(a) Sun Grant Centers and Subcenter. NIFA will use amounts appropriated for the Sun Grant Program to provide grants to the following five Centers and one Subcenter:

(1) A North-Central Center for the region composed of the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming;

(2) A Southeastern Center for the region composed of the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands;

(3) A South-Central Center for the region composed of the States of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas;

(4) A Northeastern Center for the region composed of the States of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia;

(5) A Western Center for the region composed of the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and insular areas (other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands); and

(6) A Western Insular Pacific Subcenter (that receives Federal funds through the Western Center rather than directly from NIFA, in accordance with §3430.1004(b)) for the region of Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

(b) Subawardees of the Centers and Subcenter. To be eligible for a subaward from a Center or Subcenter pursuant to §3430.1004(a)(1), an applicant:

(1) Must be located in the region covered by the applicable Center or Subcenter; and

(2) Must be one of the following:

(i) State agricultural experiment station;

(ii) College or university;

(iii) University research foundation;

(iv) Other research institution or organization;

(v) Federal agency;

(vi) National laboratory;

(vii) Private organization or corporation;

(viii) Individual; or

(ix) Any group consisting of 2 or more entities described in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) through (viii) of this section.

(c) Ineligibility. A Center or Subcenter will be ineligible for funding under the Sun Grant Program if NIFA determines on the basis of an audit or a review of a report submitted under §3430.1009 that the Center or Subcenter has not complied with the requirements of section 7526 of the FCEA (7 U.S.C. 8114). A Center or Subcenter determined to be ineligible pursuant to this paragraph will remain ineligible for such period of time as deemed appropriate by NIFA. This ineligibility requirement is in addition to the enforcement actions that NIFA may take pursuant to §3430.60.

[75 FR 70580, Nov. 18, 2010, at 81 FR 6418, Feb. 8, 2016]