16 U.S.C. § 3834 — Payments

Page 2372 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3834 Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2206(c), added subsec. (e). 2014—Pub. L. 113–79 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section also related to duties of the Secretary. § 3834. Payments (a) Timing The Secretary shall provide payment for obli- gations incurred by the Secretary under a con- tract entered into under this subpart— (1) with respect to any cost-sharing payment obligation incurred by the Secretary, as soon as practicable after the obligation is incurred; and (2) with respect to any annual rental pay- ment obligation incurred by the Secretary— (A) as soon as practicable after October 1 of each calendar year; or (B) at the option of the Secretary, at any time prior to such date during the year that the obligation is incurred. (b) Cost sharing payments (1) In general In making cost sharing payments to an owner or operator under a contract entered into under this subpart, the Secretary shall pay 50 percent of the cost of establishing water quality and conservation measures and prac- tices required under each contract for which the Secretary determines that cost sharing is appropriate and in the public interest. (2) Limitations (A) In general The Secretary shall ensure, to the max- imum extent practicable, that cost sharing payments to an owner or operator under this subpart, when combined with the sum of payments from all other funding sources for measures and practices described in para- graph (1), do not exceed 100 percent of the total actual cost of establishing those meas- ures and practices, as determined by the Secretary. (B) Mid-contract management grazing The Secretary may not make any cost sharing payment to an owner or operator under this subpart pursuant to section 3832(a)(5) of this title. (C) Seed cost In the case of seed costs related to the es- tablishment of cover, cost sharing payments under this subpart shall not exceed 50 per- cent of the actual cost of the seed mixture, as determined by the Secretary. (3) Other Federal cost share assistance Except in the case of incentive payments that are related to the cost of the establish- ment of a practice and received from eligible partners under the conservation reserve en- hancement program under section 3831a of this title, an owner or operator shall not be eligi- ble to receive or retain cost share assistance under this subsection if the owner or operator receives any other Federal cost share assist- ance with respect to the land under any other provision of law. (4) Practice incentives for continuous practices In addition to the cost sharing payment de- scribed in this subsection, the Secretary shall make an incentive payment to an owner or op- erator of land enrolled under section 3831(d)(6) of this title in an amount not to exceed 50 per- cent of the actual cost of establishing all measures and practices described in paragraph (1), including seed costs related to the estab- lishment of cover, as determined by the Sec- retary. (c) Forest management incentive payments (1) In general Using funds made available under section 3841(a)(1)(A) of this title, the Secretary may make incentive payments to an owner or oper- ator of eligible land in an amount sufficient to encourage proper thinning and other practices to improve the condition of resources, pro- mote forest management, or enhance wildlife habitat on the land. (2) Limitation A payment described in paragraph (1) may not exceed 100 percent of the total cost of thinning and other practices conducted by the owner or operator. (d) Annual rental payments (1) In general In determining the amount of annual rental payments to be paid to owners and operators for converting highly erodible cropland or other eligible lands normally devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity to less intensive use, the Secretary shall con- sider— (A) the amount necessary to encourage owners or operators of highly erodible crop- land or other eligible lands to participate in the program established by this subpart; (B) the impact on the local farmland rent- al market; and (C) such other factors as the Secretary de- termines to be appropriate. (2) Methods of determination (A) In general The amounts payable to owners or opera- tors in the form of rental payments under contracts entered into under this subpart may be determined through the submission of applications for such contracts by owners and operators in such manner as the Sec- retary may prescribe. (B) Multiple enrollments (i) In general Subject to clause (ii), if land subject to a contract entered into under this subpart is reenrolled under section 3831(h)(1) of this title or has been previously enrolled in the conservation reserve, the annual rental payment shall be in an amount that is not more than 85 percent in the case of general enrollment contacts, or 90 percent in the case of continuous enrollment contracts, of the applicable estimated average county rental rate published pursuant to para- graph (4) for the year in which the re- enrollment occurs. (ii) Conservation reserve enhancement pro- gram The reduction in annual rental payments under clause (i) may be waived as part of Page 2373 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3834 the negotiation between the Secretary and an eligible partner to enter into a con- servation reserve enhancement program agreement under section 3831a of this title. (C) Grasslands Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in the case of eligible land described in section 3831(b)(3) of this title, the Secretary shall make annual payments in an amount that is not more than 75 percent of the grazing value of the land covered by the contract. (D) Continuous sign-up incentives The Secretary shall make an incentive payment to the owner or operator of land en- rolled under section 3831(d)(6) of this title at the time of initial enrollment in an amount equal to 32.5 percent of the amount of the first annual rental payment under subpara- graph (A). (3) Acceptance of contract offers (A) Evaluation of offers In determining the acceptability of con- tract offers, the Secretary may take into consideration the extent to which enroll- ment of the land that is the subject of the contract offer would improve soil resources, water quality, or wildlife habitat or provide other environmental benefits. (B) Establishment of different criteria in var- ious States and regions The Secretary may establish different cri- teria for determining the acceptability of contract offers in various States and regions of the United States based on the extent to which water quality or wildlife habitat may be improved or erosion may be abated. (C) Local preference In determining the acceptability of con- tract offers for new enrollments, the Sec- retary shall accept, to the maximum extent practicable, an offer from an owner or oper- ator that is a resident of the county in which the land is located or of a contiguous county if, as determined by the Secretary, the land would provide at least equivalent conservation benefits to land under com- peting offers. (4) Rental rates (A) Annual estimates The Secretary (acting through the Na- tional Agricultural Statistics Service) shall annually conduct a survey of per acre esti- mates of county average market dryland and irrigated cash rental rates for cropland and pastureland in all counties or equivalent subdivisions within each State that have 20,000 acres or more of cropland and pastureland, and shall publish the estimates derived from the survey not later than Sep- tember 15 of each year. (B) Public availability of estimates The estimates derived from the survey conducted under subparagraph (A) and the average current and previous soil rental rates for each county shall be maintained on a website of the Department of Agriculture for use by the general public. (C) Use The Secretary shall consider the estimates derived from the survey conducted under subparagraph (A) relating to dryland cash rental rates as a factor in determining rent- al rates under this section in a manner de- termined appropriate by the Secretary. (D) Submission of additional information by State FSA offices and CREP partners (i) In general The Secretary shall provide an oppor- tunity for State Committees of the Farm Service Agency or eligible partners (as de- fined in section 3831a(a) of this title) in conservation reserve enhancement pro- grams under section 3831a of this title to propose an alternative soil rental rate prior to finalizing new rates, on the condi- tion that documentation described in clause (ii) is provided to support the pro- posed alternative. (ii) Acceptable documentation Documentation referred to in clause (i) includes— (I) an average of cash rents from a ran- dom sample of lease agreements; (II) cash rent estimates from a pub- lished survey; (III) neighboring county estimate com- parisons from the National Agricultural Statistics Service; (IV) an average of cash rents from Farm Service Agency farm business plans; (V) models that estimate cash rents, such as models that use returns to esti- mate crop production or land value data; or (VI) other documentation, as deter- mined by the Secretary. (iii) Notification Not less than 14 days prior to the an- nouncement of new or revised soil rental rates, the Secretary shall offer a briefing to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Chair- man and Ranking Member of the Com- mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For- estry of the Senate, including information on and the rationale for the alternative rates proposed under clause (i) that were accepted or rejected. (E) Rental rate limitation Notwithstanding forest management in- centive payments described in subsection (c), the county average soil rental rate (be- fore any adjustments relating to specific practices, wellhead protection, or soil pro- ductivity) shall not exceed— (i) 85 percent of the estimated rental rate determined under this paragraph for general enrollment; or (ii) 90 percent of the estimated rental rate determined under this paragraph for continuous enrollment. Page 2374 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3834 (e) Payment schedule (1) In general Except as otherwise provided in this section, payments under this subpart shall be made in cash in such amount and on such time sched- ule as is agreed on and specified in the con- tract. (2) Advance payment Payments under this subpart may be made in advance of determination of performance. (f) Payments on death, disability, or succession If an owner or operator that is entitled to a payment under a contract entered into under this subpart dies, becomes incompetent, is oth- erwise unable to receive the payment, or is suc- ceeded by another person that renders or com- pletes the required performance, the Secretary shall make the payment, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary and without regard to any other provision of law, in such manner as the Secretary determines is fair and reasonable in light of all of the cir- cumstances. (g) Payment limitation for rental payments (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), the total amount of rental payments received by a person or legal entity, directly or indirectly, under this subpart for any fiscal year may not exceed $50,000. (2) Wellhead protection Paragraph (1) and section 1308–3a(b) of title 7 shall not apply to rental payments received by a rural water district or association for land that is enrolled under this subpart for the pur- pose of protecting a wellhead. (h) Other State or local assistance In addition to any payment under this sub- part, an owner or operator may receive cost share assistance, rental payments, or tax bene- fits from a State or subdivision thereof for en- rolling land in the conservation reserve pro- gram. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1234, as added Pub. L. 107–171, title II, § 2101(a), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 245; amended Pub. L. 110–234, title II, §§ 2109, 2110(a), (b)(1), (c), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1034, 1035; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title II, §§ 2109, 2110(a), (b)(1), (c), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1762, 1763; Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2005, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 718; Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2207, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4546.) 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 3834, Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1234, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1511; Pub. L. 100–387, title III, § 322, Aug. 11, 1988, 102 Stat. 950; Pub. L. 101–624, title XIV, §§ 1434, 1447(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3581, 3605, related to payments for obligations, prior to the general amendment of this subpart by Pub. L. 107–171. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (b)(2) to (5). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(a), added par. (2), redesignated par. (5) as (3) and sub- stituted ‘‘Except in the case of incentive payments that are related to the cost of the establishment of a prac- tice and received from eligible partners under the con- servation reserve enhancement program under section 3831a of this title, an owner’’ for ‘‘An owner’’, added par. (4), and struck out former pars. (2) to (4) which re- lated to limitation on payments, payments for land de- voted to the production of hardwood trees, windbreaks, shelterbelts, or wildlife corridors, and extension of planting of hardwood trees over a 3-year period, respec- tively. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(b)(1), substituted ‘‘Forest management incentive payments’’ for ‘‘Incen- tive payments’’ in heading. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(b)(2), substituted ‘‘Using funds made available under section 3841(a)(1)(A) of this title, the Secretary’’ for ‘‘The Secretary’’. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(b)(3), substituted ‘‘100 percent’’ for ‘‘150 percent’’. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(1), substituted ‘‘the Secretary shall consider—’’ for ‘‘the Secretary may consider, among other things,’’, inserted subpar. (A) designation before ‘‘the amount’’ and substituted semicolon for period at end, and added subpars. (B) and (C). Subsec. (d)(2)(A). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(2)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘determined through the submission of appli- cations for such contracts by owners and operators in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe.’’ for ‘‘de- termined through— ‘‘(i) the submission of bids for such contracts by owners and operators in such manner as the Sec- retary may prescribe; or ‘‘(ii) such other means as the Secretary determines are appropriate.’’ Subsec. (d)(2)(B). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(2)(C), added subpar. (B). Former subpar. (B) redesignated (C). Subsec. (d)(2)(C). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(2)(B), (D), redesignated subpar. (B) as (C) and substituted ‘‘Not- withstanding subparagraph (A), in the case’’ for ‘‘In the case’’. Subsec. (d)(2)(D). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(2)(E), added subpar. (D). Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(3), (4), redesig- nated par. (5) as (4) and struck out former par. (4). Prior to amendment, text of par. (4) read as follows: ‘‘In the case of acreage enrolled in the conservation reserve es- tablished under this subpart that is to be devoted to hardwood trees, the Secretary may consider bids for contracts under this subsection on a continuous basis.’’ Subsec. (d)(4)(A). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(5)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘annually’’ for ‘‘, not less frequently than once every other year,’’ and inserted ‘‘, and shall pub- lish the estimates derived from the survey not later than September 15 of each year’’ before period at end. Subsec. (d)(4)(B). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(5)(B), in- serted ‘‘and the average current and previous soil rent- al rates for each county’’ before ‘‘shall be maintained’’. Subsec. (d)(4)(C). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(5)(C), sub- stituted ‘‘shall consider’’ for ‘‘may use’’. Subsec. (d)(4)(D), (E). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(5)(D), added subpars. (D) and (E). Subsec. (d)(5). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(c)(4), redesig- nated par. (5) as (4). Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(d)(1), substituted ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2), the total’’ for ‘‘The total’’. Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2207(d)(2), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which related to ap- plicability of payment limitations relative to agree- ments entered into under a special conservation re- serve enhancement program. 2014—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(b)(1)(A), struck out ‘‘Federal percentage of’’ before ‘‘cost sharing pay- ments’’ in heading. Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(a), amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘This paragraph applies to— Page 2375 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3835 ‘‘(i) land devoted to the production of hardwood trees, windbreaks, shelterbelts, or wildlife corridors under a contract entered into under this subpart after November 28, 1990; ‘‘(ii) land converted to such production under sec- tion 3835a of this title; and ‘‘(iii) land on which an owner or operator agrees to conduct thinning authorized by section 3832(a)(9) of this title, if the thinning is necessary to improve the condition of resources on the land.’’ Subsec. (b)(3)(B)(i). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(b)(1)(B)(i), struck out ‘‘or thinning’’ before period at end. Subsec. (b)(3)(B)(ii). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(b)(1)(B)(ii), amended cl. (ii) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Secretary shall make payments as described in clause (i) for a period of not less than 2 years, but not more than 4 years, beginning on the date of— ‘‘(I) the planting of the trees or shrubs; or ‘‘(II) the thinning of existing stands to improve the condition of resources on the land.’’ Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(b)(2), (3), added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e). Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(c)(1), inserted ‘‘or other eligible lands’’ after ‘‘highly erodible cropland’’ in two places. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(c)(2), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The amounts payable to owners or operators in the form of rental payments under con- tracts entered into under this subpart may be deter- mined through— ‘‘(A) the submission of bids for such contracts by owners and operators in such manner as the Sec- retary may prescribe; or ‘‘(B) such other means as the Secretary determines are appropriate.’’ Subsec. (d)(5)(A). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(c)(3)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘, not less frequently than once every other year, conduct a survey’’ for ‘‘conduct an annual sur- vey’’. Subsec. (d)(5)(B). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(c)(3)(B), struck out ‘‘annual’’ before ‘‘survey’’. Subsec. (d)(5)(C). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(c)(3)(C), added subpar. (C). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(d), amended subsec. (e) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (e) related to cash or in-kind payments. Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(b)(2), redesignated subsec. (d) as (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f). Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(b)(2), redesig- nated subsecs. (e) and (f) as (f) and (g), respectively. Former subsec. (g) redesignated (h). Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(e)(1), struck out ‘‘, including rental payments made in the form of in- kind commodities,’’ after ‘‘total amount of rental pay- ments’’. Subsec. (g)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(e)(2), (3), re- designated par. (4) as (2) and struck out par. (3). Prior to amendment, text of par. (3) read as follows: ‘‘Rental payments received by an owner or operator shall be in addition to, and not affect, the total amount of pay- ments that the owner or operator is otherwise eligible to receive under the Farm Security and Rural Invest- ment Act of 2002.’’ Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2005(b)(2), redesignated subsec. (g) as (h). 2008—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2109, added par. (3) and struck out former par. (3) which related to the making of payments to an owner or operator of land de- voted to the production of hardwood trees, windbreaks, shelterbelts, or wildlife corridors. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2110(a), added par. (3) and struck out former par. (3). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘In determining the acceptability of contract offers, the Secretary may— ‘‘(A) take into consideration the extent to which enrollment of the land that is the subject of the con- tract offer would improve soil resources, water qual- ity, wildlife habitat, or provide other environmental benefits; and ‘‘(B) establish different criteria in various States and regions of the United States based on the extent to which water quality or wildlife habitat may be im- proved or erosion may be abated.’’ Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2110(b)(1), added par. (5). Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2110(c)(1), substituted ‘‘received by a person or legal entity, directly or indi- rectly,’’ for ‘‘made to a person’’. Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2110(c)(2), struck out par. (2) which related to promulgation of regulations defining the term ‘‘person’’ as used in subsec. (f) and providing terms and conditions determined necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable application of the sub- sec. (f) limitation. Subsec. (f)(4)(A). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2110(c)(3), sub- stituted ‘‘any person or legal entity’’ for ‘‘any person’’. 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. FIRST SURVEY PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (c)(5) Pub. L. 110–234, title II, § 2110(b)(2), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1035, and Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title II, § 2110(b)(2), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1763, provided that: ‘‘The first survey required by paragraph (5) of section 1234(c) [now 1234(d)] of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(c) [now 16 U.S.C. 3834(d)]), as added by subsection (a), shall be conducted not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [June 18, 2008].’’ [Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 enacted identical provisions. Pub. L. 110–234 was repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture.] CONSERVATION RESEARCH APPLICATION For provisions directing that enumerated provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985 shall apply to the con- servation reserve program under this subchapter with respect to rental payments to persons under contracts entered into after Dec. 22, 1987, with certain exceptions, see section 1305(d) of Pub. L. 100–203, set out as a note under section 1308 of Title 7, Agriculture. § 3835. Contracts (a) Ownership or operation requirements (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), no con- tract shall be entered into under this subpart concerning land with respect to which the ownership has changed in the 1-year period preceding the first year of the contract period unless— (A) the new ownership was acquired by will or succession as a result of the death of the previous owner; (B) the new ownership was acquired before January 1, 1985; (C) the Secretary determines that the land was acquired under circumstances that give adequate assurance that the land was not ac- quired for the purpose of placing the land in the program established by this subpart; or (D) the ownership change occurred due to foreclosure on the land and the owner of the land immediately before the foreclosure ex- ercises a right of redemption from the mort- gage holder in accordance with State law.