Rural Utilities Service 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (Agency) is publishing this final rule for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). This final rule modifies REAP based on comments received on the interim rule, which was published on April 14, 2011, and the proposed rule, which was published on April 12, 2013. The final rule establishes provisions for the grants and loan guarantees available for renewable energy systems (RES) and energy efficiency improvements (EEI) and for the grants available for energy audits and for renewable energy development assistance.

The Rural Utilities Service, a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), herein referred to as RUS or the Agency, announces its Community Connect Grant Program application window for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. This notice is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act to allow potential applicants time to submit proposals and give the Agency time to process applications within the current fiscal year. RUS will publish on its Web site the amount of funding received in any continuing resolution or the final appropriations act, if any. Expenses incurred in developing applications will be at the applicant's risk. In addition to announcing the application window, RUS announces the minimum and maximum amounts for Community Connect grants applicable for the fiscal year. The Community Connect Grant Program regulations can be found at 7 CFR 1739, subpart A.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, hereinafter referred to as ``agency,'' seeks public and Federal agency comments regarding the preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the development of a more efficient and effective environmental review process for the RUS Telecommunications Programan environmental review process that is commensurate with the potential environmental impacts of both wired and wireless projects financed by the agency. RUS is seeking comment from interested stakeholders to contribute to the development of agency procedures for implementing the environmental review procedures of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program, Farm Bill Broadband Loan Program, Community Connect Grant Program, and Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program. The proposed review process will support the agency's mission of facilitating the development of affordable, reliable utility infrastructure to improve the quality of life and promote economic development in rural America.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S. C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), invites comments on this information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

As part of the implementation of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (commonly referred to as the 2014 Farm Bill), USDA Rural Development is hosting a listening session to receive public input about ways USDA can help community colleges form partnerships and get funding for local economic development. The 2014 Farm Bill directs USDA to work with community and technical colleges on a strategy to help them better serve the needs of local rural communities. The listening session will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to voice their comments, concerns or requests regarding this strategy. Instructions to register for and attend the listening session are in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) is publishing this final rule for allocating program funds to its State Offices. This final rule adds two programsthe Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP). In addition, this final rule revises State allocation formulae to account for changes in data reported by the U.S. Bureau of the Census' decennial Census. Finally, this final rule revises the weight percentages associated with each of the allocation criteria; provides flexibility in determining when not to make State allocations for a program; restricts the use of the transition formula and changes the limitations on how much program funds can change when the transition formula is used; adds provisions for making State allocation for other RBS programs, including new ones; and provides consistency, where necessary, in the allocation of RBS program funds to State Offices.

Rural Development (RD) is proposing to amend the regulations so that an obligation date for all guaranteed loans, direct loans, and grants will no longer be 6 working days from the date of request for reservation of authority. This action is necessary as the 6-day reservation period will be permanently removed from the Commercial Loan Servicing System (CLSS), Guaranteed Loan System (GLS), and Program Loan Accounting System (PLAS). The effect of this action will reduce system or manual intervention when legislative mandates direct cutoff for obligations and/or funding; eliminate program waivers on obligation date; increase consistency with other RD programs; reduce risks with new system implementations, such as the Financial Modernization Management Initiative; and eliminate numerous reconciliation issues between processed obligations and actual obligations for internal RD reports and USDA reporting requirements.

On December 9, 2013, the Rural Housing Service (RHS) published an interim final rule concerning the streamlining and reengineering its Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. The effective date was listed as September 1, 2014 and is being deferred to December 1, 2014.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on the following information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces Rural Development's intention to request a revision for a currently approved information collection in support of loan programs administered by the Rural Housing Service, Business Cooperative Service, and Rural Utilities Service.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) proposes to amend its regulations for the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP). This action is needed to address several items based on an Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit: Removing part of the definition of revolved funds to eliminate public confusion on its applicability; providing stronger guidance on items that should be taken into consideration when approving subsequent loans; defining what is meant by promptly relending collections from loans made from the revolving loan fund account; and providing clarification when prior Agency concurrence is needed to make loans. Finally, the Agency is removing provisions for Rural Development Loan Fund (RDLF) servicing as there are no longer any active RDLF.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), published a notice of funds availability concerning the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 competition. The document contained incorrect information with regard to the deadline for electronic submissions.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has issued a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for Central Electric Power Cooperative's (Central Electric) proposed McClellanville 115-kV Transmission Project (Project) in South Carolina. RUS is issuing the DEIS to inform the public and interested parties about the proposed Project and to invite the public to comment on the scope, proposed action, and other issues addressed in the DEIS. The DEIS addresses the construction, operation, and maintenance of Central Electric's proposed Project. The Project includes construction, operation, and maintenance of approximately 15-20 miles of new 115-kV transmission line, 1 new substation, temporary construction roads, river crossings, temporary construction staging sites, and other facilities described in the DEIS. The overall project area encompasses parts of Georgetown and Charleston counties in coastal South Carolina. Portions of Central Electric's proposed routes may affect floodplains, wetlands, cultural, historical and paleontological resources. Once a final right-of-way (ROW) is selected within the preferred route, coordination with the federal and state agencies and other interested parties would occur to identify, evaluate and if needed mitigate any adverse effects. RUS will hold a public hearing meeting to share information and receive comments on the DEIS.

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announces its Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Community Connect Grant Program application window and notice of funds availability. The NOFA announces $13 million for grants from FY 2014 and prior year appropriations. In addition, RUS announces the minimum and maximum amounts for Community Connect grants applicable for the fiscal year. The Community Connect Grant Program regulations can be found at 7 CFR part 1739, subpart A.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of $19,300,000 in grant funds and solicits applications for the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 competition.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture is giving notice of its intent to adopt the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) existing general reevaluation report and final environmental impact statement (GRR/EIS) for the Grand Prairie Area Demonstration Project, Arkansas (project). RUS is considering providing funding to the applicant, the White River Regional Irrigation Water Distribution District (WRID) to construct a portion of the project consisting of activities that have been identified, designed and reviewed under the Corps' existing GRR/EIS. Based on independent RUS evaluation, adoption of the GRR/EIS would meet the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and RUS regulations and guidance for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To fulfill RUS's NEPA requirements and support a funding decision, we are recirculating the GRR/EIS for written public comment via this notice, in accordance with CEQ and RUS adoption guidelines.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), invites comments on this information collection for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is announcing a special Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 application window for a Colonias Needs Assessment to be completed through the Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program (TAT). In 2013, RUS partnered with EPA to launch a USDA/EPA Mexico Border Needs Assessment and Support Project. The five-phased project intends to identify small communities' gaps in water and wastewater infrastructure development and in technical capacity in the Mexico Border region. Once the gaps are identified, the project intends to support appropriate water and wastewater infrastructure projects that meet the specific needs of small communities. The ultimate goal would be to reduce health risks and increase economic development in Colonias regions. Phase 1 is completed and consisted of RUS/EPA research and collection of data related to socio-economic factors, public health and Federal and State investments in infrastructure in Colonias regions. Phase 2 of the project is to conduct a detailed assessment of water and wastewater infrastructure needs in select Colonias areas in four states, including California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. The areas of focus for the study are further defined in the application guide and are those where Phase I data showed highest health, environmental and economic challenges. Through this announcement RUS seeks applications to conduct the needs assessment and provide a detailed accounting of results that will enable RUS and EPA to advance to Phase 3 of the project. The grant will have a start date of July 1, 2014 and end on December 31, 2014. The study will be done only in the colonias areas. For RUS programs, Colonia is defined as a community that (1) is in the state of Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas; (2) is within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, except for any metropolitan area exceeding one million people; (3) on the basis of objective criteria, lacks adequate sewage systems and lacks decent, safe, and sanitary housing; and (4) existed as a colonia before October 1, 1989. However, the needs assessment may include other rural areas classified as Colonias by other state and Federal agencies. RUS intends to award one grant to an eligible entity for up to $500,000. The grantee will be expected to commence work July 1, 2014 and submit all deliverables by December 31, 2014

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announces its Revolving Fund Program (RFP) application window for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. In addition to announcing the application window, RUS announces the available funding of $1,000,000 for competitive grants. The RFP is authorized under section 306(a)(2)(B) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (Con Act), 7 U.S.C. 1926 (a)(2)(B). Under the RFP, qualified private, non-profit organizations receive RFP grant funds to establish a lending program for eligible entities. Eligible entities for the revolving loan fund will be the same entities eligible, under paragraph 1 or 2 of Section 306(a) of the Con Act, 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(1) or (b)(2), to obtain a loan, loan guarantee, or grant from the RUS Water, Waste Disposal and Wastewater loan and grant programs. This year administrative discretion points may be awarded for work plans that: 1. Directs loans to the smallest communities with the lowest incomes emphasizing areas where according to the American Community Survey data by census tracts show that at least 20% of the population is living in poverty. This emphasis will support Rural Development's goal of providing 20% of its funding by 2016 to these areas of need. 2. Directs loans to areas which lack running water, flush toilets, and modern sewage disposal systems, and areas which have open sewers and high rates of disease caused by poor sanitation, in particular, colonias or Substantially Underserved Trust Areas. 3. Directs loans that emphasize energy and water efficient components to reduce costs and increase sustainability of rural systems.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) is proposing to amend its regulations found in 7 CFR part 1940, subpart L for allocating program funds to its State Offices. RBS is proposing to amend 7 CFR part 1940, subpart L to add three programsthe Rural Energy for America Program, the Value-Added Producer Grant program, and the Intermediary Relending Program. In addition, RBS is proposing revisions to its state allocation formulae for existing programs within 7 CFR part 1940, subpart L to account for changes in data reported by the U.S. Bureau of the Census' decennial Census. RBS is also proposing to make various other changes including: revising the weight percentages associated with each of the allocation criteria; providing flexibility in determining when not to make state allocations for a program; restricting the use of the transition formula and changing the limitations on how much program funds can change when the transition formula is used; adding provisions for making state allocation for other RBS programs, including new ones; and providing consistency, where necessary, in the allocation of RBS program funds to State Offices.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on the following information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has issued a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for Basin Electric Power Cooperative's (Basin Electric) proposed Antelope Valley Station (AVS) to Neset 345-kV Transmission Project (proposed Project) in North Dakota. RUS is issuing the SDEIS to inform the public and interested parties about a change in the proposed Project and invite the public to comment on the scope, proposed action, and other issues addressed in the SDEIS. RUS also will use the SDEIS to meet its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 470, and its implementing regulations, ``Protection of Historic Properties'' (36 CFR Part 800). RUS made the decision to prepare a SDEIS for the AVS Project to evaluate significant project changes. These changes in the scope of the proposed Project are due to an increase in the electric load forecast for western North Dakota. To accommodate this change, the SDEIS will evaluate additional alternatives for the siting of the transmission line. The SDEIS addresses the construction, operation, and maintenance of approximately 278 miles of new 345-kV single pole transmission line (approximately 85 miles more than the project identified in the Draft EIS https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-AVS-Neset.html), 230-kV single pole transmission line and double circuit 345/115-kV transmission lines, 4 new substations and a switchyard, modifications to 4 existing substations, maintenance access roads, temporary construction roads, river crossings, temporary construction staging sites, and other facilities to be described in the SDEIS. The overall project area encompasses parts of Dunn, McKenzie, Mercer, Mountrail, and Williams counties in western North Dakota. Portions of Basin Electric's proposed Project may affect floodplains and wetlands. This NOA also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action. RUS will hold a public hearing meeting to share information and receive comments on the SDEIS.