1074 Substantial amendments for the Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery; 2012 and 2013 allocations; public hearing

Substantial Amendments for the Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery; 2012 and 2013 Allocations; Public Hearing

[46 Pa.B. 3268]
[Saturday, June 25, 2016]

 A public comment period will be held to review the proposed substantial amendments to the Commonwealth for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) (PL 112-55) funds and FY 2013 CDBG-DR (PL 113-2) funds. The public comment period is from June 26, 2016, through July 26, 2016.

 The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a notice at 77 FR 22583 (April 16, 2012) which awarded $27,142,501 of CDBG-DR funds to the Commonwealth to be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (Department). This was the first allocation of CDBG-DR funding to assist the State with recovery from 2011 storm events (April 2011 Storms—FEMA-4003-DR; Hurricane Irene—FEMA-4025-DR; and Tropical Storm Lee—FEMA-4030-DR). An Action Plan for these funds was submitted to HUD on July 23, 2012, and subsequently approved. Since then the Department has published and received approval for three Substantial Action Plan Amendments to this first allocation of CDBG-DR funding under PL 112-55. The needs for disaster relief have evolved since the submission of the last Substantial Action Plan Amendment on August 11, 2014, and the completion of the first round of applications for assistance by affected municipalities. The Commonwealth has updated its unmet needs analysis and made some changes to the funding allocations under the PL 112-55 appropriation to reflect this new analysis as well as the strategic priorities of the Commonwealth.

PL 112-55

 Under PL 112-55, the Commonwealth has eliminated the Economic Development Business Stimulus and Resiliency Program due to a lack of unmet need and demand for the program. The funding has been allocated to the following programs:

 - Housing Repair, Reconstruction and Elevation Program: $9,660,501

 - Buyout Program: $1,963,501

 - New Housing Construction Program: $500,000

 - Down Payment Assistance Program: $1,000,000

 - Multifamily Rental Housing Program: $500,000

 - Infrastructure Program: $11,536,374

 - Planning: $625,000

 - Administration: $1,357,125

 • Project caps under each program have been removed as well as the provision that required an amendment if 10% or more funding from a program was moved to another program.

PL 113-2

 The Commonwealth received $29,986,000 from HUD under The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (Pub.L. No. 113-2), approved January 29, 2013. This was the second allocation of CDBG-DR funding to assist the State with recovery from 2011 storm events (April 2011 Storms—FEMA-4003-DR; Hurricane Irene—FEMA-4025-DR; and Tropical Storm Lee—FEMA-4030-DR). The Action Plan guiding the distribution of the $29,986,000 appropriation was published on August 30, 2013, and allocated $8.5 million toward Housing Buyouts, $425,000 towards Administration and outlined additional programs with funding allocations ''To be determined after the needs assessment and submittal of applications.'' Along with an updated unmet needs analysis, this Substantial Action Plan Amendment allocates the entirety of the PL 113-2 appropriation to a mix of Housing and Infrastructure Programs as follows:

 - Housing Repair, Reconstruction and Elevation Program: $7,000,000

 - Buyout Program: $8,500,000

 - Multifamily Rental Housing Program: $7,500,000

 - Infrastructure Program: $5,386,700

 - Planning: $100,000

 - Administration: $1,499,300

Both Substantial Amendments

 • Under both allocations, the Department, as the grant recipient of this funding, may share administration funding with other subgrantees at its discretion not to exceed 2.5%.

 • The citizen participation process for both substantial amendments and all future updates has changed to allow for the use of more electronic notification to interested parties and citizens. Also the time for citizen comment has been extended to 30 days for both allocations to allow for more time to respond to changes in the plan.

 The substantial amendments to the PL 112-55 and PL 113-2 Action Plans and supporting documentation will be available for a 30-day public comment period and can be viewed on the Department's web site at http://www.newpa.com (under ''The Library,'' select ''Disaster Recovery Assistance Program.'') The text is available to visual-impaired persons by the Department's web site at the link previously listed. A translation into Spanish will also be available on the Department's web site at the same link. The final version of the Substantial Amendment will be submitted to HUD no later than August 3, 2016.

Public Hearing

 The public hearing for the Substantial Amendments will be conducted electronically by the Internet on Monday, July 25, 2016. This more widely available computer/conference call access will replace the onsite public hearing. The format will be more accessible than an in-person meeting because those who wish to make comment or discuss policy may participate directly from their electronic device or from a computer located at their public library.

 Any individual or organization may give testimony or comments by the Internet/telephone about the proposed changes to the Action Plans for the CDBG-DR funding. The Commonwealth encourages public participation in this process.

 Anyone who wants to participate must register in advance. Contact Megan L. Snyder at [phone] to receive registration instructions for the Internet hearing at least 24 hours prior to the hearing date. During the hearing if support is required call [phone]. The hearing will be shortened if there is no one to testify or there is minimal response.

 Persons with a disability or limited English proficiency who wish to participate in the public hearing should contact Megan L. Snyder, Department of Community and Economic Development, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 4th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225, [phone] or TDD at [phone] to discuss how the Department can accommodate their needs.

Written Comments

 Persons who would like to provide written comment on either or both substantial amendments to the CDBG-DR Action Plan may send those comments electronically to RA-DCEDcdbg&[e-mail] or mail to Megan L. Snyder, Department of Community and Economic Development, Center for Compliance, Monitoring and Training, 400 North Street, 4th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120. Comments must be received before 4 p.m. on July 26, 2016. Indicate which year of funding (PL 112-55 or PL 113-2) the comments are addressing.

DENNIS M. DAVIN, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 16-1074. Filed for public inspection June 24, 2016, 9:00 a.m.]