[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 6]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR610.24]

[Page 353-354]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
   CHAPTER VI--NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 610--TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE--Table of Contents
 
                  Subpart C--State Technical Committees
 
Sec. 610.24  Responsibilities of State Technical Committees.

    (a) Each State Technical Committee established under this subpart 
shall meet on a regular basis, as determined by the State 
Conservationist, to provide information, analysis, and recommendations.
    (b) The State Technical Committee shall provide, in writing to the 
implementing USDA program agency, recommendations, data, and technical 
analyses, which reflect the professional information and judgment of the 
State Technical Committee. Such information, analyses, and 
recommendations shall be provided in a manner that will assist in 
determining matters of fact, technical merit, or scientific question.
    (c) The responsibilities of the State Technical Committee include 
making recommendations with respect to the technical matters such as:
    (1) Guidelines for evaluating petitions by agricultural producers 
regarding new conservation practices and systems not already described 
in field office technical guides;
    (2) Aspects of wetland protection, restoration, and mitigation 
requirements;
    (3) Criteria to be used in evaluating bids for enrollment of 
environmentally-sensitive lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (16 
U.S.C. 3831-3836);
    (4) Guidelines for haying or grazing and the control of weeds to 
protect nesting wildlife on set-aside acreage;
    (5) Highly erodible land exemptions and the appeals process as it 
pertains to technical issues and information;
    (6) Wetland and highly erodible land conservation compliance 
exemptions and the appeals process;
    (7) Methods to address common weed and pest problems, and programs 
to control weeds and pests found on acreage enrolled in the Conservation 
Reserve Program (16 U.S.C. 3831-3836);
    (8) Guidelines for planting perennial cover for water quality and 
wildlife habitat improvement on set-aside lands;
    (9) Criteria and priorities for state initiatives under the 
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) (16 U.S.C. 3839aa), 
including:
    (i) Criteria to prioritize applications from applicants with 
significant statewide resource concerns outside a priority area;
    (ii) Eligible conservation practices for an EQIP priority area or 
for significant statewide resource concerns outside a priority area;
    (iii) Criteria to be used in defining a large confined livestock 
operation under EQIP;
    (iv) Suggestions on how often producers' EQIP applications are 
ranked and selected;
    (v) Criteria to prioritize applications from applicants with 
significant statewide resource concerns outside a priority area; and

[[Page 354]]

    (vi) Determination of cost share and incentive payment limits for 
participants subject to environmental requirements or with significant 
statewide resource concerns outside a priority area.
    (10) The implementation of the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program 
(WHIP) (16 U.S.C 3836a);
    (11) The technical merits of proposals submitted for the Farmland 
Protection Program (16 U.S.C. 3830);
    (12) The development of a Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) (16 U.S.C. 
3837) wetland restoration plan;
    (13) Statewide program guidelines applicable to WRP easement 
compensation, restoration planning, priority ranking, and related policy 
matters, 7 CFR part 1467;
    (14) Identification of any categories of wetland conversion 
activities and conditions which are routinely determined by NRCS to have 
minimal effect on wetland functions and values as described in 7 CFR 
part 12.
    (15) Conservation techniques and measures related to achieving 
environmental justice needs; and
    (16) Types or classes of wetland that are not eligible for 
mitigation exemption under the Wetland Conservation provisions of 7 CFR 
part 12.
    (d) The implementing agency reserves the authority to accept or 
reject the Committee's recommendations; however, the implementing USDA 
agency shall give strong consideration to the Committee's suggestions.