Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Fiscal Year 2008; Rural Housing and Economic Development Program, 23052-23062 [E8-9273]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 82 (Monday, April 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23052-23062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9273]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Fiscal Year 2008; Rural 
Housing and Economic Development Program; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 82 / Monday, April 28, 2008 / 
Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5200-N-04]


Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Fiscal Year 2008; Rural 
Housing and Economic Development Program

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for HUD's Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2008 Rural Housing and Economic Development Program (RHED).

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SUMMARY: Today's publication establishes the funding criteria for the 
FY2008 Rural Housing and Economic Development Program. Because HUD is 
required by statute to competitively award RHED assistance by September 
1, 2008, HUD has decided to publish this NOFA separately and in advance 
of its FY2008 Notice of Funding Availability for HUD's Discretionary 
Programs (SuperNOFA). Publishing the RHED NOFA separately will permit 
potential applicants additional time to prepare and submit their 
applications. Today's publication is governed by the information and 
instructions found in the Notice of HUD's Fiscal Year 2008 Notice of 
Funding Availability (NOFA) Policy Requirements and General Section 
(General Section) to the SuperNOFA that HUD published on March 19, 2008 
and the FY 2008 Opportunity to Register Early and Other Important 
Information for Electronic Application Submission Via Grants.gov 
(FY2008 Early Registration Notice) that was published on March 10, 
2008.
    Application Deadline Date: The application deadline date is May 30, 
2008. Applications submitted through https://www.grants.gov must be 
received and validated by Grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 Eastern 
time on the application deadline date. The validation process may take 
up to 72 hours. Please be sure to read the General Section, published 
March 19, 2008 (73 FR 14882), for electronic application submission and 
receipt requirements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The agency contact listed in Section 
VII of today's publication. Questions regarding the General Section or 
the FY 2008 Early Registration Notice, should be directed to the Office 
of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight at (202) 708-0667 (this 
is not a toll-free number) or the NOFA Information Center at (800) HUD-
8929 (toll-free). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access 
these numbers via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service 
at (800) 877-8339. The NOFA Information Center is open between the 
hours of 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, 
except federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Today's publication establishes the funding 
criteria for the FY2008 RHED Program. HUD had originally planned to 
include the RHED NOFA in its FY2008 Notice of Funding Availability for 
HUD's Discretionary Programs (SuperNOFA), which will be published in 
the Federal Register later this spring. However, the Federal Register 
was unable to accommodate HUD's publication schedule. Since HUD is 
required by statute to competitively award RHED assistance by September 
1, 2008, HUD has decided to publish RHED NOFA separately and in advance 
of its FY2008 SuperNOFA. Publishing the RHED NOFA separately will 
permit potential applicants additional time to prepare and submit their 
applications. Applicants should note that today's publication, and not 
the version that will be published with HUD's FY2008 SuperNOFA, 
establishes the legal requirements for the FY2008 RHED competition. 
Applicants should take particular note of the ``Application Deadline 
Date'' of May 30, 2008, established by today's publication.
    Today's publication is governed by the information and instructions 
found in the General Section (published on March 19, 2008) and the 
FY2008 Early Registration Notice (published on March 10, 2008). 
Applicants are encouraged to carefully review these two publications 
when preparing their applications.

Overview Information

    A. Federal Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Community Planning and Development, Office of Rural 
Housing and Economic Development.
    B. Funding Opportunity Title: Rural Housing and Economic 
Development (RHED) program.
    C. Announcement Type: Initial Announcement.
    D. Funding Opportunity Number: FR-5200-N-04, OMB Approval Number 
2506-0169.
    E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 14.250, 
Rural Housing and Economic Development.
    F. Application Date: The application deadline date is May 30, 2008. 
Applications submitted through https://www.grants.gov must be received 
and validated by Grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 Eastern time on the 
application deadline date. The validation process may take up to 72 
hours. Please be sure to read the General Section, published March 19, 
2008 (73 FR 14882), for electronic application submission and receipt 
requirements.
    G. Optional, Additional Overview Information:
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Rural Housing and Economic 
Development program is to provide support for innovative housing and 
economic development activities in rural areas. The funds made 
available under this program will be awarded competitively through a 
selection process conducted by HUD in accordance with the HUD Reform 
Act.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Background

    There has been a growing national recognition of the need to 
provide support for local rural nonprofit organizations, community 
development corporations, federally recognized Indian tribes, state 
housing finance agencies (HFAs), and state economic development and 
community development agencies to expand the supply of affordable 
housing and to engage in economic development activities in rural 
areas. A number of resources are available from the federal government 
to address these problems, including programs of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the 
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Department of Interior (for 
Indian tribes), and HUD. The Rural Housing and Economic Development 
program was developed to supplement these resources and to focus 
specifically on promoting innovative approaches to housing and economic 
development in rural areas. In administering these funds, HUD 
encourages you to coordinate your activities with those supported by 
any of the agencies listed above.

B. Definitions

    1. Appalachia's Distressed Counties means those counties in 
Appalachia that the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has 
determined to have unemployment and poverty rates that are 150 percent 
of the respective U.S. rates and a per capita income that is less than 
67 percent of the U.S. per capita income, and have counties with 200 
percent of the U.S. poverty rate and one other indicator, such as the 
percentage of overcrowded housing. Refer to https://www.arc.gov for a 
list of ARC-distressed counties and more information.

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    2. Colonia means any identifiable, rural community that:
    a. Is located in the state of Arizona, California, New Mexico, or 
Texas;
    b. Is within 150 miles of the border between the United States and 
Mexico; and
    c. Is determined to be a colonia on the basis of objective need 
criteria, including a lack of potable water supply, lack of adequate 
sewage systems, and lack of decent, safe, sanitary, and accessible 
housing.
    3. Farm Worker means a farm employee of an owner, tenant, labor 
contractor, or other operator raising or harvesting agricultural or 
aquacultural commodities, or a worker who, in the employment of a farm 
operator, engages in handling, planting, drying, packing, grading, 
storing, delivering to storage or market, or carrying to market 
agricultural or aquacultural commodities produced by the operator. 
Seasonal farm workers are those farm employees who typically do not 
have a constant year-round salary.
    4. Firm Commitment means a letter of commitment from a partner by 
which an applicant's partner agrees to perform an activity specified in 
the application, demonstrates the financial capacity to deliver the 
resources necessary to carry out the activity, and commits the 
resources to the activity, either in cash or through in-kind 
contributions. It is irrevocable, subject only to approval and receipt 
of a fiscal year FY2008 Rural Housing and Economic Development grant. 
Each letter of commitment must include the organization's name and 
applicant's name, reference the Rural Housing and Economic Development 
program, and describe the proposed total level of commitment and 
responsibilities, expressed in dollar value for cash or in-kind 
contributions, as they relate to the proposed program. The commitment 
must be written on the letterhead of the participating organization, 
must be signed by an official of the organization legally able to make 
commitments on behalf of the organization, and must be dated no earlier 
than the date of publication of this NOFA. In documenting a firm 
commitment, the applicant's partner must:
    a. Specify the authority by which the commitment is made, the 
amount of the commitment, the proposed use of funds, and the 
relationship of the commitment to the proposed investment. If the 
committed activity is to be self-financed, the applicant's partner must 
demonstrate its financial capability through a corporate or personal 
financial statement or other appropriate means. If any portion of the 
activity is to be financed through a lending institution, the 
participant must provide evidence of the institution's commitment to 
fund the loan; and
    b. Affirm that the firm commitment is contingent only upon the 
receipt of FY 2008 Rural Housing and Economic Development funds and 
state a willingness on the part of the signatory to sign a legally 
binding agreement (conditioned upon HUD's environmental review and 
approval of a property, where applicable) upon award of the grant.
    5. Federally Recognized Indian tribe means any tribal entity 
eligible to apply for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs by virtue of its status as an Indian tribe. The list of 
federally recognized tribes can be found in the notice published by the 
Department of the Interior on April 4, 2008 (73 FR 18553) and is also 
available from HUD.
    6. Innovative Housing Activities means projects, techniques, 
methods, combinations of assistance, construction materials, energy 
efficiency improvements, or financing institutions or sources new to 
the eligible area or to its population. The innovative activities can 
also build upon and enhance a model that already exists.
    7. Local Rural Nonprofit Organization or Community Development 
Corporation means either of the following:
    a. Any private entity with tax-exempt status recognized by the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that serves the eligible rural area 
identified in the application (including a local affiliate of a 
national organization that provides technical assistance in rural 
areas); or
    b. Any public nonprofit entity such as a Council of Governments 
that will serve specific local nonprofit organizations in the eligible 
area.
    8. Lower Mississippi Delta Region means the eight-state, 240-
county/parish region defined by Congress in the Lower Mississippi Delta 
Development Act, Public Law 100-460. Refer to https://www.dra.gov for 
more information.
    9. Eligible Rural Area means one of the following:
    a. A non-urban place having fewer than 2,500 inhabitants (within or 
outside of metropolitan areas).
    b. A county or parish with an urban population of 20,000 
inhabitants or less.
    c. Territory, including its persons and housing units, in the rural 
portions of ``extended cities.'' The U.S. Census Bureau identifies the 
rural portions of extended cities.
    d. Open country that is not part of or associated with an urban 
area. The USDA describes ``open country'' as a site separated by open 
space from any adjacent, densely populated urban area. Open space 
includes undeveloped land, agricultural land, or sparsely settled 
areas, but does not include physical barriers (such as rivers and 
canals), public parks, commercial and industrial developments, small 
areas reserved for recreational purposes, or open space set aside for 
future development.
    e. Any place with a population of 20,000 or less and not located in 
a Metropolitan Statistical Area.
    10. State Community and/or Economic Development Agency means any 
state agency whose primary purpose is promotion of economic development 
statewide or in a local community.
    11. State Housing Finance Agency means any state agency created to 
assist local communities and housing providers with financing 
assistance for development of housing in rural areas, particularly for 
low- and moderate-income people.

II. Award Information

A. Amount Allocated

    1. Available Funds. Approximately $17,000,000 in FY2008 funding 
(plus any additional funds available through recapture) are being made 
available through this NOFA.
    2. Funding Award Amount. HUD will award up to approximately 
$17,000,000 on a competitive basis for Support for Innovative Housing 
and Economic Development Activities to federally recognized Indian 
tribes, state housing finance agencies (HFAs), state community and/or 
economic development agencies, local rural nonprofit organizations, and 
community development corporations to support innovative housing and 
economic development activities in rural areas. The maximum amount 
awarded to a successful applicant will be $300,000.

B. Grant Amount

    In the event, you, the applicant, are awarded a grant that has been 
reduced (e.g., the application contained some activities that were 
ineligible or budget information did not support the request), you will 
be required to modify your project plans and application to conform to 
the terms of HUD's approval before execution of the grant agreement.
    HUD reserves the right to reduce or deobligate the award if 
suitable modifications to the proposed project are not submitted by the 
awardee within 90 days of the request. Any modifications must be within 
the scope of the original application. HUD reserves the right to not 
make awards under this NOFA.

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C. Grant Period

    Recipients will have 36 months from the date of the executed grant 
agreement to complete all project activities.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants for the Rural Housing and Economic Development 
program are local rural nonprofit organizations, community development 
corporations, federally recognized Indian tribes, state housing finance 
agencies, and state community and/or economic development agencies. 
Also, you must meet all of the applicable eligibility requirements 
described in section III.C of the General Section.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

    There is no match required under the Rural Housing and Economic 
Development program. Applicants that submit evidence of leveraging 
dollars under Rating Factor 4 will receive points according to the 
scale under that factor.

C. Other

1. Eligible Activities
    The following are examples of eligible activities under the Rural 
Housing and Economic Development program.
    Permissible activities may include, but are not limited to the 
following:
    a. The cost of using new or innovative construction, energy 
efficiency, or other techniques that will result in the design or 
construction of innovative housing and economic development projects;
    b. Preparation of plans or of architectural or engineering 
drawings;
    c. Preparation of legal documents, government paperwork, and 
applications necessary for construction of housing and economic 
development activities to occur in the jurisdiction;
    d. Acquisition of land and buildings;
    e. Demolition of property to permit construction or rehabilitation 
activities to occur;
    f. Purchase of construction materials;
    g. Homeownership counseling, including on the subjects of fair 
housing counseling, credit counseling, budgeting, access to credit, and 
other federal assistance available, including features for persons with 
disabilities, such as full accessibility, visitability, and universal 
design;
    h. Conducting conferences or meetings with other federal or state 
agencies, tribes, tribally designated housing entities (TDHE), or 
national or regional housing organizations, to inform residents of 
programs, rights, and responsibilities associated with homebuying 
opportunities (all meetings and conferences should be provided in 
alternative formats for persons with a variety of disabilities, as 
appropriate, and in applicable languages common in the community for 
limited English proficient (LEP) families);
    i. Establishing Community Development Financial Institutions 
(CDFIs), lines of credit, revolving loan funds, microenterprises, and 
small business incubators; and
    j. Provision of direct financial assistance to homeowners/
businesses/developers, etc. This can be in the form of default 
reserves, pooling/securitization mechanisms, loans, grants, the funding 
of existing individual development accounts, or similar activities.
2. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
    To be eligible for funding under HUD NOFAs issued during FY2008, 
you, the applicant, must meet all statutory and regulatory requirements 
applicable to this NOFA as described in the General Section. HUD may 
also eliminate ineligible activities from funding consideration and 
reduce funding amounts accordingly.
3. General HUD Threshold Requirements
    You must meet all threshold requirements described in the General 
Section.
    a. Ineligible Applicants. HUD will not consider an application from 
an ineligible applicant.
    b. Economic Opportunities for Low- and Very Low-Income Persons 
(Section 3).
    (1) Recipients of assistance under this NOFA must comply with 
section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. 
1701u (Economic Opportunities for Low- and Very Low-Income Persons in 
Connection with Assisted Projects) and the HUD regulations at 24 CFR 
part 135, including the reporting requirements at subpart E. The 
purpose of Section 3 is to ensure that employment and other economic 
opportunities generated by HUD financial assistance shall, to the 
greatest extent feasible, and consistent with existing Federal, state 
and local laws and regulations, be directed to low- and very-low income 
persons, particularly those who are recipients of government assistance 
for housing, and to business concerns which provide economic 
opportunities to low- and very-low income persons. Section 3 applies to 
training, employment, contracting, and other economic opportunities 
arising in connection with the expenditure of housing assistance 
(including Section 8 assistance, and including other housing assistance 
not administered by the Assistant Secretary of Housing) and community 
development assistance that is used for the following projects: (1) 
Housing rehabilitation (including reduction and abatement of lead-based 
paint hazards, but excluding maintenance, repair and replacement); (2) 
Housing construction; and (3) Other public Construction. The Section 3 
requirements apply to recipients where the amount of the assistance 
exceeds $200,000. Section 3 requirements apply to contractors and 
subcontractors performing work on Section 3 covered projects for which 
the amount of assistance exceeds $200,000 and the contract or 
subcontract exceeds $100,000. If a recipient receives Section 3 covered 
housing and community development assistance in excess of $200,000, but 
no contract exceeds $100,000, the Section 3 preference requirements 
only apply to the recipient. The Section 3 requirements apply to the 
entire project or activity that is funded with section 3 covered 
assistance, regardless of whether the Section 3 activity is fully or 
partially funded with Section 3 covered assistance.
    Applicants that propose Section 3 covered projects or activities 
must demonstrate that they will train and employ Section 3 residents 
and contract with Section 3 business concerns for economic 
opportunities generated in conjunction with the assisted project or 
activity. Recipients and covered contractors may demonstrate compliance 
with the ``greatest extent feasible'' requirement of Section 3 by 
providing training, employment, and contracting opportunities to 
Section 3 residents and Section 3 business concerns. Numerical goals 
established in 24 CFR 135.30(b)(2) may demonstrate compliance with the 
requirement by committing to employ Section 3 residents as 10 percent 
of the aggregate number of new hires for each year over the duration of 
the Section 3 project. Numerical goals set forth in paragraph (c) apply 
to contracts awarded in conjunction with all section 3 covered projects 
and all section 3 covered activities. Each contractor and subcontractor 
covered by the regulations, may demonstrate compliance with the 
requirements by committing to award to Section 3 business concerns: (1) 
At least 10 percent of the total dollar amount of all section 3 covered 
contracts for building trades work arising in connection with housing 
rehabilitation, housing construction and other public

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construction; and (2) At least 3 percent of the total dollar amount of 
all other Section 3 covered contracts. A recipient that meets the 
minimum numerical goals set forth in this Section will be considered to 
have complied with the Section 3 preference requirements. In evaluation 
compliance, a recipient that has not met the numerical goals set forth 
in this section has the burden of demonstrating why it is not feasible 
to meet the numerical goals. Such justification may include impediments 
encountered despite actions taken. A recipient or contractor also can 
indicate other economic opportunities, such as those listed in 24 CFR 
part 135.40, which were provided in its efforts to comply with Section 
3 requirements.
    (2) Section 3 Reporting. Each recipient which receives directly 
from HUD financial assistance that is subject to Section 3 
requirements, shall submit to the Assistant Secretary an annual report. 
If the program requires submission of an annual report, the section 3 
report shall be submitted with the annual performance report. If the 
program does not require an annual report, the Section 3 report is to 
be submitted by January 10, of each year or within 10 days of project 
completion, whichever is earlier. Grantees are required to report on 
form HUD 60002. Section 3 shall also be reported using the RHED Logic 
Model. All reports are made available to the public.
    See; 24 CFR part 135 and the General Section.
4. Program-Specific Threshold Requirements
    a. The application must receive a minimum rating score of 75 points 
to be considered for funding.
    b. HUD will only fund eligible applicants as defined in this NOFA 
under section III.A.
    c. Applicants must serve an eligible rural area as defined in 
section I. of this NOFA.
    d. Proposed activities must meet the objectives of the Rural 
Housing and Economic Development program.
    e. Applicants must demonstrate that their activities will continue 
to serve populations that are in need and that beneficiaries will have 
a choice of innovative housing and economic development opportunities 
as a result of the activities.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address To Request Application Package

    This section describes how you may obtain application forms. Copies 
of the published Rural Housing and Economic Development NOFA and 
application forms may be downloaded from the Grants.gov Web site at 
https://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp. You may call 
the Grants.gov support desk at 800-518-GRANTS, or e-mail the support 
desk at Support@Grants.gov for assistance in downloading the 
application.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

    1. Application Submission Requirements. Be sure to read and follow 
the application submission requirements carefully.
    a. Page Numbering. All pages of the application must be numbered 
sequentially if you are submitting a paper copy application. For 
electronic application submission, you should follow the directions in 
the General Section.
    b. Application Items. Your application must contain the items 
listed below.
    (1) An abstract with the dollar amount requested, the category 
under which you qualify for ``Demographics of Distress--Special 
Factors'' under Rating Factor 2 (Need and Extent of the Problem), which 
of the five definitions of the term ``rural area'' set forth in section 
I B.9 of this NOFA applies to the proposed service area, and 
accompanying documentation as indicated on the SF-424 form.
    (2) Table of Contents.
    (3) A signed Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) 
(application form).
    (4) SF-424 Supplement Survey on Equal Opportunity for Applicants 
``Faith Based EEO Survey'' (SF-424 SUPP) on Grants.gov (optional 
submission).
    (5) Facsimile Transmittal (HUD-96011). (This must be used as the 
cover page to transmit third-party documents as part of your electronic 
application).
    (6) Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL).
    (7) Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report (HUD-2880) ``HUD 
Applicant Recipient Disclosure Report'' on Grants.gov.
    (8) You Are Our Client! Grant Applicant Survey (HUD 2994-A) 
(Optional).
    (9) Program Outcome Logic Model (HUD-96010).
    (10) A budget for all funds (federal and non-federal including the 
Detailed Budget Form (HUD-424-CB) and the Grant Application Detailed 
Budget Worksheet (HUD 424-CBW).
    (11) Certification of Consistency with RC/EZ/EC-II Strategic Plan 
(HUD-2990), if applicable.
    (12) Certification of Consistency with the Consolidated Plan (HUD-
2991), if applicable.
    (13) Documentation of funds pledged in support of Rating Factor 4--
``Leveraging Resources.'' This documentation, which will not be counted 
in the 15-page limitation, must be in the form of a ``firm commitment'' 
as defined in section I.B.4 of this NOFA.
    (14) If you are a private nonprofit organization, a copy of your 
organization's IRS ruling providing tax-exempt status under section 501 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
    (15) Narrative response to Factors for Award. The total narrative 
response to all factors should not exceed 15 pages and should be 
submitted on 8.5 x 11 inch single-sided paper, with 12-point font and 
double lined spacing. Please note that although submitting pages in 
excess of the page limit will not disqualify your application, HUD will 
not consider or review the information on any excess pages, and if you 
place key information on those pages, you may fail to meet a threshold 
requirement. In addition, applicants should be aware that additional 
pages increase the size of the application and the length of time it 
will take to electronically submit the document and have it 
electronically received by Grants.gov.
    (16) Questionnaire for HUD's Initiative on Removal of Regulatory 
Barriers (Form HUD-27300) ``HUD Communities Initiative Form'' on 
Grants.gov. To get the points for this policy priority, you must 
include the documentation or references to Web site links where the 
information can be found.
    All applicants are required to use the following format in their 15 
page narrative responses to the rating factors included in the program 
NOFA:
    Factor 1--Relevant Organizational Experience;
    Factor 2--Need and Extent of the Problem;
    Factor 3--Soundness of Approach;
    Factor 4--Leveraging Resources; and
    Factor 5--Achieving Results and Program Evaluation.
    See section V. of this NOFA for further details.
    (17) Per the General Section successful applicants engaged in 
housing or housing related activities are obliged to affirmatively 
further fair housing including taking reasonable steps to overcome 
barriers to fair housing choice in its service area such as:
    (a) Identify Barriers--Applicants must submit a description of 
barriers to fair

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housing in their jurisdiction or service area (based on the applicable 
state or local Consolidated Plan and Analysis of Impediments or other 
source of information on impediments to fair housing). See https://
www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/promotingfh.cfm for further information.
    (b) Specify Activities to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing--
Applicants must describe how they will address barriers to fair 
housing, including specifying applicable and eligible uses of RHED 
funds--for example, housing counseling to make persons aware of 
discriminatory practices, innovative housing design or construction to 
increase access for persons with disabilities, language assistance 
services to persons with limited English proficiency (on the basis of 
national origin), affirmative fair housing marketing, or location of 
new or rehabilitated housing in a manner that provides greater housing 
choice or mobility for persons in classes protected by the Fair Housing 
Act.
    (c) Reporting--Applicants are obliged to maintain records of their 
activities to affirmatively further fair housing and describe how they 
plan to document such activities, as well as maintaining records on the 
race, ethnicity, disability status, and family status of the 
beneficiaries of RHED programs.

C. Submission Dates and Times

    1. Electronic Application Submission. Applications for the Rural 
Housing and Economic Development program must be received and validated 
by Grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 30, 2008, 
the application deadline date. Applicants are advised to submit their 
applications at least 48 to 72 hours in advance of the deadline date 
and when the Grants.gov help desk is open so that any issues can be 
addressed prior to the deadline date and time. Please note that 
validation may take up to 72 hours. You will receive an acknowledgement 
of receipt from Grants.gov when your application has been successfully 
received, and later that it has been validated or rejected. Please see 
the General Section for more detailed information. If you do not 
receive the validation or rejection notice within 24 to 48 hours, 
contact the Grants.gov help desk.
    2. Applicants are advised to carefully read the application 
submission and timely receipt requirements in the General Section since 
they have changed from previous years.
    3. Only one application will be accepted from any given 
organization. If more than one application is submitted electronically, 
the last application received and validated before the deadline date 
will be the one reviewed by HUD. HUD will not accept application 
addendums after the deadline unless HUD has specifically asked the 
applicant for a correction to a technical deficiency in the 
application. Responses to technical deficiencies must be received by 
HUD within the time allocated to cure the deficiency and must be 
submitted by facsimile using the form Facsimile Transmittal (HUD 96011) 
submitted to the 800-894-4047 and (215) 825-8796 fax numbers. 
Applicants must use the Facsimile Transmittal form submitted with the 
last application that was received and validated by Grants.gov prior to 
the deadline. This will ensure that your technical cure will be 
electronically associated to your previously submitted application. 
Failure to follow these instructions may result in your information 
being misdirected. The request for a technical cure will also contain 
instructions for when the cure must be received by the Department and 
other pertinent information.

D. Intergovernmental Agency Review

    Intergovernmental agency review is not required for this program.

E. Funding Restrictions

    1. Administrative Costs. Administrative costs for assistance under 
the Rural Housing and Economic Development program may not exceed 15 
percent of the total HUD Rural Housing and Economic Development grant 
award.
    2. Ineligible Activities. RHED funds cannot be used for the 
following activities:
    a. Income payments to subsidize individuals or families;
    b. Political activities;
    c. General governmental expenses other than expenses related to the 
administrative cost of the grant; or
    d. Projects or activities intended for personal gain or private 
use.
    HUD reserves the right to reduce or deobligate the award if 
suitable modifications to the proposed project are not submitted by the 
awardee within 90 days of a request from HUD. Any modification must be 
within the scope of the original application. HUD reserves the right 
not to make awards under this NOFA.

F. Other Submission Requirements

    Carefully review the procedures presented in Section IV of the 
FY2008 General Section because HUD will only accept electronic 
applications submitted through https://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_
for_grants.jsp. Applicants may request a waiver of the electronic 
submission requirement. Paper applications will not be accepted unless 
the applicant has received a waiver to the electronic submission 
requirement. Applicants should submit their waiver requests in writing 
in the form of a letter. Waiver requests must be submitted no later 
than 15 days prior to the application deadline date and should be 
submitted to the Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development, 451 
7th Street, SW., Room 7137, Washington, DC 20410. Instructions 
regarding the number of copies to submit and to what address will be 
contained in the approval to the waiver request. Paper submissions must 
be received at the appropriate HUD office(s) no later than the deadline 
date.

V. Application Review Information

A. Criteria

    Carefully review all the Application Review procedures in Section V 
of the General Section. In addition, the following Rating Factors will 
be used to rate your application.
1. Rating Factor 1--Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant 
Organizational Experience (25 Points)
    This rating factor addresses the extent to which you have the 
organizational resources necessary to successfully implement your 
proposed workplan, as further described in Rating Factor 3, within the 
36-month award period.
    a. Team members, composition, and experience (10 points). HUD will 
evaluate the experience (including for recentness and relevancy) of 
your project director, core staff, and any outside consultant, 
contractor, subrecipient, or project partner as it relates to 
innovative housing and economic development and to the implementation 
of the activities in your work plan. HUD also will assess the services 
that consultants or other parties will provide to fill gaps in your 
staffing structure to enable you to carry out the proposed work plan; 
the experience of your project director in managing projects of similar 
size, scope, and dollar amount; the lines of authority and procedures 
that you have in place for ensuring that work plan goals and objectives 
will be met, that consultants and other project partners will perform 
as planned, and that beneficiaries will be adequately served. In 
judging your response to this factor, HUD will only consider work 
experience gained within the last 7 years. When responding, please be 
sure to provide the dates, job titles, and relevancy of the past 
experience to the work to be undertaken

[[Page 23057]]

by the employee or contractor under your proposed Rural Housing and 
Economic Development award. The more recent, relevant, and successful 
the experience of your team members is in relationship to the work plan 
activities, the greater the number of points you will receive. Please 
do not include the Social Security Numbers (SSN) of any staff members.
    b. Organizational structure and management capacity (15 points). 
HUD will evaluate the extent to which you can demonstrate your 
organization's ability to manage a workforce composed of full-time or 
part-time staff, as well as any consultant staff, and your ability to 
work with community-based groups or organizations in resolving issues 
related to affordable housing and economic development. In evaluating 
this subfactor, HUD will take into account your experience in working 
with community-based organizations to design and implement programs 
that address the identified housing and economic development issues. 
The more recent, relevant, and successful the experience of your 
organization and any participating entity, the greater the number of 
points you will receive.
    c. Experience with performance based funding requirements. HUD will 
evaluate your performance in any previous grant program undertaken with 
HUD funds or other federal, state, local, or nonprofit or for-profit 
organization funds. (Note: Previous HUD performance-based experience 
will be verified through HUD's field offices as needed. Other relevant 
past performance information should be included as part of the 
application.) In assessing points for this sub-factor, HUD reserves the 
right to take into account your past performance in meeting performance 
and reporting goals for any previous HUD award, in particular whether 
the program achieved its outcomes.
    HUD reserves the right to give zero points for Rating Factor 1, if 
the applicant has been determined to have a pattern or practice of any 
or all of the following activities related to the management and 
operation of previous grant awards: (1) Mismanagement of funds, 
including the inability to account for funds appropriately; (2) 
untimely use of funds received either from HUD or other federal, state, 
or local programs; and (3) significant and consistent failure to 
measure performance outcomes. Among the specific outcomes to be 
measured are the increases in program accomplishments as a result of 
capacity building assistance and the increase in organizational 
resources as a result of assistance.
    Applicants who have been awarded Rural Housing and Economic 
Development program funds prior to FY 2008 must indicate in their 
response to Rating Factor 1 the fiscal year and funding amount. HUD 
field offices may be consulted to verify information submitted by the 
applicant as a part of the review of applications.
2. Rating Factor 2--Need and Extent of the Problem (20 Points)
    The Rural Housing and Economic Development program is designed to 
address the problems of rural poverty, inadequate housing, and lack of 
economic opportunity. This factor addresses the extent to which there 
is a need for funding the proposed activities based on levels of 
distress, and the urgency of meeting the need/distress in the 
applicant's target area. In responding to this factor, applications 
will be evaluated on the extent to which the level of need for the 
proposed activity and the urgency in meeting the need are documented 
and compared to target area and national data.
    a. In applying this factor, HUD will compare the current levels of 
need in the area (i.e., Census Tract(s) or Block Group(s)) immediately 
surrounding the project site or the target area to be served by the 
proposed project to national levels of need. This means that an 
application that provides data that show levels of need in the project 
area at a percent greater than the national average will be rated 
higher under this factor. Applicants should provide data that address 
indicators of need as follows:
    (1) Poverty Rate (5 points)--Data should be provided in both 
absolute and percentage form (i.e., whole numbers and percents) for the 
target area(s). An application that compares the local poverty rate in 
the following manner to the national average at the time of submission 
will receive points under this section as follows:
    (a) Less than the national average = 0 points;
    (b) Equal to but less than twice the national average = 1 point;
    (c) Twice but less than three times the national average = 3 
points;
    (d) Three or more times the national average = 5 points.
    (2) Unemployment (5 points)--for the target area:
    (a) Less than the national average = 0 points;
    (b) Equal to but less than twice the national average = 1 point;
    (c) Twice but less than three times the national average = 2 
points;
    (d) Three but less than four times the national average = 3 points;
    (e) Four but less than five times the national average= 4 points;
    (f) Five or more times the national average = 5 points.
    (3) Other indicators of social or economic decline that best 
capture the applicant's local situation (5 points).
    (a) Data that could be provided under this section are information 
on the community's stagnant or falling tax base, including recent 
commercial or industrial closings; housing conditions, such as the 
number and percentage of substandard or overcrowded units; rent burden 
(defined as average housing cost divided by average income) for the 
target area; and local crime statistics, falling property values, etc. 
To the extent that the applicant's statewide or local Consolidated 
Plan, its Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI), its 
Indian housing plan, or its anti-poverty strategy identify the level of 
distress in the community and the neighborhood in which the project is 
to be carried out, references to such documents should be included in 
preparing the response to this factor.
    (b) In rating applications under this factor, HUD reserves the 
right to consider sources of available objective data other than or in 
addition to those provided by applicants, and to compare such data to 
those provided by applicants for the project site. These may include 
U.S. Census data.
    (c) HUD requires use of sound, verifiable, and reliable data (e.g., 
U.S. Census data, state statistical reports, university studies/
reports, or Home Mortgage Disclosure Act or Community Reinvestment Act 
databases) to support distress levels cited in each application. See 
https://www.ffiec.gov/ or https://www.ffiec.gov/webcensus/ffieccensus.htm 
for census data. A source for all information along with the 
publication or origination date must also be provided.
    (d) Updated Census data are available for the following indicators:
    (i) Unemployment rate--estimated monthly for counties/parishes, 
with a 2-month lag;
    (ii) Population--estimated for incorporated places and counties/
parishes, through 2000;
    (iii) Poverty rate--through 2000.
    (4) Demographics of Distress--Special Factors (5 points). Because 
HUD is concerned with meeting the needs of certain underserved areas, 
you will be awarded a total of five points if you are located in or 
propose to serve one or more of the following populations, or if your 
application demonstrates that 100 percent of the beneficiaries 
supported by Rural Housing and Economic Development funds are in one or 
more

[[Page 23058]]

of the following populations. You must also specifically identify how 
each population will be served and that the proposed service area meet 
the definition of ``eligible rural area'' in section I of this NOFA:
    (a) Areas with very small populations in non-urban areas (2,500 
population or less);
    (b) Seasonal farm workers;
    (c) Federally recognized Indian tribes;
    (d) Colonias;
    (e) Appalachia's Distressed Counties; or
    (f) The Lower Mississippi Delta Region (eight states and 240 
counties/parishes).
    For these underserved areas, you should ensure that the populations 
that you serve and the documentation that you provide are consistent 
with the information described in the above paragraph under this rating 
factor.
3. Rating Factor 3--Soundness of Approach (21 Points)
    This factor addresses the overall quality of your proposed work 
plan, taking into account the project and the activities proposed to be 
undertaken; the cost-effectiveness of your proposed program; and the 
linkages between identified needs, the purposes of this program, and 
your proposed activities and tasks. In addition, this factor addresses 
your ability to ensure that a clear linkage exists between innovative 
rural housing and economic development. In assessing cost-
effectiveness, HUD will take into account your staffing levels, 
beneficiaries to be served, and your timetable for the achievement of 
program outcomes, the delivery of products and reports, and any 
anticipated outcome or product. You will receive a greater number of 
points if your work plan is consistent with the purpose of the Rural 
Housing and Economic Development program, your program goals, and the 
resources provided.
    a. Management Plan (13 points). A clearly defined management plan 
should be submitted that: identifies each of the projects and 
activities you will carry out to further the objectives of this 
program; describes the linkage between rural housing and economic 
development activities; and addresses the needs identified in Factor 2, 
including needs that previously were identified in a statewide or local 
Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) or Consolidated 
Plan. The populations that were described in Rating Factor 2 for the 
purpose of documenting need should be the same populations that will 
receive the primary benefit of the activities, both immediately and 
over the long term. The benefits should be affirmatively marketed to 
those populations least likely to apply for and receive these benefits 
without such marketing. Your timetable should address the measurable 
short-term and long-term goals and objectives to be achieved through 
the proposed activities based on annual benchmarks; the method you will 
use for evaluating and monitoring program progress with respect to 
those activities; and the method you will use to ensure that the 
activities will be completed on time and within your proposed budget 
estimates. Your management plan should also include the budget for your 
program, broken out by line item. Documented projected cost estimates 
from outside sources are also required. Applicants should submit their 
work plan on a spreadsheet showing each project to be undertaken and 
the tasks (to the extent necessary or appropriate) in your work plan to 
implement the project with your associated budget estimate for each 
activity/task. Your work plan should provide the rationale for your 
proposed activities and assumptions used in determining your project 
timeline and budget estimates. Failure to provide your rationale may 
result in your application receiving fewer points for lack of clarity 
in the proposed management plan.
    This subfactor should include information that indicates the extent 
to which you have coordinated your activities with other known 
organizations (e.g., through letters of participation or coordination) 
that are not directly participating in your proposed work activities, 
but with which you share common goals and objectives and that are 
working toward meeting these objectives in a holistic and comprehensive 
manner. The goal of this coordination is to ensure that programs do not 
operate in isolation. Additionally, your application should demonstrate 
the extent to which your program has the potential to be financially 
self-sustaining by decreasing dependence on Rural Housing and Economic 
Development funding and relying more on state, local, and private 
funding. The goal of sustainability is to ensure that the activities 
proposed in your application can be continued after your grant award is 
complete.
    b. Policy Priorities (8 Points). Policy priorities are outlined in 
detail in the General Section. You should document the extent to which 
HUD's policy priorities are advanced by the proposed activities. 
Applicants that include activities that can result in the achievement 
of the following departmental policy priorities will receive higher 
rating points in evaluating their application for funding. Seven 
departmental policy priorities are listed below. When you include 
policy priorities, describe in brief detail how those activities will 
be carried out and if selecting item (6), Removal of Barriers to 
Affordable Housing, be sure to include the required Points of Contact 
information and documentation or references to the documentation to 
receive points.
    The point values for policy priorities are as follows:
    (1) Providing increased homeownership and rental opportunities for 
low- and moderate-income persons, persons with disabilities, the 
elderly, minorities, and families with limited English proficiency = 1 
point;
    (2) Improving our nation's communities = 1 point;
    (3) Encouraging accessible design features = 1 point;
    (4) Providing full and equal access to grassroots faith-based and 
other community-based organizations in HUD program implementation = 1 
point;
    (5) Ending chronic homelessness = 1 point;
    (6) Removal of regulatory barriers to affordable housing = 2 
points; and
    (7) Reducing energy costs = 1 point.
4. Rating Factor 4--Leveraging Resources (10 points)
    This factor addresses the extent to which applicants have obtained 
firm commitments of financial or in-kind resources from other federal, 
state, local, and private sources. For every Rural Housing and Economic 
Development program dollar anticipated, you should provide the specific 
amount of dollars leveraged. In assigning points for this criterion, 
HUD will consider the level of outside resources obtained in the form 
of cash or in-kind goods or services that support activities proposed 
in your application. HUD will award a greater number of points based on 
a comparison of the extent of leveraged funds with the requested Rural 
Housing and Economic Development award. The level of outside resources 
for which commitments are obtained will be evaluated based on their 
importance to the total program. Your application must provide evidence 
of leveraging in the form of letters of firm commitment from any 
entity, including your own organization, that will be providing the 
leveraging funds to the project. Each commitment described in the 
narrative of this factor must be in accordance with the definition of 
``firm

[[Page 23059]]

commitment,'' as defined in section I.B. of this NOFA. The commitment 
letter must be on letterhead of the participating organization, must be 
signed by an official of the organization legally able to make 
commitments on behalf of the organization, and must not be dated 
earlier than the date this NOFA is published.
    Points for this factor will be awarded based on the satisfactory 
provision of evidence of leveraging and financial sustainability, as 
described above, and the ratio of leveraged funds to requested HUD 
Rural Housing and Economic Development funds as follows:
    a. 50 percent or more of requested HUD Rural Housing and Economic 
Development funds = 10 points;
    b. 49-40 percent of requested HUD Rural Housing and Economic 
Development funds = 8 points;
    c. 39-30 percent of requested HUD Rural Housing and Economic 
Development funds = 6 points;
    d. 29-20 percent of requested HUD Rural Housing and Economic 
Development funds = 4 points;
    e. 19-9 percent of requested HUD Rural Housing and Economic 
Development funds = 2 points;
    f. Less than 9 percent of HUD requested Rural Housing and Economic 
Development funds = 0 points.
    See the General Section for instructions for submitting third-party 
letters and other documents with your electronic application.
5. Rating Factor 5--Achieving Results and Program Evaluation (24 
points)
    This factor emphasizes HUD's commitment to ensure that applicants 
keep promises made in their application. This factor assesses their 
performance to ensure that rigorous and useful performance measures are 
used and goals are met. Achieving results means you, the applicant, 
have clearly identified the benefits or outcomes of your program. 
Outcomes are ultimate project end goals. Benchmarks or outputs are 
interim activities or products that lead to the ultimate achievement of 
your goals. Program evaluation requires that you, the applicant, 
identify program outcomes, interim products or benchmarks, and 
performance indicators that will allow you to measure your performance. 
Performance indicators should be objectively quantifiable and measure 
actual achievements against anticipated achievements. Your evaluation 
plan should identify what you are going to measure, how you are going 
to measure it, and the steps you have in place to make adjustments to 
your work plan if performance targets are not met within established 
time frames.
    Applicants must also complete the ``Logic Model'' HUD Form (HUD-
96010) included in the application instructions at https://
www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp and submit the 
completed form with their application. HUD has provided an electronic 
Logic Model that will enable applicants to select from lists the 
appropriate needs statement(s), activities/outputs, and outcomes that 
the applicant is proposing in the application submission. The listing 
of the activities is referred to as the Master Logic Model List and 
each list is unique to the program funding opportunity. The application 
instructions found on https://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_
grants.jsp include the eLogic Model\TM\ that you can complete and 
attach to your electronic application submission. Applicants who do not 
have Microsoft Excel software should contact the SuperNOFA Information 
Center at 800-HUD-8929. Persons with speech or hearing impairments may 
access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information 
Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Applicants may select items from each 
column of the list that reflect their activity outputs and outcomes and 
copy and paste them into the appropriate column in the Logic Model 
form. In completing the Logic Model, applicants are expected to select 
from the lists of appropriate outputs and outcomes for their proposed 
work plan. The eLogic Model\TM\ and Master Logic Model listing also 
identify the unit of measure that HUD is interested in collecting for 
the outputs and outcomes selected. In making the selections for each 
output and outcome, applicants are to complete the appropriate proposed 
number of units of measure to be accomplished. The space next to the 
output and outcome should be used to capture the anticipated units of 
measure. Multiple outputs and outcomes may be selected per project.
    Under this rating factor, applicants will receive a maximum of 24 
points. The rating will be in accordance with the matrix found in 
Attachment 1 of the General Section and how the applicant proposes to 
effectively address program goals and performance measures. HUD will 
evaluate and analyze how well an applicant implemented the required 
Rural Housing and Economic Development output and outcome goals and 
identified other stated benefits or outcomes of the applicant's 
program. In order to receive the highest number of points, applicants 
should present a clear plan to address the RHED output and outcome 
measures.
    a. Output Measures are quantifiable. RHED outputs include: number 
of housing units constructed; number of housing units rehabilitated; 
number of jobs created; number of participants trained; number of new 
businesses created; and number of existing businesses assisted.
    b. Outcomes Measures are benefits accruing to the program 
participants and/or communities during or after participation in the 
RHED program. RHED outcomes include: the number of housing units 
rehabilitated that will be made available to low-to-moderate-income 
participants; the percentage change in earnings as a result of 
employment for those participants; the percent of participants trained 
who find a job; annual estimated savings for low-income families as a 
result of energy efficiency improvements; and the increase in 
organizational resources as a result of assistance (e.g., dollars 
leveraged).
    You must clearly identify the outcomes to be achieved and measured. 
Proposed program benefits should include program activities, 
benchmarks, and interim activities or performance indicators with 
timelines. Applications should include an evaluation plan that will 
effectively measure actual achievements against anticipated 
achievements.
    c. Logic Model. HUD requires RHED applicants to develop an 
effective, quantifiable, outcome-oriented evaluation plan for measuring 
performance and determining whether goals have been met using the 
Master Logic Model for RHED. The model can be found in the download 
instructions portion of the application at https://www.grants.gov/
applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp. In preparing your Logic Model, first 
open the Form HUD-96010 and go to the instruction tab and follow the 
directions in the tab. Your application must include the form to 
receive any points under this factor.
    This rating factor reflects HUD's goal to embrace high standards of 
ethics, management, and accountability. HUD will hold a training 
broadcast via satellite for potential applicants to learn more about 
Rating Factor 5. For more information about the date and time of the 
broadcast, consult the HUD Web site at https://www.hud.gov/grants/
index.cfm.
    Although the following list is not all-inclusive, program outcomes 
for the Rural Housing and Economic Development program must include, 
where applicable:
    (1) Total number of housing units constructed;

[[Page 23060]]

    (2) Total number of housing units rehabilitated;
    (3) Number of Housing units rehabilitated that will be made 
available to low- to moderate-income participants;
    (4) Number of Housing units constructed that will be made available 
to low- to moderate-income participants;
    (5) Number of jobs created;
    (6) Percentage change in earnings as a result of employment for 
those participants;
    (7) Number of participants trained;
    (8) Percent of participants trained who find a job;
    (9) Number of new businesses created;
    (10) Number of existing businesses assisted;
    (11) Annual estimated savings for low-income families as a result 
of energy efficiency improvements.
    (12) Increase in program accomplishments as a result of capacity 
building assistance (e.g. the number of employees hired or retained, or 
the efficiency or effectiveness of services provided); and
    (13) Increase in organizational resources as a result of assistance 
(e.g., dollars leveraged).
    If you receive an award of funds, you will be required to use the 
Logic Model to report progress against the proposed outcomes in your 
approved application and award agreement.
    The applicant's proposed budget must reflect a breakdown of 
estimated dollar amount of the Rural Housing and Economic Development 
grant to be expended on each of the activities/outputs and the 
anticipated results included on the Form HUD-96010 and under the Rating 
Factor 5 narrative section of your application.
6. RC/EZ/EC-II Bonus Points (2 Points)
    HUD will award two bonus points to all applications that include 
documentation stating that the proposed eligible activities/projects 
will be located in and serve federally designated renewal communities 
(RCs), empowerment zones (EZs), or enterprise communities (ECs) 
designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in round II RC/
EZ/EC. A listing of federally designated RC/EZ/EC-II is available on 
the Internet at https://www.hud.gov/crlocator.
    This notice contains a certification (Form HUD-2990) that must be 
completed for the applicant to be considered for Rural EZ/Round II EC 
bonus points.

B. Review and Selection Process

1. Application Selection Process
    a. Rating and Ranking.
    (1) General. To review and rate applications, HUD may establish 
panels that may include outside experts or consultants to obtain 
certain expertise and outside points of view, including views from 
other federal agencies.
    (2) Rating. All applicants for funding will be evaluated against 
applicable criteria. In evaluating applications for funding, HUD will 
take into account an applicant's past performance in managing funds, 
including the ability to account for funds appropriately, the 
applicant's timely use of funds received either from HUD or other 
federal, state, or local programs; its success in meeting performance 
targets for completion of activities; and the number of persons to be 
served or targeted for assistance. HUD may use information relating to 
these items based on information at hand or available from public 
sources such as newspapers, HUD Inspector General or Government 
Accountability Office reports or findings, or hotline complaints that 
have been found to have merit, or other such sources of information. In 
evaluating past performance, HUD will deduct points from rating scores 
as specified under Rating Factor 1.
    (3) Ranking. Applicants will be selected for funding in accordance 
with their rank order. An application must receive a minimum score of 
75 points to be eligible for funding. If two or more applications are 
rated fundable and have the same score, but there are insufficient 
funds to fund all of them, the application(s) with the highest score 
for Rating Factor 2 will be selected. If applications still have the 
same score, the highest score in the following factors will be selected 
sequentially until one highest score can be determined: Rating Factor 
3, Rating Factor 1, Rating Factor 5, and Rating Factor 4.
    b. Initial screening. During the period immediately following the 
application deadline, HUD will screen each application to determine 
eligibility. Applications will be rejected if they:
    (1) Are submitted by ineligible applicants;
    (2) Do not serve an eligible rural area as defined in section III 
of this NOFA;
    (3) Do not meet the objectives of the Rural Housing and Economic 
Development program; or
    (4) Propose a project for which the majority of the activities are 
ineligible.
    c. Rating Factors for Award Used To Evaluate and Rate Applications. 
The factors for rating and ranking applicants and the maximum points 
for each factor are provided above. The maximum number of points for 
this program is 102. This includes 100 points for all five rating 
factors and two RC/EZ/EC-II bonus points, as described above.
    d. Environmental Review. Each application constitutes an assurance 
that the applicant agrees to assist HUD in complying with the 
provisions set forth in 24 CFR part 50. Selection for award does not 
constitute approval of any proposed site. Following selection for 
award, HUD will perform an environmental review of activities proposed 
for assistance under this part, in accordance with 24 CFR part 50. The 
results of the environmental review may require that proposed 
activities be modified or that proposed sites be rejected. Applicants 
are particularly cautioned not to undertake or commit HUD funds for 
acquisition or development of proposed properties (including 
establishing lines of credit that permit financing of such activities 
or making commitments for loans that would finance such activities from 
a revolving loan fund capitalized by funds under this NOFA) prior to 
HUD approval of specific properties or areas. Each application 
constitutes an assurance that you, the applicant, will assist HUD in 
complying with part 50; will supply HUD with all available relevant 
information to perform an environmental review for each proposed 
property; will carry