[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12234-12235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4733]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 29, 2012 / 
Notices  

[[Page 12234]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Docket No. NRCS-2011-0026]


Changes in Hydric Soils Database Selection Criteria

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), United States 
Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of Changes to the National Soil Information System 
(NASIS) Database Selection Criteria for Hydric Soils of the United 
States.

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SUMMARY: The National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (NTCHS) has 
updated the criteria to select map units components for the hydric 
soils list. The former database selection criteria created to select 
soils that may meet the definition of hydric soils did not cover the 
full extent of what is included in the hydric soils definition. As 
required by 7 CFR section 12.31, NRCS is hereby providing notice of the 
changes to the selection criteria for hydric soils as set forth in the 
NTCHS publication ``Hydric Soils of the United States,'' Miscellaneous 
Publication 1491, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation 
Service, June 1991 (see also 60 FR 10349). These changes do not cause 
any hydric soils to be added or deleted from the list.

DATES: Submit comments on or before March 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments (identified by Docket Number NRCS-
2011-0026), which will be available to the public in their entirety, 
using any of the following methods:
     Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending comments 
electronically.
     Mail: Anetra Harbor, Policy Analyst, Department of 
Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, George Washington 
Carver Center Building 1-1112D, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, 
Maryland 20705.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Smith, NTCHS Chair, 
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil 
Survey Division, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 4246 South 
Building, Washington, DC 20250; Telephone: (202) 205-0346; Email: 
[email protected].
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication (Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact 
the USDA Target Center at: (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Hydric Soils List Development--New NASIS Database Selection Criteria

    The NTCHS has updated the criteria to select map units components 
for the hydric soils list. The former database selection criteria 
created to select soils that may meet the definition of hydric soils 
did not cover the full extent of what is included in the hydric soils 
definition. As required by 7 CFR section 12.31, NRCS is hereby 
providing notice of the changes to the selection criteria for hydric 
soils as set forth in the NTCHS publication ``Hydric Soils of the 
United States,'' Miscellaneous Publication 1491, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, June 1991 (see also 60 FR 
10349). These changes do not cause any hydric soils to be added or 
deleted from the list.
    Due to issues with database population, it was easier for a soil 
scientist to individually populate a field that identified those soil 
map unit components that meet the definition of hydric soils and which 
criterion or criteria the soil met rather than to auto-populate using 
the developed query. The list has evolved from a national list of 
hydric soil series that may be hydric to a comprehensive list of all 
map units that have at least one map unit component that is hydric. The 
list also provides information on what component is at least in part 
hydric and where it is located on the landscape. Since map unit 
components may consist of soil series that cross the hydric/non-hydric 
boundary, a map unit component listed as hydric may also include 
portions that are non-hydric. The updated criteria are as follows:
    (1) All Histels except Folistels and Histosols except Folists; or
    (2) Map unit components in Aquic suborders, great groups, or 
subgroups, Albolls suborder, Historthels great group, Histoturbels 
great group, or Andic, Cumulic, Pachic, or Vitrandic subgroups that:
    (a) Based on the range of characteristics for the soil series, will 
at least in part meet one or more Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in 
the United States, or
    (b) Show evidence that the soil meets the definition of a hydric 
soil;
    (3) Map unit components that are frequently ponded for long 
duration or very long duration during the growing season that:
    (a) Based on the range of characteristics for the soil series, will 
at least in part meet one or more Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in 
the United States, or
    (b) Show evidence that the soil meets the definition of a hydric 
soil; or
    (4) Map unit components that are frequently flooded for long 
duration or very long duration during the growing season that:
    (a) Based on the range of characteristics for the soil series, will 
at least in part meet one or more Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in 
the United States, or
    (b) Show evidence that the soils meet the definition of a hydric 
soil.

Glossary of Terms Used in Hydric Soils Criteria

    Anaerobic means a situation in which molecular oxygen is 
virtually absent from the environment.
    Artificial hydric soil means a soil that meets the definition of 
a hydric soil as a result of an artificially induced hydrologic 
regime and did not meet the definition before the artificial 
measures were applied.
    Drained means a condition in which ground or surface water has 
been removed by artificial means.
    Flooded means a condition in which the soil surface is 
temporarily covered with flowing water from any source, such as 
streams overflowing their banks, runoff from adjacent or surrounding 
slopes, inflow from the high tides, or any combination of sources.
    Frequently flooded, ponded, saturated: a frequency class in 
which flooding, ponding, or saturation is likely to occur often 
under usual weather conditions (more than 50 percent chance in any 
year, or more than 50 times in 100 years).
    Hydric soil means a soil that formed under conditions of 
saturation, flooding, or ponding

[[Page 12235]]

long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic 
conditions in the upper part. This definition includes soils that 
developed under anaerobic conditions in the upper part but no longer 
experience these conditions due to hydrologic alteration such as 
those hydric soils that have been artificially drained or protected 
(e.g., ditches or levees) (http://soils.usda.gov/use/hydric/intro.html).
    Long duration means a duration class in which inundation for a 
single event ranges from 7 days to 1 month.
    Map unit means a collection of areas defined and named the same 
in terms of their soil components or miscellaneous areas or both.
    Map unit components means the collection of soils and 
miscellaneous areas found within a map unit.
    Phase, map unit means a subdivision of a map unit based on 
features that affect its use and management (e.g., slope, surface 
texture, stoniness, and thickness).
    Ponded means a condition in which water stands in a closed 
depression. The water is removed only by percolation, evaporation, 
or transpiration.
    Very long duration means a duration class in which innundation 
for a single event is greater than 1 month.

What's included on the hydric soils lists?

National List

    ``Hydric Soils of the United States'' is a compilation of all map 
units with either a major or minor component that is at least in part 
hydric. This could include components that are soil series, components 
that are classified at categories higher than the series level in Soil 
Taxonomy, and miscellaneous land types. Because the list includes both 
major and minor (small) percentages for map units, in some cases most 
of the map unit may not be hydric. Also, some components may be phases 
of soil series that have a range of characteristics that both meet and 
do not meet hydric indicator requirements; therefore, only a portion of 
that component's concept (or range in characteristics) may in fact be 
hydric. The list is useful in identifying map units that may contain 
hydric soils. The national list is generated once per calendar year 
(usually in January or February) to satisfy legislated mandates.
    The NRCS Hydric Soils Lists, available at ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NSSC/Hydric_Soils/Lists/hydric_soils.xlsx, are by 
soil map unit component. Detailed and up-to-date hydric soil lists 
(e.g., by soil survey area map unit component) are maintained by the 
NRCS State offices and local field offices and can be downloaded from 
the Soil Data Mart at: http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/.

State Lists

    The State lists are subsets of the national hydric soils list by 
State. For more detailed State lists by map unit, contact the 
appropriate NRCS State office.

Local Lists

    NRCS has developed local lists of map units that contain hydric 
soils for each county, parish, or soil survey area in the United 
States. These local lists are available at the NRCS State offices, 
local NRCS field office, and on the Soil Data Mart at: http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/ and are the preferred lists for use in 
making preliminary wetland determinations. Information from the Soil 
Data Mart is the most up-to-date information as well as the official 
soil survey information. Since the national list is only compiled once 
a year and Soil Data Mart may be updated on a more frequent basis, the 
Soil Data Mart should be deferred to when there is a discrepancy.

    Signed this 22nd day of February, 2012, in Washington, DC.
Dave White,
Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-4733 Filed 2-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P