16 U.S.C. § 3831c — Pilot programs
submitted 8 years ago by Pub. L. 99-198 to r/title-16-CONSERVATION · 2,122 words · no verdicts yet
This section creates a 30-year CLEAR 30 pilot and a soil-health and income-protection pilot. It sets eligibility, contract terms, payments, acreage limits, and reporting duties.
(a) CLEAR 30. (1) The Secretary must establish a pilot enrolling conservation-reserve land under 30-year contracts and count those acres toward section 3831 limits. (2) When a qualifying clean-water contract expires, the owner or operator must choose not to reenroll, offer ordinary reenrollment if still eligible, or use a CLEAR 30 contract. (3) Only land under an expired qualifying contract is eligible. (4) The term is 30 years. (5) The owner must follow a conservation-reserve plan, comply with contract terms, and temporarily suspend the land’s base history. (6) Contracts must allow necessary public-drainage repairs and inspections and control of public access, while generally prohibiting alteration of habitat, unauthorized chemicals or mowing, harmful adjacent activity, and practices defeating program purposes. Violations may require repayment with interest. Compatible economic uses, including hunting, fishing, managed timber harvest, or periodic haying or grazing, are allowed only when in the plan and consistent with long-term protection. (7) The owner receives 30 annual cash payments based on the section 3831(d)(3) rate, paid as early as practicable; successor payments are handled fairly under regulations. (8) The Secretary must provide technical assistance and may use private, State, nongovernmental, or tribal agreements. (9) The Secretary must prepare plans and may delegate management, monitoring, enforcement, or management duties to qualified government agencies or conservation organizations.
(b) Soil health and income protection pilot. (1) “Eligible land” means selected less-productive cropland in the prairie pothole region with the required three-year cropping history; it excludes land enrolled in the prior three crop years. This section does not define “less-productive” further. (2) The Secretary must establish a voluntary contract program, with enrollment through December 31, 2020. (3) Contracts require the lowest practicable-cost perennial cover, generally paid for by the owner or operator, and allow specified outside-nesting-season seed harvest, haying, grazing, walk-in access, and nonprofit payments. Rent is generally 50% of the county rate, no more than 15% of a farm may be enrolled, and terms are 3, 4, or 5 years. Early termination follows the Secretary’s determination or repayment by the owner or operator. Beginning, limited-resource, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers and ranchers receive the stated 50/50 establishment cost and 75% rental rate. Harvesting, haying, and grazing must protect soil; seed harvest bars Federal crop insurance and reduces rent 25%. (4) The pilot is limited to 50,000 acres. (5) The Secretary must report annually to the specified congressional committees on enrolled land, conservation value, and estimated payment and insurance savings.
The Secretary shall establish a pilot program to enroll land in the conservation reserve program through a 30-year conservation reserve contract (referred to in this subsection as a “CLEAR 30 contract”) in accordance with this subsection.
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.
In this paragraph, the term “covered contract” means a contract entered into under this subpart that—
expires on or after December 20, 2018; and
covers land enrolled in the conservation reserve program under the clean lakes, estuaries, and rivers priority described in section 3831(d)(3) of this title (or the predecessor practices that constitute the priority, as determined by the Secretary).
On the expiration of a covered contract, an owner or operator party to the covered contract shall elect—
not to reenroll the land under the contract;
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
not to reenroll the land under the contract and to enroll that land through a CLEAR 30 contract under this subsection.
Only land that is subject to an expired covered contract shall be eligible for enrollment through a CLEAR 30 contract under this subsection.
The term of a CLEAR 30 contract shall be 30 years.
To be eligible to enroll land in the conservation reserve program through a CLEAR 30 contract, the owner of the land shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary—
to implement a conservation reserve plan developed for the land;
to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract and any related agreements; and
to temporarily suspend the base history for the land covered by the contract.
A CLEAR 30 contract shall include terms and conditions that—
permit—
repairs, improvements, and inspections on the land that are necessary to maintain existing public drainage systems; and
owners to control public access on the land while identifying access routes to be used for restoration activities and management and contract monitoring;
prohibit—
the alteration of wildlife habitat and other natural features of the land, unless specifically authorized by the Secretary as part of the conservation reserve plan;
the spraying of the land with chemicals or the mowing of the land, except where the spraying or mowing is authorized by the Secretary or is necessary—
to comply with Federal or State noxious weed control laws;
to comply with a Federal or State emergency pest treatment program; or
to meet habitat needs of specific wildlife species;
any activity to be carried out on the land of the owner or successor that is immediately adjacent to, and functionally related to, the land that is subject to the contract if the activity will alter, degrade, or otherwise diminish the functional value of the land; and
the adoption of any other practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the conservation reserve program, as determined by the Secretary; and
include any additional provision that the Secretary determines is appropriate to carry out this section or facilitate the practical administration of this section.
On the violation of a term or condition of a CLEAR 30 contract, the Secretary may require 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.
Land subject to a CLEAR 30 contract may be used for compatible economic uses, including hunting and fishing, managed timber harvest, or periodic haying or grazing, if the use—
is specifically permitted by the conservation reserve plan developed for the land; and
is consistent with the long-term protection and enhancement of the conservation resources for which the contract was established.
The Secretary shall provide payment under this subsection to an owner of land enrolled 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.
Compensation for a CLEAR 30 contract shall be provided by the Secretary in the form of a cash payment in an amount determined under subparagraph (A).
The Secretary shall provide any annual payment obligation under subparagraph (A) as early as practicable in each fiscal year.
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—
dies;
becomes incompetent;
is succeeded by another person or entity who renders or completes the required performance; or
is otherwise unable to receive the payment.
The Secretary shall assist owners in complying with the terms and conditions of a CLEAR 30 contract.
The Secretary may enter into 1 or more contracts with private entities or agreements with a State, nongovernmental organization, or Indian Tribe to carry out necessary maintenance of a CLEAR 30 contract if the Secretary determines that the contract or agreement will advance the purposes of the conservation reserve program.
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 maintain, protect, and enhance the conservation value of the enrolled land.
The Secretary may delegate any of the management, monitoring, and enforcement 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.
The Secretary may delegate any management responsibilities of the Secretary under this subsection to conservation organizations if the Secretary determines the conservation organization has similar expertise and resources.
In this subsection:
The term “eligible land” means cropland that—
is selected by the owner or operator of the land for proposed enrollment in the pilot program under this subsection; and
as determined by the Secretary—
is located within 1 or more States that are part of the prairie pothole region, 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 region;
had a cropping history or was considered to be planted during each of the 3 crop years preceding enrollment; and
is verified to be less-productive land, as compared to other land on the applicable farm.
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.
The Secretary shall establish a voluntary soil health and income protection pilot program 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 resources of the eligible land.
Eligible land may be enrolled in the program under this section through December 31, 2020.1
A contract described in paragraph (2) shall—
be entered into by the Secretary, the owner of the eligible land, and (if applicable) the operator of the eligible land; and
provide that, during the term of the contract—
the lowest practicable cost perennial conserving use cover crop for the eligible land, as determined by the applicable State conservationist after considering the advice of the applicable State technical committee, shall be planted on the eligible land;
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 subclause (I);
subject to subparagraph (F), the eligible land may be harvested for seed, hayed, or grazed outside the primary nesting season established for the applicable county;
the eligible land may be eligible for a walk-in access program of the applicable State, if any; and
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 operator not to harvest the conserving use cover.
Except as provided in subparagraphs (E) and (F)(ii)(II), the annual rental rate for a payment under a contract described in paragraph (2) shall be equal to 50 percent of the average rental rate for the applicable county under section 3834(d) of this title, as determined by the Secretary.
Not more than 15 percent of the eligible land on a farm may be enrolled in the pilot program under this subsection.
Except as provided in clause (ii), each contract described in paragraph (2) shall be for a term of 3, 4, or 5 years, as determined by the parties to the contract.
The Secretary may terminate a contract 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 necessary.
An owner and (if applicable) an operator of eligible land enrolled in the pilot program under this subsection may terminate a contract described in paragraph (2) before the end of the term described in clause (i) if the owner and (if applicable) the operator pay to the Secretary an amount equal to the amount of rental payments received under the contract.
With respect to a beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, or veteran farmer or rancher, as determined by the Secretary—
a contract described in paragraph (2) shall provide that, during the term of the contract, of the actual cost of establishment of the conserving use cover crop under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I)—
using the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall pay 50 percent; and
the beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, or veteran farmer or rancher shall pay 50 percent; and
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.
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—
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 applicable State conservationist after considering the advice of the applicable State technical committee; and
with respect to eligible land that is so harvested for seed—
the eligible land shall not be eligible to be insured or reinsured under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and
the rental payment otherwise applicable to the eligible land under this subsection shall be reduced by 25 percent.
Of the number of acres available for enrollment in the conservation reserve under section 3831(d)(1) of this title, not more than 50,000 total acres of eligible land may be enrolled under the pilot program under this subsection.
The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an annual report describing the eligible land enrolled in the pilot program under this subsection, including—
the estimated conservation value of the land; and
estimated savings from reduced commodity payments, crop insurance indemnities, and crop insurance premium subsidies.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1231C, as added Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2204, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4538.)
- 2018Enacted · Pub. L. 99-198 · 132 Stat. 4538
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 99-198 on 2018-12-20.
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