Department of Housing and Urban Development – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would update and modify HUD's regulations governing the protection of wetlands and floodplains. With respect to wetlands, the proposed rule would codify existing procedures for Executive Order 11990 (E.O. 11990), Protection of Wetlands. HUD's current policy is to require the use of E.O. 11990's 8 Step Process for floodplains for actions performed by the Department or actions performed with HUD financial assistance. This rule will codify this policy and thereby improve consistency and increase transparency by placing the E.O. requirements in regulation. In certain instances, the new wetlands procedures will allow recipients of HUD assistance to use permits issued under section 404 of the Clean Water Act in lieu of five steps of the E.O. 11990's 8 Step Process, thereby streamlining the wetlands decision-making processes. With respect to floodplains, the proposed rule would prohibit HUD funding (e.g., Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Choice Neighborhoods, etc.) or Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance for the construction of new structures in Coastal High Hazard Areas. The current regulations allow for such new construction so long as the construction, is in accordance with certain standards. This change is anticipated to have minimal effect, since HUD receives few requests to fund or insure mortgages for new construction in these areas. The proposal would also make several other changes to HUD's floodplain and wetland regulations; the changes are designed to streamline floodplain and wetland environmental procedures and avoid unnecessary delays in processing. The procedures proposed by this rule would apply to HUD and to state, tribal, and local governments when they are responsible for environmental reviews under HUD programs.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. This study will enroll up to 2,500 homeless families in twelve sites and randomly assign each family to one of four interventions. Families will be interviewed at baseline (entry/random assignment), tracked for 18 months after intervention, and administered a follow-up interview at 18 months. Outcomes of interest include: Housing stability, family preservation, child well-being, adult well-being, and self-sufficiency. Clearance is sought for the 18-month follow-up survey instrument.

The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (HEARTH Act), enacted into law on May 20, 2009, consolidates three of the separate homeless assistance programs administered by HUD under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act into a single grant program, and revises the Emergency Shelter Grants program and renames it as the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program. The HEARTH Act also codifies into law the Continuum of Care planning process, a longstanding part of HUD's application process to assist homeless persons by providing greater coordination in responding to their needs. This interim rule revises the regulations for the Emergency Shelter Grants program by establishing the regulations for the Emergency Solutions Grants program, which replaces the Emergency Shelter Grants program. The change in the program's name, from Emergency Shelter Grants to Emergency Solutions Grants, reflects the change in the program's focus from addressing the needs of homeless people in emergency or transitional shelters to assisting people to quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness.

On July 15, 2010, HUD published a Federal Register notice establishing the process by which eligible purchasers under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) are provided a preference to acquire real estate-owned (REO) properties of FHA under the temporary First Look Sales Method. The July 15, 2010, notice requires that eligible NSP purchasers obtain a HUD-issued Name and Address Identification Number (NAID) to participate in the First Look Sales Method. This notice announces the availability of a universal NAID to aid eligible purchasers under the First Look Sales method.

On September 20, 2011, HUD published a notice of proposed information collection that HUD contemplated submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review on the subject of local appeals to Single-Family Mortgage Limits. This notice announces the withdrawal of that proposed information collection.

Through this notice, the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) supersedes all prior redelegations of authority for Fair Housing Act complaint processing made within the Offices of the Assistant Secretary for FHEO and the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for FHEO under the Fair Housing Act and redelegates this authority to FHEO region and headquarters staff.

Pursuant to 24 CFR 135.7, the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) has been delegated authority under Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 and HUD's implementing regulations at 24 CFR part 135. In this notice, the Assistant Secretary for FHEO retains those authorities and, with noted exceptions, redelegates this authority to the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for FHEO, who further redelegates certain authority to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs and to each of the FHEO Regional Directors. This notice also supersedes all prior redelegations of authority by the office of the Assistant Secretary for FHEO under section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 and HUD's implementing regulations at 24 CFR 135.

In this notice, the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) supersedes all prior redelegations of authority made within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for FHEO under the Fair Housing Assistance Program with the exception of redelegation of authority to the FHEO Region Directors, as set forth in 24 CFR 115.101(b). The Assistant Secretary for FHEO redelegates the authority in 24 CFR 115.101(b) and other authority, as set forth in this notice, to the General Deputy Assistant Secretary.

The Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) supersedes all prior redelegations of authority made within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for FHEO under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and retains and redelegates this authority, with noted exceptions, to the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for FHEO, who in turn redelegates certain authority to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs, Director of the Office of Enforcement and FHEO Region Directors.

In this notice, the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) supersedes all redelegations of authority under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for FHEO and retains and redelegates this authority to act as the ``responsible Department official,'' with noted exceptions, to the General Deputy Assistant Secretary, who in turn, retains and redelegates this authority, with noted exceptions to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs, Director of the Office of Enforcement, Director of Systemic Investigations and the FHEO Region Directors.

In this notice, the Secretary delegates authority pertaining to civil rights statutes, including the Fair Housing Act; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, to the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. This delegation supersedes all prior delegations for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. The information collection applies to applicants seeking HUD financial assistance for their project proposals and is used by HUD for the performance of the Department's compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and related federal environmental laws and authorities in accordance with HUD environmental regulations at 24 CFR part 50.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Challenge Planning Grant Program fosters reform and reduces barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital, and sustainable communities. Such efforts may include amending or replacing local master plans, zoning codes, and building codes, either on a jurisdiction-wide basis or in a specific neighborhood, district, corridor, or sector to promote mixed-use development, affordable housing, the reuse of older buildings and structures for new purposes, and similar activities with the goal of promoting sustainability at the local or neighborhood level. This Program also supports the development of affordable housing through the development and adoption of inclusionary zoning ordinances and other activities to support plan implementation.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

In accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-05, approved February 17, 2009) (Recovery Act), and implementing guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), this notice advises that certain exceptions to the Buy American requirement of the Recovery Act have been determined applicable for work using Capital Fund Recovery Formula and Competition (CFRFC) grant funds. Specifically, exceptions were granted to the Philadelphia Housing Authority for the purchase and installation of a single zone, ductless split Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system for the Plymouth Hall Apartments project, and to the Chattanooga Housing Authority for the purchase and installation of linoleum flooring for its Fairmount Avenue Townhomes project.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

This Notice clarifies the duplication of benefits requirements under the Stafford Act for all active Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery grants, and all future CDBG disaster recovery grants.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. Section 4 of the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 authorizes the Secretary to guarantee loans made to certain nonprofit organizations whose properties have been damaged by an act or acts of arson or terrorism.

Through this notice, HUD extends the period by which comments may be submitted on HUD's draft Environmental Justice Strategy, for which the availability of review and the opportunity to submit public comments were announced by notice published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2011.

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended (Fair Housing Act or Act), prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of dwellings and in other housing-related activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.\1\ HUD, to which Congress gave the authority and responsibility for administering the Fair Housing Act and the power to make rules implementing the Act, has long interpreted the Act to prohibit housing practices with a discriminatory effect, even where there has been no intent to discriminate.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.