FUNDING AVAILABILITY FOR THE LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD CONTROL GRANT PROGRAM Program Overview Purpose of the Program. The purpose of the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program is to assist States, Indian Tribes and local governments in undertaking comprehensive programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately-owned housing for rental or owner-occupants in partnership with community-based organizations. Available Funds. Approximately $59 million. Eligible Applicants. States, Indian Tribes or local governments. If you are a State or Tribal applicant, you must have a Lead-Based Paint Contractor Certification and Accreditation Program authorized by EPA. Application Deadline. May 17, 2001. Match. A minimum of 10% match in local funds. Additional Information I. Application Due Date, Application Kits, Further Information, and Technical Assistance Application Due Date. Submit your completed application (an original and four copies) to HUD on or before 12:00 midnight, Eastern time, on May 17, 2001, at the address shown below. See the General Section of the SuperNOFA for specific procedures concerning the form of application submission (e.g., mailed applications, express mail, overnight deliver, or hand carried). Address for Submitting Applications. For Mailed Applications. The address for mailed applications is: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Room P3206, Washington, DC 20410. For Overnight/Express Mail or Hand Carried Applications. The address for applications that are hand carried or sent via overnight delivery is: HUD Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, Suite 3206, 490 East L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC 20024. Hand carried applications will be accepted at this address (490 East L'Enfant) up until 5:00 pm on the application due date. After 5:00 pm on the application due date, hand carried applications will be accepted until 12:00 midnight, in the South Lobby of HUD Headquarters, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410. For Application Kits. You may obtain an application kit from the SuperNOFA Information Center at 1-800-HUD-8929. Persons with speech or hearing impairments, may call the Center's TTY number at 1-800-HUD- 2209. When requesting an application kit, please refer to the Lead- Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program. Please be sure to provide your name, address (including zip code), and telephone number (including area code). For Further Information and Technical Assistance. You may contact Ellis G. Goldman, Director, Program Management Division, Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, at the address above; telephone (202) 755-1785, extension 112 (this is not a toll-free number). If you are a hearing- or speech-impaired person, you may reach the above telephone numbers via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339. Satellite Broadcast. HUD will hold an information broadcast via satellite for potential applicants to learn more about the program and preparation of the application. For more information about the date and time of the broadcast, you should consult the HUD web site at http:// www.hud.gov. II. Amount Allocated (A) Available Funding. Approximately $59 million will be available for the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program. (B) Allocation of Funds/Grant Awards. Both existing grantees or previously unfunded applicants are eligible to apply for grants of $1 million to $3 million. Approximately 20 to 25 grants will be awarded. Approximately 70% of the funds shall be available to existing Lead- Based Paint Hazard Control grantees. Applications from existing (or previous) grantees will be evaluated and scored as a separate group and will not be in direct competition with applications from previously unfunded applicants. III. Program Description, Eligible Applicants; Eligible Activities (A) Program Description. The Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program assists States, Indian Tribes and local governments in undertaking programs for the identification and control of lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately-owned housing units for rental and owner-occupants. The application kit for this program section of the SuperNOFA lists HUD-associated housing programs which also meet the definition of eligible housing. (1) Because lead-based paint is a national problem, these funds will be awarded to: (a) Maximize both the number of children protected from lead poisoning and housing units where lead-hazards are controlled; (b) Target lead hazard control efforts at housing in which children are at greatest risk of lead poisoning; (c) Stimulate cost-effective approaches that can be replicated; (d) Emphasize lower cost methods of hazard control; (e) Build local capacity to safely and effectively address lead hazards during lead hazard control, renovation, remodeling, and maintenance activities; and (f) Affirmatively further fair housing, Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH), and environmental justice. (2) The objectives of this program include: (a) Implementation of a national strategy, as defined in Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 4851 et. seq.) (Title X), to build the community's capacity necessary to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in all housing, as widely and quickly as possible by establishing a workable framework for lead-based paint hazard identification and control; (b) Mobilization of public and private resources, involving cooperation among all levels of government, the private sector, and community-based organizations to develop cost-effective methods for identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards; (c) Development of comprehensive community approaches which result in integration of all community resources (governmental, community- based, and private businesses) to address lead hazards in housing; (d) Integration of lead-safe work practices into housing maintenance, repair, weatherization, rehabilitation, and other programs which will continue beyond your grant period; (e) Establishment of a public registry (listing) of lead-safe housing; and (f) To the greatest extent feasible, promotion of job training, employment, and other economic opportunities for low-income and minority residents and businesses that are owned by and/or employ low- income and minority residents as defined in 24 CFR 135.5 (See 59 FR 33881, June 30, 1994). (B) Eligible Applicants. (1) To be eligible to apply for funding under this program, you must be a State, Indian Tribe, or unit of local government. Multiple units of a local government (or multiple local governments) may apply as part of a consortium; however, you must identify a single lead primary [[Page 11856]] government or agency as ``the applicant.'' You may submit only one application. In the event you submit multiple applications, this will be considered a curable (minor) defect and the application review process delayed until you notify HUD in writing which application should be reviewed. Your other applications will be returned unevaluated. (2) Threshold Requirements. As an applicant, you must meet all of the threshold requirements of Section II(B) of the General Section of the SuperNOFA. (3) Consolidated Plans. (a) If your jurisdiction has a current HUD approved Consolidated Plan, you must submit, as an appendix, a copy of the lead-based paint element included in the approved Consolidated Plan. (b) If your jurisdiction does not have a currently approved Consolidated Plan, but it is otherwise eligible for this grant program, you must include your jurisdiction's abbreviated Consolidated Plan, which includes a lead-based paint hazard control strategy developed in accordance with 24 CFR 91.235. (4) Contracts or other formal arrangements with Community-Based Organizations. If selected for funding, local and State applicants must enter into contractual relationships or other formal arrangements with community-based organizations. Such relationships must be established prior to actual execution of the grant agreement. This requirement does not apply to Indian Tribes. (5) EPA Authorization. If you are a State government or an Indian Tribal government, you must have an EPA authorized Lead-Based Paint Contractor Certification and Accreditation Program on the application deadline to be eligible. Your program approval date in the Federal Register notice published by the EPA will be used. (6) If you were funded under the FY 2000 Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Funding competition in the FY 2000 SuperNOFA issued February 24, 2000 (65 FR 9539), you are not eligible for funding under this program section of the SuperNOFA. (7) The eligibility factors discussed in paragraphs (1) through (6) above are threshold requirements. If you do not satisfy the appropriate eligibility requirements stated in these paragraphs, HUD will not review your application. (C) Eligible Activities. HUD is interested in promoting lead hazard control approaches that result in the reduction of this health threat for the maximum number of low-income families with children under six, for the longest period of time, and that demonstrate techniques which are cost-effective, efficient, and can be used elsewhere. HUD will allow flexibility within the parameters established below. Funds will be available only for projects conducted by contractors, risk assessors, inspectors, workers and others engaged in lead-based paint activities who meet the requirements of an EPA authorized State or Tribal Lead-Based Paint Contractor Certification and Accreditation Program under the requirements of section 404 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). However, low level hazard interventions (e.g., dust control and minor paint stabilization) do not require certified personnel unless required by state or local laws or regulations. All applicants must use personnel certified under the state, tribal, or EPA administered program for their state or tribe. (1) Direct Project Elements that you may undertake directly or through subrecipients, include: (a) Performing dust testing, hazard screens, inspections, and risk assessments of eligible housing constructed before 1978 to determine the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead hazards from paint, dust, or soil. (b) Conducting the required pre-hazard control blood lead testing of children under the age of six years (72 months) residing in units undergoing inspection, risk assessment, or hazard control, unless reimbursable from Medicaid or another source. (c) Conducting lead hazard control, which may include any combination of the following: interim control of lead-based paint hazards in housing (which may include specialized cleaning techniques to address lead dust); abatement of lead-based paint hazards using different methods for each unit (based on the condition of the unit and the extent of hazards); and abatement of lead-based paint hazards, including soil and dust, by means of removal, enclosure, encapsulation, or replacement methods. Complete abatement of all lead-based paint or lead-contaminated soil is not acceptable as a cost effective strategy unless justification is provided and approved by HUD. Abatement of lead contaminated soil should be limited to areas with bare soil in the immediate vicinity of the structure, i.e., dripline or foundation of the structure being treated, and children's play areas. (d) Carrying out temporary relocation of families and individuals during the period in which hazard control is conducted and until the time the affected unit receives clearance for reoccupancy. (e) Performing blood lead testing and air sampling to protect the health of the hazard control workers, supervisors, and contractors. (f) Undertaking minimal housing rehabilitation activities that are specifically required to carry out effective hazard control, and without which the hazard control could not be completed and maintained. Hazard Control grant funds may be used for lead hazard control work done in conjunction with other housing rehabilitation programs. HUD strongly encourages integration of this grant program with housing rehabilitation and PATH technologies. (g) Conducting clearance dust-wipe testing and laboratory analysis. (h) Engineering and architectural activities that are required for, and in direct support of, lead hazard control. (i) Providing lead-based paint worker or contractor certification training and/or licensing to low-income persons. (j) Providing free training on lead-safe, essential maintenance practices to homeowners, renters, painters, remodelers, and apartment maintenance staff working in low-income private housing. (k) Providing cleaning supplies for lead-hazard control to community/neighborhood-based organizations, homeowners, and renters in low-income private housing. (l) Conducting planning, coordination, and training activities to facilitate local implementation of HUD's regulations on Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures, published on September 15, 1999 (64 FR 50140), and which became effective on September 15, 2000. These activities are intended to allow the creation of a workforce properly trained in lead-safe work practices and which is available to conduct interim controls on HUD assisted housing covered by these regulations. These regulations are available from the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD. (m) Conducting general or targeted community awareness, education or outreach programs on lead hazard control and lead poisoning prevention. This includes educating owners of rental properties on the Fair Housing Act and training on lead-safe maintenance and renovation practices and management. Upon request, this also would include making all materials available in alternative formats to persons with disabilities (e.g.; Braille, audio, large type). (n) Procuring liability insurance for lead-hazard control activities. [[Page 11857]] (o) Supporting data collection, analysis, and evaluation of grant program activities. This includes compiling and delivering such information and data as may be required by HUD. This activity is separate from administrative costs. (p) Conducting applied research activities directed at demonstration of cost effective methods for lead hazard control. (q) Purchasing or leasing equipment having a per unit cost under $5,000. (r) Purchasing or leasing up to two (2) X-ray fluorescence analyzers for use by the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program, if not already available. (s) Preparing a final report at the conclusion of grant activities. (2) Support Elements. (a) Administrative costs. There is a 10% maximum for administrative costs. Specific information on administrative costs is included in this Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program section of this SuperNOFA. (b) Program planning and management costs of sub-grantees and other sub-recipients. (D) Ineligible Activities. You may not use grant funds for any of the following: (1) Purchase of real property. (2) Purchase or lease of equipment having a per unit cost in excess of $5,000, except for X-ray fluorescence analyzers. (3) Chelation or other medical treatment costs related to children with elevated blood lead levels. Non-Federal funds used to cover these costs may be counted as part of the required matching contribution. (4) Lead hazard control activities in publicly owned housing, or project-based Section 8 housing. IV. Program Requirements In addition to the program requirements listed in the General Section of this SuperNOFA, you, the applicant, must comply with the following requirements: (A) Budgeting. (1) Matching Contribution. You must provide a matching contribution of at least 10% of the requested grant sum. This may be in the form of a cash or in-kind (non-cash) contribution or a combination of both. With the sole exception of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, Federal funds may not be used to satisfy the statutorily required ten (10) percent matching requirement. Federal funds may be used, however, for contributions above the statutory requirement. If you do not show a minimum 10% match in your application, you will be rated lower during the evaluation process, and, if selected, you will be required to provide the matching contribution before being given the grant. (2) Direct Lead Hazard Control Activities. The budget proposed must show a minimum of 60 percent of the total Federal amount requested identified for direct lead hazard control activities. Direct lead hazard control activities consist of inspections, risk assessments, contracts for lead hazard control services, and clearance evaluations. Direct hazard control activities do not include relocation, blood testing of residents or workers, housing rehabilitation, training, community education, applied research, purchase of supplies or equipment, or administrative costs. (3) Lead-Safe Work Practice Training Activities. The budget proposed must include a minimum of two (2) percent of the total Federal amount to promote the creation of a workforce properly trained in lead- safe work practices and which is available to conduct interim controls on HUD assisted housing units being treated under the provisions of the HUD Lead Safe Housing Regulation (Sections 1012 and 1013 of Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992), 24 CFR Part 35(in particular, paragraphs 35.1330 (a) (4) (iii)-(v), published September 15, 1999 (64 FR 50201 et eq.). (4) Applied Research Activities. You may identify a maximum of five (5%) percent of the total grant request for applied research activities. (5) Administrative Costs. There is a 10% maximum for administrative costs. (B) Period of Performance. The period of performance is 36 months for previously unfunded applicants. Existing grantee applicants will be allowed 30 months. (C) Certified Performers. You may use grant funds only for projects conducted by certified contractors, risk assessors, inspectors, workers and others engaged in lead-based paint activities. The individuals and firms (if applicable) must be certified under an EPA authorized State or Tribal program or a program operated by the EPA in the absence of a State or Tribal program. (D) Coastal Barrier Resources Act. Pursuant to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501), you may not use grant funds for properties located in the Coastal Barrier Resources System. (E) Flood Disaster Protection Act. Under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4001-4128), you may not use grant funds for lead-based paint hazard control of a building or mobile home that is located in an area identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as having special flood hazards unless: (1) The community in which the area is situated is participating in the National Flood Insurance Program in accordance with the applicable regulations (44 CFR parts 59-79), or less than a year has passed since FEMA notification regarding these hazards; and (2) Where the community is participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, flood insurance on the property is obtained in accordance with section 102(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act (42 U.S.C. 4012a(a)). You are responsible for assuring that flood insurance is obtained and maintained for the appropriate amount and term. (F) National Historic Preservation Act. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470) and the regulations at 36 CFR part 800 apply to the lead-based paint hazard control activities that are undertaken pursuant to this program. HUD and the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation have developed an optional Model Agreement for use by grantees and State Historic Preservation Officers in carrying out activities under this program. This may be obtained from the SuperNOFA Clearinghouse. (G) Waste Disposal. You must handle waste disposal according to the requirements of the appropriate local, State and Federal regulatory agencies. You must handle disposal of wastes from hazard control activities that contain lead-based paint but are not classified as hazardous in accordance with the HUD Guidelines for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Hazards in Housing (HUD Guidelines). The Guidelines may be purchased from HUD User (1-800-245-2691) or downloaded from the HUD website (www.hud.gov/offices/lead). (H) Worker Protection Procedures. You must observe the procedures for worker protection established in the HUD Guidelines, as well as the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) (29 CFR 1926.62--Lead Exposure in Construction), or the State or local occupational safety and health regulations, whichever are most protective. If other applicable requirements contain more stringent requirements than the HUD Guidelines, the more rigorous standards shall be followed. (I) Prohibited Practices. You must not engage in practices that are not allowed because of health and safety risks. Methods that generate high levels of lead dust shall be undertaken only with requisite worker protection, [[Page 11858]] containment of dust and debris, suitable clean-up, and clearance. Prohibited practices include: (1) Open flame burning or torching; (2) Machine sanding or grinding without a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) exhaust control; (3) Uncontained hydroblasting or high pressure wash; (4) Abrasive blasting or sandblasting without HEPA exhaust control; (5) Heat guns operating above 1100 degrees Fahrenheit; (6) Chemical paint strippers containing methylene chloride or other volatile hazardous chemicals in a poorly ventilated space; and (7) Dry scraping or dry sanding, except scraping in conjunction with heat guns or around electrical outlets or when treating no more than two (2) square feet in any one interior room or space, or totaling no more than 20 square feet on exterior surfaces. (J) Proposed Modifications From Current Procedures. Proposed methods that differ from currently approved standards or procedures will be considered on their merits through a separate HUD review and approval process after the grant award is made and a specific justification has been presented. HUD may consult with experts from both the public and private sector as part of its final determinations and will document its findings in an environmental assessment. HUD will not approve proposed modifications that, in HUD's opinion, involve a lowering of standards with potential to adversely affect the health of residents, contractors or workers, or the quality of the environment. (K) Written Policies and Procedures. You must have clearly established, written policies and procedures for all phases of lead hazard control, including risk assessment, inspection, development of specifications, pre-hazard control blood lead testing, financing, relocation and clearance testing. Grantees, subcontractors, sub- grantees, sub-recipients, and their contractors must adhere to these policies and procedures. (L) Continued Availability of Lead Safe Housing to Low-Income Families. Units in which lead hazards have been controlled under this program shall be occupied by and/or continue to be available to low- income residents as required by Title X. You must maintain a registry (listing) of units in which lead hazards have been controlled for distribution and marketing to agencies and families as suitable housing for families with children under six. (M) Testing. In developing your application budget, include costs for inspection, risk assessment, and clearance testing for each dwelling that will receive lead hazard control, as follows: (1) Testing. (a) General. All testing and sampling shall conform to the current HUD Guidelines and Federal, state or tribal regulations developed as part of the appropriate contractor certification program. It is particularly important to provide this full cycle of testing for lead hazard control, including interim controls. Testing must be conducted according to the HUD Guidelines and the EPA lead hazard standards rule at 40 CFR part 745, subparts D and L. All test results must be provided to the owner, together with a notice describing the owner's legal duty to disclose the results to tenants and buyers. (b) Pre-Hazard Control. A combined inspection and risk assessment is recommended. You should ensure that the results of the pre-hazard control investigation are sufficient to support hazard control decisions. When appropriate, you may elect to perform a lead hazard screen in lieu of an inspection or risk assessment. (c) Non-Identification of Lead Hazards from Paint, Dust, Soil. In the event you propose to conduct lead hazard control work without identification of lead hazards from paint, dust, and soil, you must fully justify the technical and other rationale for such a proposal. HUD must approve such proposals. Approval is subject to HUD environmental review under 24 CFR part 50. (d) Clearance Testing. Clearance dust testing must be conducted according to the HUD Guidelines and the EPA lead hazards standards rule at 40 CFR part 745, subparts D and L. You are required to meet the post-hazard control dust-wipe test clearance thresholds at 40 CFR 745.227(e)(8)(viii). Wipe tests shall be conducted by an appropriately certified individual who is independent of the lead hazard control contractor. Dust-wipe and soil samples, and any paint samples to be analyzed by a laboratory, must be analyzed by a laboratory recognized by the EPA National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP). Units treated shall not be reoccupied until clearance is achieved. (2) Blood lead testing. Before lead hazard control work begins, each occupant who is under six years old must be tested for lead poisoning within the six months preceding the housing intervention. Any child with an elevated blood lead level must be referred for appropriate medical follow-up. The standards for such testing are described in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publications Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children (1991), and Screening Young Children for Lead Poisoning: Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials (1997). (N) Cooperation With Related Research and Evaluation. You shall cooperate fully with any research or evaluation sponsored by HUD, CDC, EPA or other government agency and associated with this grant program, including preservation of project data and records and compiling requested information in formats provided by the researchers, evaluators or HUD. This also may include the compiling of certain relevant local demographic, dwelling unit, and participant data not contemplated in your original proposal. Participant data shall be subject to Privacy Act protection. (O) Data collection. You will be required to collect and maintain the data necessary to document the various lead hazard control methods used and the relative cost of these methods. (P) Section 3 Employment Opportunities. Please see Section II(E) of the General Section of the SuperNOFA. The requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 are applicable to the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program. (Q) Replacing Existing Resources. Funds received under this grant program should not be used to replace existing community resources dedicated to any ongoing project. (R) Certifications and Assurances. You must include the certifications and assurances listed in the General Section of the SuperNOFA with your application. (S) Davis-Bacon Act. The Davis-Bacon Act does not apply to this program. However, if you use grant funds in conjunction with other Federal programs in which Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates apply, then Davis-Bacon provisions would apply to the extent required under the other Federal programs. V. Application Selection Process (A) Rating and Ranking. HUD intends to fund the highest ranked applications within the limits of funding, but reserves the right to advance other eligible applicants in funding rank. A decision to advance an applicant will be based on programs that: foster innovative local approaches or lead hazard control methods. (B) Award Offers. In the selection process, once available funds have been allocated to meet the requested or negotiated amounts of the top eligible applicants, HUD reserves the right to [[Page 11859]] offer any residual amount as partial funding to the next eligible applicant, provided HUD is satisfied that the residual amount is sufficient to support a viable, though reduced effort, by such applicant(s). If you are an applicant offered a reduced grant amount you will have a maximum of seven (7) calendar days to accept such a reduced award. If you fail to respond within the seven day limit, you shall be considered to have declined the award. (C) Budget. HUD will evaluate your proposed budget (for a 36 month period for previously unfunded applicants and a 30 month period for existing grantee applicants) to determine if it is reasonable, clearly justified, and consistent with the intended use of grant funds. HUD is not required to approve or fund all proposed activities. You may devote up to 36 months (30 months for existing grantee applicants) for the planning, implementation, and completion of lead hazard control activities. You must thoroughly document and justify all budget categories and costs (Part B of Standard Form 424A). (D) Factors for Award Used to Evaluate and Rate Applications. The factors for rating and ranking applicants, and maximum points for each factor, are stated below. The maximum number of points to be awarded is 102. This maximum includes two EZ/EC bonus points as described in the General Section of the SuperNOFA. Also, Section III(C)(2) of the General Section, which addresses a court-ordered consideration, is applicable to this program. Rating Factor 1: Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant Organizational Experience (15 points for previously unfunded applicants; 30 points for existing grantees) This factor addresses your organizational capacity necessary to successfully implement the proposed activities in a timely manner. The rating of the ``applicant'' or the ``applicant's staff'' for technical merit or threshold compliance, unless otherwise specified, includes any community-based organizations, sub-contractors, consultants, sub- recipients, and members of consortia which are firmly committed to your project. In rating this factor, HUD will consider: (1) Your recent, relevant and successful demonstrated experience (including governmental and community-based partners) to undertake eligible program activities. You must describe the knowledge and experience of the proposed overall project director and day-to-day program manager in planning and managing large and complex interdisciplinary programs, especially involving housing rehabilitation, public health, or environmental programs. You must demonstrate that you have sufficient personnel or will be able to quickly retain qualified experts or professionals, to immediately begin your proposed work program and to perform your proposed activities in a timely and effective fashion. In the narrative response for this factor, you should include information on your program staff, their experience, commitment to the program, salary information, and position titles. Resumes (for up to three key personnel), position descriptions, and a clearly identified organizational chart for the lead hazard control grant program effort must be included in an appendix. Indicate the percentage of time that key personnel will devote to your project. To receive maximum points, your day-to-day program manager must be dedicated for a minimum of 75% of the time. Describe how other principal components of your agency or other organizations will participate in or otherwise support the grant program. You may demonstrate capacity by thoroughly describing your prior experience in initiating and implementing lead hazard control efforts and/or related environmental, health, or housing projects. You should indicate how this prior experience will be used in carrying out your proposed comprehensive Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program. (2) If you have received previous HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant funding, your past experience will be evaluated in terms of progress under the most recent previous grant. You must provide a description of your progress in implementing your most recent grant award within the period of performance, including the total number of housing units completed as of the most recent calendar quarter. Rating Factor 2: Needs/Extent of the Problem (20 points) This factor addresses the extent to which there is a need for the proposed program activities to address a documented problem in the target area. (1) Document a critical level of need for your proposed activities in the area where activities will be carried out. Since an objective of the program is to prevent at-risk children from being poisoned, specific attention must be paid to documenting such need as it applies to the targeted areas, rather than the entire locality or state. If the target area is an entire locality or state, then documenting need at this level is appropriate. So the threat to your jurisdiction's children can be thoroughly assessed, you should describe the need in both the target areas as well as the entire jurisdiction. (2) Document the following: (a) Numbers and percentages of children with elevated blood lead levels, particularly in the areas targeted in your proposal; (b) Economic and demographic data relevant to the target area, including poverty and unemployment rates; (c) Housing market data available from HUD, or other data sources, including the Consolidated Plan/Analysis of Impediments, Public Housing Authority's Five Year Comprehensive Plan, State or local Welfare Department's Welfare Reform Plan; (d) Other data relevant to the target area or jurisdiction that may document an unmet need. These data may include the number of lead poisoned children where the identified lead-based paint hazards have not been remediated, the number of lead-based paint health and/or housing code violations, or the number of pre-1978 housing units anticipated to undergo rehabilitation in the next 12 months; or (3) To the extent that statistics and other data contained in your community's Consolidated Plan or Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) support the extent of the problem, you should include references to the Consolidated Plan and the AI in your response. (4) Provide information on your jurisdiction, and, the areas targeted for the lead hazard control activities (data may be available in your currently approved Consolidated Plan, derived from 1990 Census Data, or special local studies): (a) The age and condition of housing; (b) The number and percentage of very-low (income less than 50% of the area median) and low (income less than 80% of the area median) income families, as determined by HUD, with adjustments for smaller and larger families; (c) The number and proportion of children under six years (72 months) of age at risk of lead poisoning; (d) The extent of the lead poisoning problem in children under six years of age in target areas and the overall jurisdiction; and (e) Other socioeconomic or environmental factors that demonstrate a need to establish or continue lead hazard control work in your jurisdiction. (5) You also must provide documentation of the priority that the [[Page 11860]] community's Consolidated Plan and Analysis of Impediments has placed on addressing the needs you described. (6) If your application addresses needs that are in the Consolidated Plan, Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, court orders or consent decrees, settlements, conciliation agreements, and voluntary compliance agreements, you will receive more points than applicants that do not relate their program to identified needs. (7) For you to receive maximum points for this factor, there must be a direct relationship between your proposed activities, community needs, and the purpose of the program funding. If the data presented in your response does not specifically represent your target area, you should discuss why the target areas were proposed. Rating Factor 3: Soundness of Approach (45 points for previously unfunded applicants and 30 points for existing grantees) This factor addresses the quality and cost-effectiveness of your proposed work plan. You should present information on your proposed lead-based paint hazard control program and describe how it will satisfy the identified needs. To the extent possible, describe a comprehensive strategy to address the need to protect targeted neighborhoods rather than individual units or homes. Your response to this factor must include the following elements: (1) Lead Hazard Control Strategy (37 points for previously unfunded applicants; 22 points for existing grantees). Describe your strategy to plan and execute your lead hazard control grant program. You should provide information on: (a) Implementing a Lead Hazard Control Program (16 points for previously unfunded applicants; 8 points for existing grantees). Describe how you will implement the strategy for your proposed lead hazard control program. The description must include information on: (i) How your previous experience in reducing or eliminating lead- based paint hazards in conjunction with other Federal, State or locally funded programs will facilitate such implementation. (ii) Your overall strategy for the identification, selection, prioritization, and enrollment of units of eligible privately-owned housing for lead hazard control. Describe the proposed activities that will occur in an EZ/EC and how they will benefit the residents of those zones or communities. Provide estimates of the total number of owner occupied and/or rental units which will receive lead hazard control. You should describe how you will respond to the needs of EBL children located outside the targeted areas. (iii) The degree to which the work plan focuses on eligible privately-owned housing units with children under six years (72 months) old. Describe your planned approach to control lead hazards before children are poisoned and/or to control lead hazards in units where children have already been identified with an elevated blood lead level. Describe your process for referring and tracking children with elevated blood lead levels for medical case management. Provide estimates of the number of children you will assist through this program. (iv) The financing strategy, including eligibility requirements, terms, conditions, and amounts available, you will use in carrying out lead hazard control activities. You must discuss the way these funds will be administered (e.g. use of grants, deferred loans, forgivable loans, other resources, private sector financing, etc.), as well as the agency that will administer the financing process. Describe any matching requirements proposed for assistance to investor-owned properties. Investor-owner match that is a program requirement should also be reflected in your response to Factor 4. (v) You should describe how your proposed program will satisfy the stated needs or will assist in addressing the impediments in the AI. Describe how your proposed program will further and support the policy priorities of the Department, including promoting healthy homes; providing opportunities for self-sufficiency, particularly for persons enrolled in welfare to work programs; or providing educational and job training opportunities. Describe how your strategy will provide long- term benefits to families with children under six years of age. (b) Lead Hazard Control Outreach and Community Involvement (5 points for all applicants). Your application must describe: (i) Proposed methods of community education. These may include community awareness, education, training, and outreach programs in support of the work plan and objectives. This description should include general and/or targeted efforts undertaken to assist your program in reducing lead exposure. Programs should be culturally sensitive, targeted, and linguistically appropriate. Upon request, this would include making materials available in alternative formats to persons with disabilities (e.g., Braille, audio, large type), and in other languages common to the community to the extent possible. (ii) How you intend to involve neighborhood or community-based organizations in your proposed activities. Your activities may include training, outreach, community education, marketing, inspection (including dust lead testing), and the conduct of lead hazard control activities. HUD will evaluate the level of substantive involvement during the review process. (iii) Outreach strategies and methodologies to affirmatively further fair housing and provide lead-safe housing to all segments of the population: homeowners, owners of rental properties, and tenants. Once the population to which outreach will be ``targeted'' is identified, outreach strategies directed specifically to them should be multifaceted. This criterion goes beyond testing and hazard control; it concerns what happens to the units after lead hazard control activities are completed and tries to ensure, for the long term, that all families will have adequate, lead-safe housing choices. (c) Technical Approach for Conducting Lead Hazard Control Activities (16 points for previously unfunded applicants; 9 points for existing grantees). (i) Describe your process for the conduct of risk assessments and/ or inspections in units of eligible privately-owned housing in which you will undertake lead hazard control. You may include housing which has a valid risk assessment or inspection which had been previously performed by certified inspectors or risk assessors, in accordance with the HUD Guidelines and identified with lead-based paint hazards. (ii) Describe your testing methods, schedule, and costs for performing blood lead testing, risk assessments and/or inspections to be used. If you propose to use a more restrictive standard than the HUD thresholds (e.g., 0.5% or 1.0 mg/cm2), identify the lead-based paint threshold for undertaking lead hazard control which will be used. All testing shall be performed in accordance with the HUD Guidelines. (iii) Describe the lead hazard control methods you will undertake and the number of units you will treat for each method selected (interim controls, hazard abatement, and complete abatement). Provide an estimate of the per unit costs (and a basis for those estimates) for each lead hazard control method proposed and a schedule for initiating and completing lead hazard control work in the selected units. Discuss efforts to incorporate cost- [[Page 11861]] effective lead hazard control methods (if you propose complete abatement, provide HUD with a detailed rationale for that decision). Explain your cost estimates, providing detail on how the estimates were developed, with particular references to cost effectiveness. (iv) Schedule. Describe your expected schedule for the overall project. Discuss when you plan to complete planning and receive approval of your workplan; perform lead hazard control on your first unit; and complete lead hazard control on all units in your workplan and grant agreement. Describe the schedule for a typical unit which will receive lead hazard control. Discuss the duration for enrollment and qualification; evaluation; hazard control; and clearance. (v) Describe how you will integrate proposed lead hazard control activities with rehabilitation activities, including the training needed to create a workforce properly trained in lead-safe work practices for units being treated under other HUD programs. (vi) Describe your contracting process, including development of specifications for selected lead hazard control methods. Describe the management processes you will use to ensure the cost-effectiveness of your lead hazard control methods. Your application must include a discussion of the contracting process for the conduct of lead hazard control activities in the selected units. (vii) Describe your plan for occupant protection or the temporary relocation of occupants of units selected for lead hazard control work. You should address the use of safe houses and other housing arrangements, storage of household goods, stipends, incentives, etc. (viii) If you are an existing grantee, you must describe the actions you will take to ensure that your proposed lead hazard control work will occur concurrently with other ongoing HUD lead hazard control grant work. Your application must provide the detail necessary to assure HUD that you will implement the proposed work immediately and perform it concurrently with existing lead hazard control grant work. (ix) If you are an existing grantee, you must describe your progress in implementing your most recent lead hazard control grant award. If the production achieved is below the performance values (percentages of units completed) provided in the application kit, and no changes are proposed, you should explain why the strategy in the earlier grant remains appropriate. Failure to provide this discussion will result in reduced points for this subfactor. (2) Economic Opportunity (4 points for all applicants). Describe the ways you will train individuals and contractors in housing related trades, such as painters, remodelers, renovators, maintenance personnel, and rehabilitation specialists, and others in lead-safe practices. Describe how you will integrate such practices into lead hazard control activities including interim control work conducted on HUD assisted housing units being treated under the provisions of the HUD Lead-Safe Housing Regulation. Describe the methods to be used to provide economic opportunities for residents and businesses in the community. This discussion should include information on how you will promote training, employment, business development, and contract opportunities as part of your lead hazard control program. Describe how you will accomplish the requirements of section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to give preference to hiring of low-and very low-income persons or contracting with businesses owned by or employing low-and very low- income persons. (3) Program Evaluation, Data Collection, and Research (4 points for all applicants). (a) Identify and discuss the specific methods and measures you will use (in addition to HUD reporting requirements) to measure progress, evaluate program effectiveness, and identify program changes necessary to improve performance. Describe how you will obtain, document and report the information. (b) Provide a detailed description of any proposed applied research activities. Describe the objectives, methodology and impact at the local level of the proposed research activities. Rating Factor 4: Leveraging Resources (10 Points) This factor addresses your ability to obtain other community resources (financing is a community resource) and private resources that can be combined with HUD's program resources to achieve program objectives. (1) In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider the extent to which you have established working partnerships with other entities to get additional resources or commitments to increase the effectiveness of the proposed program activities. Resources may include cash or in- kind contributions (such as services or equipment) allocated to the proposed program. Resources may be provided by governmental entities, public or private organizations, or other entities partnering with you. Leveraging arrangements with investor-owners may have the benefits of increasing the efficiency of public lead hazard expenditures and creating a financial stake for investor owners in the quality of lead hazard control work. In advance of the actual agreements with investor- owners, however, it may be difficult to predict the precise amount of contributions they will generate. Contractual or other formal relationships with community-based organizations are a requirement for State and local government applicants. Applicants which do not have such partnerships at the time of application will be required to establish partnership relationships with community-based organizations immediately following notification of grant award (this requirement does not apply to you if you are an Indian Tribe applicant). You also may partner with other program funding recipients to coordinate the use of resources in your target area. (2) You should detail any activities to increase the understanding of lead poisoning prevention activities in your community. This could include partnerships with childhood lead screening programs or collaboration with ongoing health, housing or environmental research efforts which could result in a greater availability of resources. (3) Matching funds must be shown to be specifically dedicated to and integrated into supporting the lead-based paint hazard control program. You may not include funding from any Federally funded program (except the CDBG program) as part of your required 10% match. Other resources committed to the program that exceed the required 10% match will provide points for this rating factor and may include funds from other Federally funded programs. You must support each source of contributions, cash or in-kind, both for the required minimum and additional amounts, by a letter of commitment from the contributing entity, whether a public or private source. This letter must describe the contributed resources that you will use in the program. Staff in- kind contributions should be given a monetary value. If you do not provide letters specifying details and the amount of the actual contributions, those contributions will not being counted. Matching contributions required of investor-owners may be included as part of your match. Documentation and estimates for the amount of the match should be provided in the annex for this factor. [[Page 11862]] (4) For meeting the required match, you must provide evidence of leveraging or partnerships by including letters of firm commitment, memoranda of understanding, or agreements to participate from those entities identified as partners in your application. Each letter of commitment, memorandum of understanding, or agreement to participate should include the organization's name, the proposed level of commitment and responsibilities as they relate to your proposed program. The commitment must be signed by an official of the organization legally able to make commitments on behalf of the organization. Describe the role of community-based organizations in specific program activities, such as hazard evaluation and control; monitoring; and awareness, education, and outreach within the community. Rating Factor 5: Comprehensiveness and Coordination (10 Points) This factor addresses the extent to which your program reflects a coordinated, community-based process of identifying needs and building a system to address current and future needs by using available HUD and other community resources. In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider how you have: (1) Coordinated your proposed activities with those of other groups or organizations to best support and coordinate all known activities and the specific steps you will take to share information on solutions and outcomes with others. Any written agreements or memoranda of understanding in place or proposed should be described. You should, at a minimum, describe the activities, in your metropolitan area or region, of other HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control grantees, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention grantees, HUD or EPA Lead Outreach and Education grantees, and other programs which are addressing lead poisoning prevention needs. Coordination also includes providing technical assistance and training to neighboring or regional jurisdictions to facilitate the implementation of lead-based paint hazard control activities in those jurisdictions. (2) Become actively involved (or if not currently active, the specific steps it will take to become active) in your community's Consolidated Planning and Analysis of Impediments process established to identify and address a need/problem that is related in whole, or part, directly, or indirectly to the activities you propose. (3) Developed linkages, or the specific steps you will take to develop linkages with other activities, programs or projects through meetings, information networks, task forces, planning processes or other mechanisms to coordinate your activities so solutions are comprehensive, including linkages with: (a) Other HUD funded projects/activities outside the scope of those covered by the Consolidated Plan; and (b) Other HUD, Federal, State or locally funded activities, including those proposed or on-going in the community(s) served. (4) Coordinated and integrated lead hazard control work with housing rehabilitation, housing and health codes, other related housing programs, or including work of community development corporations and childhood lead poisoning prevention programs. (a) Describe the degree to which lead hazard control work will be done in conjunction with other housing-related activities (i.e., rehabilitation, weatherization, correction of code violations, and other similar work), or your plan for the integration and coordination of lead hazard control activities into those activities in the future. (b) Describe plans to incorporate lead-based paint maintenance, essential maintenance practices, and hazard control standards with the applicable housing codes and health regulations, including training of workers to conduct such activities. (c) Describe plans to generate and use public subsidies or other resources (such as revolving loan funds) to finance future lead hazard control activities. (d) Describe plans to develop public-private lending partnerships to finance lead hazard control as part of acquisition and rehabilitation financing including the use of Community Reinvestment Act ``credits'' by lending institutions. (e) Evidence firm commitments from participating organizations by describing: (i) The name of each organization; (ii) The capabilities or focus of each organization; (iii) The proposed level of effort of each organization; and (iv) The resources and responsibilities of each organization, including the applicant's clearly proposed plans for the training and employment of low-income residents. (f) Described specific plans and objectives to implement a registry of lead-safe housing into your community's planning. Such plans could include strategies on how the information would be managed and made available to the public so that families (particularly low income families with children under age six) can make informed decisions regarding their housing options. Existing grantee applicants must address any registry of lead-safe housing and specifically discuss the availability, amount of information contained, and the use by members of the community. Describe your plans to develop and maintain a registry of publicly available information on lead-safe units. (g) Detail the extent to which the policy of affirmatively furthering fair housing for all segments of the population is advanced by the proposed activities. Detail how your proposed work plan will support the community's efforts to further housing choices for all segments of the population. If you have an existing grant, you should discuss activities which have contributed to enhanced lead safe housing opportunities to all segments of the population. (h) Describe plans to adopt or amend statutes, regulations, or policies which will more fully integrate lead hazard control into community policies and priorities. (5) Describe how the lead hazard control efforts which are focused in the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community will directly benefit the residents or community in that EC/EZ. (6) Describe efforts to coordinate and cooperate with other organizations which will lead to a reduction in lead risks to community residents. This could include such activities as free training to create a workforce properly trained in lead safe work practices, lead- safe repainting and remodeling; promotion of essential maintenance practices; and provision of lead dust testing to low-income, privately- owned homes which may not receive lead hazard control assistance under this grant program. VI. Application Submission Requirements (A) Applicant Information. (1) Application Format. The application narrative response to the Rating Factors is limited to a maximum of 25 pages. Your response must be typewritten on one (1) side only on 8 1/ 2'' x 11'' paper using a 12 point (minimum) font with not less than 3/ 4'' margins on all sides. Appendices should be referenced and discussed in the narrative response. Materials provided in the appendices should directly apply to the rating factor narrative. [[Page 11863]] (2) Application Checklist. Your application must contain the items listed in this Section VI(A)(B). These items include the standard forms, certifications, and assurances listed in the General Section of the SuperNOFA that are applicable to this funding (collectively, referred to as the ``standard forms''). The standard forms can be found in Appendix B to the General Section of the SuperNOFA. The remaining application items that are forms (i.e., excluding such items as narratives, letters), referred to as the ``non-standard forms'' can be found as Appendix A to this program section of the SuperNOFA. The application items are as follows: (a) Transmittal Letter that identifies ``the applicant'' (or applicants) submitting the application, the dollar amount requested, what the program funds are requested for, and the nature of involvement with community-based organizations. (b) The name, mailing address, telephone number, and principal contact person of ``the applicant.'' If you have consortium associates, sub-grantees, partners, major subcontractors, joint venture participants, or others contributing resources to your project, you must provide similar information for each of these partners. (c) Checklist and Submission Table of Contents. (d) Applicant Abstract. An abstract describing the goals and objectives of your proposed program (2 page maximum). (e) Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance. (f) HUD 424M, Federal Assistance Funding Matrix. (g) A detailed budget (total budget is the federal share and matching contribution) with supporting cost justifications for all budget categories of your grant request. You must provide a separate estimate for the overall grant management element (Administrative Costs), which is more fully defined in the application kit for this program section of the SuperNOFA. The budget shall include not more than 10% for administrative costs and not less than 90% for direct project elements. A minimum of 60% of the total Federal amount requested must be dedicated to direct lead hazard control activities. A minimum of 2% of the total Federal amount must be dedicated to activities to create a workforce properly trained in lead-safe work practices. In the event of a discrepancy between grant amounts requested in various sections of the application, the amount you indicate on the SF-424 will govern as the correct value. (h) An itemized breakout (using the SF-424A) of your required matching contribution, including: --Values placed on donated in-kind services; --Letters or other evidence of commitment from donors; and --The amounts and sources of contributed resources. (i) Standard Forms SF-LLL and SF-424B, and HUD Forms 2880, 2990, 2991, 2992, 2993, 2994, 50070 and 50071. (j) Contracts, Memoranda of Understanding or Agreement, letters of commitment or other documentation describing the proposed roles of agencies, local broad-based task forces, participating community or neighborhood-based groups or organizations, local businesses, and others working with the program. (k) A copy of the lead hazard control element included in your current program year's Consolidated Plan. You should include the discussion of any lead-based paint issues in your jurisdiction's Analysis of Impediments, particularly as it addresses your target areas. (l) Narrative responses to the five rating factors. (B) Proposed Activities. All applications must, at a minimum, describe the proposed activities in the narrative responses to the rating factors. Your narrative statement must be numbered in accordance with each factor for award (Rating Factors 1 through 5). VII. Corrections to Deficient Applications The General Section of the SuperNOFA provides the procedures for corrections to deficient applications. VIII. Environmental Requirements In accordance with HUD regulations in 24 CFR part 58, recipients of lead-based paint hazard control grants will assume Federal environmental review responsibilities. Recipients of a grant under this funded program will be given guidance in these responsibilities. IX. Authority The Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program is authorized by section 1011 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992). Appendix A The non-standard forms, which follow, are required for your Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program application. They are the Checklist and Submission Table of Contents and the Total Budget (Federal Share and Matching Contribution, including instructions). BILLING CODE 4210-32-P