[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76952-76955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29983]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Farm Service Agency
Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement for the Conservation Reserve Program
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Service Agency, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA); request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Farm Service Agency (FSA), on
behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), completed a Final
Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final SPEIS)
that examined the potential environmental consequences associated with
implementing the changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
specified in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill), and will
assist in developing new regulations. FSA is requesting comments on the
Final SPEIS.
DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by February, 15, 2015.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on the Final SPEIS. In your
comments, include the volume, date, and page number of this issue of
the Federal Register. You may submit comments by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow online instructions for submitting
comments.
E-Mail: [email protected].
Online: Go to the Web site at http://crpspeis.com. Follow
online instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: (757) 594-1469.
Mail, hand delivery, or courier: CRP SPEIS, C/O Cardno,
501 Butler Farm Road, Suite H, Hampton, VA 23666.
A copy of the Final SPEIS is available through the FSA homepage:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ecrc&topic=nep-cd.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nell Fuller, (202) 720-6303. Persons
with disabilities who require alternative means for communication
(Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact
[[Page 76953]]
the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA,
42 U.S. C. 4321-4347) provides a means for the public to provide input
on alternatives and environmental concerns for Federal programs or
actions. The CRP Final SPEIS was completed as required by NEPA, the
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the
Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and FSA's NEPA
regulations for compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part 799). FSA provided
notice of its intent (NOI) to prepare the CRP SPEIS in the Federal
Register on November 29, 2013 (78 FR 71561-71562), and solicited public
comment on the preliminary alternatives for analyzing changes to CRP
required by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Draft SPEIS public comment period
began with a Notice of Availability (NOA) published in the Federal
Register on July 15, 2014 (79 FR 41247-41249); some changes made to the
SPEIS resulted from FSA analysis of those public comments.
In accordance with the 2014 Farm Bill, FSA plans to consolidate a
number of conservation programs, which will have the effect of
simplifying the programs, reducing overlapping goals, and reducing
overall budgets. Moreover, many of the changes to CRP from the 2014
Farm Bill are administrative in nature, would not result in major
changes to the current administration of CRP, or have been addressed in
previous NEPA documentation concerning CRP. These changes do not
require further analysis in the SPEIS. Those changes, and the
justification for eliminating them from analysis, include the
following, each of which is discussed below:
Maximum enrollment authority;
Farmable Wetlands Program enrollment changes;
Tree thinning payments;
Early termination of contracts;
Managed harvesting and routine grazing payment reduction;
Transition option funding;
Prescribed grazing frequency; and,
Intermittent and seasonal use of vegetative buffers.
Maximum Enrollment Authority
The maximum enrollment authority will be gradually reduced to 24
million acres by 2017, as required by the 2014 Farm Bill. The ``2010
Conservation Reserve Program Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement'' (referred to as the 2010 CRP SEIS) analyzed an alternative
to reduce the enrollment authority to 24 million acres; therefore, that
analysis is incorporated by reference.
Farmable Wetland Program Enrollment Changes
The change in the 2014 Farm Bill to reduce the maximum enrollment
authority to 750,000 acres nationally (from 1 million) would still
allow for up to approximately 410,000 acres of farmable wetlands to be
enrolled in the Farmable Wetland Program. The mandated reduction in
enrollment is not required to be analyzed since there is no discretion
for any other level. Additionally, the mandatory reduction is not
expected to affect actual enrollment, as historically enrollment has
been well below the cap.
Tree Thinning Payments
The payment authority for tree thinning activities was reduced to
$10 million and incentive payments are allowed. However, the 2014 Farm
Bill change allows FSA to incentivize owners and operators to conduct
other practices and utilize management tools that would promote forest
management, enhance the overall health of tree stands, improve the
condition of resources, or provide valuable habitat for wildlife. Less
than $50,000 in payments has been provided for tree thinning activities
since the enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
(Pub. L. 110-246, commonly referred to as the 2008 Farm Bill). The
reduction in funding available for tree thinning activities would not
represent a real change in current use of the funds and does not
require further analysis.
Early Termination of Contracts
As provided in the 2014 Farm Bill, the early termination provision
of CRP that previously applied only to contracts entered into before
January 1, 1995, will be modified to apply, only during fiscal year
2015, to allow CRP participants to elect early termination of certain
CRP contracts, provided the contract has been in place for at least 5
years. The 2014 Farm Bill mandates providing an opportunity for the
early termination of CRP contracts, if certain criteria are met; FSA
does not have any discretion whether to implement that change.
Therefore, this change does not require further NEPA analysis. FSA
estimates that approximately 3 million acres would be eligible for
early termination under the provision.
Managed Harvesting and Routine Grazing Payment Reduction
As required by the 2014 Farm Bill, a rental payment reduction of at
least 25 percent for managed harvesting or routine grazing must be
assessed. This change clarifies the existing administrative procedure
related to these practices. A payment reduction of 25 percent was
evaluated in the 2010 CRP SEIS; that analysis is incorporated by
reference. Therefore, these changes do not require further analysis in
the SPEIS.
Transition Option Funding
As specified in the 2014 Farm Bill, the funding authority to
encourage the transfer of land from a retiring farmer or rancher to a
beginning farmer or rancher, or to a socially disadvantaged farmer or
rancher, would be increased to $33 million and would expand the
eligibility to include farmers or ranchers who are military veterans
(as defined in the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of
1990, Pub. L. 101-624 (commonly referred to as the 1990 Farm Bill)).
This is a non-discretionary, administrative change and does not require
further analysis in this SPEIS.
Prescribed Grazing Frequency
FSA allows annual prescribed grazing for control of invasive
plants. The 2010 CRP SEIS evaluated the impacts of prescribed grazing
in compliance with a grazing plan, which is part of the Conservation
Plan that includes frequency, timing, stocking rates, and type of
grazing animal. That analysis is incorporated by reference. The 2014
Farm Bill provides clarification that such grazing can occur as
determined in consultation with the State Technical Committee; this
change does not require further analysis.
Intermittent and Seasonal Use of Vegetative Buffers
The 2014 Farm Bill allows for the intermittent and seasonal use of
vegetative buffer practices incidental to agricultural production on
lands adjacent to the buffer provided this use does not destroy the
permanent vegetative cover. This is an activity that already occurs
under the current administration of the program and is referred to as
``incidental grazing.'' The 2014 Farm Bill clarifies this existing
administrative procedure. This section was included as a result of
agency and public comments.
Alternatives
Many provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill are non-discretionary,
meaning that implementation is mandatory and specifically required by
to be implemented. As FSA has no decision-making authority over these
non-discretionary aspects of the 2014 Farm
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Bill, they are assessed in the Final SPEIS as part of the No Action
Alternative.
Other provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill provide overall guidance for
CRP, but FSA has some discretion in how to implement those provisions.
These discretionary aspects of the 2014 Farm Bill form the Proposed
Action. In addition, FSA proposes to implement additional discretionary
measures for targeting enrollment of environmentally sensitive lands
and to expand the flexibility of emergency haying and grazing in
drought-designated areas to provide necessary support to producers and
ranchers during difficult times. The Final SPEIS assesses the following
alternatives: The No Action Alternative and the Proposed Action.
No Action Alternative
The No Action Alternative includes the following, each of which is
discussed below:
Grasslands eligibility and authorized activities;
Enrollment in new program during final year of contract;
and
Emergency haying and grazing payment reduction.
Grasslands Eligibility and Authorized Activities
The 2014 Farm Bill makes grasslands, which would have been
previously eligible for the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP), eligible
for enrollment in CRP. The eligibility of grasslands and authorized
activities are the same as those previously defined for GRP. Grasslands
enrollment would be limited to no more than 2 million acres at any
given time and would count against the total CRP maximum enrollment
authority. Enrollment would occur through Continuous Sign-up.
Grasslands would be enrolled in 10- or 15-year contracts like other CRP
acreage. Certain authorized activities on grasslands would differ from
other CRP lands and include:
Common grazing practices;
Haying, mowing, or harvesting for seed production;
Fire suppression, fire-related rehabilitation, and
construction of fire breaks; and
Grazing-related activities, such as fencing and livestock
watering.
Enrollment in New Program During the Final Year of the Contract
In accordance with the 2014 Farm Bill, FSA will allow a CRP
participant to enroll expiring CRP land into the Conservation
Stewardship Program during the year prior to the expiration of the
contract. FSA encourages agricultural and forestry producers to address
resource concerns by undertaking additional conservation activities and
improving and maintaining existing conservation systems. FSA pays
participants for conservation performance--the higher the performance,
the higher the payment. Land is enrolled in 5 year contracts through
Continuous Sign-up. A stipulation in the 2014 Farm Bill would allow
expiring CRP land to be enrolled in a new program, the Agricultural
Conservation Easement Program, without violation of the CRP contract.
In general, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program combines the
purposes of the Wetlands Reserve Program, the GRP, and the Farm and
Ranchlands Protection Program by enrolling land in long-term or
permanent easements.
Emergency Haying and Grazing Payment Reduction
As specified in the 2014 Farm Bill, harvesting, grazing, or other
commercial use of the forage in response to a drought, flooding, or
other emergency is authorized without any reduction in the rental rate.
Under existing CRP rules, generally a 25 percent payment reduction is
assessed for lands grazed or hayed during droughts or other
emergencies. In response to worsening drought conditions in recent
years, the rental payment reduction was reduced to 10 percent in 2012
and 2013. Removing the payment reduction for emergency haying and
grazing is mandated in the 2014 Farm Bill and is therefore assessed as
part of the No Action Alternative.
Proposed Action Alternative
Some elements of the 2014 Farm Bill provide overall guidance, but
details of implementation are left to FSA's discretion. These
discretionary aspects of the 2014 Farm Bill form the Proposed Action
Alternative. In addition to the 2014 Farm Bill mandatory provisions,
FSA proposes to implement additional discretionary measures for
targeting enrollment of environmentally sensitive lands, increase
flexibility in managed harvesting and routine grazing frequencies, and
expand the flexibility of emergency haying and grazing in drought-
designated areas. The targeted enrollment provision has been revised in
response to agency and public comments. The components of the Proposed
Action include the following, each of which is discussed below:
Targeted enrollment;
Managed harvesting and routine grazing frequencies; and
Emergency haying and grazing on additional conservation
practices.
Targeted Enrollment
The 2014 Farm Bill reduces the maximum enrollment for CRP to 24
million acres by 2017. The reduced enrollment authority requires on FSA
to ensure enrolled land maximizes environmental benefits using
available funding. Historically, FSA has used Continuous Sign-ups to
target environmentally desirable lands through several initiatives and
programs. As of September 2014, there were over 4 million acres
enrolled under Continuous CRP.
The demand and need for conservation is increasing as budgetary and
statutory constraints have tightened, and as a result FSA has explored
alternative ways to enroll acres. To increase the environmental
benefits generated per Federal dollar spent, FSA could implement a
reverse auction when targeting enrollment for certain current or new
initiatives. A reverse auction is simply a process in which many
``sellers'' compete with each other for the attention of a single
``buyer'' who then selects the most attractive offers from them.
Appropriately developed, a limited reverse auction may motivate
producers to submit a bid near the minimum amount they are willing to
accept to enroll in CRP.
Managed Harvesting and Routine Grazing Frequencies
As specified in the 2014 Farm Bill, FSA continues to allow for
managed harvesting (hay or biomass) and routine grazing of CRP acres
provided that these activities are included in the Conservation Plan
and are consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality, and
wildlife habitat. Harvesting and grazing activities must still avoid
the Primary Nesting Season. The State Technical Committee must develop
appropriate vegetation management requirements and identify periods
during which the activities could occur such that the frequency is:
At least once every 5 years, but no more frequent than
once every 3 years for managed harvesting; and
Not more frequent than once every 2 years for routine
grazing.
Emergency Haying and Grazing on Additional Conservation Practices
The Proposed Action includes making additional conservation
practices that are currently ineligible for any type of haying or
grazing, eligible for emergency haying and grazing to provide support
to livestock producers during severe
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drought conditions. Allowing haying and grazing on the proposed
conservation practices in drought-designated areas would require
concurrence and approval by certain State or Federal agencies.
Public Involvement
The Final SPEIS provides a means for the public and any interested
parties to provide comments about the CRP changes analyzed in the
SPEIS. The Final SPEIS can be reviewed online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ecrc&topicnep-cd or at
http://crpspeis.com.
FSA received eight comments from Federal, state, and local
government agencies, as well as private organizations and members of
the concerned public in response to the NOI. The comments raised 55
individual issues covering a range of topics including legislation
changes, CRP maximum enrollment and acreages, regional differences in
haying and grazing impacts, lack of thorough environmental and
socioeconomic impact analysis in previous NEPA documentation, and CRP
funding policy. The comments were considered in developing the Proposed
Action and the SPEIS environmental consequences to ensure the concerns
were adequately addressed.
The NOA provided a summary of the changes to CRP, the Proposed
Action, and the No Action Alternative. Also included in the NOA was a
description of how to provide comments, as well as a list of the dates,
times, and locations of the public meetings that were held as a part of
the public involvement process. The information about where and when
those meeting were held are shown below in Table 1. FSA held 5 public
meetings to provide information and opportunities for discussing the
changes to CRP identified in the 2014 Farm Bill and analyzed in the
Draft SPEIS. The public meetings featured an Open House format, and
interested parties were invited to attend the meetings at any time
during the allotted timeframes. Posters and informational handouts as
well as FSA representatives were available for the duration of the
meetings to answer questions concerning the Draft CRP SPEIS.
Table 1--Public Meeting Dates, Times, and Locations.
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Date Time Location information
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July 21, 2014............... 6:00 p.m.-8:00 Hilton Garden Inn,
p.m. Spokane Airport, 9015
West SR Highway 2,
Spokane, Washington,
99224.
July 22, 2014............... 6:00 p.m.-8:00 Holiday Inn, Great Falls,
p.m. 1100 5th Street, South
Falls, Montana, 59405.
August 4, 2014.............. 6:00 p.m.-8:00 Plains Cotton Cooperative
p.m. Association, 3301 East
50th Street, Lubbock,
Texas, 79404.
August 5, 2014.............. 6:00 p.m.-8:00 Stillwater Library, 1107
p.m. S Duck Street,
Stillwater, Oklahoma,
74074.
August 6, 2014.............. 6:00 p.m.-8:00 Courtyard By Marriott and
p.m. Moorhead Area,
Conference Center, 1080
28th Avenue, South,
Moorhead, Minnesota,
56560.
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FSA received 18 comments during the comment period. Those 18
comments included 75 issues to be considered in the Final SPEIS. Table
2 provides a breakdown of the comments by category.
Table 2--Number of Comments Received by Category
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Number of
Comment category comments
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Alternative............................................... 1
Cumulative impacts........................................ 3
Early termination of contract............................. 2
Emergency haying and grazing.............................. 22
Farmable wetlands......................................... 1
Final year of contract.................................... 1
Grassland enrollment...................................... 14
Haying and grazing payment reduction...................... 1
Intermittent and seasonal use of buffer................... 1
Managed harvesting and routine grazing frequencies........ 11
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The comment summary report is included as an appendix in the CRP
SPEIS. The report provides additional detail on the Draft SPEIS comment
process, a copy of the NOA, copies of all public meeting materials, and
responses to all 75 substantive issues and how they were addressed in
the Final SPEIS.
Signed on December15, 2014.
Val Dolcini,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency, and Executive Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2014-29983 Filed 12-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P