[Federal Register: January 9, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 6)]
[Notices]               
[Page 876-882]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ja09-14]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration

[Docket No.: 0811061422-9003-02]

 
Solicitation of Applications for the FY 2009 Second Supplemental 
Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity Pursuant to the Consolidated 
Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, 
Public Law Number 110-329, 122 Stat. 3574 (2008)

AGENCY: Economic Development Administration (EDA), Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice and request for applications.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 703 of the Public Works and Economic 
Development Act of 1965, as amended, and the Consolidated Security, 
Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, EDA 
announces general policies and application procedures for the FY 2009 
Second Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity. 
Pursuant to this notice, EDA solicits applications for Economic 
Adjustment Assistance investments (CFDA No. 11.307). This Economic 
Adjustment Assistance will help devise long-term economic redevelopment 
strategies and carry out implementation activities and public works 
projects to address economic development challenges in regions impacted 
by hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters during 2008 and 
covered by a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Through the Economic 
Adjustment Assistance program, selected applicants will utilize EDA's 
flexible set of program tools to develop and implement on a regional 
basis long-term economic redevelopment strategies for the recently 
disaster-impacted regions in the United States. As stated below under 
``Electronic Access,'' the complete federal funding opportunity 
announcement for this notice and request for applications is available 
at http://www.grants.gov and at http://www.eda.gov, and provides more 
detailed information regarding the FY 2009 Second Supplemental 
Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity.

DATES: Applications are accepted on a continuing basis and processed as 
received. For all applications, EDA anticipates award notification 
approximately sixty (60) days after receipt of a completed application. 
All applications may be submitted electronically in accordance with the 
instructions provided at http://www.grants.gov or mailed to the 
applicable EDA regional office listed below under ``Addresses and 
Telephone Numbers for EDA's Regional Offices.''
    Application Submission Requirements: On October 1, 2008, EDA 
published a notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 57049) to introduce 
its new, streamlined Application for Investment Assistance (Form ED-
900), which consolidates all EDA-specific requirements into a single 
application form. Form ED-900 replaces the suite of forms previously 
required by EDA for federal funding (the Pre-Application for Investment 
Assistance (Form ED-900P), the Application for Investment Assistance 
(Form ED-900A), and the program-specific components to Form ED-900A). 
EDA, however, will continue to require additional government-wide 
federal grant assistance forms from the Standard Form (SF) 424 family 
and certain Department of Commerce (CD) forms that were a part of EDA's 
previous suite of forms. The specific SF forms required with the Form 
ED-900 depend on whether the applicant seeks construction or non-
construction assistance.
    Applicants seeking assistance for a project with construction 
components are required to complete and submit the following:
    (i) Form ED-900 (Application for Investment Assistance);
    (ii) Form SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance);

[[Page 877]]

    (iii) Form SF-424C (Budget Information--Construction Programs);
    (iv) Form SF-424D (Assurances--Construction Programs); and
    (v) Form CD-511 (Certification Regarding Lobbying).
    Applicants seeking assistance for a project without construction 
components are required to complete and submit the following forms:
    (i) Form ED-900 (Application for Investment Assistance);
    (ii) Form SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance);
    (iii) Form SF-424A (Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs);
    (vi) Form SF-424B (Assurances--Non-Construction Programs); and
    (v) Form CD-511 (Certification Regarding Lobbying).
    Applicants for both construction and non-construction assistance 
may be required to submit to an individual background screening on the 
form titled Applicant for Funding Assistance (Form CD-346) and to 
provide certain lobbying information using the form titled Disclosure 
of Lobbying Activities (Form SF-LLL). The new Form ED-900 provides 
detailed guidance to help the applicant assess whether Forms CD-346 and 
SF-LLL are required and how to access them.
    Content and Form of the Form ED-900: The applicant is advised to 
read carefully the instructions contained in this notice and in all 
forms contained in the appropriate application package. It is the sole 
responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the appropriate 
application package is complete and received by EDA.
    The new Form ED-900 is divided into lettered sections that 
correspond to specific EDA program components that address all of EDA's 
statutory and regulatory requirements. Based on program type, the Form 
ED-900 details the sections and exhibits that the applicant must 
complete. Because this solicitation seeks Economic Adjustment 
Assistance applications only, an applicant must complete certain 
sections as detailed in the table below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
              EDA program                 Required form ED-900 sections
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Economic Adjustment....................  Complete Sections A, B, and K
                                          and Exhibit C. Also complete
                                          Section M and Exhibits A, D,
                                          and E if request has
                                          construction components, and
                                          Section N if request has only
                                          design/engineering
                                          requirements. Complete Section
                                          E if request has no
                                          construction components.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Addresses and Telephone Numbers for EDA's Regional Offices: 
Applicants eligible for assistance under this notice may request paper 
(hardcopy) application packages by contacting the applicable EDA 
regional office servicing your geographic area listed below. 
Alternatively, applicants may obtain the application packages 
electronically. All components of the applicable application package 
may be accessed and downloaded at either http://www.grants.gov or 
http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Application.xml.
    Applicants who wish to obtain forms in a screen-fillable format are 
directed to download a complete application package from http://
www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp. Applicants should be 
aware that only the Forms ED-900 and CD-346 are screen-fillable. 
Required forms from the Standard Form (SF) 424 family are not screen-
fillable on EDA's Web site, and the applicant will have to print these 
forms and complete them manually or with a typewriter.

Economic Development Administration, Atlanta Regional Office, 401 West 
Peachtree Street, NW., Suite 1820, Atlanta, Georgia 30308, Telephone: 
(404) 730-3002, Fax: (404) 730-3025, Serves: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Economic Development Administration, Austin Regional Office, 504 Lavaca 
Street, Suite 1100, Austin, Texas 78701, Telephone: (512) 381-8144, 
Fax: (512) 381-8177, Serves: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma 
and Texas.
Economic Development Administration, Chicago Regional Office, 111 North 
Canal Street, Suite 855, Chicago, Illinois 60606, Telephone: (312) 353-
7706, Fax: (312) 353-8575, Serves: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Muscatine and Scott counties, Iowa.
Economic Development Administration, Denver Regional Office, 410 17th 
Street, Suite 250, Denver, Colorado 80202, Telephone: (303) 844-4714, 
Fax: (303) 844-3968, Serves: Colorado, Iowa (excluding Muscatine and 
Scott counties), Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, 
South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Economic Development Administration, Philadelphia Regional Office, 
Curtis Center, 601 Walnut Street, Suite 140 South, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania 19106, Telephone: (215) 597-4603, Fax: (215) 597-1063, 
Serves: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, 
Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and 
West Virginia.
Economic Development Administration, Seattle Regional Office, Jackson 
Federal Building, Room 1890, 915 Second Avenue, Seattle, Washington 
98174, Telephone: (206) 220-7660, Fax: (206) 220-7669, Serves: Alaska, 
American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Marshall 
Islands, Micronesia, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Republic 
of Palau and Washington.

    Application Submission Formats: Applications may be submitted 
either (i) in paper (hardcopy) format to the applicable regional office 
address provided above; or (ii) electronically in accordance with the 
procedures provided on http://www.grants.gov. The content of 
applications is the same for paper submissions as it is for electronic 
submissions. EDA will not accept facsimile transmissions of 
applications.
    Paper Submissions: Under this solicitation, an applicant for EDA 
investment assistance may submit a completed paper application to the 
applicable EDA regional office listed above. The applicant should 
contact the appropriate regional office to obtain an application 
package or download and print copies of the application package 
appropriate to the type of assistance sought, whether construction or 
non-construction.
    The applicant must submit one original and two copies of the 
appropriate completed application package via postal mail, shipped 
overnight, or hand-delivered to the applicable regional office, unless 
otherwise directed by EDA staff. Department of Commerce mail security 
measures may delay receipt of United States Postal Service mail for up 
to two weeks. Therefore, applicants who submit paper submissions are 
advised to use guaranteed overnight delivery services.
    Electronic Submissions: Applicants are encouraged to submit 
applications

[[Page 878]]

electronically in accordance with the instructions provided at http://
www.grants.gov. The preferred file format for electronic attachments is 
portable document format (PDF); however, EDA will accept electronic 
files in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or Microsoft Excel formats.
    Applicants should access the following link for assistance in 
navigating http://www.grants.gov and for a list of useful resources: 
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_help.jsp. If you do not 
find an answer to your question under Frequently Asked Questions, try 
consulting the Applicant's User Guide. If you still cannot find an 
answer to your question, contact http://www.grants.gov via e-mail at 
support@grants.gov or telephone at 1-800-518-4726. The hours of 
operation for http://www.grants.gov are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
(Eastern Time) (except for federal holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or for a 
paper copy of the complete federal funding opportunity (FFO) 
announcement for the FY 2009 Second Supplemental Appropriations 
Disaster Relief Opportunity, contact the appropriate EDA regional 
office listed above under ``Addresses and Telephone Numbers for EDA's 
Regional Offices.'' EDA's Internet Web site at http://www.eda.gov also 
contains additional information on EDA and its programs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Electronic Access: Applicants are highly encouraged to refer to the 
FY 2009 Second Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity 
Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcement for additional detailed 
information on program information and application requirements. The 
FFO is available at http://www.grants.gov and at http://www.eda.gov. 
This notice is for the Second Supplemental Appropriations Disaster 
Relief Opportunity only. Please also access the separate FFO 
announcement posted at http://www.grants.gov on October 1, 2008, for 
information regarding the first Supplemental Appropriations Disaster 
Relief Opportunity. Please access the separate FFO announcement posted 
at http://www.grants.gov on October 1, 2008 for information regarding 
funding priorities, application and selection processes, time frames, 
and evaluation criteria for EDA's regular Economic Adjustment 
Assistance and Public Works investments, which are funded under the FY 
2009 Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2009, Public Law 110-329, 122 Stat. 3574 (2008). 
Additional information may be found at EDA's Internet Web site at 
http://www.eda.gov.
    Background Information: On September 30, 2008, Congress enacted the 
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2009, Public Law 110-329, 122 Stat. 3574 (2008) 
(Second Disaster Appropriation). Under the Second Disaster 
Appropriation, EDA received $400,000,000 as a supplemental 
appropriation for disaster assistance. The statute mandates that these 
funds be used in regions covered by a major disaster declaration under 
title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) (Stafford Act) as a result of 
``hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters occurring during 
2008.'' For purposes of this solicitation, EDA interprets ``occurring 
during 2008'' to mean disaster declarations starting January 1, 2008 
for incident periods occurring through December 31, 2008.
    Through the FY 2009 Second Supplemental Appropriations Disaster 
Relief Opportunity, EDA intends to award investments for expenses 
related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration of 
infrastructure related to the consequences of hurricanes, floods and 
other natural disasters occurring during 2008 for which the President 
declared a major disaster under title IV of the Stafford Act. Please 
see section III.B of the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) for a list 
of natural disaster declarations that are within the scope of this 
solicitation. EDA solicits applications for Economic Adjustment 
Assistance investments under the Public Works and Economic Development 
Act of 1965, as amended (PWEDA) (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.). Under the 
Economic Adjustment Assistance program (CFDA No. 11.307), selected 
applicants will utilize EDA's flexible set of program tools to develop 
and implement on a regional basis long-term economic redevelopment 
strategies for the recently disaster-impacted regions in the United 
States.
    Through this competitive solicitation, EDA seeks to fund 
investments that generate new employment opportunities for regions 
suffering economic distress in the form of high unemployment, 
underemployment, low per capita incomes, and outmigration due to the 
2008 natural disasters. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program can 
provide a wide range of technical, planning and infrastructure 
assistance. This program is designed to respond adaptively to pressing 
economic recovery issues and is well suited to help address the 
challenges faced by the regions affected by the hurricanes, floods and 
other natural disasters occurring during 2008. Assistance can support 
the development of a strategy to alleviate economic dislocation caused 
by the disaster (a strategy grant) or support project implementation 
(an implementation grant), such as infrastructure improvements.
    EDA's economic development activities encourage business growth and 
increased business establishment, retention and expansion, and help 
create jobs. Post-disaster recovery activities that do not contribute 
directly to these goals (such as flood mapping, levee public works or 
housing) are entirely necessary to the recovery effort and may lead 
indirectly to economic development. However, those types of activities 
are funded by other federal agencies and are therefore not within the 
province of the funding opportunities provided in the FFO. EDA's 
statutory mandate, as applied to post-disaster assistance, is to help 
formulate and implement economic recovery strategies to restore, 
replace and expand economic activity in disaster-impacted regions and 
prioritize projects that will diversify the economic base and lead to a 
stronger, more globally competitive and disaster-resilient regional 
economy. By maintaining its focus on economic development, EDA fulfills 
its mission to lead the federal economic development agenda by 
promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions 
for growth and success in the worldwide economy.
    EDA recognizes that urgent infrastructure rebuilding needs exist 
throughout the regions affected by recent natural disasters. In 
addition, tensions often arise in the wake of a disaster between 
advocates of immediate infrastructure rebuilding and advocates of 
rebuilding infrastructure pursuant to a long-term redevelopment 
strategy. In EDA's experience with post-disaster recovery, the most 
effective long-term infrastructure rebuilding efforts are based on a 
long-term development or redevelopment strategy, established either 
before or after the disaster. For this reason, EDA encourages the 
submission of applications geared toward the development and 
implementation of long-term, regionally-based, collaborative economic 
redevelopment strategies. EDA will regard applications for 
infrastructure that are substantively supported by such a strategy as 
competitive. Applications that are not demonstrably supported by a 
long-term

[[Page 879]]

plan ordinarily will not be viewed as competitive. EDA will evaluate 
and select applications according to the information set forth below 
under ``Evaluation Criteria'' and ``Funding Priorities'' and in section 
V. of the FFO announcement.
    In addition to soliciting applications for all eligible types of 
Economic Adjustment projects, EDA specifically encourages submission of 
applications for the following types of projects under the Economic 
Adjustment Assistance program.
    State-Based ``Mother Grants.'' States most severely impacted by the 
2008 disasters may submit applications to fund ``mother grants'' to 
assist States to recover from the disasters. The major distinction 
between a ``mother grant'' award and EDA's traditional award is that 
the amount distributed at one time to a State may be larger than the 
usual EDA award, with the intent that funds will be distributed 
expeditiously to respond to the needs of disaster-affected regions and 
communities. States may directly expend mother grant funds or may 
redistribute the funds in the form of sub-grants to other eligible 
recipients for disaster-related individual projects that are required 
components of the EDA-approved scope of work for the mother grant 
project. See section 217 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3154c). Each State mother 
grant recipient will have three years from the date of execution of its 
mother grant award to expend or redistribute as sub-grants the funds 
obligated pursuant to the investment. Funds not expended or 
redistributed prior to the end of the three-year period will be de-
obligated and re-obligated pursuant to the terms of the award. States 
applying for mother grants are required to demonstrate quantitatively 
and qualitatively the connection between the amount of their proposed 
mother grant and the extent of damage suffered and needs established 
within the State's affected areas, including such factors as the scale 
of damage suffered, the existence of contiguous affected areas, 
historical frequency of disaster occurrence and the size of affected 
population. States also are encouraged to list specific projects, if 
known, which they believe would be suitable candidates for EDA funding. 
Each sub-grant redistributed by the State to a region subject to a 
disaster declaration (see section III.B of the FFO) will be subject to 
the final approval of EDA in its sole discretion prior to the issuance 
of the sub-grant. No disbursement will be made under the grant for any 
sub-grant for which until EDA has not provided its final approval. Each 
State's mother grant award documents will contain a provision 
prohibiting the disbursement of any EDA funds to any sub-grant unless 
EDA has received and approved the budget and proposal for that sub-
grant project. In addition, each sub-grant redistributed by the State 
to a region subject to a disaster declaration (see section III.B of the 
FFO) will be required to comply with all EDA requirements throughout 
the life of each sub-grant project as though it were invested directly 
by EDA. EDA will review amounts budgeted for administration, including 
amounts proposed for the use of consultants, carefully for 
reasonableness and conformity with the applicable cost principles. When 
a State determines that it will expend mother grant funds directly for 
a project, rather than through redistribution as a sub-grant, similar 
requirements in terms of final approval, budgeting, and compliance with 
EDA requirements will apply.
    Universities and Research Institution Grants. Universities, other 
accredited institutions of higher education, and qualified non-profit 
research institutions may submit applications to fund a full range of 
methodologically rigorous peer-review quality research proposals and 
other activities appropriate to a multi-disciplinary approach to 
developing disaster-resilient regional economies in areas affected by 
the 2008 natural disasters (see Section III.B. of the FFO). Examples of 
such activities include the development and construction of business 
incubators for enterprises with a disaster-resilience orientation, 
facilities for the conduct of commercialized disaster-resilience 
research, the development of regional disaster-resilient economic 
development strategies, and the design and development of disaster-
resilient infrastructure architecture. The scope of work of any 
proposed project must tie directly to the development of a disaster-
resilient economy in an area affected by the 2008 natural disasters 
(see section III.B of the FFO). Institutions applying for these 
investments are required to demonstrate the connection between the 
amount of their proposed investment and the extent of damage suffered 
and needs established within their service region's areas due to the 
2008 natural disasters, including such factors as the scale of damage 
suffered, the existence of contiguous affected areas, historical 
frequency of disaster occurrence, and the size of the affected 
population.
    Regional Strategy Grants for Disaster Resilience. Eligible 
applicants may apply to one or more EDA regional office to undertake 
the strategic development and implementation of disaster-resilient 
regional economies in areas affected by the 2008 natural disasters (see 
Section III.B. of the FFO). These projects would integrate existing 
State-based strategic redevelopment campaigns into an overarching 
approach involving private sector-specific groups, collaboration 
between or among State governments within a defined region, and other 
cross-cutting interests. Such projects would map, evaluate and 
integrate existing regional assets such as communication, intermodal 
facility, port, aviation, highway, healthcare, energy, education, 
ecosystem natural defense and other critical infrastructure systems, 
all to promote the competitiveness of the region for the next twenty 
years, increasing its resilience and sustainability in the face of 
future disasters. EDA will evaluate applications based on the following 
four criteria, each of which shall be weighted at 12.5% and combined 
shall comprise 50% of an application's score. The evaluation criteria 
set forth in section V.B of the FFO shall be weighed at 10% each and 
shall provide the remaining 50% of an application's score.
    (a) Experience in disaster redevelopment work (12.5%);
    (b) Prior and existing work with cross-cutting private sector 
interests (12.5%);
    (c) Prior and existing work with governments at the State and local 
levels (12.5%); and
    (d) Presentation of a list of robust benchmarks, milestones and 
deliverables incorporated into the scope of work (12.5%).
    EDA anticipates that applicants for a regional strategy grant would 
consist of economic development organizations of national or 
significant regional scope. Applicants may form consortia to undertake 
the work; however, one entity must assume principal responsibility for 
undertaking, completing, and reporting on the work, and all consortium 
members must be EDA eligible applicants. Applicants may define a multi-
State region within their scope of work that falls within the service 
area of more than one EDA regional office. In this event, the applicant 
shall submit its application to each EDA regional office whose service 
area includes a State within the applicant's defined region (example: 
an application whose proposed region includes Iowa and Indiana would be 
submitted to both of EDA's Denver and Chicago Regional Offices). The 
evaluation panel for such applications will consist of senior career 
officials in equal numbers from each of the relevant EDA regional 
offices, and the Regional Directors from those offices will serve 
jointly as Selecting Officials.

[[Page 880]]

In the event that the Regional Directors cannot agree on a selection, 
then the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Affairs (or such 
official who is acting in that position) shall be the Selecting 
Official, and shall also decide who will serve as the Grants Officer 
for the project. Successful applicants will be required to complete 
their scope of work within no more than a two-year timeframe, unless 
the applicant specifies a longer timeframe in its application and EDA 
and the recipient agree to the same in the award document. Applicants 
must place their proposal in the context of other disaster resiliency 
efforts being funded by the States and Federal Government, to avoid 
unwarranted duplication of effort.
    Funding Availability: Under the Consolidated Security, Disaster 
Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, Public Law 110-
329, 122 Stat. 3574 (2008) (Second Disaster Appropriation), EDA 
received $400,000,000 as a supplemental appropriation for disaster 
assistance. As set out below, EDA will allocate the $400,000,000 
appropriation provided in the Second Disaster Appropriation among its 
six regional offices, located in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Denver, 
Philadelphia and Seattle. The allocation formula consisted of six 
elements weighted according to their perceived impact on recover 
efforts and included population, inverse per capita income, 
unemployment, the number of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
public assistance-eligible counties, the number of FEMA designated 
counties, and the number of National Response Center environmental 
damage incidents resulting from natural occurrences. See also section 
II.B of the FFO announcement. The funds are provided for the necessary 
expenses related to the following three activities: (i) Disaster 
relief; (ii) long-term recovery; and (iii) restoration of 
infrastructure.

Percentage and Funding Allocations per Regional Office

Atlanta Regional Office--14.38% or $57.5 million
Austin Regional Office--33.58% or $134.3 million
Chicago Regional Office--15.00% or $60.0 million
Denver Regional Office--26.14% or $104.6 million
Philadelphia Regional Office--6.93% or $27.7 million
Seattle Regional Office--3.96% or $15.8 million
    At a later date, EDA may adjust this allocation to the regional 
offices, based on its experience in administering the supplemental 
appropriation to ensure funds are used to maximum effect, or to adjust 
to unforeseen changes in recovery efforts.
    Statutory Authority: The statutory authority for the Economic 
Adjustment Assistance program is section 209 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3149). 
Unless otherwise provided in this notice or in the FFO announcement, 
applicant eligibility, program objectives and priorities, application 
procedures, evaluation criteria, selection procedures, and other 
requirements for all programs are set forth in EDA's regulations 
(codified at 13 CFR chapter III). EDA's regulations and PWEDA are 
available at http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Lawsreg.xml. Please 
note that EDA funds may not be used directly or indirectly to reimburse 
any attorneys' or consultants' fees incurred in connection with 
obtaining investment assistance under the FFO. See 13 CFR 302.10.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.307, 
Economic Adjustment Assistance.
    Applicant Eligibility: Pursuant to PWEDA, eligible applicants for 
and eligible recipients of EDA investment assistance under this 
announcement include a(n): (i) District Organization; (ii) Indian Tribe 
or a consortium of Indian Tribes; (iii) State, city or other political 
subdivision of a State, including a special purpose unit of a State or 
local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development 
activities, or a consortium of political subdivisions; (iv) institution 
of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher 
education; or (v) public or private non-profit organization or 
association acting in cooperation with officials of a political 
subdivision of a State. See section 3 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3122) and 13 
CFR 300.3.
    For the FY 2009 Second Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief 
Opportunity, EDA will consider applications submitted by eligible 
applicants located in or acting on behalf of the disaster-affected 
regions, including one or more institutions of higher education; one or 
more of the States, cities or other units of local government; and 
economic development organizations, including but not limited to 
regional multi-jurisdictional District Organizations and public or 
private non-profit organizations working in cooperation with private 
for-profit organizations, local businesses and industry leaders.
    EDA is not authorized to provide grants directly to individuals or 
to for-profit entities seeking to start or expand a private business. 
Such requests may be referred to State or local agencies, or to non-
profit economic development organizations.
    Economic Distress Criteria: Pursuant to the Second Disaster 
Appropriation, regional eligibility is predicated upon the Presidential 
declarations of disaster areas and/or disaster declarations issued by 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as listed in section 
III.B of the FFO announcement.
    Cost Sharing Requirement: As stated above, the disaster 
declarations issued by FEMA provide EDA with the requisite 
determination of eligibility under section 703 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 
3233). Similar to the cost-sharing required under that Act, EDA expects 
to fund seventy-five (75) percent of the eligible cost of such 
assistance. The remaining twenty-five (25) percent must be borne by the 
recipient or provided to the recipient by a third-party as a 
contribution for the purposes of, and subject to the terms of, the 
award. In accordance with statutory authority under section 703 of 
PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3233), EDA may increase the investment rate up to a 
maximum of one hundred (100) percent. EDA will be particularly inclined 
to fund regional strategy grants (as mentioned under ``Background 
Information'' above) at an investment rate of one hundred (100) 
percent. In determining whether to increase the federal share above 
seventy-five (75) percent, EDA will consider whether the applicant has 
exhausted its effective taxing or borrowing capacity, or other indicia 
of dire need. Therefore, the applicant must fully describe and define 
the ``region'' in which the proposed project will be located, and is 
responsible for demonstrating to EDA, by providing statistics and other 
appropriate information, the nature and level of economic distress in 
the region.
    While cash contributions are preferred, in-kind contributions, 
consisting of contributions of space, equipment, or services, or 
forgiveness or assumptions of debt, may provide the required non-
federal share of the total project cost. See section 204(b) of PWEDA 
(42 U.S.C. 3144). EDA will fairly evaluate all in-kind contributions, 
which must be eligible project costs and meet applicable federal cost 
principles and uniform administrative requirements. Funds from other 
federal financial assistance awards are considered matching share funds 
only if authorized by statute, which may be determined by EDA's 
reasonable interpretation of the statute. See 13 CFR 300.3. The 
applicant must show that the matching share is committed to the project 
for the project period, will be available as needed and is not

[[Page 881]]

conditioned or encumbered in any way that precludes its use consistent 
with the requirements of EDA investment assistance. See 13 CFR 301.5.
    Intergovernmental Review: Proposals or applications for assistance 
under EDA's programs are subject to the State review requirements 
imposed by Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.''
    Evaluation and Selection Procedures: EDA's six regional offices 
conduct all application review for EDA's Economic Adjustment Assistance 
investments. Each application is circulated by a project officer within 
the applicable EDA regional office for review and comments. When the 
necessary input and information are obtained, the application is 
considered by the regional office's investment review committee (IRC), 
which is comprised of regional office staff. The IRC discusses the 
application to determine if it meets the program-specific award and 
application requirements provided in 13 CFR 307.2 and 307.4 for 
Economic Adjustment Assistance, and evaluates it using the general 
evaluation criteria set forth in 13 CFR 301.8. These general evaluation 
criteria also are provided below under ``Evaluation Criteria.''
    EDA will notify the applicant if EDA accepts a completed 
application, and will forward it for final review and processing in 
accordance with EDA and Department of Commerce procedures. The 
Selecting Official, who is the Regional Director, may consider the 
evaluations and recommendations provided by the IRC and the degree to 
which one or more of the funding priorities provided below are 
included, in making the decision as to which applications for 
investment assistance will be awarded funding. Depending on the quality 
of the applications received, the Selecting Official also may select an 
application outside of the IRC's recommendations or make no selection 
at all.
    To limit the burden on the applicant, EDA requests additional 
documentation only if EDA determines that the applicant's project 
merits further consideration. The Form ED-900 provides detailed 
guidance on documentation, information, and other materials that will 
be requested if, and only if, EDA selects the project for further 
consideration. EDA will inform the applicant if its application has 
been selected for further consideration or if the application has not 
been selected for funding. Unsuccessful applications will be retained 
in the EDA regional office in accordance with EDA's record retention 
schedule.
    Evaluation Criteria: EDA will select applications competitively 
based on the investment policy guidelines and funding priority 
considerations listed below. EDA will evaluate the extent to which a 
project embodies the maximum number of investment policy guidelines and 
funding priorities possible and strongly exemplifies at least one of 
each. EDA will give additional favorable consideration to applications 
for: (a) State-based mother grants; (b) university and other research 
institution grants; and (c) regional strategy grants for disaster 
resilience, each as described above. All investment applications will 
be competitively evaluated primarily on their ability to satisfy one 
(1) or more of the following investment policy guidelines, each of 
which are of equivalent weight and also are set forth in 13 CFR 301.8.
    1. Be market-based and results driven. An EDA investment will 
capitalize on a region's competitive strengths and will positively move 
a regional economic indicator measured on EDA's Balanced Scorecard, 
such as: an increased number of higher-skill, higher-wage jobs; 
increased tax revenue; or increased private sector investment.
    2. Have strong organizational leadership. An EDA investment will 
have strong leadership, relevant project management experience, and a 
significant commitment of human resources talent to ensure a project's 
successful execution.
    3. Advance productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship. An EDA 
investment will embrace the principles of entrepreneurship, enhance 
regional industry clusters, and leverage and link technology innovators 
and local universities to the private sector to create the conditions 
for greater productivity, innovation, and job creation.
    4. Look beyond the immediate economic horizon, anticipate economic 
changes, and diversify the local and regional economy. An EDA 
investment will be part of an overarching, long-term comprehensive 
economic development strategy that enhances a region's success in 
achieving a rising standard of living by supporting existing industry 
clusters, developing emerging new clusters, or attracting new regional 
economic drivers.
    5. Demonstrate a high degree of local commitment by exhibiting:
     High levels of local government or non-profit matching 
funds and private sector leverage;
     Clear and unified leadership and support by local elected 
officials; and
     Strong cooperation between the business sector, relevant 
regional partners and local, State and Federal governments.
    In addition to using the investment policy guidelines set forth 
above, EDA also will evaluate all strategy grant applications based on 
the (i) quality of the proposed scope of work for the development, 
implementation, revision or replacement of a comprehensive economic 
development strategy (CEDS); and (ii) qualifications of the applicant 
to implement the goals and objectives resulting from the CEDS. See 13 
CFR 303.3(a)(1) and (2). To ensure that the application fully meets 
these requirements, applicants should pay particular attention to 13 
CFR 303.7(b), which sets forth specific technical requirements for the 
CEDS.
    Funding Priorities: Although the Stafford Act declarations serve as 
a finding of regional economic distress for purposes of eligibility 
under this competitive solicitation, EDA will give priority to projects 
that will render the maximum amount of economic revitalization based on 
satisfaction of one or more of the following core criteria (investment 
applications that meet more than one core criterion will be given more 
favorable consideration):
    1. Investments in support of long-term, coordinated and 
collaborative regional economic development approaches:
     Establish comprehensive regional economic development 
strategies that identify promising opportunities for long-term economic 
growth.
     Exhibit demonstrable, committed multi-jurisdictional 
support from leaders across all sectors:
    i. Public (e.g., mayors, city councils, county executives, senior 
State leadership);
    ii. Institutional (e.g., institutions of higher learning);
    iii. Non-profit (e.g., chambers of commerce, development 
organizations); and
    iv. Private (e.g., leading regional businesses, significant 
regional industry associations).
     Generate quantifiable positive economic outcomes.
     Make a persuasive case that the project would not have 
occurred ``but for'' EDA's investment assistance (e.g., a project in 
which EDA's assistance represents a substantial share of the total 
public infrastructure investment and which are unlikely to attract 
public investment absent specific and discrete EDA involvement).
    2. Investments that support innovation and competitiveness:
     Develop and enhance the functioning and competitiveness of

[[Page 882]]

leading and emerging industry clusters in an economic region.
     Advance technology transfer from research institutions to 
the commercial marketplace.
     Bolster critical infrastructure (e.g., transportation, 
communications, specialized training) to prepare economic regions to 
compete in the world-wide marketplace.
     Leverage local partnerships and other federal programs 
(e.g., Economic Development District Organizations, Trade Adjustment 
Assistance Centers, University Centers, the U.S. Department of Labor's 
Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) 
initiative) that increase the project's probability of success, as well 
as its probability of bringing substantial benefits to the distress 
community in which it is located.
    3. Investments that encourage entrepreneurship:
     Cultivate a favorable entrepreneurial environment 
consistent with regional strategies.
     Enable economic regions to identify innovative 
opportunities among growth-oriented small and medium-size enterprises.
     Promote community and faith-based entrepreneurship 
programs aimed at improving economic performance in an economic region.
     Link the economic benefits of the project to the 
distressed community in which it is located.
    4. Support strategies that link regional economies with the global 
marketplace:
     Enable businesses and local governments to understand that 
ninety-five (95) percent of our potential customers do not live in the 
United States.
     Enable businesses, local governments and key institutions 
(e.g., institutions of higher education) to understand and take 
advantage of the numerous free trade agreements.
     Enable economic development professionals to develop and 
implement strategies that reflect the competitive environment of the 
21st Century global marketplace.
    The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements: The administrative and national 
policy requirements for all Department of Commerce awards, contained in 
the Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements, published in the Federal Register on 
February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), are applicable to this solicitation.
    Paperwork Reduction Act: This document contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
The use of Form ED-900 (Application for Investment Assistance) has been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Control 
Number 0610-0094. The use of Forms SF-424 (Application for Financial 
Assistance), SF-424A (Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs), 
SF-424B (Assurances--Non-Construction Programs), SF-424C (Budget 
Information--Construction Programs), and SF-424D (Assurances--
Construction Programs) has been approved under OMB Control Numbers 
4040-0004, 0348-0041, 4040-0007, and 4040-0009, respectively. The Form 
CD-346 (Applicant for Funding Assistance) is approved under OMB control 
number 0605-0001, and Form SF-LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) 
is approved under OMB control number 0348-0046. Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall 
any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a 
collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless 
that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.
    Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review): This notice 
has been determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive 
Order 12866.
    Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): It has been determined that 
this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as 
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
    Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior 
notice and an opportunity for public comments are not required by the 
Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules concerning 
grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because notice 
and opportunity for comment are not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 
or any other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ) are inapplicable. Therefore, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis has not been prepared.

    Dated: January 5, 2009.
Casey Hoffman,
Chief of Staff, Economic Development Administration.
 [FR Doc. E9-184 Filed 1-8-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-24-P