(a) The following abbreviations apply to this part:
CAAP Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production Facilities.
CAFO Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation.
CCC Commodity Credit Corporation.
CEQ Council on Environmental Quality.
EA Environmental Assessment.
EIS Environmental Impact Statement.
ESA Endangered Species Act.
ESW Environmental Screening Worksheet.
FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact.
FPO Federal Preservation Officer.
FSA Farm Service Agency.
MOA Memorandum of Agreement.
MOU Memorandum of Understanding.
NECM National Environmental Compliance Manager.
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act.
NHPA National Historic Preservation Act.
NOA Notice of Availability.
NOI Notice of Intent.
PEA Programmatic Environmental Assessment.
PEIS Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
RAO Responsible Approving Official.
RFO Responsible Federal Officer
ROD Record of Decision.
SEC State Environmental Coordinator.
SED State Executive Director for FSA.
SEIS Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
SHPO State Historic Preservation Officer.
THPO Tribal Historic Preservation Officer.
USDA United States Department of Agriculture.
(b) The definitions in 40 CFR part 1508 apply and are supplemented by parts 718 and 1400 of this title; in the event of a conflict the definitions in this section will be controlling. In addition, the following definitions apply to this part:
Administrator means the Administrator, Farm Service Agency, including designees.
Application means the formal process of requesting FSA assistance.
Construction means actions that include building, rehabilitation, modification, repair, and demolition of facilities, and earthmoving.
Consultation means the process of soliciting, discussing, and considering the views of other participants in the environmental review process and working toward agreement where feasible.
Environmental screening worksheet, or ESW, means the FSA screening procedure used to record the use of categorical exclusions, review if a proposed action that can be categorically excluded involves extraordinary circumstances, and evaluate the appropriate level and extent of environmental review needed in an EA or EIS when a categorical exclusion is not available or not appropriate. For the purposes of this part, the ESW may be represented by alternate documentation comparable to the ESW, and that has been approved in advance by the NECM, such as related environmental documentation, including, but not limited to, the related documentation from another agency.
Financial assistance means any form of loan, loan guarantee, grant, guaranty, insurance, payment, rebate, subsidy, or any other form of direct or indirect Federal monetary assistance.
Floodplains means the lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters, including flood-prone areas of offshore islands, including, at a minimum, those that are subject to a l-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
Historic property means any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the Secretary of the Interior as defined in 36 CFR 800.16.
Memorandum of Agreement means a document that records the terms and conditions agreed upon to resolve the potential effects of a Federal agency proposed action or program. Often used interchangeably with Memorandum of Understanding.
Plow zone means the depth of previous tillage or disturbance.
Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) means an assessment prepared when the significance of impacts of a program are uncertain to assist in making this determination.
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) means an analysis of the potential impacts that could be associated with various components of a program or proposed action that may not yet be clearly defined or even known, to determine if the program or its various components have the potential to significantly affect the quality of the human environment.
Program participant means any person, agency, or other entity that applies for or receives FSA program benefits or assistance.
Protected resources means environmentally sensitive resources that are protected by laws, regulations, or Executive Orders for which FSA proposed actions may pose potentially significant environmental effects.
State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) means the state official appointed or designated under the NHPA to administer a State historic preservation program, or a representative to act for the SHPO.
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) means the Tribal official appointed by a Tribe's chief governing authority or designated by a Tribal ordinance or preservation program, who has assumed the responsibilities of the SHPO on Tribal lands under the NHPA.
Wetlands means areas that are inundated by surface or ground water with a frequency sufficient to support and, under normal circumstances, do support or would support a prevalence of vegetative or aquatic life that requires saturated or seasonally saturated soil conditions for growth and reproduction. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas, such as sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, river overflows, mudflats, and natural ponds.