Department of Housing and Urban Development May 24, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule revises the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program regulations to clarify the eligibility of brownfields cleanup, development, or redevelopment within existing program eligibility categories. In addition, this final rule makes changes to CDBG national objectives that relate to brownfields and clarifies regulatory language. The final rule expands the ``slums or blight'' national objective criteria to include known and suspected environmental contamination, as well as economic disinvestment, as blighting influences. The rule also expands the definition of ``clearance'' to include remediation of known or suspected environmental contamination. The rule requires grantees to establish definitions of blighting influences and to retain records to support those definitions. In addition, an area slums or blight designation is required to be redetermined every 10 years for continued qualification. The regulatory amendments include the abatement of asbestos hazards and lead-based paint hazard evaluation and reduction as eligible rehabilitation activities. The final rule eliminates duplicative text concerning the treatment of lead-based paint hazards. Finally, the final rule requires that acquisition or relocation, if undertaken to address slums or blight on a spot basis, must be followed by other eligible activities that eliminate specific conditions of blight or physical decay. The final rule follows publication of a July 9, 2004, proposed rule and takes into consideration the public comments received on the proposed rule. On October 22, 1996, the Department published an interim rule, ``Community Development Block Grant Program for States; Community Revitalization Strategy Requirements and Miscellaneous Technical Amendments.'' This rule also makes final, with no changes, the provisions of that rule, which have been in effect for states on an interim basis since November 21, 1996.