16 U.S.C. § 3831c — Pilot programs

Page 2365 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3831c date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture. § 3831c. Pilot programs (a) CLEAR 30 (1) In general (A) Enrollment The Secretary shall establish a pilot pro- gram to enroll land in the conservation re- serve program through a 30-year conserva- tion reserve contract (referred to in this sub- section as a ‘‘CLEAR 30 contract’’) in ac- cordance with this subsection. (B) Inclusion of acreage limitation For purposes of applying the limitations in section 3831(d)(1) of this title, the Secretary shall include acres of land enrolled under this subsection. (2) Expired conservation contract election (A) Definition of covered contract In this paragraph, the term ‘‘covered con- tract’’ means a contract entered into under this subpart that— (i) expires on or after December 20, 2018; and (ii) covers land enrolled in the conserva- tion reserve program under the clean lakes, estuaries, and rivers priority de- scribed in section 3831(d)(3) of this title (or the predecessor practices that constitute the priority, as determined by the Sec- retary). (B) Election On the expiration of a covered contract, an owner or operator party to the covered con- tract shall elect— (i) not to reenroll the land under the contract; (ii) to offer to reenroll the land under the contract if the land remains eligible under the terms in effect as of the date of expiration; or (iii) not to reenroll the land under the contract and to enroll that land through a CLEAR 30 contract under this subsection. (3) Eligible land Only land that is subject to an expired cov- ered contract shall be eligible for enrollment through a CLEAR 30 contract under this sub- section. (4) Term The term of a CLEAR 30 contract shall be 30 years. (5) Agreements To be eligible to enroll land in the conserva- tion reserve program through a CLEAR 30 con- tract, the owner of the land shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary— (A) to implement a conservation reserve plan developed for the land; (B) to comply with the terms and condi- tions of the contract and any related agree- ments; and (C) to temporarily suspend the base his- tory for the land covered by the contract. (6) Terms and conditions of CLEAR 30 con- tracts (A) In general A CLEAR 30 contract shall include terms and conditions that— (i) permit— (I) repairs, improvements, and inspec- tions on the land that are necessary to maintain existing public drainage sys- tems; and (II) owners to control public access on the land while identifying access routes to be used for restoration activities and management and contract monitoring; (ii) prohibit— (I) the alteration of wildlife habitat and other natural features of the land, unless specifically authorized by the Secretary as part of the conservation re- serve plan; (II) the spraying of the land with chemicals or the mowing of the land, ex- cept where the spraying or mowing is au- thorized by the Secretary or is nec- essary— (aa) to comply with Federal or State noxious weed control laws; (bb) to comply with a Federal or State emergency pest treatment pro- gram; or (cc) to meet habitat needs of specific wildlife species; (III) any activity to be carried out on the land of the owner or successor that is immediately adjacent to, and function- ally related to, the land that is subject to the contract if the activity will alter, degrade, or otherwise diminish the func- tional value of the land; and (IV) the adoption of any other practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the conservation reserve program, as de- termined by the Secretary; and (iii) include any additional provision that the Secretary determines is appro- priate to carry out this section or facili- tate the practical administration of this section. (B) Violation On the violation of a term or condition of a CLEAR 30 contract, the Secretary may re- quire the owner to refund all or part of any payments received by the owner under the conservation reserve program, with interest on the payments, as determined appropriate by the Secretary. (C) Compatible uses Land subject to a CLEAR 30 contract may be used for compatible economic uses, in- cluding hunting and fishing, managed tim- ber harvest, or periodic haying or grazing, if the use— (i) is specifically permitted by the con- servation reserve plan developed for the land; and (ii) is consistent with the long-term pro- tection and enhancement of the conserva- tion resources for which the contract was established. Page 2366 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3831c 1 See Soil Health and Income Protection Pilot Program Exten- sion note below. (7) Compensation (A) Amount of payments The Secretary shall provide payment under this subsection to an owner of land en- rolled through a CLEAR 30 contract using 30 annual payments in an amount equal to the amount that would be used if the land were to be enrolled in the conservation reserve program under section 3831(d)(3) of this title. (B) Form of payment Compensation for a CLEAR 30 contract shall be provided by the Secretary in the form of a cash payment in an amount deter- mined under subparagraph (A). (C) Timing The Secretary shall provide any annual payment obligation under subparagraph (A) as early as practicable in each fiscal year. (D) Payments to others The Secretary shall make a payment, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, in a manner as the Secretary determines is fair and reasonable under the circumstances, if an owner who is entitled to a payment under this section— (i) dies; (ii) becomes incompetent; (iii) is succeeded by another person or entity who renders or completes the re- quired performance; or (iv) is otherwise unable to receive the payment. (8) Technical assistance (A) In general The Secretary shall assist owners in com- plying with the terms and conditions of a CLEAR 30 contract. (B) Contracts or agreements The Secretary may enter into 1 or more contracts with private entities or agree- ments with a State, nongovernmental orga- nization, or Indian Tribe to carry out nec- essary maintenance of a CLEAR 30 contract if the Secretary determines that the con- tract or agreement will advance the pur- poses of the conservation reserve program. (9) Administration (A) Conservation reserve plan The Secretary shall develop a conservation reserve plan for any land subject to a CLEAR 30 contract, which shall include practices and activities necessary to main- tain, protect, and enhance the conservation value of the enrolled land. (B) Delegation of contract administration (i) Federal, State, or local government agencies The Secretary may delegate any of the management, monitoring, and enforce- ment responsibilities of the Secretary under this subsection to other Federal, State, or local government agencies that have the appropriate authority, expertise, and resources necessary to carry out those delegated responsibilities. (ii) Conservation organizations The Secretary may delegate any man- agement responsibilities of the Secretary under this subsection to conservation or- ganizations if the Secretary determines the conservation organization has similar expertise and resources. (b) Soil health and income protection pilot pro- gram (1) Definition of eligible land In this subsection: (A) In general The term ‘‘eligible land’’ means cropland that— (i) is selected by the owner or operator of the land for proposed enrollment in the pilot program under this subsection; and (ii) as determined by the Secretary— (I) is located within 1 or more States that are part of the prairie pothole re- gion, as selected by the Secretary based on consultation with State Committees of the Farm Service Agency and State technical committees established under section 3861(a) of this title from that re- gion; (II) had a cropping history or was con- sidered to be planted during each of the 3 crop years preceding enrollment; and (III) is verified to be less-productive land, as compared to other land on the applicable farm. (B) Exclusion The term ‘‘eligible land’’ does not include any land that was enrolled in a conservation reserve program contract in any of the 3 crop years preceding enrollment in the pilot program under this subsection. (2) Establishment (A) In general The Secretary shall establish a voluntary soil health and income protection pilot pro- gram under which eligible land is enrolled through the use of contracts to assist owners and operators of eligible land to conserve and improve the soil, water, and wildlife re- sources of the eligible land. (B) Deadline for participation Eligible land may be enrolled in the pro- gram under this section through December 31, 2020.1 (3) Contracts (A) Requirements A contract described in paragraph (2) shall— (i) be entered into by the Secretary, the owner of the eligible land, and (if applica- ble) the operator of the eligible land; and (ii) provide that, during the term of the contract— (I) the lowest practicable cost peren- nial conserving use cover crop for the el- igible land, as determined by the appli- Page 2367 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3831c cable State conservationist after consid- ering the advice of the applicable State technical committee, shall be planted on the eligible land; (II) except as provided in subparagraph (E), the owner or operator of the eligible land shall pay the cost of planting the conserving use cover crop under sub- clause (I); (III) subject to subparagraph (F), the eligible land may be harvested for seed, hayed, or grazed outside the primary nesting season established for the appli- cable county; (IV) the eligible land may be eligible for a walk-in access program of the ap- plicable State, if any; and (V) a nonprofit wildlife organization may provide to the owner or operator of the eligible land a payment in exchange for an agreement by the owner or oper- ator not to harvest the conserving use cover. (B) Payments Except as provided in subparagraphs (E) and (F)(ii)(II), the annual rental rate for a payment under a contract described in para- graph (2) shall be equal to 50 percent of the average rental rate for the applicable county under section 3834(d) of this title, as deter- mined by the Secretary. (C) Limitation on enrolled land Not more than 15 percent of the eligible land on a farm may be enrolled in the pilot program under this subsection. (D) Term (i) In general Except as provided in clause (ii), each contract described in paragraph (2) shall be for a term of 3, 4, or 5 years, as deter- mined by the parties to the contract. (ii) Early termination (I) Secretary The Secretary may terminate a con- tract described in paragraph (2) before the end of the term described in clause (i) if the Secretary determines that the early termination of the contract is nec- essary. (II) Owners and operators An owner and (if applicable) an oper- ator of eligible land enrolled in the pilot program under this subsection may ter- minate a contract described in para- graph (2) before the end of the term de- scribed in clause (i) if the owner and (if applicable) the operator pay to the Sec- retary an amount equal to the amount of rental payments received under the con- tract. (E) Beginning, limited resource, socially dis- advantaged, or veteran farmers and ranchers With respect to a beginning, limited re- source, socially disadvantaged, or veteran farmer or rancher, as determined by the Sec- retary— (i) a contract described in paragraph (2) shall provide that, during the term of the contract, of the actual cost of establish- ment of the conserving use cover crop under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I)— (I) using the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall pay 50 percent; and (II) the beginning, limited resource, so- cially disadvantaged, or veteran farmer or rancher shall pay 50 percent; and (ii) the annual rental rate for a payment under a contract described in paragraph (2) shall be equal to 75 percent of the average rental rate for the applicable county under section 3834(d) of this title, as determined by the Secretary. (F) Harvesting, haying, and grazing outside applicable period The harvesting for seed, haying, or grazing of eligible land under subparagraph (A)(ii)(III) outside of the primary nesting season established for the applicable county shall be subject to the conditions that— (i) with respect to eligible land that is so hayed or grazed, adequate stubble height shall be maintained to protect the soil on the eligible land, as determined by the ap- plicable State conservationist after con- sidering the advice of the applicable State technical committee; and (ii) with respect to eligible land that is so harvested for seed— (I) the eligible land shall not be eligi- ble to be insured or reinsured under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and (II) the rental payment otherwise ap- plicable to the eligible land under this subsection shall be reduced by 25 per- cent. (4) Acreage limitation Of the number of acres available for enroll- ment in the conservation reserve under sec- tion 3831(d)(1) of this title, not more than 50,000 total acres of eligible land may be en- rolled under the pilot program under this sub- section. (5) Report The Secretary shall submit to the Com- mittee on Agriculture of the House of Rep- resentatives and the Committee on Agri- culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an annual report describing the eligible land enrolled in the pilot program under this sub- section, including— (A) the estimated conservation value of the land; and (B) estimated savings from reduced com- modity payments, crop insurance indem- nities, and crop insurance premium sub- sidies. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1231C, as added Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2204, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4538.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Crop Insurance Act, referred to in sub- sec. (b)(3)(F)(ii)(I), is subtitle A of title V of act Feb. 16, 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