A bill to further continued economic viability in the communities on the High Plains by promoting sustainable groundwater management of the Ogallala Aquifer.

Summary: High Plains Groundwater Resource Conservation Act - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture, for each of FY2011-FY2020, to enter into contracts with producers in the High Plains Aquifer states (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming) through a High Plains Aquifer Groundwater Conservation Incentives Program, aimed at achieving significant per-acre savings of groundwater resources of the High Plains Aquifer.

Directs the Secretary to ensure that producers on land drawing water from that Aquifer throughout the High Plains region have an opportunity to participate in the Program. Requires producers in areas experiencing significant aquifer level declines to be given priority.

Provides for incentive payments for a producer on land drawing water from the Aquifer who agrees not to irrigate all or part of the land and to transfer the producer's water rights for the nonirrigated land to the applicable High Plains Aquifer state.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``High Plains Groundwater Resource 
Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) a reliable source of groundwater is an essential 
        element of the economy of the communities on the High Plains;
            (2) the High Plains Aquifer consists largely of the 
        Ogallala Aquifer with small components of other geologic units;
            (3) the High Plains Aquifer experienced a dramatic decline 
        in water table levels in the latter half of the 20th century;
            (4) the decline in water table levels is especially 
        pronounced in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer, with areas in the 
        States of Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas experiencing 
        declines of over 100 feet from 1950 to 2007;
            (5)(A) the saturated thickness of the High Plains Aquifer 
        has declined by over 50 percent in some areas; and
            (B) the percentage of the High Plains Aquifer that has a 
        saturated thickness of 100 feet or more declined from 54 
        percent to 51 percent in the period from 1980 to 2007;
            (6) the decreased water levels in the High Plains Aquifer 
        coupled with higher pumping lift costs raise concerns about the 
        long-term sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the High 
        Plains;
            (7) hydrological modeling by the United States Geological 
        Survey indicates that in the context of sustained high 
        groundwater use in the surrounding region, reductions in 
        groundwater pumping at the single farm level or at a local 
        level of up to 100 square miles, have a very time-limited 
        impact on conserving the level of the local water table, thus 
        creating a disincentive for individual water users to invest in 
        water conservation measures;
            (8) incentives must be created for conservation of 
        groundwater on a regional scale, in order to achieve an 
        agricultural economy on the High Plains that is sustainable; 
        and
            (9) for water conservation incentives to function, Federal, 
        State, tribal, and local water policymakers, and individual 
        groundwater users must have access to reliable information 
        concerning aquifer recharge rates extraction rates, and water 
        table levels at the local and regional levels on an ongoing 
        basis.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to promote groundwater 
conservation on the High Plains in order to extend the useable life of 
the High Plains Aquifer.

SEC. 3. HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION INCENTIVES 
              PROGRAM.

    The Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after section 
1240R (16 U.S.C. 3839bb-5) the following:

``SEC. 1240S. HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION INCENTIVES 
              PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) High plains.--The term `High Plains' means the 
        approximately 174,000 square miles of land surface overlying 
        the High Plains Aquifer in the High Plains Aquifer States.
            ``(2) High plains aquifer.--The term `High Plains Aquifer' 
        is the groundwater reserve depicted as Figure 1 in the United 
        States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1400-B, entitled 
        `Geohydrology of the High Plains Aquifer in Parts of Colorado, 
        Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, 
        and Wyoming'.
            ``(3) High plains aquifer states.--The term `High Plains 
        Aquifer States' means the States of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, 
        New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
            ``(4) Program.--The term `Program' means the High Plains 
        Aquifer Groundwater Conservation Incentives Program described 
        in subsection (b)(1).
    ``(b) Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each of fiscal years 2011 through 
        2020, the Secretary shall offer to enter into contracts with 
        producers in the High Plains Aquifer States through a High 
        Plains Aquifer Groundwater Conservation Incentives Program in 
        accordance with this section.
            ``(2) Goal.--The goal of the Program shall be to achieve 
        significant per-acre savings of the groundwater resources of 
        the High Plains Aquifer.
    ``(c) Participation.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure, to the 
        maximum extent practicable, that producers on land drawing 
        water from the High Plains Aquifer throughout the High Plains 
        region shall have an opportunity to participate in the Program.
            ``(2) Priority.--The participation of producers in areas 
        experiencing significant aquifer level declines shall be given 
        a priority.
    ``(d) Transfer of Water Rights.--A producer on land drawing water 
from the High Plains Aquifer who agrees, beginning on the date on which 
the producer enters into a contract under this section with the 
Secretary, not to irrigate all or part of the land and to transfer the 
water rights of the producer for the nonirrigated land to the 
applicable High Plains Aquifer State shall be eligible for incentive 
payments in accordance with this section.
    ``(e) Payments.--
            ``(1) In general.--In exchange for an agreement not to 
        irrigate all or part of land described in subsection (d), the 
        Secretary shall make 1 or more incentive payments to a producer 
        (as determined under paragraph (2)) in an amount equal to the 
        difference between, as determined by the Secretary--
                    ``(A) the average amount of payments that the 
                producer received under title I of the Food, 
                Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8701 et 
                seq.) on the land when irrigating the land, as 
                determined using the average amount of payments 
                received by the producer for the 10 most recent crop 
                years preceding the date of the Program contract; and
                    ``(B) the amount of payments that the producer 
                would be expected to receive under title I of that Act 
                on the land after conversion to dryland production for 
                those 10 most recent crop years.
            ``(2) Form.--In exchange for an agreement described in 
        subsection (d), a producer may elect to receive--
                    ``(A) 1 lump-sum incentive payment for the entire 
                term of the agreement in the amount determined under 
                paragraph (1); or
                    ``(B) annual incentive payments for each year of 
                the agreement that total, in the aggregate, the amount 
                determined under paragraph (1).
    ``(f) Modifications or Termination of Contracts.--
            ``(1) Voluntary modification or termination.--The Secretary 
        may modify or terminate a contract entered into with a producer 
        under this section if--
                    ``(A) the producer agrees to the modification or 
                termination;
                    ``(B) the Secretary determines that the 
                modification or termination is in the public interest.
            ``(2) Involuntary termination.--The Secretary may terminate 
        a contract under this section if the Secretary determines that 
        the producer violated the contract.
    ``(g) Duties of Producers.--To receive incentive payments described 
in subsection (e), a producer shall agree--
            ``(1) to transfer water rights under subsection (d);
            ``(2) to implement required practices as agreed to in the 
        contract with the Secretary; and
            ``(3) to comply with such additional conditions as the 
        Secretary determines are necessary to carry out this section.
    ``(h) Limitation of Payments.--The total amount of payments paid to 
any 1 producer under this section may not exceed $50,000.
    ``(i) State Administration.--On application by a High Plains 
Aquifer State, and approval by the Secretary, the Secretary may provide 
funding on an annual basis to the State to carry out, in lieu of the 
Secretary, the activities described in this section.
    ``(j) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
the Secretary shall use to carry out this section such sums as are 
necessary.''.