I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1790

To reauthorize the tree loss assistance program to compensate orchardists

and tree farmers who plant trees for commercial purposes but lose

the trees as a result of a natural disaster.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 9, 2001

Mr. SMITH of Michigan (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. BARCIA,

Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. UPTON, Mr. EHLERS, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. STUPAK,

and Mr. BONIOR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To reauthorize the tree loss assistance program to compensate orchardists and tree farmers who plant trees

for commercial purposes but lose the trees as a result

of a natural disaster.

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

3 SECTION 1. TREE LOSS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR OR4 CHARDISTS AND TREE FARMERS.

5 (a) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.—Subject to the limita6 tion in subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture is au7 thorized to provide assistance under this section to eligible
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1 orchardists and eligible tree farmers that plant or have

2 planted trees for commercial purposes but lose the trees

3 as a result of a natural disaster.

4 (b) LOSS THRESHOLD.—An eligible orchardist or eli5 gible tree farmer shall qualify for assistance under this

6 section only if the person’s tree mortality, as a result of

7 the natural disaster, exceeds 15 percent (adjusted for nor8 mal mortality).

9 (c) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—The assistance provided

10 under this section shall consist of, at the discretion of the

11 Secretary—

12 (1) reimbursement of up to 80 percent of the

13 cost of replanting trees lost as a result of the nat14 ural disaster in excess of 15 percent mortality (ad15 justed for normal mortality);

16 (2) sufficient seedlings to reestablish the stand;

17 or

18 (3) a combination of reimbursement and re19 placement seedlings.

20 (d) SOURCE OF ASSISTANCE.—To provide assistance

21 under this section, the Secretary shall use funds of the

22 Commodity Credit Corporation available for use for emer23 gency purposes.

24 (e) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The

25 total amount of assistance that a person may receive
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1 under this section may not exceed $75,000, or an equiva2 lent value in tree seedlings.

3 (f) DUPLICATIVE PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall

4 establish guidelines to ensure that no person receives du5 plicative payments under this section and the forestry in6 centives program, agricultural conservation program, or

7 other Federal program.

8 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 (1) NATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘‘natural

10 disaster’’ includes plant diseases, insect infestations,

11 drought, fire, freeze, earthquake, or related condi12 tion, as determined by the Secretary.

13 (2) ELIGIBLE ORCHARDIST.—The term ‘‘eligible

14 orchardist’’ means a person that produces annual

15 crops from trees for commercial purposes and owns

16 500 acres or less of the trees.

17 (3) ELIGIBLE TREE FARMER.—The term ‘‘eligi18 ble tree farmer’’ means a person that grows trees for

19 harvest for commercial purposes and owns 1,000

20 acres or less of the trees.

21 (h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue

22 regulations—

23 (1) defining the term ‘‘person’’ for the purposes

24 of this section, which shall conform, to the extent

25 practicable, to the regulations defining the term
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1 ‘‘person’’ issued under section 1001 of the Food Se2 curity Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) and the Disaster

3 Assistance Act of 1988 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note); and

4 (2) prescribing such rules as the Secretary de5 termines necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable

6 application of the limitation established under sub7 section (e).

8 (i) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.—This section ap9 plies with respect to tree losses described in subsection (a)

10 that are incurred as a result of a natural disaster after

11 January 1, 2000.

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