I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2480
To reauthorize, improve, and expand conservation programs administered
by the Department of Agriculture.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 12, 2001
Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To reauthorize, improve, and expand conservation programs
administered by the Department of Agriculture.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conservation Invest-
ment Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ACRES AU-
THORIZED TO BE ENROLLED IN THE CON-
SERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM.
Section 1231(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985
(16 U.S.C. 3831(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘36,400,000’’ and inserting
‘‘40,000,000’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’.
SEC. 3. GRASSLAND RESERVE PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of subtitle D of title
XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subchapter:
‘‘Subchapter D—Grassland Reserve Program
‘‘SEC. 1238. GRASSLAND RESERVE PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting
through the Farm Service Agency, shall establish a grass-
land reserve program (referred to in this subchapter as
the ‘program’) to assist owners in restoring and con-
serving eligible land described in subsection (c).
‘‘(b) ENROLLMENT CONDITIONS.—
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The total num-
ber of acres enrolled in the program shall not exceed
3,000,000 acres, not more than 1,500,000 of which
shall be restored grassland, and not more than
1,500,000 of which shall be virgin (never cultivated)
grassland.
‘‘(2) METHODS
OF
ENROLLMENT.—The Sec-
retary shall enroll in the program for a willing owner
not less than 100 contiguous acres of land west of
the 90th meridian or not less than 50 contiguous
acres of land east of the 90th meridian through 10-
year, 15-year, or 20-year easements.
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Land shall be eligible to be
enrolled in the program if the Secretary determines that
the land is—
‘‘(1) natural grass or shrubland;
‘‘(2) land that—
‘‘(A) is located in an area that has been
historically dominated by natural grass or
shrubland; and
‘‘(B) has potential to serve as habitat for
animal or plant populations of significant eco-
logical value if the land is restored to natural
grass or shrubland; or
‘‘(3) land that is incidental to land described in
paragraph (1) or (2), if that incidental land is deter-
mined by the Secretary to be necessary for the effi-
cient administration of the easement.
‘‘SEC. 1238A. EASEMENTS AND AGREEMENTS.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS OF LANDOWNER.—To be eligi-
ble to enroll land in the program, the owner of the land
shall—
‘‘(1) grant an easement that runs with the land
to the Secretary;
‘‘(2) create and record an appropriate deed re-
striction in accordance with applicable State law to
reflect the easement;
‘‘(3) provide a written statement of consent to
the easement signed by persons holding a security
interest or any vested interest in the land;
‘‘(4) provide proof of unencumbered title to the
underlying fee interest in the land that is the subject
of the easement;
‘‘(5) agree to comply with the terms of the
easement and related restoration agreements;
‘‘(6) subject to paragraph (7), agree to the per-
manent retirement of any existing cropland base and
allotment history for the land under any program
administered by the Secretary; and
‘‘(7) agree that the Secretary shall have the
right to suspend or terminate the easement during
any time of war, extreme drought, or famine, and,
in the event of such a suspension or termination,
agree to accept such adjustment of payments under
section 1238B as the Secretary may make in accord-
ance with regulations.
‘‘(b) TERMS OF EASEMENT.—An easement under
subsection (a) shall—
‘‘(1) permit—
‘‘(A) common grazing practices on the land
in a manner that is consistent with maintaining
the viability of natural grass and shrub species
indigenous to that locality;
‘‘(B) haying, mowing, or haying for seed
production, except that such uses shall not be
permitted until after the end of the nesting sea-
son for birds in the local area which are in sig-
nificant decline or are conserved pursuant to
State or Federal law, as determined by the Nat-
ural Resources Conservation Service State con-
servationist; and
‘‘(C) construction of fire breaks and
fences, including placement of the posts nec-
essary for fences;
‘‘(2) prohibit—
‘‘(A) the production of row-crops, fruit
trees, vineyards, or any other agricultural com-
modity that requires breaking the soil surface;
and
‘‘(B) the conduct of any other activities
that would disturb the surface of the land cov-
ered by the easement, including—
‘‘(i) plowing; and
‘‘(ii) disking; and
‘‘(3) include such additional provisions as the
Secretary determines are appropriate to carry out or
facilitate the administration of this subchapter.
‘‘(c) RANKING EASEMENT APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Sec-
retary shall establish criteria to evaluate and rank
applications for easements under this subchapter.
‘‘(2) EMPHASIS.—In establishing the criteria,
the Secretary shall emphasize support for native
grass and shrubland, grazing operations, and plant
and animal biodiversity.
‘‘(d) RESTORATION AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary
shall prescribe the terms by which grassland that is sub-
ject to an easement under the program shall be restored.
The agreement shall include duties of the land owner and
the Secretary, including the Federal share of restoration
payments and technical assistance.
‘‘(e) VIOLATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—On the violation of the
terms or conditions of an easement or restoration
agreement entered into under this section—
‘‘(A) the easement shall remain in force;
and
‘‘(B) the Secretary may require the owner
to refund all or part of any payments received
by the owner under this subchapter, with inter-
est on the payments as determined appropriate
by the Secretary.
‘‘(2) PERIODIC
INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary
shall conduct periodic inspections of land subject to
easements under this subchapter to ensure that the
terms of the easements and restoration agreements
are being met, after providing the landowner ade-
quate notice of inspections. The Secretary may not
prohibit the landowner or a representative of the
landowner from being present during inspections.
‘‘SEC. 1238B. DUTIES OF SECRETARY.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In return for the granting of an
easement by an owner under this subchapter, the Sec-
retary shall make easement payments and payments of the
Federal share of restoration and provide technical assist-
ance to the owner in accordance with this section.
‘‘(b) EASEMENT PAYMENTS.—In return for the
granting of an easement by an owner under this sub-
chapter, the Secretary shall make annual easement pay-
ments to the owner in an amount equal to the grazing
value of the land for the period that the land is encum-
bered by the easement.
‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE OF RESTORATION.—The Sec-
retary shall make payments to the owner of not more
than—
‘‘(1) in the case of virgin (never cultivated)
grassland, 90 percent of the costs of carrying out
measures and practices necessary to restore grass-
land functions and values; or
‘‘(2) in the case of restored grassland, 75 per-
cent of such costs.
‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide
owners with technical assistance to execute easement
documents and restore the grassland.
‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT BY COMMODITY CREDIT
CORPORATION.—The Commodity Credit Corporation
shall reimburse the Secretary, acting through the
Farm Service Agency, for not more than 10 percent
of the cost of acquisition of easement and the Fed-
eral share of the restoration payments obligated for
that fiscal year.
‘‘(e) PAYMENTS TO OTHERS.—If an owner who is en-
titled to a payment under this subchapter dies, becomes
incompetent, is otherwise unable to receive the payment,
or is succeeded by another person who renders or com-
pletes the required performance, the Secretary shall make
the payment, in accordance with regulations promulgated
by the Secretary and without regard to any other provision
of law, in such manner as the Secretary determines is fair
and reasonable in light of all the circumstances.
‘‘(f) OTHER PAYMENTS.—Easement payments re-
ceived by an owner under this subchapter shall be in addi-
tion to, and not affect, the total amount of payments that
the owner is otherwise eligible to receive under other Fed-
eral laws.
‘‘SEC. 1238C. ADMINISTRATION.
‘‘(a) DELEGATION TO PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS OR
STATE AGENCIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall permit
a private conservation or land trust organization or
a State agency to hold and enforce an easement
under this subchapter, in lieu of the Secretary, if—
‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that grant-
ing such permission is likely to promote grass-
land conservation; and
‘‘(B) the landowner agrees to allow the pri-
vate conservation or land trust organization or
a State agency to hold and enforce the ease-
ment.
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An organization that de-
sires to hold an easement under this subchapter
shall apply to the Secretary for approval.
‘‘(3) APPROVAL
BY
SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary shall approve an organization under this sub-
chapter that is constituted for conservation or
ranching purposes and is competent to administer
grassland easements.
‘‘(4) REASSIGNMENT.—If an organization hold-
ing an easement on land under this subchapter
terminates—
‘‘(A) the owner of the land shall reassign
the easement to another organization described
in paragraph (1) or to the Secretary; and
‘‘(B) the owner and the new organization
shall notify the Secretary in writing that a reas-
signment for termination has been made.
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this subchapter, the Secretary
shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out
this subchapter.’’.
(b) FUNDING.—Section 1241(a)(2) of such Act (16
U.S.C. 3841(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘subchapter
C’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapters C and D’’.
SEC. 4. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ACRES AU-
THORIZED TO BE ENROLLED IN THE WET-
LANDS RESERVE PROGRAM.
Section 1237(b)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985
(16 U.S.C. 3837(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The total num-
ber of acres enrolled in the wetlands reserve pro-
gram shall not exceed—
‘‘(A) 1,225,000 acres during fiscal year
2002;
‘‘(B) 1,375,000 acres during fiscal year
2003;
‘‘(C) 1,525,000 acres during fiscal year
2004;
‘‘(D) 1,675,000 acres during fiscal year
2005;
‘‘(E) 1,825,000 acres during fiscal year
2006;
‘‘(F) 1,975,000 acres during fiscal year
2007;
‘‘(G) 2,125,000 acres during fiscal year
2008;
‘‘(H) 2,275,000 acres during fiscal year
2009;
‘‘(I) 2,425,000 acres during fiscal year
2010; or
‘‘(J) 2,575,000 acres during fiscal year
2011.’’.
SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM.
(a) FUNDING INCREASE.—Section 1241(b)(1) of the
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(b)(1)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ the first place it appears;
and
(2) by striking ‘‘2002,’’ and inserting ‘‘2001,
$1,400,000,000 
for 
fiscal 
year 
2002, 
and
$1,200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003
through 2011,’’.
(b) TERM OF CONTRACTS.—Section 1240B(b)(2) of
such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(b)(2)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘5, nor more than 10,’’ and inserting ‘‘1 year nor more
than 10’’.
(c) REPEAL
OF PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—Section
1240G of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is repealed.
SEC. 6. FUNDING OF WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVES PRO-
GRAM.
Section 387(c) of the Federal Agriculture Improve-
ment and Reform Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 3836a(c)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) FUNDING.—To carry out this section, there shall
be made available $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and
$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2011,
from funds made available to carry out subchapter B of
chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.).’’.
SEC. 7. FUNDING OF FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.
Section 388(c) of the Federal Agriculture Improve-
ment and Reform Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 3830 note) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) FUNDING.—In each of fiscal years 2002 through
2011, the Secretary shall use not more than $50,000,000
of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry
out this section.’’.
SEC. 8. SMALL WATERSHED REHABILITATION AMEND-
MENTS OF 2000.
Section 14(h) of the Watershed Protection and Flood
Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1010(h)) is amended—
(1) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(1); and
(2) by striking paragraphs (2) through (5) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(2) $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002
through 2011.’’.
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect
on October 1, 2001.
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