[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2000)] [Notices] [Pages 1092-1094] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 00-408] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Business-Cooperative Service Inviting Preapplications for Technical Assistance for Rural Transportation Systems
Agency
Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
Action
Notice.
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Summary
The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within the Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of one single $500,000 grant from the passenger transportation portion of the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 to be competitively awarded to a qualified national organization.
Dates
The deadline for receipt of a preapplication in the Rural Development State Office is March 1, 2000. Preapplications received at a Rural Development State Office after that date will not be considered for FY 2000 funding.
Addresses
For further information, entities wishing to apply for assistance should contact a Rural Development State Office to receive further information and copies of the preapplication package. A list of Rural Development State Offices follows:
Alabama USDA Rural Development State Office, Sterling Center, Suite 601, 4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3400 Alaska USDA Rural Development State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK 99645-6539, (907) 745-2176 Arizona USDA Rural Development State Office, 3003 North Central Avenue, Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012-2906, (602) 280-8700 Arkansas USDA Rural Development State Office, 700 West Capitol Avenue, Room 3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3200 California USDA Rural Development State Office, 430 G Street, Agency 4169, Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5800 Colorado USDA Rural Development State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E- 100, Lakewood, CO 80215, (303) 236-2801 Delaware-Maryland USDA Rural Development State Office, 4607 South DuPont Highway, Camden, DE 19934-9998, (302) 697-4300 Florida/Virgin Islands USDA Rural Development State Office, 4440 NW. 25th Place, Gainesville, FL 32614-7010, (352) 338-3400 Georgia USDA Rural Development State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 E.
Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601-2768, (706) 546-2162 Hawaii USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 311, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-8380 Idaho USDA Rural Development State Office, 9173 West Barnes Drive, Suite A1, Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5600 Illinois USDA Rural Development State Office, Illini Plaza, Suite 103, 1817 South Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820, (217) 398-5235 Indiana USDA Rural Development State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278, (317) 290-3100 Iowa USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 873, 210 Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284-4663 Kansas USDA Rural Development State Office, 1200 SW. Executive Drive, Topeka, KS 66604, (785) 271-2700 Kentucky USDA Rural Development State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40503, (606) 224-7300 Louisiana USDA Rural Development State Office, 3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7920 Maine USDA Rural Development State Office, 444 Stillwater Avenue, Suite 2, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9106 Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut USDA Rural Development State Office, 451 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, (413) 253-4300 Michigan USDA Rural Development State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5100 Minnesota USDA Rural Development State Office, 410 AgriBank Building, 375 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-1853, (651) 602-7800 Mississippi USDA Rural Development State Office Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 West Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-4316 Missouri USDA Rural Development State Office, 601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-0976 Montana USDA Rural Development State Office, 900 Technology Blvd., Unit 1, Suite B, Bozeman, MT 59715, (406) 585-2580 Nebraska USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 152, 100 Centennial Mall N, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5551 Nevada USDA Rural Development State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703-9910, (775) 887-1222 New Jersey USDA Rural Development State Office, Tarnsfield Plaza, Suite 22, 790 Woodlane Road, Mt. Holly, NJ 08060, (609) 265-3600 New Mexico USDA Rural Development State Office, 6200 Jefferson Street, NE., Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4950 New York USDA Rural Development State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 South Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202-2541, (315) 477-6400 North Carolina USDA Rural Development State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 873-2000 North Dakota USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East Rosser, Bismarck, ND 58502-1737, (701) 530-2043 Ohio USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2477, (614) 255-2500 Oklahoma USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1000 Oregon USDA Rural Development State Office, 101 SW Main Street, Suite 1410, Portland, OR 97204-3222, (503) 414-3300 Pennsylvania USDA Rural Development State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2299 Puerto Rico USDA Rural Development State Office, New San Juan Office Building, Room 501, 159 Carlos E. Chardon Street, Hato Rey, PR 00918-5481, (787) 766-5095 South Carolina USDA Rural Development State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 765-5163 South Dakota USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200 4th Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1100 Tennessee USDA Rural Development State Office, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1300 Texas USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9700 Utah USDA Rural Development State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 South State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 84147-0350, (801) 524-4320 Vermont/New Hampshire USDA Rural Development State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6000 Virginia USDA Rural Development State Office, Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 287-1550 Washington USDA Rural Development State Office, 1835 Black Lake Boulevard, SW., Suite B, Olympia, WA 98512-5715, (360) 704-7740 West Virginia USDA Rural Development State Office, Federal Building, 75 High Street, Room 320, Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 291-4791 Wisconsin USDA Rural Development State Office, 4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7600 Wyoming USDA Rural Development State Office, 100 East B, Federal Building, Room 1005, Casper, WY 82602, (307) 261-6300
Supplementary Information
The passenger transportation portion of the RBEG program is authorized by section 310B(c)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 U.S.C. 1932 (C)(2)). The RBEG program is administered on behalf of RBS at the State level by the Rural Development State Offices. The primary objective of the program is to improve the economic conditions of rural areas. Assistance provided to rural areas under this program may include on-site technical assistance to local and regional governments, public transit agencies, and related nonprofit and for-profit organizations in rural areas; the development of training materials; and the provision of necessary training assistance to local officials and agencies in rural areas. Awards under the RBEG passenger transportation program are made on a competitive basis using specific selection criteria contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, and in accordance with section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. That subpart also contains the information required to be in the preapplication package. Up to 25 Administrator's points may be added to an application's priority score based on the extent to which the application targets assistance to Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities, Champion Communities, or other rural communities that have experienced persistent poverty, out-migration of population, or sudden severe structural changes in the local economy. A project that scores the greatest number of points based on the selection criteria and Administrator's points will be selected. Preapplications will be tentatively scored by the State Offices and
submitted to the National Office for review, final scoring, and selection. To be considered ``national,'' a qualified organization is required to provide evidence that it operates in multi-state areas. There is not a requirement to use the grant funds in a multi-state area. Under this program, grants are made to a qualified private non-profit organization for the provision of technical assistance and training to rural communities for the purpose of improving passenger transportation services or facilities. Public bodies are not eligible for passenger transportation RBEG grants. Refer to section 310B(c)(2) (7 U.S.C. 1932) of the CONACT and 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G for the information collection requirements of the RBEG program.
Fiscal Year 2000 Preapplications Submission
Each preapplication received in a Rural Development State Office will be reviewed to determine if this preapplication is consistent with the eligible purposes outlined in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, and section 310B(c)(2) of the CONACT. Each selection priority criterion outlined in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, section 1942.305(b)(3), must be addressed in the preapplication. Failure to address any of the criteria will result in a zero-point score for that criterion and will impact the overall evaluation of the preapplication. Copies of 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, will be provided to any interested applicant making a request to a Rural Development State Office listed in this notice. All projects to receive technical assistance through these passenger transportation grant funds are to be identified when the preapplication is submitted to the Rural Development State Office. Multiple project preapplications must identify each individual project, indicate the amount of funding requested for each individual project, and address the criteria as stated above for each individual project. For multiple- project preapplication, the average of the individual project scores will be the score for that preapplication. All eligible preapplications, along with tentative scoring sheets and the Rural Development State Director's recommendation, will be referred to the National Office no later than April 14, 2000, for final scoring and selection for award. The National Office will score preapplications based on the grant selection criteria and weights contained in 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G, and Administrator's points, and will select a grantee subject to the grantee's satisfactory submission of a formal application and related materials in the manner and time frame established by RBS in accordance with 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G. It is anticipated that the grantee will be selected by June 1, 2000. All applicants will be notified by RBS of the Agency decision on the award. The information collection requirements within this Notice are covered under OMB No. 0570-0022 and 7 CFR part 1942, subpart G.
Dated: December 20, 1999. Dayton J. Watkins, Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service. [FR Doc. 00-408 Filed 1-6-00; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P