15-13. PROJECT ELIGIBILITY — HUD Section 8 Renewal Policy Guidebook

The AE checks that, if applicable, the rehabilitation proposal is:

A. Compliant with HUD’s environmental regulations at 24 CFR Part 50, and.
1. All repair or rehabilitation actions under the Capital Repairs Program will require environmental review. HUD environmental policy requires that there be a limitation of activities or actions by any direct or indirect parties to the transaction until HUD has completed the environmental review process. As such, the environmental review must be completed before the AE approves capital repair plans.
2. The AE will review documentation submitted by the owner. The AE should document compliance for the environmental review on the HUD Environmental Review Online System (HEROS) – Form HUD 4128. Guidance for completing the HEROS – Form HUD 4128 can be found at the Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide, Chapter 9; in Handbook 1390.2, “Environmental

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Assessment Guide for Housing;” and at HUD’s environmental website: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/environmental-review/

Field/Regional Environmental Clearance Officers and other appropriate HUD staff may be contacted to assist in the environmental review. Contact information for HUD’s environmental officers may be accessed through the above website.
In accordance with 24 CFR Part 50.20(a)(2), the following actions, activities and programs are categorically excluded from National Environmental Policy Act requirements. They are not excluded from the individual compliance requirements of the other environmental statutes, Executive orders and HUD standards cited in 24 CFR Part 50.4 and must complete a categorically excluded review in HEROS– Form HUD 4128:
- a. Rehabilitation of buildings and improvements when the following conditions are met:
  - 1. Unit density is not changed more than 20 percent;
  - 1. The project does not involve changes in land use from residential to non-residential; and
  - 1. The estimated cost of rehabilitation is less than 75 percent of the total estimated cost of replacement after rehabilitation.
Any actions, activities and programs that do not meet the qualifications at 15-13. A.4., above, require an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act and in accordance with the laws and authorities listed at 24 CFR Part 50.4.
A new Phase I ESA in accordance with ASTM E 1527-05 (or the most recent edition), as well as a Vapor Encroachment Screen in accordance with ASTM E 2600-10 (or the most recent edition), will be required if the activity being approved involves:
- a. Significant ground disturbance (digging) or construction not contemplated in the original application;
- b. A change in land use not contemplated by the original risk-based mitigation conducted on the site;
- c. Site expansion or addition;
- d. Any other activities which may result in contaminant exposure pathways or activities not contemplated in the original application.
HUD’s lead based paint testing and abatement requirements for the management and removal of lead-based paint are applicable to housing built before 1978, and are found at 24 CFR Part 35.
Owners of HUD-insured properties are required to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Labor - Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements concerning the management/abatement (e.g. maintenance, removal, disposal and encapsulation)

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of asbestos when an owner takes an action, such as renovation or demolition, which involves the disturbance of asbestos or presence of damaged friable asbestos. Any abatement that is undertaken should only be done with EPA trained and accredited contractors who are experienced in working with asbestos and knowledgeable in federal, state and local requirements. All asbestos abatement must be done in accordance with EPA requirements for air pollution prevention pursuant to 40 CFR Subpart M, especially 40 CFR Part 61.145, and OSHA requirements for Worker Protection, pursuant to 29 CFR Part 1926.1101. Any local or state asbestos abatement and worker protection rules also apply.

HUD-insured properties are required to comply with the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 2605(e), and EPA regulations, 40 CFR Part 761, governing Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are toxic substances formerly used in electrical equipment. The Toxic Substances Control Act and implementing EPA regulations require the registration, and in some cases, the removal and replacement of PCBs. In accordance with EPA regulations, owners of residential projects must have transformers inspected, and replaced if PCB is found. An employee of the utility company can inspect the transformers at the owner’s request and inform the project owner/manager of any evidence of PCBs in the electrical system.
When an application for the Section 8 Renewal Capital Repairs Program is submitted along with an application to the Office of Multifamily Programs for FHA multifamily mortgage insurance, the environmental review that is conducted by HUD staff under Chapter 9 of the MAP Guide as part of the multifamily mortgage insurance application process will satisfy the requirements of this section.
Rehabilitation performed under Chapter 15 does not trigger Davis-bacon Prevailing Wage Rate requirements. Davis-Bacon requirements ae applicable under certain HUD mortgage insurance programs.

B. Has a relocation plan for the residents during the rehabilitation acceptable to HUD, including, but not limited, to arrangements to continue reasonable accommodations granted to persons with disabilities or otherwise plan for and accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities.
C. Complies with physical accessibility requirements and standards – including, but not limited to, requirements for multifamily housing projects under HUD’s regulations at 24 CFR Part 8.23 and for covered multifamily dwellings at 24 CFR Part 100. The AE/CA will review proposed activities for compliance with accessibility standards in consultation with FHEO.