A it will and Submits to CH wwwwwww Indeterminate Period Total Period for Preparation, Coordination and Submission of Application 30 Days State or Areawide Planning and Development Clearinghouse The Project Notification and Review System (PNRS) is a two-part system consisting of two separate 30-day periods for review of applications by State and areawide clearinghouses commencing with the clearinghouses' receipt of the Notification of Intent (NOI) to apply for assistance. During the first 30day period, the NOI is reviewed by the clearinghouses and submitted for comment to State agencies, local governments, and other public agencies whose projects or programs may be affected by the proposed project. During the second 30-day period, the completed, formal application is reviewed by the clearinghouses and returned to the applicant. The applicant then submits the completed application to the Federal funding agency. PROGRAM APPLICATION PROCEDURES The following pages contain the procedures applicants should follow in applying for Federal assistance grams covered by part I of OMB Circular no. A-95. 1. Applicant contacts Federal funding agency to: pro (a) request the agency's written procedures and regulations implementing the requirements of A-95, b Part I; (b) find out if the application must be submitted to both State and areawide clearinghouses, and the location of the clearinghouses in the jurisdiction in which the proposed project is to be located. 2. Applicant submits the Notification of Intent (NOI) to apply for assistance to clearinghouses. The NOI may be submitted on Standard Form 424 (contained in attachment M of OMB Circular No. A-102). Many clearinghouses, however, have developed their own notification forms and instructions, thus applicants are urged to contact the clearinghouses for this information in order to expedite the review process. The NOI should include a summary description of the project for which assistance is being sought. (Detailed summary description requirements of a project is contained in Part I of Circular A-95.) For example, the summary should contain the following types of information, as appropriate and to the extent available: (a) identity of the applicant agency, organization, or individual applying for assistance; (b) the geographic location of the project to be assisted; (c) a brief description of the proposed project (type, purpose, estimated cost, beneficiaries, or other characteristics which will enable clearinghouses to identify agencies of State or local government having plans, programs or projects that might be affected by the proposed project); (d) a statement as to whether the applicant has been advised by the funding agency that environmental impact information is required; (e) when available, the Federal program title, Catalog program number, and the Federal grantor agency as listed in the latest Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance or Attachment D of Circular A-95, whichever bears the later date; (f) the estimated date the applicant expects to formally file the application with the funding agency. Exceptions and Variations XXII If the applicant submits a completed application and does not submit a NOI (because of the project's simplicity or because the clearinghouse does not have a notification stage) the clearinghouse may have 60 days to review the completed application. If the applicant submits the NOI and the completed application within the first 30 days, the clearinghouse may have the second 30 days, plus the number of days remaining in the initial 30day notification period to complete the review. (The submission of the completed application initiates the beginning of the second 30-day period.) If the clearinghouse cannot complete the review within 30 days, normally the applicant is notified to that effect. If the applicant receives no response from the State or areawide clearinghouse within the allotted 30 days for review of the NOI, the applicant may contact the clearinghouse to ascertain the 5-79 1 of the NOI, or submit a completed application to the clearinghouse initiating review of o the completed application. The clearinghouse may not wish to review the completed application; however, after the initial review, an information copy of the completed application may be requested by the clearinghouse at the time it is submitted to the funding agency. Applications for renewal or continuation of grants, or applications not submitted to or acted on by the funding agency within one year after completion of clearinghouse review will be subject to re-review upon request of the clearinghouse. Part I of Circular A-95 also requires clearinghouse review of proposed amendments to applications as well as as review of the original appliication. Review of amendments is normally completed within 30 days. Special Purpose Unit of Local Government Versus General Local Government If assistance is being sought by a special purpose unit of local government, the clearinghouses must assure that any unit of generallocal government having jurisdiction over the area in which the project is to be located has the opportunity to confer, consult, or comment upon the project and its application. In the case of an application submitted by a special purpose unit of local government, where accompanying comments indicate that the unit of general local government having jurisdiction over the area in which the project is to be located has submitted or plans to submit an application for assistance for the same or similar type of project, clearinghouses will assure that appropriate considerations and preferences are accorded the unit of general local government as specified in Section 402 of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968. Applications for Housing Programs For housing programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Veter- As an alternative to the above procedure, the developer may submit the application directly to the appropriate clearinghouses for review prior to submitting it to the funding agency to identify any potential difficulties that could cause delay or rejection of the project. This procedure, however, involves 60 days for review. (Some HUD offices have required developers to contact clearinghouses before submitting an application to them.) The extent to which this approach and associated procedures are used should be worked out between the regional offices of the Federal agency and the clearinghouses. Land/Water Use Programs and Construction in the National Capital Region For project applications involving land or water use and development or construction in the National Capital Region (the District of Columbia; Prince Georges and Montgomery Counties, Maryland; Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun Counties and the City of Alexan dria, Virginia), a copy of the application is to be sent to the National Capital Planning Commis sion, the official Federal planning agency for the National Capital Region, in addition to the State and areawide clearinghouses. 3. Clearinghouses notify public agencies. Upon receipt of the NOI, the clearinghouses have a total of 30 days to react to and gather comments f about a project from public agencies. State clearinghouse will disseminate project notification to the appropriate State and multistate agencies which might have programs affected by the proposed project, including where appropriate, environ-d mental agencies and State agencies responsible for enforcing or furthering the objectives of civil rights laws. The areawide clearinghouse will disseminate project notifications to local government agencies or regional bodies whose interest might be affected by the proposed project, and where appropriate, local agencies with environmental and civil rights responsibilities and, upon request, to the local chief executives for projects p proposed within their jurisdictions so that they may coordinate internal reviews by municipal and county agencies. 4. Public agencies review proposed project. The public agencies will review the proposed project and inform the clearinghouses of their interest, if any. The staff of an areawide clearinghouse also conducts its own review to evaluate the consistency and significance of proposed projects to State, areawide, and local plans and programs for the area. 5. (a) No issues raised by public agencies or clearinghouses If no issues are raised, the clearinghouse 'signs off" and notifies the applicant. The applicant has fulfilled the requirements of Part I and may complete the application and submit it to the funding agency unless the clearinghouse specifies that it wishes to review the completed application. If it does, the clearinghouse will have an additional 30 days for review. The applicant then submits the application to the funding agency. The majority of applications do not raise any issues and do not go pass this stage of the review process. 5. (b) Issues raised by public agencies or clearinghouses 11 ולין R Public agencies and/or the clearinghouses may find that a project 1) is not consistent with area in planning (duplicates or conflicts with existing programs), 2) would be minimally effective, 3) would adversely affect the environment, 4) would not meet civil rights requirements, etc. These issues will be resolved in conferences held with the applicant. Although areawide review procedures vary widely, many clearinghouses have project review committees and/or boards (usually consisting of local elected officials) that will become involved in formal review of the application, after initial staff reviews have been made and issues identified. The project review committee will consider the application and make its recommendations, the board then considers the reviews and adopts the official position of the clearinghouse on the applications at regularly scheduled meetings. The meetings are often open to the public and may be attended by the applicant (clearinghouse procedures will govern). 6. Clearinghouse arranges conference with applicant. The clearinghouse will arrange conference as necessary with the applicant within 30 days of NOI to apply for assistance. Conferences may be held between the applicant, concerned public agencies, and the clearinghouses staff to 1) explore the project in greater detail, 2) strengthen the project, 3) identify possible conflicts, differences or mutuality of interest, or 4) resolve conflicts. If there is continued interest by the public agencies, the applicant, the clearinghouse, and the agencies may cooperate in developing an applica |