Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Notice Regarding Fair Housing and Civil Rights Requirements and Relocation Requirements Applicable to RAD First Component-Public Housing Conversions: Solicitation of Comment, 79514-79515 [2016-27348]

Download as PDF 79514 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 219 / Monday, November 14, 2016 / Notices regulations specifying the permissible scope and conduct of monitoring in accordance with subsection (b); • Be organized and carry out its business in a manner that guarantees a fair opportunity for the expression and consideration of various positions and for public participation. The MHCC is deemed an advisory committee not composed of Federal employees. Public Comment: Citizens wishing to make oral comments on the business of the MHCC are encouraged to register by or before November 22, 2016, by contacting Home Innovation Labs, Attention: Kevin Kauffman, 400 Prince Georges Boulevard, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774; or email to: MHCC@ HomeInnovation.com or call 1–888– 602–4663. Written comments are encouraged. The MHCC strives to accommodate citizen comments to the extent possible within the time constraints of the meeting agenda. Advance registration is strongly encouraged. The MHCC will also provide an opportunity for public comment on specific matters before the Regulatory Subcommittee. Tentative Agenda mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES November 28, 2016, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) I. Call to Order—Chair & DFO II. Opening Remarks: Subcommittee Chair III. Roll Call—Administering Organization (AO) IV. Administrative Announcements— DFO & AO V. Approval of minutes from October 27, 2016, Meeting VI. New Business a. Action Item 8: Foundation Systems Requirements in Freezing Climates VII. Open Discussion VIII. Public Comments IX. Wrap-Up—DFO & AO X. Adjourn Dated: November 8, 2016. Pamela Beck Danner, Administrator, Office of Manufactured Housing Programs. [FR Doc. 2016–27347 Filed 11–10–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4210–67–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:26 Nov 10, 2016 Jkt 241001 DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR–5630–N–08] Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Notice Regarding Fair Housing and Civil Rights Requirements and Relocation Requirements Applicable to RAD First Component—Public Housing Conversions: Solicitation of Comment Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing, HUD. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: HUD has posted, on its RAD Web page, a notice providing guidance regarding fair housing, civil rights, and relocation requirements applicable to the first component of RAD, which were previously addressed by HUD in a notice issued on June 15, 2015. The first component of RAD pertains only to the conversion of public housing units. The purpose of the Civil Rights and Relocations Requirements notice is to provide greater guidance for the application of these important requirements governing RAD. While the updated requirements are available and became effective upon posting, HUD solicits comment on today’s notice, with respect primarily to the clarity and comprehensibility of the requirements. DATES: Comment Due Date: December 14, 2016. ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this notice. Communications must refer to the above docket number and title. There are two methods for submitting public comments. 1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500. 2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically through the www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically. No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable. Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202–708– 3055 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals with speech impairments may access this number via TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service toll-free at 800–877–8339. Copies of all comments submitted are also available for inspection and downloading at www.regulations.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claude Dickson, Office of Recapitalization, Office of Multifamily Housing, Office of Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room 6230, email RAD@ HUD.gov, telephone 202–708–0001 (this is not a toll-free number). For information about this rule, persons with hearing- or speech-impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service tollfree at 800–877–8339. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background RAD was created in order to give public housing agencies (PHAs) a tool to preserve and improve assisted housing and address the multi-billion dollar nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance. RAD allows public housing agencies to leverage public and private debt and equity in order to reinvest in the public housing stock. In RAD, units move from the public housing program to a Section 8 platform with a long-term contract that, by law, must be renewed. This ensures that the units remain permanently affordable to low-income households. Once transferred to the Section 8 platform, residents continue to pay 30 percent of their income towards the rent and they maintain the same basic rights as they would possess in the public housing program. On June 15, 2015, HUD issued a comprehensive notice that provided program instructions for RAD, including addressing eligibility and selection criteria. (See https://portal.hud.gov/ hudportal/documents/ huddoc?id=PIHNotice_2012–32_ E:\FR\FM\14NON1.SGM 14NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 219 / Monday, November 14, 2016 / Notices 062015.pdf.) The June 15, 2015 notice itself was an update of prior RAD program notices issued on July 26, 2012, July 2, 2013, and February 6, 2014. The June 15, 2015 notice covered both of the RAD program’s two components. (Component 1 applies only to public housing units that may convert to RAD. Component 2 applies to Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation, Rent Supplement, and Rental Assistance Payment properties that may convert to RAD.) The June 15, 2015 notice addressed fair housing, civil rights, and relocation requirements among the other program instructions. However, given the importance of these requirements, especially as they apply to the types of transactions common in public housing conversions, HUD determined that a notice dedicated solely to fair housing, civil rights, and relocation requirements was appropriate. Today’s relocation notice only addresses RAD Component 1. The notice explains the situations in which HUD is requiring front-end fair housing and civil rights reviews, and provides information regarding the types of information that must be submitted to facilitate HUD’s review of certain fair housing and civil rights requirements in connection with public housing conversions under RAD Component 1. The notice also includes guidance regarding relocation requirements under RAD and reiterates key civil rights- and relocation-related statutory and regulatory requirements. II. Solicitation of Comment mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES As noted in the Summary of this notice, today’s notice is posted and effective but HUD welcomes comments on the notice. The purpose of the notice is to provide greater guidance on compliance with fair housing, civil rights, and relocation requirements. HUD specifically solicits comment on the clarity of the information provided in the notice. In the event HUD makes any changes in response to public comment, HUD will revise the notice and advise the public of any changes made. Dated: November 8, 2016. Edward L. Golding, Principal Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Housing. [FR Doc. 2016–27348 Filed 11–10–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4210–67–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:26 Nov 10, 2016 Jkt 241001 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS–R4–ES–2016–N124; FXES1130400000C2–167–FF04E00000] Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Recovery Plan for the Laurel Dace Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the final recovery plan for the endangered laurel dace, a small fish native to the Tennessee River Basin in Tennessee. The recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria that must be met in order for us to downlist the fish to threatened status or delist it under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the recovery plan from our Web site at https://www.fws.gov/endangered/ species/recovery-plans.html or the Tennessee Field Office Web site at https://www.fws.gov/cookeville. You may also request a copy of the recovery plan by contacting Geoff Call, by U.S. mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Field Office, 446 Neal Street, Cookeville, TN 38501 (telephone 931– 525–4983). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Geoff Call (see ADDRESSES). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: Background Recovery Plans Under the Endangered Species Act Recovery of endangered or threatened animals and plants to the point where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their ecosystems is a primary goal of our endangered species program and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Recovery means improvement of the status of listed species to the point at which listing is no longer needed under any criteria specified in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. To help guide the recovery effort, we prepare recovery plans for most listed species. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for conservation of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or delisting, and estimate time and cost for implementing recovery measures. The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed species, unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a particular species. PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 79515 About the Species We listed the laurel dace (Chrosomus saylori) as an endangered species under the Act on August 9, 2011 (76 FR 48722), and designated critical habitat for the species on October 16, 2012 (77 FR 63604). The laurel dace is a small fish native to the Tennessee River Basin in Tennessee. This fish, from the family Cyprinidae, is found or collected from pools or slow runs from undercut banks or under slab boulders in headwater tributaries. The vegetation surrounding the first or second order streams where laurel dace occur includes mountain laurel, rhododendron, and hemlocks. Historically, laurel dace is known from seven streams, and it currently occupies six of these, in three creek systems on the Walden Ridge of the Cumberland Plateau. Only a few individuals have been collected from headwaters of the two creek systems in the southern part of their range, Soddy and Sale Creeks, although laurel dace are more abundant in headwaters of the Piney River system in their northern range. Threats to the laurel dace include land use activities that affect silt levels, temperature, or hydrologic processes of these small tributaries; invasive species, including sunfishes, basses, and hemlock woolly adelgid; the species’ naturally small population size and geographic range; and climate change. Recovery Plan Development Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment prior to final approval of recovery plans. We and other Federal agencies will take these public comments into account in the course of implementing approved recovery plans. The Technical/Agency Draft Recovery Plan for the Laurel Dace was developed by the Tennessee Field Office. This draft plan was published on January 14, 2015, and made available for public comment through March 16, 2015 (79 FR 1933). We received no comments from the general public on the draft plan. The Service also asked four peer reviewers to review and provide comments on the draft plan. We received comments from all four peer reviewers: Dr. J. Brian Alford of University of Tennessee, Dr. Hayden T. Mattingly of Tennessee Tech University, Dr. Christopher E. Skelton of Georgia College and State University, and Mr. Mark Thurman of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. All of the peer reviewers offered general support and praise for the draft plan. For a summary of our responses to peer review comments, see Appendix A in E:\FR\FM\14NON1.SGM 14NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 219 (Monday, November 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79514-79515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27348]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5630-N-08]


Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Notice Regarding Fair 
Housing and Civil Rights Requirements and Relocation Requirements 
Applicable to RAD First Component--Public Housing Conversions: 
Solicitation of Comment

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: HUD has posted, on its RAD Web page, a notice providing 
guidance regarding fair housing, civil rights, and relocation 
requirements applicable to the first component of RAD, which were 
previously addressed by HUD in a notice issued on June 15, 2015. The 
first component of RAD pertains only to the conversion of public 
housing units. The purpose of the Civil Rights and Relocations 
Requirements notice is to provide greater guidance for the application 
of these important requirements governing RAD. While the updated 
requirements are available and became effective upon posting, HUD 
solicits comment on today's notice, with respect primarily to the 
clarity and comprehensibility of the requirements.

DATES: Comment Due Date: December 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice. Communications must refer to the above docket number and 
title. There are two methods for submitting public comments.
    1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by 
mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500.
    2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit 
comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the 
commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely 
receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to 
the public. Comments submitted electronically through the 
www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other commenters and 
interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the 
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.
    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
    Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted 
comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for 
public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the 
above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters 
building, an advance appointment to review the public comments must be 
scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-708-3055 (this is 
not a toll-free number). Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing 
and individuals with speech impairments may access this number via TTY 
by calling the Federal Relay Service toll-free at 800-877-8339. Copies 
of all comments submitted are also available for inspection and 
downloading at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claude Dickson, Office of 
Recapitalization, Office of Multifamily Housing, Office of Housing, 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room 6230, email 
RAD@HUD.gov, telephone 202-708-0001 (this is not a toll-free number). 
For information about this rule, persons with hearing- or speech-
impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the Federal 
Relay Service toll-free at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    RAD was created in order to give public housing agencies (PHAs) a 
tool to preserve and improve assisted housing and address the multi-
billion dollar nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance. RAD allows 
public housing agencies to leverage public and private debt and equity 
in order to reinvest in the public housing stock. In RAD, units move 
from the public housing program to a Section 8 platform with a long-
term contract that, by law, must be renewed. This ensures that the 
units remain permanently affordable to low-income households. Once 
transferred to the Section 8 platform, residents continue to pay 30 
percent of their income towards the rent and they maintain the same 
basic rights as they would possess in the public housing program.
    On June 15, 2015, HUD issued a comprehensive notice that provided 
program instructions for RAD, including addressing eligibility and 
selection criteria. (See https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/
huddoc?id=PIHNotice_2012-32_

[[Page 79515]]

062015.pdf.) The June 15, 2015 notice itself was an update of prior RAD 
program notices issued on July 26, 2012, July 2, 2013, and February 6, 
2014. The June 15, 2015 notice covered both of the RAD program's two 
components. (Component 1 applies only to public housing units that may 
convert to RAD. Component 2 applies to Section 8 Moderate 
Rehabilitation, Rent Supplement, and Rental Assistance Payment 
properties that may convert to RAD.) The June 15, 2015 notice addressed 
fair housing, civil rights, and relocation requirements among the other 
program instructions. However, given the importance of these 
requirements, especially as they apply to the types of transactions 
common in public housing conversions, HUD determined that a notice 
dedicated solely to fair housing, civil rights, and relocation 
requirements was appropriate.
    Today's relocation notice only addresses RAD Component 1. The 
notice explains the situations in which HUD is requiring front-end fair 
housing and civil rights reviews, and provides information regarding 
the types of information that must be submitted to facilitate HUD's 
review of certain fair housing and civil rights requirements in 
connection with public housing conversions under RAD Component 1. The 
notice also includes guidance regarding relocation requirements under 
RAD and reiterates key civil rights- and relocation-related statutory 
and regulatory requirements.

II. Solicitation of Comment

    As noted in the Summary of this notice, today's notice is posted 
and effective but HUD welcomes comments on the notice. The purpose of 
the notice is to provide greater guidance on compliance with fair 
housing, civil rights, and relocation requirements. HUD specifically 
solicits comment on the clarity of the information provided in the 
notice. In the event HUD makes any changes in response to public 
comment, HUD will revise the notice and advise the public of any 
changes made.

    Dated: November 8, 2016.
Edward L. Golding,
Principal Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Housing.
[FR Doc. 2016-27348 Filed 11-10-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
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