§ 1439.505 - County committee determinations of general applicability.

(a) FSA county committees shall determine whether that county was determined eligible under the 1998 FCP, and whether the land has been unusable from October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2000 due to continuing flooding. In making this determination, the FSA county committee shall use what it considers to be the best information available including but not limited to: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; Natural Resources Conservation Service; aerial photography; rainfall data; and general knowledge of losses due to flooding.

(b) With respect to each eligible county, the FSA county committee for that county shall establish a separate payment rate for crop-land and pasture-land. These rates shall be reviewed by the FSA state committee and shall be equal to the average rental rate for the years 1996 through 2000 for all such land of each type in the county. Where these rates cannot be set in the manner provided for in paragraph (c) of this section, the FSA state committee may take into account rates established for the Conservation Reserve Program operated under 7 CFR part 1410 and ensure, subject to paragraph (c) of this section, that the rates are comparable. The Deputy Administrator shall review and may adjust the rates for reasonableness and consistency.

(c) Except as provided by the Deputy Administrator, rental rates shall be equal to the applicable county average for the kind of land involved using established NASS data in all locations where NASS has established rental rates on a county-by-county basis for 2000.