[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46999-47000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18643]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5696-N-04]
Additional Waivers and Alternative Requirements for Hurricane
Sandy Grantees in Receipt of Community Development Block Grant Disaster
Recovery Funds
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Previously, the Department allocated $5.4 billion of Community
Development Block Grant disaster recovery (CDBG-DR) funds appropriated
by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 for the purpose of
assisting recovery in the most impacted and distressed areas declared a
major disaster due to Hurricane Sandy (see 78 FR 14329, published in
the Federal Register on March 5, 2013). This notice provides additional
waivers and alternative requirements.
DATES: This notice is effective: August 6, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan Gimont, Director, Office of Block
Grant Assistance, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th
Street SW., Room 7286, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number 202-708-
3587. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number
via TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Facsimile
inquiries may be sent to Mr. Gimont at 202-401-2044. (Except for the
``800'' number, these telephone numbers are not toll-free.) Email
inquiries may be sent to [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and Alternative
Requirements
III. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
IV. Finding of No Significant Impact
I. Background
The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (Pub. L. 113-2,
approved January 29, 2013) (Appropriations Act) makes available $16
billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for necessary
expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of
infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization in the most
impacted and distressed areas resulting from a major disaster declared
pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) (Stafford Act), due to
Hurricane Sandy and other eligible events in calendar years 2011, 2012,
and 2013.
On March 1, 2013, the President issued a sequestration order
pursuant to section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act, as amended (2 U.S.C. 901a), and reduced funding for CDBG
disaster recovery (CDBG-DR) grants under the Appropriations Act to
$15.18 billion. In a Federal Register notice published March 5, 2013
(78 FR 14329), the Department allocated $5.4 billion after analyzing
the impacts of Hurricane Sandy and identifying unmet needs. A
subsequent notice, providing additional guidance, waivers, and
alternative requirements for Hurricane Sandy grantees was published by
the Department on April 19, 2013 (78 FR 23578). This notice provides
additional waivers and alternative requirements to several Hurricane
Sandy grantees--the State of New York and the State of New Jersey.
II. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements
The Appropriations Act authorizes the Secretary to waive, or
specify alternative requirements for any provision of any statute or
regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with the
obligation by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of these funds
(except for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination,
labor standards, and the environment). Waivers and alternative
requirements are based upon a determination by the Secretary that good
cause exists and that the waiver or alternative requirement is not
inconsistent with the overall purposes of Title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) (HCD Act).
Regulatory waiver authority is also provided by 24 CFR 5.110, 91.600,
and 570.5.
This section provides additional waivers and alternative
requirements to several Hurricane Sandy grantees. For each waiver and
alternative requirement described in this notice, the Secretary has
determined that good cause exists and the action is not inconsistent
with the overall purpose of the HCD Act. Grantees may request
additional waivers and alternative requirements from the Department as
needed to address specific needs related to their recovery activities.
Under the requirements of the Appropriations Act, regulatory waivers
must be published in the Federal
[[Page 47000]]
Register no later than five days before the effective date of such
waiver.
1. Waiver to permit some activities in support of the tourism
industry (State of New York only). In the notice published on April 19,
2013, the Department granted the State of New York a waiver to allow
the State to fund certain tourism activities within the counties most
impacted and distressed by Hurricane Sandy. This notice broadens that
waiver to allow the State to fund certain tourism activities within
counties receiving a Presidential disaster declaration in response to
Hurricane Irene and/or Tropical Storm Lee.
Tourism in Irene/Lee-impacted counties generates approximately $14
billion each year. In the 30 counties affected by Hurricane Irene and
Tropical Storm Lee, 11,000 businesses were impacted, accounting for
138,000 jobs. During this same time period, 13 of the impacted counties
(located in the Adirondacks, Southern Tier and Central New York)
experienced an economic loss of approximately $108 million in direct
visitor spending and positive impact on state and local taxes. Without
this waiver, the State estimates that the economic recovery in these
areas will continue to significantly lag behind the pre-storm average
growth rates, resulting in job loss and business closures.
Thus, HUD is broadening its previous waiver: 42 U.S.C. 5305(a) and
24 CFR 570.489(f) are waived only to the extent necessary to allow the
State to expend up to $3 million (of the $30 million already approved
by the Department) for the tourism industry to promote tourism in
counties in receipt of a Presidential disaster declaration in response
to Hurricane Irene and/or Tropical Storm Lee. Thus, this notice allows
CDBG-DR funds to be used to promote a community or communities in
general, provided the assisted activities are designed to support
tourism within areas designated major disaster areas as a result of
Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. In addition, per the April 19,
2013, notice, the State of New York may use CDBG-DR funds to promote a
community or communities in general, provided the assisted activities
are designed to support tourism to the most impacted and distressed
areas related to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. This waiver will
expire at the end of the State's two-year expenditure period.
2. Use of ``uncapped'' income limits (State of New Jersey only).
The State of New Jersey plans to initially target disaster recovery
funds to low- and moderate-income households and has enaged in targeted
outreach to ensure these households, particularly in high cost areas,
can receive recovery funding. To ensure that all eligible households
that are low- and moderate-income have equal access to resources, the
State requested a waiver to allow all of the nine most impacted
counties within the State to use HUD's ``uncapped income limits'' to
better reflect the population of low- and moderate-income households in
those areas.
The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (Title V of
Pub. L. 105-276) enacted a provision that directed the Department to
grant exceptions to at least 10 jurisdictions that are currently
``capped'' under HUD's low and moderate-income limits. Under this
exception, a number of CDBG entitlement grantees may use ``uncapped''
income limits that reflect 80 percent of the actual median income for
the area. Typically, average incomes (and thus the cost of living,
including home values) in these entitlement grantees are significantly
higher than in surrounding areas. By using uncapped income limits,
grantees are better able to identify and assist those households
considered to be low- to moderate-income for that particular area.
In the Federal Register notice dated March 5, 2013, the Department
noted that the uncapped limits apply to disaster recovery activities
funded pursuant to this notice in jurisdictions covered by the uncapped
limits, including jurisdictions that receive disaster recovery funds
from the State. While there are New Jersey counties that were most
impacted by Hurricane Sandy that currently use the ``uncapped'' income
limits, there are several that do not use the uncapped limits. The
State's efforts to target CDBG resources to low- and moderate-income
households means that those counties that already have the uncapped
income limits (and thus more households that may be designated as low-
and moderate-income) have a greater likelihood of receiving funding
than counties that do not have the uncapped income limits despite
having similar income demographics.
This notice imposes an alternative requirement to the applicable
U.S. median family income cap on income limits that will apply to the
State of New Jersey. The alternative requirement extends the exemption
permitting the use of the uncapped income limits to all of the nine
most impacted counties that were impacted by Hurricane Sandy within the
State of New Jersey to ensure that households that are low- and
moderate-income have equal opportunities to access funds. More
information about this exemption can be found on HUD's Web site at
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/systems/census/lowmod/uncapped.cfm.
III. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for the disaster
recovery grants under this notice is 14.269.
IV. Finding of No Significant Impact
A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with respect to the
environment has been made in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR
part 50, which implement section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). The FONSI is
available for public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in
the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276,
Washington, DC 20410-0500. Due to security measures at the HUD
Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the docket file
must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-708-3055
(this is not a toll-free number). Hearing or Speech-impaired
individuals may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-9339.
Dated: July 26, 2013.
Mark Johnston,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Programs.
[FR Doc. 2013-18643 Filed 8-1-13; 8:45 am]
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