(a) The RROF and certification shall be sent to the appropriate HUD Field Office (or the State, if applicable), except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section. This request shall be executed by the Certifying Officer. The request shall describe the specific project and activities covered by the request and contain the certification required under the applicable statute cited in §58.1(b). The RROF and certification must be in a form specified by HUD.

(b) When the responsible entity is conducting an environmental review on behalf of a recipient, as provided for in §58.10, the recipient must provide the responsible entity with all available project and environmental information and refrain from undertaking any physical activities or choice limiting actions until HUD (or the State, if applicable) has approved its request for release of funds. The certification form executed by the responsible entity's certifying officer shall be sent to the recipient that is to receive the assistance along with a description of any special environmental conditions that must be adhered to in carrying out the project. The recipient is to submit the RROF and the certification of the responsible entity to HUD (or the State, if applicable) requesting the release of funds. The recipient must agree to abide by the special conditions, procedures and requirements of the environmental review, and to advise the responsible entity of any proposed change in the scope of the project or any change in environmental conditions.

(c) If the responsible entity determines that some of the activities are exempt under applicable provisions of this part, the responsible entity shall advise the recipient that it may commit funds for these activities as soon as programmatic authorization is received. This finding shall be documented in the ERR maintained by the responsible entity and in the recipient's project files.