Document: NUREG-1555
Document ID: 2d4a35b7-c091-4532-b503-bf35a5bdc380
Document Type: esrp
Title: THE SITE AND VICINITY
Source: NUREG-1555
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1555/initial/
Revision Date: 2007-10
Chapter: 4
Section ID: 4.1.1
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
e farmland” are defined in the Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981. Prime farmland is defined to be land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, fiber, forage, oilseed, and other agricultural crops with minimum inputs of fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, and labor, and without intolerable soil erosion, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. Prime farmland includes land that possesses the above characteristics but is being used currently to produce livestock and timber. It does not include land already in or committed to urban development or water storage. Unique farmland is defined in the Act to be land other than prime farmland that is used for production of specific high-value food and fiber crops, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. It has the special combination of soil quality, location, growing season, and moisture supply needed to economically produce sustained high quality or high yields of specific crops when treated and managed according to acceptable farming methods. Examples of such crops include citrus, tree nuts, olives, cranberries, fruits, and vegetables. - Relative Value Rating. The NRCS will compute a relative value rating for a tract of land upon request from a Federal agency. Procedures are described at 7 CFR 658.4(a,b) and 658.5(a). The rating is based on a variety of data, including soil potential, productivity NUREG-1555 4.1.1-8 October 1999 ratings, and land capability classifications (see below). The reviewer of ESRP 4.1.1 should normally request that NRCS prepare a relative value rating for a proposed site involving farmland. - Land Capability Classification. This classification places land in one of eight categories based on soil characteristics (Klingebiel and Montgomery 1961). The eight classifica- tions are listed in Table 4.1.1-2. Land in capability Classes I and II is usually the most productive and, therefore, should be subject to the most detailed analysis