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Title 450 – General Manual

Part 401 - Technical Guides

Subpart A – Policy and Responsibilities

OH401.1 Responsibilities

  1. State Conservationist.
    2.  
    1. The State Conservationist will establish and appoint membership to the State Technical Guide Committee (STGC).
       
    2. The STGC is charged with developing, reviewing, and maintaining all material contained in the Field Office Technical Guide.

OH401.2 Ohio State Technical Guide Committee (STGC).

  1. Membership on the Ohio State Technical Guide Committee will consist of the following:

    2.  
    1. Chair – The chair of the State Technical Guide Committee will be one of the five Assistant State Conservationists for Field Operations. This position will be a permanent appointment made by the State Conservationist.
       
    2. Advisors - The State Technical Guide Committee will have three permanent advisors consisting of the State Conservation Engineer, State Resource Conservationist, and State Soil Scientist.
       
    3. Members (permanent) - The State Technical Guide Committee will have four permanent members consisting of the Environmental Engineer, State Agronomist, State Biologist, and Soil Scientist on the State office staff providing support for technical soil services.
       
    4. Members (limited term) - The State Technical Guide Committee will include six individuals who will serve for a two-year term. These positions will be appointed by the State Conservationist with advice from the State Technical Guide Committee advisors and with the concurrence of their respective Assistant State Conservationists for Field Operations. The disciplines represented by these positions will include one Area Engineer, one Area Resource Conservationist, one Area Resource Soil Scientist, one Civil Engineering Technician, and two District Conservationists. In addition to having a strong technical background, these members will include staff from each administrative area within the State. The two District Conservationists will be from two different administrative areas.


  2. STGC Responsibilities.

    3.  
    1. The State Technical Guide Committee will ensure all national policy regarding the Field Office Technical Guide is followed. All new materials to be included in the Field Office Technical Guide and all revisions to the Field Office Technical Guide will follow standard review procedures discussed below.
       
    2. When the need for new material or for revisions is identified, the item will be assigned to a sponsor. The sponsor will normally be the permanent member who is most knowledgeable of, or works most closely with, the subject. The sponsor is responsible for developing an initial draft, working in consultation with any appropriate resource people. This will include consultation with staff from other agencies when appropriate. Once an initial draft is developed, the document will be circulated for an internal agency review to include all committee members and staff representatives of all appropriate disciplines. After each review of the document, all review comments will be directed to the sponsor. All review comments will be considered and appropriate edits made.
       
    3. Following an internal review, the document will be circulated to all appropriate disciplines and agencies in the conservation partnership and posted on the Ohio NRCS web page for a period of one month. All partnership employees will be notified at the beginning of the one-month period, through e-mail or similar method that a new standard has been posted to the website. After considering review comments, the sponsor will prepare a final draft. The final draft will be presented to the State Technical Committee at the next scheduled committee meeting and will be sent to any appropriate adjacent States.
       
    4. Following all necessary editing, the final material will be posted in the Federal Register, if needed, and issued to the Field Office Technical Guide.
       
    5. Minutes will be taken at all meetings of the committee and a copy of the minutes will be sent to all offices to ensure that staff is notified regarding what material is being reviewed.


      (450-GM, Amend. OH2, January 2004)

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