funds. 

Descriptions of Changes 

This section of the notice briefly 

describes the basis for each waiver and 

provides an explanation of related 

alternative requirements, if additional 

explanation is necessary. The 

Description of Changes section also 

highlights some of the statutory items 

and alternative requirements described 

in the sections that follow. 

Except as provided in the common 

waiver notice published August 8, 2008, 

the waivers, alternative requirements, 

and statutory changes apply only to the 

CDBG supplemental disaster recovery 

funds appropriated in the 2006 Acts and 

allocated to the State of Louisiana. 

These actions provide additional 

flexibility in program design and 

implementation and note statutory 

requirements unique to this 

appropriation. 

Eligibility—housing related. The 

waiver of Section 105(a) of the 1974 Act 

that allows new housing construction 

and of Section 105(a)(24), to allow 

homeownership assistance for families 

whose income is up to 120 percent of 

median income and payment of up to 

100 percent of a housing down payment 

is necessary following major disasters in 

which large numbers of affordable 

housing units have been damaged or 

destroyed, as is the case in the disaster 

eligible under this notice. The 

broadening of the Section 105(a)(24) 

waiver, in accordance with the state’s 

request, will allow the state to permit 

local governments receiving long-term 


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