7 CFR - § 610.1-610.32 - Technical Assistance

464 SUBCHAPTER B—CONSERVATION OPERATIONS PART 610—TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Subpart A—Conservation Operations Sec. 610.1 Purpose. 610.2 Scope. 610.3 Assistance through conservation dis tricts. 610.4 Technical assistance furnished. 610.5 Interdisciplinary assistance. Subpart B—Soil Erosion Prediction Equations 610.11 Purpose and scope. 610.12 Equations for predicting soil loss due to water erosion. 610.13 Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion. 610.14 Use of USLE, RUSLE, and WEQ. Subpart C—State Technical Committees 610.21 Purpose and scope. 610.22 State Technical Committee member ship. 610.23 State Technical Committee meetings. 610.24 Responsibilities of State Technical Committees. 610.25 Subcommittees and Local Working Groups. Subpart D—Conservation of Private Grazing Land 610.31 Purpose and scope. 610.32 Technical assistance furnished. AUTHORITY: 16 U.S.C. 590a–f, 590q, 2005b, 3861, and 3862. SOURCE: 42 FR 38169, July 27, 1977, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—Conservation Operations § 610.1 Purpose. This subpart sets forth Natural Re source Conservation Service (NRCS) policies and procedures for furnishing technical assistance in conservation operations. [61 FR 27999, June 4, 1996] § 610.2 Scope. (a) Conservation operations, includ ing technical assistance, is the basic soil and water conservation program of NRCS. This program is designed to: (1) Reduce soil losses from erosion; (2) Help solve soil, water, and agricul tural waste management problems; (3) Bring about adjustments in land use as needed; (4) Reduce damage caused by excess water and sedimentation; (5) Enhance the quality of fish and wildlife habitat; and (6) Improve all agricultural lands, in cluding cropland, forestland, and graz ing lands that include pastureland, rangeland, and grazed forestland so that the long-term sustainability of the resource base is achieved. (b) The Natural Resources Conserva tion Service is USDA’s technical agen cy for providing assistance to private landowners, conservation districts, and other organizations in planning and carrying out their conservation activi ties and programs. NRCS works with individuals, groups, and units of gov ernment to help them plan and carry out conservation decisions to meet their objectives. [64 FR 42003, Aug. 3, 1999] § 610.3 Assistance through conserva tion districts. (a) Technical assistance is provided through and in cooperation with con servation districts in the 50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These districts, formed under authority of State laws, are operated and controlled by local citizens. They provide the leadership and the program needed to meet the conservation objectives of the district. (b) NRCS furnishes technical assist ance to conservation districts as speci fied in memorandums of under standing. Soil conservationists as signed to conservation districts work directly with land users and others ac cording to the program needs and the priorities established by the conserva tion districts. (c) The practical experience of land users is combined with the scientific knowledge and skills of professional conservationists to plan and carry out locally formulated conservation pro grams. VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00474 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 465 Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA § 610.4 (d) When requested, technical assist ance may be provided to owners, opera tors, or groups using land that is under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of the Interior if such land is included in a conservation district or if assistance is in accordance with memorandums of understanding identi fying the coordination of agency ac tivities. § 610.4 Technical assistance furnished. The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides technical assistance to land users and others who are re sponsible for making decisions and set ting policies that influence land use, conservation treatment, and resource management. Technical assistance fur nished by NRCS consists of program assistance, planning assistance, appli cation of conservation practices, and assistance in the technical phases of USDA cost-share programs. (a) Program assistance is provided to conservation districts and other orga nizations concerned with the conserva tion of soil, water, plant, and wildlife resources. This assistance includes pro viding resource inventory data and identifying conservation problems and needs in order for districts to develop long-range soil and water conservation programs. Individuals, groups, and or ganizations requesting NRCS assist ance through conservation districts in clude: (1) Farmers, ranchers, and other land users concerned with the conservation of land and water resources. (2) County and other local govern ment units such as park authorities, departments of public works, planning, zoning (rural, urban, and flood plain), school, and institution boards, highway departments, and tax assessors. (3) Citizen groups, youth groups, recreation groups, and garden clubs. (4) State and local units of govern ment (highway, health, recreation, water resources, and regional planning) involved in establishing public policy regarding the use of resources. (5) Federal departments and agencies such as Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Public Roads, Health and Human Services; and Interior. (6) Professional consultants who pro vide services such as engineering, plan ning, environmental assessment, tax assessment, and forest management. (b) Planning assistance includes eval uation of soil, water, vegetation, and other resource data needed for making land use, environmental and conserva tion treatment decisions. NRCS helps land users make conservation plans for farms, ranches, and other land units. This help includes onsite planning as sistance in making conservation plans. The plans are based on a soil survey and interpretations for the intended land uses and conservation treatment. Plans may also include other inven tories of soil, water, plant, and related resources needed in the planning proc ess. Information about the responses of each kind of soil and the conservation practices and resource management needed for different land uses is pro vided. The land user’s decisions re corded in the plan are based on his con servation objectives. Conservation plans provide for the orderly installa tion of conservation practices. Con servation plans reflect changing condi tions. (c) Application assistance is provided to help land users apply and maintain planned conservation work. NRCS as sistance for applying the conservation practices in the plan may include: (1) Designing, constructing, and maintaining conservation practices; (2) Selecting management alter natives and cultural practices needed to establish and maintain vegetation; and (3) Other conservation practices needed to protect land and water re sources. (d) The Natural Resources Conserva tion Service assists in carrying out cer tain phases of USDA soil and water conservation cost-share programs. NRCS assists individual program par ticipants with conservation plans need ed for long-term cost-share agree ments. NRCS is assigned responsibility by the Secretary of Agriculture for technical phases of applying conserva tion practices on the land. This assign ment includes: (1) Determining what practices are needed and feasible to install, (2) Selecting sites and planning and designing practices, VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00475 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 466 7 CFR Ch. VI (1–1–23 Edition) § 610.5 (3) Providing assistance for installing practices, and (4) Certifying that the work done is in accordance with NRCS standards and specifications. [42 FR 38169, July 27, 1977, as amended at 47 FR 56473, Dec. 17, 1982] § 610.5 Interdisciplinary assistance. Technical assistance is based on the principle that soil, water, plant, and related resources are interdependent and must be managed accordingly. Soil conservationists integrate the various technical fields in providing for the conservation of land and water re sources. Staff scientists and specialists develop conservation standards, pre pare necessary specifications, provide training, and review work performance, NRCS uses consultants for conserva tion problems that require special ex pertise. Subpart B—Soil Erosion Prediction Equations SOURCE: 61 FR 27999, June 4, 1996, unless otherwise noted. § 610.11 Purpose and scope. This subpart sets forth the equations and rules for utilizing the equations that are used by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to pre dict soil erosion due to water and wind. Section 301 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (FAIRA) and the Food Security Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801–3813 specified that the Secretary would publish the universal soil loss equation (USLE) and wind erosion equation (WEQ) used by the Department within 60 days of the enactment of FAIRA. This subpart sets forth the equations, definition of fac tors, and provides the rules under which NRCS will utilize the USLE, the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE), and the WEQ. § 610.12 Equations for predicting soil loss due to water erosion. (a) The equation for predicting soil loss due to erosion for both the USLE and the RUSLE is A = R × K × LS × C × P. (For further information about USLE see the U.S. Department of Agri culture Handbook 537, ‘‘Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses—A Guide to Conservation Planning,’’ dated 1978. Copies of this document are available from the Natural Resources Conserva tion Service, P.O. Box 2890, Wash ington, DC 20013. For further informa tion about RUSLE see the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture Handbook 703, ‘‘Predicting Soil Erosion by Water: A Guide to Conservation Planning with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equa tion (RUSLE).’’ Copies may be pur chased from the National Technical In formation Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.) (b) The factors in the USLE equation are: (1) A is the estimation of average an nual soil loss in tons per acre caused by sheet and rill erosion. (2) R is the rainfall erosivity factor. Accounts for the energy and intensity of rainstorms. (3) K is the soil erodibility factor. Measures the susceptibility of a soil to erode under a standard condition. (4) LS is the slope length and steep ness factor. Accounts for the effect of length and steepness of slope on ero sion. (5) C is the cover and management factor. Estimates the soil loss ratio for each of 4 or 5 crop stage periods throughout the year, accounting for the combined effect of all the inter related cover and management vari ables. (6) P is the support practice factor. Accounts for the effect of conservation support practices, such as contouring, contour stripcropping, and terraces on soil erosion. (c) The factors in the RUSLE equa tion are defined as follows: (1) A is the estimation of average an nual soil loss in tons per acre caused by sheet and rill erosion. (2) R is the rainfall erosivity factor. Accounts for the energy and intensity of rainstorms. (3) K is the soil erodibility factor. Measures the susceptibility of a soil to erode under a standard condition and adjusts it bi-monthly for the effects of freezing and thawing, and soil mois ture. (4) LS is the slope length and steep ness factor. Accounts for the effect of VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00476 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 467 Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA § 610.14 length and steepness of slope on ero sion based on 4 tables reflecting the re lationship of rill to interrill erosion. (5) C is the cover and management factor. Estimates the soil loss ratio at one-half month intervals throughout the year, accounting for the individual effects of prior land use, crop canopy, surface cover, surface roughness, and soil moisture. (6) P is the support practice factor. Accounts for the effect of conservation support practices, such as cross-slope farming, stripcropping, buffer strips, and terraces on soil erosion. § 610.13 Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion. (a) The equation for predicting soil loss due to wind in the Wind Erosion Equation (WEQ) is E = f(IKCLV). (For further information on WEQ see the paper by N.P. Woodruff and F.H. Siddaway, 1965. ‘‘A Wind Erosion Equa tion,’’ Soil Science Society of America Proceedings, Vol. 29, No. 5, pages 602– 608, which is available from the Amer ican Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin. In addition, the use of the WEQ in NRCS is explained in the Nat ural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Agronomy Manual, 190-V-NAM, second ed., Part 502, March, 1988, which is available from the NRCS, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013.) (b) [Reserved] (c) The factors in the WEQ equation are defined as follows: (1) E is the estimation of the average annual soil loss in tons per acre. (2) f indicates the equation includes functional relationships that are not straight-line mathematical calcula tions. (3) I is the soil erodibility index. It is the potential for soil loss from a wide, level, unsheltered, isolated field with a bare, smooth, loose and uncrusted sur face. Soil erodibility is based on soil surface texture, calcium carbonate content, and percent day. (4) K is the ridge roughness factor. It is a measure of the effect of ridges formed by tillage and planting imple ments on wind erosion. The ridge roughness is based on ridge spacing, height, and erosive wind directions in relation to the ridge direction (5) C is the climatic factor. It is a measure of the erosive potential of the wind speed and surface moisture at a given location compared with the same factors at Garden City, Kansas. The an nual climatic factor at Garden City is arbitrarily set at 100. All climatic fac tor values are expressed as a percent age of that at Garden City. (6) L is the unsheltered distance. It is the unsheltered distance across an erodible field, measured along the pre vailing wind erosion direction. This distance is measured beginning at a stable border on the upwind side and continuing downward to the nonerod ible or stable area, or to the downwind edge of the area being evaluated. (7) V is the vegetative cover factor. It accounts for the kind, amount, and ori entation of growing plants or plant res idue on the soil surface. § 610.14 Use of USLE, RUSLE, and WEQ. (a) All Highly Erodible Land (HEL) determinations are based on the for mulas set forth in 7 CFR § 12.21 using some of the factors from the USLE and WEQ and the factor values that were contained in the local Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) as of January 1, 1990. In addition, this includes the soil loss tolerance values used in those formulas for determining HEL. The soil loss tolerance value is used as one of the criteria for planning soil conserva tion systems. These values are avail able in the FOTG in the local field of fice of the Natural Resources Conserva tion Service. (b) RUSLE will be used to: (1)(i) Evaluate the soil loss estimates of conservation systems contained in the FOTG. (ii) Evaluate the soil loss estimates of systems actually applied, where those systems were applied differently than specified in the conservation plan adopted by the producer or where a conservation plan was not developed, in determining whether a producer has complied with the HEL conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq., set forth in 7 CFR part 12; and (2) Develop new or revised conserva tion plans. VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00477 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 468 7 CFR Ch. VI (1–1–23 Edition) § 610.21 Subpart C—State Technical Committees SOURCE: 74 FR 66912, Dec. 17, 2009, unless otherwise noted. § 610.21 Purpose and scope. This subpart sets forth the proce dures for establishing and using the ad vice of State Technical Committees. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will establish in each State a Technical Committee to assist in making recommendations relating to the implementation and technical aspects of natural resource conserva tion activities and programs. The De partment of Agriculture (USDA) will use State Technical Committees in an advisory capacity in the administra tion of certain conservation programs and initiatives. Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 3862(d), these State Technical Commit tees and Local Working Groups are ex empt from the provisions of the Fed eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2). § 610.22 State Technical Committee membership. (a) State Technical Committees will include agricultural producers, non industrial private forest land owners, and other professionals who represent a variety of disciplines in soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences. The State Conservationist in each State will serve as chairperson. The State Technical Committee for each State will include representatives from among the following, if willing to serve: (1) NRCS, USDA; (2) Farm Service Agency, USDA; (3) State Farm Service Agency Com mittee, USDA; (4) Forest Service, USDA; (5) National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA; (6) Each of the Federally recognized Indian Tribes in the State; (7) State departments and agencies within the State, including the: (i) Fish and wildlife agency; (ii) Forestry agency; (iii) Water resources agency; (iv) Department of agriculture; (v) Association of soil and water con servation districts; and (vi) Soil and water conservation agency; (8) Agricultural producers rep resenting the variety of crops and live stock or poultry raised within the State; (9) Owners of nonindustrial private forest land; (10) Nonprofit organizations, within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, with de monstrable conservation expertise and experience working with agriculture producers in the State; (11) Agribusiness; and (12) The State Cooperative Extension Service and land grant universities in the State. (b) The State Conservationist will in vite other relevant Federal, State, and regional agencies, organizations, and persons knowledgeable about economic and environmental impacts of natural resource conservation techniques and programs to participate as needed. (c) To ensure that recommendations of State Technical Committees take into account the needs of the diverse groups served by USDA, membership will include, to the extent practicable, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent the conservation and re lated technical concerns of particular historically underserved groups and in dividuals; i.e., minorities, women, per sons with disabilities, socially and eco nomically disadvantaged groups, and beginning farmers and ranchers. (d) In accordance with the guidelines in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, it is the responsibility of the State Conservationist to seek a bal anced representation of interests among the membership on the State Technical Committee. Individuals or groups wanting to participate on a State Technical Committee within a specific State may submit a request to the State Conservationist that explains their interest and outlines their cre dentials which they believe are rel evant to becoming a member. Deci sions regarding membership are at the discretion of the State Conservationist. State Conservationist decisions on VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00478 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 469 Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA § 610.24 membership are final and not appeal able to any other individual or group within USDA. [74 FR 66912, Dec. 17, 2009, as amended at 84 FR 19702, May 6, 2019] § 610.23 State Technical Committee meetings. (a) The State Conservationist, as Chairperson, schedules and conducts the meetings, although a meeting may be requested by any USDA agency or State Technical Committee member. (b) NRCS will establish and maintain national standard operating procedures governing the operation of State Tech nical Committees and Local Working Groups in its directive system. The standard operating procedures will out line items such as: The best practice approach to establishing, organizing, and effectively utilizing State Tech nical Committees and Local Working Groups; direction on publication of State Technical Committee and Local Working Group meeting notices and agendas; State Technical Committee meeting summaries; how to provide feedback on State Conservationist de cisions regarding State Technical Com mittee recommendations; and other items as determined by the Chief. (c) In addition to the standard oper ating procedures established under paragraph (b) of this section, the State Conservationist will provide public no tice and allow public attendance at State Technical Committee and Local Working Group meetings. The State Conservationist will publish a meeting notice no later than 14 calendar days prior to a State Technical Committee meeting. Notification may exceed this 14-day minimum where State open meeting laws exist and provide for a longer notification period. This min imum 14-day notice requirement may be waived in the case of exceptional conditions, as determined by the State Conservationist. The State Conserva tionist will publish this notice in at least one or more newspaper(s), includ ing recommended Tribal publications, to attain statewide circulation. § 610.24 Responsibilities of State Tech nical Committees. (a) Each State Technical Committee established under this subpart will meet on a regular basis, as determined by the State Conservationist, to pro vide information, analysis, and rec ommendations to appropriate officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) who are charged with imple menting and establishing priorities and criteria for natural resources conserva tion activities and programs under Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 including, but not limited to, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Conservation Reserve Pro gram, Conservation Security Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Pro gram, Conservation Innovation Grants, Conservation of Private Grazing Land, Grassroots Source Water Protection Program, the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The members of the State Technical Committee may also provide input on other natural resource con servation programs and issues as may be requested by NRCS or other USDA agency heads at the State level as long as they are within the programs au thorized by Title XII. Such rec ommendations may include, but are not limited to, recommendations on: (1) The criteria to be used in prioritizing program applications; (2) The State-specific application cri teria; (3) Priority natural resource con cerns in the State; (4) Emerging natural resource con cerns and program needs; and (5) Conservation practice standards and specifications. (b) The role of the State Technical Committee is advisory in nature, and the committee will have no implemen tation or enforcement authority. The implementing agency reserves the au thority to accept or reject the commit tee’s recommendations. However, the implementing USDA agency will give strong consideration to the State Tech nical Committee’s recommendations. (c) State Technical Committees will review whether Local Working Groups are addressing State priorities. [74 FR 66912, Dec. 17, 2009, as amended at 79 FR 44639, Aug. 1, 2014] VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00479 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 470 7 CFR Ch. VI (1–1–23 Edition) § 610.25 § 610.25 Subcommittees and Local Working Groups. (a) Subcommittees. In some situations, specialized subcommittees, made up of State Technical Committee members, may be needed to analyze and examine specific issues. The State Conserva tionist may assemble certain members, including members of Local Working Groups and other knowledgeable indi viduals, to discuss, examine, and focus on a particular technical or pro grammatic topic. The subcommittee may seek public participation, but it is not required to do so. Nevertheless, recommendations resulting from these subcommittee sessions, other than ses sions of Local Working Groups, will be made only in a general session of the State Technical Committee where the public is notified and invited to attend. Decisions resulting from recommenda tions of Local Working Groups will be communicated to NRCS in accordance with the standard operating procedures described in § 610.23(b). (b) Local Working Groups. (1) Local Working Groups will be composed of conservation district officials, agricul tural producers representing the vari ety of crops and livestock or poultry raised within the local area, nonindus trial private forest land owners, and other professionals representing rel evant agricultural and conservation in terests and a variety of disciplines in the soil, water, plant, wetland, and wildlife sciences who are familiar with private land agricultural and natural resource issues in the local commu nity; (2) Local Working Groups will pro vide recommendations on local natural resource priorities and criteria for con servation activities and programs; and (3) Local Working Groups will follow the standard operating procedures de scribed in § 610.23(b). Subpart D—Conservation of Private Grazing Land SOURCE: 67 FR 68497, Nov. 12, 2002, unless otherwise noted. § 610.31 Purpose and scope. (a) This subpart sets forth the poli cies for the Conservation of Private Grazing Land (CPGL) Program, as au thorized by Section 386 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, (Pub. L. 104–127, April 4, 1996) 16 U.S.C. 2005b. Under the CPGL Program, NRCS will provide technical assistance to landowners and managers who request assistance based on lo cally-established priorities and re source concerns. The purpose of the CPGL Program is to provide technical assistance to private grazing land own ers and managers to voluntarily con serve or enhance grazing land resources to meet ecological, economic, and so cial demands. (b) The term ‘‘private grazing land’’ means private, State-owned, tribally owned, and any other non-federally owned rangeland, pastureland, grazed forestland, hayland, and other lands used for grazing. (c) The NRCS Chief may implement the CPGL Program in any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Com monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. NRCS will provide assistance in cooperation with conservation dis tricts, or directly to a landowner or op erator. § 610.32 Technical assistance fur nished. (a) Provide technical assistance to grazing-land owners and managers to plan and implement resource conserva tion on grazing land. The objective of planning on grazing land is to assist landowners and managers in under standing the basic ecological principles associated with managing their land. This objective can be met by imple menting a plan that meets the needs of the resources (soil, water, air, plants, and animals) and management objec tives of the owner or manager. NRCS may provide assistance, at the request of the private grazing-land owner or manager to: (1) Maintain and improve private grazing land resources that provide multiple benefits; (2) Ensure the long-term sustain ability of private grazing land re sources; (3) Implement new grazing land man agement technologies; VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00480 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B 471 Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA § 611.11 (4) Manage resources on private graz ing land through conservation plan ning, including, but not limited to; grazing management, nutrient manage ment, and weed and invasive species control; (5) Maintain and improve water qual ity and quantity, aquatic and wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and aesthetics on private grazing land; (6) Harvest, process, and market pri vate grazing land resources; and (7) Identify opportunities to diversify private grazing land enterprises. (b) Refer to 7 CFR 610.4 on other items relating to technical assistance. (c) To receive technical assistance, a landowner or manager may contact NRCS or the local conservation district to seek assistance to solve identified natural resource problems or opportu nities. Participation in this program is voluntary. PART 611—SOIL SURVEYS Subpart A—General Sec. 611.1 Purpose and scope. 611.2 Cooperative relationships. Subpart B—Soil Survey Operations 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. 611.11 Soil survey information. Subpart C—Cartographic Operations 611.20 Function. 611.21 Availability of aerial photography. 611.22 Availability of satellite imagery. AUTHORITY: 16 U.S.C. 590a–590f, 590q, 42 U.S.C. 3271–3274. SOURCE: 69 FR 60283, Oct. 8, 2004, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—General § 611.1 Purpose and scope. (a) This part sets forth policy on soil survey operations of the Natural Re sources Conservation Service (NRCS). (b) NRCS is responsible for soil sur vey activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A soil survey provides: (1) An orderly, on-the-ground, sci entific inventory of soil resources ac cording to their potentialities and problems of use; and (2) Information about each kind of soil in sufficient detail to meet all rea sonable needs of farmers, agricultural technicians, community planners, en gineers, and scientists in planning and transferring the findings of research and experience to specific land areas. § 611.2 Cooperative relationships. (a) Soil surveys on nonfederal lands are carried out cooperatively with State agricultural experiment stations and other State agencies. The coopera tive effort is evidenced in a memo randum of understanding setting forth guidelines for actions to be taken by each cooperating party in the perform ance of soil surveys. Similar coopera tive arrangements exist between NRCS and other Federal agencies for soil sur veys on Federal lands. (b) Arrangements for nonfederal fi nancial participation in the cost of soil surveys may be made with States, counties, soil conservation districts, planning agencies, and other local groups. Subpart B—Soil Survey Operations § 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. (a) NRCS conducts soil surveys under national standards and guidelines for naming, classifying, and interpreting soils and for disseminating soil survey information. (b) A soil survey Memorandum of Un derstanding (MOU) is prepared prior to the start of each soil survey project, or a work plan is prepared for soil survey maintenance activities. These docu ments provide specific details and tech nical specifications to support the in terpretive and data needs of the area to be surveyed. The MOU is signed by rep resentatives of NRCS, land grant uni versities, and in some States represent atives of other State agencies. Federal land administering agencies also sign the MOU if federal lands are included in the survey. § 611.11 Soil survey information. (a) Availability. NRCS disseminates soil survey information to the public by any of the means described in para graph (d) of this section. NRCS makes soil survey information available as VerDate Sep<11>2014 09:51 Apr 04, 2023 Jkt 259017 PO 00000 Frm 00481 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Q:\07\7V6.TXT PC31aw or le y on L A P 50 LW 1R 2 w ith $ $ JO B