37238 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 28, 2009 / Notices 

accordance with this regulatory 

provision. 

DATES: Comment Due Date: August 27, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit comments to the 

FHAP Division, Office of Enforcement, 

Office of Fair Housing and Equal 

Opportunity, Department of Housing 

and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, 

SW., Room 5206, Washington, DC 

20410–0500. Communications must 

refer to the above docket number and 

title. Facsimile (FAX) comments will 

not be accepted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kenneth J. Carroll, Director, FHAP 

Division, Office of Enforcement, Office 

of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 7th Street, SW., 

Room 5206, Washington, DC 20410– 

0500; telephone number 202–402–7044 

(this is not a toll-free number). Persons 

with speech or hearing impairments 

may contact the FHAP Division by 

calling 1–800–290–1671 (this is a tollfree number), or 1–800–877–8339 (the 

Federal Information Relay Service TTY) 

(this is a toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Through the Fair Housing Assistance 

Program (FHAP), HUD provides funding 

to State and local fair housing agencies 

that enforce laws HUD has deemed 

substantially equivalent to the Fair 

Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). 

HUD’s regulations for the FHAP are 

codified at 24 CFR part 115 (entitled 

‘‘Certification and Funding of State and 

Local Fair Housing Enforcement 

Agencies’’). 

In order to participate in FHAP, 

HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair 

Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) 

must first determine whether a State or 

local law, on its face, provides rights, 

procedures, remedies, and judicial 

review provisions that are substantially 

equivalent to the Federal Fair Housing 

Act. An affirmative conclusion that the 

State or local law is substantially 

equivalent on its face will result in HUD 

offering interim certification to the 

agency. During the period of interim 

certification, HUD’s Assistant Secretary 

for FHEO will determine whether the 

State or local law, in operation, affords 

rights, procedures, remedies, and the 

availability of judicial review in a 

manner substantially equivalent to the 

Fair Housing Act. An affirmative 

conclusion during interim certification 

that the State or local law is 

substantially equivalent both on its face 

and in operation will result in HUD 

offering certification to the agency. 

Certification is for a term of 5 years, 

during which the agency’s ability to 

maintain certification is evaluated. After 

the five years of certification, if the 

Assistant Secretary for FHEO 

determines that the agency continues to 

qualify, HUD will renew the agency’s 

certification for another 5 years. 

II. This Notice 

The FHAP regulations at 24 CFR 

115.102(b) provide that the Assistant 

Secretary for FHEO may, on an annual 

basis, publish a notice in the Federal 

Register that identifies all agencies that 

received interim certification during the 

preceding year. The notice must invite 

the public to comment on the State or 

local laws of the new interim agencies, 

including on the performance of the 

agencies in enforcing their laws. 

In accordance with § 115.102(b) of the 

FHAP regulations, HUD seeks public 

comment on the following agencies that 

were granted interim certification 

during the prior calendar year: 

• Westchester County Human Rights 

Commission (New York). 

• Oregon Bureau of Labor and 

Industries (Oregon). 

• City of Evansville-Vanderburgh 

County Human Relations Commission 

(Indiana). 

Dated: July 1, 2009. 

John Trasvin ̃ a, 

Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and 

Equal Opportunity. 

[FR Doc. E9–17853 Filed 7–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5305–N–01] 

RIN 2502–AZ00 

Housing and Economic Recovery Act 

of 2008: Pilot Program for Automated 

Process for Borrowers Without 

Sufficient Credit History; Solicitation of 

Comments on Program Design 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing 

Commissioner, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Housing and Economic 

Recovery Act of 2008 requires that HUD 

carry out a pilot program to establish, 

and make available to mortgagees, an 

automated process for providing 

alternative credit rating information, 

which might include rent, utilities, and 

insurance payment histories, etc., for 

mortgagors and prospective mortgagors 

who have insufficient credit histories 

for determining their credit worthiness. 

With this notice, HUD commences the 

process for development of the 

mandated pilot program and solicits 

public comment and suggestions for a 

practicable design of the pilot program 

that is consistent with statutory goals, 

program requirements, and fair lending 

standards, and includes comment on 

how the pilot program might align with 

existing Federal Housing 

Administration policy regarding 

nontraditional credit verification. 

Comments addressing the information, 

data, and experience necessary to 

support an evaluation of the operation, 

performance, and fair lending 

compliance of a pilot are welcome as 

well. All comments will be considered 

in the development of the pilot program. 

DATES: Comment Due Date: September 

28, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit comments regarding 

this notice to the Regulations Division, 

Office of General Counsel, Department 

of Housing and Urban Development, 

451 7th Street, SW., Room 10276, 

Washington, DC 20410–0500. 

Communications must refer to the above 

docket number and title. There are two 

methods for submitting public 

comments. All submissions must refer 

to the above docket number and title. 

1. Submission of Comments by Mail. 

Comments may be submitted by mail to 

the Regulations Division, Office of 

General Counsel, Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, 451 

7th Street, SW., Room 10276, 

Washington, DC 20410–0500. 

2. Electronic Submission of 

Comments. Interested persons may 

submit comments electronically through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

http://www.regulations.gov. HUD 

strongly encourages commenters to 

submit comments electronically. 

Electronic submission of comments 

allows the commenter maximum time to 

prepare and submit a comment, ensures 

timely receipt by HUD, and enables 

HUD to make them immediately 

available to the public. Comments 

submitted electronically through the 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site can 

be viewed by other commenters and 

interested members of the public. 

Commenters should follow the 

instructions provided on that site to 

submit comments electronically. 

Note: To receive consideration as public 

comments, comments must be submitted 

through one of the two methods specified 

above. Again, all submissions must refer to 

the docket number and title of the rule. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 28, 2009 / Notices 37239 

1Note that HERA inadvertently established two 

sections 257 of the National Housing Act. Section 

1402 of HERA also added a new section 257 to the 

National Housing Act, which established the HOPE 

for Homeowners Program. The Helping Families 

Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111–22, 

approved May 20, 2009) addressed this issue 

through a technical correction designating the 

HERA pilot program as a new section 258 to the 

National Housing Act. 

No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile 

(FAX) comments are not acceptable. 

Public Inspection of Public 

Comments. All properly submitted 

comments and communications 

submitted to HUD will be available for 

public inspection and copying between 

8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above 

address. Due to security measures at the 

HUD Headquarters building, an advance 

appointment to review the public 

comments must be scheduled by calling 

the Regulations Division at 202–708– 

3055 (this is not a toll-free number). 

Individuals with speech or hearing 

impairments may access this number 

through TTY by calling the Federal 

Information Relay Service at 800–877– 

8339. Copies of all comments submitted 

are available for inspection and 

downloading at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Margaret Burns, Director, Office of 

Single Family Program Development, 

Office of Housing, Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, 451 

7th Street, SW., Room 9278, 

Washington, DC 20410–8000; telephone 

number 202–708–2121 (this is not a tollfree number). Persons with hearing or 

speech impairments may access this 

number through TTY by calling the tollfree Federal Information Relay Service 

at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Housing and Economic Recovery 

Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–289, 122 Stat. 

2654, approved July 30, 2008) (HERA) 

made significant and comprehensive 

reforms to the National Housing Act (12 

U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), which governs 

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 

programs. Section 2124 of HERA adds a 

new section 258 to the National Housing 

Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) that requires 

the Secretary of HUD to ‘‘carry out a 

pilot program to establish, and make 

available to mortgagees, an automated 

process for providing alternative credit 

rating information for mortgagors and 

prospective mortgagors who have 

insufficient credit histories for 

determining their credit worthiness.’’ 1

‘‘Such alternative credit rating 

information may include rent, utilities, 

and insurance payment histories, and 

such other information as the Secretary 

considers appropriate.’’ In addition, 

section 258 allows the Secretary to 

restrict the program to first-time 

homebuyers and limits annual loan 

volume under the pilot program to 5 

percent of FHA’s prior-year aggregate 

loan volume for the duration of the pilot 

program, which ends July 30, 2013. The 

Government Accountability Office is 

charged with providing Congress with a 

report on the number of additional 

mortgagors served using the automated 

process and the impact on the safety 

and soundness of the insurance funds 

supporting the pilot program mortgages, 

by July 30, 2010. 

FHA has long permitted mortgagees to 

establish a borrower’s credit history 

through nontraditional means, 

including the compilation of 

performance on rental payments, utility 

bills, telephone and cellular phone 

services, cable television service, 

payments to local stores, etc. Mortgagee 

Letter 2008–11 (issued on April 29, 

2008) provides further guidance on the 

issue, and states that ‘‘FHA has no 

objection to the use of various service 

providers now operating that are able to 

develop a bill payment history, as well 

as a score by obtaining rental payment 

history, utility trade-lines, and other 

common recurring non-reporting bill 

payments. While * * * [FHA does] not 

endorse any particular service provider, 

FHA approved lenders may use such 

services to develop a credit history for 

borrowers with no or little traditional 

credit.’’ A copy of Mortgagee Letter 

2008–11 may be downloaded at http:// 

www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/ 

letters/mortgagee/index.cfm. 

The pilot program authorized by 

section 258 of the National Housing Act 

builds upon this past FHA practice by 

requiring that HUD establish an 

automated process for providing 

alternative, or nontraditional, credit 

information. 

II. This Notice—Solicitation of Public 

Comment on Automated Process 

Through publication of this notice, 

HUD starts the process for developing 

the mandated pilot program and solicits 

public comment and suggestions for a 

practicable design of the pilot program 

that is consistent with statutory goals, 

program requirements, and fair lending 

standards and includes comment on 

how various pilot programs might align 

with existing FHA policy regarding 

nontraditional credit verification. 

Comments addressing the information, 

data, and experience necessary to 

support an evaluation of the operation, 

performance, and fair lending 

compliance of a pilot program are 

welcome as well. 

In particular, HUD is interested in 

obtaining feedback on the following 

questions: 

1. What automated processes for 

providing alternative credit rating 

information for mortgagors and 

prospective mortgagors who have 

insufficient credit histories for 

determining their credit worthiness are 

currently available and operational? 

2. For operational automated 

processes identified in question 1, what 

factors or information is utilized to 

develop the alternative credit histories 

and in what form is the information 

passed on to end-user mortgagees—i.e., 

individual items to be assembled into a 

credit profile by end user, items 

aggregated into a summary profile or 

score with distributional reference 

points, individual and summary 

information in combination, etc.? 

3. Which operational automated 

processes identified in questions 1 and 

2 currently can be uniformly applied 

everywhere in the United States and, if 

not, what impediments must be 

overcome before uniform and universal 

application is possible? 

4. What new and universally available 

automated processes for providing 

alternative credit rating information 

might be developed and maintained 

with reasonable accommodation and 

investment by industry and 

government? Conversely, are there 

aspects of manual processes with little 

potential for automation? 

5. For current and potential new 

automated processes, what criteria and 

validation methods should be employed 

to evaluate the relative strength and 

reliability of alternative processes for 

establishing accurate and predictive 

credit profiles? What relevant evaluative 

information already exists? 

6. Which current or potential new 

automated processes would be likely to 

prove most beneficial for mortgagees, 

mortgagors, and FHA and why? For 

example, such benefits could include 

acceleration of origination and 

improving the quality of underwriting. 

7. How would automated processes 

affect the potential for fraud or 

misrepresentation during underwriting? 

8. If no single automated process was 

universally feasible, how might HUD 

ensure equal treatment of equals 

processed by differing HUD-provided 

systems? 

9. Is there any reason the Secretary 

should not limit the pilot program to 

first-time homebuyers? 

10. What is the total size and 

characteristics of borrowers who 

potentially would use automated 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

37240 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 28, 2009 / Notices 

histories? What are the implications of 

these characteristics for design and 

implementation of automated 

processes? 

11. How should the pilot program be 

structured with respect to geographic 

coverage, to ensure representative 

results? What criteria should be 

employed in selecting pilot locations 

and participants? What control groups 

could be used to support a rigorous 

evaluation? 

12. What additional concerns should 

be considered in structuring the pilot 

program and evaluation design to 

ensure a successful pilot evaluation? 

13. What safeguards to ensure 

compliance with applicable fair lending 

and nondiscrimination requirements 

would be most effective? 

14. What are any statutory or 

regulatory obstacles to automated 

processes? 

As noted in the ADDRESSES section of 

this notice, all public comments 

submitted to HUD will be made 

available for public inspection. 

Accordingly, commenters are cautioned 

against submitting proprietary or 

confidential information not intended 

for public disclosure. All information 

solicited in this notice is solely for the 

purpose of assisting HUD in designing 

the pilot program, and does not imply 

that HUD will be contracting with any 

provider of automated credit evaluation 

services for purposes of the pilot 

program. Comments must be submitted 

by the deadline date established in the 

DATES section of this notice, and in 

accordance with the instructions 

contained in the ADDRESSES section of 

this notice. 

HUD will consider all public 

comments in the development of the 

pilot program. HUD will announce the 

establishment of the pilot program in a 

follow-up Federal Register notice that is 

based on the consideration of these 

comments. 

Dated: July 21, 2009. 

David H. Stevens, 

Assistant Secretary for Housing—Federal 

Housing Commissioner. 

[FR Doc. E9–17854 Filed 7–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–FHC–2009–N152; 81331–1334– 

8TWG–W4] 

Trinity Adaptive Management Working 

Group 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Trinity Adaptive 

Management Working Group (TAMWG) 

affords stakeholders the opportunity to 

give policy, management, and technical 

input concerning Trinity River 

(California) restoration efforts to the 

Trinity Management Council (TMC). 

The TMC interprets and recommends 

policy, coordinates and reviews 

management actions, and provides 

organizational budget oversight. This 

notice announces a TAMWG meeting, 

which is open to the public. 

DATES: TAMWG will meet from 9 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 10, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Trinity County Library, 211 Main 

St., Weaverville, CA 96093. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Meeting information: Randy A. Brown, 

TAMWG Designated Federal Officer, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1655 

Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521; 

telephone: (707) 822–7201. Trinity River 

Restoration Program (TRRP) 

information: Mike Hamman, Executive 

Director, Trinity River Restoration 

Program, P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South 

Main Street, Weaverville, CA 96093; 

telephone: (530) 623–1800; e-mail: 

mhamman@mp.usbr.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), this 

notice announces a meeting of the 

TAMWG. The meeting will include 

discussion of the following topics: 

• Perspectives from Grand Canyon 

and Platte River restoration; 

• Status of TAMWG 

recommendations; 

• Progress towards a Request for 

Proposal (RFP) based science program; 

• Channel rehabilitation program; 

• Evaluation of hatchery goals and 

practices; 

• Fish population trends; and 

• Watershed work program. 

Completion of the agenda is 

dependent on the amount of time each 

item takes. The meeting could end early 

if the agenda has been completed. 

Dated: July 22, 2009. 

Randy A. Brown, 

Designated Federal Officer, Arcata Fish and 

Wildlife Office, Arcata, CA. 

[FR Doc. E9–17888 Filed 7–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS-R9-IA-2009-N143; 96300-1671-0000- 

P5] 

Receipt of Applications for Permit 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications 

for permit. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, invite the public to 

comment on the following applications 

for permits to conduct certain activities 

with endangered species. The 

Endangered Species Act requires that 

we invite public comment on these 

permit applications. 

DATES: Written data, comments or 

requests must be received by August 27, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: Documents and other 

information submitted with these 

applications are available for review, 

subject to the requirements of the 

Privacy Act and Freedom of Information 

Act, by any party who submits a written 

request for a copy of such documents 

within 30 days of the date of publication 

of this notice to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Division of Management 

Authority, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, 

Room 212, Arlington, Virginia 22203; 

fax 703/358-2281. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Division of Management Authority, 

telephone 703/358-2104. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Endangered Species 

The public is invited to comment on 

the following applications for a permit 

to conduct certain activities with 

endangered species. This notice is 

provided pursuant to Section 10(c) of 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Submit your written data, comments, or 

requests for copies of the complete 

applications to the address shown in 

ADDRESSES. 

Applicant: Hidden Harbor Marine 

Environmental Project, dba The Turtle 

Hospital, Marathon, FL, PRT-216464 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import one hawksbill sea turtle 

(Eretmochelys imbricata) of unknown 

sex that was found injured in the waters 

of the Netherlands Antilles for the 

purpose of enhancement of the survival 

of the species. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES