Natural Resources Conservation Service August 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given of the intention of NRCS to issue a series of revised conservation practice standards in the National Handbook of Conservation Practices. These standards include: Aquaculture Ponds (Code 397), Contour Orchard and Other Perennial Crops (Code 331), Forage and Biomass Planting (Code 512), Forest Trails and Landings (Code 655), Heavy Use Area Protection (Code 561), Herbaceous Wind Barriers (Code 603), Integrated Pest Management (Code 595), Obstruction Removal (Code 500), Pumping Plant (Code 533), Sediment Basin (Code 350), Spoil Spreading (Code 572), Trail and Walkways (Code 568), and Vegetative Barrier (Code 601). Notice is also hereby given of the rescission of Prescribed Forestry (Code 409), effective October 1, 2009. NRCS State Conservationists who choose to adopt these practices for use within their States will incorporate them into section IV of their respective electronic Field Office Technical Guides. These practices may be used in conservation systems that treat highly erodible land (HEL) or on land determined to be a wetland. Section 343 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, requires NRCS to make available for public review and comment, all proposed revisions to conservation practice standards used to carry out HEL and wetland provisions of the law.

The Agricultural Air Quality Task Force (AAQTF) will meet to continue discussions on air quality issues relating to agriculture.

On June 12, 2009, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) published in the Federal Register a notice for the purpose of: (1) Notifying the public about the results of NRCS compliance with section 1242(h) of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended; and (2) to solicit public comment about how to improve agency conservation practice standards. The public comment period closed on August 11, 2009. NRCS is hereby reopening the public comment period and amending the closing date September 14, 2009 to ensure the agency has received comments from a broad segment of the agriculture sector.

It has been determined by the NRCS State Conservationist for Virginia that changes must be made in the NRCS State Technical Guide specifically in practice standards: 356, Dike; 378, Pond; 402, Dam; 554, Draining Water Management; 587, Structure for Water Control; and 606, Subsurface Drain. These practices will be used to plan and install conservation practices on cropland, pastureland, woodland, and wildlife land.