[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 10349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4604]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Natural Resources Conservation Service


Changes in Hydric Soils of the United States

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of change.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 7 CFR 12.30(a)(4), Natural Resources Conservation 
Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service), United States 
Department of Agriculture gives notice of a change in the wording of 
the criteria used to generate the list of hydric soils of the United 
States as published in the third edition of Hydric Soils of the United 
States, Miscellaneous Publication 1491, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Soil Conservation Service, June 1991.
    For further information contact: Craig A. Ditzler, Chair, National 
Technical Committee for Hydric Soils, National Soil Survey Center, 
NRCS, Room 152, Mail Stop 33, Federal Building, 100 Centennial Mall 
North, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-3866, Telephone (402) 437-5353.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The list of hydric soils was created by 
computer using criteria that were developed by the National Technical 
Committee for Hydric Soils. The criteria are selected soil properties 
that are documented in Soil Taxonomy and were designed primarily to 
generate a list of hydric soils from the national database of Soil 
Interpretations Records. Criteria 1, 3, and 4 serve as both database 
criteria and as indicators for identification of hydric soils. 
Criterion 2 serves only to retrieve soils from the database.
    The wording of criterion 2 has been changed to incorporate recent 
changes in Soil Taxonomy and delete references to water-table frequency 
and duration. Until all soils have been reclassified, the computer 
program will continue to select soils under their former 
classification. The water-table frequency and duration data are not 
contained on the Soil Interpretations Records and, therefore, were not 
selection criteria.
    The wording of criterion 2 also has been changed to clarify the way 
in which water-table data were used to select soils from the Soil 
Interpretations Records database. Because the water-table depths on the 
Soil Interpretations Records are entered in 0.5 ft. increments, 
previous versions of criterion 2 used water tables at less than 0.5, 
1.0, and 1.5 ft. in order to extract hydric soils from the database 
with actual recorded water tables of 0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 ft.
    It is important to note that these changes do not cause any soils 
to be added or deleted from the list.

Criteria for Hydric Soils

    1. All Histosols except Folists, or
    2. Soils in Aquic suborders, great groups, or subgroups, Albolls 
suborder, Aquisalids, Pachic subgroups, or Cumulic subgroups that are:
    a. somewhat poorly drained with a water table equal to 0.0 foot 
(ft) from the surface during the growing season, or
    b. poorly drained or very poorly drained and have either:
    (1) water table equal to 0.0 ft. during the growing season if 
textures are coarse sand, sand, or fine sand in all layers within 20 
inches (in), or for other soils, or
    (2) water table at less than or equal to 0.5 ft. from the surface 
during the growing season if permeability is equal to or greater than 
6.0 in/hour (h) in all layers within 20 in, or
    (3) water table at less than or equal to 1.0 ft. from the surface 
during the growing season, if permeability is less than 6.0 in/h in any 
layer within 20 in, or
    3. Soils that are frequently ponded for long duration or very long 
duration during the growing season, or
    4. Soils that are frequently flooded for long duration or very long 
duration during the growing season.

    Dated: January 26, 1995.
Richard W. Arnold,
Director, Soils Division.
[FR Doc. 95-4604 Filed 2-23-95; 8:45 am]
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