Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 10, January 15, 2009, Pages 2293-2756 Page: 2,313

                                
Federal Register/Vol. 74, No. 10/Thursday, January 15, 2009/Rules and Regulations

treatment facility, the participant must
agree to develop and implement a
CNMP or demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the designated conservationist that a
CNMP has been implemented.
(e) If an EQIP plan of operations
addresses forestland, the participant
must develop and implement a forest
management plan.
(f) A participant may receive
assistance to implement an EQIP plan of
operations for water conservation only if
the assistance will facilitate a reduction
in ground and surface water use on the
agricultural operation, unless the
producer is participating in a
watershed-wide project, as approved by
the State Conservationist, which will
effectively conserve water in accordance
with  1466.20.
3. In subpart B,  1466.10 through
1466.26 are revised to read as follows.
Subpart B-Contracts and Payments
Sec.
1466.10 Conservation practices.
1466.11 Technical services provided by
qualified personnel not affiliated with
USDA.
1466.20 Application for contracts and
selecting applications.
1466.21 Contracts requirements.
1466.22 Conservation practice operation
and maintenance.
1466.23 Payment rates.
1466.24 EQIP payments.
1466.25 Contract modifications and
transfers of land.
1466.26 Contract violations and
terminations.
 1466.10 Conservation practices.
(a) NRCS will determine the
conservation practices for which
participants may receive program
payments. A list of eligible practices
will be available to the public.
(b) Payments will not be made to a
participant for a conservation practice
that either the applicant or another
producer has applied prior to
application for the program. Payments
will not be made for a conservation
practice that has been initiated or
implemented prior to contract approval,
unless a waiver was granted by the State
Conservationist or designated
conservationist prior to the practice
implementation.
(c) A participant will be eligible for
payments for water conservation and
irrigation related conservation practices
only on land that has been irrigated for
two of the last five years prior to
application for assistance.
(d) Where new technologies or
management approaches that provide a
high potential for optimizing

environmental benefits have been

developed, NRCS may approve interim
conservation practice standards that
incorporate the new technologies and
provide financial assistance for pilot
work to evaluate and assess the
performance, efficiency, and
effectiveness of the new technology or
management approach.
 1466.11 Technical services provided by
qualified personnel not affiliated with
USDA.
(a) NRCS may use the services of
qualified TSPs in performing its
responsibilities for technical assistance.
(b) Participants may use technical
services from qualified personnel of
other Federal, State, and local agencies,
Indian Tribes, or individuals who are
certified as TSPs by NRCS.
(c) Technical services provided by
qualified personnel not affiliated with
USDA may include, but are not limited
to: conservation planning; conservation
practice survey, layout, design,
installation, and certification; and
information; education; and training for
producers.
(d) NRCS retains approval authority of
work done by non-NRCS personnel for
the purpose of approving EQIP
payments.
 1466.20 Application for contracts and
selecting applications.
(a) In evaluating EQIP applications,
the State Conservationist or designated
conservationist, with advice from the
State Technical Committee or local
working group, takes into account the
following guidelines:
(1) Any producer who has eligible
land may submit an application for
participation in EQIP. Applications are
accepted throughout the year. Producers
who are members of a joint operation
may file a single application for the joint
operation.
(2) The State Conservationist, to the
greatest extent practicable, will group
applications of similar crop, forestry,
and livestock operations for evaluation
purposes.
(3) The State Conservationist will
evaluate applications within each
established grouping.
(b) In selecting EQIP applications, the
State Conservationist or designated
conservationist, with advice from the
State Technical Committee or local
working group, may establish ranking
pools to address a specific resource
concern, geographic area, or agricultural
operation type or develop a ranking
process to prioritize applications for
funding that address national, State, and
local priority resource concerns, taking
into account the following guidelines:
(1) The State Conservationist or

designated conservationist will

periodically select the highest ranked
applications for funding based on
applicant eligibility, fund availability,
and the NRCS ranking process. The
State Conservationist or designated
conservationist will rank all
applications according to the following
factors:
(i) The degree of cost-effectiveness of
the proposed conservation practices;
(ii) The magnitude of the expected
environmental benefits resulting from
the conservation treatment and the
priority of the resource concerns that
have been identified at the local, State,
and national levels;
(iii) How effectively and
comprehensively the project addresses
the designated resource concern or
resource concerns;
(iv) Use of conservation practices that
provide long-term environmental
enhancements;
(v) Compliance with Federal, State,
Tribal, or local regulatory requirements
concerning soil, water and air quality;
wildlife habitat; and ground and surface
water conservation;
(vi) Willingness of the applicant to
complete all conservation practices in
an expedited manner;
(vii) The ability to improve existing
conservation practices or systems,
which are in place at the time the
application is accepted, or that complete
a conservation system;
(viii) Other locally defined pertinent
factors, such as the location of the
conservation practice, the extent of
natural resource degradation, and the
degree of cooperation by local producers
to achieve environmental
improvements.
(2) For applications that include water
conservation or irrigation efficiency
practices, the State Conservationist will
give priority to those applications
where:
(i) Consistent with State law in which
the producer's eligible land is located,
there is a reduction in water use in the
agricultural operation, or where the
producer agrees not to use any
associated water savings to bring new
land under irrigation production, other
than incidental land needed for efficient
operations.
(ii) A producer who brings new land
under irrigated production may be
excluded from this latter condition if
the producer is participating in a
watershed-wide project that will
effectively conserve water. The State
Conservationist will designate eligible
watershed-wide projects that effectively
conserve water, using the following

criteria:

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