(4) Indicates the general location by census tract or groups of census tracts of proposed new housing construction projects and substantial rehabilitation projects for lower income persons on maps as called for in § 570.303(b) (2), (and for those projects proposed for HUD assistance, considering the site and neighborhood standards established by HUD for the housing assistance payments program), with the objectives of:

(i) Furthering the revitalization of the community, including the restoration and rehabilitation of stable neighborhoods to the maximum extent possible.

(ii) Promoting greater choice of housing opportunities and avoiding undue concentrations of assisted persons in areas containing a high proportion of low-income persons.

(iii) Assuring the availability of public facilities and services adequate to serve proposed housing projects.

(d) Community development budget. The applicant shall submit a community development budget on forms prescribed by HUD. Sufficient amounts shall be included in each year's budget to fully fund relocation payments and assistance for all persons expected to be displaced by that year's community development program activities even if such displacement will not occur until a later program year. (e) Certifications. The applicant shall submit certifications, in such forms as HUD may prescribe, providing assurances that:

(1) The program will be conducted and administered in conformity with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88-352); Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Pub. L. 90-284); section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968; Executive Order 11246; Executive Order 11063, and any HUD regulations issued to implement these authorities.

(2) Prior to submission of its application, the applicant has:

(i) Provided citizens with adequate information concerning the amount of funds available for proposed community development and housing activities, the range of activities that may be undertaken, and other important program requirements;

(ii) Held at least two public hearings to obtain the views of citizens on community development and housing needs; and

(iii) Provided citizens an adequate opportunity to participate in the development of the application and in the development of any revisions, changes, or amendments.

The Act provides that no part of this paragraph shall be construed to restrict the responsibility and authority of the applicant for the development of the application and the execution of its community development program. Accordingly, the citizen participation requirements of this paragraph do not include concurrence by any person or group involved in the citizen participation process in making final determinations concerning the findings and contents of the application. The sole responsibility and authority to make such final determinations rests exclusively with the applicant.

(3) The applicant will comply with the relocation requirements of Title II and the acquisition requirements of Title III of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, and implementing regulations in 24 CFR Part 42.

(4) The applicant's certifying officer (i) consents to assume the status of a responsible Federal official under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 insofar as the provisions of such act apply pursuant to this Part, and (ii) is authorized and consents on behalf of the applicant and himself to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal courts for the purpose of enforcement of his responsibilities as such an official.

(5) The applicant will comply with the requirements of Federal Management Circular 74-4, "Cost Principles Applicable to Grants and Contracts with State and Local Government," and with the applicable requirements of Federal Management Circular 74-7 "Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants-in-Aid to State and Local Governments," as specified in these regulations.

(6) The applicant has met the requirements of OMB Circular No. A-95 and any comments or recommendations made by or through the clearinghouses are attached and were considered prior to submission of the application, or, no clearinghouse comments or recommendations have been received.

(7) The Community Development program has been developed so as to give maximum feasibile priority to activities which will benefit low- or moderate-in

come families or aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight. Where all or part of the community development program activities are designed to meet other community development needs having a particular urgency, the applicant may request a determination by the Secretary that the program activities are so designed to meet such needs as specifically described in the application.

(8) The applicant will administer and enforce the labor standards requirements set forth in § 570.605 and HUD regulations issued to implement such requirements.

(f)

Performance report. Beginning with the application submitted in fiscal year 1976, and each fiscal year thereafter, the applicant shall submit an annual performance report as described in § 570.906.

§ 570.304 Waiver of application requirements.

(a) Eligible applicants for waiver. The Secretary may waive all or part of the application requirements contained in § 570.303 (a) and (b) if the applicant meets the following criteria:

(1) The applicant has a population of less than 25,000 according to the most recent data compiled by the Bureau of Census and is located:

(i) Outside a standard metropolitan statistical area, or

(ii) Inside such an area but not outside an "urbanized area," as defined by the Bureau of Census;

(2) The application relates to the first community development activity to be carried out by such locality with assistance under this part; and

(3) The assistance requested is for a single development activity under this Part of a type eligible for assistance under § 570.200(a) (1) (iii); or neighborhood facilities, water and sewer facilities, historic properties, and parks, playgrounds, and similar recreational facilities authorized pursuant to § 570.200 (a) (2).

(b) Secretarial determination. In determining that, having regard to the nature of the activities to be carried out, a waiver is not inconsistent with the purpose of this part, the Secretary will approve a waiver: Provided, That the funds applied for do not exceed $1,000,000.

§ 570.305 Program amendments.

(a) Mid-program year amendments. An applicant shall submit an amended application to the HUD Area Office if the applicant's community development program is being revised so that more than ten percent of the community development budget, excluding unspecified local option activities, is to be used for new or different activities not included in the approved community development program. An amendment shall also be submitted whenever the cumulative effect of a number of smaller changes add up to an amount that exceeds ten percent of the budget, excluding unspecified local option activities. The amendment submitted to HUD shall include only those elements of the application that are changed, except that the amendment shall always include the certifications and assurances described in § 570.303(e).

(b) Other program amendments. Program amendments not requiring prior HUD approval pursuant to the preceding paragraph may be undertaken by the applicant, provided all other requirements of this part are satisfied. Such amendments shall be reported to HUD as part of the annual performance report, as described in § 570.906, required with the subsequent annual application.

(c) Reprogramming unobligated funds. Funds that will be unobligated at the end of a program year may be reprogrammed as a part of a subsequent year's annual application for a grant so as to avoid subsequent program amendment. Such a reprogramming is not a requirement inasmuch as an applicant may continue to carry out activities included in a prior year's application.

§ 570.306 HUD review and approval of application.

(a) Acceptance of application. (1) Upon receipt of an application, the HUD Area Office will accept it for review, provided that:

(i) It has been received before the close of business on the final date established by HUD for submission of applications for each fiscal year;

(ii) The application requirements specified in § 570.303 are complete, unless specifically waived pursuant to § 570.304;

(iii) The funds requested do not exceed the entitlement amount;

(iv) The required certifications have been properly executed; and

(v) The applicant has attached or enclosed any comments or recommendations made by or through State and areawide clearinghouses or has stated that no comments or recommendations have been received within the 45-day review period.

(2) If the application is accepted in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the date of acceptance of the application will be the date of receipt of the application in the HUD field office, and the applicant will be so notified in writing. If the application is not accepted for review, the applicant will be so notified in writing, and will be advised of the specific reasons for nonacceptance.

(b) Scope of review. (1) The Secretary will normally base his review upon the applicant's certifications, statements of facts and data and other programmatic decisions. The Secretary reserves the right, however to consider substantial evidence which contradicts or challenges the certifications, or significant facts and data, in accordance with the review criteria in this section and to require additional information or assurances from the applicant as warranted by such evidence.

(2) Based on that review, the Secretary will approve the application unless:

(i) On the basis of significant facts and data, generally available (whether published data accessible to both the applicant and the Secretary, such as census data, or other data available to both the applicant and the Secretary, such as recent local, areawide or State comprehensive planning data) and pertaining to community and housing needs and objectives, the Secretary determines that the applicant's description of such needs and objectives is plainly inconsistent with such facts or data, or

(ii) On the basis of the application, the Secretary determines that the activities to be undertaken are plainly inappropriate to meeting the needs and objectives identified by the applicant, or

(iii) The Secretary determines that the application does not comply with the requirements of this part or other applicable Federal laws, or proposes activities which are ineligible under this part.

(c) Approval or disapproval of application. Within seventy-five days of the date of receipt of the application, or at such earlier time as review is completed, the Secretary will notify the applicant

in writing that the application has been approved, partially approved, or disapproved. In the event the Secretary has not mailed a notification to the applicant within seventy-five days from the date of acceptance of the application that it has been disapproved, the application shall be deemed to be approved. If the application is disapproved, the applicant shall be informed of the specific reasons for disapproval.

(d) Approval of less than full entitlement. The Secretary may adjust the entitlement amount to the extent identified in an application submitted under this part designated for an activity or activities that are not eligible under § 570.200, and the deficiency has not been corrected prior to the expiration of the 75-day review period for the application. Funds not approved under the preceding sentence will be reallocated pursuant to § 570.107.

(e) Conditional approval. The Secretary may make a conditional approval, in which case the full entitlement amount will be approved but the utilization of funds for affected activities will be restricted. Conditional approvals may be made only where local environmental reviews under § 570.604 have not yet been completed, where the requirements of § 570.607 regarding the provision of public services or flood or drainage facilities have not yet been satisfied, or where the provisions of § 570.802 are exercised. Subpart E-Applications and Criteria for Discretionary Grants

SOURCE: 40 FR 5952, Feb. 7, 1975, unless otherwise noted.

§ 570.400 General.

(a) Applicability of rules and regulations. The policies and procedures set forth in Subpart A, B, C, F, G, H, I, and J of this Part shall apply to this subpart and to the funds described in § 570.104, except to the extent that they are specifically modified or augmented by the contents of this subpart, including specified exemptions described herein. The HUD Environmental Review Procedures contained in 24 CFR Part 58 also apply to this subpart, unless otherwise specifically provided herein.

Fiscal Year 1975, a full application that was not preceded by a preapplication will nevertheless be considered without prejudice by HUD. The purpose of the preapplication is basically: (1) To determine how well the application compares with similar applications from other jurisdictions, and (2) to discourage applications which have little or no chance for Federal funding before applicants incur significant expenditures for preparing an application.

(i) Submission requirements. Preapplications shall be submitted on HUD forms to the appropriate HUD Area Office. The preapplication shall consist of a brief description of the applicant's community development needs, the activities proposed to meet those needs, and the general location and estimated cost of the proposed activities. The applicant's statement shall address the specific criteria under which it requests priority consideration for funding under § 570.402(b).

(ii) HUD review of preapplications. HUD will review preapplications based upon the appropriate criteria set forth in this subpart, to determine how well an application is likely to compete with other applications for the same discretionary funds submitted by other jurisdictions. Applicants will be advised of HUD's determinations and judgments on the preapplication, and of the availability of funds for that particular fiscal year. Notwithstanding the nature of such advice, any eligible applicant may submit an application under the provisions of this subpart.

(3) Preapplication submission dates. The Secretary will establish from time to time the earliest and latest dates for submission of preapplications for each fiscal year. For Fiscal Year 1975, the earliest date for submission of a preapplication shall be January 1, 1975; the latest date shall be March 1, 1975.

(c) Applications—(1) Submission requirements. Applications shall be submitted on HUD forms to the appropriate HUD Area Office. Specific submission requirements are contained in the following sections of this subpart which describe each discretionary fund. To the maximum extent possible, and with the prior concurrence of the Secretary, documentation submitted in support of an application previously submitted for funding under this part will be accepted and need not be resubmitted with an application for a discretionary grant.

(2) Scope of application. An application may include any number of eligible activities up to the maximum dollar amount established by the Secretary for applications submitted under this subpart. An application may be for any reasonable period of time necessary to complete the proposed activities. For new activities to be carried out with a discretionary grant the applicant shall apply for discretionary funds in an amount which, along with any other resources that may be available, will be adequate to complete the activities. While a recipient remains eligible for discretionary grant funding in subsequent years, an applicant shall not assume that additional funding will be available in subsequent years to continue or expand activities. An application may not, however, be only for planning purposes, as defined in § 570.200(a) (12).

(3) Application submission dates. The Secretary will establish from time to time the earliest and latest dates for submission of applications for discretionary grants for each fiscal year. For Fiscal Year 1975 the earliest and latest dates shall be as follows:

(i) General purpose funds for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas— March 15, 1975 through May 15, 1975;

(ii) Urgent needs fund-January 1, 1975 through May 15, 1975;

(iii) Secretary's fund:

(A) New communities-February 1, 1975 through May 15, 1975;

(B) Areawide projects-reserved; (C) Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands-February 1, 1975 through May 15, 1975;

(D) Innovative projects-February 1, 1975 through April 20, 1975;

(E) Federally recognized disastersJanuary 1, 1975 through June 30, 1975; and

(F) Inequities-February 1, 1975 through May 15, 1975.

(d) Meeting the Requirements of OMB Circular No. A-95- (1) Preapplications. Applicants must comply with the procedures set forth in OMB Circular No. A-95 which include the requirements of paragraph 7, Part I, for submission of a preapplication to the appropriate State and areawide clearinghouses at the same time that it is submitted to HUD. Although HUD has up to 45 days to respond to a preapplication, the Department expects

to respond to all preapplications within 20 days of the closing date for the receipt of preapplications. Clearinghouse comments should be received by HUD within 15 days of receipt of a preapplication in order that HUD may respond promptly to preapplications. This period may be informally extended by mutual agreement between HUD and a clearinghouse, provided it will not delay the HUD response. However, any comment by a clearinghouse during the preapplication stage will not be considered a substitute for review under the regular procedures of Part I to A-95 unless the clearinghouse so indicates.

(2) Final applications. For final applications the Office of Management and Budget has granted for first year submissions only, an exception to the length of review time. Under the exception, a preapplication submission in accordance with the preceding subparagraph will meet the normal A-95 requirement that applicants notify clearinghouses of the intent to apply for assistance and the subsequent clearinghouse review of such notification. Therefore, for first year submissions only, final applications will be subject only to the A-95 requirement that clearinghouses be provided 30 days for review of the completed final application. Final applications submitted under this subpart which have not been preceded by a preapplication are subject to the requirements of 570.300 (c).

(3) Indian tribes. Applications from federally recognized Indian tribes are not subject to the regular A-95 requirements. However, Indian tribes may voluntarily participate in the A-95 Project Notification and Review System and are encouraged to do so. HUD will notify the appropriate State and area wide clearinghouses of any applications from federally recognized Indian tribes upon their receipt.

(e) Advances of funds. Applicants are not authorized to receive an advance of funds from discretionary grants, as described in § 570.302, except for Guam and the Virgin Islands which may receive an advance of funds in an amount not to exceed ten percent of their hold harmless amounts. In response to a request by a unit of general local government, the Secretary may, however, in cases of demonstrated need, issue a letter to proceed authorizing an applicant to incur costs for the planning and preparation of an application for funds available

under this subpart. Reimbursement for such costs will be dependent upon HUD approval of such application.

(f) Review of applications for discretionary grants-(1) Acceptance of application. HUD will accept an application for review, Provided, That:

(i) It has been received before the close of business on the final date established by HUD for submission of applications for each fiscal year;

(ii) The application is complete, as required in this subpart;

(iii) The required certifications have been properly executed; and

(iv) The applicant has attached or enclosed any comments or recommendations made by or through state and areawide clearinghouses or has stated that no comments or recommendations have been received.

(2) Timing of review. While the Secretary is not required by the Act to review and approve a discretionary grant application within any specified time period, the Secretary will make every effort to complete his review of all such applications within 75 days.

(3) Notification to applicants. The Secretary will notify the applicant in writing that the application has been approved, partially approved, or disapproved. If an application is partially approved or disapproved, the applicant will be informed of the specific reasons for partial approval or disapproval. The Secretary may make conditional approvals, as provided in § 570.306(e).

(g) Program amendments. Recipients shall request prior HUD approval for program amendments wherever the amendment results from changes in the scope or the objective of the approved program.

(h) Performance Report. Except for new communities and innovative projects, each recipient shall, upon completion of the activities carried out with the discretionary grant, or upon submission of a subsequent discretionary grant application, whichever is earlier, submit a performance report described in

as

§ 570.906(b), and shall meet the requirements of § 570.906 (c) concerning notice of the availability of the report for examination by the public.

§ 570.401 Urgent needs fund.

(a) Eligible applicants. Eligible applicants are States, and units of general local government as defined in § 570.3 (v). For the purpose of this section, the second sentence in § 570.3 (v) includes those