riculture, the Committees on Energy and Natural Re-
sources and Agriculture of the Senate and the Committees
on Resources and Agriculture of the House of Representa-
tives, two years from the date of the enactment of this
Act and every two years thereafter. The report shall con-
tain the Council’s findings and recommendations regard-
ing the matters set forth in subsection (a).
SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) SECTION 101.—There is hereby authorized to be
appropriated not to exceed $10,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2003 through 2008 to carry out the purposes
of section 101.
(b) SECTION 102.—There is hereby authorized to be
appropriated not to exceed $2,000,000 for each of the fis-
cal years 2003 through 2008 to carry out the purposes
of section 102.
TITLE 
II—HIGH 
PLAINS
GROUNDWATER 
RESOURCE
CONSERVATION
SEC. 201. HIGH PLAINS GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION AS-
SISTANCE.
(a) HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER GROUNDWATER CON-
SERVATION INCENTIVES PROGRAM.—The Food Security
Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after section 1240H
the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 1240I. HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER GROUNDWATER CON-
SERVATION INCENTIVES PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) HIGH PLAINS.—The term ‘High Plains’
means the approximately 174,000 square miles of
land surface overlying the High Plains Aquifer in
the States of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyo-
ming.
‘‘(2) HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER.—The term ‘High
Plains Aquifer’ is the groundwater reserve depicted
as Figure 1 in the United States Geological Survey
Professional Paper 1400–B, titled Geohydrology of
the High Plains Aquifer in Parts of Colorado, Kan-
sas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Da-
kota, Texas, and Wyoming.
‘‘(3) HIGH
PLAINS
AQUIFER
STATES.—The
term ‘High Plains Aquifer States’ means the States
of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Okla-
homa, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—In each of the fiscal years 2003
through 2012, the Secretary shall provide cost-share pay-
ments, incentive payments, and technical assistance to
producers who enter into contracts with the Secretary,
through a High Plains Aquifer Ground Water Conserva-
tion Incentives Program in accordance with this section.
The goal of the program shall be to achieve significant
per acre savings of the groundwater resources of the High
Plains Aquifer.
‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall ensure, to
the maximum extent practicable, that producers on lands
drawing water from the High Plains Aquifer throughout
the High Plains region shall have an opportunity to par-
ticipate in the program established under this subsection:
Provided however, that the participation of producers in
areas experiencing significant aquifer level declines shall
be given a priority and that participation shall be limited
to producers in areas for which a plan has been certified
pursuant to subsection (l) of this section.
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PRACTICES.—
‘‘(1) STRUCTURAL PRACTICES.—A producer on
lands drawing water from the High Plains Aquifer
who implements an on-farm structural practice,
which may include the improvement of irrigation
systems and the purchase of new equipment, which
the Secretary determines will result in a significant
and quantifiable per-acre savings of the groundwater
resources of the High Plains Aquifer, shall be eligi-
ble for cost-share payments, in accordance with this
section.
‘‘(2) LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.—A pro-
ducer on lands drawing water from the High Plains
Aquifer who performs a land management practice,
which may include the conversion of acreage from ir-
rigated agricultural production to dryland produc-
tion, the modification of cropping patterns from high
water intensity crops to low water intensity crops, or
the implementation of other groundwater conserva-
tion measures, which the Secretary determines will
result in a significant and quantifiable per-acre sav-
ings of the groundwater resources of the High
Plains Aquifer, shall be eligible for incentive pay-
ments, in accordance with this section.
‘‘(e) APPLICATION AND TERM.—A contract between
a producer and the Secretary under this section may—
‘‘(1) apply to one or more structural practices
or one or more land management practices, or both;
and
‘‘(2) have a term of not less than three, nor
more than ten, years as determined appropriate by
the Secretary, depending on the practice or practices
that are the basis of the contract.
‘‘(f) STRUCTURAL PRACTICES.—
‘‘(1) OFFER
SELECTION
PROCESS.—The Sec-
retary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, es-
tablish a process for selecting applications for finan-
cial assistance if there are numerous applications for
assistance for structural practices that would provide
substantially the same level of groundwater con-
servation benefits. The process shall be based on—
‘‘(A) a reasonable estimate of the projected
cost of the proposals and other factors identi-
fied by the Secretary for determining which ap-
plications will result in the least cost to the pro-
gram authorized by this section; and
‘‘(B) the priorities established under this
section and such other factors determined by
the Secretary that maximize groundwater con-
servation benefits per dollar expended.
‘‘(2) CONCURRENCE OF OWNER.—If the pro-
ducer making an offer to implement a structural
practice is a tenant of the land involved in agricul-
tural production, for the offer to be acceptable, the
producer shall obtain the concurrence of the owner
of the land with respect to the offer.
‘‘(g) LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.—The Sec-
retary shall establish an application and evaluation proc-
ess for awarding incentive payments to a producer in ex-
change for the performance of one or more land manage-
ment practices by the producer.
‘‘(h) PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(1) COST-SHARE
PAYMENTS.—The Federal
share of cost-share payments to a producer pro-
posing to implement one or more structural practices
shall be not more than 50 percent of the projected
cost of the practice, as determined by the Secretary,
taking into consideration any payment received by
the producer from a State or local government.
‘‘(2) INCENTIVE
PAYMENTS.—The Secretary
shall make incentive payments in an amount and at
a rate determined by the Secretary to be necessary
to encourage a producer to perform one or more
land management practices. Payments shall be made
per acre foot of water savings from the greater of
the actual or projected water right allocation.
‘‘(3) NET SAVINGS.—Payment may be made to
producers only if the Secretary determines that the
structural practice or land management practice will
result in a net savings on lands owned or operated
by the producer of groundwater resources of the
High Plains Aquifer.
‘‘(i) MODIFICATION
OR
TERMINATION
OF
CON-
TRACTS.—
‘‘(1) VOLUNTARY
MODIFICATION
OR
TERMI-
NATION.—The Secretary may modify or terminate a
contract entered into with a producer under this sec-
tion if—
‘‘(A) the producer agrees to the modifica-
tion or termination; and
‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that the
modification or termination is in the public in-
terest.
‘‘(2) INVOLUNTARY
TERMINATION.—The Sec-
retary may terminate a contract under this section
if the Secretary determines that the producer vio-
lated the contract.
‘‘(j) DUTIES.—
‘‘(1) DUTIES OF THE PRODUCERS.—To receive
cost-share payments, incentive payments, or tech-
nical assistance under this section, a producer shall
agree to implement the structural practice or land
management practice as agreed to in the contract
with the Secretary and to comply with such addi-
tional conditions as the Secretary determines are
necessary to carry out the intent of this section.
‘‘(2) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary shall provide cost-share payments or incentive
payments for developing and implementing one or
more structural practices or one or more land man-
agement practices, as agreed to in the contract with
the producer.
‘‘(k) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—The total amount
of cost-share payments paid to any one producer under
this section may not exceed $50,000 for any multi-year
contract. The Secretary shall set a limitation on the
amount of incentive payments paid to any one producer
under this section at a level which, in the Secretary’s dis-
cretion, will maximize the conservation of groundwater re-
sources from the High Plains Aquifer.
‘‘(l) HIGH PLAINS GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION
PLANNING.—
‘‘(1) PLANNING
ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
shall provide financial and technical assistance, in-
cluding modeling and engineering design to States,
tribes, and counties, conservation districts, or other
political subdivisions recognized under State law, for
the development of comprehensive groundwater con-
servation plans within the High Plains. This assist-
ance shall be provided on a cost-share basis ensuring
that—
‘‘(A) the Federal funding for the develop-
ment of any given plan shall not exceed fifty
percent of the total cost; and
‘‘(B) the Federal funding for groundwater
water conservation planning for any one county,
conservation district, or similar political subdivi-
sion recognized under State law shall not ex-
ceed $50,000.
‘‘(2) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—Upon applica-
tion by a High Plains Aquifer State, and approval
by the Secretary, the Secretary may provide funding
on an annual basis to the State to carry out, in lieu
of the Secretary, the activities set forth in paragraph
(1), including assistance to counties, conservation
districts, or other political subdivisions recognized
under the law of that State, for the development of
the conservation plans described in paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cre-
ate a certification process for comprehensive ground-
water conservation plans developed under this pro-
gram, or developed independently by States, tribes,
counties, conservation districts, or other political
subdivisions recognized under State law. To be cer-
tified, a plan must achieve significant per acre sav-
ings of groundwater from the High Plains Aquifer
and must—
‘‘(A) cover a sufficient geographic area to
provide a benefit to the groundwater resource
over at least a 20 year time period;
‘‘(B) include a set of goals and objectives
for groundwater conservation and a timetable
for achieving the goals and objectives;
‘‘(C) identify specific measures for achiev-
ing the groundwater conservation goals and ob-
jectives;
‘‘(D) define a plan of action for achieving
the groundwater conservation goals and objec-
tives;
‘‘(E) include a process for an annual eval-
uation of the implementation of the plan of ac-
tion; and
‘‘(F) provide a process for modification of
the plan if the conservation goals and objectives
are not being met or for purposes of updating
the plan.
‘‘(m) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity
Credit Corporation, the Corporation shall make available
to carry out this section, $75,000,000 in each of fiscal
years 2003 through 2004, $100,000,000 in each of fiscal
years 2005 through 2007 and $125,000,000 in each of
fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’.
(b) CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM ENHANCE-
MENT.—Lands eligible for the Conservation Reserve Pro-
gram established under section 1231 of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) which would result in sig-
nificant per acre savings of groundwater resources of the
High Plains Aquifer if removed from agricultural produc-
tion shall be awarded 90 Conservation Reserve Program
bid points, to be designated as groundwater conservation
points, in addition to any other ratings the lands may re-
ceive.
(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare a report
regarding the impacts of the commodity programs admin-
istered by the U. S. Department of Agriculture on the
water resources of the High Plains Aquifer. In particular,
the report shall address the economic incentives and dis-
incentives, if any, created by those programs with respect
to the willingness of producers in High Plains Aquifer de-
cline areas to modify cropping patterns to change from
high water intensive crops to a low water intensive crops
through low volume irrigation or dryland production. The
report shall address and make recommendations regarding
opportunities through modifications to the commodity pro-
grams to encourage producers to conserve the ground-
water resources of the High Plains Aquifer. The report
shall be submitted to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu-
trition, and Forestry and the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on
Agriculture and the Committee on Resources of the House
of Representatives no later than two years after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 202. HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER EDUCATIONAL ASSIST-
ANCE.
The Secretary shall provide financial assistance, sub-
ject to the availability of appropriations, to each of the
eight High Plains Aquifer States to provide educational
programs related to this title. The States may cooperate
with educational institutions or other private organiza-
tions in the administration of these programs. Educational
programs shall include the following:
(1) Water conservation workshops for pro-
ducers, crop consultants, and agricultural groups
throughout the High Plains Aquifer region.
(2) Training and periodic update workshops for
field staff responsible for implementing water con-
servation cost-share programs.
(3) Public education and information for ele-
mentary and secondary students and adult learners,
and education for State and local decision makers.
SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) SECTION 201.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated $500,000 in each of fiscal years 2003, 2004, and
2005 for the report required by section 201.
(b) SECTION 202.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated $3,000,000 million annually fiscal year 2003
through fiscal year 2012 to carry out the program set
forth in section 202.
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