(a) Unless RD indicates otherwise in a notice, the award process for the applicable underlying program will be used to determine which Projects receive funding under this subpart.

(b) In years when funding is made available under this subpart, Projects not receiving funding under this subpart are eligible to compete for funding under the applicable underlying program. The scores for such Projects when competing for underlying program funding will not include the score assigned to the application under §1980.1020(b).

(c) In years when funding is not made available under this subpart, Projects are eligible to compete for funding for the applicable underlying program. The scores for such Projects when competing for underlying program funding will include the score assigned the application §1980.1020(b) as described in a notice published in the Federal Register.