USDA NRCS Contingency Plan For Operations

Employee DesignationsAn employee is designated in one of three categories, which indicate his/her responsibilitiesduring shutdown. The categories are: excepted; excepted on-call or episodic; non-excepted. Excepted: those who are involved in the orderly shutdown of agency operations or areactively and regularly performing functions related to the protection of life or property,even if those activities are not full time (the employee should return to furlough statuswhen the activities are complete). This category should represent the minimum number ofemployees required to implement approved excepted work. Excepted On-Call or Episodic: those employees who may be needed to perform functionsrelated to the protection of life or property, or that perform excepted activities on anextremely limited or sporadic basis. Generally, these employees are called on to performexcepted activities on an as-needed basis to perform these functions. Non-Excepted: all other employees, including those who are responsible for reporting towork on the first day following shutdown notifications to execute individual shutdownactivities (maximum of 4 hours) and will then be placed on furlough status. Employees mayreport to work by physically showing up to the office, or by checking in with supervisorwhile on approved telework schedule provided that the shutdown activities can becompleted without a physical presence. Once in furlough status, they are responsible formonitoring the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) and Office of Management andBudget (OMB) websites for when to report back to duty.There is an additional category termed “exempt” for Federal employees: NRCS does not haveany employees that are considered “exempt” for the purposes of shutdown. Employees are“exempt” from furlough if they are not affected by a lapse in appropriations. This includesemployees who are not funded by annually appropriated funds.Customer Service TeamThe shutdown of operations will be accompanied by employee, customer, and partnerquestions and concerns. It is important to provide timely and consistent information that is inkeeping with statute, regulation, and policy.A temporary, cross-cutting Customer Service Team (“Team”) will be available to addressquestions and respond to emergencies prior to, during, and after a possible shutdown. TheTeam will work in a cohesive and coordinated manner with the FPAC Business Center to ensuretimely, accurate, and consistent responses to shutdown questions. In addition, the Team willinform the Mission Area Shutdown Committee, the Chief, Associate Chief and Deputy Chief forManagement and Strategy on status of work and will elevate issues and opportunities thatrequire higher level interaction or resolution. The makeup of the Customer Service Team will beas follows:6 Page

Chief of Staff, ChairAssociate Chief’s Chief of StaffChief of Staff, Regional Conservationists’ OfficeDesignated staff from the Management and Strategy Deputy AreaDirector, Financial Assistance Programs Division (FAPD)Director, Easement Programs Division (EPD)Director, Conservation Engineering DivisionShutdown CommitteeSee information in the Business Center plan for the FPAC Shutdown Committee. For NRCS, atemporary Shutdown Committee (“Committee”) will guide the transition from full operationalstatus to shutdown. The Committee will be responsible for overseeing the implementation ofthe shutdown plan; providing related policy and procedural direction; ensuring coordinationand consistency across functional areas troubleshooting challenges; and monitoring progressrelated to shutdown.The complete membership of the Committee will be as follows: Associate Chief, ChairDeputy Chief for Management and Strategy, Vice ChairChief of StaffRegional ConservationistsRegional Conservationists’ Chief of StaffDeputy Chief for ProgramsDeputy Chief for Science and TechnologyDeputy Chief for Soil Science and Resource AssessmentThe Committee will be assisted by the Customer Service Team. Other positions may be calledupon for assistance as opportunity warrants. In the event of a shutdown, the Agency willimplement a two-phased approach to oversee shutdown activities and to monitor essentialactivities and respond to emergencies and activities. This approach will allow for enough staffto accomplish needed functions at the beginning of a possible shutdown and stand down toonly a few essential staff should the shutdown last for more than three days. Days one through three of a possible shutdown: The Chief, the Shutdown Committee, andthe Customer Service Team, will be designated as excepted or excepted on-call and willreport to work. In addition, the Executive Assistant to the Chief and Associate Chief, ifavailable, will be designated as excepted, on-call.Information TechnologyThe FPAC Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for ensuring an orderly shutdown ofInformation Technology (IT) Systems, as well as making sure excepted IT systems are availableand operating with a high level of confidence:7 Page

All government equipment (computers, laptops, iPhones, iPads, etc.) must be secured andmay not be used during the shutdown except by those in excepted and excepted on-call orepisodic status. Senior leadership (including the Chief, Associate Chiefs, Chiefs of Staff,Deputy Chiefs, Regional Conservationists, Division Directors, and State Conservationists)should retain a mobile device to receive information on shutdown status and communicateemergencies.If an employee is placed in furlough status, they are not to remotely access governmentnetworks or applications.Only excepted IT Systems, as identified by agency business leaders, and approved by theAssociate Chief, with concurrence of the Under Secretary, will be available and operational.All non-excepted websites will be offline, and users will be redirected to a common splashpage.Employees should reset active directory passwords and ensure they are synchronized withtheir mobile devices to ensure expiration does not occur during shutdown.The FPAC CIO will provide ongoing monitoring to ensure availability and proper functionalityof excepted systems during shutdown.The FPAC CIO will identify the minimum information technology support required tomaintain excepted IT services, systems and infrastructure.All IT system that are excepted during shutdown will be minimally maintained and will havethe following message posted:Due to Government shutdown:(1) Information on the website may not be up to date.(2) Transactions submitted via the website might not be processed until appropriations areenacted.(3) The agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.The message may be adjusted to conform with Departmental directives.8 Page

Excepted IT Systems (As of November 2018) *Name of SystemWater and ClimateInformation Systems(WCIS)DamWatchEmergency WatershedProtection ToolDescriptionWCIS provides access to snowpack and relatedclimate data called SNOTEL (for SnowpackTelemetry), Soil Climate Analysis Network(SCAN) stations, as well as data from snowcourses, stream flow stations, reservoirs,climate indices, National Weather ServiceCOOP stations, 30-year normal, water supplyforecasts, and more.DamWatch helps watershed project sponsorsmonitor and manage dams that were built withassistance from USDA's Natural ResourcesConservation Service (NRCS). By monitoringthese structures, project sponsors can betterprevent and protect against hazardous, costlyand potentially catastrophic events.The EWPP Tool is a software applicationdesigned to help NRCS staff create and manageEmergency Watershed Protection (EWP)projects more efficiently. The EWPP Toolfollows the EWP process from the designationof a state disaster and submission of the EDR,through DSR preparation and submittal, toproject and funding approval. The EWPP Tool isused to facilitate management of project fundsand project tracking. The EWPP tool is theprimary resource utilized to operate andmanage the EWP program #!/main/home*Identification of additional IT excepted systems is dependent on an assessment of needs to support anyadditional activities identified as excepted by the Chief, FPAC or the Secretary with guidance and approval of theUSDA Office of Budget and Program Analysis and the Office of General Counsel.Human ResourcesIn the event of a lapse in appropriations and government shutdown, supervisors must, inconformance with Departmental directives: Ensure notice is provided to all non-excepted employees that they are subject to beingplaced in furlough status. Ensure advance notice to all collective bargaining units is provided, as appropriate,concerning shutdown and furlough related topics. Initiate impact and implementationbargaining as appropriate. Cancel annual and sick leave during shutdown for all employees excepted and nonexcepted, including leave already approved/commenced.9 Page

Provide employees on a non-duty day for the first day of shutdown with activities they arerequired to complete as part of an orderly shutdown.Make prior arrangements with employees on telework, alternate work schedules, or leavewithout pay under Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), to complete shutdown activities.Inform individuals on detail to NRCS from non-Federal organizations (IPA assignments orcontribution agreements) that they are subject to shutdown in the same manner aspermanent employees.Inform NRCS employees on detail to Federal or non-Federal organizations that they aresubject to furlough in the same manner as permanent employees.Inform temporary employees and students that they must be furloughed in the samemanner as permanent employees.Inform Earth Team volunteers that volunteering is not an excepted activity.Inform employees who are in temporary housing awaiting permanent relocation that theycannot remain in those quarters.Unemployment BenefitsWhile on furlough, employees may become eligible for unemployment compensation. Stateunemployment compensation requirements differ. In general, the law of the State in which anemployee’s last official duty station in Federal civilian service was located will be the State lawthat determines eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits. (See the Department of Laborwebsite “Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees” mcomp.asp.)Agencies or employees should submit questions regarding unemployment benefits to theappropriate State government (or District of Columbia) unemployment office. The Departmentof Labor website provides links to individual State offices athttp://www.servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp.The Federal Identification Code (FIC) needed for U.S. Department of Agriculture unemploymentcompensation applications is 445.*If retroactive pay is approved, an employee is wholly responsible for repaying anyunemployment compensation the employee may receive. *EthicsEthics rules apply to all employees, even in the event of shutdown. While on furlough, anindividual remains an employee of the Federal Government. Therefore, executive branch-widestandards of ethical conduct and rules regarding outside employment continue to apply whenan individual is furloughed (specifically, the executive branch-wide standards of ethical conductfound at 5 CFR part 2635). In addition, there are specific statutes which prohibit certain outsideactivities, and agency-specific supplemental rules that require prior approval of, and sometimes10 P a g e

prohibit, outside employment. NRCS employees who are required to file financial disclosuresmust continue to seek approval of any outside employment they wish to engage in prior toaccepting such employment during a shutdown. Further, any NRCS employee who wants toengage in outside employment during a government shutdown that would be the same orsimilar to the type of work that the employee performs in his or her federal duties must seekprior approval for engaging in that outside employment.For more information, please see Legal Advisory LA-13-11, dated September 30, Furlough-Periods/.Travel Prior to shutdown, all vouchers from previous travel must be submitted and approved tohelp ensure payment prior to systems being shut down. If travel is taken close to a possibleshutdown, payment may not be made until after the shutdown. During an extended shutdown event, government issued credit card companies will use aforbearance clause and will work with the government and employees on payments oncereturned to normal business operations. Employees whose government issued credits cardsare in good standing will not move to delinquent status; however, if an employee was indelinquent status prior to the shutdown, then the account will continue in delinquent statusuntil payment is made. All employees in travel status or on detail in another location must return to official dutystations as soon as possible once notified to begin shutdown activities. Employee change of duty station actions may be delayed, depending upon the individualcircumstances.Contracts, Grants, Agreements and Asset ManagementContracts, Grants and AgreementsNOTE: During the 2013 government shutdown, and initially in preparation for a possibleshutdown during January 2018, NRCS followed the guidance below and is in Appendix H(Excepted Contracts Guidance). During January 2018, the Department issued its own guidanceand a “decision tree” for identifying contracts that can continue during a shutdown. Theguidance immediately below and that found in Appendix H, where it may possibly conflict withthat issued by the Department, is currently being reviewed and updated, where needed. One week prior to a possible shutdown, the, State Conservationists, and NationalHeadquarters Program Leaders, Deputy Chief Management and Strategy, working withappropriate Contracting Officers and Contracting Officer Representatives in the FPACBusiness Center, must identify all contracts that are excepted and must remain in full effectto ensure the safety of life and/or property. Once OMB guidance is given, contractingofficers will notify those contractors who will continue to perform excepted work.11 P a g e

Work under NRCS authority and requiring NRCS support, oversight, assistance, etc. willcease during shutdown, unless determined to be an excepted activity by the Chief.For previously obligated and awarded contracts, grants, and agreements where it is notcritical that NRCS provide oversight, supervision, support, or other assistance to thecontractor’s or grantee’s continued performance during the lapse of operations, thosecontractors or grantees may continue.Contractors and grantees may not continue to work if they use NRCS space, governmentissued devices, or any asset owned or leased by NRCS, unless the use of these assets arenecessary to perform excepted activities.Identify any federal procurement actions (e.g., solicitations, bid openings) that may expireduring a shutdown, and take appropriate action to extend, delay, or cancel those actions.Asset Management All real property owned or leased by NRCS will not be available for use through the furloughunless utilized by an excepted employee or unless covered by the partner reimbursableagreement exception below. All expenses for fuel, utilities, supplies, etc., must be kept tothe minimum required to perform excepted work. In locations where NRCS shares space with non-Federal partners and NRCS bears the costsfor the space, partners will be prohibited from entering and using the office during theshutdown. Partners will not be able to use/access NRCS equipment, files, and otherproperty. If the partner’s space is segregated and separate from USDA space and they are paying allcosts through a reimbursable agreement with NRCS, FSA, or RD, their operations maycontinue; however, they will still be prohibited from accessing and using Federal files,computers, other equipment, etc. All NRCS equipment, files, property and any segregatedand/or separate space will be secured and locked for the duration of the shutdown. Utilitieso Actions should be taken to keep utility costs to a minimum during shutdown period.o Utilities, such as heating, should be maintained at a minimum to prevent propertydamage (such as frozen pipes). In leased space, notify lessor about lapse in funding and reduce support services such asjanitorial service (unless there are excepted employees in the building). Be sure trash isremoved before lapse begins. Advise employees and lessor to secure the premises and power down systems (such asHVAC) and lighting as per a Federal holiday. Computers and other electronic items shouldbe locked in a secure area. All personal property (vehicles, survey equipment, copiers, etc.) owned or leased by NRCSwill not be available for use through shutdown unless utilized by an excepted employeewhile performing excepted activities. All expenses for utilities, supplies, etc., must be keptto the minimum required to perform excepted work and to conserve energy.12 P a g e

Partners are prohibited from access to or use of NRCS equipment, files and other property.All NRCS equipment, files, space and property (including segregated and separate space)will be secured and locked for the duration of the shutdown.Leases will not be terminated in the event of shutdown; however, actions must be taken tosecure real and personal property and conserve energy.The use of vehicles by non-federal partners or other non-excepted personnel is prohibited.Purchase and fleet cards will only be available for excepted activities during shutdown.o Employees using NRCS owned or leased vehicles must ensure they maintain the logs,as well as all receipts during their excepted work period.o All expenses should be kept to the minimum required to perform excepted services.o Fleet vehicles should be parked, and equipment secured at the designated garage(s)or authorized location(s) to prevent theft/damage, unless required for exceptedfunctions.All supervisors must identify measures to secure rec

NRCS has prepared a contingency plan for an orderly approved shutdown of activities in the event of a lapse in appropriations. The timelines in this plan are the agency’s intent; however, these timelines a