[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 10349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4604]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Changes in Hydric Soils of the United States
AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of change.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 7 CFR 12.30(a)(4), Natural Resources Conservation
Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service), United States
Department of Agriculture gives notice of a change in the wording of
the criteria used to generate the list of hydric soils of the United
States as published in the third edition of Hydric Soils of the United
States, Miscellaneous Publication 1491, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Soil Conservation Service, June 1991.
For further information contact: Craig A. Ditzler, Chair, National
Technical Committee for Hydric Soils, National Soil Survey Center,
NRCS, Room 152, Mail Stop 33, Federal Building, 100 Centennial Mall
North, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-3866, Telephone (402) 437-5353.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The list of hydric soils was created by
computer using criteria that were developed by the National Technical
Committee for Hydric Soils. The criteria are selected soil properties
that are documented in Soil Taxonomy and were designed primarily to
generate a list of hydric soils from the national database of Soil
Interpretations Records. Criteria 1, 3, and 4 serve as both database
criteria and as indicators for identification of hydric soils.
Criterion 2 serves only to retrieve soils from the database.
The wording of criterion 2 has been changed to incorporate recent
changes in Soil Taxonomy and delete references to water-table frequency
and duration. Until all soils have been reclassified, the computer
program will continue to select soils under their former
classification. The water-table frequency and duration data are not
contained on the Soil Interpretations Records and, therefore, were not
selection criteria.
The wording of criterion 2 also has been changed to clarify the way
in which water-table data were used to select soils from the Soil
Interpretations Records database. Because the water-table depths on the
Soil Interpretations Records are entered in 0.5 ft. increments,
previous versions of criterion 2 used water tables at less than 0.5,
1.0, and 1.5 ft. in order to extract hydric soils from the database
with actual recorded water tables of 0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 ft.
It is important to note that these changes do not cause any soils
to be added or deleted from the list.
Criteria for Hydric Soils
1. All Histosols except Folists, or
2. Soils in Aquic suborders, great groups, or subgroups, Albolls
suborder, Aquisalids, Pachic subgroups, or Cumulic subgroups that are:
a. somewhat poorly drained with a water table equal to 0.0 foot
(ft) from the surface during the growing season, or
b. poorly drained or very poorly drained and have either:
(1) water table equal to 0.0 ft. during the growing season if
textures are coarse sand, sand, or fine sand in all layers within 20
inches (in), or for other soils, or
(2) water table at less than or equal to 0.5 ft. from the surface
during the growing season if permeability is equal to or greater than
6.0 in/hour (h) in all layers within 20 in, or
(3) water table at less than or equal to 1.0 ft. from the surface
during the growing season, if permeability is less than 6.0 in/h in any
layer within 20 in, or
3. Soils that are frequently ponded for long duration or very long
duration during the growing season, or
4. Soils that are frequently flooded for long duration or very long
duration during the growing season.
Dated: January 26, 1995.
Richard W. Arnold,
Director, Soils Division.
[FR Doc. 95-4604 Filed 2-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-M
