1 

### K a y

, R y nda

F r om: Hong, J eanhee

S e nt: W edne s da y

, A p r il 23, 2014 7:57 AM

T o: S c hne ll

, J o s hua

- OGC

Cc: D r a k e, K e rr y ; S p i ege l m an, N i na; K a y , R y nda; P e r e z , Ida li a; S te c k e l

, A nd r e w ; J ohn s on,

S tephan i e

- OGC

S ub jec t: R E : S u mm a r i e s o f 1619 and E Q I P.



### J o s hu a

,

Th a n k s m u c h f o r y o u r q u i c k a nd h e l p fu l r e s p o n s e

. W e w ill a d d t h e r e f e r e n c e to t h e fu n d i n g a u t h o r i t i e s th a t

y o u p r o v i d e d

, a n d w e 'll n o t e t h e g e n e r al F OI A e x e m pt i o n s i n a f o o t n o t e f o ll o w i n g t h e li n e a b o u t s e c t i o n 1 6 19

( as s h o w n b e l o w ). T h a nk s agai n t o b o t h o f y o u f o r y o u r g e n e r o u s assis t a n c e

.

7 U. S .C § 6 0 8 d ( 2 ) c o n c e r n s i n f o rm a t i o n r e l a t i n g t o ‘mar k e t i n g ag r ee m e nt s ’ a n d ‘mar k e t i n g o r d e r p r o grams’

un d e r th e Agri c u l tu ra l A d j u s t m e n t A c t ( 7 U. S .C. § § 6 0 1 e t

. s e q. ) a n d d oe s n o t a pp l y t o t h e N RC S’s

im p l e m e nt a t i o n o f E QI P

. Th e k ey s t a t u t o r y p r o v i s i o n th a t g o v e r n s d is c l o s u r e o f i n f o rm a t i o n s u b m i t t e d b y

agri c u l t u ral p r o d u c e rs o r o w n e rs o f a g ri c u l t u ral l a nd t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n E QI P is s e c t i o n 1 6 19 o f t h e F o o d

,

C o n s e r v a t i o n

, a n d E n e r g y A c t o f 2 00 8 ( P u b

. L

. 1 1 0-2 4 6

, 7 U. S .C. § 8 7 91 ). [ F N1]

F N1 : T h e g e n e ra l Fr e e d o m o f I n f o rma t i o n A c t e x e m pt i o n s i n 5 U. S .C. § 55 2 ( b ) als o a p p l y t o E QI P i nf o rma t i o n.

F r o m: S c hn e ll, Jo s hu a

- O G C < J O SH U A.S C HN E LL @ OG C

. U S D A. GOV>

S en t: W e dn e s d a y

, Ap ril 2 3

, 2 0 1 4 5 : 3 1 A M

T o: H o ng

, J e a nh ee

C c: D ra k e

, K e rr y ; Sp i e g e l m a n

, N i n a ; K a y

, R y nd a ; P e r e z

, Id alia ; S t e ck e l

, And r e w ; J o hn s o n

, S te ph a n i e

- OG C

Sub j e c t: RE : Su m m ari e s o f 1 6 19 a nd EQ I P.

J e a nh ee –

I t h i n k y o u r p ara g ra ph o n 7 U .S. C

. § 60 8 ( d ) ( 2 ) a nd s e c t i o n 1 6 1 9 i s acc u ra t e

, bu t y o u m a y w a n t t o e x p lai n t h a t t h e g e n e ral

F O IA e x e m p t i o n s al s o a pp l y t o E Q I P i n f o r m a t i o n. EQ I P f und i ng is c u rr e n t l y a u t h o ri z e d b y s e c t i o n 2 6 0 1 (a) ( 5 ) o f t h e

Ag ric u l t u ral A c t o f 2 0 14 ( P ub. L

. 1 13

- 79

, 1 6 U .S. C

. § 3 8 4 1 (a) ( 5 ))

. Ju s t l et u s k n o w if y o u h a v e a n y a dd i t i o n a l qu e s t i o n s

.

T h a n ks,

J o s h

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ J o s hu a Sc hn e ll

O ff i c e o f Ge n e r a l C oun se l | Nat u r a l R es ou rc e s a nd En v ir on me n t D i v i s i on

1400 I nd e p e nd e n c e A v e

. , SW | W a s h i n g to n

, D C 20 2 50

- 14 00

(202) 7 20

- 5769 (P hon e ) | ( 20 2) 69 0

- 27 3 0 (F a x)

j o s hu a

. s c hn e l l @ u s d a .g ov | w ww

. u s d a .g ov

N O T I C E : T h i s e -m a i l m es s a g e a nd t h e atta c h me n t s t r a n sm i t t e d w i t h i t m ay c onta i n l e g a ll y p ri v il e g e d a nd c on f i d e n t i a l i n f o r m at i on

. I f

t h e r e a d e r o f

t h i s e

- m a il m e ss a g e i s no t t h e i n t e nd e d r e ci p i e n t, you a r e no t i f i e d t h at a n y d i s s em i n at i on, d i s t ri bu t i on, c opy i n g o r

oth e r u se o f

t h i s m e ss a g e i s s t ric t l y p r oh i b i t e d.

F r o m: H o n g, Jea nh ee [ ma i l t o : H o n g. Jea nh e e @ e p a .gov ]

S e n t: T u e sd a y

, A pr i l 2 2

, 2 01 4 4 : 2 2 P M

T o: S c h n e ll, J os h u a - O G C

C c: D r a k e

, Ke rr y ; S pi e g e l m a n

, N i n a ; K a y

, R yn d a ; Pe r e z, Id a li a ; S te c k e l, A n dr e w ; J o hn s o n

, S te p h a n i e - O G C

S u b j e c t: F W : Su mma ri e s o f 1 6 1 9 a n d E Q I P.2 J o s hu a,

P e r S te ph a n i e ’s o u t

- o f- o ff i c e m e ssa g e

, I ’ m f o r w ar d i ng t o y o u a f e w qu e s t i o n s a b o u t N RC S t h a t we ’ r e h o p i ng y o u m i gh t

b e a b l e t o a d v is e o n. W e ’ d a pp r e cia t e c o mm e n t s o r s ugg e s t i o n s, i f p o ssi b l e b y e nd o f t h e w ee k

. T h a n ks.

___ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ ___ _ __ _ ___ J e a nh ee H o ng

A ssis t a n t R e g i o n al C o un s el

U .S. E P A

, R e g i o n IX

75 H a wt h o r n e S t r ee t (O R C- 2)

S a n F ra n cisc o

, C A 9 4 1 05

( 4 1 5 ) 9 7 2

- 3 9 2 1 ( p h o n e)

( 4 1 5 ) 9 4 7

- 3 5 7 0 ( f ax)

F r o m: H o n g, Jea nh ee

S e n t: T u e sd a y

, A pr i l 2 2

, 2 01 4 1 2: 1 8 P M

T o: ' s te p h a n i e

. j o h n s o n @ o g c

. u sd a

. g ov '

C c: D r a k e

, Ke rr y ; S pi e g e l m a n

, N i n a ; K a y

, R yn d a ; Pe r e z, Id a li a ; S te c k e l, A n dr e w

S u b j e c t: F W : Su mma ri e s o f 1 6 1 9 a n d E Q I P.

S te ph a n i e,

T h a n k y o u f o r t h e h e l p f u l e x p la n a t i o n s y o u p r o v i d e d b e l o w

. C o u l d y o u r e v i e w t h e f o l l o w i ng qu e s t i o n s a nd s e nd u s y o u r

t h o ugh t s a nd a n y s ugg e s te d e d i t s, if p o ssi b l e b y e nd o f t h is w ee k ? W e ’ d b e h a p p y t o e x p lai n b y p h o n e if t h a t w o u l d

h e l p. T h a n ks a g ai n.

1) I s t h is a n acc u ra t e s t a t e m e n t: 7 U .S. C § 6 0 8 d ( 2 ) c o n c e r n s i n f o r m a t i o n r e l a t i ng t o ‘ m a r k et i ng a g r ee m e n t s’ a nd

‘ m ar k et i ng o r d e r p r o g ra m s ’ und e r t h e Ag ric u l t u ral Ad j u s t m e n t A c t ( 7 U .S. C

. § § 60 1 e t

. s e q. ) a nd d o e s n o t a p p l y

t o t h e N RC S ’ s i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f EQ I P

. T h e s t a t u t o r y p r ov is i o n t h a t go v e r n s d isc l o s u r e o f i n f o r m a t i o n s ub m i tte d

b y a g ric u l t u ral p r o du c e rs o r o w n e rs o f a g ric u l t u ra l la nd t o p a r t ici p a t e i n EQ I P is s e c t i o n 1 6 1 9 o f t h e F o o d

,

C o n s e r v a t i o n

, a nd E n e r g y A c t o f 2 0 0 8 ( P ub. L

. 1 1 0

- 24 6

, 7 U .S. C

. § 8 79 1 ).

2) C o u l d y o u p r ov i d e t h e s t a t u t o r y a u t h o ri t y f o r E Q I P f und i ng as s h o w n i n r e d b e l o w ( g r ee n f o n t is t e x t y o u

p r ov i d e d b e l o w ) :

T h e U n i te d S t a t e s D e p ar t m e n t o f Ag ric u l t u r e (U S D A ) a d m i n is te r s t h e E n v i r o n m e n t al Q u ali t y In c e n t i v e s P r o g r a m

(EQ I P ), w h ic h t h e U n i te d S t a te s C o ng r e s s e s t a b lis h e d und e r s e c t i o n 3 3 4 o f t h e F e d e ral Ag ric u l t u r e I m p r o v e m e n t

a nd R e f o r m A c t o f 1 9 9 6 ( P ub. L

. 1 0 4

- 1 2

, 1 6 U .S. C

. § § 3 8 39 a a – 3 8 39 a a- 9 )

. U S D A h as d e l e g a t e d a u t h o ri t y t o

a d m i n is te r t h e p r o g r a m t o t h e N a t u ral R e s o u rc e s C o n s e r v a t i o n S e r v i c e ( N RC S )

. 7 C F R 2

. 61 ( a)( 1 3 ) ( v iii)

. T h e

pu r p o s e o f E Q I P i s t o p r om o t e a g ric u l t u ral p r o du c t i o n

, f o r e s t m a n a g e m e n t

, a nd e n v ir o n m e n t al qu ali t y as

c o m p a t i b l e g o als, a nd t o o p t i m i z e e n v i r o n m e n t al b e n e fi t s

. 1 6 U .S. C

. § 3 8 39 a a

. T h r o ugh t h is vo l un t a r y p r og ra m

,

N RC S assis t s e n r o l l e d a g ri c u l t u ral p r o du c e r s i n i m p l e m e n t i ng c o n s e r v a t i o n m e a s u r e s o n t h e ir p r i v a t e la nd t o

a dd r e ss s o il, w a te r

, air, a n d r e la te d n a t u ral r e s o u r c e s c o n c e r n s

, w il d lif e h a b i t a t

, s u rfac e a nd g r o und w a te r

c o n s e r v a t i o n

, a nd r e la te d n a t u ral r e s o u rc e c o n c e r n s

. 7 C .F. R

. 1 4 6 6

. 1 (a)

. T h e fi n a n cial a nd te c hn ical assis t a n c e

p r ov i d e d b y N RC S und e r t h e p r o g r a m h e l p s p r o du c e r s c o m p l y w i t h e n v i r o n m e n t al r e gu la t i o n s a nd e nh a n c e

a g ric u l t u ral a nd f o r e s te d l a nd s i n a c o s t

- e f f e c t i v e a nd e n v ir o n m e n t all y b e n e ficial m a nn e r

. Id. Fund i ng f o r E Q I P

is a u t h o ri z e d b y [S T A T U T O R Y / R EGU L A T O R Y C I T E ( S ) ].

___ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ ___ _ __ _ ___ J e a nh ee H o ng3 A ssis t a n t R e g i o n al C o un s el

U .S. E P A

, R e g i o n IX

75 H a wt h o r n e S t r ee t (O R C- 2)

S a n F ra n cisc o

, C A 9 4 1 05

( 4 1 5 ) 9 7 2

- 3 9 2 1 ( p h o n e)

( 4 1 5 ) 9 4 7

- 3 5 7 0 ( f ax)

F r o m: D r a k e

, Ke rr y

S e n t: T u e sd a y

, A pr i l 0 1

, 2 01 4 1 : 3 9 P M

T o: Pe r e z, Id a li a ; S pi e g e l ma n

, N i n a ; K a y

, R yn d a ; S te c k e l, A n dr ew ; Ho n g, Jea nh e e

S u b j e c t: F W : Su mma ri e s o f 1 6 1 9 a n d E Q I P.

F Y I

, t h e U S D A p ara g ra ph s

.

F r o m: J o hn s o n

, S te ph a n i e

- OGC [ m ail t o : S t e ph a n i e .J o h n s o n@ OGC

. U S D A. GOV ]

S en t: M o nd a y

, M arc h 3 1

, 2 0 1 4 3 : 2 3 PM

T o: D ra k e

, K e rr y

S ub j e c t: Su m m ari e s o f 1 6 1 9 a nd EQ I P

.

K e rr y

, B e l o w a r e m y i n i t ia l a tt e m p t s a t s h o r t p ara g r a ph s e x p lai n i ng EQ I P a nd 16 19

. L e t m e k n o w if y o u n ee d d iff e r e n t

la ngu a g e / d e scri p t i o n s f o r t h e r u l e p r e a m b l e

. F ee l f r e e t o c o n t ac t m e o f y o u w o u l d lik e t o d isc u s s :

T h e U n i te d S t a t e s D e p ar t m e n t o f Ag ric u l t u r e (U S D A ) a d m i n is te r s t h e E n v i r o n m e n t al Q u ali t y In c e n t i v e s P r o g r a m

(EQ I P ), w h ic h t h e U n i te d S t a te s C o ng r e s s e s t a b lis h e d und e r s e c t i o n 3 3 4 o f t h e F e d e ral Ag ric u l t u r e I m p r o v e m e n t a nd

R e f o r m A c t o f 1 9 9 6 ( P ub. L

. 1 0 4

- 1 2

, 1 6 U .S. C

. § § 3 8 3 9 a a – 3 8 39 aa

- 9 )

. U S D A h as d e l e g a te d a u t h o ri t y t o a d m i n is te r t h e

p r o g ra m t o t h e N a t u ral R e s o u rc e s C o n s e r v a t i o n S e r v i c e ( N RC S )

. 7 C F R 2

. 61 ( a) ( 1 3 )( v iii)

. T h e pu r p o s e o f EQ I P is t o

p r o m o t e a g ric u l t u ral p r o d u c t i o n

, f o r e s t m a n a g e m e n t

, a nd e n v i r o n m e n t al qu ali t y as c o m p a t i b l e g o a l s, a nd t o o p t i m i z e

e n v ir o n m e n t al b e n e f i t s

. 1 6 U .S. C

. § 3 8 3 9 aa

. T h r o u g h t h is v o l un t ar y p r o g r a m

, N RC S assis t s e n r o l l e d a g ri c u l t u ral

p r o du c e rs i n i m p l e m e n t i ng c o n s e r v a t i o n m e as u r e s o n t h e ir p ri v a te la nd t o a dd r e s s s o il

, w a t e r, air

, a nd r e l a t e d n a t u ral

r e s o u r c e s c o n c e r n s, w il d li f e h a b i t a t

, s u rfac e a nd g r o u nd w a te r c o n s e r v a t i o n

, a nd r e la te d n a t u ra l r e s o u rc e c o n c e r n s

. 7

C .F. R

. 1 4 66

. 1 (a)

. T h e fi n a n cial a nd te c hn ica l assis t a n c e p r o v i d e d b y N RC S und e r t h e p r o g r a m h e l p s p r o du ce rs c o m p l y

w i t h e n v ir o n m e n t al r e gu la t i o n s a nd e nh a n c e a g ric u l t u ral a nd f o r e s te d la nd s i n a c o s t

- e ff e c t i v e a nd e n v ir o n m e n t al l y

b e n e ficial m a nn e r

. Id.

U nd e r s e c t i o n 1 6 1 9 o f

t h e F o o d

, C o n s e r v a t i o n

, a nd E n e r g y A c t o f 2 0 0 8 ( P ub. L

. 1 1 0

- 2 46

, 7 U .S. C

. § 8 7 91 )

, t h e

U n i te d S t a t e s C o ng r e s s p r o h i b i te d t h e S e cr et a r y o f A g ric u l t u r e a nd a n y o ff i c e r o r e m p l o y ee o f t h e U n i t e d S t a te s

D e p ar t m e n t o f Ag ric u l t u r e (U S D A ) f r o m d isc l o si ng i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d b y a n a g r ic u l t u ral p r o du c e r o r o w n e r o f

a g ric u l t u ral la nd c o n c e r n i ng t h e a g ric u l t u ral o p e r a t i o n

, far m i ng o r c o n s e r v a t i o n p rac t ic e s

, o r t h e la nd i t s e lf

, i n o r d e r t o

p ar t ici p a te i n a U S D A p r o g r a m

. 7 U .S. C

. § 8 7 9 1

. An y c o n t rac t o r o r c o o p e r a t o r o f t h e U S D A is s i m ilarl y p r o h i b i te d fr o m

d iscl o si ng s u c h i n f o r m a t i o n

. Id. T h e r e ar e s e v e ral e x c e p t i o n s t o t h is p r o h i b i t i o n

, i n cl ud i ng t h a t U S D A m a y d i scl o s e

i n f o r m a t i o n i f i n t o a t ra n s f o r m e d i n t o a s t a t i s t ical o r a gg r e g a te f o r m w i t h o u t n a m i ng a n y i nd i v i du al o w n e r

, o p e r a t o r o r

p r o du c e r o r a s p e cifi c d a t a g a t h e ri ng si te

. Id. Add i t i o n all y

, U S D A m a y d i s cl o s e i n f o r m a t i o n if t h e a g ric u l t u ra l p r o du c e r o r

o w n e r o f t h e a g r i c u l t u ral l a nd c o n s e n t s t o t h e d isc l o s u r e

. Id.

S t e p han i e V. J o hn son

Na t u r a l R e so u r ce s an d E n v iro nmen t D i v ision

O ff i ce o f t he Gene r a l C o un s e l, USDA

R m

. 3344B S o u t h Bu i l di ng

1400 In d e p en d ence A

v e

, S .W.

W a s h i n g t o n

, D

. C

. 20250

202-720-1997 dir ect4 202-690-2730 fax



### T h is e l e c t r o n i c m e ssag e c o nt a i n s i n f o rm a t i o n g e n e ra t e d b y t h e U S D A s o l e l y fo r t h e i n t e nd e d r e c i p i e nt s

. A n y

un a u t h o ri z e d i n t e r c e p t i o n o f t h is m e ssag e o r t h e u s e o r d is c l o s u r e o f t h e i nf o r m a t i o n i t c o nt a i n s m a y v i o la t e

th e la w a n d s u b j e c t t h e v i o la t o r t o c i v il o r c rimi n a l p e n al t i e s

. I f y o u b e li e v e y o u h a v e r e c e i v e d th is m e ssag e i n

e rr o r, p l e as e n o t i f y t h e s e nd e r a n d d e l e t e t h e e m ail imm e d ia t e l y.