Inclusion of Terrain Factors in the Definition of Rural Area for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grants, 92131-92133 [2024-27133]
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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Keronica Richardson, Office of Policy,
Regulations, and Information, Human
Foods Program, Food and Drug
Administration, 5001 Campus Dr.,
College Park, MD 20740, 240–402–2371.
In the
Federal Register of August 12, 2024, we
published a notice announcing a public
meeting entitled ‘‘Development of an
Enhanced Systematic Process for FDA’s
Post-Market Assessment of Chemicals in
Food.’’ The notice explained that the
public meeting would address a variety
of topics related to development of an
enhanced systematic process for FDA’s
post-market assessment of chemicals in
food, including:
• Principles for the post-market
assessment process,
• Steps in the post-market assessment
process,
• Prioritizing chemicals for postmarket assessment, and
• Engaging stakeholders throughout
the post-market assessment process (89
FR 65633 at 65635). We also provided
an opportunity for public comment
during the meeting. The docket for
public comments was scheduled to
close on December 6, 2024.
On September 25, 2024, we hosted the
public meeting at the FDA White Oak
Campus. A transcript of the meeting is
available at https://www.fda.gov/media/
182622/download?attachment.
We have received a request for a 60day extension of the comment period. In
general, the request explained that trade
associations representing various parts
of the food supply chain faced
significant challenges to providing
comment by December 6, 2024, and
noted that the comment period
overlapped with the holiday season and
other FDA initiatives.
We have considered the requests and
are extending the comment period until
January 21, 2025. We believe that the
extension will allow adequate time for
interested persons to submit comments.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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92131
Dated: November 13, 2024.
Kimberlee Trzeciak,
Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation,
and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024–27289 Filed 11–20–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services
Administration
Inclusion of Terrain Factors in the
Definition of Rural Area for Federal
Office of Rural Health Policy Grants
Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), Department of
Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Final notice.
AGENCY:
HRSA’s Federal Office of
Rural Health Policy (FORHP) is
modifying the definition of ‘‘rural area’’
for the purposes of determining
geographic eligibility to apply for or
receive services funded by FORHP’s
rural health grants. With a data-driven
methodology, this update to the
definition of rural area will integrate the
new Road Ruggedness Score (RRS)
released in 2023 by the Economic
Research Service of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. This notice responds to
comments received on proposed
modifications to HRSA’s FORHP
definition published in the Federal
Register on April 26, 2024.
DATES: All changes will go into effect as
of November 21, 2024, and will apply to
FORHP’s Notices of Funding
Opportunity released in Fiscal Year (FY)
2025 and future years.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Greta Stuhlsatz, Statistician, Policy
Research Division, FORHP, HRSA, 5600
Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland
20857; (301) 443–0835 and ruralpolicy@
hrsra.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice updates the definition of rural
area used for HRSA’s FORHP rural
health grants programs. HRSA
published a notice in the Federal
Register on April 26, 2024, seeking
public comment on proposed
modifications to the definition of rural
area for the purposes of determining
eligibility for its rural health grant
programs (89 FR 32451). HRSA
proposed a data-driven methodology to
update the definition of rural area by
integrating the new RRS released in
2023 by the Economic Research Service
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The RRS characterizes topographic
variability, or ruggedness, of roads. A
SUMMARY:
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92132
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 225 / Thursday, November 21, 2024 / Notices
technical clarification was also
proposed in response to terminology
changes by the U.S. Census Bureau.
This notice includes a summary of
responses to the public comments
received.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Background
In FY 2024, HRSA’s FORHP
considered the following areas to be
rural for purposes of FORHP’s grant
programs:
(1) All non-metro counties,
(2) All outlying metro counties
without an Urbanized Area,
(3) All metro census tracts with RUCA
codes 4–10, and
(4) Metro census tracts of at least 400
square miles in area with population
density of 35 or less per square mile
with RUCA codes 2–3.
In the Federal Register notice
published April 26, 2024, HRSA
proposed modifying its existing FORHP
rural definition by adding census tracts
of at least 20 square miles in area in
metropolitan counties with RRS 5
(highly rugged) and RUCA code 2 or 3
to FORHP’s definition of rural area.
Only census tracts that meet all
criteria—RRS 5 and RUCA 2 or 3 with
an area of 20 or more square miles—
would be newly eligible under the
proposed update.
In addition to the proposed rugged
terrain update, in HRSA’s notice,
FORHP provided a technical
clarification in response to the U.S.
Census Bureau’s 2020 terminology
changes removing urban clusters and
urbanized areas. FORHP’s FY 2024
definition excludes outlying
metropolitan counties with an
Urbanized Area while the U.S. Census
Bureau no longer uses this terminology.
To retain the distinction in FORHP’s
definition of rural area between urban
areas with population of 50,000 or more
and urban areas with a population less
than 50,000, FORHP will identify and
categorize urban areas based on
population size. With this technical
clarification, HRSA is updating
FORHP’s rural definition by striking the
phrase ‘‘outlying metropolitan counties
without an urbanized area.’’ and
replacing it with ‘‘outlying metropolitan
counties with no population from an
urban area of 50,000 or more people.’’
Summary of Comments and Responses
HRSA received 27 comments in
response to the notice published April
26, 2024. Comments responded to both
the proposed expansion of the
definition of rural area and the technical
clarification following the removal of
urbanized areas and urban clusters by
the U.S. Census Bureau. Most of the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:02 Nov 20, 2024
Jkt 265001
comments received (26) were in full or
partial support of either or both
components of the change—the
technical clarification and the expanded
eligibility criteria to include rugged
terrain factors. One comment was out of
scope of this proposal.
Technical Clarification in Response to
Census Terminology Changes
Comment: All comments that
referenced the technical clarification to
retain the distinction between urban
areas with population over and under
50,000 in FORHP’s definition of rural
area were supportive of changing
FORHP’s definition to remove reference
to Urbanized Areas and instead
categorize urban areas based on
population size.
Response: We thank the commenters
for their support. After consideration of
the comments received, we are
implementing the technical clarification
as proposed.
Adding Rugged Terrain Data to the
Definition of Rural Area
Many comments were in favor of
expanding the definition to include
rugged terrain using the RRS developed
by the Economic Research Service. We
thank the commenters for their support.
Some comments suggested
modifications or alternatives to the
proposed change.
Comment: Some commenters
suggested expanding the definition by
including small counties with a high
density of census tracts that are RRS 3,
4, and 5. Further, commenters suggested
we specifically include all census tracts
in a county that are greater than 20
square miles in area with RUCA codes
of 2 or 3 if the county has 12 or fewer
census tracts and over 80 percent of
census tracts within the county are RRS
3–5.
Response: Including census tracts
greater than 20 square miles with RUCA
of 2–3 within metropolitan counties is
consistent with the proposed change.
The additional county-level criteria
suggested—limiting the expansion to
only counties with 12 or fewer census
tracts and calculating the percentage of
tracts per county with RRS 3 through
5—would not achieve the objective of
the programs or be operationally
feasible for the purposes of grantmaking.
First, aggregating measures defined at
the census tract level to create a single
county-level estimate would not further
FORHP’s goal of identifying rural
census tracts within metropolitan
counties using the individual
characteristics and data from those
tracts to understand local conditions.
Second, this proposal could introduce
PO 00000
Frm 00047
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
state and regional inconsistencies
because county sizes vary widely across
the United States. In effect, this
proposal would treat counties and states
differently based primarily on their
geographic size. Finally, the complexity
of the proposed calculation is
inconsistent with FORHP’s intent to use
clear, consistent, and data-driven
criteria that can be easily understood
and applied nationwide. For these
reasons, we are finalizing the language
as proposed.
Comment: A commenter suggested
including census tracts with RRS 3
(slightly rugged) and RRS 4 (moderately
rugged) in addition to the proposed RRS
5 tracts in the expanded rural definition.
Response: Including census tracts
with RRS 5 that meet the proposed
criteria for size and RUCA code adds 84
census tracts and 305,000 people. RRS
3 and RRS 4 includes census tracts in
and around major urban areas such as
Nashville, Tennessee, and census tracts
in northern New Jersey. Given their
lesser topographic variation and their
close proximity to major urban hubs and
urban amenities, we are not considering
these RRS 3 and RRS 4 tracts for the
purpose of our rural area definition and
are finalizing as proposed.
Comment: A commenter suggested
that Hawaii should be exempt from the
requirement that census tracts with
rugged terrain be at least 20 square
miles in area due to the unique
geography of the state.
Response: Small census tracts are
common in densely populated areas in
all parts of the United States. Applying
a different standard in one state would
not further FORHP’s goal of using clear,
data-driven criteria that can be
consistently applied nationwide to
identify rural areas. For these reasons,
we are not adopting this suggestion.
Comment: Some commenters
suggested that road ruggedness should
be used as a factor for defining rural
areas, but FORHP should explore, for
the future, alternative approaches for
identification of mountainous roads.
Response: We thank the commenters
for their support for using road
ruggedness. FORHP continuously
monitors ongoing national research and
analysis efforts related to developing
new geographic data sources and
defining rural areas. We welcome
suggestions for alternative data sets that
are national in scope and that would
identify mountainous roads more
accurately. As new methods and data
become available, FORHP may consider
updating the definition.
Comment: A commenter suggested
that the definition should focus on
E:\FR\FM\21NON1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 225 / Thursday, November 21, 2024 / Notices
service area rather than specific
addresses of providers.
Response: The purpose of FORHP’s
rural definition is to delineate the land
area of the United States as rural or nonrural. The areas identified as rural by
this definition may include both service
areas and specific provider addresses.
After consideration of the public
comments received, HRSA is
implementing the rugged terrain
inclusion in the definition of rural area
as proposed. FORHP is making this
change consistent with its program
authority to award grants to support
rural health and rural health care
services.
Updated Definition of Rural Area
HRSA is updating FORHP’s rural
definition to include geographic areas
meeting any one of the following
criteria:
(1) Non-metropolitan counties
(2) Outlying metropolitan counties with
no population from an urban area of
50,000 or more people
(3) Census tracts with RUCA codes 4–
10 in metropolitan counties
(4) Census tracts of at least 400 square
miles in area with population density
of 35 or less per square mile with
RUCA codes 2–3 in metropolitan
counties
(5) Census tracts with RRS 5 and RUCA
codes 2–3 that are at least 20 square
miles in area in metropolitan counties
The changes will go into effect as of
November 21, 2024. These changes will
apply to FORHP’s Notices of Funding
Opportunity for FY 2025 and future
years for programs that require funded
activities and services be provided in
rural areas, as defined by HRSA. FORHP
will ensure information about the
updated rural definition is available to
the public on the HRSA website and in
funding opportunities. These changes
reflect FORHP’s desire to accurately
identify rural areas using a data-driven
methodology that relies on established
geographic identifiers and standard,
national-level data sources.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Impact
Incorporating rugged terrain data into
the definition of rural area using the
adopted method adds 84 census tracts
and approximately 305,000 people to
the 60.8 million people living in
FORHP-designated rural areas. This is
an increase of 0.5 percent in the total
number of people living in rural areas.
Table 1 show the number of newly rural
census tracts by state.
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18:02 Nov 20, 2024
Jkt 265001
TABLE 1—NUMBER OF NEWLY RURAL
CENSUS TRACTS BY STATE
Number
of tracts
State
CA ...............................................
OR ..............................................
NC ...............................................
WA ..............................................
TN ...............................................
CO ..............................................
WV ..............................................
MT ...............................................
AK ...............................................
MD ..............................................
24
16
12
9
7
6
6
2
1
1
Total .....................................
84
Note: Table shows the number of newly
rural census tracts with RRS 5 and RUCA
codes 2–3 that are at least 20 square miles in
area in metropolitan counties. Data in this
table are based on 2010 census tract geographies and 2020 metropolitan county delineations. For a complete list of impacted census
tracts see https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/
about-us/what-is-rural/data-files.
Carole Johnson,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024–27133 Filed 11–20–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Human Genome Research
Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting
Pursuant to section 1009 of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, notice is hereby given of the
following meeting.
The meeting will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: Center for Inherited
Disease Research Access Committee.
Date: January 10, 2025.
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Address: National Human Genome
Research Institute, National Institutes of
Health, 6700B Rockledge Drive, Room 3172,
Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual).
Contact Person: Barbara J. Thomas, Ph.D.,
Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review
Branch, National Human Genome Research
Institute, National Institutes of Health, 6700B
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
92133
Rockledge Drive, Room 3172, Bethesda, MD
20892, (301) 402–8837, barbara.thomas@
nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 93.172, Human Genome
Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS)
Dated: November 15, 2024.
David W. Freeman,
Supervisory Program Analyst, Office of
Federal Advisory Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024–27167 Filed 11–20–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
In compliance with section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 concerning the
opportunity for public comment on
proposed collections of information, the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA)
will publish periodic summaries of
proposed projects. To request more
information on the proposed projects or
to obtain a copy of the information
collection plans, call the SAMHSA
Reports Clearance Officer at (240) 276–
0361.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collections of information
are necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Proposed Project: Minority AIDS
Initiative: Substance Use Disorder
Prevention and Treatment Pilot
Program (MAI PT Pilot) Data Collection
Instruments
The Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration’s
(SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention (CSAP) and Center for
Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) are
requesting approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to
monitor the Minority AIDS Initiative:
Substance Use Disorder Prevention and
Treatment Pilot Program (MAI PT Pilot)
E:\FR\FM\21NON1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92131-92133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27133]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
Inclusion of Terrain Factors in the Definition of Rural Area for
Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grants
AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department
of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Final notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) is
modifying the definition of ``rural area'' for the purposes of
determining geographic eligibility to apply for or receive services
funded by FORHP's rural health grants. With a data-driven methodology,
this update to the definition of rural area will integrate the new Road
Ruggedness Score (RRS) released in 2023 by the Economic Research
Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This notice responds to
comments received on proposed modifications to HRSA's FORHP definition
published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2024.
DATES: All changes will go into effect as of November 21, 2024, and
will apply to FORHP's Notices of Funding Opportunity released in Fiscal
Year (FY) 2025 and future years.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greta Stuhlsatz, Statistician, Policy
Research Division, FORHP, HRSA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland
20857; (301) 443-0835 and [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice updates the definition of rural
area used for HRSA's FORHP rural health grants programs. HRSA published
a notice in the Federal Register on April 26, 2024, seeking public
comment on proposed modifications to the definition of rural area for
the purposes of determining eligibility for its rural health grant
programs (89 FR 32451). HRSA proposed a data-driven methodology to
update the definition of rural area by integrating the new RRS released
in 2023 by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. The RRS characterizes topographic variability, or
ruggedness, of roads. A
[[Page 92132]]
technical clarification was also proposed in response to terminology
changes by the U.S. Census Bureau. This notice includes a summary of
responses to the public comments received.
Background
In FY 2024, HRSA's FORHP considered the following areas to be rural
for purposes of FORHP's grant programs:
(1) All non-metro counties,
(2) All outlying metro counties without an Urbanized Area,
(3) All metro census tracts with RUCA codes 4-10, and
(4) Metro census tracts of at least 400 square miles in area with
population density of 35 or less per square mile with RUCA codes 2-3.
In the Federal Register notice published April 26, 2024, HRSA
proposed modifying its existing FORHP rural definition by adding census
tracts of at least 20 square miles in area in metropolitan counties
with RRS 5 (highly rugged) and RUCA code 2 or 3 to FORHP's definition
of rural area. Only census tracts that meet all criteria--RRS 5 and
RUCA 2 or 3 with an area of 20 or more square miles--would be newly
eligible under the proposed update.
In addition to the proposed rugged terrain update, in HRSA's
notice, FORHP provided a technical clarification in response to the
U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 terminology changes removing urban clusters
and urbanized areas. FORHP's FY 2024 definition excludes outlying
metropolitan counties with an Urbanized Area while the U.S. Census
Bureau no longer uses this terminology. To retain the distinction in
FORHP's definition of rural area between urban areas with population of
50,000 or more and urban areas with a population less than 50,000,
FORHP will identify and categorize urban areas based on population
size. With this technical clarification, HRSA is updating FORHP's rural
definition by striking the phrase ``outlying metropolitan counties
without an urbanized area.'' and replacing it with ``outlying
metropolitan counties with no population from an urban area of 50,000
or more people.''
Summary of Comments and Responses
HRSA received 27 comments in response to the notice published April
26, 2024. Comments responded to both the proposed expansion of the
definition of rural area and the technical clarification following the
removal of urbanized areas and urban clusters by the U.S. Census
Bureau. Most of the comments received (26) were in full or partial
support of either or both components of the change--the technical
clarification and the expanded eligibility criteria to include rugged
terrain factors. One comment was out of scope of this proposal.
Technical Clarification in Response to Census Terminology Changes
Comment: All comments that referenced the technical clarification
to retain the distinction between urban areas with population over and
under 50,000 in FORHP's definition of rural area were supportive of
changing FORHP's definition to remove reference to Urbanized Areas and
instead categorize urban areas based on population size.
Response: We thank the commenters for their support. After
consideration of the comments received, we are implementing the
technical clarification as proposed.
Adding Rugged Terrain Data to the Definition of Rural Area
Many comments were in favor of expanding the definition to include
rugged terrain using the RRS developed by the Economic Research
Service. We thank the commenters for their support.
Some comments suggested modifications or alternatives to the
proposed change.
Comment: Some commenters suggested expanding the definition by
including small counties with a high density of census tracts that are
RRS 3, 4, and 5. Further, commenters suggested we specifically include
all census tracts in a county that are greater than 20 square miles in
area with RUCA codes of 2 or 3 if the county has 12 or fewer census
tracts and over 80 percent of census tracts within the county are RRS
3-5.
Response: Including census tracts greater than 20 square miles with
RUCA of 2-3 within metropolitan counties is consistent with the
proposed change. The additional county-level criteria suggested--
limiting the expansion to only counties with 12 or fewer census tracts
and calculating the percentage of tracts per county with RRS 3 through
5--would not achieve the objective of the programs or be operationally
feasible for the purposes of grantmaking. First, aggregating measures
defined at the census tract level to create a single county-level
estimate would not further FORHP's goal of identifying rural census
tracts within metropolitan counties using the individual
characteristics and data from those tracts to understand local
conditions. Second, this proposal could introduce state and regional
inconsistencies because county sizes vary widely across the United
States. In effect, this proposal would treat counties and states
differently based primarily on their geographic size. Finally, the
complexity of the proposed calculation is inconsistent with FORHP's
intent to use clear, consistent, and data-driven criteria that can be
easily understood and applied nationwide. For these reasons, we are
finalizing the language as proposed.
Comment: A commenter suggested including census tracts with RRS 3
(slightly rugged) and RRS 4 (moderately rugged) in addition to the
proposed RRS 5 tracts in the expanded rural definition.
Response: Including census tracts with RRS 5 that meet the proposed
criteria for size and RUCA code adds 84 census tracts and 305,000
people. RRS 3 and RRS 4 includes census tracts in and around major
urban areas such as Nashville, Tennessee, and census tracts in northern
New Jersey. Given their lesser topographic variation and their close
proximity to major urban hubs and urban amenities, we are not
considering these RRS 3 and RRS 4 tracts for the purpose of our rural
area definition and are finalizing as proposed.
Comment: A commenter suggested that Hawaii should be exempt from
the requirement that census tracts with rugged terrain be at least 20
square miles in area due to the unique geography of the state.
Response: Small census tracts are common in densely populated areas
in all parts of the United States. Applying a different standard in one
state would not further FORHP's goal of using clear, data-driven
criteria that can be consistently applied nationwide to identify rural
areas. For these reasons, we are not adopting this suggestion.
Comment: Some commenters suggested that road ruggedness should be
used as a factor for defining rural areas, but FORHP should explore,
for the future, alternative approaches for identification of
mountainous roads.
Response: We thank the commenters for their support for using road
ruggedness. FORHP continuously monitors ongoing national research and
analysis efforts related to developing new geographic data sources and
defining rural areas. We welcome suggestions for alternative data sets
that are national in scope and that would identify mountainous roads
more accurately. As new methods and data become available, FORHP may
consider updating the definition.
Comment: A commenter suggested that the definition should focus on
[[Page 92133]]
service area rather than specific addresses of providers.
Response: The purpose of FORHP's rural definition is to delineate
the land area of the United States as rural or non-rural. The areas
identified as rural by this definition may include both service areas
and specific provider addresses.
After consideration of the public comments received, HRSA is
implementing the rugged terrain inclusion in the definition of rural
area as proposed. FORHP is making this change consistent with its
program authority to award grants to support rural health and rural
health care services.
Updated Definition of Rural Area
HRSA is updating FORHP's rural definition to include geographic
areas meeting any one of the following criteria:
(1) Non-metropolitan counties
(2) Outlying metropolitan counties with no population from an urban
area of 50,000 or more people
(3) Census tracts with RUCA codes 4-10 in metropolitan counties
(4) Census tracts of at least 400 square miles in area with population
density of 35 or less per square mile with RUCA codes 2-3 in
metropolitan counties
(5) Census tracts with RRS 5 and RUCA codes 2-3 that are at least 20
square miles in area in metropolitan counties
The changes will go into effect as of November 21, 2024. These
changes will apply to FORHP's Notices of Funding Opportunity for FY
2025 and future years for programs that require funded activities and
services be provided in rural areas, as defined by HRSA. FORHP will
ensure information about the updated rural definition is available to
the public on the HRSA website and in funding opportunities. These
changes reflect FORHP's desire to accurately identify rural areas using
a data-driven methodology that relies on established geographic
identifiers and standard, national-level data sources.
Impact
Incorporating rugged terrain data into the definition of rural area
using the adopted method adds 84 census tracts and approximately
305,000 people to the 60.8 million people living in FORHP-designated
rural areas. This is an increase of 0.5 percent in the total number of
people living in rural areas. Table 1 show the number of newly rural
census tracts by state.
Table 1--Number of Newly Rural Census Tracts by State
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
State tracts
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CA.......................................................... 24
OR.......................................................... 16
NC.......................................................... 12
WA.......................................................... 9
TN.......................................................... 7
CO.......................................................... 6
WV.......................................................... 6
MT.......................................................... 2
AK.......................................................... 1
MD.......................................................... 1
-----------
Total................................................... 84
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Table shows the number of newly rural census tracts with RRS 5 and
RUCA codes 2-3 that are at least 20 square miles in area in
metropolitan counties. Data in this table are based on 2010 census
tract geographies and 2020 metropolitan county delineations. For a
complete list of impacted census tracts see https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/about-us/what-is-rural/data-files.
Carole Johnson,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-27133 Filed 11-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P
