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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 117 / Tuesday, June 22, 2021 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Docket No. FR6261N01

Allocations, Common Application, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grantees;
Electrical Power Systems in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

On April 10, 2018, HUD
allocated nearly $28 billion in Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery CDBGDR funds appropriated by the Further Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2018.
HUD allocated $10.03 billion for the purpose of addressing unmet needs from disasters that occurred in 2017; $2
billion for enhanced or improved electrical power systems in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and $15.9
billion for mitigation activities. This notice governs the use of the $2 billion CDBGDR allocation for enhanced or improved electrical power systems in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
DATES: Applicability Date: June 28, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessie Handforth Kome, Director, Office of Block Grant Assistance, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 7282, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number 2027083587. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number via TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 800877
8339. Facsimile inquiries may be sent to Ms. Kome at 2027080033. Except for the 800 number, these telephone numbers are not toll-free. Email inquiries may be sent to disaster_
recovery@hud.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

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Table of Contents I. Overview and Policy Objectives II. Allocation III. Use of Funds IV. Overview of the Grant Process V. Applicable Rules, Statutes, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements A. Grant Administration B. Infrastructure and Other Nonresidential Structures
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C. Certifications and Collection of Information VI. Duration of Funding VII. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance VIII. Finding of No Significant Impact
I. Overview and Policy Objectives The Further Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2018 Division B, Subdivision 1 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115123 approved February 9, 2018 the Appropriations Act, made available nearly $28 billion in Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery CDBGDR
funds. Of this amount, the Appropriations Act directed HUD to allocate not less than $2 billion for electrical power system enhancements and improvements for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands USVI. This notice establishes requirements for necessary expenses of electrical power system enhancements and improvements electrical power system improvements in the most impacted and distressed area as defined by HUD
in section II of this notice and as previously identified in the allocation methodology published by HUD in the August 14, 2018 Federal Register 83 FR
40314, 40323.
In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria damaged significant elements of the electricity systems in Puerto Rico and the USVI. Following the hurricanes, five months of repairs were required in order to restore power to the USVI, and approximately eleven months of repairs were needed to restore power to Puerto Rico. CDBGDR funds for electrical power system improvements provide a unique and significant opportunity for these grantees to carry out strategic and high-impact activities to address necessary expenses and mitigate disaster risks to their electrical power systems, improve system reliability, resiliency, efficiency, sustainability and address each systems long-term financial viability electrical power system and electrical power system improvements are defined in section V.A.8.a. in this notice. The Department seeks to maximize the impact of these CDBGDR funds by encouraging the formation of public-private partnerships, partnerships with local, community and neighborhood organizations, and through enhanced coordination with other Federal programs. In the action plan governing the use of these funds, grantees are also
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required to describe how the funds will be used to address the needs of vulnerable populations, protected classes, and underserved communities, how the funded activities primarily benefit lowand moderate-income persons, and how the planned improvements will be designed and implemented to address the impacts of climate change.
The use of CDBGDR funds for electrical power system improvements requires careful planning, robust oversight, and coordination with other Federal disaster recovery, mitigation, and sustainability efforts to enhance the resiliency of grantees electrical power systems, as an integral component of the grantees energy infrastructure. The Department places great focus on and will give increased attention to the financial and operational capacity of each grantees subrecipients and the departments and divisions of the grantee that may receive funds, including public utilities that currently operate and maintain each grantees electrical power system. As described in section V.A.1.b.2, grantees must identify any management and operational reforms that have been or will be implemented to improve the outcomes associated with the use of CDBGDR funds for electrical power system improvements. The Administration also seeks to encourage private, community, and philanthropic sector investments in electrical power system improvements, and to maximize the long-term benefits of this CDBGDR
funding to each grantees jurisdiction.
II. Allocation The Appropriations Act provides that grants shall be awarded directly to a State, local government, or Indian tribe at the discretion of the Secretary. To comply with statutory direction that funds be used for disaster-related expenses in the most impacted and distressed areas, HUD has identified the most impacted and distressed areas based on the best available data for all eligible affected areas. A detailed explanation of HUDs allocation methodology was previously published in HUDs August 14, 2018 Federal Register notice at 83 FR 40323. For Puerto Rico and the USVI, all components of each jurisdiction are considered most impacted and distressed for purposes of the allocation identified in Table 1.

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