[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 233 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78114-78115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26525]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Virtual Public Listening Session; Natural Resources Conservation 
Service Programs and Western Water Quantity

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will host a 
virtual, open, public listening session with remote participation only, 
for public input about water quantity in the west as it relates to 
existing NRCS programs. There will not be any in-person gathering for 
this listening session.

DATES: 
    Listening Session: The virtual public listening session will be 
held on Thursday, December 17, 2020 (also see below for Meeting Times 
section below).
    Registration to comment date: To provide oral comments during the 
virtual listening session, you must register by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on 
Tuesday, December 18, 2020.
    Registration to view date: You may register to view the listening 
session (but not provide oral comments), by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on 
Tuesday, December 15, 2020.
    Written comment date: You may submit written comments by January 
19, 2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Registration: To register and receive information on how to attend 
the virtual listening session, please email your information to 
[email protected]--send your first and last name, organization, job 
title, City, State, email, and phone number.
    Written comments: We invite you to submit written comments by any 
of the following methods:
     Mail: Deborah Miles, NRCS, ATTN: Western Water Quantity 
Listening Session, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Room 5739, Mail Stop 
1600, Washington, DC 20250, or
     Email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about 
providing written comments, joining the virtual listening session, or 
registering to speak at the virtual listening session, contact Leslie 
Deavers, telephone: 202-690-4616, or by email: [email protected]. 
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication should contact the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 
(voice).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 5, 2020, NRCS announced it had selected 31 priority 
areas to receive $13 million in Environmental Quality Incentives 
Program (EQIP) funding as part of the WaterSMART Initiative (WSI). 
These investments will help producers on private working lands better 
conserve water resources in coordination with investments made by water 
suppliers.
    The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will host a 
virtual, open, public listening session with remote

[[Page 78115]]

participation only, for public input about water quantity in the west 
as it relates to existing NRCS programs. (There will not be any in-
person gathering for this listening session.) Stakeholders will have an 
opportunity to provide oral comments during the virtual public 
listening session.
    Stakeholders must notify NRCS during registration of their wish to 
speak at the listening session. Stakeholders who do not notify NRCS 
during registration of their wish to speak will not have the 
opportunity to comment during the virtual listening session. Due to the 
anticipated high level of interest in the opportunity to make public 
comments and the limited time available to do so, NRCS will do its best 
to accommodate all persons who registered and requested to provide oral 
comments and will limit all speakers to 3 minutes. NRCS encourages 
persons and groups who have similar interests to consolidate their 
information for presentation by a single representative.
    The stakeholders may provide feedback on any of the following 
questions:
    [ssquf] For agricultural producers: What is your most pressing 
water related issue that may constrain or currently constrains your 
operations?
    [ssquf] For non-producers and organizations: What is your most 
pressing water related issue that is needed by the agricultural 
community you assist?
    [ssquf] For producers and organizations: What is your most pressing 
water related issue with which NRCS can help you through a technical or 
financial assistance program or through facilitating and engaging in a 
collaboration or partnership?
    [ssquf] How can NRCS best coordinate with other Federal, State, and 
Local efforts to address water related issues?
    [ssquf] How can State Technical Committees assist in addressing 
your most pressing water related issues?
    [ssquf] What additional issues do you confront that NRCS should 
have awareness of?
    NRCS expects to obtain input about the challenges, needed 
breakthroughs, and priorities through the virtual listening session and 
through submission of written comments. NRCS will treat stakeholder 
input equally. NRCS will then evaluate the challenges, needed 
breakthroughs, and priorities identified by this effort and will 
consider this information in its evaluation of existing programs and 
efforts to position these programs to achieve positive outcomes.

Meeting Agenda

    The listening session will begin with brief opening remarks, with 
an overview of NRCS efforts to address water related issues in the 
west, from USDA and NRCS leadership.
    Individual speakers providing oral comments will be limited to 3 
minutes each. However, if all speakers can be accommodated within time 
for the listening session, individual speaking times may be adjusted at 
the written request of the stakeholder (use the For Further Information 
Contact information provided above in this notice). If, at 3 minutes 
each, the time allotted to registered speakers exceeds the available 
time for the listening session, a limited number of speakers will be 
selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.
    If you are called upon during the listening session to provide oral 
comments and you or your representative are not available to speak, 
your opportunity to provide oral comments will pass to another speaker.

Meeting Times

    The listening session will be held on Thursday, December 17, 2020, 
starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. A mid-day break will be scheduled 
at approximately 12:00 p.m. (noon). The listening session will resume 
at 1:30 p.m. and continue to approximately 3:30 p.m.
    NRCS may decide to extend the listening session to Friday, December 
18, 2020. At the end of the listening session on Thursday, December 17, 
2020, NRCS will announce whether an extension of the listening session 
will occur on Friday, December 18, 2020, or whether the listening 
session will conclude on Thursday, December 17, 2020. If the listening 
session is extended to Friday, December 18, 2020, the listening session 
will begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time and end at approximately 12:00 
p.m. (noon). The listening session on Friday, December 18, 2020, may 
end earlier if there are no additional oral comments to be presented 
from anyone who registered to provide oral comments.

Oral and Written Comments

    We request that speakers providing oral comments also provide a 
written copy of their comments. All written comments have the same due 
date, as specified above in this notice.

Registration Required To Attend

    There is no registration fee for the public listening session, but 
pre-registration is mandatory for anyone who wishes to attend.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

    No agency, officer, or employee of the USDA will, on the grounds of 
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual 
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family or parental 
status, income derived from a public assistance program, or political 
beliefs, exclude from participation in, deny the benefits of, or 
subject to discrimination any person in the United States under any 
program or activity conducted by USDA.

How To File a Complaint of Discrimination

    To file a complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program 
Discrimination Complaint Form, which may be accessed online at: https://www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2012/Complain_combined_6_8_12.pdf or write a letter signed by you or your 
authorized representative.
    You may also send your completed complaint form or letter to USDA 
by any of following methods: Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20250-9410; Fax: (202) 690-7442; or Email: 
[email protected].
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 
(voice only).

Kevin D. Norton,
Acting Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-26525 Filed 12-2-20; 8:45 am]
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