30402 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 6, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

Soil and Water Conservation

Assistance

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of

Program Funds for Soil and Water

Conservation Assistance.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

availability of funds for Soil and Water

Conservation Assistance (SWCA) to

implement Section 211(b), Title II, of

the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of

2000 Public Law 106–224. The

Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)

administers the funds under the general

supervision of a Vice President of the

CCC who is the Chief of the Natural

Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Section 211(b) authorizes the Secretary

of Agriculture to use the funds for soil,

water, and related natural resources

conservation purposes in areas that have

not been designated as conservation

priority areas under section 1230(c) of

the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

3830(c)).

DATES: Funds will be available from

June 6, 2001 to September 30, 2001,

unless they are obligated sooner.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments to:

Conservation Operations Division,

Natural Resources Conservation Service,

P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013–

2890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark W. Berkland, Director, or Gary

Gross, SWCA Program Manager,

Conservation Operations Division,

Natural Resources Conservation Service,

P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013,

(202) 720–1845, fax: 202–720–4265.

Submit electronic comments to:

mark.berkland@usda.gov or

gary.gross@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 211(b), Title II, of the

Agricultural Risk Protection Act of

2000, (Pub. L. 106–224, June 22, 2000),

16 U.S.C. 3830 note, authorizes the

Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to

use funds of CCC to provide financial

assistance to farmers and ranchers to

address threats to soil, water, and

related natural resources, including

grazing land, wetland, and wildlife

habitat; comply with Federal and State

environmental laws; and make

beneficial, cost-effective changes to

cropping systems, grazing management,

manure, nutrient, pest, or irrigation

management, land uses, or other

measures needed to conserve and

improve soil, water, and related natural

resources. Assistance under this section

may be made in the form of cost-share

payments or incentive payments, as

determined by the Secretary. A total of

$20 million is being made available for

Section 211(b) in fiscal year 2001.

Section 211(b) authorizes the

Secretary of Agriculture to use the funds

to provide assistance in areas that are

not designated as conservation priority

areas under section 1230(c) of the Food

Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830(c)).

These are areas that are outside of

designated priority areas of the

Conservation Reserve Program,

Environmental Quality Incentives

Program, and the Wetlands Reserve

Program.

The Chief of NRCS, on behalf of CCC,

will determine the funds available to the

States for financial and technical

assistance.

The NRCS State Conservationist, in

consultation with the State Technical

Committee (established under 16 U.S.C.

3861), will determine eligible practices

using a locally led process. Eligible

conservation practices will be those

practices that meet the provisions of

Section 211(b), as previously outlined.

There will be a continuous signup

period, with ranking cutoff dates as

determined by the State Conservationist

in consultation with the State Technical

Committee.

The State Conservationist, in

consultation with the State Technical

Committee, will select applications

based on State-developed ranking

criteria and a ranking process, that takes

into account local and state priorities.

The State Conservationist may also

delegate the selection of applications to

a local designated conservationist who

will work in consultation with the local

USDA Work Group.

SWCA Requirements

CCC will accept applications

throughout the year. The State

Conservationist, working with

cooperating agencies and organizations,

will distribute information on the

availability of assistance and the Statespecific goals. Information will be

provided that explains the process to

request assistance.

Applicants must own or control the

land for which assistance is being

sought and agree to implement specific

eligible conservation practices on the

land. There will be a 5 to 10 year costshare agreement period to install

eligible practices. Cost-share practices

need to be maintained for the life of the

practice. The maximum payment to any

one participant under SWCA is $50,000.

The Federal share of cost-share

payments will be 75 percent of the cost

of an eligible practice(s) based on

percent of actual cost, percent of actual

cost with not-to-exceed limits, flat rates,

or average costs as determined by the

State Conservationist. Producers will be

paid upon certification of completion of

the approved practice(s). Producers may

contribute to the application of a costshare practice through in-kind

contributions. Eligible in-kind

contributions include: personal labor;

use of personal equipment; donated

labor or materials; and use of on-hand

or approved used materials that meet

the requirements for the practice to be

installed. In no instance shall the total

financial contributions for an eligible

practice from all public and private

entity sources exceed 100 percent of the

actual cost of the practice. Cost-share or

incentive payments will not be made to

a participant who has applied or

initiated the application of a

conservation practice prior to approval

of the cost-share agreement.

Eligible participants must have

control of the land for the life of the cost

share agreement period. An exception

may be made by the Chief of NRCS in

the case of land allotted by the Bureau

of Indian Affairs (BIA), tribal land, or

other instances in which the Chief of

NRCS determines that there is sufficient

assurance of control; or the applicant is

a tenant of the land involved in

agricultural production and the

applicant provides CCC with the written

concurrence of the landowner in order

to apply an eligible practice(s).

Eligible land includes land used as

agricultural land on which NRCS

determines that assistance is needed to

address threats to soil, water, and

related natural resources, including

grazing land, wetland, and wildlife

habitat; comply with Federal and State

environmental laws; and make

beneficial, cost-effective changes to

cropping systems, grazing management,

manure, nutrient, pest, or irrigation

management, land uses, or other

measures needed to conserve and

improve soil, water, and related natural

resources. Additionally, land may only

be considered for enrollment in SWCA

if NRCS determines that the land is

privately-owned, or if publicly-owned,

where the land is under private control

for the length of the cost-share

agreement and is included in the

participant’s operating unit. The

conservation practices installed on

public land must contribute to an

improvement in the identified natural

resource concern as well as benefit

private land. The applicant must

provide CCC with written authorization

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 6, 2001 / Notices 30403

from the government landowner to

apply the conservation practices. Land

that is federally recognized Tribal, BIA

allotted, or Indian trust land may be

considered for enrollment in SWCA.

Applicants must submit an

application (CCC—1200 form) to CCC to

be considered for participation in

SWCA. Any producer who has eligible

land may obtain and submit an

application for participation in SWCA at

an USDA service center. Producers who

are members of a joint operation shall

file a single application for the joint

operation. A NRCS conservationist will

work with the applicant to collect the

information necessary to evaluate the

application using the ranking criteria.

Conservation Plan Requirement

A conservation plan is required for

the area to be included in the SWCA

cost-share agreement and becomes the

basis for developing the cost share

agreement. The conservation plan must

be acceptable to NRCS; be approved by

the local conservation district; be signed

by the participant, designated

conservationist, and the conservation

district; and clearly identify the

conservation practices that will be cost

shared with SWCA funds and the noncost-shared practices needed in the

conservation plan.

Cost-Share Agreement Requirements

Participants will enter into a costshare agreement to implement eligible

conservation practices. A SWCA cost

share agreement will cover, as a

minimum, the eligible land that

influences, or is influenced by, the

conservation practices being installed,

and be for a duration of 5 to 10 years.

Cost-share agreements will

incorporate all provisions as required by

law or statute, including requirements

to not conduct any practices on the farm

or ranch unit of concern that would

tend to defeat the purposes of the costshare agreement; refund to CCC any

SWCA payments received, with interest,

and forfeit any future payments under

SWCA on the violation of a term or

condition of the cost-share agreement;

refund all SWCA payments received on

the transfer of the right and interest of

the producer in land subject to the costshare agreement, unless the transferee of

the right and interest agrees to assume

all obligations of the cost-share

agreement; and supply information as

required by CCC to determine

compliance with the cost-share

agreement and requirements of SWCA.

The participant and NRCS must certify

that a conservation practice is

completed in accordance with the costshare agreement before CCC will

approve any cost-share payments.

With respect to land under a SWCA

cost-share agreement which is inherited

during the cost share agreement period,

the $50,000 limitation per participant

will not apply to the extent that the

payments from any cost-share

agreements on the inherited land cause

an heir, who was party to a SWCA costshare agreement on other lands prior to

the inheritance, to exceed the limit.

With regard to cost-share agreements

on tribal land, Indian trust land, or BIA

allotted land, payments exceeding the

$50,000 limitation may be made to the

tribal venture if an official of the BIA or

tribal official certifies in writing that no

one participant directly or indirectly

will receive more than the limitation.

Conservation Practice Operation and

Maintenance

The cost-share agreement will provide

for the operation and maintenance of

the conservation practices applied

under the cost-share agreement. The

participant will operate and maintain

the conservation practices for their

intended purposes as agreed-to as part

of the cost-share agreement, and form

CCC—1245, Practice Approval and

Payment Application.

Additional Requirements and

Information

Additional requirements and

information pertaining to SWCA costshare agreements, administrative

requirements, and other matters can be

found on form CCC–1200, Conservation

Program Contract, and the appendix to

form CCC–1200, both of which are

available at local USDA service centers.

Civil Rights

NRCS and CCC have collected civil

rights data on farmers/ranchers

participating in conservation programs.

Based on past participation, it is

estimated that the funding being made

available with this notice will not

negatively or disproportionately affect

minorities, women, or persons with

disabilities who are program

beneficiaries or applicants for program

benefits in NRCS or CCC assisted

programs.

Environmental Evaluation

This assistance, administered by

NRCS, will be funded at a level for 2001

as determined by the Secretary.

Depending on the level of funding, and

based on the participation in existing

soil and water conservation programs, it

is estimated that this assistance could

result in approximately 1000 cost-share

agreements. On each farm or ranch,

during the conservation planning

process, the environmental effects of

any proposed actions are evaluated on

a case-by-case basis. That evaluation is

used to determine whether further

environmental analysis is required.

Accordingly, neither an Environmental

Assessment nor an Environmental

Impact Statement has been prepared for

this notice.

Signed in Washington, D.C., on, May 23,

2001.

Thomas A. Weber,

Deputy Chief for Programs, Natural Resources

Conservation Service.

[FR Doc. 01–14150 Filed 6–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

Public Meetings of Advisory

Committee on Beginning Farmers and

Ranchers

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency

(FSA) is issuing this notice to advise the

public that meetings of the Advisory

Committee on Beginning Farmers and

Ranchers (Committee) will be held to

discuss the Secretary’s responses to

recommendations drafted at previous

meetings and to formulate additional

recommendations.

DATES: The public meetings will be held

June 19–20, 2001, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00

p.m. at the Radisson Barcelo Hotel

Washington, 2121 P Street NW.,

Washington, DC, telephone 202–293–

3100. All times noted are Eastern

Standard Time (EST).

ADDRESSES: Mark Falcone, Designated

Federal Official for the Advisory

Committee on Beginning Farmers and

Ranchers, Farm Service Agency, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW., Room

5438–S, STOP 0522, Washington, DC

20250–0522; telephone (202) 720–1632;

FAX (202) 690–1117; e-mail

mark_falcone@wdc.fsa.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Falcone at (202) 720–1632.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 5

of the Agricultural Credit Improvement

Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102–554) required

the Secretary of Agriculture to establish

the Committee for the purpose of

advising the Secretary on the following:

(1) The development of a program of

coordinated financial assistance to

qualified beginning farmers and

ranchers required by section 309(i) of