II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3223

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish the conservation

security program.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 19 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. HARKIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish the

conservation security program.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conservation Security

5 Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) in addition to producing food and fiber, ag9 ricultural producers can contribute to the public

10 good by providing improved soil productivity, clean
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1 air and water, wildlife habitat, landscape and rec2 reational amenities, and other natural resources and

3 environmental benefits;

4 (2) agricultural producers in the United States

5 have a long history of embracing environmentally

6 friendly conservation practices and desire to con7 tinue those practices and engage in new and addi8 tional conservation practices;

9 (3) agricultural producers that engage in con10 servation practices—

11 (A) may not receive economic rewards for

12 implementing conservation practices; and

13 (B) should be encouraged to engage in

14 good stewardship, and should be rewarded for

15 doing so;

16 (4) despite significant progress in recent years,

17 significant environmental challenges on agricultural

18 land remain;

19 (5) since the 1930’s, when agricultural con20 servation became a national priority, Federal re21 sources for conservation assistance have declined

22 over 50 percent, when adjusted for inflation;

23 (6) existing conservation programs do not pro24 vide opportunities for all interested agricultural pro25 ducers to participate;
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1 (7) a voluntary, incentive-based conservation

2 program open to all agricultural producers that

3 qualify and desire to participate would—

4 (A) encourage greater improvement of nat5 ural resources and the environment;

6 (B) address the economic implications of

7 conservation practices in a manner consistent

8 with international obligations of the United

9 States; and

10 (C) enable United States farmers and

11 ranchers to produce food for a growing world

12 population;

13 (8) total farm conservation planning can help

14 producers increase profitability, enhance resource

15 protection, and improve quality of life;

16 (9) on-farm practices may help deter invasive

17 species that jeopardize native species or impair agri18 cultural land of the United States; and

19 (10) a conservation program described in para20 graph (7) would help achieve a better balance be21 tween Federal payments supporting conservation on

22 land used for agricultural production and Federal

23 payments for the purpose of retiring agricultural

24 land from production.
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1 SEC. 3. CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title XII of the Food

3 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.) is amended

4 by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—CONSERVATION SECURITY

6 PROGRAM

7 ‘‘SEC. 1240P. DEFINITIONS.

8 ‘‘In this chapter:

9 ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION PRACTICE.—The term

10 ‘conservation practice’ means a land-based farming

11 technique that—

12 ‘‘(A) requires planning, implementation,

13 management, and maintenance; and

14 ‘‘(B) promotes 1 or more of the purposes

15 described in section 1240Q(a).

16 ‘‘(2) CONSERVATION SECURITY CONTRACT.—

17 The term ‘conservation security contract’ means a

18 contract described in section 1240Q(e).

19 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION SECURITY PLAN.—The

20 term ‘conservation security plan’ means a plan de21 scribed in section 1240Q(c).

22 ‘‘(4) CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM.—The

23 term ‘conservation security program’ means the pro24 gram established under section 1240Q(a).

25 ‘‘(5) NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘nu26 trient management’ means management of the quan-
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1 tity, source, placement, form, and timing of the land

2 application of nutrients and other additions to soil—

3 ‘‘(A) to achieve or maintain adequate soil

4 fertility for agricultural production; and

5 ‘‘(B) to minimize the potential for loss of

6 environmental quality, including soil, water, and

7 air quality impairment.

8 ‘‘(6) RESOURCE-CONSERVING CROP.—The term

9 ‘resource-conserving crop’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) a perennial grass;

11 ‘‘(B) a legume grown for use as forage or

12 green manure;

13 ‘‘(C) a legume-grass mixture;

14 ‘‘(D) a small grain grown in combination

15 with a grass or legume, whether interseeded or

16 planted in succession; and

17 ‘‘(E) such other plantings, including trees,

18 as the Secretary considers appropriate for a

19 particular area.

20 ‘‘(7) RESOURCE-CONSERVING CROP ROTA21 TION.—The term ‘resource-conserving crop rotation’

22 means a crop rotation that—

23 ‘‘(A) includes at least 1 resource-con24 serving crop;

25 ‘‘(B) reduces erosion;
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1 ‘‘(C) improves soil fertility and tilth; and

2 ‘‘(D) interrupts pest cycles.

3 ‘‘(8) RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The

4 term ‘resource management system’ means a system

5 of conservation practices and management relating

6 to land or water use that is designed to prevent re7 source degradation and permit sustained use of the

8 land and water.

9 ‘‘SEC. 1240Q. CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a

11 conservation security program to assist owners and opera12 tors of agricultural operations to promote, as is applicable

13 for each operation—

14 ‘‘(1) conservation of soil, water, energy, and

15 other related resources;

16 ‘‘(2) soil quality protection and improvement;

17 ‘‘(3) water quality protection and improvement;

18 ‘‘(4) air quality protection and improvement;

19 ‘‘(5) soil, plant, or animal health and well20 being;

21 ‘‘(6) diversity of flora and fauna;

22 ‘‘(7) on-farm conservation and regeneration of

23 biological resources, including plant and animal

24 germplasm;
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1 ‘‘(8) wetland restoration, conservation, and en2 hancement;

3 ‘‘(9) wildlife habitat restoration, conservation,

4 and enhancement;

5 ‘‘(10) reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

6 and enhancement of carbon sequestration;

7 ‘‘(11) protection of human health and safety;

8 ‘‘(12) environmentally sound management of

9 invasive species; or

10 ‘‘(13) any similar conservation purpose (as de11 termined by the Secretary).

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to participate

14 in the conservation security program (other than to

15 receive technical assistance under subsection (h)(6)

16 for the development of conservation security con17 tracts), an owner or operator shall—

18 ‘‘(A) develop and submit to the Secretary,

19 and obtain the approval of the Secretary of, a

20 conservation security plan that meets the re21 quirements of subsection (c); and

22 ‘‘(B) enter into a conservation security

23 contract with the Secretary to carry out the

24 conservation security plan.
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1 ‘‘(2) INELIGIBLE LAND.—Land enrolled in the

2 conservation reserve program under subchapter B of

3 chapter I shall not be eligible for enrollment in the

4 conservation security program except for land en5 rolled in partial field conservation practice enroll6 ment options.

7 ‘‘(c) CONSERVATION SECURITY PLANS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A conservation security

9 plan shall—

10 ‘‘(A) identify the resources and designated

11 land to be conserved under the conservation se12 curity plan;

13 ‘‘(B) describe the tier of conservation prac14 tices, and the particular conservation practices

15 to be implemented, maintained, or improved, in

16 accordance with subsection (d) on the land that

17 will be enrolled in the conservation security pro18 gram covered by the conservation security con19 tract for the specified term;

20 ‘‘(C) contain a schedule for the implemen21 tation, maintenance, or improvement of the con22 servation practices described in the conservation

23 security plan during the term of the conserva24 tion security contract;
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1 ‘‘(D) meet the requirements of the highly

2 erodible land and wetland conservation require3 ments of subtitles B and C; and

4 ‘‘(E) contain such other terms as the Sec5 retary determines to be appropriate.

6 ‘‘(2) COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING.—The Sec7 retary shall encourage owners and operators that

8 enter into conservation security contracts—

9 ‘‘(A) to undertake a comprehensive exam10 ination of the opportunities for conserving nat11 ural resources and improving the profitability,

12 environmental health, and quality of life in rela13 tion to their entire agricultural operations;

14 ‘‘(B) to develop a long-term strategy for

15 implementing, monitoring, and evaluating con16 servation practices and environmental results in

17 the entire agricultural operation;

18 ‘‘(C) to participate in other Federal con19 servation programs; and

20 ‘‘(D) to maintain the agricultural integrity

21 of the land.

22 ‘‘(3) STATE AND LOCAL CONSERVATION PRIOR23 ITIES.—To the maximum extent practicable and in

24 a manner consistent with the conservation security

25 program, each conservation security plan shall ad-
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1 dress the conservation priorities of the State and lo2 cality in which the agricultural operation is located

3 (as determined by the State conservationist in con4 sultation with the State technical committee estab5 lished under subtitle G and the local working groups

6 of the State technical committee).

7 ‘‘(d) CONSERVATION PRACTICES.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

9 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF TIERS.—The

10 Secretary shall establish 3 tiers of conservation

11 practices that are eligible for payment under a

12 conservation security contract.

13 ‘‘(B) CONSERVATION PRACTICE STAND14 ARDS.—To the maximum extent practicable, the

15 Secretary shall establish guidance standards for

16 implementation of eligible conservation prac17 tices that shall include measurable goals for en18 hancing and preventing degradation of re19 sources.

20 ‘‘(2) SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC USES.—With re21 spect to land enrolled in the conservation security

22 program, including land use adjustment activities

23 specified under Tier II, the Secretary shall permit

24 economic uses of the land that—
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1 ‘‘(A) maintain the agricultural nature of

2 land;

3 ‘‘(B) achieve the natural resource and en4 vironmental benefits of the plan; and

5 ‘‘(C) are approved as part of the conserva6 tion security plan.

7 ‘‘(3) ON-FARM RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRA8 TION.—With respect to land enrolled in the con9 servation security program that will be maintained

10 using a Tier II or Tier III conservation practice es11 tablished under paragraph (5), the Secretary may

12 approve a conservation security plan that includes

13 on-farm research and demonstration activities, in14 cluding innovative approaches to—

15 ‘‘(A) total farm planning;

16 ‘‘(B) total resource management;

17 ‘‘(C) integrated farming systems;

18 ‘‘(D) germplasm conservation and regen19 eration;

20 ‘‘(E) carbon sequestration;

21 ‘‘(F) agro-ecological restoration and wild22 life habitat restoration;

23 ‘‘(G) agro-forestry;

24 ‘‘(H) invasive species control; or
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1 ‘‘(I) farm and environmental results moni2 toring and evaluation.

3 ‘‘(4) USE OF HANDBOOK AND GUIDES.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining eligible

5 conservation practices under the conservation

6 security program, the Secretary shall use the

7 National Handbook of Conservation Practices

8 and the field office technical guides of the Nat9 ural Resources Conservation Service.

10 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS.—After providing no11 tice and an opportunity for public participation,

12 the Secretary shall make such adjustments to

13 the National Handbook of Conservation Prac14 tices as are necessary to carry out this chapter.

15 ‘‘(C) PILOT TESTING.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under any of the

17 3 tiers of conservation practices established

18 under paragraph (5), the Secretary may

19 approve requests by an owner or operator

20 for pilot testing of new technologies and

21 innovative conservation practices and sys22 tems.

23 ‘‘(ii) INCORPORATION INTO STAND24 ARDS.—After evaluation by the Secretary

25 and provision of notice and an opportunity
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1 for public participation, the Secretary may

2 incorporate new technologies and innova3 tive conservation practices and systems

4 into the standards for implementation of

5 conservation practices established under

6 paragraph (1)(B).

7 ‘‘(5) TIERS.—To carry out this subsection, the

8 Secretary shall establish the following 3 tiers of con9 servation practices:

10 ‘‘(A) TIER I.—

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A conservation se12 curity plan for land enrolled in the con13 servation security program that will be

14 maintained using Tier I conservation prac15 tices shall—

16 ‘‘(I) address priority resource

17 concerns for the particular agricul18 tural operation;

19 ‘‘(II) apply to the total agricul20 tural operation or to a particular unit

21 of the agricultural operation;

22 ‘‘(III) cover both—

23 ‘‘(aa) conservation practices

24 that are being implemented as of

25 the date on which the conserva-
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1 tion security contract is entered

2 into; and

3 ‘‘(bb) conservation practices

4 that are newly implemented

5 under the conservation security

6 contract; and

7 ‘‘(IV) meet applicable standards

8 for implementation of conservation

9 practices established under paragraph

10 (1)(B).

11 ‘‘(ii) CONSERVATION PRACTICES.—

12 Tier I conservation practices shall consist

13 of, as appropriate for the agricultural oper14 ation of an owner or operator, 1 or more

15 of the following basic conservation activi16 ties:

17 ‘‘(I) Soil conservation, quality,

18 and residue management.

19 ‘‘(II) Nutrient management.

20 ‘‘(III) Pest management.

21 ‘‘(IV) Invasive species manage22 ment.

23 ‘‘(V) Irrigation water conserva24 tion and water quality management.
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1 ‘‘(VI) Grazing, pasture, and

2 rangeland management.

3 ‘‘(VII) Wildlife habitat manage4 ment, with special emphasis on spe5 cies identified by the natural heritage

6 program of the State.

7 ‘‘(VIII) Plant and animal

8 germplasm conservation, evaluation,

9 and development.

10 ‘‘(IX) Contour farming.

11 ‘‘(X) Strip cropping.

12 ‘‘(XI) Cover cropping.

13 ‘‘(XII) Recordkeeping.

14 ‘‘(XIII) Any other conservation

15 practice that the Secretary determines

16 to be appropriate and comparable to

17 other conservation practices described

18 in this clause.

19 ‘‘(B) TIER II.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A conservation se21 curity plan for land enrolled in the con22 servation security program that will be

23 maintained using Tier II conservation

24 practices shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) address priority resource

2 concerns specified in the conservation

3 security plan covering the total agri4 cultural operation;

5 ‘‘(II) cover both—

6 ‘‘(aa) conservation practices

7 that are being implemented as of

8 the date on which the conserva9 tion security contract is entered

10 into; and

11 ‘‘(bb) conservation practices

12 that are newly implemented

13 under the conservation security

14 contract; and

15 ‘‘(III) meet applicable resource

16 management system criteria for the

17 priority resource concerns of the agri18 cultural operation.

19 ‘‘(ii) CONSERVATION PRACTICES.—

20 Tier II conservation practices shall consist

21 of, as appropriate for the agricultural oper22 ation of an owner or operator, Tier I con23 servation practices and 1 or more of the

24 following practices:
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1 ‘‘(I) Resource-conserving crop ro2 tations.

3 ‘‘(II) Controlled, rotational graz4 ing.

5 ‘‘(III) Conversion of portions of

6 cropland from a soil-depleting use to a

7 soil-conserving use, including produc8 tion of cover crops.

9 ‘‘(IV) Partial field conservation

10 practices (including windbreaks, grass

11 waterways, shelter belts, filter strips,

12 riparian buffers, wetland buffers, con13 tour buffer strips, living snow fences,

14 crosswind trap strips, field borders,

15 grass terraces, wildlife corridors, and

16 critical area planting).

17 ‘‘(V) Wildlife habitat protection

18 and restoration.

19 ‘‘(VI) Prairie protection and res20 toration.

21 ‘‘(VII) Wetland protection and

22 restoration.

23 ‘‘(VIII) Any other conservation

24 practice involving modification of the

25 use of land that the Secretary deter-
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1 mines to be appropriate and com2 parable to other conservation practices

3 described in this clause.

4 ‘‘(C) TIER III.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A conservation se6 curity plan for land enrolled in the con7 servation security program that will be

8 maintained using Tier III conservation

9 practices shall—

10 ‘‘(I) address all resource concerns

11 of the total agricultural operation;

12 ‘‘(II) cover both—

13 ‘‘(aa) conservation practices

14 that are being implemented as of

15 the date on which the conserva16 tion security contract is entered

17 into; and

18 ‘‘(bb) conservation practices

19 that are newly implemented

20 under the conservation security

21 contract; and

22 ‘‘(III) meet applicable resource

23 management system criteria.

24 ‘‘(ii) CONSERVATION PRACTICES.—

25 Tier III conservation practices shall consist
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1 of, as appropriate for the agricultural oper2 ation of an owner or operator—

3 ‘‘(I) appropriate Tier I and Tier

4 II conservation practices; and

5 ‘‘(II) development, implementa6 tion, and maintenance of a conserva7 tion security plan that, over the term

8 of the conservation security

9 contract—

10 ‘‘(aa) integrates a full com11 plement of conservation practices

12 to foster environmental enhance13 ment and the long-term sustain14 ability of the natural resource

15 base of an agricultural operation;

16 and

17 ‘‘(bb) improves profitability

18 and quality of life associated with

19 the agricultural operation.

20 ‘‘(e) CONSERVATION SECURITY CONTRACTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On approval of a conserva22 tion security plan of an owner or operator, the Sec23 retary shall enter into a conservation security con24 tract with the owner or operator to enroll the land
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1 covered by the conservation security plan in the con2 servation security program.

3 ‘‘(2) TERM.—Subject to paragraphs (3) and

4 (4)—

5 ‘‘(A) a conservation security contract for

6 land enrolled in the conservation security pro7 gram that will be maintained using 1 or more

8 Tier I conservation practices shall have a term

9 of 5 years; and

10 ‘‘(B) a conservation security contract for

11 land enrolled in the conservation security pro12 gram that implements a conservation security

13 plan that meets the requirements of subpara14 graph (B) or (C) of subsection (d)(5) shall have

15 a term of 5 to 10 years, at the option of the

16 owner or operator.

17 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(A) OPTIONAL MODIFICATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary

20 shall provide regular opportunity for an

21 owner or operator to apply to the Sec22 retary to modify the conservation security

23 plan in a manner consistent with the pur24 poses of the conservation security program.
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1 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL BY THE SEC2 RETARY.—Any modification under clause

3 (i)—

4 ‘‘(I) shall be approved by the

5 Secretary; and

6 ‘‘(II) shall authorize the Sec7 retary to redetermine, if necessary,

8 the amount and timing of the pay9 ments pursuant to the conservation

10 security contract under subsection

11 (h)(2)(C).

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED MODIFICATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary

14 may in writing require an owner or oper15 ator to modify a conservation security con16 tract before the expiration of the conserva17 tion security contract if the Secretary de18 termines that a change made to the size,

19 the management, or any other aspect of

20 the agricultural operation of the owner or

21 operator would, without the modification,

22 interfere with achieving the purposes of the

23 conservation security program.

24 ‘‘(ii) PAYMENT SCHEDULE.—The Sec25 retary may adjust the payment schedule
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1 under the conservation security contract to

2 reflect any modifications required under

3 this subparagraph.

4 ‘‘(iii) DEADLINE.—The Secretary may

5 terminate a conservation security contract

6 if a modification required under this sub7 paragraph is not submitted to the Sec8 retary in the form of an amended con9 servation security contract by the date that

10 is 90 days after the date of receipt of the

11 written request for the modification.

12 ‘‘(iv) TERMINATION.—An owner or

13 operator that is required to modify a con14 servation security contract under this sub15 paragraph may, in lieu of modifying the

16 contract—

17 ‘‘(I) terminate the conservation

18 security contract; and

19 ‘‘(II) retain payments received

20 under the conservation security con21 tract, if the owner or operator fully

22 complies with the obligations of the

23 owner or operator under the conserva24 tion security contract.

25 ‘‘(4) RENEWAL.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the option of an

2 owner or operator, the conservation security

3 contract of the owner or operator may be re4 newed, for a term described in subparagraph

5 (B), if—

6 ‘‘(i) the owner or operator agrees to

7 any modification of the applicable con8 servation security contract that the Sec9 retary determines to be necessary to

10 achieve the purposes of the conservation

11 security program;

12 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines that

13 the owner or operator has complied with

14 the terms and conditions of the conserva15 tion security contract, including the con16 servation security plan; and

17 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a conservation se18 curity contract for land previously enrolled

19 in the conservation security program that

20 will continue to be enrolled on the basis of

21 1 or more Tier I conservation practices,

22 the owner or operator meets resource man23 agement system criteria for the practices

24 operation covered by the conservation secu25 rity contract.
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1 ‘‘(B) TERMS OF RENEWAL.—Under sub2 paragraph (A)—

3 ‘‘(i) a conservation security contract

4 for land enrolled in the conservation secu5 rity program that will be maintained using

6 a Tier I conservation practice may be re7 newed for 5-year terms;

8 ‘‘(ii) a conservation security contract

9 for land enrolled in the conservation secu10 rity program that will be maintained using

11 a Tier II or Tier III conservation practice

12 may be renewed for 5-year to 10-year

13 terms, at the option of the owner or oper14 ator; and

15 ‘‘(iii) previous participation in the

16 conservation security program does not bar

17 renewal more than once.

18 ‘‘(f) NO VIOLATION FOR NONCOMPLIANCE DUE TO

19 CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND THE CONTROL OF THE OWNER

20 OR OPERATOR.—The Secretary shall include in the con21 servation security contract a provision, and may modify

22 a conservation security contract under subsection

23 (e)(3)(B), to ensure that an owner or operator shall not

24 be considered in violation of a conservation security con25 tract for failure to comply with the conservation security
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1 contract due to circumstances beyond the control of the

2 owner or operator, including a disaster or related condi3 tion.

4 ‘‘(g) DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—Under

5 a conservation security contract, an owner or operator

6 shall agree, during the term specified under the conserva7 tion security contract—

8 ‘‘(1) to implement the applicable conservation

9 security plan approved by the Secretary;

10 ‘‘(2) to keep appropriate records showing the

11 effective and timely implementation of the conserva12 tion security plan;

13 ‘‘(3) not to engage in any activity that would

14 interfere with the purposes of the conservation secu15 rity plan;

16 ‘‘(4) at the option of the Secretary, to refund

17 all or a portion of the payments to the Secretary if

18 the owner or operator fails to maintain a conserva19 tion practice, as specified in the conservation secu20 rity contract; and

21 ‘‘(5) on the violation of a term or condition of

22 the conservation security contract—

23 ‘‘(A) if the Secretary determines that the

24 violation warrants termination of the conserva25 tion security contract—
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1 ‘‘(i) to forfeit all rights to receive pay2 ments under the conservation security con3 tract; and

4 ‘‘(ii) to refund to the Secretary all or

5 a portion of the payments received by the

6 owner or operator under the conservation

7 security contract, including an advance

8 payment and interest on the payments, as

9 determined by the Secretary; or

10 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that the

11 violation does not warrant termination of the

12 conservation security contract, to refund to the

13 Secretary, or accept adjustments to, the pay14 ments provided to the owner or operator, as the

15 Secretary determines to be appropriate.

16 ‘‘(h) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—

17 ‘‘(1) ADVANCE PAYMENT.—At the time at

18 which a person enters into a conservation security

19 contract, the Secretary shall make an advance pay20 ment to the person in an amount not to exceed—

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of a contract to maintain

22 Tier I conservation practices described in sub23 section (d)(5)(A), the greater of—

24 ‘‘(i) $1,000; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent of the value of the

2 annual payment under the contract, as de3 termined by the Secretary;

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of a contract to maintain

5 Tier II conservation practices described in sub6 section (d)(5)(B), the greater of—

7 ‘‘(i) $2,000; or

8 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent of the value of the

9 annual payment under the contract, as de10 termined by the Secretary; or

11 ‘‘(C) in the case of a contract to maintain

12 Tier III conservation practices described in sub13 section (d)(5)(C), the greater of—

14 ‘‘(i) $3,000; or

15 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent of the value of the

16 annual payment under the contract, as de17 termined by the Secretary.

18 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL PAYMENTS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara20 graphs (B) through (D), under a conservation

21 security contract, the Secretary shall, in

22 amounts and for a period of years specified in

23 the conservation security contract, make an an24 nual payment to the person in an amount not

25 to exceed—
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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a contract to main2 tain Tier I conservation practices described

3 in subsection (d)(5)(A), $20,000;

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a contract to main5 tain Tier II conservation practices de6 scribed in subsection (d)(5)(B), $35,000;

7 or

8 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a contract to

9 maintain Tier III conservation practices

10 described in subsection (d)(5)(C), $50,000.

11 ‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—The Sec12 retary may periodically, including at the time at

13 which a conservation security contract is re14 newed, adjust the payment and payment limita15 tions under subparagraph (A) to reflect changes

16 in the Prices Paid by Farmers Index.

17 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING

18 AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—Subject to subpara19 graphs (A) and (D), the Secretary shall estab20 lish criteria for determining the amount of an

21 annual payment to a person under this para22 graph that—

23 ‘‘(i) shall be as objective and trans24 parent as practicable; and

25 ‘‘(ii) shall be based on—
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1 ‘‘(I) the natural resource and en2 vironmental benefits expected as a re3 sult of the adoption, maintenance, and

4 improvement in implementation of the

5 conservation practices carried out by

6 the person;

7 ‘‘(II) the number of management

8 practices established or maintained;

9 ‘‘(III) the schedule for the con10 servation practices described in sub11 section (c)(1)(C);

12 ‘‘(IV) the cost of the adoption,

13 maintenance, and improvement in im14 plementation of conservation practices

15 that are newly implemented under the

16 conservation security contract;

17 ‘‘(V) the extent to which com18 pensation will ensure maintenance and

19 improvement of conservation practices

20 that are or have been implemented;

21 ‘‘(VI) the income loss or eco22 nomic value forgone by the person due

23 to land use adjustments resulting

24 from the adoption, maintenance, and
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1 improvement of conservation prac2 tices;

3 ‘‘(VII) the extent to which the

4 conservation security plan meets ap5 plicable resource management system

6 standards;

7 ‘‘(VIII) the extent to which the

8 conservation security plan incor9 porates practices that optimize carbon

10 sequestration and minimize green11 house gas emissions;

12 ‘‘(IX) the costs associated with

13 any on-farm research, demonstration,

14 or pilot testing components of the

15 conservation security plan;

16 ‘‘(X) the extent to which the con17 servation security plan addresses

18 State and local conservation priorities

19 as provided for under subsection

20 (c)(3);

21 ‘‘(XI) the costs associated with

22 monitoring of results required under

23 the conservation security plan;

24 ‘‘(XII) participation in a water25 shed or regional land use plan involv-
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1 ing at least 75 percent of landowners

2 in the targeted area;

3 ‘‘(XIII) the special considerations

4 associated with an owner or operator

5 that is a qualified beginning farmer or

6 rancher (as defined in section 343(a)

7 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural

8 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)));

9 ‘‘(XIV) the extent of activities

10 undertaken beyond what is required to

11 comply with any applicable Federal,

12 State, and local law; and

13 ‘‘(XV) such other factors as the

14 Secretary determines to be appro15 priate to encourage participation in

16 the conservation security program and

17 to reward environmental stewardship.

18 ‘‘(D) LAND ENROLLED IN OTHER CON19 SERVATION PROGRAMS.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

21 any other provision of law, if an owner or

22 operator has land enrolled in another con23 servation program administered by the

24 Secretary and has applied to enroll the
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1 same land in the conservation program, the

2 owner or operator may elect to—

3 ‘‘(I) convert the contract under

4 the other conservation program to a

5 conservation security contract, with6 out penalty, except that this subclause

7 shall not apply to a long-term or per8 manent conservation or easement; or

9 ‘‘(II) have each annual payment

10 to the owner or operator under this

11 paragraph reduced to reflect payment

12 for practices the owner or operator re13 ceives under the other conservation

14 program, except that the annual pay15 ment under this paragraph may in16 clude incentives for qualified practices

17 that enhance or extend the conserva18 tion benefit achieved under the other

19 conservation program.

20 ‘‘(ii) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—If an

21 owner or operator has land enrolled in the

22 conservation security program and 1 or

23 more other conservation programs adminis24 tered by the Secretary, the Secretary shall

25 include all payments, other than easement
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1 or rental payments, from the conservation

2 security program and the other conserva3 tion programs in applying the annual pay4 ment limitations under subparagraph (A).

5 ‘‘(E) WASTE STORAGE OR TREATMENT FA6 CILITIES.—An annual payment to an owner or

7 operator under this paragraph shall not be pro8 vided for the purpose of construction or mainte9 nance of animal waste storage or treatment fa10 cilities or associated waste transport or transfer

11 devices for animal feeding operations.

12 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

14 issue regulations—

15 ‘‘(i) defining the term ‘person’ for the

16 purposes of this chapter—

17 ‘‘(I) which regulations shall con18 form, to the extent practicable, to the

19 regulations defining the term ‘person’

20 issued under section 1001; and

21 ‘‘(II) which term shall be defined

22 so that no individual directly or indi23 rectly may receive payments exceeding

24 the applicable amount specified in

25 paragraph (1) or (2);
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1 ‘‘(ii) providing adequate safeguards to

2 protect the interests of tenants and share3 croppers, including provision for sharing,

4 on a fair and equitable basis; and

5 ‘‘(iii) prescribing such other rules as

6 the Secretary determines to be necessary

7 to ensure a fair and reasonable application

8 of the limitations established under para9 graphs (1) and (2).

10 ‘‘(B) PENALTIES FOR SCHEMES OR DE11 VICES.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary

13 determines that a person has adopted a

14 scheme or device to evade, or that has the

15 purpose of evading, the regulations issued

16 under subparagraph (A), the person shall

17 be ineligible to participate in the conserva18 tion security program for the year for

19 which the scheme or device was adopted

20 and each of the following 5 years.

21 ‘‘(ii) FRAUD.—If the Secretary deter22 mines that fraud was committed in connec23 tion with the scheme or device, the person

24 shall be ineligible to participate in the con25 servation security program for the year for
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1 which the scheme or device was adopted

2 and each of the following 10 years.

3 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection

5 (g), the Secretary shall allow an owner or oper6 ator to terminate the conservation security con7 tract.

8 ‘‘(B) PAYMENTS.—The owner or operator

9 may retain any or all payments received under

10 a terminated conservation security contract if—

11 ‘‘(i) the owner or operator is in full

12 compliance with the terms and conditions,

13 including any maintenance requirements,

14 of the conservation security contract; and

15 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines that re16 tention of payment will not defeat the

17 goals enumerated in the conservation secu18 rity plan of the owner or operator.

19 ‘‘(5) TRANSFER OR CHANGE OF INTEREST IN

20 LAND SUBJECT TO CONSERVATION SECURITY CON21 TRACT.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

23 subparagraph (B), the transfer, or change in

24 the interest, of an owner or operator in land

25 subject to a conservation security contract shall
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1 result in the termination of the conservation se2 curity contract.

3 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF DUTIES AND

4 RIGHTS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if,

5 not later than 60 days after the date of the

6 transfer or change in the interest in land, the

7 transferee of the land provides written notice to

8 the Secretary that all duties and rights under

9 the conservation security contract have been

10 transferred to the transferee.

11 ‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year,

13 the Secretary shall use such sums as are nec14 essary from funds of the Commodity Credit

15 Corporation to provide technical assistance to

16 owners and operators for the development and

17 implementation of conservation security con18 tracts.

19 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED

20 BY PERSONS NOT AFFILIATED WITH DEPART21 MENT OF AGRICULTURE.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under subpara23 graph (A), subject to clause (ii), technical

24 assistance provided by qualified persons

25 not affiliated with the Department of Agri-
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1 culture, including farmers and ranchers,

2 may include—

3 ‘‘(I) conservation planning;

4 ‘‘(II) design, installation, and

5 certification of conservation practices;

6 ‘‘(III) training for producers; and

7 ‘‘(IV) such other activities as the

8 Secretary determines to be appro9 priate.

10 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION BY THE SEC11 RETARY.—The Secretary shall provide

12 overall technical coordination and leader13 ship for the conservation security program,

14 including final approval of all conservation

15 security plans.

16 ‘‘(7) EDUCATION, OUTREACH, MONITORING,

17 AND EVALUATION.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—

19 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.—In addition to the

20 amounts made available under paragraph

21 (6), for each fiscal year, the Secretary

22 shall use such sums as are necessary from

23 funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora24 tion to carry out education, outreach, mon25 itoring, and evaluation activities in support
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1 of the conservation security program, of

2 which not less than 50 percent of the sums

3 shall be used for monitoring and evaluation

4 activities.

5 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.—For each fiscal year,

6 the amount made available under clause (i)

7 shall be not less than 40 percent of the

8 amount made available for technical assist9 ance under paragraph (6) for the fiscal

10 year.

11 ‘‘(B) USE OF PERSONS NOT AFFILIATED

12 WITH DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—In car13 rying out activities described in subparagraph

14 (A), the Secretary may use persons not affili15 ated with the Department of Agriculture, in16 cluding networks of agricultural producers oper17 ating in a small watershed or other appropriate

18 locality.

19 ‘‘(C) INCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—Activities

20 described in subparagraph (A) may include in21 novative uses of computer technology and re22 mote sensing to monitor and evaluate resource

23 and environmental results on a local, regional,

24 or national level.
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1 ‘‘(8) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Secretary

2 shall maintain data concerning conservation security

3 plans, conservation practices planned or imple4 mented, environmental outcomes, economic costs,

5 and related matters under this section.

6 ‘‘(9) CONFIDENTIALITY.—To maintain con7 fidentiality, the Secretary shall not release or dis8 close publicly the conservation security plan of an

9 owner or operator under this chapter unless the

10 Secretary—

11 ‘‘(A) obtains the authorization of the

12 owner or operator for the release or disclosure;

13 ‘‘(B) releases the information in an anony14 mous or aggregated form; or

15 ‘‘(C) is otherwise required by law to release

16 or disclose the plan.

17 ‘‘(10) MEDIATION AND INFORMAL HEARINGS.—

18 If the Secretary makes a decision under this chapter

19 that is adverse to an owner or operator, at the re20 quest of the owner or operator, the Secretary shall

21 provide the owner or operator with mediation serv22 ices or an informal hearing on the decision.

23 ‘‘(i) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after the

24 date of enactment of this chapter and at the end of each

25 2-year period thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to
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1 Congress a report evaluating the results of the conserva2 tion security program, including—

3 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of the scope, quality, and

4 outcomes of the conservation practices carried out

5 under this section; and

6 ‘‘(2) recommendations for achieving specific

7 and quantifiable improvements for each of the pur8 poses specified in subsection (a).

9 ‘‘(j) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity

10 Credit Corporation, the Corporation shall make available

11 to carry out this chapter such sums as are necessary.’’.

12 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 1243(a) of the Food

13 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843(a)) is amended—

14 (1) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

15 the end;

16 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(3) the conservation security program estab20 lished under chapter 6 of subtitle D.’’.

21 (c) STATE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES.—Section

22 1262(c)(8) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

23 3862(c)(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘chapter 4’’ and in24 serting ‘‘chapters 4 and 6’’.
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1 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

2 The Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate such

3 regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act and the

4 amendments made by this Act.

Æ