259 
‘‘(C) at the request of a producer, act on 
behalf of a producer participating in the project 
in applying for assistance under section 1271C; 
‘‘(D) leverage financial or technical assist-
ance provided by the Secretary with additional 
funds to help achieve the project objectives; 
‘‘(E) conduct an assessment of the 
project’s effects; and 
‘‘(F) at the conclusion of the project, re-
port to the Secretary on its results and funds 
leveraged. 
‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION.—A partner shall provide 
a significant portion of the overall costs of the scope 
of the project as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE
PROCESS.—The Secretary 
shall conduct a competitive process to select applica-
tions for partnership agreements and may assess 
and rank applications with similar conservation pur-
poses as a group. 
‘‘(2) CRITERIA
USED.—In carrying out the 
process described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 
shall make public the criteria used in evaluating ap-
plications. 
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‘‘(3) CONTENT.—An application to the Sec-
retary shall include a description of— 
‘‘(A) the scope of the project as described 
in subsection (c)(1)(A); 
‘‘(B) the plan for monitoring, evaluating, 
and reporting on progress made towards achiev-
ing the project’s objectives; 
‘‘(C) the program resources requested for 
the project, including the covered programs to 
be used and estimated funding needed from the 
Secretary; 
‘‘(D) the partners collaborating to achieve 
project objectives, including their roles, respon-
sibilities, capabilities, and financial contribu-
tion; and 
‘‘(E) any other elements the Secretary con-
siders necessary to adequately evaluate and 
competitively select applications for funding 
under the program. 
‘‘(4) APPLICATION SELECTION.— 
‘‘(A) PRIORITY
TO
CERTAIN
APPLICA-
TIONS.—The Secretary shall give a higher pri-
ority to applications that— 
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‘‘(i) assist producers in meeting or 
avoiding the need for a natural resource 
regulatory requirement; 
‘‘(ii) significantly leverage non-Fed-
eral financial and technical resources and 
coordinate with other local, State, regional, 
or national efforts; 
‘‘(iii) deliver high percentages of ap-
plied conservation to address conservation 
priorities or local, State, regional, or na-
tional conservation initiatives; 
‘‘(iv) provide innovation in conserva-
tion methods and delivery, including out-
come-based performance measures and 
methods; or 
‘‘(v) provide innovation in the im-
provement and delivery of water quality or 
quantity, including outcome-based perform-
ance measures and methods. 
‘‘(B) OTHER
APPLICATIONS.—The Sec-
retary may give priority to applications that— 
‘‘(i) have a high percentage of pro-
ducers in the area to be covered by the 
agreement; or 
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262 
‘‘(ii) meet other factors that are im-
portant for achieving the purposes of the 
program, as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘SEC. 1271C. ASSISTANCE TO PRODUCERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into 
contracts to provide financial and technical assistance 
to— 
‘‘(1) producers participating in a project with 
an eligible partner as described in section 1271B; or 
‘‘(2) producers that fit within the scope of a 
project described in section 1271B or a critical con-
servation area designated pursuant to section 
1271F, but who are seeking to implement an eligible 
activity independent of a partner. 
‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) CONSISTENCY WITH PROGRAM RULES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (2) and subparagraph (B), the Sec-
retary shall ensure that the terms and condi-
tions of a contract under this section are con-
sistent with the applicable rules of the covered 
programs to be used as part of the partnership 
agreement, as described in the application 
under section 1271B(d)(3)(C). 
‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS.— 
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