1466.20—Application for contracts and selecting applications.
(a)
In evaluating EQIP applications, the State Conservationist or designated conservationist, with advice from the State Technical Committee or local working group, takes into account the following guidelines:
(1)
Any producer who has eligible land may submit an application for participation in EQIP. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Producers who are members of a joint operation may file a single application for the joint operation.
(2)
The State Conservationist, to the greatest extent practicable, will group applications of similar crop, forestry, and livestock operations for evaluation purposes.
(b)
In selecting EQIP applications, the State Conservationist or designated conservationist, with advice from the State Technical Committee or local working group, may establish ranking pools to address a specific resource concern, geographic area, or agricultural operation type or develop a ranking process to prioritize applications for funding that address national, State, and local priority resource concerns, taking into account the following guidelines:
(1)
The State Conservationist or designated conservationist will periodically select the highest ranked applications for funding based on applicant eligibility, fund availability, and the NRCS ranking process. The State Conservationist or designated conservationist will rank all applications according to the following factors:
(ii)
The magnitude of the expected environmental benefits resulting from the conservation treatment and the priority of the resource concerns that have been identified at the local, State, and national levels;
(iii)
How effectively and comprehensively the project addresses the designated resource concern or resource concerns;
(v)
Compliance with Federal, State, Tribal, or local regulatory requirements concerning soil, water and air quality; wildlife habitat; and ground and surface water conservation;
(vii)
The ability to improve existing conservation practices or systems, which are in place at the time the application is accepted, or that complete a conservation system;
(viii)
Other locally defined pertinent factors, such as the location of the conservation practice, the extent of natural resource degradation, and the degree of cooperation by local producers to achieve environmental improvements.
(2)
For applications that include water conservation or irrigation efficiency practices, the State Conservationist will give priority to those applications where:
(i)
Consistent with State law in which the producer's eligible land is located, there is a reduction in water use in the agricultural operation, or where the producer agrees not to use any associated water savings to bring new land under irrigation production, other than incidental land needed for efficient operations.
(ii)
A producer who brings new land under irrigated production may be excluded from this latter condition if the producer is participating in a watershed-wide project that will effectively conserve water. The State Conservationist will designate eligible watershed-wide projects that effectively conserve water, using the following criteria:
(3)
If the State Conservationist determines that the environmental values of two or more applications for payments are comparable, the State Conservationist will not assign a higher priority to the application solely because it would present the least cost to the program.
(4)
The ranking will not give preferential treatment to applications based on size of the operation.
(5)
The ranking process will determine the order in which applications will be selected for funding. The approving authority for EQIP contracts will be the State Conservationist or designee, except that the approving authority for any EQIP contract greater than $150,000 and up to $300,000 will be the appropriate NRCS Regional Assistant Chief.
(6)
The State Conservationist will make available to the public all information regarding priority resource concerns, the list of eligible practices, payment rates, and how the EQIP program is implemented in the State.