Lisa, Tim, Gerald

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Contract Modification Procedures and PolicyArea
1 Contracting TrainingThursday March 22, 2007

• Lisa, Tim, Gerald

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Topics

• Contract Modification Policy
• In-Scope
• Cost Overruns
• Minor Modification
• Completing Mods
• Approving Mods

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Streamlining Contract Payments Training Module

• Contract History Training Module

For future and frequent reference!
New Forms Training Module
Assigning Payments Training Module
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Policy

• 440 CPM 512.50

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Contract Modifications

• Require an NRCS Approving Official and
  participant signature.
• Documented on either the Revision of Conservation
  Plan/Schedule of Operations (Form NRCS-CPA-1156),
  or the Transfer Agreement (Form NRCS-CPA-152).
• These forms are signed electronically by the NRCS
  Approving Official, and signed manually by
  participants.

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Cost Overrun Modifications

• Contract modifications that exceed the lesser of
  20 percent of the current contract obligation or
  10,000 will require approval of the ASTC-P.
• ALL CORs, where fund balance is gt_____ require
  approval of ASTC-P.
• Approving Official will notify the ASTC-P.
• The contract basis for modification will include
  narrative justification for the increased cost.

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Minor Changes

• do not increase or decrease obligation by more
  than 1,000
• do not require approval by a NRCS Approving
  Official
• do not require participant signature.
• do not require documentation in the contract
  folder. Recorded in the history module in
  ProTracts and reflected on the printed Form
  NRCS-CPA-1156.

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Within-Scope Mods

• Original intent of the contract on the original
  land.
• To treat the original resource concern according
  to the ranking criteria for which contract
  approval was based.
• The original conservation practice is not
  technically feasible to be installed. NRCS will
  only provide cost share assistance up to the
  amount of the least cost option to treat the
  resource concerns.
• The practice may be deleted if no substitute
  practice is feasible.
• A practice is no longer necessary to address the
  resource concern originally identified.

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Prohibited Changes

• Change to the AERT after contract approval.
• Change or modify a cancelled, terminated, or
  expired contract.
• Change contract cost-share program.
• Change contract number.
• Change contract state and county.
• Change contract fiscal year.

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Prohibited Changes, cont.

• Change resource concerns.
• Change the cost list linked to a contract to the
  current year cost list.
• Change in contract items to avoid loss of
  payments due to violation of HELC/WC provisions.
  The contract must be completed as scheduled
  without payment.
• Change or modify a contract item, or component
  that is certified and approved for payment.

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Documentation

• Cancel a contract
• DC writes canceled and date on all contract
  documents in the folder, and changes the contract
  status to cancelled in ProTracts.

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Documentation

• Terminate a contract
• DC writes terminated and date on all contract
  documents in the folder, and changes the contract
  status to terminated in ProTracts.
• This requires formal documentation with appeal
  rights provided to the participant.

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Documentation

• Add a participant CPA-152
• Delete a participant CPA-152
• Change payment shares CPA-152

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Documentation, using Form 1156

• Change expiration date
• Change contract land units or legal description
• Change acres under contract
• Change CSP eligible acres
• Change CSP contract tier
• Change CSP contract years
• Add a practice/contract item
• Change contract item TA fund code
• Delete a practice/contract item
• Add land units to a practice

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Documentation, using Form 1156

• Remove land units from a practice
• Change contract item benchmark indicator
• Decrease component cost-share rate
• Increase component cost-share rate (LRP/BF only)
• Increase component unit cost
• Change cost share method/type (FY04-06)

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Completing Contract Mods

• Through ProTracts modification module.
• After contract changes have been entered, Form
  NRCS-CPA-1156 will be printed for signatures.
• Changes will be identified on the form along with
  an explanation of the basis for the modification.
• Basis for mod will be selected from choice list
  with additional narrative information added by
  the planner on the modification approval screen
  in ProTracts.
• ProTracts will assign a number to the contract
  modification or minor contract change and update
  the status and changes to each of the contract
  items.

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Approving Mods

• The participant and NRCS Official will sign
  contract mod.
• Participant signatures on 1156 or 152 must match
  those designated on 1202.
• The effective date of a contract modification is
  the date it is signed by the NRCS Approving
  Official.
• Significant increases in contract obligations
  will be monitored to ensure compliance.

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No Signatures Required

• Scheduling changes within the original length of
  the contract.
• Increasing/decreasing planned amount of practice
  when the payment amount per CIN is not increased
  by more than 1,000.
• Add/delete a component from a planned practice.
• Change in contract servicing office.
• Edit crop types or acres, or livestock type.
• Add a vendor code to a participant.

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Signatures Required

• Losing control of land mod to delete contract
  acreage.
• Extending or reducing the contract period (if
  mutually beneficial)
• Substituting a new contract item within a CPC.
  Must certify on 1156 that ranking score was not
  adversely impacted.
• gt1,000 increase (per practice) contract cost
  resulting from quantity variations

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Signatures Required, cont.

• Destroying a practice established under the
  contract or any existing practice for which
  maintenance is specified.
• Changing contract information such as adding a
  participant or adjusting shares.
• Reapplying a conservation treatment that failed
  at no-fault of the participant.
• Adding TSP services to a contract.
• Changing the method of cost-sharing or adding a
  payment cap for a practice.
• Change in CSP tier or contract length.

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