Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 102 / Friday, May 29, 2009 / Notices 25761 

Dated: May 21, 2009. 

Mark R. Johnston, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs. 

[FR Doc. E9–12338 Filed 5–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5325–N–01] 

Waiver of Certain Requirements in the 

Competitive and Noncompetitive 

Native American Housing Block Grant 

and the Indian Community 

Development Block Grant Programs 

Under the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Public and Indian 

Housing, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice implements 

actions to facilitate the expedited award 

and use of economic stimulus funds 

made available under the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(Pub. L. 111–5, approved February 17, 

2009) (Recovery Act) for Native 

Americans. Accordingly, this notice 

identifies and advises the public of HUD 

statutes and regulations governing 

HUD’s Native American Housing Block 

Grant (NAHBG) program, also known as 

the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) 

program, and the Indian Community 

Development Block Grant (ICDBG) 

program that have been waived or 

temporarily suspended or deferred. 

These waivers are authorized in order to 

facilitate the expedited delivery and use 

of Federal Recovery Act funds for 

NAHBG and ICDBG housing and 

community development initiatives that 

are two of several components 

authorized by the Recovery Act to help 

stimulate the economy and alleviate the 

effects of a national recession. These 

waivers apply only to assistance 

appropriated by the Recovery Act, both 

formula and competitive, and do not 

apply to fiscal year appropriations for 

the IHBG and ICDBG programs under 

the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 

(Pub. L. 111–8, approved March 11, 

2009). Tribes, Tribal organizations, and 

Tribally designated housing entities 

(TDHEs) that administer NAHBG and 

ICDBG programs should review this 

notice to determine which program 

requirements if waived, will ensure that 

Recovery Act funds can be awarded 

quickly and efficiently to meet the 

objectives of the Recovery Act. The 

waivers listed in this notice are 

applicable only to Recovery Act funds 

and will remain in effect until 

September 30, 2012. Tribes, Tribal 

organizations, and TDHEs awarded 

Recovery Act funds for NAHBG or 

ICDBG activities have been granted 

waiver relief from statutes or regulations 

identified in this Notice. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 29, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Deborah Lalancette, Director, Office of 

Grants Management, Office of Native 

American Programs, Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, 1670 

Broadway, 23rd Floor, Denver, CO 

80202, telephone number (303) 675– 

1600 ext. 1625. Persons with hearing or 

speech impairments may access this 

number via TTY by calling the Federal 

Information Relay Service at (800) 877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information 

The Recovery Act was passed in 

recognition of the need to quickly 

stimulate the American economy in 

light of the adverse events occurring in 

the financial and housing markets over 

the preceding months. The stated goals 

of the Act are to: (1) Preserve and create 

jobs and promote economic recovery; (2) 

assist those most impacted by the 

recession; (3) provide investments 

needed to increase economic efficiency 

by spurring technological advances in 

science and health; (4) invest in 

transportation, environmental 

protection, and other infrastructure that 

will provide long-term economic 

benefits; and (5) stabilize State and local 

government budgets, in order to 

minimize and avoid reductions in 

essential services and 

counterproductive state and local tax 

increases. The Act specifies that Federal 

departments and agencies shall manage 

and expend the funds made available in 

the Act in a manner that commences 

expenditures and activities as quickly as 

possible consistent with prudent 

management. 

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian 

Housing (PIH) examined the statute and 

regulations governing the NAHBG and 

ICDBG programs and recommended 

waiver or temporary suspension or 

deferral of the statutes and regulations 

that PIH believes could impede Tribes, 

Tribal organizations, or TDHEs in their 

efforts to expeditiously implement 

Recovery Act projects and activities. 

Recipients of NAHBG and ICDBG 

Recovery Act funds may defer 

compliance with the requirements listed 

in this notice for a period of 36 months 

under the notification process described 

in this notice. 

For several of the regulations listed in 

this notice for which a waiver was 

granted, HUD did not waive the 

requirements entirely but deferred 

compliance until such time as 

compliance may be feasible. HUD does 

not want the time and resources of 

Tribes, Tribal organizations, and TDHEs 

diverted by requirements that are 

important but can be deferred or waived 

to ensure Recovery Act funds are 

awarded and placed under contract, in 

order to generate jobs and economic 

activity. As the economic recovery 

period proceeds, HUD may identify 

other statutory or regulatory waivers for 

which waiver is needed or determine 

that other alternative requirements may 

be necessary to assist with expeditious 

use of Recovery Act funds. Any 

additional HUD waivers or other 

alternative requirements will be 

announced by direct notice to Tribes 

and TDHEs and by Federal Register 

publication. If Indian Tribes and TDHEs 

identify other regulations that they 

believe should be waived, they should 

seek a waiver by submitting a waiver 

request to their Area Office of Native 

American Programs. 

II. Authority To Grant Waivers 

Generally, waivers of HUD regulations 

are handled on a case-by-case basis. The 

Recovery Act provided HUD with 

separate waiver authority. For funds 

appropriated for the NAHBG program, 

the Recovery Act authorizes HUD to 

waive or specify alternative 

requirements for any provision of any 

statute or regulation in connection with 

the obligation by the Secretary for the 

use of these funds (except requirements 

related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the 

environment), upon a finding that such 

a waiver is necessary to expedite or 

facilitate the use of such funds. As for 

funds appropriated for the ICDBG 

program, the Recovery Act authorizes 

HUD to waive or specify alternative 

requirements for any provision of any 

statute or regulation in connection with 

the obligation by HUD or the use by a 

recipient of these funds (except for 

requirements related to fair housing, 

nondiscrimination, labor standards, and 

the environment), upon a finding that 

such a waiver is necessary to expedite 

or facilitate the timely use of such funds 

and would not be inconsistent with the 

overall purpose of the statute. 

III. Waivers 

The following statutory and 

regulatory waivers have been granted for 

recipients of NAHBG and ICDBG 

Recovery Act funds. 

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25762 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 102 / Friday, May 29, 2009 / Notices 

A. Statutory Waivers 

Native American Housing Block Grant 

1. Indian Housing Plan (IHP) 

Submission Requirement. Section 

101(b)(1) of the Native American 

Housing Assistance and SelfDetermination Act (NAHASDA) of 1996 

(25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.) (NAHASDA) 

states that the Secretary may make a 

grant under the Act if an Indian Housing 

Plan (IHP) is submitted and determined 

to comply with the requirements of 

section 102 of the Act. Section 101(b)(2) 

provides the Secretary with waiver 

authority for a period of not more than 

90 days. Under the Recovery Act, 

NAHBG formula funds will be provided 

as an amendment to the FY 2008 IHP as 

this is the fastest most efficient way to 

allocate Recovery Act funds. Sections 

101(b)(1) and (2) are waived for any 

Tribe or TDHE that did not submit an 

IHP in FY 2008 and did not receive 

funding in FY 2008 under NAHASDA. 

A Tribe or TDHE that did not receive 

IHBG funds in FY 2008 need only 

submit an IHP amendment in order to 

receive Recovery Act funds. This waiver 

will ensure that Recovery Act funds are 

provided to all eligible applicants in an 

expedited manner. 

2. Local Cooperation Agreement. 

Section 101(c) states that grants 

provided under NAHASDA may not be 

used for rental or lease-purchase 

homeownership units that are owned by 

the recipient unless the governing body 

of the locality within which the 

property that is subject to assistance is 

or will enter into an agreement with the 

recipient for the Tribe providing for 

local cooperation. Section 101(c) states 

that this provision may be waived by 

the Secretary if the recipient has made 

a good faith effort to fulfill the 

requirements of this Act and agree to 

make payments in lieu of taxes to the 

appropriate taxing authority. This 

Notice will enable Tribes that have 

made a good faith effort to fulfill the 

requirements of the Act to receive an 

expedited waiver so that they can 

develop projects quickly in their Indian 

area. 

B. Regulatory Waivers 

Native American Housing Block Grant 

1. 24 CFR 1000.156 and 1000.158; 

Total Development Cost (TDC) Limits. 

The current regulation states that 

affordable housing developed, acquired, 

or assisted under the IHBG program 

must be of moderate design. TDC limits 

are published annually to provide 

recipients with affordable housing cost 

standards. These standards can be 

exceeded by 10% with Area Office of 

Native American Program (ONAP) 

approval and can be exceeded further if 

Headquarters approval is obtained. 

Justification is required to be submitted 

by the Tribe to justify an increase in the 

TDC of a unit or project. A waiver of 

this provision is provided to allow 

Tribes to exceed the current TDC 

maximum by 20% without HUD review 

or approval if the Tribe maintains 

documentation that indicates that 

housing will be for low-income families 

and the design, size, and amenities are 

moderate and comparable to housing in 

the area. The regulatory requirements 

are also waived to permit the current 

TDC limits to be used for both singlefamily and multi-family housing. 

2. 24 CFR 1000.232; Tribal 

Certification Requirement for IHP 

Amendments. The IHBG regulation at 

24 CFR 1000.232 requires that a Tribal 

certification must accompany an IHP 

amendment when submitted by a TDHE 

to HUD. In many instances, a TDHE 

submits an IHP for several Tribes. At the 

time of the initial IHP submittal, Tribes 

certified that the TDHE is authorized to 

submit an IHP on its behalf. This waiver 

permits the TDHE to submit an 

amendment to an existing IHP without 

obtaining another certification from the 

Tribe. The request to waive this 

requirement is to expedite the IHP 

approval process and ensure that funds 

are provided to the Tribe as quickly as 

possible so that the timelines in the 

Recovery Act for obligation and 

expenditure of funds can be met. 

Indian Community Development Block 

Grant 

1. 24 CFR 1003.302(a); Project 

Specific Threshold Requirements— 

Housing Rehabilitation Standards. The 

ICDBG regulation at 24 CFR 1003.302(a) 

requires that ICDBG applicants 

submitting applications for housing 

rehabilitation projects adopt, by Tribal 

resolution, rehabilitation standards and 

policies prior to submitting an 

application. This waiver permits those 

Tribal applicants who do not have 

standards and policies in place to 

submit an application and adopt such 

after the award. If awarded a grant 

under the Recovery Act program, 

submission of this documentation will 

become a grant condition. This waiver 

will ensure that an application for 

Recovery Act funds can be submitted 

promptly in response to a Notice of 

Funding Availability (NOFA). The 

requirement that project funds can be 

used to rehabilitate units where the 

homeowner’s payments are current or 

the homeowner is current on an 

approved repayment period is not being 

waived. Area ONAP Administrators can 

still approve exceptions to this 

requirement on a case-by-case basis in 

accordance with the current regulatory 

requirement. 

2. 24 CFR 1003.302(b); Project 

Specific Threshold Requirements—New 

Housing Construction Standards. The 

ICDBG regulation at 24 CFR 1003.302(b) 

requires that ICDBG applicants 

submitting applications for new housing 

construction projects adopt, by current 

Tribal resolution, construction 

standards prior to submitting an 

application. This waiver permits those 

Tribal applicants who do not have 

construction standards in place to 

submit an application and adopt such 

after the award. If awarded a grant 

under the Recovery Act program, 

submission of this documentation will 

become a grant condition. This waiver 

will ensure that an application for 

Recovery Act funds can be submitted 

promptly in response to a NOFA. The 

requirement that new construction can 

only be implemented through a nonprofit organization may not be waived. 

3. 24 CFR 1003.302(b); Project 

Specific Threshold Requirements— 

Available Housing Stock. In addition, 24 

CFR 1003.302 (b) also provides that in 

order to use ICDBG funds to build new 

housing, a Tribe must demonstrate that: 

(1) No other housing is available in the 

immediate reservation area; (2) no other 

sources can meet the needs of the 

household; (3) rehabilitation of the unit 

occupied by the household(s) to be 

assisted is not economically feasible; (4) 

the household(s) is in overcrowded 

conditions; or (5) the household has no 

current residence. If awarded a grant 

under the Recovery Act program, 

submission of this documentation will 

become a grant condition. This waiver 

will ensure that an application for 

Recovery Act funds can be submitted 

promptly in response to a NOFA. The 

requirement that new construction can 

only be implemented through a nonprofit organization may not be waived. 

4. 24 CFR 1003.302(c); Project 

Specific Threshold Requirements— 

Economic Development Analysis. The 

ICDBG regulation at 24 CFR1003.302(c) 

requires that ICDBG applicants 

submitting applications for economic 

development projects provide an 

analysis which, among other things, 

shows public benefit commensurate 

with the ICDBG assistance requested 

will result from the assisted project. 

Although the analysis requests several 

components, this waiver is only 

applicable to the following components: 

showing public benefit commensurate 

to ICDBG assistance; financial support 

from non-Federal sources committed 

prior to disbursement of Federal funds; 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 102 / Friday, May 29, 2009 / Notices 25763 

and not more than a reasonable rate of 

return on investment is provided to the 

owner. This waiver permits Tribal 

applicants to submit an application 

without these components and adopt 

such after the award. If awarded a grant 

under the Recovery Act program, 

submission of this documentation will 

become a grant condition. This waiver 

will ensure that an application for 

Recovery Act funds can be submitted 

promptly in response to a NOFA. All 

other analysis components remain 

required and must be submitted with 

the application and may not be waived. 

The components that must be submitted 

include the following: any grant amount 

provided will not substantially reduce 

the amount of non-Federal financial 

support for the activity; grant funds 

used for the project will be disbursed on 

a pro rate basis with amounts from other 

sources; and establishing the project is 

financially feasible and that it has a 

reasonable chance of success. 

5. 24 CFR 1003.303; Project Rating. 

The ICDBG regulation at 24 CFR 

1003.303 requires each project in an 

ICDBG application to meet project 

threshold requirements and then be 

scored based on five specific rating 

factors. The rating factors are capacity, 

need/extent of the problem, soundness 

of the approach, leveraging of resources, 

and comprehensiveness and 

coordination. Recovery Act funds under 

the ICDBG program can only be 

awarded to recipients who received 

ICDBG funding in FY 2008. These 

recipients have already demonstrated 

the capacity to administer the grants. In 

recognition of strict funding obligations 

deadlines in the Recovery Act and the 

specific Recovery Act provisions for 

awarding funds, this section is waived 

so that the NOFA can be drafted to 

delete the applicant capacity factor in 

the ICDBG NOFA and include a new 

factor to address the requirements of the 

Recovery Act. 

6. 24 CFR 1003.604; Citizen 

Participation Requirements. The ICDBG 

regulations at 24 1003.604(a)(2) require 

applicants to consult with residents 

prior to submitting their funding 

applications. The consultation 

requirements have the potential to delay 

the ability of ICDBG recipients to 

expeditiously facilitate Recovery Act 

funds for housing and community 

development needs. Accordingly, this 

section is waived so that the Tribe will 

not have to hold one or more meetings 

to obtain the views of residents on 

community development and housing 

needs. Tribes will be required to meet 

the citizen participation requirements 

by publishing or posting information on 

their plans to use Recovery Act funds 

and accepting comments. However, 

comments will not have to be submitted 

prior to the application deadline date. 

The Tribe will be required to certify in 

its application that information has been 

published or posted for residents of the 

community in order to meet the citizen 

participation requirement. 

Dated: May 4, 2009. 

Paula O. Blunt, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public 

and Indian Housing. 

[FR Doc. E9–12483 Filed 5–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Reclamation 

Agency Information Collection; 

Activities Under OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of a currently 

approved collection (OMB No. 1006– 

0029). 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation, 

we) has forwarded the following 

Information Collection Request (ICR) to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval: Rural 

Water Supply Act, OMB Control 

Number: 1006–0029. Title 43 CFR part 

404 requires entities interested in 

participating in the Rural Water Supply 

Program (Rural Water Program) to 

submit information to allow 

Reclamation to evaluate and prioritize 

requests for financial or technical 

assistance. 

DATES: OMB has up to 60 days to 

approve or disapprove this information 

collection, but may respond after 30 

days; therefore, public comments must 

be received on or before June 29, 2009 

to assure maximum consideration. 

ADDRESSES: You may send written 

comments to the Desk Officer for the 

Department of the Interior at the Office 

of Management and Budget, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, via 

facsimile to (202) 395–5806 or e-mail to 

OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov. A copy 

of your comments should also be 

directed to the Bureau of Reclamation, 

Attention: 84–52000, PO Box 25007, 

Denver, CO 80225. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Avra Morgan at: (303) 445–2906. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Reclamation Rural Water 

Supply Program, 43 CFR part 404. 

OMB Control Number: 1006–0029. 

Abstract: The purpose of the Rural 

Water Program is to provide assistance 

to small communities of 50,000 

inhabitants or less, including tribes and 

tribal organizations, to plan the design 

and construction of projects to serve 

rural areas with industrial, municipal, 

and residential water. Specifically, 

Reclamation is authorized to provide 

financial and technical assistance to 

conduct appraisal investigations and 

feasibility studies for rural water supply 

projects. Reclamation’s regulations (43 

CFR part 404) establish criteria 

governing how the program will be 

implemented, including eligibility and 

prioritization criteria, and criteria to 

evaluate appraisal and feasibility 

studies. 

Entities interested in participating in 

the Rural Water Program will be 

requested to submit information 

regarding proposed appraisal 

investigations and feasibility studies, to 

allow Reclamation to evaluate and 

prioritize requests for financial or 

technical assistance under the program. 

Reclamation will apply the program 

criteria to the information provided to 

determine whether the entity seeking 

assistance is eligible, whether the 

project is eligible for assistance, and to 

what extent the project meets 

Reclamation’s prioritization criteria. 

Requests for assistance under the Rural 

Water Program will be made on a 

voluntary basis. There is no form 

associated with this information 

collection. 

There are three different types of 

assistance that a project sponsor can 

request under the Rural Water Program, 

each of which requires different 

information to be submitted, as follows: 

(1) Review of a Completed Study. To 

request Reclamation to review a 

completed appraisal investigation or 

feasibility study—which was not 

completed with assistance under the 

Rural Water Program, the entity making 

the request (the project sponsor) must 

submit a cover letter requesting 

Reclamation to commence the review. 

The cover letter must address the 

eligibility criteria set forth in §§ 404.6 

and 404.7 of the regulations, and the 

prioritization criteria under § 404.13. 

(2) Assistance to Conduct an 

Appraisal Investigation. To request 

technical or financial assistance to 

conduct an appraisal investigation, the 

project sponsor must submit a statement 

of interest in response to the program 

announcement, as explained in 

§ 404.14. Reclamation will post a 

program announcement on 

www.grants.gov one time annually to 

provide notice to the public of the 

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