Section 650.30  Soil Loss Standards; Agricultural Land

a)         All conservation systems and practices applied to agricultural land in the State of Illinois shall seek to reduce soil losses to levels at or below "T" values.

b)         The soil loss tolerance as established by the Soil Conservation Service and as published in the Soil Conservation Service Technical Guide (United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Field Offices in Illinois) are adopted as the official "T" values for soils of Illinois.

c)         Effective January 1, 1983 to January 1, 1988 all land subject to this program shall not be considered out of compliance with the State program if the long term annual soil losses are kept at or below four "T" value.

d)         Effective January 1, 1988, and thereafter, no soil erosion losses on gently sloping land, not exceeding 5 percent slope, shall exceed "T" value provided this can be accomplished through conservation tillage. All other land subject to this program shall be considered in compliance with the State program if the long term annual soil losses are kept at or below double "T" during the period January 1, 1988 to January 1, 1994.

e)         Effective January 1, 1994 to January 1, 2000, all land greater than 5% slope subject to this program shall be considered in compliance with the State program if the long term annual soil losses are kept at or below one and one-half "T" value.

f)         Effective January 1, 2000, and thereafter, all land subject to the Act shall meet "T" value.

g)         If a district adopts in its program soil loss limits more stringent than those as set forth in this rule, then those standards shall prevail for all agricultural land within that district.

(Source:  Amended at 6 Ill. Reg. 5482, effective April 15, 1982)