[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 21, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43226-43228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21342]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Farmland Protection Program
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice of Request of Proposals (RFP).
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SUMMARY: Section 388 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform
Act of 1996 (the 1996 Act) established the Farmland Protection Program
(FPP). The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) administers the FPP under
the general supervision of the Vice President of the CCC who is the
Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). CCC is
requesting proposals from States, Tribes, and units of local government
to cooperate in the acquisition of conservation easements or other
interests in prime, unique, or other productive soil for the purpose of
limiting non-agricultural uses of that land.
DATES: Proposals must be received by September 13, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Please send proposals to Ann E. Carey, Director, Community
Assistance and Resource Development Division, Natural Resources
Conservation Service, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013-2890. Fax:
202-690-0639; e-mail: acarey@usda.gov. Attention: FPPRFP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ann E. Cary, Director, Community Assistance and Resource Development
Division, Natural Resources Conservation Service, phone: 202-720-2847;
fax: 202-690-0639; e-mail: acarey@usda.gov. Attention: FPP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Funding in Fiscal Year 1996
Effective on the date of publication of this notice, the CCC will
accept proposals from States, Tribes, and units of local government
that have pending offers with landowners for the acquisition of
conservation easements or other interests in land that contains prime,
unique, or other productive soils. The pending offers must be for the
purpose of protecting topsoil by limiting non-agricultural uses of the
land. CCC will evaluate the merits of the requests for participation
utilizing criteria described in this notice and will enter into
cooperative agreements with the States, Tribes, or units of local
government that have proposals that CCC determines will effectively
meet the objectives of the FPP. CCC must receive proposals for
participation by September 13, 1996.
Background
According to the 1987 Census of Agriculture, one-third of the
Nation's agricultural products are produced in metropolitan counties
containing large cities. Another one-fourth of these agricultural
products are produced in counties adjacent to significant urban
populations. Historically, American settlements were located in areas
where the land was most productive. Consequently, some of the Nation's
most valuable and productive farmland is located in urban and
developing areas. Nearly 85 percent of domestic fruit and vegetable
production and 80 percent of our dairy products come from urban-
influenced areas.
These areas are continually threatened by rapid development and
urban sprawl. Several social and economic changes over the past three
decades have influenced the rate at which land is converted to urban
uses. Population growth and shifts in age distribution, the economy,
and transportation have contributed to changes in agricultural land
conversion rates. Urban sprawl has been a major cause of farmland
development. Since 1960, an average of 1.5 million acres of farmland
have been converted to other uses each year.
The gross acreage of farmland converted to urban development is not
necessarily the most troubling concern. A greater cause for concern is
the quality of farmland that is being converted. In most States, prime
farmland is being converted at 2 to 4 times the rate of other less-
productive land. In addition, as development does occur, remaining
acreage is placed under a greater environmental, economic, and social
strain as agrarian and urbanizing interests compete. For the
agricultural producer, increasing costs of production and liability
risks are harmful byproducts of urban development. In addition,
remaining acreage must be farmed more intensively, generating adverse
impacts on water quality and soil health. For urban dwellers, issues
such as pesticide overspray, animal nutrient odors, and noise are
important concerns.
There is, therefore, an important national interest in the
protection of farmland. Once developed, productive farmland with rich
topsoil may be lost forever. Food security for the Nation must be taken
into account. Agricultural lands are important components of historic
landscapes and are equally important simply for their scenic beauty.
Legislative History
In the 1980 Farm Bill, Congress passed the Farmland Protection
Policy Act (FPPA) (Pub. L. 97-98, Title XV, Subtitle I; 7 U.S.C. 4201-
4209), which began the Federal government's effort to protect farmland
from urbanization. Under this program, Federal agencies are required to
evaluate the impacts of federally funded programs on converting
farmland to non-agricultural uses, and consider alternative actions
that would lessen the adverse impacts.
In 1990, Congress enacted the Farms for the Future (FFF) Act
(Chapter 2, Subtitle E, Title XIV of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-624) which authorized
the Agricultural Resource Conservation Demonstration Program. This
program provided guaranteed loans and subsidized interest payments to
help States finance farmland protection efforts. The USDA received
funding appropriations for fiscal years 1992-94. Vermont was the only
State to qualify for funding under FFF. No funds were appropriated for
fiscal years 1995 and 1996. The program's statutory authority expires
on September 30, 1996.
The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996
Enacted on April 4, 1996, section 388 of the 1996 Act directs the
Secretary of Agriculture to establish and carry out the FPP. Under this
program, the USDA
[[Page 43227]]
will purchase conservation easements or other interests in land with
prime, unique, or other productive soil that is subject to a pending
offer from a State or local government for the purpose of protecting
topsoil by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land.
Overview of the Farmland Protection Program
The FPP is intended to supplement State and local farmland
programs. CCC will administer FPP through existing delivery systems.
The NRCS is the agency responsible for administering the FPP in the
field. The 1996 Act made up to $35 million of funds available through
the CCC to purchase easements or other interests with States, Tribes,
or local agencies for farmland protection. The NRCS also encourage
State and local entities to start new farmland protection programs by
putting in place a superstructure and soliciting offers in order to be
eligible for FPP program benefits.
NRCS State Conservationists may consult with the State Technical
Committee (established pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 3861) and review the
requests for participation for consistency with USDA priorities by
using a ranking system (see discussion below), such as the Land
Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) or other site evaluation and
ranking systems to determine: the likelihood of conversion considering
developmental pressure, zoning, utility availability, and other related
factors; the quality of the land considering the soils, economic
viability, size and product sales; and other factors including its
historical, scenic and environmental qualities.
Once all proposals for participation have been received, the Chief
of NRCS, as a Vice President of the CCC, will authorize cooperative
agreements to be developed by September 30, 1996, spelling out terms of
the FPP for each proposal accepted. Allocation of the funds to the
cooperating entities will be made by weighing such factors as the
number of pending offers, the total number of eligible acres included
in the offers, the capability of each entity to fund at least half of
the acquisition costs of each of the offers selected for funding, the
value of such offers, and the relative urgency of each offer.
To be selected for participation in the FPP, a pending offer must
provide for the acquisition of an easement or other interests in land
for a minimum duration of 30 years, with priority given to those offers
providinn. If a pending offer is selected for participation in the FPP,
the conveyance document used by the State or local program will contain
a reversionary clause. The reversionary clause will provide that all
rights conveyed by the landowner under the document will become vested
in the United States should the State or local program abandon or
terminate the exercise of the rights so acquired. As a condition for
participation, all lands enrolled shall be encompassed by a
conservation plan developed and implemented according to the NRCS Field
Office Technical Guide.
Eligible State, Tribal, or Local Farmland Protection Programs
A State, Tribe, or unit of local government that has a farmland
protection program that purchases agricultural conservation easements
for the purpose of protecting topsoil by limiting non-agricultural uses
of land and that has pending offers may apply for participation as a
cooperating entity with the FPP. A State, Tribe, or local program may
apply for participation by submitting responses to the RFP to Ann E.
Carey, Director, Community Assistance and Resource Development
Division, NRCS.
NRCS will evaluate the State, Tribe, or local program based on the
conservation benefits that are derived from such farmland protection
efforts. An eligible State, Tribe, or local farmland protection program
must: (1) Have demonstrated commitment to a long-term conservation of
agricultural lands through legal devices, such as right-to-farm laws,
agricultural districts, zoning, or land use plans; (2) use voluntary
easements or other legal devices to protect farmland from conversion to
non-agricultural uses; and (3) demonstrate a capability to acquire,
manage, and enforce rights in land and interests in land. To avoid
double counting, local and county programs must coordinate their
proposals with each other and the State program, if their jurisdictions
overlap.
Eligible Land
NRCS shall determine whether the farmland is eligible for
enrollment and whether, once found eligible, the lands may be included
in the program. The following land, if subject to a pending offer by a
State, Tribe, or unit of local government, is eligible for enrollment
in the FPP: (1) Land with prime, unique, or other productive soil; and
(2) Other incidental land that would not otherwise be eligible, but
when considered as part of a pending offer, NRCS determines that the
inclusion of such land would significantly augment the protection of
the associated farmland. The definition of prime, unique, or other
productive soil can be found in section 1540(c)(1) of the FPPA, 7
U.S.C. 4201(c)(1).
NRCS will only consider enrolling eligible land in the program that
is configured in a size and with boundaries that allow for the
efficient management of the area for the purposes of FPP. The land must
have access to markets for its products, an infrastructure appropriate
for agricultural production, and agricultural support services. NRCS
will not enroll land that is owned in fee title by an agency of the
United States, or land that is already subject to an easement or deed
restriction that limits the conversion of the land to non-agricultural
use. NRCS will not enroll otherwise eligible lands if NRCS determines
that the protection provided by FPP would not be effective because of
on-site or off-site conditions.
Proposals
Proposals submitted by a cooperating entity must include an
overview of the program, the amount and source of funds available for
easement acquisition, the parameters and their values used to set the
acquisition priorities, and a listing of the offers including: (1) The
priority of the pending offer; (2) the land parcel and its location;
(3) the size of the parcel in acres; (4) the acres of the prime,
unique, or other productive soil in the parcel; (5) the price offered
by the landowner; (6) the proposed acquisition costs of the easement;
(7) the type of easement to be used; (8) an indication of the
accessibility to markets; (9) an indication of an existing agricultural
infrastructure and other support system; (10) the level of threat from
urban development; (11) other factors, such as LESA or other evaluation
and assessment system, used for setting priorities for easement
acquisition by the entity.
Ranking Considerations
Pending offers by a State, Tribe, or unit of local government must
be for the acquisition of an easement or other interest in land for a
minimum duration of 30 years. NRCS shall place priority on acquiring
easements or other interests in land that provide the longest period of
protection from conversion to non-agricultural use. NRCS may place
higher priority where lands and locations are found to be the highest
priority lands and locations by the States, Tribes, or units of local
government based on an evaluation using the Land Evaluation and Site
Assessment (LESA) system or other site evaluation and ranking system.
[[Page 43228]]
NRCS may also place higher priority on certain geographic regions
or other factors where enrollment of particular lands may better
achieve NRCS State and regional goals and objectives, or where
participation would further existing governmental or private
conservation projects. NRCS will give preference to acquisition of
easements or interests in land where the cooperating entity shares the
greater costs of enrolling such land.
Cooperative Agreements
The CCC will use a cooperative agreement with a State, Tribe, or
unit of local government as the mechanism for participation in the FPP.
The cooperative agreement will address: (1) The interests in land to be
acquired; (2) the management and enforcement of rights; (3) the
technical assistance that may be provided by the NRCS; (4) the holder
of the easement or other interests in the land enrolled in the FPP; and
(5) other requirements deemed necessary by CCC to protect the interests
of the United States.
Signed at Washington, DC, on August 16, 1996.
Paul Johnson,
Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation, Chief, Natural Resources
Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 96-21342 Filed 8-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-M
