2.1. RBS/RHS APPLICANT’S RESPONSIBILITIES

Rural Development expects prospective applicants (and in the case of the loan guarantee programs, prospective borrowers and transferees) to consider the potential environmental impacts of their requests at the earliest planning stages and to develop proposals that minimize the potential to adversely impact the environment. Prospective Rural Development applicants should contact the appropriate Rural Development Specialist to determine the Agency's environmental requirements as soon as possible after they decide to pursue Rural Development financial assistance.

Applicants for Rural Development assistance shall be required to provide information necessary for the Agency to evaluate their proposal's potential environmental impacts and alternatives to them. Form 1940-20, Request for Environmental Information, shall be used for obtaining environmental information from applicants whose proposals require an environmental assessment. These same applicants must notify the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) of the filing of the application and provide at a minimum the following descriptive information:

• Photographs of the targeted building(s) or of the proposed site, showing architectural context of the project. The photos must clearly show the entire building or site.

• A description of the project, including preliminary work write-up, or list of improvements being considered.

• A physical description, including date of construction, of any building affected by the undertaking. If alterations have been made, they also need to be dated.

• A statement as to whether or not the building or site is identified in any local cultural resources inventory (information available from local planning departments), or is on the National Register individually, or is a "contributing" resource within a National Register district.

• Address of the property or site and a map, which clearly shows the geographic location on which the project will take place. This map should include coordinates, nearest cross street, labeled, or nearest intersection of roads or water courses, labeled, as appropriate.

Applicants should send this information to:

State Historic Preservation Officer:

DE:   Single Point of Contact (SPOC)

         Office of Budget Director

         540 South DuPont Highway

         Thomas Collins Building, Suite 5

         Dover, DE  19901

         (302) 739-4206

MD:  Maryland Office of Planning

          301 West Preston Street, Room 1104

          Baltimore, MD  21201-2365

          (410) 767-4490

Rural Development will notify applicants of the level of environmental review required for their proposal.

Applicants shall ensure that all required materials are current, sufficiently detailed, and complete, and are submitted directly to the Rural Development office processing the application. Incomplete materials or delayed submittals may seriously jeopardize consideration or postponement of a proposed action by the Rural Development.

During the period of application review and processing, applicants shall not take any action with respect to their proposed undertakings which are the subject of the application and which would have an adverse impact on the environment or limit the range of alternatives. This requirement does not preclude development by applicants of preliminary plans or designs or performance of other work necessary to support an application for federal, state, or local permits or assistance. However, the development of detailed plans and specifications is discouraged when the costs involved inhibit the realistic consideration of alternative proposals.

Applicants are required to provide public notification and may be required to fully cooperate in holding public information meetings when required as part of the environmental review.