Additional Waivers Granted to and Alternative Requirements for the State of Mississippi Under Public Law 109-148, 48808-48811 [E7-16632]
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48808
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 164 / Friday, August 24, 2007 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–5051–N–08]
Additional Waivers Granted to and
Alternative Requirements for the State
of Mississippi Under Public Law 109–
148
Office of the Secretary, HUD.
Notice of waivers, and
alternative requirements.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
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
approved by HUD for a $600 million
infrastructure program to be funded
from the disaster recovery grant made to
the State of Mississippi under the
subject appropriations act.
DATES: Effective Date: August 29, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessie Handforth Kome, Director,
Disaster Recovery and Special Issues
Division, Office of Block Grant
Assistance, Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street,
SW., Room 7286, Washington, DC
20410, telephone number (202) 708–
3587. 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 Ms.
Kome at (202) 401–2044. (Except for the
‘‘800’’ number, these telephone numbers
are not toll-free.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority To Grant Waivers
A federal Fiscal Year 2006
supplemental appropriation for the
Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) program was in 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 2006
Act), that appropriated $11.5 billion for
necessary expenses related to disaster
relief, long-term recovery, and
restoration of infrastructure in the most
impacted and distressed areas related to
the consequences of the covered
disasters.
The 2006 Act authorizes 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 additional
waivers and alternative requirements for
funds provided under the 2006 Act are
in response to a request from the State
of Mississippi.
For reasons described below, the
Secretary finds that the following
waivers and alternative requirements
are not inconsistent with the overall
purpose of Title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974,
as amended (the 1974 Act), 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 CDBG program for states,
including those at 24 CFR part 570,
shall apply to the use of these funds. In
accordance with the appropriations act
cited above, HUD will reconsider every
waiver in this Notice on the 2-year
anniversary of the day this Notice is
published.
Waiver Justification
In general, waivers already granted to
the State of Mississippi and alternative
requirements already specified for
CDBG disaster recovery grant funds
provided under P.L. 109–148 apply. The
notices in which these prior waivers
and alternative requirements applicable
to Mississippi are:
• 71 FR 7666, published February 13,
2006;
• 71 FR 34457, published June 14,
2006;
• 71 FR 62372, published October 24,
2006;
• 71 FR 63337, published October 30,
2006; and
• 72 FR 10020, published March 6,
2007.
The provisions of this Notice do not
apply to funds provided under the
annual CDBG program or to the grant
made under Public Law 109–234. The
provisions provide additional flexibility
in program design and implementation,
and implement statutory requirements
unique to this appropriation.
Overall Benefit to Low- and ModerateIncome Persons
The State of Mississippi has repeated
its request that the Secretary waive the
requirement that 50 percent of the
CDBG funds received by the state under
the grant made under Public Law 109–
148 be for activities that benefit persons
of low and moderate income. The
Secretary has responded to the state’s
prior requests by waiving the overall
benefit requirement to the extent
necessary to permit funding of certain
activities in identified action plans.
To grant this waiver, the Secretary
must find that it is ‘‘not inconsistent’’
with the CDBG program’s primary
purpose. This purpose is stated at 42
U.S.C. 5301(c):
‘‘The primary objective of this chapter
and of the community development
program of each grantee under this
chapter is the development of viable
urban communities, by providing
decent housing and a suitable living
environment and expanding economic
opportunities, principally for persons of
low and moderate income.’’
Further, Public Law 109–148
stipulates that, to decrease or eliminate
the overall benefit requirement below 50
percent, the Secretary of HUD must also
make a finding of ‘‘compelling need’’ for
the waiver.
Waivers of the overall benefit test
described above are identified in the
table below.
TABLE—MS ACTIVITIES WITH OVERALL BENEFIT WAIVERS AND ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS
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Activity or program
Budget
Waiver date
National objective
Economic Development and Community Revitalization.
Regional Infrastructure Program—Master Plan and Emergency Infrastructure.
Ratepayer and Windpool Mitigation ......
$500,000,000 .......................................
March 6, 2007 ........
$33,075,000 .........................................
October 24, 2006 ...
By project, either urgent need or low/
mod.
Urgent need.
$410,000,000 .......................................
October 24, 2006 ...
Urgent need.
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 164 / Friday, August 24, 2007 / Notices
TABLE—MS ACTIVITIES WITH OVERALL BENEFIT WAIVERS AND ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS—Continued
Activity or program
Budget
Waiver date
Compensation for housing loss .............
$3.4 billion for Phase I of homeowner
program, since amended to approximately $1 billion.
June 14, 2006 ........
The State of Mississippi’s current
request is for a waiver of overall benefit
requirements so that the proposed $600
million infrastructure program will not
cause the state to fail to meet the
requirement. This program follows a
CDBG-funded master plan for
infrastructure recovery whose goals
include extending water and sewer
service into areas with lower exposure
to future natural disasters while helping
the state recover from the effects of
Hurricane Katrina.
As mentioned in a prior Notice (71 FR
62372, published October 24, 2006), to
allow for recovery from severe ice
storms, the Secretary allowed the State
of Maine an overall benefit waiver that
permitted the State of Maine to use its
entire grant to assist private utilities
with uninsured service restoration costs.
In analyzing that request, HUD
considered how low- and moderateincome persons would benefit from the
proposed activity. Logically, a utility
grid or service area cannot be restored
for one income group alone, and a
disaster that damages infrastructure
regionally affects almost everyone in an
area, regardless of income. There was no
practical methodology in the Maine
example for allocating costs among
income groups. HUD found that Maine’s
waiver supported an activity that
resulted in providing long-term disaster
recovery benefit to a large number of
low- and moderate-income persons. In
this context, because the CDBG program
and the disaster supplemental
legislation largely leave the selection of
activities to the grantees, HUD granted
the waiver based on acceptance of the
state’s policy decision that this activity
met both the purposes of the CDBG Act,
and was necessary for the affected
community to meet its unmet disaster
recovery needs.
The case of the infrastructure program
in Mississippi meets many of the same
conditions that existed in Maine. As in
Maine, people across a widespread
region of Mississippi were affected
regardless of income, and the proposed
restoration and recovery infrastructure
projects will enable recovery across
wide geographic areas. The planned
Mississippi projects under the master
plan depart from the Maine case in that
the Mississippi plan focuses not only on
restoration of service to some heavily
impacted areas, but also on guiding
settlement during the recovery into
locations that were less affected by the
storm, likely to be less affected by future
events, and likely to have more
affordable housing and access to
required insurance in the long-term.
According to the state, this pattern of
National objective
Urgent need or low/mod.
leading redevelopment away from the
coast will provide the backbone for a
long-term recovery that will provide
more suitable living opportunities for
residents of the Mississippi coastal area.
Based on HUD review of the published
plan at https://
www.msgulfregionplan.org/, the master
plan provides both for restoration of
infrastructure in certain impacted
locations that are critical to recovery,
and for long-term recovery in feasible
locations further from the coast but still
within the coastal labor market areas.
According to the master plan, most of
the selected inland locations did not
have adequate utility services for the
population they had prior to the
disaster, let alone the population surge
they have experienced as former coastal
residents moved inland after the
hurricanes. The planned infrastructure
also allows for some further long-term
economic expansion in the most
impacted counties, should they recover.
In considering the effects of granting
the Mississippi waivers, HUD reviewed
the income data from the Census and
provided by the state on the percentages
of low- and moderate-income persons
for the service area of each of the
projects identified in the master plan
and proposed for funding under this
grant.
Total population of the
service area
Mississippi planned water and sewer project descriptions
Low/mod
population
of the service area
5,700
18,476
2,721
6,891
1,931
849
25,295
1,564
12,029
606
19,362
8,693
55,406
18,949
3,469
1,643
8,501
15,156
5,772
10,239
3,745
5,232
2,393
4,501
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Water Projects
W1—Pearl River—Poplarville Regional Water Supply System ......................................................................................
W2—Pearl River—Picayune Regional Water Supply System ........................................................................................
W3—Hancock—Pearlington—Port Bienville Regional Water Supply System, W4—Hancock Pearlington Water Distribution System ...........................................................................................................................................................
W5—Hancock—Kiln Regional Water Supply, W6—Hancock—Kiln Water Distribution System, W7—Hancock—Eastern Hancock County Regional Water Supply, W8—Hancock—Hancock County Water and Sewer District Water
Distribution System, W9—Hancock—Waveland U.S. 90 Water System Improvements ............................................
W10—Stone—Southern Stone County Regional Water System ....................................................................................
W11—Harrison—Central Harrison County Regional Water Supply, W18—Harrison—Eastern Harrison County Regional Water Supply .....................................................................................................................................................
W12—Harrison—Pass Christian Water System Improvements, W13—Harrison—Western Harrison County Regional
Water Supply, W14—Harrison—Long Beach Water System, W15—Harrison—North Gulfport/Lyman Regional
Water Supply ................................................................................................................................................................
W16—Harrison—Gulfport VA Area Water System Improvements, W17—Harrison—South Gulfport Regional Water
Supply, W19—Harrison—Biloxi Broadwater Water System Improvements ................................................................
W20—Jackson—Western Jackson County Regional Water Supply, W21—Jackson—Ocean Springs Water Transmission Improvements .................................................................................................................................................
W22—Jackson—Gautier Water Transmission Improvements ........................................................................................
W23—Jackson—Eastern Jackson County Regional Water System ..............................................................................
W24—Jackson—Moss Point—Three Rivers Regional Water Treatment and Transmission System ............................
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 164 / Friday, August 24, 2007 / Notices
Total population of the
service area
Mississippi planned water and sewer project descriptions
W25—Jackson—Pascagoula—River Park Water Transmission Improvements ............................................................
W26—Jackson—Pascagoula—Chipley Water Transmission Improvements .................................................................
W27—Jackson—Pascagoula—Beach Boulevard Water Transmission Improvements ..................................................
Low/mod
population
of the service area
471
3,927
3,232
156
1,580
945
6,170
1,931
21,270
1,052
5,173
829
17,539
2,721
2,264
2,403
849
9,101
554
1,911
312
7,494
1,281
843
7,726
4,422
3,244
1,988
30,966
4,078
7,486
5,936
5,962
16,853
10,450
1,550
3,646
2,075
2,768
5,694
7,509
3,136
29,018
5,975
7,756
2,018
16,113
15,751
5,654
7,349
3,044
1,425
Sewer Projects
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S1—Pearl River—Poplarville Regional WWTF and Transmission System ....................................................................
S2—Pearl River—Picayune Regional WWTF and Transmission System ......................................................................
S3—Hancock—Western Regional WWTF ......................................................................................................................
S4—Hancock—Pearlington Wastewater Collection System ...........................................................................................
S5—Hancock—Northern Regional WWTF ......................................................................................................................
S6—Hancock—Kiln Wastewater Collection System .......................................................................................................
S7—Hancock—Bay St. Louis—Cedar Point and I–10 Wastewater System Improvements ..........................................
S8—Stone—Wiggins Regional WWTF and Transmission System ................................................................................
S9—Stone—South Stone County WWTF .......................................................................................................................
S10—Harrison—Saucier WWTF and Riverbend/Robinwood Forest Transmission System, S11—Harrison—East
Central Harrison County Regional WWTF ...................................................................................................................
S12—Harrison—DeLisle WWTF, Long Beach/Pass Christian WWTF, and Transmission System ...............................
S13—Harrison—Pass Christian Wastewater System Improvements, S14—Harrison—West Gulfport Regional Interceptor, S16—Harrison—Long Beach Wastewater System Improvements .................................................................
S15—Harrison—West Gulfport Regional Transmission System ....................................................................................
S17—Harrison—Gulfport VA Area Wastewater System Improvement ...........................................................................
S18—Harrison—South Gulfport Regional Transmission System ...................................................................................
S21—Harrison—Biloxi Broadwater Wastewater System Improvements ........................................................................
S19—Harrison—South Woolmarket WWTF and Transmission Mains ...........................................................................
S20—Harrison—D’Iberville WWTF and Transmission System, S22—Harrison—D’Iberville Waterfront Wastewater
System Improvements .................................................................................................................................................
S23—Jackson—West Jackson Regional WWTF and Transmission Mains, S24—Jackson—Ocean Springs Wastewater Transmission Improvements, S25—Jackson—Gulf Park and Ocean Beach Areas Transmission Improvements ............................................................................................................................................................................
S26—Jackson—North Jackson County Decentralized WWTFs .....................................................................................
S27—Jackson—Gautier Wastewater Transmission Improvements, S28—Jackson—Gautier Regional WWTF Improvements ...................................................................................................................................................................
S29—Jackson—Escatawpa Regional WWTF Improvements .........................................................................................
S30—Jackson—Pascagoula—River Park Wastewater Transmission Improvements, S31—Jackson—Pascagoula—
Shortcut Road Transmission System Improvements, S32—Jackson—Pascagoula—Chipley Wastewater Transmission Improvements, S33—Jackson—Pascagoula—Beach Boulevard Wastewater Transmission Improvement
Note about the table: Because some of
the project service areas overlap, the
numeric columns were not totaled.
Nevertheless, despite qualifying under
the ‘‘urgent need’’ national objective,
the projects proposed under the master
plan will generate benefits to low- and
moderate-income persons for a long
period of time for a relatively small
amount of funds per person served. The
data demonstrate the classic pattern also
illustrated in the cases in which HUD
granted prior waivers of this provision
to Maine and the City of Grand Forks,
North Dakota, in which the grantee
would be unable to provide the
infrastructure to support disaster
recovery for low- and moderate-income
households without also benefiting a
majority of persons who are not incomequalified. In the Mississippi case, as in
prior this ones, HUD has determined
that granting this waiver will result in
provision of disaster recovery benefits to
low- and moderate-income persons that
cannot be provided only to low- and
moderate-income persons, or in such a
way as to assure that the majority of
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14:40 Aug 23, 2007
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persons served are income-qualified.
Further, HUD has determined that, in
the context of using supplemental funds
appropriated for the purpose of
supporting recovery from a major
disaster, granting this waiver is
consistent with the overall purpose of
the 1974 Act.
Based on the above and the
compelling need presented by the State
of Mississippi for the activities already
included in the Action Plan for Disaster
Recovery for the grant made under
Public Law 109–148, HUD is granting
the state a waiver of the requirement
that at least 50 percent of the
supplemental CDBG grant funds
provided under Public Law 109–148
primarily benefit persons of low and
moderate income, to the extent
necessary to permit Mississippi to carry
out the activities contained in its March
26, 2007, Action Plan submission for
Regional Infrastructure, provided that
the state must give reasonable priority
for the balance of its funds to activities
that will primarily benefit persons of
low and moderate income. HUD expects
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the grantee to maintain low- and
moderate-income benefit documentation
for any activity assisted with this grant
that directly provides such a benefit.
This waiver of overall benefit
requirements does not alter previous
waivers of the overall benefit
requirements or cover activities that
may be added or modified under a
substantial amendment to the activities
mentioned in the Action Plan
submissions listed above.
Previously, the state agreed to
examine other housing needs and to
pursue other sources of funding to
provide assistance for other compelling
housing needs, such as for homeless and
special needs populations, for lowincome renters, and for uninsured lowincome homeowners. HUD expects the
state to continue these efforts.
HUD expects the state to principally
benefit low- and moderate-income
persons in activities where such design
is feasible and reasonable, and to design
its activities to otherwise meet the
‘‘slum-blight’’ or urgent-need national
objective.
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 164 / Friday, August 24, 2007 / Notices
HUD also reminds the state that,
pursuant to the instruction in Public
Law 109–148, all waivers in this Notice
must be reconsidered on the 2-year
anniversary date of this notice.
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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 already published in the Federal
Register, including those in Notices 71
FR 7666, published February 13, 2006;
71 FR 34457, published June 14, 2006;
71 FR 62372, published October 24,
2006; 71 FR 63337, published October
30, 2006; and 72 FR 10020, published
March 6, 2007; and
b. Those governing the CDBG program
for states, including those at 42 U.S.C.
5301 et seq. and 24 CFR part 570.
2. Overall benefit. 42 U.S.C. 5301(c)
and 5304(b)(3), and 24 CFR 570.484 and
24 CFR 91.325(b)(4)(ii), with respect to
the overall benefit requirement, are
waived to the extent necessary to permit
Mississippi to carry out the activities
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Jkt 211001
contained in its March 26, 2007, Action
Plan submissions, provided that:
a. The state must give reasonable
priority for the balance of its funds to
activities that will primarily benefit
persons of low and moderate income;
and
b. The state will maintain
documentation of the low- and
moderate-income benefit attributable to
each assisted activity, if feasible, and
report on such benefit to HUD as part
of the regular quarterly reports.
3. Information collection approval
note. The information collection
requirements contained in this Notice
have been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–
3520) and assigned OMB control
number 2506–0165. 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
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48811
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(2)(C)). The FONSI is available for
public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5
p.m. weekdays in the Regulations
Division, Office of General Counsel,
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW.,
Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–
0500. Due to security measures at the
HUD Headquarters building, please
schedule an appointment to review the
finding by calling the Regulations
Division at (202) 708–3055 (this is not
a toll-free number).
Dated: August 16, 2007.
Roy A. Bernardi,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7–16632 Filed 8–23–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
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[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48808-48811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16632]
[[Page 48807]]
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Part V
Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Additional Waivers Granted to and Alternative Requirements for the
State of Mississippi Under Public Law 109-148; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 164 / Friday, August 24, 2007 /
Notices
[[Page 48808]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5051-N-08]
Additional Waivers Granted to and Alternative Requirements for
the State of Mississippi Under Public Law 109-148
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of waivers, and alternative requirements.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 approved by HUD for a $600 million infrastructure program to be
funded from the disaster recovery grant made to the State of
Mississippi under the subject appropriations act.
DATES: Effective Date: August 29, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessie Handforth Kome, Director,
Disaster Recovery and Special Issues Division, Office of Block Grant
Assistance, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh
Street, SW., Room 7286, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number (202)
708-3587. 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 Ms. Kome at (202) 401-
2044. (Except for the ``800'' number, these telephone numbers are not
toll-free.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority To Grant Waivers
A federal Fiscal Year 2006 supplemental appropriation for the
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program was in 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 2006 Act), that appropriated
$11.5 billion for necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-
term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure in the most impacted
and distressed areas related to the consequences of the covered
disasters.
The 2006 Act authorizes 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 additional waivers and alternative requirements for funds
provided under the 2006 Act are in response to a request from the State
of Mississippi.
For reasons described below, the Secretary finds that the following
waivers and alternative requirements are not inconsistent with the
overall purpose of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974, as amended (the 1974 Act), 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 CDBG program
for states, including those at 24 CFR part 570, shall apply to the use
of these funds. In accordance with the appropriations act cited above,
HUD will reconsider every waiver in this Notice on the 2-year
anniversary of the day this Notice is published.
Waiver Justification
In general, waivers already granted to the State of Mississippi and
alternative requirements already specified for CDBG disaster recovery
grant funds provided under P.L. 109-148 apply. The notices in which
these prior waivers and alternative requirements applicable to
Mississippi are:
71 FR 7666, published February 13, 2006;
71 FR 34457, published June 14, 2006;
71 FR 62372, published October 24, 2006;
71 FR 63337, published October 30, 2006; and
72 FR 10020, published March 6, 2007.
The provisions of this Notice do not apply to funds provided under
the annual CDBG program or to the grant made under Public Law 109-234.
The provisions provide additional flexibility in program design and
implementation, and implement statutory requirements unique to this
appropriation.
Overall Benefit to Low- and Moderate-Income Persons
The State of Mississippi has repeated its request that the
Secretary waive the requirement that 50 percent of the CDBG funds
received by the state under the grant made under Public Law 109-148 be
for activities that benefit persons of low and moderate income. The
Secretary has responded to the state's prior requests by waiving the
overall benefit requirement to the extent necessary to permit funding
of certain activities in identified action plans.
To grant this waiver, the Secretary must find that it is ``not
inconsistent'' with the CDBG program's primary purpose. This purpose is
stated at 42 U.S.C. 5301(c):
``The primary objective of this chapter and of the community
development program of each grantee under this chapter is the
development of viable urban communities, by providing decent housing
and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities,
principally for persons of low and moderate income.''
Further, Public Law 109-148 stipulates that, to decrease or
eliminate the overall benefit requirement below 50 percent, the
Secretary of HUD must also make a finding of ``compelling need'' for
the waiver.
Waivers of the overall benefit test described above are identified
in the table below.
Table--MS Activities With Overall Benefit Waivers and Alternative Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Activity or program Budget Waiver date National objective
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Economic Development and Community $500,000,000......... March 6, 2007................. By project, either
Revitalization. urgent need or low/
mod.
Regional Infrastructure Program-- $33,075,000.......... October 24, 2006.............. Urgent need.
Master Plan and Emergency
Infrastructure.
Ratepayer and Windpool Mitigation. $410,000,000......... October 24, 2006.............. Urgent need.
[[Page 48809]]
Compensation for housing loss..... $3.4 billion for June 14, 2006................. Urgent need or low/
Phase I of homeowner mod.
program, since
amended to
approximately $1
billion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The State of Mississippi's current request is for a waiver of
overall benefit requirements so that the proposed $600 million
infrastructure program will not cause the state to fail to meet the
requirement. This program follows a CDBG-funded master plan for
infrastructure recovery whose goals include extending water and sewer
service into areas with lower exposure to future natural disasters
while helping the state recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
As mentioned in a prior Notice (71 FR 62372, published October 24,
2006), to allow for recovery from severe ice storms, the Secretary
allowed the State of Maine an overall benefit waiver that permitted the
State of Maine to use its entire grant to assist private utilities with
uninsured service restoration costs. In analyzing that request, HUD
considered how low- and moderate-income persons would benefit from the
proposed activity. Logically, a utility grid or service area cannot be
restored for one income group alone, and a disaster that damages
infrastructure regionally affects almost everyone in an area,
regardless of income. There was no practical methodology in the Maine
example for allocating costs among income groups. HUD found that
Maine's waiver supported an activity that resulted in providing long-
term disaster recovery benefit to a large number of low- and moderate-
income persons. In this context, because the CDBG program and the
disaster supplemental legislation largely leave the selection of
activities to the grantees, HUD granted the waiver based on acceptance
of the state's policy decision that this activity met both the purposes
of the CDBG Act, and was necessary for the affected community to meet
its unmet disaster recovery needs.
The case of the infrastructure program in Mississippi meets many of
the same conditions that existed in Maine. As in Maine, people across a
widespread region of Mississippi were affected regardless of income,
and the proposed restoration and recovery infrastructure projects will
enable recovery across wide geographic areas. The planned Mississippi
projects under the master plan depart from the Maine case in that the
Mississippi plan focuses not only on restoration of service to some
heavily impacted areas, but also on guiding settlement during the
recovery into locations that were less affected by the storm, likely to
be less affected by future events, and likely to have more affordable
housing and access to required insurance in the long-term. According to
the state, this pattern of leading redevelopment away from the coast
will provide the backbone for a long-term recovery that will provide
more suitable living opportunities for residents of the Mississippi
coastal area. Based on HUD review of the published plan at https://
www.msgulfregionplan.org/, the master plan provides both for
restoration of infrastructure in certain impacted locations that are
critical to recovery, and for long-term recovery in feasible locations
further from the coast but still within the coastal labor market areas.
According to the master plan, most of the selected inland locations did
not have adequate utility services for the population they had prior to
the disaster, let alone the population surge they have experienced as
former coastal residents moved inland after the hurricanes. The planned
infrastructure also allows for some further long-term economic
expansion in the most impacted counties, should they recover.
In considering the effects of granting the Mississippi waivers, HUD
reviewed the income data from the Census and provided by the state on
the percentages of low- and moderate-income persons for the service
area of each of the projects identified in the master plan and proposed
for funding under this grant. --
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Low/mod
population population
Mississippi planned water and sewer project of the of the
descriptions service service
area area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water Projects
------------------------------------------------------------------------
W1--Pearl River--Poplarville Regional Water 5,700 2,721
Supply System................................
W2--Pearl River--Picayune Regional Water 18,476 6,891
Supply System................................
W3--Hancock--Pearlington--Port Bienville 1,931 849
Regional Water Supply System, W4--Hancock
Pearlington Water Distribution System........
W5--Hancock--Kiln Regional Water Supply, W6-- 25,295 12,029
Hancock--Kiln Water Distribution System, W7--
Hancock--Eastern Hancock County Regional
Water Supply, W8--Hancock--Hancock County
Water and Sewer District Water Distribution
System, W9--Hancock--Waveland U.S. 90 Water
System Improvements..........................
W10--Stone--Southern Stone County Regional 1,564 606
Water System.................................
W11--Harrison--Central Harrison County 19,362 8,693
Regional Water Supply, W18--Harrison--Eastern
Harrison County Regional Water Supply........
W12--Harrison--Pass Christian Water System 55,406 18,949
Improvements, W13--Harrison--Western Harrison
County Regional Water Supply, W14--Harrison--
Long Beach Water System, W15--Harrison--North
Gulfport/Lyman Regional Water Supply.........
W16--Harrison--Gulfport VA Area Water System 3,469 1,643
Improvements, W17--Harrison--South Gulfport
Regional Water Supply, W19--Harrison--Biloxi
Broadwater Water System Improvements.........
W20--Jackson--Western Jackson County Regional 8,501 3,745
Water Supply, W21--Jackson--Ocean Springs
Water Transmission Improvements..............
W22--Jackson--Gautier Water Transmission 15,156 5,232
Improvements.................................
W23--Jackson--Eastern Jackson County Regional 5,772 2,393
Water System.................................
W24--Jackson--Moss Point--Three Rivers 10,239 4,501
Regional Water Treatment and Transmission
System.......................................
[[Page 48810]]
W25--Jackson--Pascagoula--River Park Water 471 156
Transmission Improvements....................
W26--Jackson--Pascagoula--Chipley Water 3,927 1,580
Transmission Improvements....................
W27--Jackson--Pascagoula--Beach Boulevard 3,232 945
Water Transmission Improvements..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sewer Projects
------------------------------------------------------------------------
S1--Pearl River--Poplarville Regional WWTF and 6,170 2,403
Transmission System..........................
S2--Pearl River--Picayune Regional WWTF and 1,931 849
Transmission System..........................
S3--Hancock--Western Regional WWTF............ 21,270 9,101
S4--Hancock--Pearlington Wastewater Collection 1,052 554
System.......................................
S5--Hancock--Northern Regional WWTF........... 5,173 1,911
S6--Hancock--Kiln Wastewater Collection System 829 312
S7--Hancock--Bay St. Louis--Cedar Point and I- 17,539 7,494
10 Wastewater System Improvements............
S8--Stone--Wiggins Regional WWTF and 2,721 1,281
Transmission System..........................
S9--Stone--South Stone County WWTF............ 2,264 843
S10--Harrison--Saucier WWTF and Riverbend/ 7,726 3,244
Robinwood Forest Transmission System, S11--
Harrison--East Central Harrison County
Regional WWTF................................
S12--Harrison--DeLisle WWTF, Long Beach/Pass 4,422 1,988
Christian WWTF, and Transmission System......
S13--Harrison--Pass Christian Wastewater 30,966 10,450
System Improvements, S14--Harrison--West
Gulfport Regional Interceptor, S16--Harrison--
Long Beach Wastewater System Improvements....
S15--Harrison--West Gulfport Regional 4,078 1,550
Transmission System..........................
S17--Harrison--Gulfport VA Area Wastewater 7,486 3,646
System Improvement...........................
S18--Harrison--South Gulfport Regional 5,936 2,075
Transmission System..........................
S21--Harrison--Biloxi Broadwater Wastewater 5,962 2,768
System Improvements..........................
S19--Harrison--South Woolmarket WWTF and 16,853 5,694
Transmission Mains...........................
S20--Harrison--D'Iberville WWTF and 7,509 3,136
Transmission System, S22--Harrison--
D'Iberville Waterfront Wastewater System
Improvements.................................
S23--Jackson--West Jackson Regional WWTF and 29,018 7,756
Transmission Mains, S24--Jackson--Ocean
Springs Wastewater Transmission Improvements,
S25--Jackson--Gulf Park and Ocean Beach Areas
Transmission Improvements....................
S26--Jackson--North Jackson County 5,975 2,018
Decentralized WWTFs..........................
S27--Jackson--Gautier Wastewater Transmission 16,113 5,654
Improvements, S28--Jackson--Gautier Regional
WWTF Improvements............................
S29--Jackson--Escatawpa Regional WWTF 15,751 7,349
Improvements.................................
S30--Jackson--Pascagoula--River Park 3,044 1,425
Wastewater Transmission Improvements, S31--
Jackson--Pascagoula--Shortcut Road
Transmission System Improvements, S32--
Jackson--Pascagoula--Chipley Wastewater
Transmission Improvements, S33--Jackson--
Pascagoula--Beach Boulevard Wastewater
Transmission Improvement.....................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note about the table: Because some of the project service areas
overlap, the numeric columns were not totaled. Nevertheless, despite
qualifying under the ``urgent need'' national objective, the projects
proposed under the master plan will generate benefits to low- and
moderate-income persons for a long period of time for a relatively
small amount of funds per person served. The data demonstrate the
classic pattern also illustrated in the cases in which HUD granted
prior waivers of this provision to Maine and the City of Grand Forks,
North Dakota, in which the grantee would be unable to provide the
infrastructure to support disaster recovery for low- and moderate-
income households without also benefiting a majority of persons who are
not income-qualified. In the Mississippi case, as in prior this ones,
HUD has determined that granting this waiver will result in provision
of disaster recovery benefits to low- and moderate-income persons that
cannot be provided only to low- and moderate-income persons, or in such
a way as to assure that the majority of persons served are income-
qualified. Further, HUD has determined that, in the context of using
supplemental funds appropriated for the purpose of supporting recovery
from a major disaster, granting this waiver is consistent with the
overall purpose of the 1974 Act.
Based on the above and the compelling need presented by the State
of Mississippi for the activities already included in the Action Plan
for Disaster Recovery for the grant made under Public Law 109-148, HUD
is granting the state a waiver of the requirement that at least 50
percent of the supplemental CDBG grant funds provided under Public Law
109-148 primarily benefit persons of low and moderate income, to the
extent necessary to permit Mississippi to carry out the activities
contained in its March 26, 2007, Action Plan submission for Regional
Infrastructure, provided that the state must give reasonable priority
for the balance of its funds to activities that will primarily benefit
persons of low and moderate income. HUD expects the grantee to maintain
low- and moderate-income benefit documentation for any activity
assisted with this grant that directly provides such a benefit. This
waiver of overall benefit requirements does not alter previous waivers
of the overall benefit requirements or cover activities that may be
added or modified under a substantial amendment to the activities
mentioned in the Action Plan submissions listed above.
Previously, the state agreed to examine other housing needs and to
pursue other sources of funding to provide assistance for other
compelling housing needs, such as for homeless and special needs
populations, for low-income renters, and for uninsured low-income
homeowners. HUD expects the state to continue these efforts.
HUD expects the state to principally benefit low- and moderate-
income persons in activities where such design is feasible and
reasonable, and to design its activities to otherwise meet the ``slum-
blight'' or urgent-need national objective.
[[Page 48811]]
HUD also reminds the state that, pursuant to the instruction in
Public Law 109-148, all waivers in this Notice must be reconsidered on
the 2-year anniversary date of this notice.
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 already published in the Federal Register, including those in
Notices 71 FR 7666, published February 13, 2006; 71 FR 34457, published
June 14, 2006; 71 FR 62372, published October 24, 2006; 71 FR 63337,
published October 30, 2006; and 72 FR 10020, published March 6, 2007;
and
b. Those governing the CDBG program for states, including those at
42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq. and 24 CFR part 570.
2. Overall benefit. 42 U.S.C. 5301(c) and 5304(b)(3), and 24 CFR
570.484 and 24 CFR 91.325(b)(4)(ii), with respect to the overall
benefit requirement, are waived to the extent necessary to permit
Mississippi to carry out the activities contained in its March 26,
2007, Action Plan submissions, provided that:
a. The state must give reasonable priority for the balance of its
funds to activities that will primarily benefit persons of low and
moderate income; and
b. The state will maintain documentation of the low- and moderate-
income benefit attributable to each assisted activity, if feasible, and
report on such benefit to HUD as part of the regular quarterly reports.
3. Information collection approval note. The information collection
requirements contained in this Notice have been approved by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and assigned OMB control
number 2506-0165. 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(2)(C)). The FONSI is
available for public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in
the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 10276,
Washington, DC 20410-0500. Due to security measures at the HUD
Headquarters building, please schedule an appointment to review the
finding by calling the Regulations Division at (202) 708-3055 (this is
not a toll-free number).
Dated: August 16, 2007.
Roy A. Bernardi,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-16632 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
