16 U.S.C. § 3871c — Assistance to producers

Page 2441 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3871c (B) have a high percentage of producers in the area to be covered by the agreement; (C) significantly leverage non-Federal fi- nancial and technical resources and coordi- nate with other local, State, or national ef- forts; (D) build new partnerships with local, State, and private entities to include a di- versity of stakeholders in the project; (E) deliver a high percentage of applied conservation— (i) to achieve conservation benefits; or (ii) in the case of a project in a critical conservation area under section 3871f of this title, to address the priority resource concern for that critical conservation area; (F) implement the project consistent with existing watershed, habitat, or other area restoration plans; (G) provide innovation in conservation methods and delivery, including outcome- based performance measures and methods; or (H) meet other factors that are important for achieving the purposes of the program, as determined by the Secretary. (5) Renewals If the Secretary determines that a project that is the subject of a partnership agreement has met or exceeded the objectives of the project, the Secretary may renew the partner- ship agreement through an expedited non- competitive process if the 1 or more eligible partners that are parties to the partnership agreement request the renewal in order— (A) to continue to implement the project under a renewal of the partnership agree- ment; or (B) to expand the scope of the project under a renewal of the partnership agree- ment, as long as the expansion is within the objectives and purposes of the original part- nership agreement. (f) Nonapplicability of adjusted gross income limitation The adjusted gross income limitation de- scribed in section 1308–3a(b)(1) of title 7 shall not apply to an eligible partner under the program. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1271B, as added Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2401, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 746; amended Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2703, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4594.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(1), added sub- sec. (b) and struck out former subsec. (b). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘A partnership agree- ment shall be for a period not to exceed 5 years, except that the Secretary may extend the agreement one time for up to 12 months when an extension is necessary to meet the objectives of the program.’’ Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(2)(A)(i), added cls. (i) to (iii), redesignated former cls. (iii) and (iv) as (iv) and (v), respectively, and struck out former cls. (i) and (ii) which read as follows: ‘‘(i) the eligible activities to be implemented; ‘‘(ii) the potential agricultural or nonindustrial pri- vate forest land operations affected;’’. Subsec. (c)(1)(D). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(2)(A)(ii), sub- stituted ‘‘contributions’’ for ‘‘funds’’. Subsec. (c)(1)(E). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(2)(A)(iii), sub- stituted ‘‘of—’’ for ‘‘of the project’s effects; and’’ and added cls. (i) and (ii). Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(2)(B), designated existing provisions as subpar. (A), inserted heading, and added subpars. (B) and (C). Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(3), (4), added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e). Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(5)(A), inserted ‘‘simplified’’ before ‘‘competitive process’’. Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(5)(B)(i), sub- stituted ‘‘Contents’’ for ‘‘Content’’ in heading and ‘‘The Secretary shall develop a simplified application that includes a description of—’’ for ‘‘An application to the Secretary shall include a description of—’’ in introduc- tory provisions. Subsec. (e)(3)(C). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(5)(B)(ii), struck out ‘‘, including the covered programs to be used’’ after ‘‘resources requested for the project’’. Subsec. (e)(3)(D). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(5)(B)(iii), struck out ‘‘financial’’ before ‘‘contribution’’. Subsec. (e)(4)(D) to (H). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(5)(C), added subpars. (D) to (F), redesignated former subpars. (E) and (F) as (G) and (H), respectively, and struck out former subpar. (D) which read as follows: ‘‘deliver high percentages of applied conservation to address con- servation priorities or regional, State, or national con- servation initiatives;’’. Subsec. (e)(5). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(5)(D), added par. (5). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2703(6), added subsec. (f). § 3871c. Assistance to producers (a) In general A producer may receive financial or technical assistance to conduct eligible activities on eligi- ble land through a program contract entered into with the Secretary. (b) Program contracts (1) In general The Secretary shall establish a program con- tract to be entered into with a producer to conduct eligible activities on eligible land, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish. (2) Application bundles (A) In general An eligible partner may submit to the Sec- retary, on behalf of producers, a bundle of applications for assistance under the pro- gram through program contracts to address a substantial portion of the conservation benefits to be achieved by the project, as de- fined in the partnership agreement. (B) Priority The Secretary may give priority to appli- cations described in subparagraph (A). (c) Payments (1) In general Subject to section 3871d of this title, the Secretary may make payments to a producer in an amount determined by the Secretary to be necessary to achieve the purposes of the program. (2) Payments to certain producers The Secretary may provide payments for a period of 5 years— (A) to producers participating in a project that addresses water quantity concerns and Page 2442 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3871d in an amount sufficient to encourage conver- sion from irrigated to dryland farming; and (B) to producers participating in a project that addresses water quality concerns and in an amount sufficient to encourage adoption of conservation practices and systems that improve nutrient management. (3) Waiver authority To assist in the implementation of the pro- gram, the Secretary may waive the applica- bility of the limitation in section 1308–3a(b)(2) of title 7 for producers if the Secretary deter- mines that the waiver is necessary to fulfill the objectives of the program. (d) Funding through alternative funding ar- rangements or grant agreements (1) In general A partnership agreement entered into with an eligible partner may be funded through an alternative funding arrangement or grant in accordance with this subsection. (2) Duties of the Secretary The Secretary shall— (A) under a funding agreement under para- graph (1)— (i) use funding made available to carry out this subchapter to provide funding di- rectly to the eligible partner; and (ii) provide technical and administrative assistance, as mutually agreed by the par- ties; and (B) enter into not more than 15 alternative funding arrangements or grant agreements with 1 or more eligible partners each fiscal year. (3) Duties of eligible partners Under a funding agreement under paragraph (1), the eligible partner shall— (A) carry out eligible activities on eligible land in agreement with producers to achieve conservation benefits on a regional or water- shed scale, such as— (i) infrastructure investments relating to agricultural or nonindustrial private forest production that would— (I) benefit multiple producers; and (II) address natural resource concerns such as drought, wildfire, or water qual- ity impairment on the land covered by the project; (ii) projects addressing natural resources concerns in coordination with producers, including the development and implemen- tation of watershed, habitat, or other area restoration plans; (iii) projects that use innovative ap- proaches to leveraging the Federal invest- ment in conservation with private finan- cial mechanisms, in conjunction with agri- cultural production or forest resource management, such as— (I) the provision of performance-based payments to producers; and (II) support for an environmental mar- ket; or (iv) other projects for which the Sec- retary determines that the goals and ob- jectives of the program would be easier to achieve through the funding agreement under paragraph (1); and (B) submit to the Secretary, in addition to any information that the Secretary requires to prepare the report under section 3871e(b) of this title, an annual report that describes the status of the project, including a de- scription of— (i) the use of the funds awarded under paragraph (1); (ii) any subcontracts awarded; (iii) the producers receiving funding through the funding agreement under paragraph (1); (iv)(I) the progress made by the project in addressing each natural resource con- cern defined in the funding agreement under paragraph (1), including in a quan- tified form to the extent practicable; and (II) as appropriate, other outcomes of the project; and (v) any other reporting data the Sec- retary determines are necessary to ensure compliance with the program rules. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1271C, as added Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2401, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 747; amended Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2704, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4596.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(1), added subsecs. (a) and (b) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which authorized the Secretary to enter into contracts with producers to provide financial and tech- nical assistance and set forth provisions relating to terms and conditions, respectively. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(2)(A), substituted ‘‘Subject to section 3871d of this title, the Secretary may make payments to a producer’’ for ‘‘In accordance with statutory requirements of the covered programs involved, the Secretary may make payments to a pro- ducer’’. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(2)(B), struck out ‘‘participating’’ before ‘‘producers’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(3), added subsec. (d). § 3871d. Funding (a) Availability of funds The Secretary shall use $300,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2031 to carry out the program. (b) Duration of availability Funds made available under subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. (c) Allocation of funding Of the funds made available for the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall allo- cate— (1) 50 percent of the funds to projects based on a State or multistate competitive process administered by the Secretary at the local level with the advice of the applicable State technical committees established under sub- chapter VI; and (2) 50 percent of the funds to projects for critical conservation areas designated under section 3871f of this title.