7 CFR - § 613.1-613.5 - Plant Materials Centers

474 7 CFR Ch. VI (1–1–23 Edition) § 612.6 data, and a western states area report covering water supply outlook. § 612.6 Application for water supply forecast service. Requests for obtaining water supply forecasts or related assistance may be directed to any NRCS office in the western states areas. NRCS offices are described in part 600 of this chapter. § 612.7 Forecast user responsibility. The forecast user’s obligation to the federal government is to give appro priate credit and recognition to NRCS for information furnished. The Federal Government does not assume any re sponsibility for management decisions the user makes which may be based in whole or part on information provided by NRCS. PART 613—PLANT MATERIALS CENTERS Sec. 613.1 Purpose. 613.2 Policy and objectives. 613.3 NRCS responsibilities in plant mate rials. 613.4 Special production of plant materials. 613.5 PMCs. AUTHORITY: 16 U.S.C. 590a–590f, 5908; 7 U.S.C. 1010–1011. SOURCE: 73 FR 51351, Sept. 3, 2008, unless otherwise noted. § 613.1 Purpose. This part provides NRCS policy on the operation of PMCs. The Centers have responsibilities for assembling, testing, releasing, and providing for the commercial production and use of plant materials and plant materials technology for programs of soil, water, and related resource conservation and development. § 613.2 Policy and objectives. (a) It is NRCS policy to assemble, comparatively evaluate, release, and distribute for commercial increase new or improved plant materials and plant materials technology needed for broad programs of resource conservation and development for agriculture, wildlife, urban, recreation, and other land uses and environmental needs. It is the pol icy of NRCS to conduct plant materials work in cooperation with other agen cies of the Department of Agriculture, such as the Agricultural Research Service, and with other Federal and State research agencies, including State agricultural experiment stations. The emphasis of the NRCS plant mate rials work is to find suitable plants to address conservation needs. In con trast, the emphasis of research agen cies and organizations in plant develop ment is to improve economically im portant crops. The NRCS program of testing and releasing new seed-propa gated plant materials follows the guidelines in ‘‘Statement of Respon sibilities and Policies Relating to the Development, Release, and Multiplica tion of Publicly Developed Varieties of Seed-Propagated Crops,’’ which was adopted in June 1972, by Land Grant Colleges and interested Federal agen cies. NRCS releases improved conserva tion plant materials requiring vegeta tive multiplication in ways appropriate for particular States and particular species by working with experiment stations, crop improvement associa tions, and other State and Federal agencies. (b) The objective of the plant mate rials activity is to select or develop special and improved plants and tech niques for their successful establish ment and maintenance to solve con servation problems and needs related to: (1) Controlling soil erosion on all lands; (2) Conserving water; (3) Protecting upstream watersheds; (4) Reducing sediment movement into waterways and reservoirs through the stabilization of critical sediment sources, such as surface mined lands, highway slopes, recreation sites, and urban and industrial development areas; (5) Stabilizing disposal areas for liq uid and solid wastes; (6) Improving plant diversity and lengthening the grazing season on dryland pastures and rangelands; (7) Managing brush on mountain slopes with fire-retarding plant cover to reduce the possibility of fires that threaten life and property, or result in serious sediment sources; VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00484 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 475 Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA § 613.5 (8) Improving the effectiveness of windbreaks and shelterbelts for reduc ing airborne sediment, controlling snow drifting, and preventing crop damage from wind erosion; (9) Protecting streambank, pond, and lake waterlines from erosion by scour ing and wave action; (10) Improving wildlife food and cover, including threatened and endan gered and pollinator species; (11) Selecting special purpose plants to meet specific needs for environment protection and enhancement; (12) Selecting plants that tolerate air pollution agents and toxic soil chemi cals; (13) Selecting plants that mitigate odor, Particulate Matter (PM)–10, and PM–2.5; (14) Testing plants for biofuels and other energy-related activities; and (15) Evaluating plants and techniques to combat invasive plant species and for reestablishment of desirable species after eradication. § 613.3 NRCS responsibilities in plant materials. NRCS operates or enters into agree ments with State universities or other State organizations to operate PMCs. NRCS also cooperates, both formally and informally, with other Federal, State, county, and nonprofit agencies or organizations on the selection of plants and evaluation of plant tech nology to increase the capabilities of PMCs. NRCS employs specialists for testing and selecting plant materials for conservation uses and the develop ment of plant materials technology. NRCS’ responsibilities are to: (a) Identify the resource conservation needs and cultural management meth ods for environmental protection and enhancement. (b) Assemble and comparatively evaluate plant materials at PMCs and on sites where soil, climate, or other conditions differ significantly from those at the Centers. (c) Make comparative field plantings for final testing of promising plants and techniques in cooperation with conservation districts and other inter ested cooperators. (d) Release cooperatively improved conservation plants and maintain the breeder or foundation stocks in ways appropriate for particular State and plant species by working with experi ment stations, crop improvement asso ciations, and other State and Federal agencies. (e) Produce limited amounts of foun dation or foundation-quality seed and plants available for allocation to con servation districts, experiment sta tions, other Federal and State research agencies, State seed certifying organi zations and directly to commercial growers (if other options do not exist) that will use the material to establish seed fields, seed orchards, or vegetative plantings for large-scale increase. (f) Encourage and assist conservation districts, commercial seed producers, and commercial and State nurseries to produce needed plant materials for conservation uses. (g) Encourage the use of improved plant materials and plant materials technology in resource conservation and environmental improvement pro grams. § 613.4 Special production of plant ma terials. NRCS can produce plant materials in the quantity required to do a specific conservation job if this production will serve the public welfare and only if the plant materials are not available com mercially. This function will be per formed only until the plant materials are available commercially. Specific production of plant materials by NRCS requires the approval of the Chief. § 613.5 PMCs. (a) The Norman A. Berg National PMC. The Norman A. Berg National PMC at Beltsville, Maryland, focuses on na tional initiatives and provides coordi nation for plant materials work across all 50 States. In addition, the center provides plants and plant technology to address resource concerns in the mid-Atlantic region. (b) Other PMCs. There are 26 other PMCs. Each serves several major land resource areas. NRCS operates 24 of these Centers, and 2 by cooperating agencies, as follows: (1) Operated by NRCS: Tucson, AZ, Booneville, AR, Lockeford, CA, Brooksville, FL, Americus, GA, VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00485 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 476 7 CFR Ch. VI (1–1–23 Edition) Pt. 614 Molokai, HI, Aberdeen, ID, Manhattan, KS, Galliano, LA, East Lansing, MI, Coffeeville, MS, Elsberry, MO, Bridger, MT, Fallon, NV, Cape May Courthouse, NJ, Los Lunas, NM, Big Flats, NY, Bis marck, ND, Corvallis, OR, Kingsville, TX, Knox City, TX, Nacogdoches, TX, Pullman, WA, and Alderson, WV. (2) Operated by cooperating agencies with financial and technical assistance from NRCS: Meeker, CO—White River and Douglas Creek Soil Conservation Districts with partial funding from NRCS. (3) Operated by cooperating agencies with technical assistance from NRCS: Palmer, AK—State of Alaska, Depart ment of Natural Resources. PART 614—NRCS APPEAL PROCEDURES Sec. 614.1 General. 614.2 Definitions. 614.3 Decisions subject to informal appeal procedures. 614.4 Decisions not subject to informal ap peal procedures. 614.5 Reservation of authority. 614.6 Agency records and decision notices. 614.7 Preliminary technical determinations. 614.8 Final technical determinations. 614.9 Program decisions. 614.10 Appeals before the Farm Service Agency county committee. 614.11 Mediation. 614.12 Transcripts. 614.13 Appealability review. 614.14 Computation of time. 614.15 Implementation of final NAD deci sions. 614.16 Participation of third parties in NRCS proceedings. 614.17 Judicial review. AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C. 6932 and 6995; and 16 U.S.C. 3822(a). SOURCE: 77 FR 34190, June 11, 2012, unless otherwise noted. § 614.1 General. This part sets forth the informal ap peal procedures under which a partici pant may appeal adverse technical de terminations or program decisions made by officials of the Natural Re sources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the Department of Ag riculture (USDA). These regulations re flect NRCS policy to resolve at the agency level, to the greatest extent possible, disputes arising from adverse technical determinations and program decisions made by NRCS. Once a deci sion is rendered final by NRCS, partici pants may appeal to the National Ap peals Division (NAD) as provided for under 7 CFR part 11, or to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county com mittee pursuant to 7 CFR part 780 for decisions rendered under Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq. (Title XII). § 614.2 Definitions. The following definitions are applica ble for the purposes of this part: Adverse decision means the final tech nical determination or the program de cision issued by NRCS that is adverse to the individual participant and not a matter of general applicability. Agency means NRCS and its employ ees. Agency exhibit means those docu ments or materials that are used dur ing the hearing to further explain, dif ferentiate, or distinguish a point, con cept, or criteria in an appeal but that were not those materials or documents that the agency relied upon in making the adverse decision. Agency exhibits are labeled alphabetically A, B, C, etc., with total pages in each exhibit num bered. Agency record means all documents and materials, including documents submitted by the participant and those generated by NRCS, which the agency relies upon and bases its program deci sion or technical determination. The agency record will include all docu ments relevant to the adverse decision. NRCS maintains the agency record and will, upon request or appeal, make available a copy of the agency record for a specific adverse decision to the participant(s) involved in the dispute. Agency record documents are labeled numerically 1, 2, 3, etc., in the lower right hand of the document. Appeal means a written request by a participant asking for review (includ ing mediation) of an adverse NRCS technical determination or program decision under this part. An appeal must set out the reason(s) for appeal and include any supporting documenta tion. An appeal is considered filed when VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00486 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B