[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 160 (Friday, August 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47785-47787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13641]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.938H]


Notice Announcing Availability of Funds and Application Deadline 
for Hurricane Education Recovery Awards Under Title II of the Emergency 
Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror 
and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-234)

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

SUMMARY: Under the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for 
Defense, the Global War on Terror and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 we will 
award funds to institutions of higher education, as defined in section 
102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), that are 
located in an area in which a major disaster was declared in accordance 
with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act related to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico in 
calendar year 2005, and that were forced to close, relocate, or 
significantly curtail their activities as a result of damage directly 
caused by the hurricanes. These Hurricane Education Recovery Awards can 
be used only to defray expenses, including expenses that would have 
been covered by revenue lost as a direct result of a hurricane, 
expenses already incurred, and construction expenses directly related 
to damage resulting from the hurricanes.
    Pre-Application Deadline: September 1, 2006.
    Application Deadline: September 19, 2006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations 
Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 
(Pub. L. 109-234) provided $50 million for Hurricane Education Recovery 
Awards to assist institutions of higher education, as defined in 
section 102 of the HEA that are located in an area in which a major 
disaster was declared in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act related to 
hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico in calendar year 2005, and that were 
forced to close, relocate, or significantly curtail their activities as 
a result of damage directly caused by the hurricanes. This area 
includes the States of Louisiana and Mississippi and certain counties 
in the States of Alabama, Florida, and Texas. A list of these counties 
is available at: http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/hu_recovery.shtm. These awards can only be used to defray expenses 
incurred by these institutions, including, but not limited to, expenses 
that would have been covered by revenue lost as a direct result of a 
hurricane, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, and 
construction expenses, directly related to damage resulting from the 
hurricanes.
    The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the 
Global War on Terror and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 authorizes the 
Department to make these funds available based on criteria established 
by the Secretary. The Secretary establishes and will consider the 
following criteria in allocating these funds: expenses that would have 
been covered by revenues lost by the institution as a direct result of 
the hurricanes; expenses incurred by the institution in remedying the 
effects of the hurricanes; the costs of construction associated with 
physical damage caused by the hurricanes; any amount of any insurance 
settlement or other reimbursement received including from a Federal or 
other relief agency; and the number of Pell Grant recipients enrolled 
at the institution at any time during the 2005-06 award year. 
Institutions must include information responsive to each of these 
criteria in their applications.
    Available Funds for Hurricane Education Recovery Awards: 
$50,000,000.

[[Page 47786]]

    Period of Fund Availability: Institutions receiving Hurricane 
Education Recovery Awards must obligate the funds received by September 
30, 2008. Funds being used for construction must be expended by 
September 30, 2010.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure 
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), and section 437 of the General Education 
Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232), the Department generally offers 
interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed program 
requirements. However, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act 
for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 
(Pub. L. 109-234) specifically exempts criteria established by the 
Secretary for the award of funds under this program from the rulemaking 
requirements of the APA and GEPA.
    Pre-Application Requirements: Institutions intending to submit an 
application for a Hurricane Education Recovery Award must first 
complete and submit a pre-application data information form from which 
institutional allotments will be calculated. Data forms and 
instructions can be downloaded from http://www.ed.gov/OPE (click on the 
Hurricane Education Recovery Awards link). Complete the form and fax it 
to David Johnson, Program Officer, Office of Postsecondary Education, 
at 202-502-7877 by the date established under Pre-Application Deadline. 
Within one week of the Pre-Application Deadline, the Department will 
calculate the applicant institution's allotment and e-mail the amount 
back to the contact person identified on the form. Institutions will 
then have until September 12, 2006 to submit their application and 
budget through the e-Application system.
    Electronic Submission of Applications: Applications for Hurricane 
Education Recovery Awards--CFDA Number 84.938H must be submitted 
electronically using e-Application available through the Department's 
e-Grants system, accessible through the e-Grants portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    While completing your electronic application, you will be entering 
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    Please note the following:
     You must complete the electronic submission of your grant 
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application 
for this program after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do 
not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application 
process.
     The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site 
are 6 a.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until 
midnight Saturday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is 
unavailable on Sundays, and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on 
Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to 
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
the Application title page (ED 424), Budget Information (ED 524), and 
all necessary assurances and certifications. You must attach any 
narrative sections of your application as files in a .DOC (document), 
.RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a 
file type other than the three file types specified above or submit a 
password protected file, we will not review that material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may 
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgment that will include a PR/Award number 
(an identifying number unique to your application).
     Within three working days after submitting your electronic 
application, fax a signed copy of the application Title Page (Form No. 
ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following these steps:
    (1) Print the application Program Title Page (ED 424) from e-
Application.
    (2) The applicant's Authorizing Representative must sign this form 
(ED 424).
    (3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner (Item 
1) of the hard-copy signature page of the ED 424.
    (4) Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at 
(202) 245-6272.
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
other forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System 
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically submitting 
your application on the application deadline date because the e-
Application system is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of 
one business day to enable you to transmit your application 
electronically, by mail, or by hand delivery. We will grant this 
extension if--
    (1) You are a registered user of e-Application and you have 
initiated an electronic application for this competition; and
    (2)(a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or 
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date; or
    (b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time 
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date.
    We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability 
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to 
confirm our acknowledgment of any system unavailability, you may 
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (see section VII. Agency Contact) or (2) 
the e-Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If the system is down and 
therefore the application deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent 
to all registered users who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions 
referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability of the 
Department's e-Application system.
    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the e-Application system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or

[[Page 47787]]

     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Department's e-Application system; and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you 
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax 
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed 
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: David Johnson, Hurricane 
Education Recovery Awards, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, 
NW., Room 6155, Washington, DC 20006-8544. FAX: (202) 502-7877.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail 
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable 
following address:
    By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of 
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.938H), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260. or
    By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.938H), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
    Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing 
consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service,
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier, or
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark, or
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.


    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.

    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original 
and two copies of your application, by hand, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.938H), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays, and Federal holidays.


    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications:
    If you mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by 
the Department--on the Hurricane Education Recovery Awards Title 
Page the CFDA number and suffix letter (84.938H of the competition 
under which you are submitting your application.
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application 
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant 
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.


    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as other Department of Education documents published in the 
Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on 
the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.


    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: Division B, Title IV of Pub. L. 109-148; 
Title II of Pub. L. 109-234.

    Dated: August 15, 2006.
James F. Manning,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E6-13641 Filed 8-17-06; 8:45 am]
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