Federal Register: October 1, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 191)
DOCID: fr01oc08-28 FR Doc E8-23116
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration
Docket ID: [Docket No.: 0809241258-81264-01]
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr01oc08-28
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice; introduce funding application form.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Introduction of New Application for Investment Assistance (Form ED-900)
DATES: On October 1, 2008, EDA will make available the new Form ED-900 for use by applicants seeking EDA investment assistance. There will be a onemonth period to completely phasein the use of the new Form ED 900. Applications received before November 1, 2008 using previously issued application forms may still be processed; however, beginning November 1, 2008, only the Form ED900, along with specific forms and attachments from the Standard Form 424 family, will be accepted for consideration. This applies to any applicant that already has submitted a PreApplication for Investment Assistance (Form ED900P). If EDA invites such an applicant's project, beginning November 1, 2008, the applicant must complete and submit the new Form ED900, with guidance from EDA. Any applications received on or after November 1, 2008 using previously issued EDA application forms will be returned to the applicant with appropriate instructions on how to access and complete the new Form ED900.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) publishes this notice to introduce its new Application for Investment Assistance (Form ED900). Previously, applicants were required to complete and submit a PreApplication for Investment Assistance (Form ED900P), followed by an Application for Investment Assistance (Form ED900A) if EDA deemed that the proposed project merited further consideration. In addition, applicants were required to submit additional application forms to address EDA's programmatic requirements, depending on the type of funding assistance sought. The new Form ED900 consolidates all EDA specific requirements into a single application form. EDA will continue to require additional governmentwide federal grant assistance forms from the Standard Form 424 family as part of the application package. This change, which is effective November 1, 2008, is prospective and will not affect previously submitted applications or require the submission of new application packages.
SUMMARY:
Introduction of New Application for Investment Assistance (Form ED-900),
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Background
EDA's mission is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. In implementing this mission pursuant to the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) (PWEDA), EDA advances growth by providing assistance to communities and regions experiencing chronic high unemployment and low per capita income to create an environment that fosters innovation, promotes entrepreneurship, and attracts increased private capital investment. Under PWEDA, EDA provides assistance through five economic development programs that support a wide range of economic development needs: (i) Public Works, which helps support the construction or rehabilitation of essential public infrastructure and facilities; (ii) Economic Adjustment Assistance, which provides a wide range of technical, planning, and infrastructure assistance and may include NonConstruction, Revolving Loan Fund, and Design and Engineering projects; (iii) Research and National and Local Technical Assistance, which supports research projects of leading, world class economic development practices and funds information dissemination efforts; (iv) Planning, which helps support planning organizations in the development, implementation, revision or replacement of comprehensive economic development strategies and includes ShortTerm and State Planning projects; and (v) the University Center Economic Development Program, which is a partnership between the federal government and academia that helps to make the varied and vast resources of universities available to economic development communities.
Previously, an applicant seeking EDA funding was required to complete and submit a maximum of three EDAspecific application forms: (i) A PreApplication for Investment Assistance (Form ED900P); (ii) an Application for Investment Assistance (Form ED900A); and (iii) a programspecific supplement to Form ED900A. The Standard Form 424 family was embedded within the Form ED900A and the applicable program specific supplement.
Structure of the New Form ED900
On October 1, 2008, EDA will introduce Form ED900, which
consolidates into a single application all of EDA's programspecific
requirements contained in the ED900P, the ED900A, and the program
specific components to ED900A. The new Form ED900 is divided into
lettered sections that correspond to specific EDA program components
(e.g., Local or National Technical Assistance; Construction
Assistance), which address all of EDA's statutory and regulatory
requirements. Only the first section, Section A, solicits general
information regarding a proposed project and must be completed by all
applicants for any type of assistance. Section B solicits specific
economic data to help EDA assess an applicant's regional eligibility
for Public Works or Economic Adjustment Assistance, and Section C
solicits information to help EDA determine the applicant's maximum
allowable investment rate for Planning, Local and National Technical
Assistance, University Center, or Research and Evaluation projects. Section D solicits documents from non
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governmental applicants relevant to organizational capacity and
structure. The remaining sections solicit information essential for EDA
to assess project effectiveness and competitiveness by program type,
such as project coordination with existing economic development
strategies and potential impact. Sections E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M,
and N solicit such information from applicants for NonConstruction,
Planning, ShortTerm Planning, State Planning, Local or National
Technical, University Center, Economic Adjustment, Revolving Loan Fund,
Construction, and Design and Engineering Assistance, respectively. The
Form ED900 also contains a series of exhibits, which include EDA and
Department of Commerce assurances and the Calculation of Estimated
Relocation and Land Acquisition Expenses. The text of the Form ED900
specifies which exhibits are required for each type of applicant. Benefits of the New Form ED900
The agency's goal in replacing the ED900P, the ED900A, and the
programspecific supplements to ED900A with the Form ED900 is to
reduce significantly the paperwork burden on applicants and government
personnel and to reduce confusion over which programspecific component
should be submitted. In addition, because the new Form ED900
consolidates all EDA requirements into a single application, EDA
anticipates and encourages increased electronic application submission
through Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov. According to Paperwork
Reduction Act estimates approved by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), the use of the ED900 will reduce applicant burden from a
combined 46 hours for Forms ED900P, ED900A, and the project specific component to 22 hours.
Where To Obtain the New Form ED900 and Submission Instructions
Applicants are advised to read carefully the instructions contained in the applicable Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcement under which they are applying, Form ED900, and the relevant Standard Forms (SF) 424 in the SF424 family. The content of the application is the same for paper submissions as it is for electronic submissions. EDA will not accept facsimile transmissions of applications.
To apply for all types of EDA assistance, applicants must submit a completed Form ED900 and the Application for Federal Assistance (Form SF424), both of which are available at Grants.gov or http:// www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Application.xml. Applicants also must submit specific forms in the SF424 family of forms, depending on whether the applicant seeks funding for a nonconstruction or constructionrelated project. For example, if an applicant seeks funding for a nonconstruction project, Budget InformationNon Construction Programs (Form SF424A) and AssurancesNonConstruction Programs (Form SF424B) also must be submitted. If an applicant seeks funding for a construction project, Budget InformationConstruction Programs (Form SF424C) and AssurancesConstruction Programs (Form SF 424D) also must be submitted. The applicant also must submit a Department of Commerce (CD) form concerning lobbying, Certification Regarding Lobbying (Form CD511) and may be required to submit to an individual background screening using Applicant for Funding Assistance (Form CD346). The applicant also may be required to submit a Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (Form SFLLL). All of these forms previously were required and embedded within the Form ED900A and the applicable programspecific supplement. The new Form ED900 provides detailed guidance to help the applicant assess whether Forms CD346 and SFLLL are required. All abovenoted forms are available through Grants.gov or at http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Application.xml. You may find most forms on Grants.gov within the SF424 Family Active Forms Repository at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/ FormLinks?family=15. Although the Form CD346 is not available on Grants.gov as a mandatory form, the new Form ED900 provides guidance on uploading the form for submission through Grants.gov in the optional documents section.
Please note that an applicant need not complete all sections of the
Form ED900. As noted above, the sections an applicant must complete is
determined by the program under which funding is sought. Based on
program type, the following table details the sections and exhibits in
the ED900 that the applicant must complete. This table also is
provided on the first page of the Instructions to the Form ED900.
EDA program Required Form ED900 section
Public Works................. Complete Sections A, B, and M and Exhibits A, D and E.
Economic Adjustment.......... Complete Sections A, B, and K and Exhibit
C. Also Complete Sections 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.
Partnership Planning......... Complete Sections A, C, E, and F and Exhibit C.
ShortTerm Planning.......... Complete Sections A, C, E, and G and Exhibit C.
State Planning............... Complete Sections A, C, E, G, and H and Exhibit C.
University Center............ Complete Sections A, C, E, and J and Exhibit C.
Local Technical Assistance... Complete Sections A, C, E, and I and Exhibit C.
National Technical Assistance Complete Sections A, C, E, and I and Exhibit B.
Research and Evaluation Complete Sections A, C, E and Exhibit B. Assistance.
Revolving Loan Fund.......... Complete Sections A, B, E, K, and L and Exhibit C.
Design and Engineering....... Complete Sections A, B, and N and Exhibit C.
All forms required for a complete application for EDA assistance may be submitted either: (i) In paper (hardcopy) format at the applicable regional office address provided below; or (ii) electronically in accordance with the procedures provided on Grants.gov.
Addresses and Telephone Numbers for EDA's Regional Offices: Applicants in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, may submit hard copy applications to: Economic Development Administration, Atlanta Regional Office, 401 West Peachtree Street, NW., Suite 1820, Atlanta, Georgia 30308, Telephone: (404) 7303002, Fax: (404) 7303025.
Applicants in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas may submit hard copy applications to:
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Economic Development Administration, Austin Regional Office, 504
Lavaca, Suite 1100, Austin, Texas 787012858, Telephone: (512) 381 8144, Fax: (512) 3818177.
Applicants in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Muscatine and Scott counties, Iowa, may submit hard copy applications to: Economic Development Administration, Chicago Regional Office, 111 North Canal Street, Suite 855, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
Telephone: (312) 3537706, Fax: (312) 3538575.
Applicants in Colorado, Iowa (excluding Muscatine and Scott
counties), Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, may submit hard copy applications to:
Economic Development Administration, 410 17th Street, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202.
Telephone: (303) 8444714, Fax: (303) 8443968.
Applicants in 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, may submit hard copy applications to:
Economic Development Administration, Philadelphia Regional Office,
Curtis Center, 601 Walnut Street, Suite 140 South, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.
Telephone: (215) 5974603, Fax: (215) 5971063.
Applicants in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam,
Hawaii, Idaho, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nevada, Northern Mariana
Islands, Oregon, Republic of Palau and Washington, may submit hard copy
applications to: Economic Development Administration, Seattle Regional
Office, Jackson Federal Building, Room 1890, 915 Second Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98174.
Telephone: (206) 2207660, Fax: (206) 2207669.
Paper Submissions: Applicants choosing this option must submit one original and two copies of the completed application via postal mail, shipped overnight or handdelivered 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 wish to submit paper applications are advised to use guaranteed overnight delivery services.
Electronic Submissions: Applicants choosing this option should submit applications in accordance with the instructions provided at http://www.grants.gov/assets/ FindApplyUserGuide.pdf for detailed instructions on electronic submissions. You may access the application packages for EDA's two current funding announcements, Economic Development Assistance Programs (Funding Opportunity Number EDA021908) and Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity (Funding Number EDA08112008) at http:// www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp. The preferred file format for electronic attachments to the new Form ED900 (e.g., the project description and letters of commitment for construction projects) is portable document format (PDF); however, EDA will accept electronic files in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or WordPerfect formats.
Applicants should access the following link for assistance in navigating 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 email at support@grants.gov or telephone at 1.800.518.4726. The hours of operation for http://www.grants.gov are MondayFriday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Eastern Time) (except for federal holidays).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Maureen Klovers, Office of Regional Affairs, Economic Development Administration; Telephone: 2024822785; Email: mklovers@eda.doc.gov.