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

28965

Vol. 63, No. 101

Wednesday, May 27, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

Conservation Reservation Program

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation,

USDA.

ACTION: Solicitation of proposals for the

Conservation Reserve Enhancement

Program.

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit

Corporation (CCC) is publishing this

notice to invite State governments to

propose Conservation Reserve

Enhancement Program (CREP) projects

under the general Conservation Reserve

Program, which is governed by

regulations under 7 CFR Part 1410.

CREP is an opportunity for the joining

of resources of the Federal and State

governments to address critical

environmental issues such as soil

erosion, water quality degradation and

wildlife habitat loss associated with

agricultural activities. This action is also

part of the National Performance Review

Initiative to deliver better service and

foster partnership and community

solutions.

ADDRESSES: Submission of CREP

proposals by a State should be

addressed to the Secretary of

Agriculture, Attention: Deputy

Administrator for Farm Programs, Farm

Service Agency, STOP 0510, 1400

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20250–0510.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Caroline Roe, Environmental Program

Specialist, Environmental Activities

Branch, Farm Service Agency, Room

4715 South Agriculture Building, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, D.C. 20250–0510,

telephone (202) 720–6221, email at

carolinelroe@wdc.fsa.usda.gov or

contact the Conservation Program

Specialist in the State Farm Service

Agency (FSA) office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is

authorized by Title XII of the Food

Security Act of 1985, as amended. The

purpose of the CRP is to assist farmers

and ranchers in conserving soil, water,

and wildlife resources by converting

highly erodible and other

environmentally sensitive acreage

normally devoted to the production of

agricultural commodities and marginal

pastureland to a long-term resourceconserving cover. CRP participants

enroll in contracts for periods of 10- to

15-years in exchange for annual rental

payments and cost-share assistance for

installing those long-term resourceconserving practices. Up to 36.4 million

acres are authorized to be enrolled in

the CRP at any one time.

CCC enrolls land through periodic

general signups in which CCC entertains

offers from applicants seeking

enrollment in the program. CCC

evaluates the costs and benefits

associated with each offer, its program

goals, and any other related issues and

accepts only those offers that provide

the most cost-effective environmental

benefits.

CCC also uses a continuous signup for

certain highly valued environmental

practices such as filter strips, riparian

buffers, and grass waterways. Because of

the significant environmental benefits to

be obtained from the enrollment of these

areas, CCC permits the enrollment of

these acreages at any time at certain

prescribed rental rates.

The ‘‘Conservation Reserve

Enhancement Program’’ (CREP) is the

name given to special joint undertakings

between States and the Federal

government using CRP contracts and

payments to encourage enrollments and

practices that may address particularly

pressing environmental needs. CRP

rules in 7 CFR Part 1410.50(b) provide

explicitly for such agreements to further

‘‘specific conservation and

environmental objectives of that State

and the nation.’’ Some States have

already submitted CREP proposals and

CCC hereby further invites other

interested States to do the same.

CREP creates an opportunity where

the resources of a State government and

CRP can be targeted in a coordinated

manner to cost-effectively address

specific conservation and

environmental objectives of that State

and the nation in order to improve

water quality, erosion control, and

wildlife habitat, including endangered

species habitat, in specific geographic

areas that have been adversely impacted

by agricultural activities.

In order for a State’s proposal to be

considered for CREP, it should be

directly related to mitigation of adverse

agriculture-related environmental

impacts and should document why

program objectives cannot be met

through other existing programs, in

particular the general or continuous

sign-ups under the CRP or other

Department of Agriculture conservation

programs.

Any proposed obligations beyond the

term of any CRP contract, such as

through long term agreements and/or

permanent easements, would be

between State government and the

participant.

CCC encourages State governments to

work closely with all interested groups

within the State when developing

options for obligations beyond the term

of the CRP contract. It is CCC’s

experience that successful CREP

agreements are the result of State

governments, in preparing CREP

proposals, working closely with all

interested local parties including, but

not limited to, farm, commodity,

conservation, environmental, and

landowner groups. Working with all

interested local parties ensures the

broad range of support needed for a

successful CREP.

To ensure proper Federal/State

cooperation, each proposal should

specify the level of non-federal funding

needed to fulfill objectives of the

proposal. Normally, USDA expects that

non-federal funding would be equal to

at least 20 percent of the overall

program-related costs of the CREP

project. Examples of non-federal

funding include, but are not limited to:

funding of contract extensions or

easements, cost-share assistance for

conservation practices, and program

monitoring costs. The CREP is

anticipated to be initially limited to a

maximum of 100,000 acres for each

State, with possible expansion after the

initial 100,000 acres are enrolled.

Submissions by a State should

provide for a complete understanding of

the proposal. To ensure consistency,

each proposal should include: (1) an

abstract; (2) a discussion of existing

conditions; (3) an analysis of
28966 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 101 /Wednesday, May 27, 1998 / Notices

agriculture-related adverse impacts; (4)

project objectives; (5) project

description; (6) proposals for the

monitoring program; (7) a discussion of

public support and ongoing public

information that will accompany the

project; (8) an analysis of the costeffectiveness of the project; and (9) any

additional documentation to ensure

compliance with any other laws,

including environmental laws. A

description of each of these criteria

follows.

Abstract

A single page summary of the project

should be provided to include: project

name; description of the project area;

summary of existing conditions and

agricultural impacts to be addressed;

brief description of the project; total

area of the project (including a list of the

counties in which the project is

located); and estimated cost of the

project.

Existing Conditions

A synopsis of relevant existing

conditions should be provided to

include: a brief description of the

importance to the community of the

resource to be protected; a detailed map

outlining the geographic area of the

project; a description of the various

human activities and land uses within

the project boundary (including a

summary of such information within

each watershed); a summary of

agricultural activities within the project

boundary/watershed; and a brief

description of relevant environmental

factors (precipitation, soils, geology,

vegetation patterns, wildlife, Federally

listed endangered and threatened

species, air quality, and water

resources).

Analysis of Agriculture-Related

Environmental Impacts

An analysis of agriculture-related

environmental impacts to be addressed

by the project should be provided to

include: magnitude of agricultural

impacts on the environment; past and

projected trends in agricultural impacts,

including any scientific data that

demonstrates such trends; nature of any

public health-related agricultural

impacts; and past and ongoing efforts to

address agricultural impacts through

other Federal and State conservation

programs, such as the CRP.

Project Objectives

A list of project objectives should be

provided to include specific and

measurable objectives in addition to any

general objectives.

Project Description

The description of the project should

include the following: summary of the

project; conservation practices to be

adopted; number of acres proposed to be

included in the project; length of time

for project implementation; analysis of

both Federal and non-Federal costs

(including a justification for special

incentive payments to be made); and an

analysis of the likelihood that project

objectives will be achieved. The project

description should also address such

process and interagency coordination

questions as: how applicant eligibility

determinations will be made; which

agency will provide technical

assistance; how the application process

will be coordinated among agencies;

and how contract oversight will be

conducted.

Monitoring Program

A comprehensive monitoring and

evaluation plan should be provided to

include: specific targets to be met in the

accomplishment of project objectives; a

description of the methods for collecting

data to measure accomplishment of

specific targets; the process for

refinement of the project, if monitoring

indicates that project objectives are not

being met; and the identification of

funding for the monitoring program.

The proposal should identify the nature

and funding sources for the preparation

of annual reports to record and

summarize the conclusions developed

in the monitoring program.

Education, Outreach, and Public

Support

A program for public participation

should be presented that indicates: the

level of public support for the proposal,

among producers, conservation groups

and other interested organizations, at

the time the proposal is submitted; an

analysis of the number of producers

expected to enroll in the program; and

the measures that will be taken for

continued public involvement and

education over the duration of the

project.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Proposals should include a costeffectiveness analysis which compares

the cost and likelihood of

accomplishing project goals under the

CREP proposal versus other State and

Federal programs, such as the general

and continuous signups under CRP.

Compliance With Other Laws

The application should include

adequate information and

documentation to demonstrate

compliance with any applicable laws.

Each proposal should be developed in

conjunction with the State FSA office

and the USDA-established ‘‘State

Technical Committee.’’ Following

submittal to the Secretary of

Agriculture, each proposal will be

reviewed by an interagency team for

consistency with overall program goals,

magnitude of environmental benefits,

likelihood that project benefits will be

achieved and cost-effectiveness. The

team is expected to make a

recommendation for action to the

Deputy Administrator within 60 days of

receipt of a completed proposal. Further

negotiation and discussion will follow

as needed to implement the joint effort

of the CCC and the State. To effectuate

the joint agreement, a draft

Memorandum of Agreement should be

developed by the State based on

discussions regarding the proposal. No

agreement will be final until signed by

authorized representatives of CCC and

the State.

Signed at Washington, DC, on May 21,

1998.

Keith Kelly,

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit

Corporation

[FR Doc. 98–13980 Filed 5–21–98; 2:10 pm]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 98–010N]

International Standard-Setting

Activities

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public

of the sanitary and phytosanitary

standard-setting activities of the Codex

Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in

accordance with section 491 of the

Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as

amended, and the Uruguay Round

Agreements Act, Pub. L. 103–465, 108

Stat. 4809, and seeks comments on

standards currently under consideration

and recommendations for new

standards. It also lists other standardsetting activities of Codex, including

commodity standards, guidelines, codes

of practice, and revised texts. This

notice covers the time periods from June

1, 1997, to May 31, 1998, and May 31,

1998, to June 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to: FSIS Docket Clerk, U.S. Department

of Agriculture, Food Safety and

Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton