soil material begins. Remove 12 inches of the original soil 

 from the hole and look for indicators of hydrlc soils 

 (PART III, paragraphs A4 and/or 45) immediately below the 

 A-horizon or 10 inches (whichever is shallower) . Record on 

 DATA FORM 3 the color of the soil matrix, presence of an or- 

 ganic layer, presence of mottles or gleying, and/or presence of 

 iron and manganese concretions. If the original soil is mot- 

 tled and the chroma of the soil matrix is 2 or less,* a hydric 

 soil was formerly present on the site. If any of these indica- 

 tors are found, the original soil was a hydric soil. (NOTE: 

 When the fill material is a thick layer, it might he necessary 

 to use a backhoe or posthole digger to excavate the soil pit.) 

 If USGS quadrangle maps indicate distinct variation in area 

 topography, this procedure must be applied in each portion of 

 the area that originally had a different surface elevation. 

 Record findings on DATA FORM 3. 



£. Characterization of plowed soils. Determine the depth to which 

 the soil has been disturbed by plowing. Look for hydric soil 

 characteristics (PART III, paragraphs 44 and/or 45) immediately 

 below this depth. Record findings on DATA FORM 3. 



d. Removal of surface layers. Dig a hole (Appendix D, Section 1) 

 and determine whether the entire surface layer (A-horizon) has 

 been removed. If so, examine the soil immediately below the 

 top of the subsurface layer (B-horizon) for hydric soil char- 

 acteristics. As an alternative, examine an undisturbed soil of 

 the same soil series occurring in the same topographic position 

 in an immediately adjacent area that has not been altered. 

 Look for hydric soil indicators immediately below the A-horizon 

 or 10 inches (whichever is shallower) , and record findings on 

 DATA FORM 3. 



If sufficient data on soils that existed prior to alteration can be 



obtained to determine whether a hydric soil was present, PROCEED TO 



STEP 4. If not, a determination cannot be made using soils. Use the 



other parameters (Subsections 1 and 3) for the determination. 



• STEP 4 - Determine Whether Hydric Soils Were Formerly Present. 



Examine the available data and determine whether indicators of hydric 



soils (PART III, paragraphs 44 and/or 45) were formerly present. If no 



indicators of hydric soils were found, the original soils were not 



hydric soils. If indicators of hydric soils were found, record the 



appropriate indicators on DATA FORM 3 and PROCEED TO Subsection 3 if 



the hydrology of the area has been significantly altered or return 



either to the appropriate subsection of Section D or to Section E and 



characterize the area hydrology. 



* The matrix chroma must be 1 or less if no mottles are present (see para- 

 graph 44) . The soil must be moist when colors are determined. 



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