[Federal Register: April 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 69)] [Notices] [Page 17598-17600] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr10ap03-29] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Business-Cooperative Service Inviting Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program Preapplications for Technical Assistance for Rural Transportation Systems AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within the Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of two individual grants: one single $496,750 grant from the passenger transportation funds appropriated for the RBS Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program and another single $248,375 grant from the Federally Recognized Native American Tribes funds appropriated for RBS under the RBEG Program for fiscal year (FY) 2003. Each grant is to be competitively awarded to a qualified national organization. These grants are to provide technical assistance for rural transportation. DATES: The deadline for receipt of preapplications in the Rural Development State Office is May 15, 2003. Preapplications received at a Rural Development State Office after that date would not be considered for FY 2003 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 pre-application package. A list of Rural Development State Offices follows: District of Columbia Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA Specialty Lenders Division 1400 Independence Avenue, SW. STOP 3225, Room 6867 Washington, DC 20250-3225 (202) 720-1400 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 [[Page 17599]] (907) 761-7705 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 (720) 544-2903 Delaware-Maryland USDA Rural Development State Office P.O. Box 400 4607 South DuPont Highway Camden, DE 19934-9998 (302) 697-4300 Florida/Virgin Islands USDA Rural Development State Office P.O. Box 147010 4440 NW. 25th Place Gainesville, FL 32606 (352) 338-3402 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 Dr., Suite A1 Boise, ID 83709 (208) 378-5600 Illinois USDA Rural Development State Office 2118 West Park Court, Suite A Champaign, IL 61821 (217) 403-6202 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 50309-2196 (515) 284-4663 Kansas USDA Rural Development State Office Suite 100 1303 SW First American Place Topeka, KS 66604 (785) 271-2700 Kentucky USDA Rural Development State Office 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200 Lexington, KY 40503 (859) 224-7300 Louisiana USDA Rural Development State Office 3727 Government Street Alexandria, LA 71302 (318) 473-7921 Maine USDA Rural Development State Office P. O. Box 405 967 Illinois Avenue, Suite 4 Bangor, ME 04402-0405 (207) 990-9106 Massachusetts/Rhode Island/Connecticut USDA Rural Development State Office 451 West Street, Suite 2 Amherst, MA 01002-2999 (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 P. O. Box 771 900 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 North 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 P. O. Box 1737 Federal Building, Room 208 220 East Rosser Avenue Bismarck, ND 58502-1737 (701) 530-2037 Ohio USDA Rural Development State Office Federal Building, Room 507 200 North High Street Columbus, OH 43215-2418 (614) 255-2500 Oklahoma USDA Rural Development State Office SDA, 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 654 Munoz Rivera Avenue IBM Plaza, Suite 601 Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00918-6106 (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 [[Page 17600]] 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 Street Temple, TX 76501 (254) 742-9700 Utah USDA Rural Development State Office Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building 125 South State Street, Room 4311 P. O. Box 11350 Salt Lake City, UT 84147-0350 (801) 524-4321 Vermont/New Hampshire USDA Rural Development State Office City Center, 3rd Floor 89 Main Street Montpelier, VT 05602 (802) 828-6010 Virginia USDA Rural Development State Office Culpeper Building, Suite 238 1606 Santa Rosa Road Richmond, VA 23229-5014 (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) 284-4860 Wisconsin USDA Rural Development State Office 4949 Kirschling Court Stevens Point, WI 54481 (715) 345-7610 Wyoming USDA Rural Development State Office Federal Building, Room 1005 100 East B Street P. O. Box 820 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. For the $248,375 grant, at least 75 percent of the benefits of the project must be received by members of Federally Recognized Tribes. The project that scores the greatest number of points based on the selection criteria and Administrator's points will be selected for each grant. 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 notice, grants will be made to qualified, private, non-profit organizations 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. The information collection requirements contained within this Notice have received approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 0570-0022 (7 CFR part 1942, subpart G). Fiscal Year 2003 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 contained in 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 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 preapplications are 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 preapplications, 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 June 13, 2003, 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 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 grantees will be selected by July 31, 2003. All applicants will be notified by RBS of the Agency's decision on the awards. Dated: April 3, 2003. John Rosso, Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service. [FR Doc. 03-8818 Filed 4-9-03; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P