I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5487 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the regional conservation 

partnership program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 12, 2018 

Mr. COSTA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the 

regional conservation partnership program, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Regional Conservation 

5 Partnership Program Improvement Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES. 

7 Section 1271 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

8 U.S.C. 3871) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, in2 cluding grant agreements under section 

3 1271C(d),’’ after ‘‘partnership agreements’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘con6 tracts with producers’’ and inserting ‘‘program 

7 contracts with eligible producers’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre10 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘use cov11 ered programs’’ and inserting ‘‘carry out con12 servation activities’’; 

13 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert14 ing the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) To further the conservation, protection, 

16 restoration, and sustainable use of soil, water (in17 cluding sources of drinking water), wildlife, agricul18 tural land, and related natural resources on eligible 

19 land on a regional or watershed scale.’’; 

20 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (i) in the matter preceding subpara22 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘eligible’’ before 

23 ‘‘producers’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘installation’’ and inserting ‘‘adoption, in3 stallation,’’; and 

4 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) To encourage the flexible and streamlined 

6 delivery of conservation assistance to eligible pro7 ducers through partnership agreements. 

8 ‘‘(5) To encourage alignment of partnership 

9 projects with other Federal, State, and local agen10 cies and programs addressing similar natural re11 source concerns in a coordinated manner. 

12 ‘‘(6) To engage eligible producers in conserva13 tion projects to achieve greater conservation out14 comes and benefits for eligible producers than would 

15 otherwise be achieved. 

16 ‘‘(7) To advance conservation and rural commu17 nity development goals simultaneously.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 Section 1271A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

20 U.S.C. 3871a) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1) by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(E) The conservation reserve program es24 tablished under subchapter B of chapter 1 of 

25 subtitle D.’’; 


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1 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘eligible 

4 activity’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) an eligible activity under the statu6 tory authority for a covered program; and 

7 ‘‘(B) any other related activity that an eli8 gible partner determines will help achieve con9 servation benefits, subject to the approval of the 

10 Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 

12 means— 

13 ‘‘(A) eligible land under the statutory au14 thority for a covered program; and 

15 ‘‘(B) any other agricultural or nonindus16 trial private forest land or associated land on 

17 which the Secretary determines an eligible ac18 tivity would help achieve conservation bene19 fits.’’; 

20 (3) in paragraph (4), in subparagraph (E), by 

21 inserting ‘‘management or’’ after ‘‘specific water’’; 

22 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 

23 paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; 

24 (5) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE PRODUCER.—The term ‘eligible 

2 producer’ means a person, legal entity, or Indian 

3 tribe that is an owner or operator of eligible land.’’; 

4 and 

5 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(8) PROGRAM CONTRACT.—The term ‘program 

7 contract’ means a contract established by the Sec8 retary under section 1271C(a).’’. 

9 SEC. 4. REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1271B of the Food Secu11 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871b) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘eligible’’ be13 fore ‘‘producers’’; 

14 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM LENGTH.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), the term of a partnership agreement shall 

19 not be longer than 5 years. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) CONCURRENT PROGRAM DEAD22 LINE.—The Secretary may enter into a partner23 ship agreement for a term that is longer than 

24 5 years if the eligible partner with which the 

25 Secretary enters into such agreement is a parVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Apr 17, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5487.IH H5487

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1 ticipant in a State or Federal program that re2 lates specifically to the project that is the sub3 ject of the partnership agreement and such par4 ticipation is for a term longer than 5 years. 

5 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—Upon re6 quest by an eligible partner, the Secretary may 

7 extend the term of a partnership agreement 

8 with the eligible partner if the Secretary deter9 mines that special circumstances outside the 

10 control of the eligible partner have created a 

11 delay in the implementation of a project that is 

12 a subject of the partnership agreement.’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (c)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (I) by redesignating clauses (iii) 

17 and (iv) as clauses (iv) and (v), re18 spectively; and 

19 (II) by striking clauses (i) and 

20 (ii) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) 1 or more natural resource con22 cerns that the project will address; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the eligible activities to be con24 ducted under the project to address the 

25 natural resource concerns; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the implementation timeline for 

2 carrying out the project, including any in3 terim milestones;’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

5 ‘‘eligible’’ before ‘‘producers’’; 

6 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

7 ‘‘a producer’’ each place it appears and in8 serting ‘‘an eligible producer’’; 

9 (iv) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

10 ‘‘or in-kind contributions’’ after ‘‘addi11 tional funds’’; and 

12 (v) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

13 ‘‘of the project’s effects; and’’ and insert14 ing the following: ‘‘of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the progress made by the project 

16 in addressing each natural resource con17 cern defined under subparagraph (A), in18 cluding in a quantified form; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) as appropriate, other environ20 mental, economic, or social outcomes of the 

21 project; and’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘An eligible’’ and in24 serting the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible’’; and 


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1 (ii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(B) FORM.—A contribution of an eligible 

4 partner under this paragraph may be in the 

5 form of— 

6 ‘‘(i) direct funding; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) in-kind support. 

8 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT.—Any amounts ex9 pended before the effective date of a partner10 ship agreement under this section by an eligible 

11 partner for staff salaries for development of the 

12 partnership agreement shall be considered to be 

13 a part of the contribution of the eligible partner 

14 under this paragraph.’’; 

15 (4) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub16 section (e); 

17 (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) establish a timeline for carrying out the 

21 duties of the Secretary under a partnership agree22 ment, including— 

23 ‘‘(A) entering into contracts with eligible 

24 producers; 


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1 ‘‘(B) providing financial assistance to eligi2 ble producers; and 

3 ‘‘(C) in the case of a partnership agree4 ment that is a grant agreement under section 

5 1271C(d), providing the grant amounts to the 

6 eligible partner; 

7 ‘‘(2) establish in each State a program coordi8 nator for the State, who shall be responsible solely 

9 for providing assistance to eligible partners and eli10 gible producers under the program; 

11 ‘‘(3) establish guidance to assist eligible part12 ners with carrying out the assessment required 

13 under subsection (c)(1)(E); and 

14 ‘‘(4) provide to each eligible partner that has 

15 entered into a partnership agreement— 

16 ‘‘(A) a quarterly report describing the sta17 tus of each pending and obligated contract 

18 under the project of the eligible partner; and 

19 ‘‘(B) an annual report describing how the 

20 Secretary used amounts reserved by the Sec21 retary for that year for technical assistance 

22 under section 1271D(f).’’; and 

23 (6) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by para24 graph (4))— 

25 (A) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (i) by striking the paragraph designa2 tion and heading and all that follows 

3 through ‘‘description of—’’ and inserting 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall develop 

6 a simplified application process that requires each 

7 application submitted under this subsection to in8 clude a description of—’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

10 ‘‘, including the covered programs to be 

11 used’’; and 

12 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

13 ‘‘or in-kind’’ after ‘‘financial’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

15 (i) in subparagraphs (A) and (B), by 

16 inserting ‘‘eligible’’ before ‘‘producers’’ 

17 each place it appears; 

18 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

19 (E) and (F) as subparagraphs (F) and 

20 (G), respectively; and 

21 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

22 (D) the following: 

23 ‘‘(E) develop and implement watershed or 

24 habitat plans to address 1 or more natural re25 source concerns;’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(5) FUNDING RENEWALS.—If an eligible part3 ner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary 

4 that the eligible partner has made progress in ad5 dressing 1 or more natural resource concerns de6 fined in the partnership agreement, not earlier than 

7 1 year before the date of expiration of the partner8 ship agreement, the eligible partner may request 

9 from the Secretary a renewal of the partnership 

10 agreement, including a renewal of funding, through 

11 an expedited approval process— 

12 ‘‘(A) to continue to implement the partner13 ship agreement; 

14 ‘‘(B) to expand the scope of the partner15 ship agreement; 

16 ‘‘(C) to enroll additional eligible producers; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(D) to carry out other conservation activi19 ties relating to the project, including the assess20 ment of the project under subsection (c)(1)(E), 

21 as mutually agreed by the Secretary and the eli22 gible partner.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1271E(a) 

24 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871e(a)) 


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1 is amended by striking ‘‘1271B(d)’’ each place it appears 

2 and inserting ‘‘1271B(e)’’. 

3 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1271C of the Food Secu5 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871c) is amended— 

6 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘ELIGI7 BLE’’ before ‘‘PRODUCERS’’; 

8 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in9 serting the following: 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into 

11 contracts with eligible producers to provide to such eligible 

12 producer financial or technical assistance to conduct eligi13 ble activities on eligible land, subject to such terms and 

14 conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(b) AGGREGATED APPLICATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of ad17 dressing a natural resources concern that would be 

18 benefitted by the submission of an aggregated appli19 cation, an eligible partner may submit to the Sec20 retary, on behalf multiple eligible producers, such 

21 aggregated application for a contract for assistance 

22 under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri24 ority to such aggregated applications described in 

25 paragraph (1).’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (c)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘In ac3 cordance with statutory requirements of the 

4 covered programs involved, the Secretary may 

5 make payments to a producer’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘Subject to section 1271D, the Secretary may 

7 make payments to an eligible producer’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘eligi9 ble’’ before ‘‘producers’’ each place it appears; 

10 and 

11 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘partici12 pating’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible’’; and 

13 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS THROUGH GRANT

15 AGREEMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contract entered into 

17 under this section may be a grant agreement entered 

18 into with an eligible partner in accordance with this 

19 subsection. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Under a grant agree21 ment under paragraph (1)— 

22 ‘‘(A) using amounts made available to 

23 carry out this subtitle, the Secretary shall pro24 vide to the eligible partner a grant; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the eligible partner shall carry out el2 igible activities on eligible land (including by 

3 contracting with 1 or more producers, if the eli4 gible partner determines the contracting to be 

5 appropriate), on the condition that the eligible 

6 activities directly or indirectly benefit agricul7 tural producers (including forestry producers), 

8 to address natural resource concerns on a re9 gional or watershed scale, such as— 

10 ‘‘(i) infrastructure investments relat11 ing to agricultural or nonindustrial private 

12 forest production that would benefit mul13 tiple producers, such as a multiproducer ir14 rigation water delivery system; 

15 ‘‘(ii) projects addressing water quality 

16 or quantity concerns in coordination with 

17 producers, including the development and 

18 implementation of watershed plans; 

19 ‘‘(iii) projects that use innovative ap20 proaches to leveraging the Federal invest21 ment in conservation with private financial 

22 mechanisms, in conjunction with agricul23 tural production or forest resource man24 agement, such as— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the provision of perform2 ance-based payments to eligible pro3 ducers; and 

4 ‘‘(II) support for an environ5 mental market; 

6 ‘‘(iv) projects that promote ground7 water replenishment; 

8 ‘‘(v) projects that facilitate pilot test9 ing of new conservation practices, tech10 nologies, or activities; 

11 ‘‘(vi) projects that promote the long12 term viability and sustainability of agricul13 tural land through innovative agricultural 

14 land protection strategies and mechanisms, 

15 including projects that support the transfer 

16 of land to beginning farmers and ranchers, 

17 veteran farmers and ranchers (as deter18 mined by the Secretary), socially disadvan19 taged farmers and ranchers, and limited 

20 resource farmers and ranchers (as deter21 mined by the Secretary); and 

22 ‘‘(vii) other projects for which the 

23 Secretary determines that the goals and 

24 objectives of the program would be easier 


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1 to achieve through the grant agreement; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) the Secretary may provide technical 

4 and administrative assistance, as mutually 

5 agreed by the parties. 

6 ‘‘(3) NONAPPLICABILITY OF ADJUSTED GROSS

7 INCOME LIMITATION.—The adjusted gross income 

8 limitation described in section 1001D(b)(1) shall not 

9 apply to the receipt by an eligible partner of a grant 

10 under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not use 

12 more than 30 percent of funding made available to 

13 carry out the program for grant agreements. 

14 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—An eligible partner that enters 

15 into a grant agreement under this subsection shall 

16 submit to the Secretary— 

17 ‘‘(A) any information that the Secretary 

18 requires to prepare the report under section 

19 1271E(b); and 

20 ‘‘(B) an annual report that describes the 

21 status of the project carried out by the eligible 

22 partner, including a description of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the use of the grant funds; 

24 ‘‘(ii) any subcontracts awarded using 

25 grant funds; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the eligible producers receiving 

2 funding using the grant funds; 

3 ‘‘(iv)(I) the progress made by the 

4 project in addressing each natural resource 

5 concern defined in the grant agreement, in6 cluding in a quantified form; and 

7 ‘‘(II) as appropriate, other environ8 mental, economic, or social outcomes of the 

9 project; and 

10 ‘‘(v) any other reporting data the Sec11 retary determines are necessary to ensure 

12 compliance with the program rules.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 1271E(b)(4) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

15 3871e(b)(4)) is amended in the matter preceding subpara16 graph (A) by striking ‘‘1271C(b)(2)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘1271C(d)’’. 

18 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1271D of the Food Secu20 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871d) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘for each of 

22 fiscal years 2014 through 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘for 

23 each fiscal year’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (c), by striking paragraphs (1) 

25 and (2) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that additional 

2 resources are available to carry out the program, in 

3 addition to the funds made available under sub4 section (a), for each fiscal year the Secretary shall 

5 reserve 7 percent of the funds and acres made avail6 able for the following programs: 

7 ‘‘(A) The conservation stewardship pro8 gram established under subchapter B of chapter 

9 2 of subtitle D. 

10 ‘‘(B) The environmental quality incentives 

11 program established under chapter 4 of subtitle 

12 D. 

13 ‘‘(C) The agricultural conservation ease14 ment program established under subtitle H. 

15 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Any funds 

16 or acres reserved under paragraph (1) shall remain 

17 available for obligation only for the purposes of car18 rying out the program until expended. 

19 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—To the max20 imum extent practicable, of projects receiving funds 

21 or acres reserved under paragraph (1) from a pro22 gram described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 

23 that paragraph, the percentage of projects that shall 

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1 served shall be approximately equal to the percent2 age of funds or acres reserved from the applicable 

3 program.’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘25 per6 cent of the funds and acres to projects based on 

7 a State competitive process administered by the 

8 State Conservationist, with the advice of the 

9 State technical committee’’ and inserting the 

10 following: ‘‘40 percent of the funds and acres to 

11 projects based on a State or multistate competi12 tive process administered, as applicable, by the 

13 State Conservationist or jointly by the State 

14 Conservationists of each State participating in 

15 the multistate process, with the advice of the 

16 applicable State technical committees’’; 

17 (B) by striking paragraph (2); 

18 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

19 paragraph (2); and 

20 (D) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), 

21 by striking ‘‘35 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘60 per22 cent’’; 

23 (4) in subsection (e)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘None of the funds’’ and 

25 inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), none of the funds’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(2) PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND OUT5 REACH.—Under a partnership agreement, the Sec6 retary may advance reasonable amounts of funding 

7 for technical assistance to eligible partners to con8 duct project development and outreach activities in 

9 a project area (including activities conducted before 

10 the effective date of the partnership agreement), in11 cluding— 

12 ‘‘(A) providing outreach and education to 

13 eligible producers for potential participation in 

14 the project; 

15 ‘‘(B) developing a watershed or habitat 

16 plan; 

17 ‘‘(C) establishing baseline metrics to sup18 port the development of the assessment re19 quired under section 1271B(c)(1)(E); or 

20 ‘‘(D) providing technical assistance to eligi21 ble producers.’’; and 

22 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time of project se25 lection, the Secretary shall identify and make pubVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Apr 17, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5487.IH H5487

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1 lically available the amount that the Secretary shall 

2 use to provide technical assistance under the terms 

3 of the partnership agreement. 

4 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall limit 

5 costs of the Secretary for technical assistance to 

6 costs specific and necessary to carry out the objec7 tives of the partnership agreement. 

8 ‘‘(3) THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 

9 shall develop and implement strategies to encourage 

10 third-party technical service providers to provide 

11 technical assistance to eligible partners pursuant to 

12 a partnership agreement.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1271F(a) 

14 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871f(a)) 

15 is amended by striking ‘‘1271D(d)(3)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘1271D(d)(2)’’. 

17 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

18 Section 1271E of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

19 U.S.C. 3871e) (as amended by section 5(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

22 by striking ‘‘December 31, 2014’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘December 31, 2018’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by inserting 

2 ‘‘eligible’’ before ‘‘producers’’ each place it ap3 pears; 

4 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

5 through (4) as paragraphs (2) through (5), re6 spectively; and 

7 (D) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 

8 so redesignated) the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) a summary of— 

10 ‘‘(A) the progress made towards address11 ing the 1 or more natural resource concerns de12 fined for the projects; and 

13 ‘‘(B) any other related environmental, so14 cial, or economic outcomes of the projects;’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN REQUIRE18 MENTS.—The Secretary may not provide assistance under 

19 the program to an eligible producer unless the eligible pro20 ducer agrees, during the program year for which the as21 sistance is provided— 

22 ‘‘(1) to comply with applicable conservation re23 quirements under subtitle B; and 

24 ‘‘(2) to comply with applicable wetland protec25 tion requirements under subtitle C. 


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1 ‘‘(d) MAINTAINING BENEFITS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION.—For any conservation 

3 practice standard developed or modified by an eligi4 ble partner and any related activity described in sec5 tion 1271A(2)(B), the Secretary shall ensure that 

6 the new or modified conservation practice standard 

7 or related activity— 

8 ‘‘(A) is based on the best available science; 

9 ‘‘(B) is implemented after consultation 

10 with the State conservationist (or a designee) to 

11 assess the anticipated effectiveness of the new 

12 or modified conservation practice; and 

13 ‘‘(C) produces conservation benefits. 

14 ‘‘(2) HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED PRO15 DUCERS.—To the maximum extent practicable, in 

16 carrying out the program, the Secretary shall work 

17 with eligible partners to maintain eligible benefits 

18 available through the covered programs for histori19 cally underserved eligible producers, as determined 

20 by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regu22 lations to carry out the program.’’. 

23 SEC. 8. CRITICAL CONSERVATION AREAS. 

24 Section 1271F of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

25 U.S.C. 3871f) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘producer’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘program’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)(E), by inserting ‘‘eli5 gible’’ before ‘‘producers’’; 

6 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF DESIGNATIONS.—The Sec9 retary may— 

10 ‘‘(A) review designations of critical con11 servation areas under this section not more 

12 than once every 5 years; 

13 ‘‘(B) withdraw a designation of a critical 

14 conservation area only if— 

15 ‘‘(i) the designated area no longer 

16 meets the conditions described in para17 graph (1); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the withdrawal has been ap19 proved by favorable resolutions of the Sen20 ate Agriculture Committee and House Ag21 riculture Committee.’’; and 

22 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘8’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘10’’; 

24 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub25 section (d); 


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1 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(c) OUTREACH TO ELIGIBLE PARTNERS AND ELIGI4 BLE PRODUCERS.—The Secretary shall provide outreach 

5 and education to eligible partners and eligible producers 

6 in critical conservation areas designated under this section 

7 to encourage the development of projects that address the 

8 highest-priority natural resource concerns in the highest9 priority watersheds or regions within those critical con10 servation areas, as determined by the Secretary.’’; and 

11 (5) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘pro13 ducer’’ and inserting ‘‘program’’; and 

14 (B) by striking paragraph (3). 

Æ 


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