Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2010 / Notices 1345 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Economic Development Administration 

[Docket No.: 100105005–0006–01] 

Solicitation of Applications for the 

Community Trade Adjustment 

Assistance Program 

AGENCY: Economic Development 

Administration (EDA), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

applications. 

SUMMARY: In February of 2009, Congress 

enacted the Trade and Globalization 

Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009, 

which in part was intended to establish 

a new Community Trade Adjustment 

Assistance (Community TAA) Program 

under chapter 4 of title II of the Trade 

Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2371 et seq.) 

(Trade Act) to help communities 

respond to the loss of jobs caused by the 

layoffs at firms and other types of 

employers impacted by trade 

competition. This notice announces 

general policies and application 

requirements for the Community TAA 

Program. Grants made under the 

program may be used to support a wide 

range of technical, planning, and 

infrastructure projects to help 

communities adapt to pressing trade 

impact issues and diversify their 

economies. 

To be eligible to apply, a community 

must have been impacted by trade as 

evidenced by one or more ‘‘Cognizable 

Certifications’’ being made with respect 

to the community under one of the 

following three Trade Adjustment 

Assistance (TAA) programs: TAA for 

Workers, TAA for Firms, or TAA for 

Farmers. In addition, EDA must make 

an ‘‘Affirmative Determination’’ that an 

applicant is an ‘‘Impacted Community,’’ 

meaning that EDA determines the 

community is significantly affected by 

the threat to, or the loss of, jobs 

associated with one or more Cognizable 

Certifications. A community may rely 

on more than one Cognizable 

Certification to show trade impact, but 

must use the most recent certification to 

determine whether the community must 

submit as a Grandfathered Community 

or as Group A or B Standard Date 

Community. Please see below and 

sections III.B.2. and III.B.3 of the FFO 

announcement for a complete 

discussion. Applications for assistance 

from eligible communities will be 

competitively evaluated in order to 

maximize the impact of the program in 

creating and saving jobs. 

Applicants are advised to read 

carefully all information and 

instructions contained in the Federal 

Funding Opportunity (FFO) 

announcement for this request for 

applications. To access the FFO 

announcement, please see the Web sites 

listed below under ‘‘Electronic Access.’’ 

DATES: The deadline for the submission 

of full applications for grant assistance 

under this notice is April 20, 2010. 

Please note that this competitive 

solicitation has two categories of 

applicants: ‘‘Grandfathered 

Communities’’ and ‘‘Standard Date 

Communities.’’ In addition, the 

‘‘Standard Date Communities’’ category 

has been further broken down into 

Groups A and B because of timing 

considerations. Although there is one 

deadline for grant applications under 

the program, the Trade Act requires that 

Grandfathered Communities and Group 

A Standard Date Communities must 

submit certain information to preserve 

their eligibility under the program. This 

information may either be submitted as 

part of a full application or as a 

preapplication using the Application for 

Federal Assistance (Form SF–424). The 

following paragraphs provide more 

detailed information. 

Dates for Preapplication and 

Application Submissions: Different 

deadlines apply to preapplications and 

full applications. 

Grandfathered Communities With a 

Cognizable Certification Made on or 

After January 1, 2007 and Before 

August 1, 2009 

A Grandfathered Community must 

submit information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination by February 

1, 2010 to be eligible for funding under 

the Community TAA Program. Although 

the deadline for full applications is 

April 20, 2010, EDA strongly encourages 

Grandfathered Communities to submit 

their full application for grant assistance 

by the February 1, 2010 deadline for 

submission of their information for an 

Affirmative Determination. Submission 

of the full application by this date will 

allow EDA to make the Affirmative 

Determination in connection with the 

decision on whether EDA will fund the 

application. However, Grandfathered 

Communities that are not prepared to 

submit a full application by the 

February 1, 2010 deadline for the 

Affirmative Determination must submit 

a preapplication, using Form SF–424, by 

February 1, 2010. Applicants choosing 

to submit a preapplication still must 

submit a full application for grant 

assistance by the April 20, 2010 

deadline to be considered for funding 

under the program. 

Group A Standard Date Communities 

With Cognizable Certifications Made on 

or After August 1, 2009 Through 

October 21, 2009 

Group A Standard Date Communities 

must submit information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination within 180 

days of the date of the community’s 

most recent Cognizable Certification. 

EDA strongly encourages Group A 

Standard Date Communities to submit a 

full application for grant assistance that 

incorporates information necessary for 

EDA to make an Affirmative 

Determination within the statutory 180- 

day window. Submission of a full 

application within the 180-day window 

will allow EDA to make an Affirmative 

Determination in connection with the 

decision on whether EDA will fund the 

application. However, Group A 

Standard Date Communities that are not 

prepared to submit a full application 

within the 180-day window for an 

Affirmative Determination may submit a 

preapplication using Form SF–424, 

which also must include information for 

the Affirmative Determination, within 

180 days of the date of its most recent 

Cognizable Certification. Applicants 

choosing to submit a preapplication still 

must submit a full application for grant 

assistance by the April 20, 2010 

competition deadline to be considered 

for funding under the program. 

Group B Standard Date Communities 

With a Cognizable Certification Made 

on or After October 22, 2009 

Group B Standard Date Communities 

must submit a full application that 

incorporates necessary information for 

EDA to make an Affirmative 

Determination by the April 20, 2010 

deadline to be considered for funding 

under the program. Group B Standard 

Date Communities do not need to 

submit a preapplication to preserve 

their eligibility because the April 20, 

2010 grant application deadline occurs 

within their 180-day window for an 

Affirmative Determination. 

Preapplications and full applications 

must be either: (a) Transmitted and time 

stamped at http://www.grants.gov no 

later than 5 p.m. (local time in the EDA 

regional office to which an applicant 

will be submitting) on the last day of the 

applicable preapplication or application 

deadline; or (b) received by the 

applicable EDA regional office listed 

below under ‘‘Addresses and Telephone 

Numbers for EDA’s Regional Offices’’ 

and in section VIII. of the FFO 

announcement no later than 5 p.m. 

(local time in the EDA regional office to 

which an applicant will be submitting) 


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1346 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2010 / Notices 

on the last day of the applicable 

preapplication or application deadline. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Application Packages. An 

applicant may obtain the appropriate 

preapplication or full application 

package electronically at http:// 

www.grants.gov. All components of the 

appropriate package may be accessed 

and downloaded (in a screen-fillable 

format) at http://www.grants.gov/ 

applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp. 

Alternatively, applicants eligible for 

assistance under this notice may request 

paper (hardcopy) preapplication or full 

application packages by contacting the 

applicable EDA regional office servicing 

your geographic area listed below under 

‘‘Addresses and Telephone Numbers for 

EDA’s Regional Offices’’ and in section 

VIII. of the FFO announcement. 

Application Submission Formats: 

Preapplications and full applications 

may be submitted either (i) 

electronically in accordance with the 

procedures provided at http:// 

www.grants.gov; or (ii) in paper format 

to the applicable regional office address 

provided below. The content of 

submissions is the same for paper 

submissions as it is for electronic 

submissions. EDA will not accept 

facsimile transmissions of 

preapplications or full applications. 

Note that EDA has regional offices in 

Atlanta and Philadelphia (Eastern 

Time); Austin and Chicago (Central 

Time); Denver (Mountain Time); and 

Seattle (Pacific Time). The regional 

offices and the States they serve are 

listed below under ‘‘Addresses and 

Telephone Numbers for EDA’s Regional 

Offices’’ and in section VIII. of the FFO 

announcement. Preapplications or 

applications received after the 

applicable deadline will be considered 

non-responsive and will not be 

considered for an Affirmative 

Determination or for funding, 

respectively. 

Electronic Submissions: Applicants 

are encouraged to submit 

preapplications and full applications 

electronically in accordance with the 

instructions provided at http:// 

www.grants.gov. The preferred file 

format for electronic attachments is 

portable document format (PDF); 

however, EDA will accept electronic 

files in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or 

Microsoft Excel formats. Validation or 

rejection of your preapplication or 

application by http://www.grants.gov 

may take additional days after your 

submission. Therefore, please consider 

the http://www.grants.gov validation/ 

rejection process in developing your 

application submission timeline. See 

section IV.G.1. of the FFO 

announcement for more information. 

Applicants should access the 

following link for assistance in 

navigating http://www.grants.gov and 

for a list of useful resources: http:// 

www.grants.gov/applicants/ 

applicant_help.jsp. If you do not find an 

answer to your question under 

Frequently Asked Questions, try 

consulting the Applicant’s User Guide. 

If you still cannot find an answer to 

your question, contact http:// 

www.grants.gov via e-mail at 

support@grants.gov or telephone at 

1–800–518–4726. The hours of 

operation for http://www.grants.gov are 

Monday–Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

(Eastern Time) (except for Federal 

holidays). 

Paper Submissions: An eligible 

applicant under this notice may submit 

a completed paper preapplication or full 

application to the applicable EDA 

regional office listed below. The 

applicant must submit one original and 

two copies of the appropriate completed 

package via postal mail, shipped 

overnight, or hand-delivered to the 

applicable regional office, unless 

otherwise directed by EDA staff. 

Department of Commerce mail security 

measures may delay receipt of United 

States Postal Service mail for up to two 

weeks. Therefore, applicants who 

submit paper submissions are advised to 

use guaranteed overnight delivery 

services. 

Addresses and Telephone Numbers 

for EDA’s Regional Offices: Applicants 

in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 

Mississippi, North Carolina, South 

Carolina and Tennessee, may submit 

paper submissions to: Economic 

Development Administration, Atlanta 

Regional Office, 401 West Peachtree 

Street, NW., Suite 1820, Atlanta, 

Georgia 30308. Telephone: (404) 730– 

3002, Fax: (404) 730–3025. 

Applicants in Arkansas, Louisiana, 

New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, may 

submit paper submissions to: Economic 

Development Administration, Austin 

Regional Office, 504 Lavaca, Suite 1100, 

Austin, Texas 78701–2858. Telephone: 

(512) 381–8144, Fax: (512) 381–8177. 

Applicants in Illinois, Indiana, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin 

and Muscatine and Scott counties, Iowa, 

may submit paper submissions to: 

Economic Development Administration, 

Chicago Regional Office, 111 North 

Canal Street, Suite 855, Chicago, Illinois 

60606. Telephone: (312) 353–7706, Fax: 

(312) 353–8575. 

Applicants in Colorado, Iowa 

(excluding Muscatine and Scott 

counties), Kansas, Missouri, Montana, 

Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, 

Utah and Wyoming, may submit paper 

submissions to: Economic Development 

Administration, Denver Regional Office, 

410 17th Street, Suite 250, Denver, 

Colorado 80202. Telephone: (303) 844– 

4714, Fax: (303) 844–3968. 

Applicants in Connecticut, Delaware, 

District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, 

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New 

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto 

Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, U.S. 

Virgin Islands, Virginia and West 

Virginia, may submit paper submissions 

to: Economic Development 

Administration, Philadelphia Regional 

Office, Curtis Center, 601 Walnut Street, 

Suite 140 South, Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania 19106. Telephone: (215) 

597–4603, Fax: (215) 597–1063. 

Applicants in Alaska, American 

Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, 

Hawaii, Idaho, Marshall Islands, 

Micronesia, Nevada, Northern Mariana 

Islands, Oregon, Republic of Palau and 

Washington, may submit paper 

submissions to: Economic Development 

Administration, Seattle Regional Office, 

Jackson Federal Building, Room 1890, 

915 Second Avenue, Seattle, 

Washington 98174. Telephone: (206) 

220–7660, Fax: (206) 220–7669. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information or for a paper 

copy of the FFO announcement, contact 

the appropriate EDA regional office 

listed above. EDA’s Internet Web site at 

http://www.eda.gov also contains 

additional information on EDA and its 

programs. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Program Information: EDA’s mission 

is to lead the Federal economic 

development agenda by promoting 

innovation and competitiveness, 

preparing American regions for growth 

and success in the worldwide economy. 

The Trade and Globalization 

Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009, 

which was included as subtitle I within 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111– 

5, 123 Stat. 115, at 367), made certain 

changes to the Trade Act of 1974 as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 2341 et seq.) (Trade 

Act), including establishing the 

Community TAA Program under 

chapter 4 of title II of the Trade Act. 

The Community TAA Program is one 

of several economic development 

programs that EDA administers and is 

designed to provide communities with 

comprehensive and flexible solutions to 

a wide variety of trade impacts. There 

currently are a number of TAA 

programs authorized under the Trade 

Act that target assistance to specific 

groups within and members of a 

community; for example workers and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2010 / Notices 1347 

firms. However, the negative impacts of 

trade are not just felt by discrete groups; 

they reverberate throughout an entire 

community. The closure or downsizing 

of a key industry, company, or plant 

creates severe economic challenges for 

an entire community impacted by trade. 

The Community TAA Program 

supplements and builds upon the other 

TAA programs by providing 

comprehensive assistance to address 

these challenges. The overall goal of the 

Community TAA Program is to help 

communities respond holistically and 

proactively to trade impacts and become 

more competitive in the global 

economy. The Community TAA 

program will help eligible communities 

devise long-term Strategic Plans and 

carry out implementation activities to 

address economic development 

challenges in regions affected by trade 

impacts. 

EDA publishes this notice to 

announce the competitive solicitation 

for the Community TAA Program. EDA 

will evaluate and select applications 

according to the investment policy 

guidelines and funding priorities set 

forth below under ‘‘Funding Priorities’’ 

and in section V.A. of the FFO 

announcement. Unless otherwise 

provided in this notice or in the FFO 

announcement, applicant eligibility, 

program objectives and priorities, 

application procedures, evaluation 

criteria, selection procedures, and other 

requirements for the Community TAA 

are set forth in EDA’s regulations 

(codified at 13 CFR part 313) and 

applicants must address these 

requirements. EDA’s regulations and the 

Trade Act are available at http:// 

www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/ 

Lawsreg.xml. 

Electronic Access: The FFO 

announcement for the Community TAA 

Program competition is available at 

http://www.grants.gov and at http:// 

www.eda.gov. EDA has created a 

Community TAA Web page with 

additional information on the program 

at http://www.eda.gov/CommunityTAA. 

Funding Availability: Under the 

Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 

(Pub. L. 111–32, 123 Stat. 1859, at 1860 

(2009)), funding in the amount of 

$40,000,000 was appropriated for both 

the Community TAA and TAA for Firms 

Programs authorized under the Trade 

Act, as amended by the Trade and 

Globalization Adjustment Assistance 

Act of 2009 (TGAAA). Under this 

notice, $36,768,000 is available for the 

Community TAA Program and shall 

remain available until September 30, 

2010. In accordance with section 275 of 

the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2371d(c)), an 

Impacted Community may not receive 

more than $5,000,000 to implement a 

Strategic Plan developed under section 

276 of the Trade Act. See also 13 CFR 

313.2 for the definition of Strategic Plan. 

Also, in accordance with section 

276(c)(2) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 

2371e(c)(2)), no more than $25,000,000 

of the total amount appropriated for the 

Community TAA Program may be made 

available for grants to develop Strategic 

Plans. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 11.010, 

Community Trade Adjustment 

Assistance. 

Affirmative Determinations: EDA 

must make an Affirmative 

Determination that a community is an 

Impacted Community before the 

community may receive grant assistance 

under this program. Section 273(a) of 

the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2371b) 

describes the requirements for the 

Affirmative Determination. There are 

two categories of applicants under this 

competitive solicitation: Grandfathered 

Communities and Standard Date 

Communities. Also, please note that 

because of timing considerations EDA 

has divided the Standard Date 

Communities category into two groups: 

Group A and Group B. Different 

deadlines for submitting preapplications 

or full applications apply to each 

category or group of applicant. Please 

read the below information and section 

III.B. of the FFO announcement 

carefully to ensure that your community 

submits a preapplication or full 

application on time or can rely on one 

of the lists that EDA has created to ease 

the Affirmative Determination burden. 

EDA Lists To Assist Communities With 

Affirmative Determination 

Requirements 

EDA has analyzed TAA certification 

data and created two lists to assist 

communities in identifying their 

eligibility for the Community TAA 

Program: The TAA for Workers 

Significantly Impacted County List and 

the TAA for Firms Certifications List. A 

community that is not on either list still 

may request an Affirmative 

Determination by submitting a 

preapplication or full application that 

includes the information necessary to 

establish the requisite trade impact in 

accordance with section III.B.4. of the 

FFO announcement. Please note that 

different deadlines apply to both 

Grandfathered and Standard Date 

Communities, which are noted under 

‘‘Dates for Submission of Information for 

Affirmative Determinations’’ below and 

section III.B.2. of the FFO 

announcement. If a preapplication or 

full application is submitted after the 

relevant deadlines, it will not be 

considered. 

1. TAA for Workers Significantly 

Impacted County List 

To assist communities in 

demonstrating trade impact 

significance, EDA has analyzed job-loss 

data in connection with the TAA for 

Workers Program. In order to assess the 

relative impact associated with the loss 

of jobs due to the trade impact leading 

to TAA for Workers Program Cognizable 

Certifications, EDA ranked counties 

with TAA for Workers certifications 

since January 1, 2007 based on the 

number of workers receiving assistance 

under the TAA for Workers Program. 

See the EDA Web site at http:// 

www.eda.doc.gov/CommunityTAA for 

further information. Based on that 

analysis, EDA has determined that 

certain counties have experienced a 

significant impact attributable to job 

losses associated with the certifications 

under the TAA for Workers Program. 

EDA has posted the results of this 

analysis in a list titled ‘‘TAA for 

Workers Significantly Impacted County 

List’’ at http://www.eda.doc.gov/ 

CommunityTAA. Since EDA has 

conducted a significance analysis on the 

front end, a county on the list will be 

deemed to have suffered a significant 

impact due to trade and to be an 

Impacted Community. Such counties 

may proceed to apply for an 

implementation grant by April 20, 2010 

in accordance with sections III.C. and 

IV. of the FFO announcement. 

2. TAA for Workers Significantly 

Impacted County List—Importance for 

Communities That Are Not Counties 

Please note that EDA’s TAA for 

Workers Significantly Impacted County 

List only addresses trade impact 

significance at the county level. For a 

sub-county community (for example a 

city or township) that is not on this list, 

but is located within a county on the 

list, EDA still must make an Affirmative 

Determination that the sub-county 

community itself is an Impacted 

Community that has been significantly 

affected by the threat to, or the loss of, 

jobs associated with one ore more 

Cognizable Certifications. Even though 

sub-county communities are not 

included on the TAA for Workers 

Significantly Impacted County List, the 

list may help a city or township, for 

example, identify potential eligibility 

for grant assistance under the 

Community TAA Program. For example, 

assume City A is located in County B, 

which county is located on the TAA for 

Workers Significantly Impacted County 

List. Even though City A is not 


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automatically deemed to be an Impacted 

Community, being in a county that is on 

the list alerts City A that it might have 

a significant trade impact. City A should 

search the Department of Labor’s ‘‘TAA 

Petition Determination’’ Web site at 

http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/taa/ 

taa_search_form.cfm to determine 

whether a TAA for Workers certification 

has been made in the community since 

January 1, 2007 and to assess the impact 

of any certifications in accordance with 

section III.B.4. of the FFO 

announcement, which contains detailed 

information on how to use TAA for 

Workers certifications for an Affirmative 

Determination. 

A sub-county community located in a 

county on EDA’s TAA for Workers 

Significantly Impacted County List also 

should note that the list includes all 

TAA for Workers certifications made 

since January 1, 2007 until the date 

noted on the list, which means that the 

list does not reflect timing concerns for 

Affirmative Determination purposes. 

When a community that wishes to apply 

searches the Department of Labor’s 

‘‘TAA Petition Determination’’ Web site 

at http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/taa/ 

taa_search_form.cfm, the community 

must be careful to note the Decision 

Date of the most recent TAA for 

Workers certification to ensure that their 

submission reaches EDA by the 

deadlines noted under paragraphs 2 and 

3 of section III.B. of the FFO 

announcement. Using the example 

above, City A must determine the 

Decision Date of its most recent TAA for 

Workers certification in order to submit 

information for EDA’s Affirmative 

Determination in a timely manner. 

Please note that the TAA for Workers 

Significantly Impacted County List is 

not a listing of all communities that 

have had a TAA for Workers 

certification since January 1, 2007. The 

list is a significance analysis of those 

certifications, and therefore, a county or 

community that has had a TAA for 

Workers certification may find that it or 

the county in which it is located is not 

on the list. Such a community that has 

had a TAA for Workers certification and 

finds that the certification has had a 

significant impact on the community 

still may submit information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination in 

accordance with section III.B.4. of the 

FFO announcement. 

A note on searching the Department 

of Labor Web site: The Department of 

Labor’s underlying data was organized 

by city, but because of the volume of 

data and to ensure ease of use, EDA 

aggregated the Department of Labor’s 

list to the county level in creating EDA’s 

TAA for Workers Significantly Impacted 

County List. Therefore, each sub-county 

community that is not on this list, but 

is located within one of the counties on 

the list and wishes to apply must search 

the Department of Labor’s petition 

determination Web site by city and 

State. In addition, the community 

should insert a determination date range 

of January 1, 2007 through the present 

date (the date of the search) since 

certifications before January 1, 2007 do 

not establish eligibility. A community 

should take care to select the search 

option on the Web site for 

‘‘Certifications’’ so that only approved 

TAA for Workers certifications appear. 

EDA will post updates to the TAA for 

Workers Significantly Impacted County 

List on approximately the 20th day of 

each month through April 2010. As 

noted above, counties not on the list or 

other communities that are located 

outside counties on the list may seek an 

Affirmative Determination of trade 

impact by submitting the information 

necessary to establish that impact as 

described in section III.B.4. of the FFO 

announcement. Also as noted above, 

EDA’s TAA for Workers Significantly 

Impacted County List includes all TAA 

for Workers certifications since January 

1, 2007. Therefore, the list does not 

reflect timing concerns, and a 

community must search the Department 

of Labor’s ‘‘TAA Petition Determination’’ 

Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/ 

tradeact/taa/taa_search_form.cfm to 

determine the date of the community’s 

most recent Cognizable Certification and 

whether the community should apply as 

a Grandfathered Community or a Group 

A or B Standard Date Community. 

3. TAA for Firms Certifications List 

EDA also has posted a list organized 

by city and State of TAA for Firms 

certifications since January 1, 2007 at 

http://www.eda.doc.gov/ 

CommunityTAA. Because of data 

limitations, the TAA for Firms 

Certifications List does not indicate 

significance of trade impact and a 

community that has had a TAA for 

Firms certification still must petition for 

EDA’s Affirmative Determination in 

accordance with the deadlines set out 

below under sections III.B.2. and III.B.3. 

of the FFO announcement. EDA will 

post updates to the TAA for Firms 

Certifications List on approximately the 

20th day of each month through April 

2010. You may contact EDA’s TAA for 

Firms staff at taac@eda.doc.gov. 

4. TAA for Farmers 

As of the date of publication of this 

notice, there had been no certifications 

under the TAA for Farmers Program for 

the relevant time period from January 1, 

2007 through the publication date of 

this notice. As certifications are made 

under the TAA for Farmers Program, the 

Department of Agriculture will publish 

notice of them in the Federal Register. 

More updates are available on the 

program Web site at http:// 

www.fas.usda.gov/ITP/TAA/taa.asp. 

Dates for Submission of Information for 

Affirmative Determinations 

As noted above, a community that is 

not on EDA’s TAA for Workers 

Significantly Impacted County List must 

seek an Affirmative Determination to be 

deemed Impacted Community. The 

below information details the deadlines 

that apply to the two categories of 

applicants under this competitive 

solicitation: Grandfathered 

Communities and Standard Date 

Communities. Also, please note that 

because of timing considerations EDA 

has divided the Standard Date 

Communities category into two groups: 

Group A and Group B. 

A community may rely on more than 

one Cognizable Certification to show 

trade impact, but must use the most 

recent certification to determine 

whether the community must submit as 

a Grandfathered Community or as 

Group A or B Standard Date 

Community. 

1. Grandfathered Communities 

A Grandfathered Community is a 

community that had one or more 

Cognizable Certifications made with 

respect to it on or after January 1, 2007 

and before August 1, 2009. See section 

273(a)(2) of the Trade Act and 13 CFR 

313.2. In accordance with section 273(c) 

of the Trade Act, a Grandfathered 

Community must submit information 

for EDA’s Affirmative Determination by 

February 1, 2010. A Grandfathered 

Community that does not submit a 

preapplication or full application in a 

timely manner is not eligible for grant 

assistance under the Community TAA 

Program. Because of limited program 

resources, EDA encourages a 

Grandfathered Community to 

incorporate its information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination along with 

its full application for grant assistance 

on the Application for Federal 

Assistance (Form SF–424) (checking the 

box for ‘‘Application’’ in item 1 of the 

form), and to submit this package by the 

February 1, 2010 deadline. In this case, 

an attachment to item 15 of the Form 

SF–424 must contain all information for 

EDA to make an Affirmative 

Determination in accordance with 13 

CFR 313.4. See section III.B.4. of the 

FFO announcement for more 

information on the required 


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attachment(s) and section III.C. for more 

information on full application 

packages. 

If a Grandfathered Community is not 

prepared to submit a full application by 

February 1, 2010, the Grandfathered 

Community may preserve its eligibility 

by submitting a preapplication by 

February 1, 2010 to request an 

Affirmative Determination using Form 

SF–424 and checking ‘‘Preapplication’’ 

in item 1 of the form. The 

preapplication must describe the threat 

to, or the loss of, jobs associated with 

the applicable grandfathered Cognizable 

Certification(s) and include the 

information set out in section III.B.4. of 

the FFO announcement to allow EDA to 

make an Affirmative Determination. If a 

Grandfathered Community does not 

have complete information about the 

trade impact at the time it submits a 

preapplication by February 1, 2010, it 

may supplement the information 

provided with its preapplication with 

additional data when it submits its 

complete application. However, the 

Grandfathered Community should be 

aware that it must submit all 

information necessary for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination and a full 

grant application by the competition 

deadline of April 20, 2010 to be 

considered for grant funding under the 

program. 

2. Standard Date Communities 

A Standard Date Community is a 

community with its most recent 

Cognizable Certification made on or 

after August 1, 2009. Because EDA is 

holding a single competition for the 

Community TAA Program with a 

deadline date of April 20, 2010 and 

section 273 of the Trade Act requires 

EDA to make an Affirmative 

Determination of the significance of 

trade impact based on information 

submitted not later than 180 days of a 

community’s most recent Cognizable 

Certification, EDA has divided Standard 

Date Communities into two groups: 

Group A and Group B. Group A consists 

of Standard Date Communities that have 

their most recent Cognizable 

Certification made on or after August 1, 

2009 through October 21, 2009 and 

Group B consists of Standard Date 

Communities that have their most 

recent Cognizable Certification made on 

or after October 22, 2009. 

Both Group A and Group B 

communities must submit information 

for EDA’s Affirmative Determination 

within 180 days of the date of their most 

recent Cognizable Certification. A Group 

A community, however, must check the 

date of its most recent Cognizable 

Certification, and submit information 

for an Affirmative Determination within 

180 days of that certification or else it 

will not be eligible for grant assistance. 

A Group B Standard Date Community 

simply must submit its full application 

by April 20, 2010 because its most 

recent Cognizable Certification was 

made on or after October 22, 2009, and 

the application filing deadline is within 

the 180-day window for submission of 

information for an Affirmative 

Determination. Accordingly, the full 

application must contain all information 

for EDA’s Affirmative Determination by 

the competition deadline of April 20, 

2010. Please see the paragraphs below 

for more detailed information. 

a. Group A: Standard Date Communities 

With Cognizable Certifications Made on 

or After August 1, 2009 Through 

October 21, 2009 

If a Standard Date Community in 

Group A has its most recent Cognizable 

Certification made on or after August 1, 

2009 through October 21, 2009, it must 

submit information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination within 180 

days of the date of that certification. A 

Group A community that does not 

submit the information in a timely 

manner is not eligible for grant 

assistance under the Community TAA 

Program. Because of limited program 

resources, EDA encourages such a 

community to submit the information 

for EDA’s Affirmative Determination 

along with its full application for grant 

assistance in a full application (Form 

SF–424, checking the box for 

‘‘Application’’ in item 1 of the form). In 

this case, the attachment to item 15 of 

the Form SF–424 in the application 

must contain all information for EDA to 

make an Affirmative Determination in 

accordance with 13 CFR 313.4. See 

section III.B.4. of the FFO 

announcement for more information on 

the required attachment(s) and section 

III.C. for more information on full 

application packages. 

If a Group A community is not 

prepared to submit a full application 

within 180 days of the applicable 

Cognizable Certification, the community 

may preserve its eligibility by 

submitting a preapplication requesting 

an Affirmative Determination using 

Form SF–424 and checking the box for 

‘‘Preapplication’’ in item 1 of the form. 

The preapplication must describe the 

threat to, or the loss of, jobs associated 

with the community’s applicable 

Cognizable Certification(s) and include 

the information set out in section III.B.4. 

of the FFO announcement to allow EDA 

to make an Affirmative Determination. If 

a Group A community does not have 

complete information about the trade 

impact at the time it submits a 

preapplication within 180 days of the 

relevant Cognizable Certification, it may 

supplement the information provided 

with its preapplication with additional 

data when it submits its full application. 

However, the Group A Standard Date 

Community should be aware that it 

must submit all information necessary 

for EDA’s Affirmative Determination 

and a full grant application by the 

competition deadline of April 20, 2010 

to be considered for grant funding under 

the program. 

Note that a Standard Date Community 

in Group A must attend carefully to the 

date of its most recent Cognizable 

Certification because the statute requires 

a community to submit its information 

for an Affirmative Determination within 

180 days of that date. Because the April 

20, 2010 deadline for this competitive 

solicitation exceeds the 180-day time 

period for those communities, a Group 

A Standard Date Community must 

protect its ability to be considered under 

the competition by submitting a 

preapplication or full application before 

the expiration of the 180-day window. 

A Group B Standard Date Community 

with a certification made on or after 

October 22, 2009 does not face this 

complication as the April 20, 2010 

deadline for the competitive solicitation 

is in advance of the closing of the 180- 

day window applicable to its most 

recent Cognizable Certification. 

b. Group B: Standard Date Communities 

With Certifications Made on or After 

October 22, 2009 

If a Standard Date Community in 

Group B has its most recent Cognizable 

Certification made after October 22, 

2009, it must submit a full application 

by April 20, 2010. Because the 

compressed timeframe during which 

funds are available requires expeditious 

delivery of program resources and 

reduced applicant burden, EDA will 

make its decision regarding an 

Affirmative Determination based on the 

full application for Community TAA 

grant assistance for Standard Date 

Communities in Group B. Accordingly, 

the full application must contain all 

information for EDA to make an 

Affirmative Determination in 

accordance with 13 CFR 313.4. A 

community must submit a Form SF–424 

and check the box for ‘‘Application’’ in 

item 1 of the form and proceed to 

complete and submit an appropriate 

application for the community’s 

proposed project in accordance with 

section IV. of the FFO announcement by 

April 20, 2010. A community that does 

not timely submit its application will 

not be considered for funding. 


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3. Significance Threshold 

Note that in light of the limited 

funding available, EDA is not likely to 

find job losses associated with the 

applicable Cognizable Certifications to 

be ‘‘significant’’ unless the community 

demonstrates that at least 8.25 workers 

per 1,000 workers in the community’s 

most recently reported Civilian Labor 

Force (CLF) have been impacted by 

TAA Cognizable Certifications or 

provides other evidence of equally 

severe economic distress such as the 

imminent threat of significant job loss 

associated with trade. For example, if 

the applicant’s total CLF is 50,000, EDA 

would deem the trade impact to be 

‘‘significant’’ if there was a job loss of at 

least 413 workers in the community’s 

CLF (413/50,000 = 0.00825 × 1,000 = 

8.25) associated with the community’s 

Cognizable Certification(s). Please see 

section III.B.4. of the FFO 

announcement for detailed information 

on how to collect information on and 

perform the significance calculation. 

Affirmative Determination Substance 

Requirements 

EDA will use Form SF–424 for both 

preapplications and full applications. 

Communities are strongly encouraged to 

incorporate information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination into their 

Form SF–424 as part of a full 

application package. If, however, 

Grandfathered or Group A Standard 

Date Communities are not prepared to 

submit a full application by their 

Affirmative Determination deadline, 

then may submit a preapplication for an 

Affirmative Determination using Form 

SF–424 by the applicable Affirmative 

Determination deadline. If a 

Grandfathered or Group A Standard 

Date Community elects to submit a 

preapplication for EDA’s Affirmative 

Determination, the applicant 

community must check the box for 

‘‘Preapplication’’ in item 1 of the form 

and complete all numbered items on 

Form SF–424 except for items 17, 18, 

and 19. If, however, the applicant is 

submitting Form SF–424 as part of a full 

application for grant assistance, the 

applicant community must complete all 

numbered items on Form SF–424. Note 

that for a Grandfathered or Group A 

Standard Date Community that elects to 

submit a preapplication using Form SF– 

424, the community must submit a 

second Form SF–424 as part of its full 

grant application, and all items on the 

Form SF–424 must be completed. 

For both preapplications and full 

applications, a community must submit 

the necessary information using Form 

SF–424 to allow EDA to determine that 

the applicant community is 

‘‘significantly affected’’ by the threat to, 

or loss of, jobs associated with one or 

more Cognizable Certification(s). Item 

15 of Form SF–424 allows for 

attachments. If a Grandfathered or 

Group A Standard Date Community 

elects to submit a preapplication, the 

community should provide all of the 

following information and attach it at 

Item 15 (provided however, that if 

complete information is not available at 

the time of submission of the 

preapplication, the community must 

include the information at the time of 

filing its full application). If the 

community is submitting a complete 

application, the community must 

submit all of the following and the 

applicant’s Project Narrative and other 

information for a complete full 

application package. Please see section 

IV. of the FFO announcement for details 

on a full application. 

• Identify the applicable Cognizable 

Certification(s) upon which the 

community bases its Impacted 

Community status for timing purposes. 

Please note that the community must 

use its most recent Cognizable 

Certification to determine whether it 

must submit as a Grandfathered 

Community or Group A or Group B 

Standard Date Community and must 

clearly identify that certification. For 

example, if City A has two TAA for 

Workers certifications and one TAA for 

Firms certification and is applying as a 

Group B Standard Date Community, it 

must use the most recent Cognizable 

Certification, regardless of the program, 

to be classified as a Group B Standard 

Date Community, and identify the 

certification and the certification’s date. 

Note that the community must identify 

and discuss all Cognizable Certifications 

upon which it relies for eligibility as a 

trade-impacted community in its 

narrative, as described below. 

Æ For TAA for Workers Cognizable 

Certifications, the applicant community 

must provide the TAA petition number 

associated with the Department of 

Labor’s certification decision. TAA for 

Workers petition determinations may be 

accessed and searched electronically at 

http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/taa/ 

taa_search_form.cfm. 

Æ For TAA for Firms Certifications, 

the applicant community must provide 

the name of the firm certified under the 

program in the official notification letter 

provided by the Department of 

Commerce to the certified firm. A list of 

firms certified since January 1, 2007 has 

been posted on EDA’s Web site at http://

www.eda.gov/CommunityTAA. EDA 

will post updates to the TAA for Firms 

Certifications List on approximately the 

20th day of each month through April 

2010. 

Æ For TAA for Farmers certifications, 

the applicant community must provide 

the name and region (region, State, or 

multi-State area) of the certified 

agricultural commodity and the record 

identifier provided by the Department of 

Agriculture. Note that as of the date of 

publication of this notice, no 

certifications had been made under the 

TAA for Farmers Program. Visit the 

TAA for Farmers Web site at http:// 

www.fas.usda.gov/ITP/TAA/taa.asp for 

updates on the status of the program. In 

addition, the Department of Agriculture 

will publish all certifications made 

under the program in the Federal 

Register. 

• Percentage of the CLF affected by 

TAA for Workers, TAA for Firms, and/ 

or TAA for Farmers certifications. To 

perform this calculation, a community 

needs to know two things: (1) How 

many workers were affected by a TAA 

Cognizable Certification; and (2) the 

community’s most recently reported 

CLF. Please see section III.B.4. of the 

FFO announcement for detailed 

instructions on how to access the 

information for and perform this 

calculation. 

• The source of the CLF data the 

community used to complete the 

significance calculation. 

• A narrative describing the threat to, 

or the loss of, jobs associated with the 

applicable Cognizable Certification(s). If 

a community is applying based on the 

threat to jobs associated with a 

Cognizable Certification, it must include 

solid evidence of that threat, such as a 

notice issued under the Worker 

Adjustment and Retraining Notification 

(WARN) Act (19 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) or 

similar official statements that relate to 

the applicable Cognizable Certification. 

Unsupported company announcements, 

even if publicly announced, are not 

likely to be deemed sufficient. A 

community’s narrative should help EDA 

assess the merits of the application 

based on the severity of trade impacts 

affecting the community and evaluation 

criteria set out in section V.A. of the 

FFO announcement. 

The information attached at item 15 of 

Form SF–424 and required for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination may not 

exceed five pages in length, doublespaced text, with approximately 200 to 

300 words per page. The five-page limit 

is an upper limit only; and applicants 

should be concise as possible. 

Once EDA has made an Affirmative 

Determination, EDA will consider the 

community to be an Impacted 

Community significantly impacted by 

trade. Because of the compressed time 


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schedule, Grandfathered and Group A 

Standard Date Communities that elect to 

submit a preapplication for an 

Affirmative Determination will then 

need to proceed and complete a full 

application for funding by April 20, 

2010 to be considered for a grant. EDA 

will make a determination of the 

significance of the trade impact at the 

same time it decides whether to accept 

or decline the application for funding. 

For applicants that are submitting a 

full application, please see section IV.C. 

of the FFO announcement for 

information on the Project Narrative, 

which must include information for 

EDA’s Affirmative Determination. 

Strategic Plan and Implementation 

Grant Assistance: Provided that EDA 

has made an Affirmative Determination 

that a community is an Impacted 

Community in connection with: (i) The 

TAA for Workers Significantly Impacted 

County List; (ii) a Grandfathered or 

Group A Standard Date Community’s 

preapplication, or (iii) as part of the 

review of a community’s full 

application, EDA will consider the 

Impacted Community’s application for 

grant assistance to develop or carry out 

a Strategic Plan. 

1. Grants To Develop Strategic Plans 

Grants to develop a Strategic Plan are 

designed to help the Impacted 

Community achieve economic 

adjustment to trade impacts. See 13 CFR 

313.6, which sets out the requirements 

for Strategic Plans, including 

requirements to ensure the involvement 

of private and public entities in the 

process and technical requirements 

designed to ensure that the plan 

analyzes current challenges and 

opportunities facing the Impacted 

Community. 

EDA strongly encourages applicants 

to link and leverage existing planning 

efforts. A Strategic Plan should update 

and incorporate relevant provisions of 

existing plans that affect an Impacted 

Community’s economic development 

efforts, such as an applicable 

Comprehensive Economic Development 

Strategy (CEDS) developed under EDA’s 

regulations at 13 CFR 303.7 and 

strategies developed in concert with the 

U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. 

Department of Energy, the 

Environmental Protection Agency, and 

other Federal, State, and local agencies. 

2. Grants To Implement Projects or 

Programs in Strategic Plans 

In order to award an application to 

implement a Strategic Plan, EDA must 

determine that the plan meets the 

requirements of section 276 of the Trade 

Act and EDA’s implementing regulation 

at 13 CFR 313.6. EDA will review 

information submitted with the 

application to ensure that the proposed 

funding will support activities that 

respond to the economic dislocation 

attributable to the job losses that led to 

the Cognizable Certification(s) and to 

ensure that the activities are otherwise 

consistent with an acceptable Strategic 

Plan. The Impacted Community must 

submit its Strategic Plan for EDA’s 

review and approval as part of its 

application. Note that if the community 

is relying on a CEDS as its Strategic 

Plan, it need not be re-submitted if EDA 

already has the current version. 

Implementation grants may be 

provided for construction or nonconstruction projects. Such assistance 

may include: (1) Infrastructure 

improvements, such as site acquisition, 

site preparation, construction, 

rehabilitation, and equipping of 

facilities; (2) market or industry research 

and analysis; (3) technical assistance, 

including organizational development 

such as business networking, 

restructuring or improving the delivery 

of business services, or feasibility 

studies; (4) public services; (5) training; 

and (6) other activities justified by the 

Strategic Plan that satisfy applicable 

statutory and regulatory requirements. 

See 13 CFR 313.7. See section IV. of the 

FFO announcement for information on 

submitting application packages. EDA 

will not award grant assistance to 

establish revolving loan funds under the 

Community TAA Program. 

Applicant Eligibility: Under section 

271 of the Trade Act, a ‘‘community’’ is 

eligible to apply to participate in the 

Community TAA Program. The Trade 

Act defines community as ‘‘a city, 

county, or other political subdivision of 

a State or a consortium of political 

subdivisions of a State.’’ District 

Organizations formed and operating in 

accordance with 13 CFR 304.2 that 

coordinate and implement the economic 

development activities of EDA’s 

designated Economic Development 

Districts (EDDs) also are eligible to 

apply under this notice. EDA will 

review the eligibility of an applicant 

under this notice at the time the 

application for assistance is received in 

the regional office. See section 271 of 

the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2371) and 13 

CFR 313.2. 

In accordance with section 273 of the 

Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2371b), to receive 

assistance under the Community TAA 

Program, a community must have one or 

more of the Cognizable Certifications 

described below made with respect to it: 

1. Trade Adjustment Assistance for 

Workers Program. A certification by the 

Secretary of Labor that a group of 

workers in the community is eligible to 

apply for assistance under section 223 

of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2273). 

2. Trade Adjustment Assistance for 

Firms Program. A certification by the 

Secretary of Commerce that a firm 

located in the community is eligible to 

apply for adjustment assistance under 

section 251 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 

2341). 

3. Trade Adjustment Assistance for 

Farmers Program. A certification by the 

Secretary of Agriculture that a group of 

agricultural commodity producers in the 

community is eligible to apply for 

adjustment assistance under section 293 

of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2401b). 

In order for a community to be 

eligible to apply for grant assistance 

under this funding opportunity, EDA 

must make an Affirmative 

Determination that the community is 

‘‘significantly affected by the threat to, 

or the loss of, jobs associated with any 

such certification.’’ Please note that 

communities may rely on more than one 

Cognizable Certification to show trade 

impact for EDA’s Affirmative 

Determination as set out in section 

III.B.4. of the FFO announcement, but 

must use the most recent certification to 

determine whether the community must 

submit as a Grandfathered Community 

or as Group A or B Standard Date 

Community. 

Once EDA has made such a 

determination, the community will be 

referred to as an Impacted Community. 

See section 273 of the Trade Act (19 

U.S.C. 2371b) and 13 CFR 313.4. See 

sections III.B. and III.C. of the FFO 

announcement for more information on 

program process and timing 

considerations. 

For-profit, private-sector entities are 

not eligible to apply for investment 

assistance under this notice. 

Cost Sharing Requirement: For 

Strategic Plan grants, section 276(c)(1) 

the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2371e, 13 CFR 

313.6(d)) provides that the Federal share 

of eligible costs may not exceed 75 

percent. For implementation grants, 

section 275(d) of the Trade Act (19 

U.S.C. 2371d, 13 CFR 313.7(d)) provides 

that the Federal share of eligible costs 

may not exceed 95 percent. 

While cash contributions are 

preferred, in-kind contributions, 

consisting of contributions of space, 

equipment, or services, may provide the 

required non-Federal share of the total 

project cost. See 15 CFR 24.24. EDA will 

fairly evaluate all in-kind contributions, 

which must be eligible project costs and 

meet applicable Federal cost principles 

and uniform administrative 

requirements. Funds from other Federal 

financial assistance awards are 


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considered matching share funds only if 

authorized by statute, which may be 

determined by EDA’s reasonable 

interpretation of the statute. See 13 CFR 

300.3. The applicant must show that the 

matching share is committed to the 

project for the project period, is and will 

be available as needed, and is not 

conditioned or encumbered in any way 

that precludes its use consistent with 

the requirements of EDA investment 

assistance. See 13 CFR 301.5. 

Application Submission 

Requirements: The applicant is advised 

to read carefully the instructions 

contained in the FFO announcement for 

this request for applications and in all 

forms contained in the appropriate 

application package. Sections III. and 

IV. of the FFO announcement contain 

important information on application 

requirements and timing considerations 

for submitting an application. It is the 

sole responsibility of the applicant to 

ensure that the appropriate 

preapplication or application package is 

complete and received by EDA. 

Strategic Plan Grant Assistance: To 

apply for grant assistance to develop a 

Strategic Plan under section 276 of the 

Trade Act to help the Impacted 

Community adjust to trade impacts, the 

applicant must be determined to be an 

Impacted Community, and must 

complete and submit the following: 

• Form ED–900 (Application for 

Investment Assistance). 

• Form SF–424 (Application for 

Federal Assistance) (Note that if the 

applicant is submitting a full 

application for a Strategic Plan grant 

that contains information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination, it must 

submit only one Form-SF–424. If, 

however, the applicant already has 

submitted a Form SF–424 in connection 

with a preapplication, it must submit a 

second Form SF–424 in connection with 

its full application. See section IV.C.2. 

of the FFO announcement. 

• Form SF–424A (Budget 

Information—Non-Construction 

Programs). 

• Form SF–424B (Assurances—NonConstruction Programs). 

• Form CD–511 (Certification 

Regarding Lobbying). 

The applicant also may be required to 

provide certain lobbying information 

using Form SF–LLL (Disclosure of 

Lobbying Activities). Form ED–900 

provides detailed guidance to help the 

applicant assess whether Form SF–LLL 

is required and how to access the form. 

Implementation Grant Assistance: To 

apply for an implementation grant with 

construction components, an applicant 

must be designated as an Impacted 

Community, have an EDA-approved 

Strategic Plan, and must complete and 

submit the following: 

• Form ED–900 (Application for 

Investment Assistance). 

• Form SF–424 (Application for 

Federal Assistance) (Note that if an 

applicant with an existing Strategic Plan 

is submitting a full application for a 

construction implementation grant that 

contains information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination, it must 

submit only one Form-SF–424. If, 

however, the applicant already has 

submitted a Form SF–424 in connection 

with a preapplication, it must submit a 

second Form SF–424 in connection with 

its full application. See section IV.C.2. 

of the FFO announcement.) 

• Form SF–424C (Budget 

Information—Construction Programs). 

• Form SF–424D (Assurances— 

Construction Programs). 

• Form CD–511 (Certification 

Regarding Lobbying). 

To apply for assistance for an 

implementation grant without 

construction components, an applicant 

must be designated as an Impacted 

Community, have an EDA-approved 

Strategic Plan, and must complete and 

submit the following forms: 

• Form ED–900 (Application for 

Investment Assistance). 

• Form SF–424 (Application for 

Federal Assistance) (Note that if the 

community applicant with an existing 

Strategic Plan is submitting a full 

application for a non-construction 

implementation grant that contains 

information for EDA’s Affirmative 

Determination, it must submit only one 

Form-SF–424. If, however, the applicant 

already has submitted a Form SF–424 in 

connection with a preapplication, it 

must submit a second Form SF–424 in 

connection with its full application. See 

section IV.C.2. of the FFO 

announcement.) 

• Form SF–424A (Budget 

Information—Non-Construction 

Programs). 

• Form SF–424B (Assurances—NonConstruction Programs). 

• Form CD–511 (Certification 

Regarding Lobbying). 

Applicants for both construction and 

non-construction implementation grants 

may be required to provide certain 

lobbying information using Form SF– 

LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities). 

The Form ED–900 provides detailed 

guidance to help the applicant assess 

whether Form SF–LLL is required and 

how to access it. 

Project Narrative at Item 15 of Form 

SF–424: As noted above, the Project 

Narrative included in applications as an 

attachment to item 15 in the Form SF– 

424 must include a discussion of the 

following: 

• Significance of Trade Impact.— If 

the applicant has not already submitted 

a preapplication, the narrative must 

include all information for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination as set out at 

section III.B.4 of the FFO 

announcement. See section III.B.4. of 

the FFO announcement to ensure all 

necessary information is submitted. 

• Strategic Plan.— If the application 

is for a grant to create a Strategic Plan 

or update an existing Strategic Plan, the 

narrative must discuss how the 

proposed plan will be consistent section 

276 of the Trade Act and 13 CFR 313.6. 

See also sections III.C.1. and IV.A.1. of 

the FFO announcement. 

• Strategic Plan Implementation.—If 

the application is for a grant to 

implement a Strategic Plan, the 

narrative must discuss how the 

proposed project is consistent with that 

plan and describe how the proposed 

funding will enable the applicant to 

carry out activities pursuant to that 

plan. See also sections III.C.2. and 

IV.A.2. of the FFO announcement. 

• Scope of Work and Anticipated 

Results.—The narrative must discuss 

what the EDA funds will support and 

the anticipated results. 

• Project Fit with EDA Mission and 

Priorities.—The narrative must discuss 

how the proposed project satisfies the 

evaluation criteria set out in section V.A 

of the FFO announcement. 

If the applicant already has submitted 

a preapplication for EDA’s Affirmative 

Determination, the Project Narrative 

may not exceed eight pages in length, 

double-spaced text, with approximately 

200 to 300 words per page, including 

any attachments, but not including the 

cover page. The eight-page limit is an 

upper limit only; therefore, applicants 

should be as concise as possible. 

Note that if an applicant is submitting 

a full application for a grant application 

that also contains all information for 

EDA’s Affirmative Determination, the 

applicant must also include the 

information required under section 

III.B.4. of the FFO announcement. The 

information required for EDA’s 

Affirmative Determination may not 

exceed an additional five pages in 

length, double-spaced text, with 

approximately 200 to 300 words per 

page. The five-page limit for this 

information is an upper limit only; and 

applicants should be concise as 

possible. Such an applicant still has the 

full eight pages for its full application 

Project Narrative as noted above. 

Content and Form of the Form ED– 

900: Form ED–900 is required for a full 

grant application to develop a Strategic 


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Plan or implement a project in a 

Strategic Plan under the Community 

TAA Program. Based on whether an 

Impacted Community is submitting an 

application for a Strategic Plan grant or 

for an implementation grant, the 

following tables detail the sections and 

exhibits in Form ED–900 that an 

Impacted Community must complete. 

Application for strategic plan grant Required form ED–900 sections 

On the initial page of Section A of Form ED–900, check that you are applying for Economic Adjustment Assistance. In section B(3)(C), check that you are applying under 

‘‘Special need,’’ and check ‘‘Negative effects of changing trade patterns’’ under the 

‘‘Special need’’ paragraph.

Complete Sections A, C, E, and F and Exhibit C 

Application for implementation grant Required form ED–900 sections 

On the initial page of Section A of Form ED–900, check that you are 

applying for Economic Adjustment Assistance. In section B(3)(C), 

check that you are applying under ‘‘Special need,’’ and check ‘‘Negative effects of changing trade patterns’’ under the ‘‘Special need’’ 

paragraph. 

Complete Sections A, B, and K, and Exhibit C. Also complete Sections 

M and Exhibits A, D, and E if the application has construction components and Section N if the application has only design/engineering 

requirements. Complete Section E if the application has no construction components. 

Intergovernmental Review: 

Applications for assistance under EDA’s 

programs are subject to the State review 

requirements imposed by Executive 

Order 12372, ‘‘Intergovernmental Review 

of Federal Programs.’’ 

Evaluation and Selection Procedures 

1. Technical Review 

Staff in EDA’s regional offices will 

undertake a technical review of each 

application to ensure that all required 

forms, signatures, and documentation 

are present and that the application is 

in compliance with the technical 

requirements set out in the FFO 

announcement, including requirements 

related to Cognizable Certifications and 

eligibility as a community. The 

technical review also will help 

determine if the proposed project is 

responsive to the objectives set out in 

the FFO. Applications that do not meet 

the technical requirements set out in the 

FFO will not be referred to the review 

panel. 

2. Review Panel 

Each regional office will convene a 

panel to review the merits of each 

application based on the criteria set 

forth in the FFO. The review panel will 

consist of Federal employees and may 

consist of others recommended by the 

Regional Director of the applicable 

regional office. At least three members 

of the review panel will be EDA staff 

members. The review panel will 

evaluate independently and rate and 

rank competitively all technically 

sufficient applications based on the 

evaluation criteria listed in section V.A. 

of the FFO announcement. 

The review panel’s rating and ranking 

of the applications will be presented to 

the regional office’s Investment Review 

Committee (IRC). After reviewing the 

panel’s process and recommendations, 

the IRC may either: (i) Forward the 

panel’s ranked list, unaltered and in its 

entirety, to the Selecting Official 

(defined below); or (ii) identify any 

deficiencies in the review process and 

direct the review panel to begin the 

process anew. If the IRC directs the 

panel to re-evaluate the applications, 

the review panel will undertake the 

process again and submit a revised 

rating and ranking of the applications to 

the IRC. 

3. Selecting Official and Selecting 

Factors 

Under this notice, the Regional 

Director in each regional office is the 

Selecting Official. EDA expects to fund 

the highest ranking applications. The 

Selecting Official will normally follow 

the recommendations of the review 

panel; however, the Selecting Official 

may decide not to make a selection, or 

may select an application out of rank 

order for several reasons, including: 

a. A determination that the 

application better meets the overall 

objectives of sections 271 through 277 of 

the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2371—2371f); 

b. Relative economic distress and 

financial capability of a community; 

c. Availability of program funding; 

d. Geographic balance in distribution 

of program funds; 

e. Balanced funding for a diverse 

group of institutions, to include smaller 

and rural institutions, which may form 

part of a broader consortium to serve 

diverse populations and areas within 

the regional office’s territory; or 

f. The applicant’s performance under 

previous Federal financial assistance 

awards. 

If the Selecting Official makes a 

selection out of rank order, the Selecting 

Official will document the rationale for 

the decision in writing. As part of the 

selection process, EDA reserves the right 

to seek clarifications in writing from 

applicants for those applications 

deemed to have highest merit in order 

to facilitate the selection process. See 

also section V. of the FFO 

announcement. 

Funding Priorities: EDA will give 

priority to applications for Strategic 

Plans or implementation assistance that 

will render the maximum amount of 

economic revitalization based on 

satisfaction of one or more of the 

following core criteria (investment 

applications that meet more than one 

core criterion will be given more 

favorable consideration): 

1. Investments to small and mediumsized communities (20%). Priority will 

be given to an application submitted by 

an Impacted Community that is a smallor medium-sized community (defined as 

a community with a population of 

100,000 or less). See section 275(e) of 

the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 2371d) and 13 

CFR 313.8(b). 

2. Investments to assist the most 

severely impacted communities (20%). 

Priority will be given to an application 

based upon the extent to which a 

proposed project effectively responds to 

the severity of trade impact within an 

Impacted Community. For the purposes 

of evaluation, EDA considers counties 

significantly to severely impacted if 

they meet the thresholds outlined 

below: 

• Significantly Impacted: More than 

8.25 workers impacted in connection 

with TAA Cognizable Certifications per 

1,000 workers in the CLF; or 

• Severely Impacted: More than 28 

workers impacted in connection with 

TAA Cognizable Certifications per 1,000 

workers in the CLF. 

See also 13 CFR 313.6(d) and 

313.7(d)(2). 

3. Investments that have a high return 

on investment. (20%). Priority will be 

given to an application that yields a 

high return on investment, as indicated 

by the extent to which it: 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
1354 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2010 / Notices 

• Leads to the creation/retention of 

good jobs for the community. This is 

defined as greater than or equal to the 

average wage in the county. The Bureau 

of Labor Statistic’s Web site at http:// 

www.bls.gov/data/#wages has data 

available for this analysis. 

• Leverages public-private 

partnerships, for example, as evident by 

private sector involvement and/or 

private sector funding in the project. 

• Evidences best-practices in project 

management, for example, by 

demonstrating a feasible, cost-effective 

budget and a specific, deadline driven 

project timeline. 

4. Investments that Support 

Regionalism, Innovation, and 

Entrepreneurship (20%). Priority will be 

given to an application that strengthens 

regional cluster strategies and supports 

innovation and entrepreneurship, as 

indicated by the extent to which the 

investment: 

• Builds upon or extends existing 

planning documents, such as a CEDS, or 

other Federal, State, regional, or local 

development plans. 

• Links clearly to a leading or 

emerging regional cluster. This may be 

measured by the extent the investment 

supports an industry that has a location 

quotient greater than one. Applicants 

may find more information on location 

quotients at the Bureau of Labor 

Statistic’s site at http://data.bls.gov/ 

LOCATION_QUOTIENT/servlet/ 

lqc.ControllerServlet. This also may be 

demonstrated by: 

Æ A geographic concentration of an 

industry compared to the State or 

nation; 

Æ Increasing regional employment in 

that industry; or 

Æ Increasing numbers of firms in the 

relevant cluster. 

• Fosters commercialization in 

technology. This could be shown by 

increasing technology transfer at an 

institution of higher education or 

spinning off new technology, etc. 

5. Investments that Support Global 

Trade/Competitiveness (15%). Priority 

will be given to an application that 

supports global trade and 

competitiveness, as indicated by the 

extent to which the investment: 

• Supports existing ‘‘high growth/ 

high potential companies’’ or those that 

have the ability to create ‘‘high growth/ 

high potential companies,’’ which are 

defined as companies with fewer than 

500 employees whose sales doubled in 

four years or less; or 

• Supports businesses or clusters 

with significant export potential. 

6. Investments that grow the ‘‘Green 

Economy’’ (5%). Priority will be given to 

an application whose objectives support 

the ‘‘green economy.’’ Such projects 

would: 

• Promote renewable energy, energy 

efficiency, and/or reuse, recycling, or 

restoration that result in a green endproduct (for example, a renewable 

energy commercialization center); 

• Green an existing process or 

function (for example, implementing 

sustainable manufacturing practices); or 

• Result in a green building (for 

example, a structure certified under the 

U.S. Green Building Council’s 

Leadership in Energy and 

Environmental Design (LEED) system). 

Applications will be evaluated to the 

extent they produce identified green 

project benefits; for example renewable 

energy capacity per year, carbon 

emission offsets, overall energy savings, 

or third-party verified green building 

certifications. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements: 

The administrative and national policy 

requirements for all Department of 

Commerce awards, contained in the 

Department of Commerce Pre-Award 

Notification Requirements for Grants 

and Cooperative Agreements, published 

in the Federal Register on February 11, 

2008 (73 FR 7696), are applicable to this 

competitive solicitation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: This 

document contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 

use of Form ED–900 (Application for 

Investment Assistance) has been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the Control 

Number 0610–0094. The use of Forms 

SF–424 (Application for Financial 

Assistance), SF–424A (Budget 

Information—Non-Construction 

Programs), SF–424B (Assurances—NonConstruction Programs), SF–424C 

(Budget Information—Construction 

Programs), SF–424D (Assurances— 

Construction Programs), and Form SF– 

LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) 

has been approved under OMB Control 

Numbers 4040–0004, 0348–0044, 4040– 

0007, 4040–0008, 4040–0009, and 0348– 

0046 respectively. The Form CD–346 

(Applicant for Funding Assistance) is 

approved under OMB Control Number 

0605–0001. Notwithstanding any other 

provision of law, no person is required 

to respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory 

Planning and Review): This notice has 

been determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

Federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior notice 

and an opportunity for public comments 

are not required by the Administrative 

Procedure Act or any other law for rules 

concerning grants, benefits, and 

contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because 

notice and opportunity for comment are 

not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or 

any other law, the analytical 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are 

inapplicable. 

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis has not been prepared. 

Dated: January 6, 2010. 

Brian P. McGowan, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 

Economic Development and Chief Operating 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–273 Filed 1–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–24–P 

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Procurement List: Proposed Addition 

and Deletions 

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled. 

ACTION: Proposed addition to and 

deletions from Procurement List. 

SUMMARY: The Committee is proposing 

to add to the Procurement List a product 

to be furnished by a nonprofit agency 

employing persons who are blind or 

have other severe disabilities, and to 

delete services previously furnished by 

such agencies. 

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR

BEFORE: February 8, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled, Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800, 

1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, 

Arlington, Virginia 22202–3259. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia Briscoe, Telephone: (703) 603– 

7740, Fax: (703) 603–0655, or e-mail 

CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published pursuant to 41 U.S.C 

47(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its purpose 

is to provide interested persons an 

opportunity to submit comments on the 

proposed actions. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES