Except for the project review and ranking process established in this subpart, all requests for funds from designated rural development programs will be processed, closed, and serviced according to applicable Rural Development regulations, available in any Rural Development office.

Preapplications/applications. All preapplications/applications on hand that have not been selected for further processing will be submitted initially to the panel for review and ranking. Preapplications/applications on hand that had been selected for further processing prior to the time a State was selected to participate in this program may be funded by Rural Development without review by the panel. Preapplications/applications selected for further processing by Rural Development will not exceed the State's previous year's funding level. The State Director will provide the State coordinator a list of preapplications/applications that are in process and will be considered for funding without review by the panel. This list will be provided at the same time preapplications/applications are initially submitted to the State coordinator in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.

Rural Development review. Preapplications/applications will be reviewed in sufficient detail to determine eligibility and, if applicable, determine if the applicant is able to obtain credit from other sources at reasonable rates and terms. Normally, within 45 days after receiving a complete preapplication/application, Rural Development will notify the applicant of the eligibility determination. A copy of all notifications will be sent to the State coordinator.

Applicant notification. The notification to eligible applicants will contain the following statements:

Your application has been submitted to the State coordinator for review and ranking by the State rural economic development review panel. If you have questions regarding this review process, you should contact the State coordinator. The address and telephone number are: (insert).

You will be notified at a later date of the decision reached by the panel and whether or not you can proceed with the proposed project.

You are advised against incurring obligations which cannot be fulfilled without Rural Development funds.

Information to State coordinator. Rural Development will forward a copy of the preapplication/application and other information received from the applicant to the State coordinator according to a schedule prepared in accordance with § 1940.956(a) of this subpart. The State coordinator will be advised that no further action will be taken on preapplications/applications until they have been received and ranked by the panel, and a priority funding list has been received from the State. Applications forwarded to the State coordinator will be reviewed and ranked for funding in accordance with § 1940.956 of this subpart.

The Rural Development review of priority funding list. Rural Developmentwill review the list of ranked applications received from the State coordinator and determine if projects meet the requirements of the designated rural development program under which the applicant seeks assistance. Any project that does not meet program regulations will be removed from the list. Applicants will be notified of the decision reached by the panel and whether or not the applicant should proceed with the project. Rural Development will provide a copy of all notifications to the State coordinator. The decisions of the panel are not appealable.

Obligation of funds. Rural Development will provide funds for projects whose application remains on the list, subject to available funds. Consideration will be given to the order in which the applications were ranked and prioritized by the panel. If Rural Development proposes to provide assistance to any project without providing assistance to all projects ranked higher in priority by the panel than the project to be funded, 10 days prior to requesting an obligation of funds, the State Director will submit a report stating reasons for funding such lower ranked project to the following:

Panel.

National Office. The National Office will submit a copy of the notification to:

Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, Washington, DC.