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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 37 / Friday, February 26, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
A robust broadband connection allows students greater access to educational opportunities, patients greater access to health care professionals, businesses access to customers around the world, and farmers the ability to increase productivity and profitability. The awards made under the Rural eConnectivity Program will provide increased opportunity and bring muchneeded critical infrastructure to rural America.
Congressional Review Act Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this rule as a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 8042.
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. The Agency has determined that this rule meets the applicable standards provided in section 3 of the Executive Order. In addition, all state and local laws and regulations that conflict with this rule will be preempted. No retroactive effect will be given to this rule.

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Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Consultation This rule is excluded from the scope of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Consultation, which may require a consultation with State and local officials. See the final rule related notice entitled, Department Programs and Activities Excluded from Executive Order 12372 50 FR 47034
advising that RUS loans and loan guarantees were not covered by Executive Order 12372.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification RUS certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, as defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.. The RUS
telecommunications program provides loans to borrowers at interest rates and on terms that are more favorable than those generally available from the private sector. RUS borrowers, as a result of obtaining federal financing, receive economic benefits that exceed any direct economic costs associated with complying with RUS regulations and requirements.
Environmental Impact Statement This final rule has been reviewed in accordance with 7 CFR part 1970
Environmental Policies and Procedures. The Agency has
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determined that i this action meets the criteria established in 7 CFR 1970.53f;
ii no extraordinary circumstances exist; and iii the action is not connected to other actions with potentially significant impacts, is not considered a cumulative action and is not precluded by 40 CFR 1506.1.
Therefore, the Agency has determined that the action does not have a significant effect on the human environment, and therefore neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance CFDA number assigned to the Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program is 10.752. The Catalog is available on the internet at https beta.sam.gov/.
The Government Publishing Office GPO prints and sells the CFDA to interested buyers. For information about purchasing the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance from GPO, call the Superintendent of Documents at 202
5121800 or toll free at 866 5121800, or access GPOs online bookstore at https bookstore.gpo.gov.
Unfunded Mandates This rule contains no federal mandates under the regulatory provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 for state, local, and tribal governments or the private sector. Therefore, this rule is not subject to the requirements of 202 and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
E-Government Act Compliance RUS is committed to the EGovernment Act, which requires Government agencies in general to provide the public the option of submitting information or transacting business electronically to the maximum extent possible.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism The policies contained in this rule do not have any substantial direct effect on states, on the relationship between the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. Nor does this rule impose substantial direct compliance costs on state and local governments.
Therefore, consultation with the states is not required.

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Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments This rule has been reviewed in accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments. Executive Order 13175
requires federal agencies to consult and coordinate with tribes on a governmentto-government basis on policies that have tribal implications, including regulations, legislative comments or proposed legislation, and other policy statements or actions that have substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.
Rural Development has assessed the impact of this rule on Indian tribes and determined that this rule does not, to our knowledge, have tribal implications that require tribal consultation under Executive Order 13175. If a Tribe requests government-to-government consultation, Rural Development will work with the Office of Tribal Relations to ensure meaningful consultation is provided where changes, additions, and modifications identified herein are not expressly mandated by Congress. If a tribe would like to engage in government-to-government consultation with Rural Development on this rule, please contact Rural Developments Native American Coordinator at 720
5442911 or AIAN@usda.gov.
Additionally, Rural Development recognizes the challenges of deploying broadband in tribal communities. The Agency further notes that this regulation sets the framework for the administration of the Rural eConnectivity Program but does not set the priority point scale or content that will be used for scoring in upcoming application windows. The specific scoring scale for each round will be set and published in future funding announcements. In past instances, Rural Development has sought comment on the contents of the funding announcement. To ensure that Native American Tribes have a meaningful opportunity to provide input to the next upcoming funding notice, Rural Development will coordinate with USDAs Office of Tribal Relations to conduct at least one listening session to collect recommendations from tribes on how Rural Developments broadband programs can be improved to better meet the broadband challenges that tribes face, identify opportunities to leverage and coordinate assistance from
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