[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75961-75962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30673]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Notice of Implementation of the Wind Erosion Prediction System
for Soil Erodibility System Calculations for the Natural Resources
Conservation Service
AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Wind Erosion Prediction System
(WEPS) for soil erodibility system calculations scheduled for
implementation for public review and comment.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the intention of the Natural
Resources
[[Page 75962]]
Conservation Service (NRCS) to implement the WEPS which will replace
the use of the Wind Erosion Equation (WEQ) where applicable.
DATES: Effective Date: This is effective December 7, 2010.
Comment Date: Submit comments on or before January 6, 2011. Final
versions of these new or revised conservation practice standards will
be adopted after the close of the 30-day period, and after
consideration of all comments.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted using any of the following
methods:
Mail: Eric West, National Highly Erodible Lands and
Wetlands Conservation Specialist, Ecological Sciences Division,
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW., Room 6150 South Building, Washington, DC
20250.
E-mail: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric West, National Highly Erodible
Lands and Wetlands Conservation Specialist, Ecological Sciences
Division, Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation
Service, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 6150 South Building,
Washington, DC 20250.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The WEQ, a simple two-factor linear model
for calculating the effects of wind erosion, will be replaced by WEPS
for selected regulatory permissible applications. The WEPS model will
be used where wind erosion is the primary causal factor for comparing
the annual level of erosion before conservation system application to
the expected annual level of erosion after conservation system
application (i.e., substantial reduction for highly erodible land
conservation). The WEQ is the current method in the regulations for
calculating substantial reduction and potential erodibility due to the
effects of wind. The use of WEQ to calculate potential erodibility
remains unchanged. The regulation for WEQ is located at 7 CFR 610.14.
The implementation of the WEPS system does not affect the Highly
Erodible Map Unit List contained in the NRCS Field Office Technical
Guide as of January 1, 1990. This 1990 list will continue to be used
for all erodibility index calculations, including sodbuster
determinations and review of previous determinations.
The WEPS computer model is a process-based, daily time-step
computer model that predicts soil erosion via simulation of the
fundamental processes controlling wind erosion. WEPS can calculate soil
movement, estimate plant damage, and predict PM-10 emissions when wind
speeds exceed the erosion threshold. The WEPS model can also provide
the user with spatial information regarding soil flux, deposition, and
loss from specific regions of a field over time. The model is intended
for conservation planning, assessing wind erosion for the Department of
Agriculture (USDA) NRCS' National Resources Inventory, and aiding the
development of regional and national policy.
The WEPS modular design is amenable to incorporation of new
features. Thus, WEPS utility will also be for estimating long-term soil
productivity, determining physical damage to crops, depositional
loading of lakes and streams, as well as estimating visibility
reductions near airports and highways. Further, WEPS will aid in
calculating both onsite and offsite economic costs of erosion and
assess impacts of management strategies on public lands when used in
conjunction with other models.
A complete summary of the processes utilized by the WEPS computer
model can be found in An Overview of the Wind Erosion Prediction System
(http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/54300520/wepsoverview.pdf).
A thorough discussion and review of the WEPS model processes is
available in the draft WEPS technical document (http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/54300520/weps_tech.pdf). Further,
both of the previously referenced documents, as well as other WEPS
related topics, can be found at the USDA Agricultural Research Service
Engineering and Wind Erosion Research Unit (http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=18371) home page.
The implementation timeframe for WEPS in each field office with a
wind erosion concern is January 1, 2011. Title 16-Conservation, Chapter
58-Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation and Reserve Program,
Subchapter I-Definitions, 9(C) Equations (i.e., 16 USC section
3801(a)(9)(C)) requires NRCS to make available for public review and
comment all proposed changes to equations to carry out HEL provisions
of the law in a manner consistent with section 553 of title 5.
Signed this 30th day of November, 2010, in Washington, DC.
Dave White,
Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-30673 Filed 12-6-10; 8:45 am]
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