[Federal Register: May 16, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 95)]
[Notices]
[Page 26927-26941]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16my03-160]
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Part VI
Department of Agriculture
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Rural Housing Service
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Notice of Availability of Funds; Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Housing Service
Notice of Availability of Funds; Multi-Family Housing, Single
Family Housing
AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces the availability of
housing funds for fiscal year 2003 (FY 2003). This action is taken to
comply with 42 U.S.C. 1490p, which requires that RHS publish in the
Federal Register notice of the availability of any housing assistance.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 16, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding this notice
contact Teresa Sumpter, Loan Specialist, Single Family Housing Direct
Loan Division, telephone (202) 720-1485, for single family housing
(SFH) issues and Tammy S. Daniels, Loan Specialist, Multi-Family
Housing Processing Division, telephone (202) 720-0021, for multi-family
housing (MFH) issues, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence
Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250. (The telephone numbers listed are not
toll free numbers). For information on applying for assistance, visit
our Internet Web site at http://offices.usda.gov and select your State
or check the blue pages in your local telephone directory under ``Rural
Development'' for the office serving your area. Near the end of this
Notice is a listing of Rural Development State Directors, State Office
addresses, and phone numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Programs Affected
The following programs are subject to the provisions of Executive
Order 12372 that requires intergovernmental consultation with State and
local officials. These programs or activities are listed in the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance under Nos.
10.405 Farm Labor Housing (LH) Loans and Grants;
10.410 Very Low to Moderate Income Housing Loans;
10.411 Rural Housing Site Loans and Self-Help Housing Land
Development Loans;
10.415 Rural Rental Housing Loans;
10.417 Very Low Income Housing Repair Loans and Grants;
10.420 Rural Self-Help Housing Technical Assistance;
10.427 Rural Rental Assistance Payments;
10.433 Rural Housing Preservation Grants;
10.442 Housing Application Packaging Grants.
Discussion of Notice
Part 1940, subpart L of 7 CFR contains the ``Methodology and
Formulas for Allocation of Loan and Grant Program Funds.'' To apply for
assistance under these programs or for more information, contact the
Rural Development Office for your area.
Multi-Family Housing (MFH)
I. General
A. This provides guidance on MFH funding for the Rural Rental
Housing program (RRH) for FY 2003 (it does not include carryover
funds). Allocation computations have been performed in accordance with
7 CFR 1940.575 and 1940.578. For FY 2003, State Directors, under the
Rural Housing Assistance Grants (RHAG), will have the flexibility to
transfer their initial allocations of budget authority between the
Single Family Housing (SFH) Section 504 Rural Housing Grants and
Section 533 Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) programs.
B. MFH loan and grant levels for FY 2003 are as follows:
MFH Loan Programs Credit Sales--*$1,987,851
Section 514 Farm Labor Housing (LH) loans--*$37,480,202
Section 515 Rural Rental Housing (RRH) loans--*$115,052,541
Section 521 Rental Assistance (RA) and 502(c)(5)(C) Advance--
*$721,281,000
Section 516 LH grants----*$17,698,209
Sections 525 Technical and Supervisory Assistance grants
(TSA) and 509 Housing Application Packaging grants--$1,093,978
(HAPG) (Shared between single and multi-family housing--(includes
carryover)
Section 533 Housing Preservation grants (HPG)--*$9,935,000
Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing program--*$99,350,000
*Does not include disaster or regular program carryover
II. Funds not Allocated to States
A. Credit Sales Authority. For FY 2003, $1,987,851 will be set
aside for credit sales to program and nonprogram buyers. Credit sale
funding will not be allocated by State.
B. Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program. Guaranteed
loan funds will be made available under a Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA) being published in this Federal Register.
Additional guidance is provided in the NOFA.
III. Farm Labor Housing (LH) Loans and Grants
The Administrator has the authority to transfer the allocation of
budget authority between the two programs. Upon NOFA closing, the
Administrator will evaluate the responses and determine proper
distribution of funds between loans and grants.
A. Section 514 Farm LH Loans.
1. These loans are funded in accordance with 7 CFR 1940.579(a).
--FY 2003 Appropriation--$37,480,202
--Available for Off-Farm Loans--$30,480,202
--Available for On-Farm Loans--$3,000,000
--National Office Reserve--$4,000,000
2. Off-farm loan funds will be made available under a NOFA being
published in this Federal Register. Additional guidance is provided in
the NOFA.
B. Section 516 Farm LH Grants.
1. Grants are funded in accordance with 7 CFR 1940.579(b).
Unobligated prior year balances and cancellations will be added to the
amount shown. FY 2003 Appropriation--$17,698,209
Available for LH Grants for Off-Farm--$13,198,209
Available for Technical Assistance Grants--$1,500,000
National Office Reserve--$3,000,000
2. Labor Housing grant funds for Off-Farm will be made available
under a NOFA being published in this Federal Register. Additional
guidance is provided in the NOFA.
C. Labor Housing Rental Assistance (RA) will be held in the
National Office for use with LH loan and grant applications. RA is only
available with a LH loan of at least 5 percent of the total development
cost. Projects without a LH loan cannot receive RA.
IV. Section 515 RRH Loan Funds.
FY 2003 Section 515 Rural Rental Housing allocation (Total)--
$115,052,541
New Construction funds and set-asides--$29,252,541
New construction loans--$7,145,186
Set-aside for nonprofits--$10,354,728
Set-aside for underserved counties and colonias--$5,752,627
Earmark for EZ, EC, or REAP Zones--$5,000,000
State RA designated reserve--$1,000,000
Rehab and repair funds and equity--$60,800,000
Rehab and repair loans--$55,800,000
Designated equity loan reserve--$5,000,000
General Reserve--$25,000,000
A. New construction loan funds. New construction loan funds will be
made
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available using a national NOFA being published in this Federal
Register. Additional guidance is provided in the NOFA.
B. National Office New Construction Set-asides. The following
legislatively mandated set-asides of funds are part of the National
office set-aside:
1. Nonprofit Set-aside. An amount of $10,354,728 has been set aside
for nonprofit applicants. All Nonprofit loan proposals must be located
in designated places as defined in 7 CFR 1944-E.
2. Underserved Counties and Colonias Set-Aside. An amount of
$5,752,627 has been set aside for loan requests to develop units in the
underserved 100 most needy counties or colonias as defined in section
509(f) of the Housing Act of 1949 as amended. Priority will be given to
proposals to develop units in colonias or tribal lands.
3. EZ, EC or REAP Zone Earmark. An amount of $5,000,000 has been
earmarked for loan requests to develop units in EZ or EC communities or
REAP Zones until June 30, 2003.
C. Rental Assistance (RA). Limited new construction RA will be held
in the National office for use with Section 515 Rural Rental Housing
loans.
D. Designated Reserves for State RA. An amount of $1 million of
Section 515 loan funds has been set aside for matching with projects in
which an active State sponsored RA program is available. The State RA
program must be comparable to the RHS RA program.
E. Repair and Rehabilitation Loans. Tenant health and safety
continues to be the top priority. Repair and rehabilitation funds must
be first targeted to RRH facilities that have physical conditions that
affect the health and safety of tenants and subsequently made available
to facilities that have deferred maintenance. All funds will be held in
the National office and will be distributed based upon indicated
rehabilitation needs in the MFH survey conducted in October 2002.
F. Designated Reserve for Equity Loans. An amount of $5 million has
been designated for the equity loan preservation incentive described in
7 CFR 1965-E. The $5 million will be further divided into $4 million
for equity loan requests currently on the pending funding list and $1
million to facilitate the transfer of properties from for-profit owners
to nonprofit corporations and public bodies. Funds for such transfers
would be authorized only for for-profit owners who are currently on the
pending funding list who agree to transfer to nonprofit corporations or
public bodies rather than to remain on the pending list. If
insufficient transfer requests are generated to utilize the full $1
million set aside for nonprofit and public body transfers, the balance
will revert to the existing pending equity loan funding list.
G. General Reserve. There is one general reserve fund of
$25,000,000. Some examples of immediate allowable uses include, but are
not limited to, hardships and emergencies, RH cooperatives or group
homes, or RRH preservation.
V. Section 533 Housing Preservation Grants (HPG).
Total Available--$9,935,000
Less General Reserve--$997,400
Less Earmark for EZ, EC or REAP Zones--$596,100
Total Available for Distribution--$8,341,500
Amount available for allocation. See end of this Notice for HPG
State allocations. Fund availability will be announced in a NOFA being
published in the Federal Register.
The amount of $596,100 is earmarked for EZ, EC or REAP Zones until
June 30, 2003.
Single Family Housing (SFH)
I. General
All SFH programs are administer through field offices. For more
information or to make application, please contact the Rural
Development office servicing your area. To locate these offices,
contact the appropriate State Office from the attached State Office
listing, visit our Web site at http://offices.usda.gov or check the
blue pages in your local telephone directory under ``Rural
Development'' for the office serving your area.
A. This notice provides SFH allocations for FY 2003. Allocation
computations have been made in accordance with 7 CFR 1940.563 through
1940.568. Information on basic formula criteria, data source and
weight, administrative allocation, pooling of funds, and availability
of the allocation are located on a chart at the end of this notice.
B. The SFH levels authorized for FY 2003 are as follows:
Section 502 Guaranteed Rural Housing (RH) loans
Nonsubsidized Guarantees--Purchase--$2,621,781,311
Nonsubsidized Guarantees--Refinance--$223,537,222
Section 502 Direct RH loans
Very low-income subsidized loans--$456,661,223
Low-income subsidized loans--$581,205,194
Credit sales (Nonprogram)--$10,000,000
Section 504 housing repair loans--$34,772,498
Section 504 housing repair grants--*/** $31,324,797
Section 509 compensation for construction defects--** $478,837
Section 523 mutual and self-help housing grants--**/*** $51,319,662
Section 523 Self-Help Site Loans--$4,978,752
Section 524 RH site loans--$5,013,027
Section 306C Water and waste disposal grants--** $1,255,875
Section 525 Supervisory and technical Assistance and Section 509
Housing Application
Packaging Grants Total Available for single and multi-family--**
$1,093,978
Section 504 housing repair grants (additional)--** $1,176,953
(Formerly North Carolina Elderly Modular Housing Demo Program)
Natural disaster funds (Section 502 loans)--** $1,443,493
Natural disaster funds (Section 504 loans) --** $13,777,141
Natural disaster funds (Section 504 grants) --** $4,563,493
* Includes $596,100 for EZ/EC and REAP communities until June 30,
2003.
** Carryover funds are included in the balance.
*** Includes $993,500 for EZ/EC and REAP communities until June 30,
2003.
C. SFH Funding Not Allocated to States. The following funding is
not allocated to States by formula. Funds are made available to each
state on a case-by-case basis.
1. Credit sale authority. Credit sale funds in the amount of
$10,000,000 are available only for nonprogram sales of Real Estate
Owned (REO) property.
2. Section 509 Compensation for Construction Defects. $478,837 is
available for compensation for construction defects.
3. Section 523 Mutual and Self-Help Technical Assistance Grants.
$51,319,662 is available for Section 523 Mutual and Self-Help Technical
Assistance Grants. Of these funds, $993,500 is earmarked for EZ, EC or
REAP Zones until June 30, 2003. A technical review and analysis must be
completed by the Technical and Management Assistance (T&MA) contractor
on all predevelopment, new, and existing (refunding) grant
applications.
4. Section 523 Mutual and Self-Help Site Loans and Section 524 RH
Site Loans. $4,978,752 and $5,013,027 are available for Section 523
Mutual Self-Help and Section 524 RH Site loans, respectively.
5. Section 306C WWD Grants to Individuals in Colonias. The
objective of
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the Section 306C WWD individual grant program is to facilitate the use
of community water or waste disposal systems for the residents of the
colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The total amount available to Arizona, California, New Mexico, and
Texas will be $1,255,875 for FY 2003. This amount includes the
carryover unobligated balance of $255,875 and the transferred amount of
$1 million from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to RHS for processing
individual grant applications.
6. Section 525 Technical and Supervisory Assistance (TSA) and
Section 509 Housing Application Packaging Grants (HAPG). $1,093,978 is
available for the TSA and HAPG programs. Funds are available on a
limited basis for TSA grants. In accordance with the provisions of 7
CFR 1944.525, funding will be targeted nationally and then on an
individual basis to States/areas with the highest degree of substandard
housing and persons in poverty eligible to receive Agency housing
assistance. The five States with the highest degrees of substandard
housing and poverty are: Texas, California, Puerto Rico, North Carolina
and Georgia. Funds not to exceed $150,000 or one project per state will
be targeted nationally to these States. From any remaining funds,
priority will be given to requests for projects that serve any of the
100 counties with the highest degrees of poverty and substandard
housing. States should submit proposals from potential applicants to
the National Office for review and concurrence prior to authorizing an
application. Applications on-hand as of April 15, 2003, will be funded
in the preceding order regardless of date of application.
Requests should be submitted to the National Office for HAPG based
on projected usage of these funds for the quarter or as needed. HAPG
requests should be submitted using the NORF system. Reserve funds will
be held at the National Office and requests from eligible States will
be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.
7. Section 504 housing repair grants (additional)(formerly North
Carolina Elderly Modular Housing Demonstration Program). Budget
authority was earmarked in FY 2001 for the North Carolina Elderly
Modular Housing Demonstration Program. These funds were used to provide
Section 502 loans and grants for modular housing in North Carolina for
very-low and low-income elderly families who lost their housing as a
result of a major disaster declared by the President. Section 766,
Title III of the 2003 Appropriations Act provides that ``after
September 30, 2002, any funds remaining for the demonstration program
may be used, within the State in which the demonstration program is
carried out, for fiscal year 2003 and subsequent fiscal years to make
grants, and to cover the costs * * * of loans authorized, under Section
504 of the Housing Act of 1949* * *'' $1,176,953 of unobligated funds
have been transferred to the Section 504 grant program in FY 2003 for
use by the State of North Carolina only.
8. Natural Disaster Funds. Funds are available until exhausted to
those States with active Presidential Declarations.
9. Deferred Mortgage Payment Demonstration. There is no FY 2003
funding provided for deferred mortgage authority or loans for deferred
mortgage assumptions.
II. State Allocations
A. Section 502 Nonsubsidized Guaranteed RH (GRH) Loans.
1. Purchase--Amount Available for Allocation.
Total Available--Purchase $2,621,781,311
Less National Office General Reserve--$722,420,311
Less Special Outreach Area Reserve--$309,609,000
Basic Formula--Administrative Allocation--$1,589,752,000
a. National office General Reserve. The Administrator may restrict
access to this reserve for States not meeting their goals in special
outreach areas.
b. Special Outreach Areas. FY 2003 GRH funding is allocated to
States in two funding streams. Seventy percent of GRH funds may be used
in any eligible area. Thirty percent of GRH funds are to be used in
special outreach areas. Special outreach areas for the GRH program are
defined as those areas within a State that are not located within a
metropolitan statistical area (MSA).
c. National Office Special Area Outreach Reserve. A special
outreach area reserve fund has been established at the National office.
Funds from this reserve may only be used in special outreach areas.
2. Refinance--Amount available for allocation.
Total Available--Refinance--$223,537,222
Less National office general reserve--$144,037,222
Basic formula--Administrative Allocation--$79,500,000
a. Refinance Funds. Refinance loan funds will be distributed to
each State at $1.5 million per State. Additional funds will be
distributed based on prior usage of refinance funds.
b. National office general reserve. The Administrator may restrict
access to this reserve for States not meeting their goals in special
outreach areas.
B. Section 502 Direct RH loans.
1. Amount Available for Allocation.
Total Available--$1,037,866,417
Less Required Set Aside for Underserved Counties and Colonias--
$51,893,320
EZ, EC and REAP Earmark--$45,505,725
Less General Reserve--$127,000,000
Administrator's Reserve--$10,000,000
Hardships & Homelessness--$1,000,000
Rural Housing Demonstration Program--$1,000,000
Homeownership Partnership--$95,000,000
Program funds for the sale of REO properties--$20,000,000
Less Designated Reserve for Self-Help--$100,000,000
Basic Formula Administrative Allocation--$713,467,372
2. Reserves.
a. State Office Reserve. State Directors must maintain an adequate
reserve to fund the following applications:
(i) Hardship and homeless applicants including the direct Section
502 loan and Section 504 loan and grant programs.
(ii) Mutual Self-Help loans.
(iii) Subsequent loans for essential improvements or repairs and
transfers with assumptions.
(iv) States will leverage with funding from other sources.
(v) Areas targeted by the State according to its strategic plan.
b. National Office Reserves.
(i) General Reserve. The National office has a general reserve of
$127 million. Of this amount, the Administrator's reserve is $10
million. One of the purposes of the Administrator's reserve will be for
loans in Indian Country. Indian Country is defined as land inside the
boundaries of Indian reservations, communities made up mainly of Native
Americans, Indian trust and restricted land, and tribal allotted lands.
(ii) Hardship and Homelessness Reserve. $1 million has been set
aside for hardships and homeless.
(iii) Rural Housing Demonstration Program. $1 million dollars has
been set aside for innovative demonstration initiatives.
(iv) Program Credit Sales. $20 million dollars has been set aside
for program sales of REO property.
c. Homeownership Partnership. $95 million dollars has been set
aside for Homeownership Partnerships. These funds will be used to
expand existing
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partnerships and create new partnerships, such as the following:
(i) Department of Treasury, Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFI)--Funds will be available to fund leveraged loans
made in partnership with the Department of Treasury CDFI participants.
(ii) Partnership initiatives established to carry out the
objectives of the rural home loan partnership (RHLP).
d. Designated Reserve for Self-Help. $100 million dollars has been
set aside for matching funds to assist participating Self-Help
applicants. The matching funds were established on the basis of the
National office contributing 75 percent from the National office
reserve and States contributing 25 percent of their allocated Section
502 RH funds.
e. Underserved Counties and Colonias. An amount of $51,893,320 has
been set aside for the 100 underserved counties and colonias.
f. Empowerment Zone (EZ) and Enterprise Community (EC) or Rural
Economic Area Partnership (REAP) earmark. An amount of $45,505,725 has
been earmarked until June 30, 2003, for loans in EZ, EC or REAP Zones.
g. State Office Pooling. If pooling is conducted within a State, it
must not take place within the first 30 calendar days of the first,
second, or third quarter. (There are no restrictions on pooling in the
fourth quarter.)
h. Suballocation by the State Director. The State Director may
suballocate to each area office using the methodology and formulas
required by 7 CFR part 1940, subpart L. If suballocated to the area
level, the Rural Development Manager will make funds available on a
first-come, first-served basis to all offices at the field or area
level. No field office will have its access to funds restricted without
the prior written approval of the Administrator.
B. Section 504 Housing Loans and Grants. Section 504 grant funds
are included in the Rural Housing Assistance Grant program (RHAG) in
the FY 2003 appropriation.
1. Amount available for allocation.
Section 504 Loans
Total Available--$34,772,498
Less 5% for 100 Underserved Counties and Colonias--$1,738,624
EZ, EC or REAP Zone Earmark--$1,400,000
Less General Reserve--$1,500,000
Basic Formula--Administrative Allocation--$30,133,874
Section 504 Grants
Total Available--$31,324,797
Less 5% for 100 Underserved Counties and Colonias--$1,566,239
Less EZ, EC or REAP Earmark--$596,100
Less General Reserve--$1,629,458
Basic Formula-Administrative Allocation--$27,533,000
2. Reserves and Set-asides.
a. State Office Reserve. State Directors must maintain an adequate
reserve to handle all anticipated hardship applicants based upon
historical data and projected demand.
b. Underserved Counties and Colonias. Approximately $1,738,624 and
$1,536,434 have been set aside for the 100 underserved counties and
colonias until June 30, 2003, for the Section 504 loan and grant
programs, respectively.
c. Empowerment Zone (EZ) and Enterprise Community (EC) or Rural
Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Earmark (Loan Funds Only). $1,400,000
and $596,100 have been earmarked through June 30, 2003, for EZ, EC or
REAPs for the Section 504 loan and grant programs, respectively.
d. General Reserve. $1.5 million for Section 504 loan hardships and
$1.629 million for Section 504 grant extreme hardships have been set-
aside in the general reserve. For Section 504 grants, an extreme
hardship case is one requiring a significant priority in funding, ahead
of other requests, due to severe health or safety hazards, or physical
needs of the applicant.
Information on Basic Formula Criteria, Data Source and Weight, Administrative Allocation, Pooling of Funds, and
Availability of the Allocation
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Section 502
Description nonsubsidized guaranteed Section 502 direct RH Section 504 loans and
RH loans loans grants
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1 Basic formula criteria, See 7 CFR 1940.563(b)... See 7 CFR 1940.565(b)... See 7 CFR 1940.566(b)
data source, and weight. and 1940.567(b)
2 Administrative
Allocation:
Western Pacific Area.... $1,000,000.............. $1,000,000.............. $1,000,000 loan
$500,000 grant.
3 Pooling of funds:
a. Mid-year pooling.. If necessary............ If necessary............ If necessary.
b. Year-end pooling.. August 15, 2003......... August 15, 2003......... August 15, 2003.
c. Underserved N/A..................... June 30, 2003........... June 30, 2003.
counties & colonias.
d. EZ, EC or REAP.... N/A..................... June 30, 2003........... June 30, 2003.
e. Credit sales...... N/A..................... June 30, 2003........... N/A.
4 Availability of the
allocation:
a. first quarter..... 40 percent.............. 50 percent.............. 50 percent
b. second quarter.... 70 percent.............. 70 percent.............. 70 percent
c. third quarter..... 90 percent.............. 90 percent.............. 90 percent
d. fourth quarter.... 100 percent............. 100 percent............. 100 percent
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1. Data derived from the 1990 U.S. Census was provided to each State by the National office on August 12, 1993.
2. Due to the absence of Census data.
3. All dates are tentative and are for the close of business (COB). Pooled funds will be placed in the National
office reserve and made available administratively. The Administrator reserves the right to redistribute funds
based upon program performance.
4. Funds will be distributed cumulatively through each quarter listed until the National office year-end pooling
date.
Dated: May 12, 2003.
Arthur A. Garcia,
Administrator, Rural Housing Service.
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P
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[FR Doc. 03-12243 Filed 5-15-03; 8:45 am]