66692 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 

Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20250–1522. 

Fax: (202) 720–3485. 

Title: 7 CFR Part 1724, Electric 

Engineering, Architectural Services and 

Design Policies and Procedures. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0118. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

previously approved collection. 

Abstract: The Agency requires 

borrowers to use standard contract 

forms under certain circumstances. The 

use of standard forms helps assure the 

Agency that: 

• Appropriate standards and 

specifications are maintained; 

• The Agency’s loan security is not 

adversely affected; and 

• Loan and loan guarantee funds are 

used effectively and for the intended 

purpose. 

Standardization of forms by the 

Agency results in substantial savings to: 

• Borrowers—If standard forms were 

not used, borrowers would need to 

prepare their own documents at 

significant expense; and 

• Government—If standard forms 

were not used, each document 

submitted by a borrower would require 

extensive and costly review by both the 

Agency and the Office of General 

Counsel. 

The contract forms included in this 

collection of information are RUS Form 

211, ‘‘Engineering Service Contract for 

the Design and Construction of a 

Generating Plant,’’ RUS Form 220, 

‘‘Architectural Services Contract,’’ and 

RUS Form 236, Engineering Service 

Contract, ‘‘Electric System Design and 

Construction.’’ 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 1.07 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Businesses, not-forprofit institutions and others. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

59. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 63 hours. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Matthew Mullen, 

Program Development and Regulatory 

Analysis, at (202) 720–1255. 

Fax: (202) 720–3485. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Dated: November 4, 2014. 

Jasper Schneider, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26615 Filed 11–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Project Financing Loans, Grants, and 

Loan Guarantees 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Request for Information and 

Notice of Listening Session. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS) seeks public comments on 

implementing the provisions of Section 

6019 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

(2014 Farm Bill) relating to water and 

waste disposal direct and guaranteed 

loans. RUS is requesting written 

comments regarding the Section 6019 

provisions and their relation to project 

financing requirements. This public 

input will allow all affected 

stakeholders to contribute to the 

development of agency procedures for 

implementing these provisions that will 

continue to support the agency’s 

mission of facilitating the development 

of affordable, reliable utility 

infrastructure to improve the quality of 

life and promote economic development 

in rural America. 

As part of our implementation of the 

2014 Farm Bill, RUS will be hosting a 

listening session. The listening session 

will provide an opportunity for 

stakeholders and other interested parties 

to offer their comments, concerns or 

requests regarding the implementation 

of these provisions. Instructions 

regarding registering for and attending 

the listening session are in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION of this 

notice. 

DATES: Written Comments: Interested 

parties must submit written comments 

on or before January 9, 2015. 

Listening Session: The listening 

session will be on Wednesday, 

December 10, 2014, and will begin at 

1:00 p.m. and is scheduled to end by 

3:00 p.m. All Participants must register 

by Monday, December 8, 2014. See the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

additional guidance and information on 

the listening session. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in either 

paper or electronic format by the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send your comment addressed to 

Michele Brooks, Director, Program 

Development and Regulatory Analysis, 

USDA Rural Development, 1400 

Independence Avenue, STOP 1522, 

Room 5159, Washington, DC 20250– 

1522. 

Listening Session: The listening 

session will be held in Room 5141–S of 

the South Agriculture Building at 14th 

and Independence Avenue SW., Wing 1, 

Washington, DC 20250. We invite you to 

participate in the listening session. The 

listening session is open to all members 

of the public who register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Bennett, USDA—Rural Utilities 

Service, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Stop 1570, Washington, DC 20250– 

1570, telephone (202) 720–9639 or 

email to WEPFarmBill@wdc.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

RUS provides long term financing to 

rural communities for the development 

of water and waste disposal 

infrastructure under the Water and 

Waste Disposal (WWD) program. The 

WWD program is authorized under 

Section 306 of the Consolidated Farm 

and Rural Development Act 7 U.S.C. 

1926 et seq. (CONACT), to provide 

financing in the form of loans, grants, 

and loan guarantees to eligible 

applicants, including cities, towns, and 

unincorporated areas with no more than 

10,000 inhabitants. This financial 

assistance is intended to reach 

communities in greatest need and to 

provide reasonable user costs for rural 

residents, businesses and other rural 

users. 

Section 6019 of the 2014 Farm Bill 

(Pub. L. 113–79) amended Section 333 

of the CONACT to require RUS to 

encourage, to the maximum extent 

practicable, private or cooperative 

lenders to finance rural water and waste 

disposal facilities. The section directs 

the agency to achieve this requirement 

through the following five provisions: 

(A) Maximizing the use of loan 

guarantees to finance eligible projects in 

rural communities in which the 

population exceeds 5,500; (B) 

maximizing the use of direct loans to 

finance eligible projects if there is a 

material impact on the rate payers when 

compared to a loan guarantee; (C) 

establishing and applying a ‘‘materiality 

standard’’ to determine when to 

maximize direct loans as directed in (B); 

(D) requiring projects that require 

interim financing in excess of $500,000 

to initially seek financing from private 

or cooperative lenders; and (E) 

determining if an existing direct loan 

borrower can refinance with a private or 

cooperative lender prior to RUS 

providing a new direct loan. 

RUS regulations for Water and Waste 

Disposal Programs guaranteed loans, 

direct loans and loan servicing are 

found in 7 CFR Parts 1779, 1780, and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 66693 

1782, respectively. These regulations 

currently address topics discussed in 

Section 6019 of the 2014 Farm Bill 

provisions, including but not limited to 

requirements for documenting need for 

RUS financing in lieu of credit 

elsewhere, graduation of loans, and 

interim financing. RUS is analyzing the 

Section 6019 provisions and identifying 

how current regulations may need to be 

revised. The agency is also considering 

how to minimize the impact to rural end 

users of the implementation of the 2014 

Farm Bill Section 6019 provisions. 

RUS invites interested parties 

including but not limited to rural water 

systems, trade associations, consumer 

groups, financing and lending 

institutions, and individuals to 

comment on the questions and potential 

requirements proposed herein. RUS 

requests that stakeholders provide, in 

writing, any information or analysis 

they believe to be relevant to the 

implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill 

provisions. By further notice in the 

Federal Register, RUS may terminate, 

limit, or otherwise modify the process of 

obtaining information from interested 

parties. RUS encourages interested 

parties to review the 2014 Farm Bill in 

its entirety. 

Request for Comment 

Stakeholder input is vital to ensure 

that implementation of the provisions of 

Section 6019 of the 2014 Farm Bill 

continue to support the agency’s 

mission, including ensuring that new 

regulations and policies do not overly 

burden the agency’s borrowers and their 

customers. The following questions and 

discussion items are posed to guide 

stakeholder comments. RUS welcomes 

pertinent comments that are beyond the 

scope of these questions. RUS is 

requesting comment and discussion on 

the following topics: 

Maximizing Loan Guarantees. 

Provision A of Section 6019 of the 2014 

Farm Bill directs the agency to 

‘‘maximize the use of’’ loan guarantees 

for projects that will serve rural 

communities with populations greater 

than 5,500. RUS has an existing 

regulation for loan guarantees where the 

Agency guarantees quality loans for the 

construction or improvement of water 

and waste projects serving the 

financially needy communities in rural 

areas (7 CFR 1779). In addition, RUS has 

an existing regulatory requirement that 

applicants must certify in writing, and 

the Agency shall determine and 

document, that the applicant is unable 

to finance the proposed project from 

their own resources or through 

commercial credit at reasonable rates 

and terms (7 CFR 1780.7(d)). The agency 

currently does not limit its guaranteed 

program or test for credit to those 

communities with populations of 

greater than 5,500. The agency requests 

responses and comments on the 

following questions: 

1. To what degree do the agency’s 

existing regulations fulfill the 

requirements of this section? What, if 

any, modifications are needed to fully 

address the requirements of Provision 

A? 

2. Should RUS require all eligible 

applicants with a population exceeding 

5,500 to apply for a guaranteed loan 

prior to applying for a direct loan or 

grant? 

3. If not, what criteria should the 

agency apply in determining whether 

applicants should be required to first 

apply through the guaranteed program? 

4. How should the agency handle 

applicants that do not want to seek 

commercial credit or guaranteed loans 

when they are eligible for the agency’s 

direct loan and grant program? 

5. Are there any other limiting factors 

or conditions (financial ratios, 

minimum loan amounts or other), 

beyond the 5,500 population required 

by Provision A of Section 6019, that the 

agency should screen for prior to 

referring borrowers to cooperative and 

commercial lenders for guaranteed 

loans? 

6. What barrier(s), if any, to 

participation in the Water and Waste 

Disposal Guaranteed Loan Program exist 

for eligible rural entities? Can they be 

addressed through implementation of 

Section 6019? 

7. Are there any other issues not 

mentioned in items 1through 6 that 

should be considered in implementing 

this provision of Section 6019? 

Materiality Standard. Provisions B 

and C of Section 6019 of the 2014 Farm 

Bill directs RUS to establish a 

materiality standard for assessing the 

impact on ratepayers in determining 

when the agency should use direct loans 

or loan guarantees. WWD Program 

regulations, 7 CFR Part 1780, require the 

agency to provide loan and grant funds 

for water and waste projects serving the 

most financially needy communities. 

The existing regulations further require 

the agency to provide financial 

assistance that results in reasonable user 

costs for rural residents, rural 

businesses, and other rural users. The 

agency presently uses the median 

household income of the service area as 

well as a comparison of at least 3 similar 

systems cost to ensure reasonable user 

costs to the ratepayers. The agency 

requests comment on the following 

topics: 

8. To what degree do the agency’s 

existing regulations fulfill the 

requirements of this section? What, if 

any, modifications are needed to fully 

address the requirements of Provisions 

B and C? 

9. Should the agency apply Provisions 

B and C only for eligible projects in 

rural communities in which the 

population exceeds 5,500 to ensure a 

standard approach in assessing the 

impact on rate payers? 

10. What factors should be considered 

in determining the materiality standard 

described in Section 6019? For those 

factors, what is to be considered a 

material difference in cost to rate 

payers? 

11. How should RUS define the level 

of impact to ratepayers at which the 

agency will use a direct loan rather than 

loan guarantee? Should it be based on 

a set dollar increase, a percentage of 

median household income, or some 

other approach? If an applicant qualifies 

for the agency’s grant, should this 

exclude the applicant from this 

provision? 

12. Under what circumstances should 

an applicant that is eligible for the 

direct loan program be allowed to seek 

a direct agency loan if they meet or 

exceed the materiality threshold? 

13. What is the best way to ensure the 

availability of accurate and timely 

information regarding rates and terms of 

lenders participating in the guaranteed 

program so that the impact on rate 

payers of direct versus guaranteed loans 

can be assessed? 

14. Are there any other issues not 

mentioned in items 8 through 13 that 

should be considered in implementing 

this provision of Section 6019? 

Interim Financing: Provision D of 

Section 6019 of the 2014 Farm Bill 

directs the agency to require potential 

borrowers to seek financing from private 

or cooperative lenders for projects 

requiring greater than $500,000 in 

interim financing. RUS’s existing 

regulation allows for interim financing 

for all loans exceeding $500,000, where 

funds can be borrowed at reasonable 

interest rates on an interim basis from 

commercial sources for the construction 

period (7 CFR 1780.39(d)). The agency 

requests comment on the following 

topics: 

15. To what degree do the agency’s 

existing regulations fulfill the 

requirements of this section? What, if 

any, modifications are needed to fully 

address the requirements of Provision 

D? 

16. In your opinion what constitutes 

‘‘reasonable interest rates?’’ 


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66694 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 

17. Should the impact on rate payers 

be considered in determining what is 

reasonable? 

18. In cases where an applicant 

initially seeks interim financing from 

private or cooperative lenders and those 

lenders indicate a willingness to 

provide financing, does this provision of 

6019 prevent the applicant from seeking 

and obtaining other non-private or noncooperative lenders interim financing 

when doing so would result in a 

reduction in the overall project cost? 

19. Provision D requires the applicant 

to seek interim financing from private or 

cooperative lenders. Should applicants/ 

borrowers still have the option to 

decline offers for interim financing? In 

what instances should this be allowed? 

20. Are there any other issues not 

mentioned in items 15 through 19 that 

should be considered in implementing 

this provision of Section 6019? 

Referral to Private or Cooperative 

Lenders. Provision E of Section 6019 of 

the 2014 Farm Bill directs the Agency 

to determine if an existing direct loan 

borrower can refinance their direct loan 

with a private or cooperative lender, 

including with a loan guarantee, prior to 

RUS providing a new direct loan. This 

language is consistent with RUS’s 

existing regulatory and servicing 

requirements. Applicants must certify in 

writing and the Agency shall determine 

and document that the applicant is 

unable to finance the proposed project 

from their own resources or through 

commercial credit at reasonable rates 

and terms (7 CFR 1780.8(d)). In 

addition, if at any time, it appears to the 

Government that the borrower is able to 

refinance the amount of indebtedness 

then outstanding, in whole or in part, by 

obtaining a loan for such purposes from 

responsible cooperative or private credit 

sources, at reasonable rates and terms, 

the borrower will, upon request of the 

Government, apply for and accept such 

loan (7 CFR 1782.11). The agency 

requests comment on the following 

topics: 

21. To what degree do the agency’s 

existing regulations fulfill the 

requirements of this section? What, if 

any, modifications are needed to fully 

address the requirements of Provision 

E? 

22. What process should be used by 

the agency to refer eligible applicants to 

other lenders? 

23. What minimum information 

should be required of the applicant to 

ensure that the costs of the referral are 

not overly burdensome on rural 

communities? 

24. What should the agency do if a 

potential borrower, who is eligible for 

the program, does not want to refinance 

older loans or use an outside lender? 

25. Does Provision E exclude those 

existing borrowers who are seeking a 

new loan that would qualify for an 

agency grant? 

26. What documentation should the 

agency require of the borrower if they 

claim they are unable to refinance with 

a private or cooperative lender, 

including with a loan guarantee? 

27. How should the agency handle 

cases where a private or cooperative 

lender indicates a willingness to 

refinance agency loans, but the 

applicant believes that refinancing 

would be detrimental to their operations 

and cause an undue burden on their rate 

payers? 

28. Do commercial and cooperative 

banks have a threshold (population, 

dollars, financial ratios or other) at 

which they would not consider projects 

as candidates for refinancing? 

29. Are there any other issues not 

mentioned in items 21 through 28 that 

should be considered in implementing 

this provision of Section 6019? 

Listening Session 

The RUS will hold the Section 6019 

Listening Session on Wednesday, 

December 10, 2014, to receive 

comments from stakeholders and the 

public. Oral comments received from 

this listening session will be 

documented. All attendees of this 

listening session who submit oral 

comments are requested to submit a 

written copy to help RUS accurately 

capture public input. In addition, 

stakeholders and the public who do not 

wish to attend or speak at the listening 

session are invited to submit written 

comments which must be received by 

the date indicated in the DATES section 

above. 

At the listening session, the focus is 

for RUS to hear from the public. This is 

not a discussion with RUS officials or a 

question and answer session. As noted 

above, the purpose is to receive public 

input that RUS can consider in order to 

implement the provisions of Section 

6019 of the 2014 Farm Bill. RUS is 

interested in receiving input on all 

aspects of the implementation of these 

provisions. 

The listening session will begin with 

brief opening remarks from Agency 

leadership in Rural Development. 

Individual speakers providing oral 

comments are requested to be succinct 

(no more than five minutes) as we do 

not know at this time how many 

participants there will be. We request 

that speakers providing oral comments 

also provide a written copy of their 

comments. See the ADDRESSES section 

above for information about submitting 

written comments. All stakeholders and 

interested members of the public are 

welcome to register to provide oral 

comments; however, if necessary due to 

time constraints, a limited number will 

be selected on a first come, first serve 

basis. 

Instructions for Attending the Listening 

Session 

Space for attendance at the listening 

session is limited. Due to USDA 

headquarters security and space 

requirements, all persons wishing to 

attend the listening session in person or 

via phone must send an email to 

WEPFarmBill@wdc.usda.gov by 

Monday, December 8, 2014, to register. 

Registrations will be accepted until 

maximum capacity is reached. Once 

registered, you will receive an email on 

how to access the listening session 

remotely. To register, provide the 

following information: 

• First Name 

• Last Name 

• Organization 

• Title 

• Email 

• Phone Number 

• City 

• State 

• Indicate if you will attend in person 

and if you wish to provide oral 

comments. 

Upon arrival at the USDA South 

Building, registered persons must 

provide valid photo identification in 

order to enter the building. Visitors 

must enter the South Building on the 

Independence Side, 4th Wing. Please 

allow extra time to get through security. 

Additional information about the 

listening session, agenda, and directions 

to get to the listening session, will be 

available at the USDA Farm Bill Web 

site http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/

usda/usdahome?navid=farmbill. 

Dated: November 4, 2014. 

Jasper Schneider, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26612 Filed 11–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

Initiation of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Administrative 

Reviews 

Correction 

In notice document 2014–25865, 

appearing on pages 64565–64569 in the 


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