[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27519-27520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-12526]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service


Notice of Availability of Finding of No Significant Impact and 
Environmental Assessment for the Environmental Quality Incentives 
Program

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has prepared 
a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, to implement the Environmental Quality 
Incentives Program, which is authorized by 16 U.S.C. 3839aa. Upon 
review of the analysis of potential environmental impacts from a 
national perspective, the Chief of NRCS found that the program would 
not result in a significant impact on the quality of the human 
environment, particularly when focusing on the significant adverse 
impacts that NEPA is intended to help decision-makers avoid and 
mitigate against. Therefore, a FONSI was issued, and no environmental 
impact statement is required for national implementation of the 
program.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments on the EA and FONSI must be 
postmarked on or before June 19, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Charles Whitmore, Acting Director, 
Conservation Operations Division, NRCS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
P.O. Box 2890, Room 6034-S, Washington, DC 20013-2890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the FONSI, the Final EA, or 
additional information on matters related to this Federal Register 
Notice can be obtained by contacting one of the following individuals 
at the addresses and telephone numbers shown below:
    Mr. Anthony Esser, Environmental Quality Incentives Program 
Manager, Conservation Operations Division, NRCS, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, P.O. Box 2890, Room 6039-S, Washington, DC 20013-2890, 
Telephone: (202) 720-1840. Ms. Andr[eacute]e DuVarney, National 
Environmental Specialist, Ecological Sciences Division, NRCS, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 2890, Room 6158-S, Washington, DC 
20013-2890, Telephone: (202) 720-4925.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Description of the Proposed Action

    The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary 
program providing technical and financial assistance to agricultural 
producers for planning and implementing natural resource conservation 
practices on their farms and ranches. The purposes of EQIP, as amended 
by the 2002 Act, are to promote agricultural production and 
environmental quality as compatible national goals, and to optimize 
environmental benefits. The need to which NRCS is responding by 
proposing action is the need to implement EQIP as amended by the 2002 
Act in a manner that achieves the purposes for which Congress 
authorized EQIP, including:
    1. Assisting producers to comply with local, State, and national 
regulatory requirements concerning soil, water, and air quality; 
wildlife habitat; and surface and groundwater conservation;
    2. Assisting producers to address national, State, Tribal, and 
local resource concerns so that there is no need for resource and 
regulatory programs;
    3. Providing flexible assistance to producers to install and 
maintain conservation practices that enhance soil, water, related 
natural resources (including grazing lands and wetlands), and wildlife, 
while sustaining production of food and fiber; and
    4. Assisting producers to make beneficial, cost-effective changes 
to cropping systems, grazing management, nutrient management associated 
with livestock, pest or irrigation management, or other practices on 
agricultural land.

[[Page 27520]]

Alternatives Analyzed

    The allocation of EQIP funds is the only major program decision 
made at the national level that has an impact on the quality of the 
human environment because of the authority and flexibility that must be 
given to the NRCS State Conservationists to meet the program purposes, 
and because funding affects where practices will be implemented. NRCS 
considered three alternatives describing ways to allocate EQIP funds to 
the States, including allocating EQIP funds based on a national 
allocation formula, allocating EQIP funds in equal amounts to all 
States, or a no action alternative. The 2002 Act authorized the 
expenditure of additional, separate funds for promotion of ground and 
surface water conservation, so a separate set of alternatives addressed 
allocation of those funds, including allocating Ground and Surface 
Water Conservation (GSWC) funds based on an annual national evaluation 
of critical ground and surface water conservation needs, allocating the 
GSWC funds in equal amounts to all States, or a no action alternative.
    The EA describes potential impacts associated with the alternatives 
described. The alternatives did not directly result in impacts to the 
quality of the human environment, but they do have an indirect effect 
on the geographic location of acres treated by EQIP funded conservation 
practices. The discussion under each alternative focused on the effects 
that the decision alternatives would have on where conservation 
practices would most likely be implemented. NRCS developed network 
diagrams depicting the chain of natural resource effects resulting from 
the application of each practice. Based on the analysis, NRCS 
determined that the use of a national allocation formula best ensured 
that funds were distributed in a manner that environmental benefits are 
optimized, and States and Territories with the most significant 
environmental and natural resource concerns can effectively address 
national conservation priorities.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    Upon review of the analysis of potential environmental impacts 
associated with the selected alternatives, the Chief of NRCS found 
that, from a national perspective, the program would not result in a 
significant impact on the quality of the human environment, 
particularly when focusing on the significant adverse impacts that NEPA 
is intended to help decision-makers avoid and mitigate against. Because 
of the potential to affect one type of resource while improving the 
condition of another resource, there may, at times, be minimal site-
specific adverse environmental effects, individually or cumulatively. 
As in the past administration of EQIP, NRCS will continue to prepare 
documentation of an environmental evaluation on a site-specific level, 
and will consult with the appropriate entities to avoid, reduce, or 
mitigate adverse impacts on protected resources. NRCS will also comply 
with requirements protecting unique geographic features and other 
resources, as well as policies protecting natural resources. To the 
extent that other NRCS EQIP activities may result in significant 
effects to the quality of the human environment, a State or area-wide 
EA or Environmental Impact Statement may be prepared separately from 
the National EA. Therefore, a FONSI was issued and no environmental 
impact statement is required to support national implementation of the 
program.
    Copies of the EA and FONSI may be reviewed at the following 
location: Conservation Operations Division, NRCS, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Room 5227-S, Washington, DC 20013-2890. The documents may 
also be accessed on the Internet, at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EnvAssess/EQIP/EQIP.html.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2003.
Bruce I. Knight,
Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 03-12526 Filed 5-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P