ABSTRACT
The United States Soil Survey Program was established by the Agriculture Appropriation Act of 1896. Currently, the US Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), provides leadership, management, research, and coordination for the soil survey program, nationally known as the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS). The NRCS technically supports urban and community development and smart growth through the NCSS partnership, but most of the financial support for urban soil surveys comes directly from the urban communities themselves. Using mapping protocols, standards, and concepts from agricultural interpretations, urban soil surveys are pieced together with minimal recommendations for best management practices (BMPs) to develop storm water and sediment pollution controls. Urban and nonfarm-use soil surveys have applications similar to traditional soil surveys, using tools of soil interpretation to transition data into information for use and planning. Soil survey interpretations for community planning use the standard national soil interpretations for construction as the foundation of urban interpretations.
