<RULE>
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
<SUBAGY>Rural Business-Cooperative Service</SUBAGY>
<CFR>7 CFR Part 4284</CFR>
<DEPDOC>[Docket No. RBS-24-BUSINESS-0004]</DEPDOC>
<RIN>RIN 0570-AB03</RIN>
<SUBJECT>Modernizing Grant Program Regulation</SUBJECT>
<HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD>
Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.
<HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD>
Final rule; request for comment.
<SUM>
<HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD>
The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS or the Agency), an agency of the Rural Development (RD) mission area within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing a final rule with comment to implement the provisions of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 related to the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) Program and the Agriculture Innovation Center (AIC) Program and to modernize the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program (RCDG). In addition, this action will support ways to simplify and streamline RD program delivery by removing outdated and ineffective definitions, requirements, and scoring criteria for the grant programs above.
</SUM>
<EFFDATE>
<HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD>
<E T="03">Effective date:</E>
This final rule is effective November 15, 2024.
<E T="03">Comment date:</E>
Comments must be submitted on or before October 16, 2024.
</EFFDATE>
<HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD>
Comments may be submitted by going to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
<E T="03">www.regulations.gov/</E>
and in the “Search Documents” box, enter the Docket Number or the Regulatory Information Number (RIN) provided above in the headings to this final rule, and click the “Search” button. Locate this document in the displayed list and select the “Comment” button associated with this document. You will be redirected to a comment submission page and can begin typing your comment in the designated box and/or you may also upload a file. Once you have completed the information requested on the page, you will select the “Submit Comment” button at the bottom. Information on using
<E T="03">Regulations.gov,</E>
including instructions for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after the close of the comment period, is available under the “FAQ” link at the bottom of the Home page.
All submissions received must include the Agency name and docket number or RIN for this rulemaking. All comments received will be posted without change to
<E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E>
including any personal information provided.
Other Information: Additional information about RD and its programs is available at
<E T="03">https://www.rd.usda.gov/.</E>
<FURINF>
<HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD>
Melinda Martin, Program Management Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-3201; telephone (202) 720-1400; email:
<E T="03">melinda.c.martin@usda.gov.</E>
</FURINF>
<SUPLINF>
<HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD>
The information presented in this preamble is organized as follows:
<EXTRACT>
<FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Authority</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Stakeholder Engagement</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Summary of Changes to the Rule</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Subpart A—General Requirements for Cooperative Services Grant Programs</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Subpart F—Rural Cooperative Development Grants</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Subpart J—Value-Added Producer Grant Program</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Subpart K—Agriculture Innovation Center Demonstration Program</FP>
<FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Executive Orders</FP>
</EXTRACT>
<HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Authority</HD>
(A) The AIC program is authorized by section 6402 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171) (2002 Farm Bill) (7 U.S.C. 1632b), as amended by section 7608 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334) (2018 Farm Bill) (see 7 U.S.C. 1632b).
(B) The RCDG program is authorized under section 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)), as amended by the 2018 Farm Bill (sections 6412-15, 6601(a)(1)(B), 6701(c), (d)(1)).
(C) The VAPG program is authorized under section 231 of the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-224), as amended by section 10102 of the 2018 Farm Bill (Pub. L. 115-334) (see 7 U.S.C. 1627c).
<HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background</HD>
RD is a mission area within USDA comprised of RBCS, the Rural Utilities Service and the Rural Housing Service. RD's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for all rural Americans. RD meets its mission by providing loans, grants, loan guarantees, and technical assistance through a multitude of programs aimed at creating and improving businesses, housing and infrastructure throughout rural America.
This part, 7 CFR part 4284, contains the rules and requirements for four programs, however, only the following three programs will be affected by this action: (1) RCDG (subpart F—7 CFR 4284.501 through 4284.600), which makes grants to Cooperative Development Centers that then provide technical assistance and business development help to individuals and businesses to start, expand or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses, (2) VAPG (subpart J—7 CFR 4284.901 through 4284.999), which helps agricultural producers enter into value-added activities related to the processing and/or marketing of new products, and (3) AIC (subpart K—7 CFR 4284.1001 through 4284.1100), which makes grants to Agriculture Innovation Centers that then provide services to agricultural producers seeking to develop and/or market value-added agricultural products. Subpart L (7 CFR 4284.1101 through 4284.1131) relates to the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy Grant Program and is not being impacted by this rulemaking.
The Agency has issued a standardized Federal Financial Assistance Agreement to incorporate provisions of 2 CFR part 200 which applies to these grant programs but has not updated the subparts of the regulation that govern the programs in over 16 years other than a March 2016 amendment to subpart J to implement provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill; Pub. L. 113-79) and subpart L that was added in June 2021. Since the Agency must incorporate the provisions outlined in sections 7608 and 10102 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) (Pub. L. 115-334), it is using this rulemaking as an opportunity to update and reorganize subparts F, J and K of this regulation. The updates and reorganizing include modernizing the RCDG and AIC programs, improving processes, streamlining requirements, and providing clarity to the daily administration of the programs. Language in subpart J is being updated in preparation for a new application intake system that is being developed and will streamline the application process once it comes online. After the changes, each subpart will be a standalone set of definitions and requirements for each individual grant program.
<HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Stakeholder Engagement</HD>
Three Stakeholder Listening Sessions and Requests for Information, specific to each program, were held in the fall of 2021 to obtain the public's input on potential changes to program application processes and requirements. These sessions were announced through
notices published in the
<E T="04">Federal Register</E>
on August 24, 2021. The notices were published at: AIC—86 FR 47286, RCDG—86 FR 47289 and VAPG—86 FR 47284. Each of the notices included the option that the participants could officially submit their comments through
<E T="03">Regulations.gov</E>
until October 25, 2021. The Agency received several written submissions in addition to the oral comments that were considered as they evaluated ways to streamline and improve the requirements outlined in this rulemaking.
The Agency, through discussions with internal and external stakeholders while administering these programs on a daily basis, has received informal feedback that some of the program application processes and requirements could use clarification and/or updating. This stakeholder feedback was also taken into consideration while updating these subparts.
<HD SOURCE="HD1">IV. Summary of Changes to the Rule</HD>
This section presents the major changes to the existing grant regulation which includes removing and reserving subpart A and revising and reorganizing the sections in subparts F, J and K into a more sequential order of events as they occur during the application, award, and post-award processes. In addition, as stated above, each subpart has been reorganized to be a standalone set of definitions and requirements for each specific grant program. Defined terms have been capitalized throughout the preamble and regulatory text.
<HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Subpart A—General Requirements for Cooperative Services Grant Programs</HD>
Subpart A, consisting of §§ 4284.1 through 4284.100, has been removed and reserved. Relevant sections of this subpart were moved to subparts F and K and obsolete sections, definitions, and language were removed.
<HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Subpart F—Rural Cooperative Development Grants</HD>
1. Section 4284.501, Purpose, was revised to clarify the intent of the RCDG program and to describe generally the organizations that are eligible to apply.
2. The section heading for § 4284.502 was changed from “Policy” to “Organization of subpart”. The policy language was removed because the Agency's policies are incorporated into the regulation. This new section was added to identify the main sections of the revised subpart and summarize the information in each section.
3. The section heading for § 4284.503 was changed from “Program administration” to “Definitions”. The program administration language was removed from the subpart to streamline pr
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