16 U.S.C. § 3832 — Duties of owners and operators

Page 2368 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3832 1938, ch. 30, 52 Stat. 72, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 1501 et seq.) of chapter 36 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1501 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SOIL HEALTH AND INCOME PROTECTION PILOT PROGRAM EXTENSION Pub. L. 116–260, div. O, title V, § 501, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2149, provided that: ‘‘Section 1231C(b)(2)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831c(b)(2)(B)) shall be applied by substituting ‘September 30, 2021’ for ‘De- cember 31, 2020’.’’ § 3832. Duties of owners and operators (a) In general Under the terms of a contract entered into under this subpart, during the term of the con- tract, an owner or operator of a farm or ranch shall agree— (1) to implement a plan approved by the local conservation district (or in an area not located within a conservation district, a plan approved by the Secretary) for converting eli- gible land normally devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity on the farm or ranch to a less intensive use (as defined by the Secretary), such as pasture, permanent grass, legumes, forbs, shrubs, or trees, substantially in accordance with a schedule outlined in the plan; (2) to place highly erodible cropland subject to the contract in the conservation reserve es- tablished under this subpart; (3) not to use the land for agricultural pur- poses, except as permitted by the Secretary; (4) to establish approved vegetative cover (which may include emerging vegetation in water), water cover for the enhancement of wildlife, or, where practicable, maintain exist- ing cover on the land, except that— (A) the water cover shall not include ponds for the purpose of watering livestock, irri- gating crops, or raising fish for commercial purposes; and (B) the Secretary shall not terminate the contract for failure to establish approved vegetative or water cover on the land if— (i) the failure to plant the cover was due to excessive rainfall or flooding; (ii) the land subject to the contract that could practicably be planted to the cover is planted to the cover; and (iii) the land on which the owner or oper- ator was unable to plant the cover is planted to the cover after the wet condi- tions that prevented the planting subsides; (5) to undertake management on the land as needed throughout the term of the contract to implement the conservation plan; (6) on a violation of a term or condition of the contract at any time the owner or oper- ator has control of the land— (A) to forfeit all rights to receive rental payments and cost sharing payments under the contract and to refund to the Secretary any rental payments and cost sharing pay- ments received by the owner or operator under the contract, together with interest on the payments as determined by the Sec- retary, if the Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the soil conserva- tion district and the Natural Resources Con- servation Service, determines that the viola- tion is of such nature as to warrant termi- nation of the contract; or (B) to refund to the Secretary, or accept adjustments to, the rental payments and cost sharing payments provided to the owner or operator, as the Secretary considers ap- propriate, if the Secretary determines that the violation does not warrant termination of the contract; (7) on the transfer of the right and interest of the owner or operator in land subject to the contract— (A) to forfeit all rights to rental payments and cost sharing payments under the con- tract; and (B) to refund to the United States all rent- al payments and cost sharing payments re- ceived by the owner or operator, or accept such payment adjustments or make such re- funds as the Secretary considers appropriate and consistent with the objectives of this subpart; unless the transferee of the land agrees with the Secretary to assume all obligations of the contract, except that no refund of rental pay- ments and cost sharing payments shall be re- quired if the land is purchased by or for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the transferee and the Secretary agree to modi- fications to the contract, in a case in which the modifications are consistent with the ob- jectives of the program, as determined by the Secretary; (8) not to conduct any harvesting or grazing, nor otherwise make commercial use of the for- age, on land that is subject to the contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the con- tract, except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of section 3833 of this title; (9) not to conduct any planting of trees on land that is subject to the contract unless the contract specifies that the harvesting and commercial sale of trees such as Christmas trees are prohibited, nor otherwise make com- mercial use of trees on land that is subject to the contract unless it is expressly permitted in the contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the pur- poses of the contract, except that no contract shall prohibit activities consistent with cus- tomary forestry practice, such as pruning, thinning, or stand improvement of trees, on land converted to forestry use; (10) on land devoted to hardwood or other trees, excluding windbreaks and shelterbelts, to carry out proper thinning and other prac- tices— (A) to enhance the conservation benefits and wildlife habitat resources addressed by the conservation practice under which the land is enrolled; and (B) to promote forest management; (11) not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the contract as a practice Page 2369 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3833 that would tend to defeat the purposes of this subpart; and (12) to comply with such additional provi- sions as the Secretary determines are desir- able and are included in the contract to carry out this subpart or to facilitate the practical administration of this subpart. (b) Conservation plans The plan referred to in subsection (a)(1) shall set forth— (1) the conservation measures and practices to be carried out by the owner or operator dur- ing the term of the contract; and (2) the commercial use, if any, to be per- mitted on the land during the term. (c) Foreclosure (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner or operator who is a party to a con- tract entered into under this subpart may not be required to make repayments to the Sec- retary of amounts received under the contract if the land that is subject to the contract has been foreclosed on and the Secretary deter- mines that forgiving the repayments is appro- priate in order to provide fair and equitable treatment. (2) Resumption of control (A) In general This subsection shall not void the respon- sibilities of an owner or operator under the contract if the owner or operator resumes control over the land that is subject to the contract within the period specified in the contract. (B) Contract On the resumption of the control over the land by the owner or operator, the provi- sions of the contract in effect on the date of the foreclosure shall apply. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1232, as added Pub. L. 107–171, title II, § 2101(a), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 242; amended Pub. L. 108–7, div. N, title II, § 212, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 545; Pub. L. 110–234, title II, §§ 2107, 2108, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1032, 1033; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title II, §§ 2107, 2108, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1760, 1761; Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2003, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 715; Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2205, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4543.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246. PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 3832, Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1232, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1509; Pub. L. 101–512, title I, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1919; Pub. L. 101–624, title XIV, §§ 1433, 1447(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3579, 3605; Pub. L. 102–237, title II, § 204(5), Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1855; Pub. L. 102–552, title V, § 516(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4136; Pub. L. 104–127, title III, § 332(a)(2), Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 994; Pub. L. 106–78, title VII, §§ 763, 769, Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1173, 1174; Pub. L. 106–387, § 1(a) [title VIII, § 817, title XI, § 1103], Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1549, 1549A–58, 1549A–77; Pub. L. 107–76, title VII, §§ 758(b), 759(b)(2), Nov. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 741, related to duties of owners and operators, prior to the general amendment of this subpart by Pub. L. 107–171. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (a)(10) to (12). Pub. L. 115–334 added par. (10) and redesignated former pars. (10) and (11) as (11) and (12), respectively. 2014—Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(a), sub- stituted ‘‘except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of section 3833 of this title;’’ for ‘‘except that the Sec- retary may permit, consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat (including habitat during nesting seasons for birds in the area)— ’’ and struck out subpars. (A) to (D), which related to managed harvesting, commercial use in response to an emergency, grazing for the control of invasive species, and the installation of wind turbines, respectively. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(b), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The plan referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this sec- tion— ‘‘(1) shall set forth— ‘‘(A) the conservation measures and practices to be carried out by the owner or operator during the term of the contract; and ‘‘(B) the commercial use, if any, to be permitted on the land during the term; and ‘‘(2) may provide for the permanent retirement of any existing cropland base and allotment history for the land.’’ Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(c), struck out subsec. (d). Text read as follows: ‘‘In the case of an authorized activity under subsection (a)(8) on land that is subject to a contract under this subpart, the Secretary shall reduce the rental payment otherwise payable under the contract by an amount commensurate with the eco- nomic value of the authorized activity.’’ 2008—Subsec. (a)(5) to (7). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107, added par. (5) and redesignated former pars. (5) and (6) as (6) and (7), respectively. Former par. (7) redesignated (8). Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2108(a), added par. (8) and struck out former par. (8) which related to prohibi- tion against harvesting, grazing, or other commercial use of the forage, with exception authorizing Secretary to permit managed harvesting and grazing if appro- priate requirements were developed and timeframes identified or in a drought or other emergency, and ex- ception for the installation of wind turbines. Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107(1), redesignated par. (7) as (8). Former par. (8) redesignated (9). Subsec. (a)(9) to (11). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107(1), redesig- nated pars. (8) to (10) as (9) to (11), respectively. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2108(b), added subsec. (d). 2003—Subsec. (a)(7)(A)(iii). Pub. L. 108–7 inserted be- fore semicolon ‘‘, except that this clause shall not apply to the 2002 calendar year, and the Secretary shall repay the owner or operator (in a manner determined by the Secretary) for any reduction in rental payments made to the owner or operator as the result of the ap- plication of this clause to the 2002 calendar year’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2008 AMENDMENT Amendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture. § 3833. Duties of the Secretary (a) Cost-share and rental payments In return for a contract entered into by an owner or operator under the conservation re- serve program, the Secretary shall—