16 U.S.C. § 2202 — Payments to agricultural producers for

Page 2174 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 2114 Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 115–334, § 8624(b)(2)(A), in- serted ‘‘or county’’ after ‘‘Governor’’. Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 115–334, § 8624(b)(2)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘good neighbor agreement’’ for ‘‘cooperative agreement or contract entered into under subsection (a)’’. Subsec. (b)(2)(C). Pub. L. 115–334, § 8624(c), added sub- par. (C). Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 8624(b)(2)(C), inserted ‘‘or county’’ after ‘‘Governor’’. Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 115–334, § 8624(b)(2)(D), added par. (4). § 2114. Administration (a) In general The Secretary shall administer this chapter in accordance with regulations that the Secretary shall develop. (b) Guidelines The regulations promulgated under this chap- ter shall include guidelines for the administra- tion of this chapter at the Federal and State levels and shall identify the measures and ac- tivities that are eligible for cost sharing under this chapter. (c) Existing mechanisms Existing mechanisms shall be used to the ex- tent possible to make payments and deliver services to the landowner under this chapter. (d) Land grant universities The Secretary, in consultation with State for- esters or equivalent State officials, may provide assistance directly to other State and local nat- ural resource management agencies and land grant universities in implementing this chapter in cases in which the State foresters or equiva- lent State officials are not able to make fund transfers to other State and local agencies. (Pub. L. 95–313, § 20, as added Pub. L. 101–624, title XII, § 1223, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3542.) CHAPTER 42—EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM Sec. 2201. Emergency conservation program. 2202. Payments to agricultural producers for car- rying out water conservation or water en- hancing measures; criteria. 2202a. Cost-share requirement. 2202b. Payment limitation. 2203. Emergency watershed program. 2204. Funding and administration. 2205. Regulations for implementation of provi- sions. 2206. Emergency forest restoration program. § 2201. Emergency conservation program (a) In general The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this chapter as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized to make payments to agricultural producers who carry out emergency measures to control wind erosion on farmlands or to rehabilitate farm- lands damaged by wind erosion, floods, hurri- canes, wildfires, or other natural disasters when, as a result of the foregoing, new conservation problems have been created that (1) if not treat- ed, will impair or endanger the land, (2) materi- ally affect the productive capacity of the land, (3) represent damage that is unusual in char- acter and, except for wind erosion, is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area, and (4) will be so costly to rehabilitate that Federal assistance is or will be required to return the land to productive agricultural use. (b) Repair or replacement of fencing (1) In general With respect to a payment to an agricultural producer under subsection (a) for the repair or replacement of fencing, the Secretary shall give the agricultural producer the option of receiving not more than 25 percent of the pay- ment, determined by the Secretary based on the applicable percentage of the fair market value of the cost of the repair or replacement, before the agricultural producer carries out the repair or replacement. (2) Return of funds If the funds provided under paragraph (1) are not expended by the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date on which the agricul- tural producer receives those funds, the funds shall be returned within a reasonable time- frame, as determined by the Secretary. (Pub. L. 95–334, title IV, § 401, Aug. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 433; Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2403(a)(1), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4571.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Pub. L. 115–334 inserted section catchline, des- ignated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, substituted ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture (re- ferred to in this chapter as the ‘Secretary’)’’ for ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture’’, inserted ‘‘wildfires,’’ after ‘‘hurricanes,’’, and added subsec. (b). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 95–334, title IV, § 406, Aug. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 434, provided that: ‘‘The provisions of this title [enacting this chapter] shall become effective October 1, 1978.’’ § 2202. Payments to agricultural producers for carrying out water conservation or water en- hancing measures; criteria The Secretary is authorized to make pay- ments to agricultural producers who carry out emergency water conservation or water enhanc- ing measures (including measures carried out to assist confined livestock) during periods of se- vere drought as determined by the Secretary. (Pub. L. 95–334, title IV, § 402, Aug. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 434; Pub. L. 101–82, title V, § 502, Aug. 14, 1989, 103 Stat. 586; Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2403(a)(2)(A), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4571.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Pub. L. 115–334 substituted ‘‘The Secretary is’’ for ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture is’’. 1989—Pub. L. 101–82, § 502(1), inserted ‘‘(including measures carried out to assist confined livestock)’’. Pub. L. 101–82, § 502(2), temporarily substituted ‘‘any fiscal year in which there is a period of severe drought’’ for ‘‘periods of severe drought’’. See Effective and Ter- mination Dates of 1989 Amendment note below. Page 2175 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 2203 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 1989 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 101–82, title V, § 502(2), Aug. 14, 1989, 103 Stat. 586, provided in part that amendment by section 502(2) of Pub. L. 101–82 is effective only for fiscal year 1989. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1978, see section 406 of Pub. L. 95–334, set out as a note under section 2201 of this title. § 2202a. Cost-share requirement (a) Cost-share rate Subject to subsections (b) and (c), the max- imum cost-share payment under sections 2201 and 2202 of this title shall not exceed 75 percent of the total allowable cost, as determined by the Secretary. (b) Exception Notwithstanding subsection (a), a payment to a limited resource farmer or rancher, a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (as defined in subsection (a) of section 2279 of title 7), or a be- ginning farmer or rancher under section 2201 or 2202 of this title shall not exceed 90 percent of the total allowable cost, as determined by the Secretary. (c) Limitation The total payment under sections 2201 and 2202 of this title for a single event may not exceed 50 percent of the agriculture value of the land, as determined by the Secretary. (Pub. L. 95–334, title IV, § 402A, as added Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2403(b), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4571.) § 2202b. Payment limitation The maximum payment made under the emer- gency conservation program to an agricultural producer under sections 2201 and 2202 of this title shall not exceed $500,000. (Pub. L. 95–334, title IV, § 402B, as added Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2403(c), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4572.) § 2203. Emergency watershed program (a) In general The Secretary is authorized to undertake emergency watershed protection measures, in- cluding the purchase of floodplain easements, for runoff retardation and soil-erosion preven- tion, in cooperation with landowners and land users, as the Secretary deems necessary to safe- guard lives and property from floods, drought, and the products of erosion on any watershed whenever fire, flood, or any other natural occur- rence is causing or has caused a sudden impair- ment of that watershed. (b) Floodplain easements (1) Modification and termination The Secretary may modify or terminate a floodplain easement administered by the Sec- retary under this section if— (A) the current owner agrees to the modi- fication or termination; and (B) the Secretary determines that the modification or termination— (i) will address a compelling public need for which there is no practicable alter- native; and (ii) is in the public interest. (2) Consideration (A) Termination As consideration for termination of an easement and associated agreements under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall enter into compensatory arrangements as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. (B) Modification In the case of a modification under para- graph (1)— (i) as a condition of the modification, the current owner shall enter into a compen- satory arrangement (as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary) to incur the costs of modification; and (ii) the Secretary shall ensure that— (I) the modification will not adversely affect the floodplain functions and val- ues for which the easement was acquired; (II) any adverse impacts will be miti- gated by enrollment and restoration of other land that provides greater flood- plain functions and values at no addi- tional cost to the Federal Government; and (III) the modification will result in equal or greater environmental and eco- nomic values to the United States. (Pub. L. 95–334, title IV, § 403, Aug. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 434; Pub. L. 104–127, title III, § 382, Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 1016; Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2506, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 752; Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2403(a)(2)(A), (d), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4571, 4572.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Pub. L. 115–334, § 2403(d)(1), substituted ‘‘Emer- gency watershed program’’ for ‘‘Emergency measures’’ in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2403(d)(2), inserted ‘‘wa- tershed protection’’ after ‘‘emergency’’. Pub. L. 115–334, § 2403(a)(2)(A), substituted ‘‘The Sec- retary is’’ for ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture is’’. 2014—Pub. L. 113–79 inserted section catchline, des- ignated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and inserted heading, and added subsec. (b). 1996—Pub. L. 104–127 inserted ‘‘, including the pur- chase of floodplain easements,’’ after ‘‘emergency measures’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1978, see section 406 of Pub. L. 95–334, set out as a note under section 2201 of this title. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION ACTIVITIES Pub. L. 100–387, title IV, § 402, as added Pub. L. 101–82, title V, § 503, Aug. 14, 1989, 103 Stat. 586, authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial and tech- nical disaster relief assistance in accordance with this