[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 107 (Friday, June 4, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29945-29947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13931]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 107 / Friday, June 4, 1999 / Rules
and Regulations
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
7 CFR Part 1780
RIN 0572-AB44
Water and Waste Program Regulations
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) amends the rules used to
administer the water and waste loan and grant programs. This action
implements provisions of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and
Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999
(Act). The Act reduces the amount of funds that a rural or native
Alaskan village applicant must contribute from 50 percent to 25 percent
of the project development costs. Additionally, it removes the
population eligibility requirement that expired September 30, 1998, for
certain timber-dependent communities in the Pacific Northwest. This
action also includes an increase in the administrative fee that the
Appalachian Regional Commission pays to USDA to administer grants for
projects in which USDA has provided no funds and makes other technical
corrections. The intended effect is to make 7 CFR part 1780 current
with statutory authority.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 4, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Francis, Loan Specialist, Water
and Waste Division, Rural Utilities Service, USDA, South Agriculture
Building, Room 2239, STOP 1570, Washington, DC 20250, telephone: (202)
720-9589.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
This final rule has been determined to be not significant under
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review. Therefore, the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not been reviewed by OMB.
National Environmental Policy Act Certification
This action has been reviewed under 7 CFR Part 1940, Subpart G,
Environmental Program. It has been determined that the action does not
constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality
of the human environment. An Environmental Impact Statement is not
required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. RUS has determined that this rule meets the applicable
standards provided in section 3 of the Executive Order.
In accordance with the Executive Order and the rule: (1) all state
and local laws and regulations that are in conflict with this rule will
be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to the rule; and
(3) administrative appeal procedures, if any, must be exhausted before
litigation against the Department or its agencies may be initiated in
accordance with section 212(e) of the Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6912).
Information Collection and Recordkeeping Requirements
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the
reporting and recordkeeping requirements contained in the rule under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). OMB has
assigned clearance number 0575-0115.
Unfunded Mandates
This rule contains no Federal mandates (under the regulatory
provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995) for
State, local, and tribal governments or the private sector. Thus, this
rule is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 and 205 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
Under section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C.
605(b), RUS certifies that this rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The
amendments reflect only statutory changes that Congress has mandated
and over which the Agency has no discretion. They also involve minimal
procedural matters on other agreements already negotiated.
Executive Order 12372
The water and waste loan and grant program is listed in the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance under number 10.760, Water and Waste
Disposal Systems For Rural Communities. The program is subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental
consultation with State and local officials. Consultation will be
completed at the time of the action performed.
Background
It is the policy of this Department that rules relating to public
property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts shall be published for
comment although 5 U.S.C. 553 exempts such rules from publication. Good
cause is found for not requiring notice and comment before making this
rule effective.
These amendments are not published for proposed rulemaking because
they merely reflect changes in statutory authority enacted by the
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (Act). They also make only
minor technical corrections to the regulations, which do not involve
matters of agency discretion. The Act leaves no discretion to the
agency as to the local share of project costs the rural and native
Alaskan village applicants must contribute. Notice and public comment,
therefore, are impractical, unnecessary, and contrary to the public
interest.
The Act amends section 306D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926d) by inserting ``25 percent'' instead of
``equal'' in subsection (b). Section 306D authorizes the Secretary of
Agriculture to make grants for the benefit of rural or native villages
in the State of Alaska. This amendment reduces the percentage of
matching funds that must be provided from non-Federal sources to 25
percent.
This final rule deletes the temporary expansion of eligibility of
certain
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timber-dependent communities in the Pacific Northwest. Public Law 103-
427 expanded the maximum population eligibility for RUS water and waste
loans and grants from 10,000 to 25,000 inhabitants if the cities or
towns met certain criteria. This change in eligibility expired on
September 30, 1998, and is being removed from the regulations.
On August 24, 1998, USDA and the Appalachian Regional Commission
(ARC) updated the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that establishes a
working partnership to serve the needs of Appalachian communities. This
MOA increases the fee that ARC pays USDA for administering grants to
Appalachian communities on behalf of ARC. The fee increase will better
reflect the present cost in administering the grants.
The fee had been calculated as 5 percent of the first $50,000 of an
ARC grant and 1 percent of any amount over $50,000. The MOA increases
the ARC grant amount on which the percentages are based from $50,000 to
$100,000. The fees will increase to 5 percent of the first $100,000 of
an ARC grant plus 1 percent of any amount over $100,000.
The final rule also makes some minor technical corrections to the
regulations to correct deficiencies that have surfaced since the
regulation was published June 19, 1997 (62 FR 33462). The changes are
mostly grammatical and eliminate obsolete form references.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1780
Business and industry, Community development, Community facilities,
Grant programs-housing and community development, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Rural areas, Waste treatment and disposal,
Water supply, Watersheds.
Therefore, the Rural Utilities Service amends 7 CFR chapter XVII as
follows:
PART 1780--WATER AND WASTE LOANS AND GRANTS
1. The authority citation for part 1780 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 1989; 16 U.S.C. 1005.
Subpart A--General Policies and Requirements
2. Remove Sec. 1780.7(h).
3. Revise Sec. 1780.10(b)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.10 Limitations.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(2) Pay any costs of a project when the median household income of
the service area is more than 100 percent of the nonmetropolitan median
household income of the State;
* * * * *
Subpart B--Loan and Grant Application Processing
4. Revise Sec. 1780.35(c) to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.35 Processing office review.
* * * * *
(c) User charges. The user charges should be reasonable and produce
enough revenue to provide for all costs of the facility after the
project is complete. The planned revenue should be sufficient to
provide for all debt service, debt reserve, operation and maintenance,
and, if appropriate, additional revenue for facility replacement of
short-lived assets without building a substantial surplus. Ordinarily,
the total debt service reserve will be equal to one average annual loan
installment which will accumulate at the rate of one-tenth of the total
each year.
5. In Sec. 1780.39, paragraphs (e)(2) and (f) introductory text are
revised to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.39 Application processing.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(2) Other than general obligation or special assessment bonds. Each
borrower will be required to establish and maintain reserves sufficient
to assure that loan installments will be paid on time, for emergency
maintenance, for extensions to facilities, and for replacement of
short-lived assets which have a useful life significantly less than the
repayment period of the loan. Borrowers issuing bonds or other
evidences of debt pledging facility revenues as security will plan
their debt reserve to provide for at least one average annual loan
installment. The debt reserve will accumulate at the rate of one-tenth
of an average annual loan installment each year unless prohibited by
state law.
(f) Membership authorization. For organizations other than public
bodies, the membership will authorize the project and its financing.
Form RD 1942-8, ``Resolution of Members or Stockholders,'' may be used
for this authorization. The approval official may accept RUS Bulletin
1780-28, ``Loan Resolution Security Agreement,'' without such
membership authorization when State statutes and the organization's
charter and bylaws do not require such authorization; and
* * * * *
6. Revise Sec. 1780.45(a)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.45 Loan and grant closing and delivery of funds.
(a) * * *
(2) RUS Bulletins 1780-27, ``Loan Resolution (Public Bodies),'' or
1780-28, ``Loan Resolution Security Agreement,'' will be adopted by
public and other-than-public bodies. These resolutions supplement other
provisions in this part.
* * * * *
7. Revise Sec. 1780.48(b) introductory text to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.48 Regional commission grants.
* * * * *
(b) When RUS has no loan or grant funds in the project, an
administrative charge will be made pursuant to the Economy Act of 1932
(31 U.C.S. 1535). A fee of 5 percent of the first $100,000 of a
regional commission grant and 1 percent of any amount over $100,000
will be paid to RUS by the commission.
* * * * *
8. In Sec. 1780.49, paragraphs (c)(4) and (d) are revised to read
as follows:
Sec. 1780.49 Rural or Native Alaskan villages.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(4) The applicant must obtain 25 percent of project development
costs from State or local contributions. The local contribution can be
from loan funds authorized under this part.
(d) Grant amount. Grants will be made for up to 75 percent of the
project development costs.
* * * * *
Subpart C--Planning, Designing, Bidding, Contracting, Constructing
and Inspections
9. Revise Sec. 1780.55 to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.55 Preliminary engineering reports and Environmental
Reports.
Preliminary engineering reports (PERs) must conform to customary
professional standards. PER guidelines for water, sanitary sewer, solid
waste, and storm sewer are available from the Agency. Environmental
Reports must meet the policies and intent of the National Environmental
Policy Act and RUS procedures. Guidelines for preparing Environmental
Reports are available in RUS Bulletin 1794A-602.
10. In Sec. 1780.57, add paragraph (o) to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.57 Design policies.
* * * * *
(o) Seismic safety. All new structures, fully or partially
enclosed, used or
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intended for sheltering persons or property will be designed with
appropriate seismic safety provisions in compliance with the Earthquake
Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), and Executive
Order 12699, Seismic Safety of Federal and Federally Assisted or
Regulated New Building Construction (3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 269).
Designs of components essential for system operation and substantial
rehabilitation of structures that are used for sheltering persons or
property should incorporate seismic safety provisions to the extent
practicable. RUS implementing regulations for seismic safety are in 7
CFR part 1972, subpart C.
Subpart D--Information Pertaining to Preparation of Notes or Bonds
and Bond Transcript Documents for Public Body Applicants
11. Revise Sec. 1780.94(j)(3) to read as follows:
Sec. 1780.94 Minimum bond specifications.
* * * * *
(j) * * *
(3) Provisions that amend covenants contained in RUS Bulletins
1780-27 or 1780-28.
* * * * *
Dated: May 18, 1999.
Jill Long Thompson,
Under Secretary for Rural Development.
[FR Doc. 99-13931 Filed 6-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P
