USDA SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON NATIONAL PRIORITIES, EMERGING ISSUES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM

National Listening Session May 5 in Washington

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2005—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Bruce Knight today announced that the agency is seeking public comment on national priorities and emerging issues for its largest conservation program—the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

“NRCS periodically reviews and updates EQIP national priorities to ensure the program continues to address the most important resource needs as well as any emerging resource issues,” Knight said. “We encourage agricultural organizations, conservation groups, commodity organizations, agencies, individuals, especially minorities and Native American tribes to help us determine the national resource priorities for EQIP.”

A national public listening session will be held May 5, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Room 107A, Whitten Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W. in Washington, D.C. Speakers can register at the door. Both written and oral comments will be accepted at the session; with written comments accepted through June 5.

EQIP, reauthorized in the 2002 Farm Bill, offers financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers who face threats to soil, water, air and related natural resources on their land. This voluntary program offers up to 75 percent cost share to help farmers and ranchers reduce soil erosion, improve water use, and protect grazing land by installing conservation practices that protect natural resources.

Presently, USDA-NRCS uses the following four national resource priorities to implement EQIP:
-- Reductions of non-point source pollution;
-- Reduction of emissions;
-- Reduction in soil erosion and sedimentation, and;
-- Promotion of at-risk species habitat conservation.
For more details about the four national resource priorities, please visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip.

The national public listening session culminates similar sessions held in all 50 states, the Caribbean Area and the Pacific Basin over the last several months. USDA-NRCS will use the information gathered from the sessions to prepare for the 2006 program year.

Written comments will be accepted via regular mail, fax or e-mail through June 5. Please send written comments to David Webster, EQIP Specialist, Financial Assistance Programs Division, NRCS, Room 5231 South Office Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250; telephone: 202-720-5742; fax: 202-720-4265. Please submit e-mails to david.webster@usda.gov, Attention: Environmental Quality Incentives Program Comments. Comments also can be submitted on the web at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip.

Additional information about the listening session can be found in the March 23, 2005 issue of the Federal Register. Information about EQIP is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip.

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