60 day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 240 / Friday, December 14, 2018 / Notices
• Phytosanitary treatment (cold
treatment or irradiation),
• Pre-export inspection by the NPPO
and issuance of a phytosanitary
certificate with an additional
declaration, and
• Port of entry inspections.
Each of the pest risk mitigation
measures that would be required, along
with evidence of their efficacy in
removing pests of concern from the
pathway, are described in detail in the
RMD.
Therefore, in accordance with
§ 319.56–4(c)(3), we are announcing the
availability of our PRA and RMD for
public review and comment. Those
documents, as well as a description of
the economic considerations associated
with the importation of fresh guava fruit
from Taiwan and a treatment evaluation
document that supports the addition of
new cold treatment schedules for
Bactrocera spp. fruit flies in guava from
Taiwan, may be viewed on the
Regulations.gov website or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for
a link to Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of
the reading room). You may request
paper copies of these documents by
calling or writing to the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of
the analysis you wish to review when
requesting copies.
After reviewing any comments we
receive, we will announce our decision
regarding the import status of fresh
guava fruit from Taiwan in a subsequent
notice. If the overall conclusions of our
analysis and the Administrator’s
determination of risk remain unchanged
following our consideration of the
comments, then we will authorize the
importation of fresh guava fruit from
Taiwan into the continental United
States subject to the requirements
specified in the RMD.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701–7772, and
7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR
2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of
December 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–27053 Filed 12–13–18; 8:45 am]

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BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
Broadband Pilot Program
Rural Utilities Service,
Department of Agriculture.

AGENCY:

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Funding Opportunity
Announcement (FOA) and solicitation
of applications.

ACTION:

The Rural Utilities Service
(RUS) announces its general policy and
application procedures for funding
under the broadband pilot program
established pursuant to the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018
which provides loans, grants, and loan/
grant combinations to facilitate
broadband deployment in rural areas. In
facilitating the expansion of broadband
services and infrastructure, the pilot
will fuel long-term rural economic
development and opportunities in rural
America. One of those opportunities is
precision agriculture. The use of this
technology requires a robust broadband
connection. The awards made under
this program will bring high speed
broadband to the farms which will
allow them to increase productivity.
Please note that the application
process is designed so that an applicant
must demonstrate financial and
technical feasibility of the project and
the entire operation of the applicant.
Applicants that do not demonstrate
financial or technical feasibility will not
be considered for an award.
DATES: The Agency will finalize the
application window by notice in the
Federal Register and Grants.gov on
February 22, 2019. Please note there are
three funding categories with each
category having different application
windows. Please refer to the specific
funding category for the appropriate
application deadline.
ADDRESSES: Application Submission:
The application system for electronic
submissions will be available at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
Electronic submissions: Electronic
submissions of applications will allow
for the expeditious review of an
Applicant’s proposal. As a result, all
Applicants must file their application
electronically.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general inquiries, contact Chad Parker,
Assistant Administrator
Telecommunications Program, Rural
Utilities Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), email:
[email protected], telephone
(202) 720–9554. You may obtain
additional information regarding
applications at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

Authority: This solicitation is issued
pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2018, Pub. L. 115–141, and the Rural
Electrification Act of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901 et
seq.

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Overview
Federal Agency: Rural Utilities
Service, USDA.
Funding Opportunity Title: Rural
eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect
Program).
Announcement Type: Funding
Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and
solicitation of applications.
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: Rural
eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect
Program)—10.752.
Items in Supplementary Information
I. Overview
II. Definitions
III. Substantially Underserved Trust Areas
IV. Funding Opportunity Description
V. Eligibility Information
VI. Application and Submission Information
VII. Application Evaluation Criteria
VIII. Notice of Proposed Funded Service
Areas
IX. Evaluation and Processing Procedures
X. Award Administration Information
XI. Other Information

I. Overview
On March 23, 2018, Congress passed
the Consolidated Appropriations Act
2018 (the FY2018 Appropriations),
which established a broadband loan and
grant pilot program, the Rural
eConnectivity Pilot Program (hereinafter
the ReConnect Program). One of the
essential goals of the ReConnect
Program is to expand broadband service
to rural areas without sufficient access
to broadband, defined as 10 megabits
per second (Mbps) downstream and 1
Mbps upstream. For this purpose,
Congress provided RUS with $600
million and expanded its existing
authority to make loans and grants.
Additionally, the FY2018
Appropriations specifically authorized
technical assistance to assist the Agency
in expanding needed service to the most
rural communities where 90 percent of
the households are without sufficient
access to broadband service.
To promote broadband in rural
America, RUS encourages state and
local jurisdictions to waive any fees
associated with granting rights-of-ways
and to assist applicants and awardees
with satisfying any environmental
requirements such as approval from the
State Historical Preservation Office.
II. Definitions
The terms and conditions provided in
this FOA are applicable to and for
purposes of this FOA only. Unless
otherwise provided in the award
documents, all financial terms not
defined herein shall have the meaning
as defined by Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles.

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Administrator means the RUS
Administrator, or the Administrator’s
designee.
Applicant means an entity requesting
funding under this FOA.
Application means the Applicant’s
request for federal funding, which may
be approved in whole or part by RUS.
Award documents mean, as
applicable, all associated grant
agreements, loan agreements, or loan/
grant agreements.
Award means a grant, loan, or loan/
grant combination made under this
FOA.
Awardee means a grantee, borrower,
or borrower/grantee that has applied
and been awarded federal assistance
under this FOA.
Broadband loan means, for purposes
of this FOA, a loan that has been
approved or is currently under review
by RUS after the beginning of Fiscal
Year 2000 in the Telecommunications
Infrastructure Program, Farm Bill
Broadband Program, or the Broadband
Initiatives Program. Loans that were
approved and then subsequently fully
de-obligated are not included in this
definition.
Broadband service means any
technology as having the capacity to
transmit data to enable a subscriber to
the service to originate and receive highquality voice, data, graphics and video.
Business means a commercial or
mercantile activity engaged in as a
means of livelihood. For purposes of
this FOA, farms will not be counted as
businesses for scoring purposes.
CALEA means the Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, 47
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.
Composite economic life means the
weighted (by dollar amount of each
class of facility) average economic life of
all classes of facilities necessary to
complete construction of the broadband
facilities in the proposed funded service
area.
Critical community facilities means
public facilities that provide community
services essential for supporting the
safety, health, and well-being of
residents, including, but not limited to,
emergency response and other public
safety activities, hospitals and clinics,
libraries and schools.
Current ratio means the current assets
divided by the current liabilities.
Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR)
means (Total Net Income or Margins +
Interest Expense¥Allowance for Funds
Used during Construction +
Depreciation + Amortization)/(Interest
on Funded Debt + Other Interest +
Principal Payment on Debt and Capital
Leases).

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Economic life means the estimated
useful service life of an asset as
determined by RUS.
Eligible service area means any
proposed funded service area where 90
percent of the households to be served
do not have sufficient access to
broadband. For eligibility purposes, if
an applicant is applying for multiple
proposed funded service areas, each
service area will be evaluated on a
stand-alone basis.
Equity means total assets minus total
liabilities as reflected on the Applicant’s
balance sheet.
Farm means any establishment from
which $1,000 or more of agricultural
products were sold or would normally
be sold during the year.
Forecast period means the five-year
period of projections in an application,
which shall be used by RUS to
determine financial and technical
feasibility of the application.
GAAP means accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States
of America.
Grant means any federal assistance in
the form of a grant made under this
FOA.
Grant agreement means the grant
contract and security agreement
between RUS and the Awardee securing
the Grant awarded under this FOA,
including any amendments thereto,
available for review at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
Loan means any federal assistance in
the form of a loan made under this FOA.
Loan agreement means the loan
contract and security agreement
between RUS and the Awardee securing
the Loan, including all amendments
thereto, available for review at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
Loan/grant means any federal
assistance in the form of a loan/grant
combination made under this FOA.
Loan/grant agreement means the
loan/grant contract and security
agreement between RUS and the
Awardee securing the Loan/grant,
including all amendments thereto
available at https://reconnect.usda.gov.
Non-funded service area means any
area in which the applicant offers
service or intends to offer service during
the forecast period but is not a part of
its proposed funded service area.
Pre-application expenses means any
reasonable expenses, as determined by
RUS, incurred after the release of this
FOA to prepare an Application or to
respond to RUS inquiries about the
Application.
Premises means households, farms
and businesses.
Project means all of the work to be
performed to bring broadband service to

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all premises in the proposed funded
service area under the Application,
including construction, the purchase
and installation of equipment, and
professional services including
engineering and accountant/consultant
fees, whether funded by federal
assistance, matching, or other funds.
Proposed funded service area (PFSA)
means the area (whether all or part of an
existing or new service area) where the
applicant is requesting funds to provide
broadband service. Multiple service
areas will be treated as separate standalone service areas for the purpose of
determining how much of the proposed
funded service area does not have
sufficient access to broadband. Each
service area must meet the minimum
requirements for the appropriate
funding category to be an eligible area.
RE Act means the ‘‘Rural
Electrification Act of 1936,’’ as amended
(7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.).
Rural area means any area which is
not located within: (1) A city, town, or
incorporated area that has a population
of greater than 20,000 inhabitants; or (2)
an urbanized area contiguous and
adjacent to a city or town that has a
population of greater than 50,000
inhabitants.
RUS Accounting Requirements shall
mean compliance with U.S. GAAP,
acceptable to RUS, the system of
accounting prescribed by RUS Bulletin
1770B–1, and the Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for
Federal Awards, found at 2 CFR part
200. For all Awardees the term ‘‘grant
recipient’’ in 2 CFR 200 shall also be
read to encompass ‘‘loan recipient’’ and
‘‘loan/grant recipient’’, such that 2 CFR
200 shall be applicable to all Awardees
under this FOA.
Sufficient access to broadband means
any rural area that has fixed, terrestrial
broadband service delivering at least 10
Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps
upstream. Mobile and satellite services
will not be considered in making the
determination that households in the
proposed funded service area do not
have sufficient access to broadband.
Tangible equity means a measure of a
company’s capital, which is used by
financial institutions to evaluate
potential losses by eliminating
intangible assets, goodwill and preferred
stock from total equity.
Tangible equity to total assets means
tangible equity divided by total assets.
Times interest earned ratio (TIER)
means (Total Net Income or Margins +
Total Interest Expense¥Allowance for
Funds Used during Construction)
divided by (Total Interest

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Expense¥Allowance for Funds Used
during Construction).
III. Substantially Underserved Trust
Areas
A. If the Administrator determines
that a community within ‘‘trust land’’
(as defined in 38 U.S.C. 3765) has a high
need for the benefits of the ReConnect
Program, the Administrator may
designate the community as a
‘‘substantially underserved trust area’’
(as defined in section 306F of the RE
Act).
B. To receive consideration as a
substantially underserved trust area, the
applicant must submit to the Agency a
completed application that includes all
of the information requested in 7 CFR
part 1700, subpart D. In addition, the
application must identify the
discretionary authorities within subpart
D that it seeks to have applied to its
application. Note, however, that given
the prohibition on funding operating
expenses in the ReConnect Program,
requests for waiver of the equity
requirements cannot be considered. In
addition, due to the statutory
requirements that established the
ReConnect Program, waiver of the nonduplication requirements also cannot be
considered.
IV. Funding Opportunity Descriptions

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A. Funding Categories
1. 100 Percent Loan
The interest rate for a 100 percent
loan will be set at a fixed 2 percent. The
proposed funded service area for this
category must be in an area where 90
percent of the households do not have
sufficient access to broadband.
Applicants must propose to build a
network that is capable of providing
service to every premise in the proposed
funded service area at a speed of 25
Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps
upstream. Tangible equity to total assets
must be at least 20 percent at the end
of the calendar year starting in the third
year of the forecast period through the
remainder of the forecast period.
The Agency anticipates that
applications will be accepted on a
rolling basis ending June 28, 2019. In
the event two loan applications are
received for the same proposed funded
service area the application to arrive
first will be considered first. The agency
reserves the right to make funding offers
or seek consultations to resolve partially
overlapping applications. RUS may
contact the applicant for additional
information during the review process.
If additional information is requested,
the applicant will have up to 30
calendar days to submit the information.

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If such information is not timely
submitted, RUS may reject the
application. Once all funds for this
category have been expended for the
ReConnect program, all remaining
applications will be returned.

calendar days to submit such
information. If the information is not
submitted, RUS may reject the
application.

2. 50 Percent Loan/50 Percent Grant
Combination
The interest rate for the 50 percent
loan component will be set at the
Treasury rate for the remaining
amortization period at the time of each
advance of funds. The proposed funded
service area for this category must be in
an area where 90 percent of the
households do not have sufficient
access to broadband. Applicants must
propose to build a network that is
capable of providing service to every
premises in the proposed funded service
area at a speed of 25 Mbps downstream
and 3 Mbps upstream. Applicants may
propose substituting cash for the loan
component at the time of application.
The Agency anticipates that
applications will be accepted ending
May 29, 2019. All eligible applications
will be scored and, subject to Section
V(C)(5)(b)(i) (overlapping applications)
applications with the highest score will
receive an award offer until all funds are
expended for this category. RUS
reserves the right to request additional
information which would not affect
scoring. If RUS requests additional
information the applicant will have 30
calendar days to submit such
information. If the information is not
submitted, RUS may reject the
application.

1. General

3. 100 Percent Grant
The proposed funded service area for
this category must be in an area where
100 percent of the households do not
have sufficient access to broadband.
Applicants must propose to build a
network that is capable of providing
service to every premise in the proposed
funded service area at a speed of 25
Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps
upstream. Applicants must provide a
matching contribution equal to 25
percent of the cost of the overall project.
The matching contribution can only be
used for eligible purposes.
The Agency anticipates that
applications will be accepted ending
April 29, 2019. All eligible applications
will be scored, and subject to Section
V(C)(5)(b)(i) (overlapping applications)
applications with the highest score will
receive an award offer until all funds are
expended for this category. RUS
reserves the right to request additional
information which would not affect
scoring. If RUS requests additional
information the applicant will have 30

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B. Available Funds
Approximately $560,000,000 in
funding has been set aside for funding
opportunities under this FOA.
2. Funding Limits
Award amounts under this FOA will
be limited as follows:
a. 100 Percent Loan. Up to
$200,000,000 is available for loans. The
maximum amount that can be requested
in an application is $50,000,000.
b. 50 Percent Loan—50 Percent Grant.
Up to $200,000,000 is available for loan/
grant combinations. The maximum
amount that can be requested in an
application is $25,000,000 for the loan
and $25,000,000 for the grant. Loan and
grant amounts will always be equal.
c. 100 Percent Grant. Up to
$200,000,000 is available for grants. The
maximum amount that can be requested
in an application is $25,000,000.
d. Reserve. Additional budget
authority is available for a reserve,
which may be used for loans or grants
under this FOA, or may be included in
additional FOAs. The agency reserves
the right to increase funding utilizing
the application queue under this FOA
should additional appropriations
become available for the same purposes.
3. Repooling
RUS retains the discretion to divert
funds from one funding category to
another.
4. Award Period
Awards can be made until all funds
have been expended in any given
funding category. While the completion
time will vary depending on the
complexity of the project, award
recipients must complete their projects
within 5 years from the date funds are
first made available.
5. Type of Funding Instrument
The funding instruments will be
grants, loans, and loan/grant
combinations.
V. Eligibility Information
A. General
Applicants must satisfy the following
eligibility requirements to qualify for
funding.
B. Eligible Entities
The following entities are eligible to
apply for assistance:

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1. States, local governments, or any
agency, subdivision, instrumentality, or
political subdivision thereof;
2. A territory or possession of the
United States;
3. An Indian tribe (as defined in
section 4 of the Indian SelfDetermination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b));
4. Non-profit entities;
5. For-profit corporations;
6. Limited liability companies; and
7. Cooperative or mutual
organizations.
C. Application Eligibility Factors
The following requirements must be
met by all applications to be eligible for
an award. Applications failing to
comply with these requirements will be
rejected.
1. Audited Financial Statement
Applicants must submit unqualified,
audited financial statements for the two
previous years from the date the
application is submitted. If an
application is submitted in the first
quarter of the calendar year and the
most recent yearend audit has not been
completed, the applicant can submit the
two previous unqualified audits that
have been completed. If qualified audits
or audits containing a disclaimer or
adverse opinion are submitted, the
application will not be considered;
2. Fully Completed Application
Applicants must submit a complete
application and provide all supporting
documentation required for the
application.

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3. Timely Buildout Completion
A project is eligible only if the
application demonstrates that the
project can be completely built out
within 5 years from the date funds are
first made available.

5. Service Areas
a. Eligible Service Areas
i. Applicants must propose to provide
broadband service directly to the
premises in the proposed funded service

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b. Ineligible Service Areas
i. Overlapping Service Areas
RUS will not fund more than one
project that serves any one given
geographic area. Invariably, however,
applicants will propose service areas
that overlap, varying from small de
minimus areas of the territory, but
which may be significant with respect to
households involved, to larger areas of
the service territory, but which may
contain few households or businesses, if
any. As a result, devising a procedure
which will cover every overlap
circumstance cannot be done.
Nevertheless, it is the agency’s intent to
make as many eligible applications
viable for consideration as possible.
That may mean the agency may: (1)
Determine the overlap to be so
insignificant that no agency action is
necessary; (2) request one or more
applications to be revised to eliminate
the overlapping territory; (3) choose one
application over another given the
amount of assistance requested, the
number of awards already chosen in the
area or State, or the need for the project
in the specific area due to other factors;
or (4) simply choose the project that
scores higher or in the judgement of the
agency is more financially feasible.
ii. Prior Funded Service Areas

4. Technical Feasibility
Only projects that RUS determines to
be technically feasible will be eligible
for an award. Applicants will be
required to submit a network design,
network diagram, project costs and a
buildout timeline, all certified by a
professional engineer. The certification
from the professional engineer must
state that the proposed network can
deliver broadband service at the
required level of service to all premises
in the proposed funded service area.

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area that do not have sufficient access
to broadband.
ii. If part or parts of the applicant’s
proposed funded service area are
ineligible, RUS, in its sole discretion,
may request that an applicant modify its
application, if RUS believes the
modification is feasible. Otherwise, RUS
will reject the application.

(A) RUS Broadband Loans. Service
areas of borrowers that have RUS
broadband loans, as defined in this
FOA, are ineligible for all other
applicants, and can be found at https://
reconnect.usda.gov. However, RUS
broadband borrowers that received
funding to provide service in an area
where the borrower is not currently
providing sufficient access to broadband
pursuant to this FOA would be eligible
to apply for funding for these service
areas if they have not defaulted on, and
have materially complied with, in the
sole discretion of RUS, their prior
broadband loan requirements.
(B) RUS Community Connect Grants.
Service areas that received grants under
the RUS Community Connect Grant
Program are eligible if they do not have
sufficient access to broadband, except
for those grants still under construction.
Service areas still under construction

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can be found at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
(C) RUS BIP Grants. Service areas that
received a 100 percent grant under the
RUS Broadband Initiatives Program
(BIP) are eligible if they do not have
sufficient access to broadband.
However, if the applicant is the same
BIP grantee, then the applicant may
only request a 100 percent loan.
(D) State-funded Areas. Areas that
received State funding to deploy
broadband at a speed of at least 10 Mbps
downstream and 1 Mbps upstream are
ineligible areas under this FOA.
Applicants must provide a map of the
proposed funded service area to the
appropriate State government office and
the State government office must certify
that either funds have or have not been
allotted for the area. Applicants must
submit the map and the State
certification as part of the application
for funding. For applications that are
proposing to provide service in multiple
States, a map and certification will be
required for each State. If the map(s)
and certification(s) are not submitted,
RUS may reject the application.
(E) Connect America Fund Phase II
Auction—Auction 903 (CAF II).
Funding for service areas of CAF II
recipients can only be requested by the
entity that is receiving the CAF II
support, and such funding is limited to
a 100% loan. The CAF II service areas
can be found at https://
reconnect.usda.gov and may also be
found on the FCC web page.
6. Fully Funded
A project is eligible only if, all project
costs can be fully funded or accounted
for in the application. To demonstrate
this, applications must include evidence
of all funding, other than the RUS
award, necessary to support the project,
such as bank account statements, firm
letters of commitment from equity
participants, or outside loans, which
must evidence the timely availability of
funds. If outside loans are used, they
may only be secured by assets other
than those used for collateral under this
FOA. Equity partners that are not
specifically identified by name will not
be considered in the financial analysis
of the application.
7. Financial Feasibility and
Sustainability
Only projects that RUS determines to
be financially feasible and sustainable
will be eligible for an award under this
FOA. A project is financially feasible
when the applicant demonstrates to the
satisfaction of RUS that it will be able
to generate sufficient revenues to cover
expenses; will have sufficient cash flow

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to service all debts and obligations as
they come due; will have a positive
ending cash balance as reflected on the
cash flow statement for each year of the
forecast period; and, by the end of the
forecast period, will meet at least two of
the following requirements: A minimum
TIER requirement of 1.2, a minimum
DSCR requirement of 1.2, and a
minimum current ratio of 1.2. In
addition, applicants must demonstrate
positive cash flow from operations at
the end of the forecast period.
If an applicant has no existing debt,
is not proposing to borrow funds during
the forecast period, and is applying only
for grant funds, only the current ratio
will be applied and not the TIER or
DSCR. For this situation, applicants
must meet the minimum current ratio
requirement.

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8. Service Requirements
Facilities funded with grant funds
must provide broadband service
proposed in the application for the
composite economic life of the facilities,
as approved by RUS, or as provided in
the Award Documents.
9. Application Transparency
a. Pre-award Public Notice. To ensure
transparency for the ReConnect
Program, the Agency’s mapping tool
will include the following information
from each application and be displayed
for the public: (i) The identity of the
applicant; (ii) the areas to be served; (iii)
the type of funding requested; (iv) the
status of the application; (v) the number
of households without sufficient access
to broadband; and (vi) a list of the
census blocks to be served.
b. Post-award Public Notice. For all
approved applications, the agency will
post on its website: The name of the
company receiving funding, the type of
funding received, the location of the
proposed funded service area and the
purposes of the funding.
c. Post-award Reporting. Awardees
will be required to submit semi-annual
reports for three years after the
completion of construction on the
following information:
(i) The number and location of
residences and businesses that will
receive service at or greater than the
requirement for the appropriate funding
category.
(ii) the types of facilities constructed
and installed;
(iii) the speed of the data services
being delivered;
(iv) the average price of the data
services being delivered in each
proposed service area; and
(v) the broadband adoption rate for
each proposed service territory,

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including the number of new
subscribers generated from the facilities
funded.
This information will be used to
analyze the effectiveness of the funding
provided and will allow the Agency to
track adoption rates as new and
improved broadband services are being
provided.
D. Eligible Cost Purposes
1. General
Award and matching funds must be
used only to pay for eligible costs
incurred post award, except for
approved pre-application expenses.
Eligible costs must be consistent with
the cost principles identified in 2 CFR
200, Subpart E, Cost Principles. In
addition, costs must be reasonable,
allocable, and necessary to the project.
Any application that proposes to use
any portion of the award or matching
funds for any ineligible cost may be
rejected.
2. Eligible and Ineligible Costs
a. Eligible Award Costs
Award funds may be used to pay for
the following costs:
(i) To fund the construction or
improvement of facilities, including
buildings and land, required to provide
broadband service, including facilities
required for providing other services
over the same facilities, such as
equipment required to comply with
CALEA;
(ii) To fund reasonable preapplication expenses in an amount not
to exceed five percent of the award. Preapplication expenses may be
reimbursed only if they are incurred
after the publication date of this FOA,
and properly documented. Preapplication expenses must be included
in the first request for award funds, and
will be funded with either grant or loan
funds. If the funding category applied
for has a grant component, then grant
funds will be used for this purpose;
(iii) To fund the acquisition of an
existing system that does not currently
provide sufficient access to broadband
for upgrading that system to meet the
requirements of this FOA. The cost of
the acquisition is limited to 40 percent
of the amount requested. Acquisitions
can only be considered in the 100
percent loan category; and
(iv) To fund terrestrial-based facilities
for satellite broadband service, provided
the applicant clearly identifies the
PFSA, demonstrates the ability to
provide 25 Mbps downstream and 3
Mbps upstream simultaneously to every
premise in the PFSA, and offers

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subscribers reasonable service plans that
do not cap bandwidth usage.
(b) Ineligible Award Costs
Award funds may not be used for any
of the following purposes:
(i) To fund operating expenses of the
Awardee;
(ii) To fund costs incurred prior to the
date on which the application was
submitted, and with respect to eligible
pre-application expenses, those costs
incurred prior to the date of the
publication date of this FOA;
(iii) To fund an acquisition of an
affiliate, or the purchase or acquisition
of any facilities or equipment of an
affiliate. Note that if affiliated
transactions are contemplated in the
application, approval of the application
does not constitute approval to enter
into affiliated transactions, nor
acceptance of the affiliated
arrangements that conflict with the
obligations under the award documents;
(iv) To fund the acquisition of a
system previously funded by RUS;
(v) To fund the purchase or lease of
any vehicle other than those used
primarily in construction or system
improvements;
(vi) To fund broadband facilities
leased under the terms of an operating
lease or an indefeasible right of use
(IRU) agreement;
(vii) To fund the merger or
consolidation of entities;
(viii) To fund costs incurred in
acquiring spectrum as part of an FCC
auction or in a secondary market
acquisition. Spectrum that is part of an
acquisition may be considered for loan
funding;
(ix) To fund facilities that provide
mobile services;
(x) To fund the acquisition of a system
that is providing sufficient access to
broadband; nor
(x) To refinance outstanding debt.
VI. Application and Submission
Information
A. Online Application System
All applications under this FOA must
be submitted through the RUS Online
Application System to be located
through https://reconnect.usda.gov.
Additional information can be found in
the Application Guidelines found at the
above location. This website will be
updated regularly.
B. Registration
1. Dun and Bradstreet Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) Number
All applicants must register for a
DUNS number as part of the
application. The applicant can obtain

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the DUNS number free of charge by
calling Dun and Bradstreet. Go to http://
fedgov.dnb.com/webform for more
information on assignment of a DUNS
number or confirmation.
2. System for Award Management
(SAM)
Prior to submitting an application, the
applicant must also register in SAM at
https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1
and supply a Commercial and
Government Entity (CAGE) Code
number as part of the application. SAM
registration must be active with current
data at all times, from the application
review throughout the active Federal
award funding period. To maintain
active SAM registration, the applicant
must review and update the information
in the SAM database annually from the
date of initial registration or from the
date of the last update. The applicant
must ensure that the information in the
database is current, accurate, and
complete.

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C. Contents of the Application
1. Requirements for the Applications
Given the varying expected closing
dates for each funding type, and the
inability of the agency to announce
awards for a funding window while
applicants have other applications in
more than one funding type, applicants
will be limited to ONE application for
this FOA. A complete application will
include the following information as
requested in the RUS Online
Application System:
a. General information on the
applicant and the project including:
(i) A description of the project that
will be made public consistent with the
requirements herein and
(ii) The estimated dollar amount of
the funding request.
b. An executive summary of the
proposed project. This summary shall
include, but not be limited to, a detailed
description of existing operations,
discussion about key management,
description of the workforce,
description of interactions between any
parent, affiliated or subsidiary operation
and a detailed description of the
proposed project.
c. A description of the proposed
funded service area including the
number of premises passed.
d. Subscriber projections including
the number of subscribers for
broadband, video and voice services and
any other service that may be offered; A
description of the proposed service
offerings, and the associated pricing
plan that the applicant proposes to offer;
and an explanation of how the proposed
service offerings are affordable.

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e. A map, utilizing the RUS mapping
tool located at https://
reconnect.usda.gov of the proposed
funded service areas identifying the
areas without sufficient access to
broadband and any non-funded service
areas of the applicant.
f. A description of the advertised
prices of service offerings by
competitors in the same area.
g. A network design which includes a
description of the proposed technology
used to deliver the broadband service
demonstrating that all premises in the
proposed funded service area can be
offered broadband service, a network
diagram, a buildout timeline and
milestones for implementation of the
project, and a capital investment
schedule showing that the system can
be built within 5 years, all of which
must be certified by a professional
engineer who is certified in at least one
of the states where there is project
construction. The certification from the
professional engineer must clearly state
that the proposed network can deliver
the broadband service to all premises in
the proposed funded service area at the
minimum required service level. In
addition, if the applicant is requesting
the points for providing a 100 Mbps
upstream and 100 Mbps downstream,
the certification must also state that the
proposed system is capable of delivering
this service to all premises; a list of all
required licenses and regulatory
approvals needed for the proposed
project and how much the applicant
will rely on contractors or vendors to
deploy the network facilities. Note that
in preparing budget costs for equipment
and materials, RUS’ Buy American
requirements apply.
h. Resumes of key management
personnel, a description of the
organization’s readiness to manage a
broadband services network, and an
organizational chart showing all parent
organizations and/or holding companies
(including parents of parents, etc.), and
all subsidiaries and affiliates.
i. A legal opinion that: (1) Addresses
the applicant’s ability to enter into the
award documents; (2) describes all
material pending litigation matters; (3)
addresses the applicant’s ability to
pledge security as required by the award
documents and (4) addresses the
applicant’s ability to provide broadband
service under state law.
j. Summary and itemized budgets of
the infrastructure costs of the proposed
project, including if applicable, the ratio
of loans to grants, and any other sources
of outside funding.
k. A detailed description of working
capital requirements and the source of
these funds.

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l. Historical financial statements for
the last four years consisting of a
balance sheet, income statement, and
cash flow statement. If an entity has not
been operating for four years, historical
statements for the period of time the
entity has been operating.
m. Audited financial statements for
the previous two calendar years. For
governmental entities financial
statements must be accompanied with
certifications as to unrestricted cash that
may be available on a yearly basis to the
applicant. For startup operations formed
from partnerships of existing utility
providers, audited financial statements
are required for the two previous years
from each of the partners. In addition,
the partners must guarantee any loan
component of the requested funding.
n. Pro Forma financial analysis,
prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP
and the Agency’s guidance on grant
accounting found at https://
www.rd.usda.gov/files/Accounting
Guidance10.pdf. The Pro Forma should
validate the sustainability of the project
by including subscriber estimates
related to all proposed service offerings;
annual financial projections with
balance sheets, income statements, and
cash flow statements; supporting
assumptions for a five-year forecast
period and a depreciation schedule for
existing facilities and those funded with
federal assistance, matching, and other
funds. This pro forma should indicate
the committed sources of capital
funding and include a bridge year prior
to the start of the forecast period. This
bridge year shall be used as a buffer
between the historical financial
information and the forecast period and
is the year in which the application is
submitted.
o. All attachments required in the
RUS Online application system;
p. A scoring sheet, analyzing the
scoring criteria set forth in this FOA;
q. A list of all the applicant’s
outstanding and contingent obligations,
including copies of existing notes, loan
and security agreements, guarantees,
any existing management or service
agreements, and any other agreements
with parents, subsidiaries and affiliates,
including but not limited to debt
instruments that use the applicant’s
assets, revenues or stock as collateral;
r. All environmental information
required to certify that the proposed
construction meets the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) (NEPA), the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, as amended
(16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) (NHPA), and the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1534 et seq.) (ESA)

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as applicable and any other information
requested by the Agency. Information
will be submitted in two parts.
Applicants must submit all information
that is requested in the Agency’s on-line
applications system as well as provide
any information requested by the
Agency after applications are submitted.
s. Certification from the applicant that
agreements with, or obligations to,
investors do not breach the obligations
to the government under the draft
Award Documents, especially
distribution requirements, and that any
such agreements will be amended so
that such obligations are made
contingent to compliance with the
Award Documents. Such certification
should also specifically identify which,
if any, provisions would need to be
amended; and
t. If service is being proposed on tribal
land, a certification from the proper
tribal official that they are in support of
the project and will allow construction
to take place on tribal land. The
certification must: (1) Include a
description of the land proposed for use
as part of the proposed project; (2)
identify whether the land is owned,
held in Trust, land held in fee simple by
the Tribe, or land under a long-term
lease by the Tribe; (3) if owned, identify
the land owner; and (4) provide a
commitment in writing from the land
owner authorizing the applicant’s use of
that land for the proposed project. If no
certification is provided, then this area
will be ineligible for funding.
u. Any other information requested in
the online application system.
D. Material Representations
The application, including
certifications, and all forms submitted
as part of the application will be treated
as material representations upon which
RUS will rely in awarding grants and
loans.
VII. Application Evaluation Criteria

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A. Evaluation Criteria
Applications in the same funding
category will be scored and ranked
against the following criteria, and not
against each other. However,
applications for 50/50 loan/grant
combos and 100 percent grants that
cover the same proposed service area
will be evaluated as described in
Section V(C)(5)(b)(i) above.

Points will be awarded for serving the
least dense rural areas as measured by
the population of the area per square
mile. If multiple service areas are

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2. Farms Served (20 Points)
Applicants will receive 1 point for
each farm that pre-subscribes for
broadband service up to a maximum of
20 points. Applicants must have the
head of the farm sign the presubscription form provided in the
application system and submit them as
part of their application.
3. Performance of the Offered Service
(20 Points)
For projects that are proposing to
build a network that is capable of
providing at least 100 Mbps
symmetrical service to all premises, 20
points will be awarded. The
certification from the Professional
Engineer must certify that the proposed
system can deliver these speeds to every
premises in the proposed funded service
area.
4. Businesses (15 Points)
Applicants will receive 1 point for
each business that pre-subscribes for
broadband service up to a maximum of
15 points. Applicants must have the
owner of the business sign the presubscription form provided in the
application system and submit them as
part of their application.
5. Healthcare Centers (15 Points)
For every healthcare center served 1
point will be awarded up to a maximum
of 15 points. Healthcare centers will be
counted using the GIS layer located in
the RUS mapping tool at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
6. Educational Facilities (15 Points)
For every school served 1 point will
be awarded up to a maximum of 15
points. Schools will be counted using
the GIS layer provided in the RUS
mapping tool located at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
7. Critical Community Facilities (15
Points)

1. Rurality of Proposed Funded Service
Area (25 Points)

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proposed, the density calculation will
be made on the combined areas as if
they were a single area, and not the
average densities. For population
densities of 6 or less, 25 points will be
awarded.

For every critical community facility
served 1 point will be awarded up to a
maximum of 15 points. Critical
community facilities will be counted
using the GIS layer located in the RUS
mapping tool at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
8. Tribal Lands (5 Points)
For applications where, at a
minimum, 50 percent of the

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geographical area of the proposed
funded service area(s) is to provide
service on tribal lands, 5 points shall be
awarded. Tribal lands will be analyzed
using the GIS layer located at https://
www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/
cbf/cbf_aiannh.html. This layer is
included in the RUS mapping tool.
9. State Broadband Activity (20 Points)
For projects that are in a State that has
a broadband plan that has been updated
within five years of the date of
publication of this FOA, 10 points will
be awarded. An additional 5 points will
be awarded for projects located in states
that do not restrict utilities from
delivering broadband service, and 5
more points for projects located in states
that expedite right-of-way and
environmental requirements.
Applicants will be required to submit
evidence from the appropriate State
official that a broadband plan has been
implemented and updated, that there
are no restrictions on utilities providing
broadband service, and that procedures
are in place for expediting right-of-way
and environmental requirements. If
service is proposed in multiple states,
then evidence must be submitted from
each state to get the appropriate points.
VIII. Notice of Proposed Funded
Service Areas
A. The Agency Will Publish a Public
Notice of Each Application
The application must provide a
summary of the information required for
such public notice including the
following:
1. The identity of the applicant;
2. A map of each proposed funded
service area showing the rural area
boundaries and the areas without
sufficient access to broadband using the
Agency’s Mapping Tool;
3. The amount and type of support
requested;
4. The status of the review of the
application;
5. The estimated number of
households without sufficient access to
broadband in each service area
exclusive of satellite and mobile
broadband service; and
6. A description of all the types of
services that the applicant proposes to
offer in each service area.
B. Notification After the Application
Has Been Received
The Agency will publish the public
notice on an Agency web page after the
application has been submitted through
the online application system and will
remain on the web page for a period of
30 calendar days.

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The notice will ask existing service
providers to submit to the Agency,
within this notice period, the following
information:
1. The number of residential and
business customers within the
applicant’s service area currently
purchasing broadband service, defined
as at a minimum speed of 10 Mbps
downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, the
rates of data transmission being offered,
and the cost of each level of broadband
service charged by the existing service
provider;
2. The number of residential and
business customers within the
applicant’s service area receiving voice
and video services and the associated
rates for these other services; and
3. A map showing where the existing
service provider’s services coincide
with the applicant’s service area using
the Agency’s Mapping Tool.
C. Agency Determination of Sufficient
Access to Broadband in Proposed
Funded Service Area
The Agency will use the information
submitted to determine if there is
sufficient access to broadband in any
part of the proposed funded service
area. Notwithstanding non-responses by
actual and potential providers, the
Agency will use all information
available in evaluating the feasibility of
the project.
D. Treatment of Submitted Information
The information submitted by an
existing service provider will be treated
as proprietary and confidential to the
extent permitted under applicable law.
E. Notice of Application Is Approved
If an application is approved, an
additional notice will be published on
the agency’s website that will include
the following information:
1. The name of the entity receiving
the financial assistance;
2. The type of assistance being
received;
3. The purpose of the assistance and
the location of the proposed funded
service area; and
4. The semiannual reports submitted
under Section X(B)(6)e of this FOA.

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IX. Evaluation and Processing
Procedures
A. Review of Application
Applications will be evaluated using
the criteria stated in Section V.C of this
FOA. Public comments received with
respect to an application’s proposed
funded service area will be reviewed
and evaluated. Eligibility of proposed
funded service areas will be verified by
the Agency.

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RUS also reserves the right to ask
applicants for clarifying information
and additional verification of assertions
in the application. For those
applications that RUS has selected for
funding, RUS will send award
documents.
B. Review of Awardee Operations
1. Entities That Receive Funding Under
This FOA
For all entities that receive funding
under this FOA, RUS may send a team
to the awardee’s facilities to complete a
Management Analysis Profile (MAP) of
the entire operation. MAPs are used by
RUS as a means of evaluating an
Awardee’s strengths and weaknesses
and ensuring that awardees are prepared
to fulfil the terms of the award. Once an
applicant accepts an award offer, RUS
may schedule a site visit as soon as
possible.
2. Agency Right Not To Advance Funds
RUS reserves the right not to advance
funds until the MAP has been
completed. If the MAP identifies issues
that can affect the operation and
completion of the project, those issues
must be addressed to the satisfaction of
RUS before funds can be advanced.
Funding may be rescinded if following
a MAP the agency determines that the
awardee will be unable to meet the
requirements of the award.
X. Award Administration Information
A. Award Notices
Successful applicants will receive an
offer letter and award documents from
RUS following award notification.
Applicants may view sample award
documents at https://
reconnect.usda.gov.
B. Administrative Requirements
1. Pre-Award Conditions
No funds will be disbursed under this
program until all other sources of
funding have been obtained and any
other pre-award conditions have been
met. Failure to obtain one or more
sources of funding committed to in the
Application or to fulfill any other preaward condition within 90 days of
award announcement may result in
withdrawal of the award.
2. Failure To Comply With Award
Requirements
If an Awardee fails to comply with the
terms of the award as specified in the
award documents, RUS may exercise
rights and remedies.

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3. Advance Procedures
RUS loan and grant advances are
made at the request of the Awardee
according to the procedures stipulated
in the Award Documents. ALL
MATCHING FUNDS OR CASH
PROVIDED IN LIEU OF LOAN FUNDS
MUST BE EXPENDED FIRST,
FOLLOWED BY LOAN FUNDS, AND
THEN BY GRANT FUNDS, EXCEPT
FOR RUS APPROVED PRE–
APPLICATION EXPENSES. Grant funds,
if any, will be used for eligible preapplication expenses only on the first
advance request. Accordingly,
applications that do not account for
such advance procedures in the Pro
Forma five-year forecast may be
rejected.
4. Construction
a. All project assets must comply with
7 CFR part 1788, and 7 CFR part 1970
located at https://www.rd.usda.gov/
publications/regulations-guidelines/
regulations, the ReConnect Program
Construction Procedures located at
https://reconnect.usda.gov, any
successor regulations found on the
agency’s website, and any other
guidance from the Agency.
b. The build-out of the project must be
completed within five years from the
date funds are made available. Build-out
is considered complete when the
network design has been fully
implemented, the service operations
and management systems infrastructure
is operational, and the awardee is ready
to support the activation and
commissioning of individual customers
to the new system.
5. Servicing
a. Awardees must make payments on
the loan as required in the note and
Award Documents.
b. Awardees must comply with all
terms, conditions, affirmative
covenants, and negative covenants
contained in the Award Documents.
c. In the event of default of the Award
Documents:
(i) A late charge may be charged on
any payment not made in accordance
with the terms of the loan.
(ii) The Agency may exercise any and
all remedies provided in the Award
Documents.
6. Accounting, Monitoring, and
Reporting Requirements
a. Awardees must adopt a system of
accounts for maintaining financial
records acceptable to the Agency, as
described in 7 CFR part 1770, subpart B.
b. Awardees must submit annual
comparable audited financial statements
along with a report on compliance and

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on internal control over financial
reporting, and management letter in
accordance with the requirements of 7
CFR part 1773. The Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) conducting the
annual audit is selected by the borrower
and must be satisfactory to RUS as set
forth in 7 CFR 1773 Subpart B—RUS
Audit Requirements.
c. Awardees must comply with all
reasonable Agency requests to support
ongoing monitoring efforts. The
Awardee shall afford RUS, through its
representatives, reasonable opportunity,
at all times during business hours and
upon prior notice, to have access to and
the right to inspect: The Broadband
System, any other property encumbered
by the Award Documents, any and all
books, records, accounts, invoices,
contracts, leases, payrolls, timesheets,
cancelled checks, statements, and other
documents, electronic or paper of every
kind belonging to or in the possession
of the Awardee or in any way pertaining
to its property or business, including its
subsidiaries, if any, and to make copies
or extracts therefore.
d. Awardee records shall be retained
and preserved in accordance with the
provisions of 7 CFR part 1770, subpart
A.
e. Awardees must submit semiannual
reports for 3 years after completion of
the project, which must include the
following:
(1) The purpose of the financing,
including new equipment and capacity
enhancements that support high-speed
broadband access for educational
institutions, health care providers, and
public safety service providers
(including the estimated number of end
users who are currently using or
forecasted to use the new or upgraded
infrastructure);
(2) The progress towards fulfilling the
objectives for which the assistance was
granted, including:
(i) The number of residences and
businesses that will receive service
equal to or greater than the speed
required for the appropriate funding
category;
(ii) The types of facilities constructed
and installed;
(iii) The speed of the broadband
services being delivered;
(iv) The average price of the
broadband services being delivered in
each proposed service area;
(v) The broadband adoption rate for
each proposed service territory,
including the number of new
subscribers generated from the facilities
funded; and

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7. Assistance Instruments
a. Terms and conditions of loans,
grants, or loan/grant combinations are
set forth in the non-negotiable standard
loan, grant, or loan/grant agreements
and the corresponding note, and/or
mortgage, if applicable, which may be
found at https://reconnect.usda.gov.
b. Award Documents must be
executed prior to any advance of funds.
c. Sample Award Documents can be
found at https://reconnect.usda.gov.
8. Loan and Loan/Grant Terms and
Conditions
Among others, the following terms
shall apply to the loans:
a. Interest Rate
If an applicant is applying for a 100%
loan, the interest rate shall be fixed at
2%. If an applicant is applying for a 50/
50 loan/grant combination, the loan
shall bear interest at a rate equal to the
cost of borrowing to the Department of
Treasury for obligations, as determined
by the government, of comparable
maturity. The applicable interest rate
will be set at the time of each advance.
b. Repayment Period
Unless the Applicant requests a
shorter repayment period, loans must be
repaid with interest within a period
that, rounded to the nearest whole year,
is equal to the expected Composite
Economic Life of the project assets, as
determined by RUS based upon
acceptable depreciation rates, plus three
years. Acceptable depreciation rates can
be found in the ReConnect Program
Constructions Procedures found at
https://reconnect.usda.gov.
c. Amortization Period
Interest begins accruing on the date of
each loan advance. All interest and
principle payments will be deferred for
a three-year period starting when funds
are made available to be drawn by the
Awardee. At the end of the three-year
deferral period, accrued interest will be
capitalized and added to the
outstanding principal, and monthly
payments will be established in an
amount that amortizes the outstanding
balance in equal payments over the
remaining term of the loan.
d. Build-out Period
All proposed construction (including
construction with matching and other
funds) and all advance of funds must be
completed no later than five years from
the time funds are made available.
e. Fidelity Bonding
Applicants must agree to obtain a
fidelity bond for 15 percent of the award
amount. The fidelity bond must be
obtained as a condition of award
closing. RUS may reduce the percentage
required if it determines that 15 percent

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is not commensurate with the risk
involved.
f. Loan Security. The loan portion of
the award must be adequately secured,
as determined by RUS.
(i) For Corporations and LLC’s, the
loan and loan/grant combinations must
be secured by all assets of the Awardee.
RUS must be given an exclusive first
lien, in form and substance satisfactory
to RUS, on all assets of the Awardee,
including all revenues. RUS may share
its first lien position with one or more
lenders on a pari passu basis, except
with respect to grant funds, if security
arrangements are acceptable to RUS.
Applicants must submit a certification
that their prior lender or lienholder on
any Awardee assets has already agreed
to sign the RUS’ standard intercreditor
agreement or co-mortgage found at
https://reconnect.usda.gov. Note that
RUS will not consider sharing assets
with any related party or affiliate of the
Awardee. Moreover, given that RUS
cannot renegotiate these standard
agreements, Awardees that are unable to
obtain sign-off on the security
arrangements may have their awards
rescinded within 60 days of the date the
Awardee is made aware of the approval
of its application.
(ii) For Tribal entities and
municipalities, RUS will develop
appropriate security arrangements.
(iii) Unless otherwise approved by
RUS in writing, all property and
facilities purchased with award funds
must be owned by the Awardee.
g. Grant Security. The grant portion of
the award must also be adequately
secured, as determined by RUS.
(i) The government must be provided
an exclusive first lien on all grant assets
during the service obligation of the
grant, and thereafter any sale or
disposition of grant assets must comply
with the Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards,
codified in 2 CFR part 200. Note that
this part will apply to ALL grant funds
of an Awardee, regardless of the entity
status or type of organization.
(ii) All Awardees must repay the grant
if the project is sold or transferred
without RUS approval during the
service obligation of the grant.
9. Award Terms and Conditions
a. Scope
Awardees are required to comply with
the requirements established herein.
Any obligation that applies to the
Awardee shall extend for the life of the
award-funded facilities.
b. Sale or Lease of Project Assets

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The sale or lease of any portion of the
Awardee’s facilities must be approved
in writing by RUS.
c. Certifications
(i) The Applicant must certify that it
is authorized to submit the application
on behalf of the eligible entity(ies) listed
in the Application; that the Applicant
has examined the Application; that all
information in the Application,
including certifications and forms
submitted, are, at the time furnished,
true and correct in all material respects;
that the entity requesting funding will
comply with the terms, conditions,
purposes, and federal requirements of
the program; that no kickbacks were
paid; and that a false, fictitious, or
fradulent statement or claim on the
Application is grounds for denial or
termination of an award, and/or
possible punishment by a fine or
imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C.
§ 1001 and civil violations of the False
Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.);
(ii) The Applicant must certify that it
will comply with all applicable federal,
tribal, state, and local laws, rules,
regulations, ordinances, codes, orders,
and programmatic rules and
requirements relating to the project, and
acknowledges that failure to do so may
result in rejection or de-obligation of the
award, as well as civil or criminal
prosecution, if applicable, by the
appropriate law enforcement
authorities.
10. Financial and Compliance Reporting
Requirements
Awardees must submit to RUS 30
calendar days after the end of each
calendar year quarter, balance sheets,
income statements, statements of cash
flow, rate package summaries, and the
number of customers taking broadband
service on a per community basis
utilizing RUS’ on-line reporting system.
These reports must be submitted
throughout the loan amortization period
or for the economic life of the facilities
funded with a 100 percent grant.
In addition, Awardees will be
required to submit annually updated
service area maps through the RUS
mapping tool showing the areas where
construction has been completed and
premises are receiving service until the
entire proposed funded service area can
receive the broadband service.
At the end of the project, Awardees
must submit a service area map
indicating that all construction has been
completed as proposed in the
application. If parts of the proposed
funded service area have not been
constructed, RUS may require a portion
of the award to be rescinded or paid
back.

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XI. Other Information

C. De-Obligation

A. Discretionary Awards
The government is not obligated to
make any award as a result of this
announcement and will fund only
projects that are deemed likely to
achieve the program’s goals and for
which funds are available.

The RUS reserves the right to deobligate awards to Awardees under this
FOA that demonstrate an insufficient
level of performance, wasteful or
fraudulent spending, or noncompliance
with environmental and historic
preservation requirements.

B. Environmental and National Historic
Preservation Requirements
Federal Agencies are required to
analyze the potential environmental
impacts, as required by the NEPA and
the NHPA for Applicant projects or
proposals seeking funding. All
Applicants are required to complete an
Environmental Questionnaire, provide a
description of program activities and to
submit all other required environmental
documentation as requested in the
application system or by the Agency
after the application is submitted.
It is the Applicant’s responsibility to
obtain all necessary federal, tribal, state,
and local governmental permits and
approvals necessary for the proposed
work to be conducted. Applicants are
expected to design their projects so that
they minimize the potential for adverse
impacts to the environment. Applicants
also will be required to cooperate with
the granting agencies in identifying
feasible measures to reduce or avoid any
identified adverse environmental
impacts of their proposed projects. The
failure to do so may be grounds for not
making an award.
Applications will be reviewed to
ensure that they contain sufficient
information to allow Agency staff to
conduct a NEPA analysis so that
appropriate NEPA documentation can
be submitted to the appropriate federal
and state agencies, along with the
recommendation that the proposal is in
compliance with applicable
environmental and historic
preservations laws. Applicants
proposing activities that cannot be
covered by existing environmental
compliance procedures will be informed
after the technical review stage whether
NEPA compliance and other
environmental requirements can
otherwise be expeditiously met so that
a project can proceed within the
timeframes anticipated under the
ReConnect Program.
If additional information is required
after an application is accepted for
funding, funds can be withheld by the
agency under a special award condition
requiring the Awardee to submit
additional environmental compliance
information sufficient for the Agency to
assess any impacts that a project may
have on the environment.

D. Confidentiality of Applicant
Information

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Applicants are encouraged to identify
and label any confidential and
proprietary information contained in
their applications. The Agency will
protect confidential and proprietary
information from public disclosure to
the fullest extent authorized by
applicable law, including the Freedom
of Information Act, as amended (5
U.S.C. 552), the Trade Secrets Act, as
amended (18 U.S.C. 1905), the
Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18
U.S.C. 1831 et seq.), and CALEA (47
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). Applicants should
be aware, however, that the
Consolidated Appropriations Act
requires substantial transparency. For
example, RUS is required to make
publicly available on the internet a list
of each entity that has applied for a loan
or grant, a description of each
application, the status of each
application, the name of each entity
receiving funds, and the purpose for
which the entity is receiving the funds.
E. Compliance With Applicable Laws
Any recipient of funds under this
FOA shall be required to comply with
all applicable federal, tribal and state
laws, including but not limited to:
1. The nondiscrimination and equal
employment opportunity requirements
of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000e et
seq., 7 CFR pt. 15);
2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act (29 U.S.C. 794 et seq.; 7 CFR pt.
15b);
3. The Age Discrimination Act of
1975, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6101 et
seq.; 45 CFR pt. 90);
4. Executive Order 11375, amending
Executive Order 11246, Relating to
Equal Employment Opportunity (3 CFR
pt. 102). See 7 CFR pts. 15 and 15b and
45 CFR pt. 90, RUS Bulletin 1790–1
(‘‘Nondiscrimination among
Beneficiaries of RUS Programs’’), and
RUS Bulletin 20–15:320–15 (‘‘Equal
Employment Opportunity in
Construction Financed with RUS
Loans’’);
5. The Architectural Barriers Act of
1968, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4151 et
seq.);

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 240 / Friday, December 14, 2018 / Notices
6. The Uniform Federal Accessibility
Standards (UFAS) (Appendix A to 41
CFR subpart 101–19.6); and
7. The Council on Environmental
Quality Regulations for Implementing
the Procedural Provisions of NEPA and
certain related federal environmental
laws, statutes, regulations, and
Executive Orders found in 7 CFR 1970.
A more complete list of such
requirements can be found in the
applicable Award Documents.
F. Communications Laws
Awardees will be required to comply
with all applicable federal, tribal and
state communications laws and
regulations, including, for example, the
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, as
amended (Pub. L. 104–104, 110 Stat. 56
(1996), and CALEA. For further
information, see http://www.fcc.gov.
G. Executive Order 13132
It has been determined that this notice
does not contain policies with
federalism implications as that term is
defined in Executive Order 13132.

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H. Authorized Signatories
Only authorized grant and loan
officers can bind the Government to the
expenditure of funds.
I. Paperwork Reduction Act and
Recordkeeping Requirements
Copies of all forms, regulations, and
instructions referenced in this FOA may
be obtained from RUS. Data furnished
by the Applicants will be used to
determine eligibility for program
benefits. Furnishing the data is
voluntary; however, the failure to
provide data could result in program
benefits being withheld or denied.
The Information Collection and
Recordkeeping requirements contained
in this FOA have been approved by an
emergency clearance under OMB
Control Number 0572–0152. In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), RUS invites comments on
this information collection for which
the Agency intends to request approval
from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB).
Comments on this notice must be
received by February 12, 2019.
Comments are invited on (a) whether
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of burden including
the validity of the methodology and

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assumption used; (c) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments may be sent to Michele
Brooks, Team Lead, Rural Development
Innovation Center—Regulations
Management Team, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave.
SW, Stop 1522, Room 5162 South
Building, Washington, DC 20250–1522.
Title: Rural eConnectivity Pilot
Program (ReConnect Program).
Type of Request: New collection.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting
burden for this collection of information
is estimated to average 6.77 hours per
response.
Respondents: Businesses and other
for-profits.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
2000.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: 34.96.
Estimated Total Annual Burden and
Record Keeping Hours on Respondents:
477,820 hours.
Copies of this information collection
can be obtained from MaryPat Daskal,
Rural Development Innovation Center—
Regulations Management Team, at (202)
720–7853 or email: marypat.daskal@
wdc.usda.gov.
All responses to this information
collection and recordkeeping notice will
be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All
comments will also become a matter of
public record.
Dated: December 6, 2018.
Christopher A. McLean,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–27038 Filed 12–13–18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE P

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Notice of Public Meeting of the Ohio
Advisory Committee to the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights
U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights.
ACTION: Announcement of meeting.
AGENCY:

Notice is hereby given,
pursuant to the provisions of the rules
and regulations of the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights (Commission) and the
Federal Advisory Committee Act that
the Ohio Advisory Committee

SUMMARY:

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(Committee) will hold a meeting via
teleconference on Thursday January 17,
2019, from 2–3 p.m. EST for the purpose
of reviewing received testimony and
planning for future testimony on
education funding in the state.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
Thursday, January 17, 2019, at 2:00 p.m.
EST.
Public Call Information: Dial: 888–
254–3590, Conference ID: 3192445.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melissa Wojnaroski, DFO, at
[email protected] or 312–353–
8311.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Members
of the public can listen to the
discussion. This meeting is available to
the public through the above listed toll
free number. An open comment period
will be provided to allow members of
the public to make a statement as time
allows. The conference call operator
will ask callers to identify themselves,
the organization they are affiliated with
(if any), and an email address prior to
placing callers into the conference
room. Callers can expect to incur regular
charges for calls they initiate over
wireless lines, according to their
wireless plan. The Commission will not
refund any incurred charges. Callers
will incur no charge for calls they
initiate over land-line connections to
the toll-free telephone number. Persons
with hearing impairments may also
follow the proceedings by first calling
the Federal Relay Service at 1–800–877–
8339 and providing the Service with the
conference call number and conference
ID number.
Members of the public are also
entitled to submit written comments;
the comments must be received in the
regional office within 30 days following
the meeting. Written comments may be
mailed to the Regional Programs Unit
Office, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights,
230 S. Dearborn, Suite 2120, Chicago, IL
60604. They may also be faxed to the
Commission at (312) 353–8324, or
emailed to Carolyn Allen at callen@
usccr.gov. Persons who desire
additional information may contact the
Regional Programs Unit Office at (312)
353–8311.
Records generated from this meeting
may be inspected and reproduced at the
Regional Programs Unit Office, as they
become available, both before and after
the meeting. Records of the meeting will
be available via www.facadatabase.gov
under the Commission on Civil Rights,
Ohio Advisory Committee link. Persons
interested in the work of this Committee
are also directed to the Commission’s
website, http://www.usccr.gov, or may
contact the Regional Programs Unit

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