[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 6]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR654.14]

[Page 541]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
   CHAPTER VI--NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 654_OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE--Table of Contents
 
             Subpart B_Federal Financially-Assisted Projects
 
Sec. 654.14  Duration of sponsor(s)' responsibility.

    (a) Sponsor(s)' responsibility for O&M of a completed project 
measure begins when a part of all of the contract installing such 
measure is completed and accepted from the contractor. If the 
installation of the project measure is performed by force account, 
division of work, or performance of work methods, the sponsor(s)' O&M 
responsibilities begin on the date the work or portion thereof is 
completed as determined by NRCS, except for completed work located on 
Federal lands which are subject to special-use permits. The O&M 
agreement shall specify that O&M will continue through: (1) The 
evaluated life of the project, or (2) the evaluated life of measures 
that are economically evaluated as a unit, or (3) the useful life of 
cost-shared measures that are for land conservation or land utilization. 
The sponsor(s)' duties and liabilities for the measures under other 
Federal and State laws are not affected by the expiration of the O&M 
agreement.
    (b) For project measures being installed in segments, the sponsor(s) 
shall be responsible for O&M of completed and accepted segments. 
However, the NRCS may share in the cost of repairing damages to a 
completed segment when the damage is attributed to the continuation of 
work on uncompleted segments of the measure or when due to the fact that 
the measure was only partially completed.