Numerous responses were also received from conservation districts, county committees, and local Farm Service Agency employees. There is some apprehension as familiar programs such as the Great Plains Conservation Program, the Agricultural Conservation Program, and the Colorado River Salinity Control Program end and EQIP begins. A necessary, but time consuming, requirement for the NRCS Emergency Watershed Program staff is the transmitting timely and thorough reports to National Headquarters, the Secretary of Agriculture, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and others following disasters. Reports are often outdated by the time they reach their destination. The NRCS Management Services Division and the Emergency Watershed Program Manager are developing an Electronic Disaster Reporting System to provide pre-formatted electronic reports.
All interested parties receive the report within moments of the data entry.
This paperless entry saves field staff time. The USDA Disaster Management Office is looking at standardizing the NRCS information to enable all USDA agencies to use this approach. Accordingly, the initial MSPB decision, which ruled in favor of those former NRCS employees who alleged that their retirements were involuntary, has been overturned. This is the final decision in the administrative process. If the former employees wish to appeal this decision, they must request a review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.