(a) The regulations in this part will be administered under the general supervision and direction of the Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), and the Administrator, Farm Service Agency (FSA). In the field, the regulations in this part will be administered by the FSA State and county committees (referred to as “State committee” and “county committee,” respectively).

(b) State executive directors, county executive directors, and State and county committees do not have authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of this part.

(c) The State committee may take any action authorized or required by this part to be taken by the county committee that has not been taken by such committee. The State committee may also:

(1) Correct or require a county committee to correct any action taken by such county committee that is not in accordance with this part or

(2) Require a county committee to withhold taking any action that is not in accordance with this part.

(d) No delegation in this part to a State or county committee precludes the Executive Vice President, CCC, and the Administrator, FSA, or a designee, from determining any question arising under this part or from reversing or modifying any determination made by a State or county committee.

(e) Benefits from programs subject to this part may not be issued until all required forms and necessary payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations are made.

(f) The initial payment eligibility determinations will be made within 60 days after the required forms and any other supporting documentation needed in making such determinations are received in the county FSA office. If the determination is not made within 60 days, the producer will receive a determination for that program year that reflects the determination sought by the producer unless the Deputy Administrator determines that the producer did not follow the farm operating plan that was presented to the county or State committee for such year.

(g) Initial determinations concerning the provisions of this part will be made by the FSA State office with respect to any farm operating plan that is for a joint operation with six or more members.

(h) Reviews of farming operations and corresponding documentation submitted by program participants may be conducted at any time to determine compliance with applicable statutes and regulations. The completion of such reviews is not subject to the time constraints specified in paragraph (f) of this section.

(i) The Deputy Administrator will periodically monitor the status of completion of assigned compliance reviews and take any actions deemed appropriate to ensure timely completion of reviews for payment eligibility and payment limitation compliance purposes.

[73 FR 79273, Dec. 29, 2008, as amended at 75 FR 899, Jan. 7, 2010; 80 FR 78128, Dec. 16, 2015]