[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 159 (Monday, August 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50041-50043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17886]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-6226-N-01]
Waivers, Alternative Requirements and Extensions for Community
Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grantees
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice governs Community Development Block Grant disaster
recovery (CDBG-DR) funds awarded under several appropriations.
Specifically, this notice provides waivers and establishes alternative
requirements and extensions for grants provided pursuant to Public Laws
114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56, 115-123, 115-254, and 116-20
in connection with HUD's obligation or use by the recipient of these
funds. This notice provides additional flexibility to CDBG-DR grantees
as they continue their disaster recovery efforts while also responding
to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
DATES: Applicability Date: August 24, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessie Handforth Kome, Director,
Office of Block Grant Assistance, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 7282, 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 Ms. Kome
at 202-708-0033. (Except for the ``800'' number, these telephone
numbers are not toll-free.) Email inquiries may be sent to
disaster_recovery@hud.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56, and 115-
123 Extensions
II. Public Laws 115-254 and 116-20 Extensions
III. Citizenship Requirements
IV. Environmental Review
I. Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56, and 115-123
Extensions
The Department has awarded CDBG-DR funds for multiple disasters
occurring in 2015, 2016, and 2017 under Public Laws 114-113, 114-223,
114-254, 115-31, 115-56, and 115-123. Those Public Laws authorize the
[[Page 50042]]
Secretary to waive or specify alternative requirements for any
provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers
in connection with HUD's obligation or use by the recipient of these
funds (except for requirements related to fair housing,
nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment). Regulatory
waiver authority is also provided by 24 CFR 5.110, 91.600, and 570.5.
As required by Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56 or
115-123, the waiver and alternative requirement provided herein is
based upon a determination by the Secretary that good cause exists and
that the waiver and alternative requirement is not inconsistent with
the overall purposes of title I of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (HCDA).
HUD has determined that the rapidly emerging needs of states and
local governments in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic provides good
cause to allow extensions of the CDBG-DR expenditure deadlines
established in Federal Register notices published on June 17, 2016
(paragraph VI.A.24, 81 FR 39687); November 21, 2016 (section II. and
paragraph VI.A.24., 81 FR 83254); January 18, 2017 (section II., 82 FR
5591); August 7, 2017 (sections I.E. and III.B., 82 FR 36812); February
9, 2018 (paragraph VI.A.28. and section VII., 83 FR 5844); and August
14, 2018 (section V., 83 FR 40314) (the ``Prior Notices''). HUD shall
presume the start of the COVID-19 crisis to be January 21, 2020, the
date the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the
first case in the United States, unless HUD receives conclusive
evidence to the contrary.
These Prior Notices establish an administrative deadline for the
timely distribution of funds, requiring each grantee to expend 100
percent of its allocation of CDBG-DR funds on eligible activities
within six years. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD is
providing a one-year extension of the previously established
expenditure deadline for all grantees that received CDBG-DR funds under
Public Laws 114-113, 114-223, 114-254, 115-31, 115-56 or 115-123 for a
2015, 2016, or 2017 disaster. If a grantee determines that an extension
is required beyond the one-year extension provided by HUD in this
notice, within 90 days of the applicability date of this notice, a
grantee must submit a written request to HUD to further extend the
expenditure deadline for one additional year (for a maximum total
extension of two years).
Grantees are reminded that the Prior Notices require the grantee to
update the projections of expenditures for each grant based on the
status of current programs or projects and to reflect any new
expenditure deadlines.
To request the additional one-year extension referenced above, the
grantee shall: (a) Indicate how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the
grantee's ability to expend CDBG-DR funds in a timely manner and to
meet its original deadline; (b) describe the specific CDBG-DR funded
recovery programs, activities, or projects that have slowed as a result
of the COVID-19 pandemic and; (c) submit an updated version of its
``CDBG-DR Grantee Projections of Expenditures and Outcomes'' that
provides for the full expenditure of the grant within the expenditure
period requested (a maximum total two-year extension is allowed). In
its request, the grantee shall also indicate if it previously was
identified by HUD as a ``slow spender'' as of October 2019 or later in
the Department's Monthly CDBG-DR Grant Financial Reports for the grant
under consideration. If the grantee was identified as a slow spender
for the grant under consideration as of October 2019 or later, the
grantee must also include an explanation of the causes of its slow
expenditures prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions that have
been implemented to address those causes. Grantees that have been
identified as a slow spender during the above period must also include
a description of the concrete steps that it will implement to ensure
that its CDBG-DR expenditures will be ``on pace'' as soon as
practicable, and must update its ``CDBG-DR Grantee Projections of
Expenditures and Outcomes'' that was previously submitted to HUD with
its action plan. The Department shall establish, as appropriate, a
grant condition to require each grantee receiving the additional one-
year extension (for a maximum total extension of two years) to comply
with expenditure milestones as provided in the revised projections,
consistent with the provisions at 2 CFR part 200. The Department may,
if warranted, restrict the availability of funds until such time as
this or any grant condition is met by individual grantees.
Grantees are reminded that HUD may, at any time, establish or
revise grant conditions based on performance or lack thereof or may
pursue remedies based on performance consistent with subpart O of the
CDBG regulations (including corrective and remedial actions in 24 CFR
570.910, 570.911, and 570.913) or under subpart I of the CDBG
regulations at 24 CFR part 570. Grantees are advised to work with the
assigned CPD representative in the development of expenditure extension
requests. The Department will periodically publish all revised
expenditure deadlines established pursuant to this notice on the HUD
website.
II. Public Laws 115-254 and 116-20 Extensions
The Department has awarded CDBG-DR funds for multiple disasters
occurring in 2017, 2018, and 2019 under the Public Laws 115-254 and
116-20. The COVID-19 pandemic, which the President declared as a
national emergency on March 13, 2020, disrupted normal government
operations that are likely to impede grantees' ability to meet
previously established submission deadlines. Therefore, as described
below, HUD is exercising its waiver authority to waive and modify
submission deadlines published in Federal Register notices that contain
grant requirements for these CDBG-DR funds. Public Laws 115-254 and
116-20 authorize the Secretary to waive or specify alternative
requirements for any provision of any statute or regulation that the
Secretary administers in connection with HUD's obligation or 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 HCDA. Regulatory waiver authority is also provided by
24 CFR 5.110, 91.600, and 570.5. For the waiver and alternative
requirement described herein, the Secretary has determined that good
cause exists and that the waiver and alternative requirement is not
inconsistent with the overall purposes of title I of the HCDA.
Section III of the Department's January 27, 2020 Federal Register
notice (85 FR 4681) included deadlines for the submission of the
initial CDBG-DR action plan, the Financial Management and Grant
Compliance certification submission, and the Pre-Award Implementation
Plan. The January 27, 2020 notice requires grantees receiving funds for
2018 and 2019 disasters to submit their Pre-Award Implementation Plan
and Financial Management and Grant Compliance certification
documentation within 60 days of the applicability date of that notice
(or together with the submission of the action plan, if earlier) and to
submit their initial action plans within 120 days after the
applicability date of that
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notice. Section III.A. of the same notice required grantees that
received an allocation for unmet infrastructure needs for 2017
disasters to submit a substantial amendment to their current action
plan no later than 90 days after the applicability date of that notice.
On March 20, 2020, HUD issued a notification to these grantees that
extended the above deadlines for an additional 90 days to provide
flexibility to CDBG-DR grantees as they also respond to the impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 24, 2020, HUD amended that notification
for only those grantees that received an allocation for unmet
infrastructure needs for 2017 disasters, to extend their deadline for
submission by an additional 30 days. In order to provide CDBG-DR
grantees with additional flexibility in complying with submission
deadlines, HUD is amending the January 27, 2020 notice to allow
individual grantees to request further extensions, if necessary.
Accordingly, HUD is amending section III of the January 27, 2020 notice
by replacing the third paragraph of section III in its entirety with
the following:
``To begin expending CDBG-DR funds, the grantee must follow the
process outlined in the February 9, 2018 notice (83 FR 5846), unless
otherwise amended below:
HUD will accept an action plan no later than 210 days
after the applicability date of this notice, unless the grantee has
requested, and HUD has approved an extension of the submission
deadlines below.
Within 150 days of the applicability date of this notice
(or when the grantee submits its action plan, whichever is earlier),
submit documentation for the certification of financial controls and
procurement processes and adequate procedures for grant management, as
amended in section IV.B.1 of this notice. A grantee that received a
certification of its financial controls and procurement processes
pursuant to a 2016 or 2017 disaster may request that HUD rely on that
certification for purposes of this allocation, provided, however, that
grantees shall be required to provide updates to reflect any material
changes in the submissions.
Within 150 days of the applicability date of this notice
(or when the grantee submits its action plan, whichever is earlier),
submit documentation for the implementation plan and capacity
assessment.
Additionally, all funds must be expended within 6 years of
the date of obligation as described in section V of this notice.''
HUD is also amending section III.A. of the January 27, 2020 notice,
and will replace that section in its entirety with the following:
Each grantee that received an allocation pursuant to Public Law
115-56 or Public Law 115-123 for 2017 disasters and an additional
allocation in this notice for unmet infrastructure needs is required
to submit a substantial amendment to its current action plan
required by the Prior Notices. The substantial amendment must be
submitted no later than 210 days after the applicability date of
this notice, unless the grantee has requested, and HUD has approved
an extension of its submission deadline. The substantial amendment
must include the additional allocation of funds and address the
requirements of the Prior Notices, as amended by this notice. Each
grantee must follow the applicable substantial amendment process
pursuant to section III.B of the August 14, 2018 notice (83 FR
40316). Based on the 2019 Appropriations Act, HUD will condition the
availability of these funds for grantees that have entered into
alternative procedures under section 428 of the Stafford Act as of
the date of enactment of the 2019 Appropriations Act until such
grantees have reached a final agreement on all fixed cost estimates
within the timeline provided by FEMA.
III. Citizenship Requirements
Please note that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services provides that Immigration Reform
and Control Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324a et seq. prohibits employers from hiring
and employing an individual for employment in the U.S. knowing that the
individual is not authorized with respect to such employment. This
generally applicable law also applies to CDBG grantees and their
subrecipients and/or contractors/subcontractors (including relating to
employees recruited under Section 3). For more information, please see
https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/10-why-employers-must-verify-employment-authorization-and-identity-of-new-employees and https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/legal-requirements-and-enforcement.
IV. Environmental Review
This Notice provides operating instructions and procedures in
connection with activities under Federal Register documents that have
previously been subject to required environmental reviews. Accordingly,
under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(4), this Notice is categorically excluded from
environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (42
U.S.C. 4321, et seq.).
Dated: August 11, 2020.
John Gibbs,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
[FR Doc. 2020-17886 Filed 8-14-20; 8:45 am]
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