Additional Waivers Granted to and Alternative Requirements for the State of Louisiana Under Public Laws 109-148 and 109-234, 10014-10018 [E7-3830]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10014-10018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3830]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Additional Waivers Granted to and Alternative Requirements for the 
State of Louisiana Under Public Laws 109-148 and 109-234; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 43 / Tuesday, March 6, 2007 / 
Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5089-N-03]


Additional Waivers Granted to and Alternative Requirements for 
the State of Louisiana Under Public Laws 109-148 and 109-234

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of waivers and alternative requirements.

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SUMMARY: As described in the Supplementary Information section of this 
Notice, HUD is authorized by statute to waive statutory and regulatory 
requirements and specify alternative requirements for this grant, upon 
the request of the state grantee. This Notice describes the additional 
waivers for the disaster recovery grants made to the state of Louisiana 
under the subject appropriations acts.

DATES: Effective Date: March 12, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clifford Taffet, Acting Director, 
Disaster Recovery and Special Issues Division, Office of Block Grant 
Assistance, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room 7286, 451 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, telephone number (202) 708-
2684. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number 
via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339. FAX inquiries may be sent to Mr. Taffet at (202) 708-1744. 
(Except for the ``800'' number, these telephone numbers are not toll-
free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority To Grant Waivers

    The first federal fiscal year 2006 supplemental appropriation for 
the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program was the Department 
of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes 
in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-
148, approved December 30, 2005). The second 2006 supplemental 
appropriation was Chapter 9 of Title II of the Emergency Supplemental 
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane 
Recovery, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-234, approved June 15, 2006) which 
appropriates $5.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant funds 
for necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, 
and restoration of infrastructure directly related to the consequences 
of the covered disasters. The 2006 Acts authorize the Secretary to 
waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any provision of any 
statute or regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with 
the obligation by the Secretary or use by the recipient of these funds 
and guarantees, except for requirements related to fair housing, 
nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment, upon a request 
by the State and a finding by the Secretary that such a waiver would 
not be inconsistent with the overall purpose of the statute. The 
following waivers and alternative requirements for funds provided under 
either 2006 Act are in response to requests from the State of 
Louisiana. A waiver or alternative requirement will apply to assistance 
provided under either Act unless otherwise specified in this Notice.
    The Secretary finds that the following waivers and alternative 
requirements, as described below, are not inconsistent with the overall 
purpose of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 
1974, as amended, or the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 
Act, as amended.
    Under the requirements of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3535(q)), regulatory waivers 
must be published in the Federal Register.
    Except as described in this and other notices applicable to this 
grant, statutory and regulatory provisions governing the Community 
Development Block Grant program for states, including those at 24 CFR 
part 570, shall apply to the use of these funds. In accordance with the 
appropriations acts, HUD will reconsider every waiver in this Notice on 
the two-year anniversary of the day this Notice is published.

Waiver Justification

    In general, waivers already granted to the state of Louisiana and 
alternative requirements already specified for CDBG disaster recovery 
grant funds provided under Public Law 109-148 and Public Law 109-234 
apply. The notices in which these prior waivers and alternative 
requirements applicable to Louisiana appear are 71 FR 7666, published 
February 13, 2006; 71 FR 34451, published June 14, 2006; and 71 FR 
63337, published October 30, 2006.
    The provisions of this Notice do not apply to funds provided under 
the regular CDBG program. The provisions provide additional flexibility 
in program design and implementation and implement statutory 
requirements unique to these appropriations.
    Eligibility--buildings for the general conduct of government. The 
state requested additional flexibility in the previously granted 
alternative requirement that permitted funding the cost share for the 
FEMA Public Assistance or Hazard Mitigation Grant Program when disaster 
recovery CDBG funds assist buildings for the general conduct of 
government. The requested change will allow the state to fund more than 
just the amount of the FEMA cost share for a project in this activity 
category. The change will also permit use of grant funds for allowable 
rehabilitation, construction, or reconstruction costs in otherwise FEMA 
eligible projects when these costs are ineligible for FEMA assistance, 
such as the costs to assist rehabilitation or reconstruction of 
qualifying buildings that were underinsured or uninsured, and to allow 
funding to bring a selected building up to code or to allow it to 
receive a certificate of occupancy and be put into service. HUD 
considered the state's request and agreed that it is consistent with 
the overall purposes of the 1974 Act for the state to be allowed to use 
the grant funds under this notice to fund critical projects involving 
repair of buildings for the general conduct of government that the 
state has selected in accordance with the method described in its HUD-
approved Action Plan for Disaster Recovery and that the state has 
determined have substantial value in promoting disaster recovery, even 
if the funding provided under this notice assists some costs that do 
not qualify as cost share for the FEMA Public Assistance or Mitigation 
programs.
    Eligibility--Research Commercialization and Educational 
Enhancement. According to the state's proposed Action Plan amendment, 
the Research Commercialization and Educational Enhancement (RCCE) 
Program is ``intended to restore the economic impact of scientific and 
technology research facilities within higher education institutions in 
the most severely affected areas.'' Activities under this program may 
include, but are not limited to, stipends for students, related 
training, purchase of critical equipment, stipends for research 
professionals, and development of a master strategic plan for meeting 
the program's intent.
    Normally, HUD provides funds to a research institution or a 
university either to increase its capacity to carry out a CDBG activity 
such as rehabilitation of housing, to carry out specific research, or 
to provide training. By contrast, the RCEE program is directed at 
stabilizing and increasing research and education sector employment and 
functions themselves. The state has stated that this sector was a 
significant regional job generator before the covered disasters, that

[[Page 10015]]

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath critically damaged many aspects of 
the research sector, and that the RCEE program is a critical component 
of the state's long-term economic recovery.
    To accomplish its stated intention, the State is funding strategic 
planning followed by a pilot assistance program for research 
institutions located in the most impacted areas. At HUD's request, the 
state has agreed that this planning process will identify critical 
performance measures for this program so that all parties involved can 
assess the usefulness of the RCEE model as part of overall disaster 
recovery.
    The RCEE program design does not break down neatly into CDBG 
eligibility categories. Portions of the RCEE program are eligible CDBG 
activities, such as training (public services) and strategic planning. 
Other portions, especially the stipends and other direct support for 
retaining key faculty researchers, are outside the usual CDBG realm, 
although modeled on other government research and endowment grant 
programs. Program staff will be coordinating the various types of 
assistance into a coherent whole, moving between supporting eligible 
and currently ineligible activities.
    To avoid bureaucratic hair-splitting that does not advance long-
term disaster recovery or protect against fraud, waste, or abuse of 
funds, HUD is providing a waiver and alternative requirement to create 
the eligible activity called Louisiana Research Commercialization and 
Educational Enhancement to include all activities carried out in 
accordance with the RCEE program described in the HUD-approved Action 
Plan, beginning with the amendment introducing this program, approved 
January 3, 2007. (The allowable cost provisions of applicable OMB 
Circulars still apply, as do statutory prohibitions on duplications of 
benefit with other forms of assistance, such as Federal programs.)
    Documentation of low- and moderate-income household benefit for 
multi-unit housing projects. Rehabilitation and reconstruction of 
housing is an eligible CDBG activity. HUD has already granted the state 
an eligibility waiver to allow new construction of housing. Now the 
state has requested a related waiver to allow it to fund multi-unit 
projects and to measure benefit to low- and moderate-income households 
in such projects in a manner more supportive of mixed income housing 
than the structure basis required by 24 CFR 570.483(b)(3). (Under the 
cited regulation, the general rule is that at least 51 percent of the 
residents of an assisted structure must be income eligible.)
    HUD has reviewed other housing assistance programs that measure 
benefit differently: By the housing unit. Under the unit approach, one 
or more of the units in a structure must house income-eligible 
families, but the remainder of the units may be market rate, so long as 
the proportion of assistance provided compared to the overall project 
budget is no more than the proportion of units that will be occupied by 
income-eligible households compared to the number of units in the 
overall project. In other words, the rule under the structure approach 
is that a dollar of CDBG assistance to a structure means that 51 
percent of the units must meet income requirements. Under the 
proportional units approach, the number of income-eligible units is 
proportional to the amount of assistance provided. Based on HUD 
experience, the second approach is generally more compatible with 
large-scale development of mixed-income housing.
    There is HUD precedent for using the proportional unit basis in two 
programs familiar to the state: (1) The CDBG program rule has a built-
in exception that allows limited use of the unit basis for multi-unit 
non-elderly new construction structures with between 20 and 50 percent 
low- and moderate- income occupancy, and (2) the HOME Investment 
Partnerships program, HUD's primary housing production program, 
successfully uses its own variation on the proportional unit approach. 
After review of the state's Action Plan for Disaster Recovery and 
learning more about the state's intention to encourage mixed-income 
housing development, HUD has determined that it is consistent with the 
overall purposes of the 1974 Act to provide the state the requested 
additional flexibility in measuring program benefit.
    Therefore, the waiver and alternative requirements allow the state 
a choice. The state may measure benefit within a housing development 
project (1) according to the existing CDBG requirements, (2) according 
to the HOME program requirements at 24 CFR 92.205(d) or (3) according 
to the modified CDBG alternative requirements specified in this notice, 
which extend the CDBG exception noted above. The state must select and 
use just one method for each project.
    For these purposes, the term ``project'' will have the same meaning 
as in the HOME program at 24 CFR 92.2. Unlike the HOME program, the 
CDBG program does not regulate the maximum amount of assistance per 
unit, require unit and income reviews in the years following initial 
occupancy, require a specific form of subsidy layering review, or 
define affordability. The state is reminded, however, that CDBG does 
require that costs be necessary and reasonable and that the state must 
develop procedures and documentation to ensure that its housing 
investments meet this requirement. The state must also meet all civil 
rights and fair housing requirements.
    Eligibility--Operating Subsidy for Affordable Rental Housing. The 
State requested a waiver to allow a Project-Based Rental Subsidy (PBRA) 
and assistance to establish operating reserves to encourage developers 
to rebuild rental and mixed-income housing in the areas that suffered 
the greatest disaster impact. The subsidy funding, which is 
``Piggyback'' funding generally designed to be linked to the use of 
housing tax credits or funding under another of the rental programs 
delineated in the State's HUD approved Action Plan for Disaster 
Recovery, targets housing for low-income and very-low-income families 
and is limited in amount to the difference between the rents that a 
project is projected to need to sustain itself, and a specified lower 
level that can be reasonably afforded by the tenants. With its 
affordable rental programs, the State proposes to address specific 
barriers unique to the affordable rental programs outlined by the 
State's Action Plan (see The Road Home Housing Programs described in 
the State's Action Plan for Disaster Recovery) such as the lack of 
affordability in the most heavily damaged areas, the lack of permanent 
financing for mixed-income rentals, and the need for more risk-tolerant 
pre-development capital.
    In its Road Home programs, the State has set a high priority on 
deep affordability for some rental units and on placing these units 
within mixed-income communities wherever feasible. The state has 
included new scoring factors in the Piggyback tax credit selection 
process that reflect these priorities and that emphasize long-term 
viability and reduce operating costs. According to the state, the 
biggest remaining challenge in providing rental units affordable to 
very low-income households is the difference between what tenants can 
afford to pay and the projected cost of operating the units.
    The state has researched existing housing models, and concluded 
that the Piggyback model and the small rental and homeless programs 
described in the Road Home are needed to ensure production of 
affordable units. The state believes it has a critical need for income-
targeted rental housing

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production programs. Although the state has made financing available 
for rental housing construction, it believes that it will need also to 
provide operating subsidy options for some projects to ensure they are 
affordable to very low-income households.
    HUD agrees that keeping housing affordable to very low-income 
households over time may require additional operating subsidy after 
construction is complete. To allow the state flexible options, HUD will 
allow CDBG assistance for subsidizing operating costs using PBRA and 
funding initial operating reserves in the context of the Road Home 
rental programs as described in the Action Plan. The Department 
encourages the State to avoid using CDBG for operating subsidies if 
other financing is available or if the project can reasonably be 
structured to achieve and maintain its target affordability without the 
operating subsidy.
    HUD recommends that the State establish written requirements for 
income eligibility, maximum rents, utility allowances, structure 
quality, and affirmative marketing of projects. HUD also recommends 
that inflation adjustments set by the State generally not exceed the 
Section 8 allowable adjustments.
    HUD recommends that, in implementing PBRA funding, the State 
acquire and maintain the expertise equivalent to the role of a tax 
credit administrator whose responsibilities will include, but not be 
limited to, making PBRA payments to procured developers and compliance 
control of eligibility determinations. Due to the distinctive and 
potentially high-risk nature of this eligibility waiver, HUD recommends 
that such expertise be maintained throughout the life of the program to 
ensure the prevention of fraud, abuse of funds, and duplication of 
benefits. HUD reminds the state of the regulatory requirement for 
annual financial audits of its programs, and of the Federal Register 
Notice 71 FR 7666 and 71 FR 73337 requirements that its entire program 
be under the purview of an internal auditor.
    Eligibility--Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing. The State has 
requested an eligibility waiver to allow it to implement a Homeless 
Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program using funds designated for 
homeless activities in its Action Plan. The principle of this program 
model is to minimize the time a family is homeless by providing re-
housing assistance, rental assistance, and linking the family to 
services designed to help it become stable and self-sufficient. The 
State's request notes that it has modeled its program on the rapid 
rehousing program approach that the National Alliance to End 
Homelessness has endorsed as a national best practice. The State also 
notes that as a consequence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: ``Thousands 
of families today are doubled up with family and friends, facing 
eviction, in temporary housing conditions affordable only with time 
limited FEMA rental assistance, or living in FEMA trailer villages--
unsure what they are going to do when assistance runs out.''
    The State needs an eligibility waiver for the rental assistance and 
utility payments that are paid for up to two years on behalf of 
homeless and at-risk households. The proposed program also includes 
rental and utility deposits and back payments for housing when the 
State determines that such payments are necessary to help prevent a 
family from becoming homeless. To the extent the existing CDBG program 
rules explicitly allow payments for these purposes, the program 
establishes a shorter time limitation (three months) and generally 
discourages or disallows back payments.
    The State's proposed program will measurably advance the 
Department's priority on supporting forward-thinking solutions to help 
communities that are struggling to house and serve persons and families 
that are homeless or at risk of homelessness because of the effects of 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Therefore, this Notice grants the 
eligibility waiver as requested.
    Documentation of low- and moderate-income benefit and public 
benefit for certain economic development activities. For some of its 
economic development programs, the state has requested one waiver to 
allow it to provide alternate documentation of low- and moderate-income 
benefit, and another waiver to extend the public benefit standard 
waiver granted in Federal Register Notice 71 FR 7666 for the Bridge 
Loan Program to the economic development activities from Action Plan 
Amendments 2 and 8 and to FEMA public assistance cost share 
infrastructure projects carried out for the purpose of creating or 
retaining jobs.
    For the national objective documentation for the business 
assistance activities, the state has asked to be able to apply 
individual salaries or wages per job and the income limits for a 
household of one, rather than the usual CDBG standard of total 
household income and the limits by total household size. The state 
asserts that its proposed documentation will be simpler and quicker for 
its participating lenders to administer, easier to verify, and will not 
misrepresent the amount of low- and moderate-income benefit provided.
    Further, for the Bridge Loan Program and for infrastructure 
projects carried out to create or retain jobs or businesses, the state 
argues for this approach because it considers these critical recovery 
activities that need the most streamlined approach to documentation 
that is consistent with prudent management. On review and following 
several discussions with state staff, HUD accepts the state's arguments 
for the activities and programs cited above, and is granting the waiver 
as requested.
    HUD is granting this waiver because of the magnitude of the 
disaster. However, because the validity of this approach has not been 
verified systematically, HUD may not grant similar waivers in the 
future.
    The public benefit provisions set standards for individual economic 
development activities (such as a single loan to a business) and for 
economic development activities in the annual aggregate. Currently, 
public benefit standards limit the amount of CDBG assistance per job 
retained or created, or the amount of CDBG assistance per low- and 
moderate-income person to which goods or services are provided by the 
activity. Essentially, the public benefit standards are a proxy for all 
the other possible public benefits provided by an assisted activity. 
These dollar thresholds were set more than a decade ago and under 
disaster recovery conditions (which often require a larger investment 
to achieve a given result), can be too low and thus impede recovery by 
limiting the amount of assistance the grantee may provide to a critical 
activity. The State has made public in its Action Plan the disaster 
recovery needs each activity is addressing and the public benefits 
expected.
    After consideration, this Notice waives the public benefit 
standards for the cited activities, except that the State shall report 
and maintain documentation on the creation and retention of (a) total 
jobs, (b) number of jobs within certain salary ranges, (c) the average 
amount of assistance per job and activity or program, and (c) the types 
of jobs. As a conforming change for the same activities or programs, 
HUD is also waiving paragraph (g) of 24 CFR 570.482 to the extent its 
provisions are related to public benefit.
    Voluntary acquisition under the Piggyback Program. In connection 
with the State's Low Income Housing Tax Credit Piggyback Program, 
various developers obtained options for the acquisition of specific 
properties to

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create mixed income rental housing and workforce housing projects to 
replace rental housing lost during the hurricanes. The options were 
obtained on a voluntary basis by developers without the use or threat 
of eminent domain and prior to the availability of federal funding. 
However, since these projects will now be receiving CDBG disaster 
funding assistance, the requirements of the Uniform Relocation 
Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as 
amended, (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) (the URA) will apply where the 
property acquisition has not been completed. The state has requested a 
waiver related to acquisition requirements under the URA for specific 
projects with existing options. The state has asked that HUD permit the 
waivers to help complete the acquisition of property and promote the 
replacement of housing in a timely and efficient manner. The state 
believes that these waivers will have little impact on those persons 
who voluntarily entered into these option agreements prior to the 
availability of federal funding.
    CDBG funds are federal financial assistance so their use in 
projects that involve acquisition of property for a federally assisted 
project, or that involve acquisition, demolition, or rehabilitation 
that force a person to move permanently, are subject to the URA and the 
government-wide implementing regulations found at 49 CFR part 24. The 
URA provides assistance and protections to individuals and businesses 
affected by federal or federally assisted projects. HUD is waiving the 
following URA requirements to help promote accessibility to suitable 
decent, safe, and sanitary housing for victims of Hurricanes Katrina 
and Rita:

    The acquisition requirements of the URA and implementing 
regulations so that they do not apply to an arm's length voluntary 
purchase carried out by a person that does not have the power of 
eminent domain, in connection with the purchase of properties for 
the projects listed in the waiver below. According to the state, the 
failure to suspend these requirements would impede disaster 
recovery. This waiver would not affect any lawful occupants of the 
affected projects, in terms of relocation assistance and payments, 
and would only waive certain transaction-related requirements vis a 
vis the project owners.

Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements

    1. General note. Except as described in this Notice, the statutory, 
regulatory, and notice provisions that shall apply to the use of these 
funds are:
    a. those governing the funds appropriated under Public Law 109-148 
and Public Law 109-234 and already published in the Federal Register, 
including those in Notices 71 FR 7666, published February 13, 2006; 71 
FR 34451, published June14, 2006; and 71 FR 63337, published October 
30, 2006.
    b. those governing the Community Development Block Grant program 
for states, including those at 42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq. and 24 CFR part 
570.
    2. Buildings for the general conduct of government. Waiver 11 of 
notice 71 FR 34451 is replaced with the following: 42 U.S.C. 5305(a) 
and 24 CFR 507.207(a)(1) are waived to the extent necessary to allow 
the state to use the grant funds under this notice to fund the 
rehabilitation or reconstruction of public buildings that are otherwise 
ineligible and that the state selects in accordance with its approved 
Action Plan for Disaster Recovery and that the State has determined 
have substantial value in promoting disaster recovery.
    3. Eligibility--Louisiana Research Commercialization and 
Educational Enhancement program (RCEE). Activities carried out in 
accordance with the HUD approved Action Plan for the RCEE program 
approved January 3, 2007, are eligible.
    4. Documentation of low- and moderate-income benefit for multi-unit 
housing projects. HUD will consider assistance for a multi-unit housing 
project involving new construction, acquisition, reconstruction, or 
rehabilitation to benefit low- and moderate-income households in the 
following circumstances:
    (a)(i) The CDBG assistance defrays the development costs of a 
housing project providing eligible permanent residential units that, 
upon completion, will be occupied by low- and moderate-income 
households; and
    (ii) if the project is rental, the units occupied by low and 
moderate income households will be leased at affordable rents. The 
grantee or unit of general local government shall adopt and make public 
its standards for determining ``affordable rents'' for this purpose; 
and
    (iii) The proportion of the total cost of developing the project to 
be borne by CDBG funds is no greater than the proportion of units in 
the project that will be occupied by low- and moderate-income 
households; or
    (b) When CDBG funds defray the development costs of eligible 
permanent residential units, such funds shall be considered to benefit 
low and moderate income persons if the grantee follows the provisions 
of 24 CFR 92.205(d); or
    (c) The requirements of 24 CFR 570.483(b)(3) are met.
    (d) The state must select and use just one method for each project.
    (e) The term ``project'' will be defined as in the HOME program at 
24 CFR 92.2.
    (f) If the state applies option (a) or (b) above to a housing 
project, 24 CFR 570.483(b)(3) is waived for that project.
    5. Waiver to permit operating subsidies for affordable rental 
housing. 42 U.S.C. 5305(a) is waived to the extent necessary to make 
eligible the Road Home project-based rental assistance program included 
in the state's HUD-approved Action Plan for Disaster Recovery provided 
that the assisted activities are designed to ensure that CDBG funds 
will be invested only to the extent of reasonably anticipated need. 
Also in conjunction with the Road Home rental program, the grantee may 
provide assistance to establish an initial operating reserve account 
for a project receiving other Road Home assistance.
    6. National objective documentation for certain economic 
development activities. 24 CFR 570.483(b)(4)(i) is waived to allow the 
grantee to establish low- and moderate-income jobs benefit by 
documenting for each person employed the name of the business, type of 
job, and the annual wages or salary of the job. HUD will consider the 
person income-qualified if the annual wages or salary of the job is at 
or under the HUD-established income limit for a one-person family.
    7. Eligibility of certain activities to support homeless prevention 
and rapid rehousing programs. 42 U.S.C. 5305(a) is waived to the extent 
necessary to make eligible rental assistance and utility payments paid 
for up to two years on behalf of homeless and at-risk households when 
such assistance or payments are part of a homeless prevention or rapid 
rehousing program. Eligible assistance in these programs may also 
include rental and utility deposits and back payments for housing when 
the State determines that such payments are necessary to help prevent a 
family from being homeless.
    8. Public benefit standards for economic development activities. 
For economic development activities designed to create or retain jobs 
or businesses (including but not limited to BRIDGE, Short term, Long 
term, infrastructure projects), the public benefit standards at 42 
U.S.C. 5305(e)(3) and 24 CFR 570.482(f)(1), (2), (3), (4)(i), (5), and 
(6) are waived, except that the grantee shall report and maintain 
documentation on the creation and retention of (a) total jobs, (b) 
number of jobs within certain salary ranges, (c) average amount of 
assistance provided per job by activity or program, and (c) types of 
jobs. Paragraph (g) of 24 CFR 570.482 is also waived to the extent its 
provisions are related to public benefit.

[[Page 10018]]

    9. Voluntary acquisition under the Piggyback program. The 
requirements at 49 CFR 24.101(b)(2)(i)-(ii) are waived to the extent 
that they apply to an existing option for the arm's length voluntary 
purchase carried out by a person that does not have the power of 
eminent domain, in connection with the purchase of property for the 
projects listed below, so long as the initial option pre-dates December 
22, 2006.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Est. total
          LHFA project ID                  Project name                      Parish                    units
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0708FA37..........................  The Meadows..............  Calcasieu........................             180
0708FA43..........................  Renoir Acres Estates II..  Calcasieu........................              60
0708FA44..........................  Monet Acres Estates II...  Calcasieu........................              60
0708FA48..........................  Sulphur Retirement         Calcasieu........................              60
                                     Community.
0708FA52..........................  Grand Lake Elderly.......  Cameron..........................              30
0708FA01..........................  Timberlane Apartments....  Jefferson........................             164
0708FA22..........................  Beechgrove Homes.........  Jefferson........................             100
0708FA28..........................  Wellswood Manor..........  Jefferson........................              84
08FA49............................  Oak Villa................  Jefferson........................              80
0708FA30..........................  Lafitte Redevelopment....  Orleans..........................             568
0708FA26..........................  St Bernard I.............  Orleans..........................             465
0708FA24..........................  BW Cooper I..............  Orleans..........................             410
0708FA25..........................  CJ Peete III.............  Orleans..........................             410
0708FA42..........................  Rivergarden CSII.........  Orleans..........................             310
0708FA57..........................  Canterbury House Apts-New  Orleans..........................             276
                                     Orleans East.
0708FA47..........................  The Marquis Apartments...  Orleans..........................             250
0708FA08..........................  The Villas at Lake Forest  Orleans..........................             230
0708FA11..........................  The Crescent Club........  Orleans..........................             226
0708FA41..........................  Walnut Square Apartments.  Orleans..........................             209
0708FA13..........................  200 Carondelet...........  Orleans..........................             190
0708FA10..........................  The Preserve.............  Orleans..........................             183
0708FA38..........................  Crescent Garden Homes....  Orleans..........................             143
0708FA36..........................  Levey Gardens............  Orleans..........................             100
0708FA40..........................  Nine 27..................  Orleans..........................              76
0708FA09..........................  Jefferson Davis            Orleans..........................              72
                                     Apartments.
0708FA61..........................  Indiana Homes............  Orleans..........................              60
0708FA64..........................  Orleans Place............  Orleans..........................              60
0708FA27..........................  Classic Construction of    Orleans..........................              56
                                     New Orleans Venture II.
0708FA29..........................  Constance Lofts..........  Orleans..........................              47
0708FA23..........................  Delta Oaks Homes.........  Orleans..........................              40
0708FA63..........................  Old Morrison Homes.......  Orleans..........................              38
0708FA07..........................  Lakeside Apartments......  St. Tammany......................             250
0708FA06..........................  Tiffany Apartments.......  Vermilion........................             250
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Totals........................  .........................  .................................            5737
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    10. Information collection approval note. HUD has approval for 
information collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) under OMB control number 
2506-0165, which expires August 31, 2007. In accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, nor is a 
person required to respond to, a collection of information unless the 
collection displays a valid control number.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers for the disaster 
recovery grants under this Notice are as follows: 14.219; 14.228.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with respect to the 
environment has been made in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 
part 50, which implement section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). The FONSI is 
available for public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in 
the Office of the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room 10276, 451 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500.

    Dated: February 27, 2007.
Pamela H. Patenaude,
 Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
 [FR Doc. E7-3830 Filed 3-5-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P