Section 2(b) of the Transparency Act requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) establish a single searchable database that provides the public, at no cost, information related to all Federal awards which are made to entities, including a unique identifier of the entity receiving the award and any other information OMB requires. In October 2010, OMB promulgated government-wide regulations at 2 CFR parts 25 and 170 that require entities applying for and receiving Federal financial assistance to have Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering Systems (DUNS) number and maintain active registration in Central Contractor Registry (CCR), succeeded by the System for Award Management (SAM). Therefore, NRCS cross-referenced the requirements of 2 CFR part 25 and 2 CFR part 170 in all conservation program regulations, policies, and program agreements developed subsequent to October 2010.

Section 766 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 added a new subsection to section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 to exempt producers and landowners participating in NRCS conservation programs from the Transparency Act regulations.  Therefore, the purpose of this final rule is to remove from NRCS regulations the requirement that producers and landowners obtain a DUNS number and maintain an active registration in SAM for NRCS conservation program participation. 

In particular, the final rule will remove reference to 2 CFR parts 25 and 170 in the following NRCS program regulations:  

• the Healthy Forests Reserve Program (7 CFR part 625 at 625.4(b)(3))

• the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (7 CFR part 636 at 636.4(a)(12))

• the Grassland Reserve Program (7 CFR part 1415 at 1415.6(e))

• the Agricultural Management Assistance Program (7 CFR part 1465 at 1465.5(c)(12))

• the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (7 CFR part 1466 at 1466.6(b)(7))

• the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (7 CFR part 1468 at 1468.30(c)(3))

• the Conservation Stewardship Program (7 CFR part 1470 at 1470.6(a)(6))