(a)
The applicant shall conduct a preapplication investigation of the proposed
permit area to determine whether lands within the area may be prime
farmland.
(b) Land will not be
considered prime farmland if the applicant can demonstrate one of the
following:
(1) The land has not been
historically used as cropland.
(2)
Other factors exist, such as a very rocky surface, or the land is frequently
flooded during the growing season, more often than once in 2 years, and the
flooding has reduced crop yields.
(3) On the basis of a soil survey of lands
within the permit area, there are no soil map units that have been designated
prime farmland by the United States Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
(c) If the
investigation establishes that the lands are not prime farmland, the applicant
shall submit with the permit application a request for a negative determination
which shows that the land for which the negative determination is sought meets
one of the criteria of subsection (b).
(d) If the investigation indicates that lands
within the proposed permit area may be prime farmlands, the applicant shall
contact the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service to determine
if a soil survey exists for those lands and whether the applicable soil map
units have been designated as prime farmlands. If no soil survey has been made
for the lands within the proposed permit area, the applicant shall cause a
survey to be made.
(1) When a soil survey, as
required in this subsection, contains soil map units which have been designated
as prime farmlands, the applicant shall submit a soil survey of the proposed
permit area according to the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey
and in accordance with the procedures in the United States Department
of Agriculture Handbooks 436 (Soil Taxonomy, 1975) and 18 (Soil Survey
Manual, 1951) as amended. The soil survey shall include a map unit and
representative soil profile description as determined by the United States
Natural Resources Conservation Service for each prime farmland within the
proposed permit area unless other representative descriptions from the
locality, prepared in conjunction with the National Cooperative Soil Survey,
are available and their use is approved by the State Conservationist, United
States Natural Resources Conservation Service.
(2) When a soil survey, as required in this
subsection, contains soil map units which have not been designated as prime
farmland after review by the United States Natural Resources Conservation
Service, the applicant shall submit a request for negative determination for
nondesignated land with the permit soil survey establishing compliance with
subsection (b).