The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has completed a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to examine the potential environmental consequences associated with implementing changes to CRP required by the 2008 Farm Bill ((Pub. L. 110-246), and assist in developing new regulations. CRP is a CCC program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) with the support of other Federal and local agencies. CRP was originally authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended and subsequently re-authorized until 2012 with changed provisions by Title II, Subtitle B of the 2008 Farm Bill.
As part of the SEIS process, FSA solicited input about potential alternatives for program implementation and the potential associated environmental concerns. Through internal scoping USDA developed two preliminary action alternatives: Action Alternative 1 – full implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill provisions for CRP utilizing current procedures; and Action Alternative 2 – implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill provisions for CRP with varying discretion. A No Action Alternative was also analyzed as an environmental baseline against which the action alternatives were compared, in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The No Action Alternative assumes CRP would continue as it is currently administered, based on the 2002 Farm Bill. Public meetings were subsequently held in the following cities: Spokane, Washington (15 September 2009); Great Falls, Montana (17 September 2009); Moorhead, Minnesota (21 September 2009); Manhattan, Kansas (23 September 2009); Springfield, Illinois (25 September 2009); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (29 September 2009); Clovis, New Mexico (1 October 2009); Albany, Georgia (6 October 2009); and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (8 October 2009). The comments received were used in the development of a Draft SEIS examining the potential environmental impacts of the proposed program.
A Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft SEIS was announced in the Federal Register on February 19, 2010. This NOA marked the beginning of a 45-day public comment period soliciting comments from interested persons and agencies. Comments were received through April 5, 2010. Copies of the Draft SEIS were provided to the headquarters and all the regional offices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Twenty-nine other interested agencies and stakeholders identified during the public scoping period received a letter announcing the availability of the Draft SEIS on the website and a request for review and comment. Comments were received from State and Federal agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, and individuals. Information gained from the comments received on the Draft SEIS was used to finalize the analysis of the environmental impacts of the program.
The Final SEIS will be published for public comment for a 30 day period beginning June 18, 2010 and ending July 19, 2010. Following the end of the comment period, and a review of the comments by FSA, a Record of Decision (ROD) for the CRP SEIS will be issued.