This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

12234 

Vol. 77, No. 40 

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service 

[Docket No. NRCS–2011–0026] 

Changes in Hydric Soils Database 

Selection Criteria 

AGENCY: Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS), United 

States Department of Agriculture. 

ACTION: Notice of Changes to the 

National Soil Information System 

(NASIS) Database Selection Criteria for 

Hydric Soils of the United States. 

SUMMARY: The National Technical 

Committee for Hydric Soils (NTCHS) 

has updated the criteria to select map 

units components for the hydric soils 

list. The former database selection 

criteria created to select soils that may 

meet the definition of hydric soils did 

not cover the full extent of what is 

included in the hydric soils definition. 

As required by 7 CFR section 12.31, 

NRCS is hereby providing notice of the 

changes to the selection criteria for 

hydric soils as set forth in the NTCHS 

publication ‘‘Hydric Soils of the United 

States,’’ Miscellaneous Publication 

1491, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Soil Conservation Service, June 1991 

(see also 60 FR 10349). These changes 

do not cause any hydric soils to be 

added or deleted from the list. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

March 30, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

(identified by Docket Number NRCS– 

2011–0026), which will be available to 

the public in their entirety, using any of 

the following methods: 

• Government-wide rulemaking Web 

site: Go to http://regulations.gov and 

follow the instructions for sending 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Anetra Harbor, Policy 

Analyst, Department of Agriculture, 

Natural Resources Conservation Service, 

George Washington Carver Center 

Building 1–1112D, 5601 Sunnyside 

Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher Smith, NTCHS Chair, 

Department of Agriculture, Natural 

Resources Conservation Service, Soil 

Survey Division, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Room 4246 South 

Building, Washington, DC 20250; 

Telephone: (202) 205–0346; Email: 

ChristopherW.Smith@wdc.usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) 

should contact the USDA Target Center 

at: (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Hydric Soils List Development—New 

NASIS Database Selection Criteria 

The NTCHS has updated the criteria 

to select map units components for the 

hydric soils list. The former database 

selection criteria created to select soils 

that may meet the definition of hydric 

soils did not cover the full extent of 

what is included in the hydric soils 

definition. As required by 7 CFR section 

12.31, NRCS is hereby providing notice 

of the changes to the selection criteria 

for hydric soils as set forth in the 

NTCHS publication ‘‘Hydric Soils of the 

United States,’’ Miscellaneous 

Publication 1491, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 

June 1991 (see also 60 FR 10349). These 

changes do not cause any hydric soils to 

be added or deleted from the list. 

Due to issues with database 

population, it was easier for a soil 

scientist to individually populate a field 

that identified those soil map unit 

components that meet the definition of 

hydric soils and which criterion or 

criteria the soil met rather than to autopopulate using the developed query. 

The list has evolved from a national list 

of hydric soil series that may be hydric 

to a comprehensive list of all map units 

that have at least one map unit 

component that is hydric. The list also 

provides information on what 

component is at least in part hydric and 

where it is located on the landscape. 

Since map unit components may consist 

of soil series that cross the hydric/nonhydric boundary, a map unit component 

listed as hydric may also include 

portions that are non-hydric. The 

updated criteria are as follows: 

(1) All Histels except Folistels and 

Histosols except Folists; or 

(2) Map unit components in Aquic 

suborders, great groups, or subgroups, 

Albolls suborder, Historthels great 

group, Histoturbels great group, or 

Andic, Cumulic, Pachic, or Vitrandic 

subgroups that: 

(a) Based on the range of 

characteristics for the soil series, will at 

least in part meet one or more Field 

Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United 

States, or 

(b) Show evidence that the soil meets 

the definition of a hydric soil; 

(3) Map unit components that are 

frequently ponded for long duration or 

very long duration during the growing 

season that: 

(a) Based on the range of 

characteristics for the soil series, will at 

least in part meet one or more Field 

Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United 

States, or 

(b) Show evidence that the soil meets 

the definition of a hydric soil; or 

(4) Map unit components that are 

frequently flooded for long duration or 

very long duration during the growing 

season that: 

(a) Based on the range of 

characteristics for the soil series, will at 

least in part meet one or more Field 

Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United 

States, or 

(b) Show evidence that the soils meet 

the definition of a hydric soil. 

Glossary of Terms Used in Hydric Soils 

Criteria 

Anaerobic means a situation in which 

molecular oxygen is virtually absent from the 

environment. 

Artificial hydric soil means a soil that 

meets the definition of a hydric soil as a 

result of an artificially induced hydrologic 

regime and did not meet the definition before 

the artificial measures were applied. 

Drained means a condition in which 

ground or surface water has been removed by 

artificial means. 

Flooded means a condition in which the 

soil surface is temporarily covered with 

flowing water from any source, such as 

streams overflowing their banks, runoff from 

adjacent or surrounding slopes, inflow from 

the high tides, or any combination of sources. 

Frequently flooded, ponded, saturated: a 

frequency class in which flooding, ponding, 

or saturation is likely to occur often under 

usual weather conditions (more than 50 

percent chance in any year, or more than 50 

times in 100 years). 

Hydric soil means a soil that formed under 

conditions of saturation, flooding, or ponding 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 29, 2012 / Notices 12235 

long enough during the growing season to 

develop anaerobic conditions in the upper 

part. This definition includes soils that 

developed under anaerobic conditions in the 

upper part but no longer experience these 

conditions due to hydrologic alteration such 

as those hydric soils that have been 

artificially drained or protected (e.g., ditches 

or levees) (http://soils.usda.gov/use/hydric/ 

intro.html). 

Long duration means a duration class in 

which inundation for a single event ranges 

from 7 days to 1 month. 

Map unit means a collection of areas 

defined and named the same in terms of their 

soil components or miscellaneous areas or 

both. 

Map unit components means the collection 

of soils and miscellaneous areas found 

within a map unit. 

Phase, map unit means a subdivision of a 

map unit based on features that affect its use 

and management (e.g., slope, surface texture, 

stoniness, and thickness). 

Ponded means a condition in which water 

stands in a closed depression. The water is 

removed only by percolation, evaporation, or 

transpiration. 

Very long duration means a duration class 

in which innundation for a single event is 

greater than 1 month. 

What’s included on the hydric soils 

lists? 

National List 

‘‘Hydric Soils of the United States’’ is 

a compilation of all map units with 

either a major or minor component that 

is at least in part hydric. This could 

include components that are soil series, 

components that are classified at 

categories higher than the series level in 

Soil Taxonomy, and miscellaneous land 

types. Because the list includes both 

major and minor (small) percentages for 

map units, in some cases most of the 

map unit may not be hydric. Also, some 

components may be phases of soil series 

that have a range of characteristics that 

both meet and do not meet hydric 

indicator requirements; therefore, only a 

portion of that component’s concept (or 

range in characteristics) may in fact be 

hydric. The list is useful in identifying 

map units that may contain hydric soils. 

The national list is generated once per 

calendar year (usually in January or 

February) to satisfy legislated mandates. 

The NRCS Hydric Soils Lists, 

available at ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/ 

NSSC/Hydric_Soils/Lists/ 

hydric_soils.xlsx, are by soil map unit 

component. Detailed and up-to-date 

hydric soil lists (e.g., by soil survey area 

map unit component) are maintained by 

the NRCS State offices and local field 

offices and can be downloaded from the 

Soil Data Mart at: http:// 

soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/. 

State Lists 

The State lists are subsets of the 

national hydric soils list by State. For 

more detailed State lists by map unit, 

contact the appropriate NRCS State 

office. 

Local Lists 

NRCS has developed local lists of 

map units that contain hydric soils for 

each county, parish, or soil survey area 

in the United States. These local lists 

are available at the NRCS State offices, 

local NRCS field office, and on the Soil 

Data Mart at: http:// 

soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/ and are the 

preferred lists for use in making 

preliminary wetland determinations. 

Information from the Soil Data Mart is 

the most up-to-date information as well 

as the official soil survey information. 

Since the national list is only compiled 

once a year and Soil Data Mart may be 

updated on a more frequent basis, the 

Soil Data Mart should be deferred to 

when there is a discrepancy. 

Signed this 22nd day of February, 2012, in 

Washington, DC. 

Dave White, 

Chief, Natural Resources Conservation 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4733 Filed 2–28–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Economic Development Administration 

Meeting of the National Advisory 

Council on Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship 

AGENCY: Economic Development 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of an open meeting. 

SUMMARY: The National Advisory 

Council on Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship will hold a meeting 

on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. The open 

meeting will be conducted from 10 

a.m.–1 p.m. and will be open to the 

public. The meeting will take place at 

Gallier Hall, 545 St. Charles Avenue, 

New Orleans, LA 70130. The Council 

was chartered on November 10, 2009 to 

advise the Secretary of Commerce on 

matters relating to innovation and 

entrepreneurship in the United States. 

DATES: March 13, 2012. 

Time: 10 a.m.–1 p.m. (CST). 

ADDRESSES: Gallier Hall, 545 St. Charles 

Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130. Please 

specify any special requests for 

participation five business days in 

advance. Last minute requests will be 

accepted, but may be impossible to 

complete. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this meeting is to discuss the 

implementation of the components of 

the University President’s letter 

organized by the National Advisory 

Council on Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship, discuss further policy 

implications of this letter and its efforts, 

and to hear from entrepreneurs in New 

Orleans. Specific topics for discussion 

include student entrepreneurship, highgrowth entrepreneurship, technology 

transfer, and the opportunities and 

challenges for entrepreneurs in New 

Orleans, and how the United States 

government can support them. The final 

agenda will be posted on the U.S. 

Department of Commerce Web site at 

www.commerce.gov. Any member of the 

public may submit pertinent written 

comments concerning the Council’s 

affairs at any time before or after the 

meeting. Comments may be submitted 

to Nish Acharya at the contact 

information indicated below. Copies of 

meeting minutes will be available 

within 90 days. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nish 

Acharya, Office of Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship, Room 7019, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington 

DC 20230, telephone 202–482–4068; 

fax: 202–273–4781. Please reference, 

‘‘NACIE March 13, 2012’’ in the subject 

line of your fax. 

Dated: February 24, 2012. 

Nishith H. Acharya, 

Director, Office of Innovation & 

Entrepreneurship, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4868 Filed 2–28–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

A–570–890 

Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the 

People’s Republic of China: Initiation 

of Administrative Review 

AGENCY: Import Administration, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

(‘‘Department’’) has received requests to 

conduct an administrative review of the 

antidumping duty order on wooden 

bedroom furniture from the People’s 

Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’). The 

anniversary month of this order is 

January. In accordance with the 

Department’s regulations, we are 

initiating this administrative review. 


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