CFR > Title 7 - Agriculture > SUBTITLE B—Regulations of the Department of Agriculture > CHAPTER VI—NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (parts 600 to 663) > SUBCHAPTER D—LONG TERM CONTRACTING (parts 630 to 636) > PART 635—EQUITABLE RELIEF FROM INELIGIBILITY > 635.6—Equitable relief by State Conservationists.

635.6—Equitable relief by State Conservationists.

(a) General nature of the authority. Notwithstanding provisions in this part providing supervision and relief authority to other officials, the State Conservationist, without further review by other officials (other than the Secretary), may grant relief as set forth in § 635.5 to a participant under the provisions of §§ 635.3 and 635.4 so long as:
(1) The program matter with respect to which the relief is sought is a program matter in a covered program which is operated within the State under the control of the State Conservationist;
(2) The total amount of relief which will be provided to the participant (that is, to the individual or entity that applies for the relief) under this authority for errors during the fiscal year is less than $20,000 (included in that calculation, any loan amount or other benefit of any kind payable for the fiscal year);
(3) The total amount of such relief which has been previously provided to the participant using this authority for errors in a fiscal year, as calculated in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, is not more than $5,000;
(4) The total amount of loans, payments, and benefits of any kind for which relief is provided to similarly situated participants by a State Conservationist for errors for a fiscal year under the authority provided in this section, as calculated in paragraph (a)(2), is not more than $1,000,000.
(b) Additional limits on the authority. The authority provided under this section does not extend to the administration of:
(1) Payment limitations under 7 CFR part 1400 ;
(2) Payment limitations under a conservation program administered by the Secretary; or
(3) The highly erodible land and wetland conservation requirements under subtitles B or C of Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811 et seq.).
(c) Relief shall only be made under this part after consultation with, and the approval of, the Office of the General Counsel.
(d) Secretary's reversal authority. A decision made under this part by the State Conservationist may be reversed only by the Secretary, who may not delegate that authority.
(e) Relation to other authorities. The authority provided under this section is in addition to any other applicable authority that may allow relief.