StacksVerified U.S. regulatory reference

7 CFR §4280.43

Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
The RBS Administrator has the discretion to designate up to 25 points (no more than 5 points for each of the following elements) based on whether the Project:
  1. (a)Is located in a Rural Empowerment Zone, Rural Economic Area Partnership Zone, Rural Enterprise Community, or Champion Community;
  2. (b)Is located in a county that has experienced the loss, removal, or closing of a major source or sources of employment in the last 3 years which causes an increase of 2 percentage points or more in the county's most recent unemployment rate compared with the same period immediately before the dislocation;
  3. (c)Is located in a county that has experienced chronic or long-term economic deterioration;
  4. (d)Is located in a county that was designated a disaster area by the President of the United States that significantly affected rural economic development and job creation. The county must have been designated within 3 years prior to filing of the completed application with Rural Development; or
  5. (e)Is consistent with the Rural Development State Office's approved strategic plan and mission area objectives and is identified as a priority area for assistance in the States' plan.