April 14, 2008
SUBJECT: LTP – Payments for Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans in 2007
Environmental Quality Incentives Program Contracts
Purpose: To clarify policy and provide statewide consistency when evaluating acres to make payments for Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMPs) in Fiscal Year 2007 Environmental Quality Incentives Program contracts, and to issue guidance for correcting erroneous underpayments that may have occurred.
Expiration Date: September 30, 2008
Action Required
By: May 9, 2008
The original announcement for using Financial Assistance (FA) funds to pay for CNMPs in 2007 was issued with Indiana Bulletin 300-7-18, dated March 14, 2007. Along with the change to FA, there was a change in calculating the payment for a CNMP. The calculation was based on the Animal Units and the Acres involved. A worksheet was provided to calculate the potential payment for contracting purposes.
Policy clarification was issued in the questions and answers attachment to Indiana Bulletin 300-7-20, dated March 23, 2007. The bulletin stated that the acres for payment would be the acres “reviewed/analyzed” for the CNMP (Question #7). “Reviewed/analyzed acres” are acres where all of the following exist or have been performed as part of the CNMP, up to the acres stated in the contract:
· Current soil tests- less than 4 years old
· Environmental evaluations have been completed
§ Offsite Risk Index (prescreening) has been completed
§ Resource concerns and environmentally sensitive areas have been identified
· Recommendations for nutrient application (organic and inorganic) have been made based on soil tests, realistic yield goals and the environmental evaluations.
These are not new requirements. They are the normal expectations of development of a CNMP per existing policies, checklists and instructions.
DIST: O
Employees approved to review CNMPs must review the FY07 CNMPs prior to certification of the practice on a 1245 and ensure that the above conditions are met for the acres being paid.
If any of the above criteria are not met, the CNMP is not complete and payments shall not be made until the deficiencies are corrected.
If the above criteria are met, but on less acres than were originally in the contract, then the payment will be made for the lesser acres that meet the criteria. If the evaluation was completed on acres that were not identified in the contract by land unit (tract and field), then payment cannot be made on those acres that were not part of the contract.
It will be necessary for Area Conservationists to ensure that all CNMPs are reviewed, certified and payments calculated according to this bulletin. Where erroneous underpayments have occurred, they will be corrected per policy in CPM 440, part 512.69 and guidance that was issued in Indiana Bulletin 440-6-3, dated December 19, 2005. Previous payments and pending payments shall be reviewed and action completed according to this bulletin by close of business May 9, 2008.
Please direct questions related to this bulletin to Jim Dunaway, Acting Assistant State Conservationist - Programs at (317) 290-3200, ext. 334, or Shannon Zezula, State Resource Conservationist at ext. 388.
/s/
JANE E. HARDISTY
State Conservationist