Inviting Applications for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Grants and Guaranteed Loans, 12070-12073 [E8-4305]
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12070
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 73, No. 45
Thursday, March 6, 2008
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.
Tahoe Basin Management Unit at the
contact address stated above.
Dated: February 29, 2008.
David Marlow,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. E8–4321 Filed 3–5–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–M
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Forest Service
Inviting Applications for Renewable
Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency
Improvements Grants and Guaranteed
Loans
Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory
Committee
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Rural Business-Cooperative
Service (RBS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Lake Tahoe Basin Federal
Advisory Committee will hold a
meeting on March 24, 2008 at the Sierra
Nevada College, 999 Tahoe Boulevard,
Incline Village, NV, 89451. This
Committee, established by the Secretary
of Agriculture on December 15, 1998 (64
FR 2876), is chartered to provide advice
to the Secretary on implementing the
terms of the Federal Interagency
Partnership on the Lake Tahoe Region
and other matters raised by the
Secretary.
The meeting will be held March
24, 2008, beginning at 10 a.m. and
ending at 12 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
Sierra Nevada College, 999 Tahoe
Boulevard, Incline Village, NV, 89451.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arla
Hains, Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit, Forest Service, 35 College Drive,
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150, (530)
543–2773.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Items to
be covered on the agenda include: (1)
Tahoe Science Consortium Round 8
science update; (2) hazardous fuels
status; and, (3) Public Comment. All
Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory
Committee meetings are open to the
public. Interested citizens are
encouraged to attend at the above
address. Issues may be brought to the
attention of the Committee during the
open public comment period at the
meeting or by filing written statements
with the secretary for the Committee
before or after the meeting. Please refer
any written comments to the Lake
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SUMMARY: Rural Business-Cooperative
Service (RBS), an Agency within the
United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Rural Development, announces
it is accepting applications for fiscal
year (FY) 2008 to purchase renewable
energy systems and make energy
efficiency improvements for agriculture
producers and rural small businesses in
eligible rural areas. Funding will be
available in the form of grants and loan
guarantees. In addition to stand-alone
grants and loan guarantees, applicants
may apply for combination loan
guarantee and grant funding
(combination package).
For renewable energy systems, the
minimum grant is $2,500 and the
maximum is $500,000. For energy
efficiency improvements, the minimum
grant is $1,500 and the maximum is
$250,000. Funding for grant and loan
combination packages will be funded
from the same allocation as loan
guarantees. Fifty percent of the
appropriated grant funding will be
reserved for the first grant-only
competition. Any unused grant only
funds from the first competition will be
made available for the second grant-only
competition.
The maximum amount of a guarantee
to be provided to a borrower will be $10
million. For FY 2008, the guarantee fee
amount is 1 percent of the guaranteed
portion of the loan and the annual
renewal fee is 0.250 percent (onequarter of one percent) of the guaranteed
portion of the loan.
For FY 2008, the following are the
funds provided by Congress for the
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Section 9006 program: For grants,
$15,888,000, and for loans,
$204,953,560.
The USDA will issue one grant
solicitation for two separate
competitions in FY 2008. Competitive
deadlines will occur in accordance with
deadlines as follows:
DATES:
Grants
For the first competitive window,
complete (see 7 CFR 4280.111) grantonly applications, must be submitted to
the appropriate USDA Rural
Development State Office no later than
April 15, 2008. For the second
competitive window, complete (see 7
CFR 4280.111) grant-only applications
must be submitted to the appropriate
USDA Rural Development State Office
no earlier than April 16, 2008, and no
later than June 16, 2008. Applications
submitted under the first competition
that are not selected will automatically
be considered under the second
competition, using the materials and
score from the first competition (i.e., no
changes to scored applications will be
accepted). It is anticipated that two
grant award announcements will be
made. The first announcement is
anticipated prior to June 16, 2008, and
the second, prior to September 16, 2008.
Guaranteed Loans
Complete guaranteed loan
applications will be accepted and
processed, until June 16, 2008, in a
rolling application manner.
Applications for loan guarantees must
be completed and submitted to the
appropriate USDA Rural Development
State Office no later than June 16, 2008.
No application received in the State
Office after June 16, 2008, will be
considered.
Combination Packages
Complete combination packages will
be accepted and processed, until June
16, 2008. Once funds become available,
combination packages will be evaluated
on a bi-weekly basis. Combination
applications must be completed and
submitted to the appropriate USDA
Rural Development State Office no later
than June 16, 2008. No application
received after June 16, 2008, will be
considered.
Any unused funding as of August 15,
2008, may be pooled and revert to grant
money. All submissions must be
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 45 / Thursday, March 6, 2008 / Notices
12071
received at the applicable office by 4:30
p.m. local time on the deadline date.
The application closing deadlines for
grant, loan guarantee, and combination
packages are firm. USDA Rural
Development will not consider any
application that is received after the
closing deadline. In addition to the
application requirements stated in 7
CFR part 4280–B, a complete
application will include all
environmental review documents with
supporting documentation in
accordance with 7 CFR part 1940
subpart G. The application must be
complete before the State Office
forwards the application to the National
Office for funding consideration.
Georgia
Montana
J. Craig Scroggs, USDA Rural Development,
111 E. Spring St., Suite B, Monroe, GA
30655, Phone 770–267–1413 ext. 113
John Guthmiller, USDA Rural Development,
900 Technology Blvd., Unit 1, Suite B, P.O.
Box 850, Bozeman, MT 59771, (406) 585–
2540
Submit applications to the
USDA Rural Development State Office
in the state where your project is
located. A list of the USDA Rural
Development State Offices and Energy
Coordinators addresses and telephone
numbers follow. For further information
about this solicitation, please contact
the applicable State Office. This
document is available on our Web site
at https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/
farmbill/.
Indiana
ADDRESSES:
Hawaii
Tim O’Connell, USDA Rural Development,
Federal Building, Room 311, 154
Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808)
933–8313
Idaho
Brian Buch, USDA Rural Development, 725
Jensen Grove Drive, Suite 1, Blackfoot, ID
83221, (208) 785–5840, Ext. 118
Illinois
Molly Hammond, USDA Rural Development,
2118 West Park Court, Suite A, Champaign,
IL 61821, (217) 403–6210
Teresa Bomhoff, USDA Rural Development,
873 Federal Building, 210 Walnut Street,
Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284–4447
David Kramer, USDA Rural Development,
1303 SW First American Place, Suite 100,
Topeka, KS 66604–4040, (785) 271–2744
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Florida/Virgin Islands
Joe Mueller, USDA Rural Development, 4440
NW. 25th Place, Gainesville, FL 32606,
(352) 338–3482
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Eric Vigil, USDA Rural Development, 6200
Jefferson Street, NE., Room 255,
Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761–4952
Thomas Hauryski, USDA Rural Development,
415 West Morris Street, Bath, NY 14810,
(607) 776–7398 Ext. 132
North Carolina
Louisiana
Kevin Boone, USDA Rural Development, 905
Jefferson Street, Suite 320, Lafayette, LA
70501, (337) 262–6601
Maine
John F. Sheehan, USDA Rural Development,
967 Illinois Avenue, Suite 4, P.O. Box 405,
Bangor, ME 04402–0405, (207) 990–9168
Charles W. Dubuc, USDA Rural
Development, 60 Quaker Lane, Suite 44,
Warwick, RI 02886, (401) 826–0842
Michigan
Traci J. Smith, USDA Rural Development,
3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East
Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324–5225
Minnesota
Delaware-Maryland
James Waters, USDA Rural Development,
1221 College Park Drive, Suite 200, Dover,
DE 19904, (302) 857–3626
New Jersey
New York
Kansas
Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut
Colorado
April Dahlager, USDA Rural Development,
655 Parfet Street, Room E–100, Lakewood,
CO 80215, (720) 544–2909
New Hampshire (See Vermont)
New Mexico
Scott Maas, USDA Rural Development, 771
Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY
40503, (859) 224–7435
California
Charles Clendenin, USDA Rural
Development, 430 G Street, AGCY 4169,
Davis, CA 95616, (530) 792–5825
Herb Shedd, USDA Rural Development, 1390
South Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703,
(775) 887–1222
Iowa
Alabama
Quinton Harris, USDA Rural Development,
Sterling Centre, Suite 601, 4121
Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106–
3683, (334) 279–3623
Arkansas
Tim Smith, USDA Rural Development, 700
West Capitol Avenue, Room 3416, Little
Rock, AR 72201–3225, (501) 301–3280
Nevada
Jerry Hay, USDA Rural Development, 2411 N.
1250 W., Deputy, IN 47230, (812) 873–1100
Kentucky
Arizona
Alan Watt, USDA Rural Development, 230
North First Avenue, Suite 206, Phoenix,
AZ 85003–1706, (602) 280–8769
Debra Yocum, USDA Rural Development,
100 Centennial Mall North, Room 152,
Federal Building, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402)
437–5554
Victoria Fekete, USDA Rural Development,
8000 Midlantic Drive, 5th Floor North,
Suite 500, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787–
7753
USDA State Rural Development Offices
Alaska
Dean Stewart, USDA Rural Development, 800
West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK
99645–6539, (907) 761–7722
Nebraska
Lisa L. Noty, USDA Rural Development, 1400
West Main Street, Albert Lea, MN 56007,
(507) 373–7960 Ext. 120
Mississippi
G. Gary Jones, USDA Rural Development,
Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 West
Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601)
965–5457
H. Rossie Bullock, USDA Rural Development,
4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC
27609, (910) 739–3349 Ext. 4
North Dakota
Dennis Rodin, USDA Rural Development,
Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East
Rosser Avenue, P.O. Box 1737, Bismarck,
ND 58502–1737, (701) 530–2029
Ohio
Randy Monhemius, USDA Rural
Development, Federal Building, Room 507,
200 North High Street, Columbus, OH
43215–2418, (614) 255–2424
Oklahoma
Jody Harris, USDA Rural Development, 100
USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 74074–
2654, (405) 742–1036
Oregon
Don Hollis, USDA Rural Development, 1229
SE Third Street, Suite A, Pendleton, OR
97801–4198, (541) 278–8049, Ext. 129
Pennsylvania
Bernard Linn, USDA Rural Development,
One Credit Union Place, Suite 330,
Harrisburg, PA 17110–2996, (717) 237–
2182
Missouri
Matt Moore, USDA Rural Development, 601
Business Loop 70 West, Parkade Center,
Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573)
876–9321
Puerto Rico
Luis Garcia, USDA Rural Development, IBM
Building, 654 Munoz Rivera Avenue, Suite
601, Hato Rey, PR 00918–6106, (787) 766–
5091, Ext. 251
South Carolina
Shannon Legree, USDA Rural Development,
Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 45 / Thursday, March 6, 2008 / Notices
Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC
29201, (803) 765–5881
South Dakota
Douglas Roehl, USDA Rural Development,
Federal Building, Room 210, 200 4th
Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352–
1145
Tennessee
Will Dodson, USDA Rural Development,
3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300,
Nashville, TN 37203–1084, (615) 783–1350
Texas
Daniel Torres, USDA Rural Development,
Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South
Main Street, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742–
9756
Utah
Roger Koon, USDA Rural Development,
Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125
South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake
City, UT 84138, (801) 524–4301
Vermont/New Hampshire
Lyn Millhiser, USDA Rural Development,
City Center, 3rd Floor 89 Main Street,
Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828–6069
Virginia
Laurette Tucker, USDA Rural Development,
Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606 Santa
Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804)
287–1594
Washington
Mary Traxler, USDA Rural Development,
1835 Black Lake Blvd. SW, Suite B,
Olympia, WA 98512, (360) 704–7707
West Virginia
Cheryl Wolfe, USDA Rural Development, 75
High Street, Room 320, Morgantown, WV
26505–7500, (304) 284–4882
Wisconsin
Mark Brodziski, USDA Rural Development,
4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens Point, WI
54481, (715) 345–7600, Ext. 131
Wyoming
Jon Crabtree, USDA Rural Development, Dick
Cheney Federal Building, 100 East B Street,
Room 1005, P.O. Box 820, Casper, WY
82602, (307) 233–6719
This
solicitation is issued pursuant to
Section 9006 of the Farm Security and
Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002
Act), which established the Renewable
Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency
Improvements Program (Section 9006).
The program is designed to help
agricultural producers and rural small
businesses reduce energy costs and
consumption and help meet the
Nation’s critical energy needs. The 2002
Act mandates the maximum percentages
of funding that USDA Rural
Development will provide. Grants under
this program will not exceed 25 percent
of the eligible project costs. Loan
guarantees will not exceed 50 percent of
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the eligible project costs. Funding
approved for combination guaranteed
loan and grant packages will not exceed
50 percent of eligible project cost, with
the grant portion not to exceed 25
percent of eligible project costs.
As stated in 7 CFR 4280.108, projects
must be for a pre-commercial or
commercially available technology. The
definition of ‘‘pre-commercial’’ and
‘‘commercial’’ are at 7 CFR 4280.103.
The Agency’s position is that if the
system is currently commercially
available only outside the United States
(U.S.), then applicants must provide
authoritative evidence of the foreign
operating history, performance, and
reliability in order to address the proven
operating history identified in the
definition. ‘‘Commercial’’ applicants
must provide evidence that professional
service providers, trades, large
construction equipment providers and
labor are readily available domestically
and familiar with installation
procedures and practices, and spare
parts and service are readily available in
the U.S. to properly maintain and
operate the system. All warranties must
be valid in the U.S.
In accordance with the definition of
‘‘pre-commercial’’ technology found in
7 CFR 4280.103, technical and
economic potential for commercial
application must be demonstrated to the
Agency. In order to demonstrate the
system has emerged through research
and development as well as the
demonstration process, applicants must
provide, authoritative evidence of the
operating history, performance, and
reliability past completion of start-up,
shake-down, and/or commissioning.
Typically, and inline with financial and
operating performance evaluation
protocol, the documented operating
history, which may be established
domestically or outside the U.S., should
provide performance data for a
minimum of 12 months. The time
period will address the economic and
technical performance potential
identified in 7 CFR 4280.103.
In accordance with demonstrating the
potential for commercial application,
applicants must provide evidence that
professional service providers, trades,
large construction equipment providers,
and labor are potentially available
domestically and sufficiently familiar
with installation procedures and
practices, and spare parts and service
are available in the U.S. to properly
maintain and operate the system. Any
warranties would have to be valid in the
U.S.
Information required to be in the grant
application package is contained in 7
CFR 4280.111. Awards are made on a
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competitive basis using specific
evaluation criteria contained in 7 CFR
4280.112(e). To ensure that projects are
accurately scored by USDA, applicants
are requested to tab and number each
evaluation criteria and include in that
section, its corresponding supporting
documentation and calculations
according to 7 CFR 4280.112. Only
projects that have completed the
environmental review process according
to 7 CFR 4280.114(d), demonstrated
project eligibility according to 7 CFR
4280.108, demonstrated technical
feasibility, and are complete will be
eligible for funding consideration.
State Offices will submit eligible grant
funding requests, with the State Office
executed score sheets, including all
supporting documentation to the
National Office for funding
consideration.
To reduce scoring bias by technology
and scale, a standard statistical
normalization process will be applied to
all competitive grant application scores.
All applicants will be notified by the
USDA Rural Development State Offices
of the Agency’s decision on the awards.
Information required to be in the
guaranteed loan application and the
combination guaranteed loan and grant
application package is contained in 7
CFR 4280.128 and 7 CFR 4280.193(c),
respectively.
• Guaranteed loan applications will
be received and processed, on a rolling
basis, until June 16, 2008, or funds are
exhausted, whichever occurs first.
• Combination packages will also be
received and processed on a rolling
basis until June 16, 2008. However, due
to the grant component, competitive
scoring of combination packages will
take place on a bi-weekly basis. Awards
will be announced based on the biweekly competition schedule until
funds are exhausted or there are no
remaining qualified applicants.
Combination applications may only be
submitted by applicants that
demonstrate financial need.
Combination applicants that are
approved for funding must accept and
utilize both the loan and the grant. In
addition, to ensure equitable
competition, and high quality projects,
the grant portion of any combination
package must score at least 70 percent
of the available points (minimum of 84
points), of which at least 24 points must
be for technical merit. Only those
combination packages that demonstrate
financial need and score a sufficient
amount of grant points will be
considered for funding. Applications
that do not meet these thresholds may
be resubmitted as a guaranteed loan
only application.
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All applicants will be notified by the
USDA Rural Development State Offices
in regards to the Agency’s decision on
their application.
This program is listed in the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance under
Number 10.775 and is subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental
consultation with state and local
officials.
USDA is participating as a partner in
the government-wide Grants.gov site.
Applicants may submit grant-only
applications to the Agency in either
electronic or paper format. Please be
mindful that the application deadline
for electronic format differs from the
deadline for paper format. The
electronic format deadline will be based
on Washington, DC time. The paper
format deadline is local time for each
USDA Rural Development State Office.
Users of Grants.gov will be able to
download a copy of the application
package, complete it off line, and then
upload and submit the application via
the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail
an electronic copy of a grant application
to USDA Rural Development; however,
the Agency encourages your
participation in Grants.gov.
• When you enter the Grants.gov site,
you will find information about
submitting an application electronically
through the site as well as the hours of
operation. USDA Rural Development
strongly recommends that you do not
wait until the application deadline date
to begin the application process through
Grants.gov. To use Grants.gov,
applicants must have a Dun and
Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number which can be
obtained at no cost via a toll-free request
line at 1–866–705–5711 or online at
https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.
• You may submit all documents
electronically through the Web site,
including all information typically
included on the application for
Renewable Energy Systems and Energy
Efficiency Improvements Program, and
all necessary assurances and
certifications. After electronically
submitting an application through the
Web site, the applicant will receive an
automatic acknowledgement from
Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov
tracking number.
• USDA Rural Development may
request that the applicant provide
original signatures on forms at a later
date.
• If applicants experience technical
difficulties on the closing date and are
unable to meet the 4:30 p.m.
(Washington, DC time) deadline, print
out your application and submit it to
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16:57 Mar 05, 2008
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your respective State Office. If
applicants submit applications to a State
Office, applicants must meet the closing
date and local time deadlines.
Applicants may access the electronic
grant application for Renewable Energy
Systems and Energy Efficiency
Improvements Program at https://
www.Grants.gov.
Please note that applicants must
locate the downloadable application
package for this program by the CFDA
Number or FedGrants Funding
Opportunity Number, which can be
found at https://www.Grants.gov.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, the paperwork burden
has been cleared by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under
OMB Control Number 0570–0050.
Nondiscrimination Statement
USDA prohibits discrimination in all
its programs and activities on the basis
of race, color, national origin, age,
disability, and where applicable, sex,
marital status, familial status, parental
status, religion, sexual orientation,
genetic information, political beliefs,
reprisal, or because all or part of an
individual’s income is derived from any
public assistance program. (Not all
prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of
program information (braille, large
print, audiotape, etc.) should contact
USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–
2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination,
write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil
Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20250–9410, or
call (800) 795–3272 (voice), or (202)
720–6382 (TDD). ‘‘USDA is an equal
opportunity provider, employer, and
lender.’’
Dated: February 29, 2008.
Ben Anderson,
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative
Service.
[FR Doc. E8–4305 Filed 3–4–08; 8:45 am]
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12073
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security
[Docket No. 07–BIS15–21]
In the Matter of: Mr. Ali Asghar
Manzarpour, Preston Technical
Services, Ltd.-UK, 17 Preston Village
Mews Middle Road, Brighton East
Sussex BN1 6XU, England; and c/o
Maria House, 35 Millers Rd., Brighton
BN1 5NP, England, Respondent; Final
Decision and Order
This matter is before me upon a
Recommended Decision and Order
(‘‘RDO’’) of the Administration Law
Judge (‘‘ALJ’’) issued on February 4,
2008.
In a charging letter filed on July 27,
2007, the Bureau of Industry and
Security (‘‘BIS’’) alleged that
Respondent, Ali Asghar Manzarpour
(‘‘Manzarpour’’), Director of Preston
Technical Services, Ltd., committed
three violations of the Export
Administration Regulations (currently
codified at 15 CFR Parts 730–774)
(2007)) (‘‘Regulations’’),1 issued under
the Export Administration Act of 1979,
as amended (50 U.S.C. app. 2401–2420
(2000)) (the ‘‘Act’’).2
Specifically, the charging letter
alleged that on or about April 28, 2004,
Manzarpour caused, aided, or abetted in
the doing of an act prohibited by the
Regulations by facilitating and
coordinating the export of a single
engine aircraft that is subject to the
Regulations, classified under Export
Control Classification Number (ECCN)
9A991.b and controlled for antiterrorism (AT) reasons, to Iran without
the required export authorization.
Specifically, Manzarpour ordered a
freight-forwarding company to ship the
aircraft from the United States to the
United Kingdom (UK) knowing that Iran
was the ultimate destination. Upon its
arrival in the UK, Manzarpour
instructed the freight forwarder to
transship the item to Iran, but the item
was detained before leaving the UK.
Pursuant to section 560.204 of the
Iranian Transactions Regulations
maintained by the Department of the
1 The violations charged occurred in 2004. The
Regulations governing the violations at issue are
found in the 2004 version of the Code of Federal
Regulations (15 CFR Parts 730–774 (2004)). The
2007 Regulations establish the procedures that
apply to this matter.
2 Since August 21, 2001, the Act has been in lapse
and the President, through Executive Order 13222
of August 17, 2001 (3 CFR, 2001 Comp. 783 (2002)),
which has been extended by successive Presidential
Notices, the most recent being that of August 15,
2007 (72 FR 46,137 (August 16, 2007)), has
continued the Regulations in effect under the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
U.S.C. 1701–1706 (2000)) (‘‘IEEPA’’).
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 45 (Thursday, March 6, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12070-12073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4305]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Inviting Applications for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy
Efficiency Improvements Grants and Guaranteed Loans
AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development,
announces it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2008 to
purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency
improvements for agriculture producers and rural small businesses in
eligible rural areas. Funding will be available in the form of grants
and loan guarantees. In addition to stand-alone grants and loan
guarantees, applicants may apply for combination loan guarantee and
grant funding (combination package).
For renewable energy systems, the minimum grant is $2,500 and the
maximum is $500,000. For energy efficiency improvements, the minimum
grant is $1,500 and the maximum is $250,000. Funding for grant and loan
combination packages will be funded from the same allocation as loan
guarantees. Fifty percent of the appropriated grant funding will be
reserved for the first grant-only competition. Any unused grant only
funds from the first competition will be made available for the second
grant-only competition.
The maximum amount of a guarantee to be provided to a borrower will
be $10 million. For FY 2008, the guarantee fee amount is 1 percent of
the guaranteed portion of the loan and the annual renewal fee is 0.250
percent (one-quarter of one percent) of the guaranteed portion of the
loan.
For FY 2008, the following are the funds provided by Congress for
the Section 9006 program: For grants, $15,888,000, and for loans,
$204,953,560.
DATES: The USDA will issue one grant solicitation for two separate
competitions in FY 2008. Competitive deadlines will occur in accordance
with deadlines as follows:
Grants
For the first competitive window, complete (see 7 CFR 4280.111)
grant-only applications, must be submitted to the appropriate USDA
Rural Development State Office no later than April 15, 2008. For the
second competitive window, complete (see 7 CFR 4280.111) grant-only
applications must be submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural
Development State Office no earlier than April 16, 2008, and no later
than June 16, 2008. Applications submitted under the first competition
that are not selected will automatically be considered under the second
competition, using the materials and score from the first competition
(i.e., no changes to scored applications will be accepted). It is
anticipated that two grant award announcements will be made. The first
announcement is anticipated prior to June 16, 2008, and the second,
prior to September 16, 2008.
Guaranteed Loans
Complete guaranteed loan applications will be accepted and
processed, until June 16, 2008, in a rolling application manner.
Applications for loan guarantees must be completed and submitted to the
appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office no later than June 16,
2008. No application received in the State Office after June 16, 2008,
will be considered.
Combination Packages
Complete combination packages will be accepted and processed, until
June 16, 2008. Once funds become available, combination packages will
be evaluated on a bi-weekly basis. Combination applications must be
completed and submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural Development State
Office no later than June 16, 2008. No application received after June
16, 2008, will be considered.
Any unused funding as of August 15, 2008, may be pooled and revert
to grant money. All submissions must be
[[Page 12071]]
received at the applicable office by 4:30 p.m. local time on the
deadline date.
The application closing deadlines for grant, loan guarantee, and
combination packages are firm. USDA Rural Development will not consider
any application that is received after the closing deadline. In
addition to the application requirements stated in 7 CFR part 4280-B, a
complete application will include all environmental review documents
with supporting documentation in accordance with 7 CFR part 1940
subpart G. The application must be complete before the State Office
forwards the application to the National Office for funding
consideration.
ADDRESSES: Submit applications to the USDA Rural Development State
Office in the state where your project is located. A list of the USDA
Rural Development State Offices and Energy Coordinators addresses and
telephone numbers follow. For further information about this
solicitation, please contact the applicable State Office. This document
is available on our Web site at https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/
farmbill/.
USDA State Rural Development Offices
Alabama
Quinton Harris, USDA Rural Development, Sterling Centre, Suite 601,
4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3623
Alaska
Dean Stewart, USDA Rural Development, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201,
Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 761-7722
Arizona
Alan Watt, USDA Rural Development, 230 North First Avenue, Suite
206, Phoenix, AZ 85003-1706, (602) 280-8769
Arkansas
Tim Smith, USDA Rural Development, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room
3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3280
California
Charles Clendenin, USDA Rural Development, 430 G Street, AGCY 4169,
Davis, CA 95616, (530) 792-5825
Colorado
April Dahlager, USDA Rural Development, 655 Parfet Street, Room E-
100, Lakewood, CO 80215, (720) 544-2909
Delaware-Maryland
James Waters, USDA Rural Development, 1221 College Park Drive, Suite
200, Dover, DE 19904, (302) 857-3626
Florida/Virgin Islands
Joe Mueller, USDA Rural Development, 4440 NW. 25th Place,
Gainesville, FL 32606, (352) 338-3482
Georgia
J. Craig Scroggs, USDA Rural Development, 111 E. Spring St., Suite
B, Monroe, GA 30655, Phone 770-267-1413 ext. 113
Hawaii
Tim O'Connell, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 311,
154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-8313
Idaho
Brian Buch, USDA Rural Development, 725 Jensen Grove Drive, Suite 1,
Blackfoot, ID 83221, (208) 785-5840, Ext. 118
Illinois
Molly Hammond, USDA Rural Development, 2118 West Park Court, Suite
A, Champaign, IL 61821, (217) 403-6210
Indiana
Jerry Hay, USDA Rural Development, 2411 N. 1250 W., Deputy, IN
47230, (812) 873-1100
Iowa
Teresa Bomhoff, USDA Rural Development, 873 Federal Building, 210
Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284-4447
Kansas
David Kramer, USDA Rural Development, 1303 SW First American Place,
Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66604-4040, (785) 271-2744
Kentucky
Scott Maas, USDA Rural Development, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200,
Lexington, KY 40503, (859) 224-7435
Louisiana
Kevin Boone, USDA Rural Development, 905 Jefferson Street, Suite
320, Lafayette, LA 70501, (337) 262-6601
Maine
John F. Sheehan, USDA Rural Development, 967 Illinois Avenue, Suite
4, P.O. Box 405, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9168
Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut
Charles W. Dubuc, USDA Rural Development, 60 Quaker Lane, Suite 44,
Warwick, RI 02886, (401) 826-0842
Michigan
Traci J. Smith, USDA Rural Development, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite
200, East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5225
Minnesota
Lisa L. Noty, USDA Rural Development, 1400 West Main Street, Albert
Lea, MN 56007, (507) 373-7960 Ext. 120
Mississippi
G. Gary Jones, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Suite 831,
100 West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-5457
Missouri
Matt Moore, USDA Rural Development, 601 Business Loop 70 West,
Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-9321
Montana
John Guthmiller, USDA Rural Development, 900 Technology Blvd., Unit
1, Suite B, P.O. Box 850, Bozeman, MT 59771, (406) 585-2540
Nebraska
Debra Yocum, USDA Rural Development, 100 Centennial Mall North, Room
152, Federal Building, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5554
Nevada
Herb Shedd, USDA Rural Development, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson
City, NV 89703, (775) 887-1222
New Hampshire (See Vermont)
New Jersey
Victoria Fekete, USDA Rural Development, 8000 Midlantic Drive, 5th
Floor North, Suite 500, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787-7753
New Mexico
Eric Vigil, USDA Rural Development, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE.,
Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4952
New York
Thomas Hauryski, USDA Rural Development, 415 West Morris Street,
Bath, NY 14810, (607) 776-7398 Ext. 132
North Carolina
H. Rossie Bullock, USDA Rural Development, 4405 Bland Road, Suite
260, Raleigh, NC 27609, (910) 739-3349 Ext. 4
North Dakota
Dennis Rodin, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 208,
220 East Rosser Avenue, P.O. Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737,
(701) 530-2029
Ohio
Randy Monhemius, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room
507, 200 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2418, (614) 255-2424
Oklahoma
Jody Harris, USDA Rural Development, 100 USDA, Suite 108,
Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1036
Oregon
Don Hollis, USDA Rural Development, 1229 SE Third Street, Suite A,
Pendleton, OR 97801-4198, (541) 278-8049, Ext. 129
Pennsylvania
Bernard Linn, USDA Rural Development, One Credit Union Place, Suite
330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2182
Puerto Rico
Luis Garcia, USDA Rural Development, IBM Building, 654 Munoz Rivera
Avenue, Suite 601, Hato Rey, PR 00918-6106, (787) 766-5091, Ext. 251
South Carolina
Shannon Legree, USDA Rural Development, Strom Thurmond Federal
Building, 1835
[[Page 12072]]
Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 765-5881
South Dakota
Douglas Roehl, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Room 210,
200 4th Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1145
Tennessee
Will Dodson, USDA Rural Development, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite
300, Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1350
Texas
Daniel Torres, USDA Rural Development, Federal Building, Suite 102,
101 South Main Street, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9756
Utah
Roger Koon, USDA Rural Development, Wallace F. Bennett Federal
Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT
84138, (801) 524-4301
Vermont/New Hampshire
Lyn Millhiser, USDA Rural Development, City Center, 3rd Floor 89
Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6069
Virginia
Laurette Tucker, USDA Rural Development, Culpeper Building, Suite
238, 1606 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 287-1594
Washington
Mary Traxler, USDA Rural Development, 1835 Black Lake Blvd. SW,
Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512, (360) 704-7707
West Virginia
Cheryl Wolfe, USDA Rural Development, 75 High Street, Room 320,
Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4882
Wisconsin
Mark Brodziski, USDA Rural Development, 4949 Kirschling Court,
Stevens Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7600, Ext. 131
Wyoming
Jon Crabtree, USDA Rural Development, Dick Cheney Federal Building,
100 East B Street, Room 1005, P.O. Box 820, Casper, WY 82602, (307)
233-6719
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This solicitation is issued pursuant to
Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
(2002 Act), which established the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy
Efficiency Improvements Program (Section 9006). The program is designed
to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy
costs and consumption and help meet the Nation's critical energy needs.
The 2002 Act mandates the maximum percentages of funding that USDA
Rural Development will provide. Grants under this program will not
exceed 25 percent of the eligible project costs. Loan guarantees will
not exceed 50 percent of the eligible project costs. Funding approved
for combination guaranteed loan and grant packages will not exceed 50
percent of eligible project cost, with the grant portion not to exceed
25 percent of eligible project costs.
As stated in 7 CFR 4280.108, projects must be for a pre-commercial
or commercially available technology. The definition of ``pre-
commercial'' and ``commercial'' are at 7 CFR 4280.103. The Agency's
position is that if the system is currently commercially available only
outside the United States (U.S.), then applicants must provide
authoritative evidence of the foreign operating history, performance,
and reliability in order to address the proven operating history
identified in the definition. ``Commercial'' applicants must provide
evidence that professional service providers, trades, large
construction equipment providers and labor are readily available
domestically and familiar with installation procedures and practices,
and spare parts and service are readily available in the U.S. to
properly maintain and operate the system. All warranties must be valid
in the U.S.
In accordance with the definition of ``pre-commercial'' technology
found in 7 CFR 4280.103, technical and economic potential for
commercial application must be demonstrated to the Agency. In order to
demonstrate the system has emerged through research and development as
well as the demonstration process, applicants must provide,
authoritative evidence of the operating history, performance, and
reliability past completion of start-up, shake-down, and/or
commissioning. Typically, and inline with financial and operating
performance evaluation protocol, the documented operating history,
which may be established domestically or outside the U.S., should
provide performance data for a minimum of 12 months. The time period
will address the economic and technical performance potential
identified in 7 CFR 4280.103.
In accordance with demonstrating the potential for commercial
application, applicants must provide evidence that professional service
providers, trades, large construction equipment providers, and labor
are potentially available domestically and sufficiently familiar with
installation procedures and practices, and spare parts and service are
available in the U.S. to properly maintain and operate the system. Any
warranties would have to be valid in the U.S.
Information required to be in the grant application package is
contained in 7 CFR 4280.111. Awards are made on a competitive basis
using specific evaluation criteria contained in 7 CFR 4280.112(e). To
ensure that projects are accurately scored by USDA, applicants are
requested to tab and number each evaluation criteria and include in
that section, its corresponding supporting documentation and
calculations according to 7 CFR 4280.112. Only projects that have
completed the environmental review process according to 7 CFR
4280.114(d), demonstrated project eligibility according to 7 CFR
4280.108, demonstrated technical feasibility, and are complete will be
eligible for funding consideration.
State Offices will submit eligible grant funding requests, with the
State Office executed score sheets, including all supporting
documentation to the National Office for funding consideration.
To reduce scoring bias by technology and scale, a standard
statistical normalization process will be applied to all competitive
grant application scores. All applicants will be notified by the USDA
Rural Development State Offices of the Agency's decision on the awards.
Information required to be in the guaranteed loan application and
the combination guaranteed loan and grant application package is
contained in 7 CFR 4280.128 and 7 CFR 4280.193(c), respectively.
Guaranteed loan applications will be received and
processed, on a rolling basis, until June 16, 2008, or funds are
exhausted, whichever occurs first.
Combination packages will also be received and processed
on a rolling basis until June 16, 2008. However, due to the grant
component, competitive scoring of combination packages will take place
on a bi-weekly basis. Awards will be announced based on the bi-weekly
competition schedule until funds are exhausted or there are no
remaining qualified applicants. Combination applications may only be
submitted by applicants that demonstrate financial need. Combination
applicants that are approved for funding must accept and utilize both
the loan and the grant. In addition, to ensure equitable competition,
and high quality projects, the grant portion of any combination package
must score at least 70 percent of the available points (minimum of 84
points), of which at least 24 points must be for technical merit. Only
those combination packages that demonstrate financial need and score a
sufficient amount of grant points will be considered for funding.
Applications that do not meet these thresholds may be resubmitted as a
guaranteed loan only application.
[[Page 12073]]
All applicants will be notified by the USDA Rural Development State
Offices in regards to the Agency's decision on their application.
This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under Number 10.775 and is subject to the provisions of
Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation
with state and local officials.
USDA is participating as a partner in the government-wide
Grants.gov site. Applicants may submit grant-only applications to the
Agency in either electronic or paper format. Please be mindful that the
application deadline for electronic format differs from the deadline
for paper format. The electronic format deadline will be based on
Washington, DC time. The paper format deadline is local time for each
USDA Rural Development State Office.
Users of Grants.gov will be able to download a copy of the
application package, complete it off line, and then upload and submit
the application via the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail an
electronic copy of a grant application to USDA Rural Development;
however, the Agency encourages your participation in Grants.gov.
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site as well as the hours of operation. USDA Rural Development strongly
recommends that you do not wait until the application deadline date to
begin the application process through Grants.gov. To use Grants.gov,
applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number which can be obtained at no cost via a toll-free
request line at 1-866-705-5711 or online at https://fedgov.dnb.com/
webform.
You may submit all documents electronically through the
Web site, including all information typically included on the
application for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency
Improvements Program, and all necessary assurances and certifications.
After electronically submitting an application through the Web site,
the applicant will receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov
that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
USDA Rural Development may request that the applicant
provide original signatures on forms at a later date.
If applicants experience technical difficulties on the
closing date and are unable to meet the 4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time)
deadline, print out your application and submit it to your respective
State Office. If applicants submit applications to a State Office,
applicants must meet the closing date and local time deadlines.
Applicants may access the electronic grant application for
Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program at
https://www.Grants.gov.
Please note that applicants must locate the downloadable
application package for this program by the CFDA Number or FedGrants
Funding Opportunity Number, which can be found at https://
www.Grants.gov.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the paperwork
burden has been cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
under OMB Control Number 0570-0050.
Nondiscrimination Statement
USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on
the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where
applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status,
religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs,
reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived
from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to
all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means
for communication of program information (braille, large print,
audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600
(voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director,
Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
``USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.''
Dated: February 29, 2008.
Ben Anderson,
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. E8-4305 Filed 3-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P