Conservation Innovation Grants

Resumo

Section 1240H of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 2301 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171) established Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-8). Through CIG, the Secretary of Agriculture may pay the cost of competitive grants to carry out projects that stimulate innovative approaches to leveraging Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production. The Secretary of Agriculture delegated the authority for the administration of EQIP and CIG to the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who is a vice president of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). EQIP is administered by NRCS under the authorities of the CCC. This notice announces the availability of up to $15 million of CCC funds for Conservation Innovation Grants in Fiscal Year 2004. The funds will be awarded through a nationwide competitive grants process. Applications are requested from eligible government or non-government organizations or individuals for competitive consideration of grant awards for single or multi-y