(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF CON-
SERVATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—During the fiscal years 1996
through 2005, the Secretary shall carry out a conservation
incentive program under this Act to provide technical as-
sistance, cost-sharing payments, and incentive payments
to operators who enter into contracts with the Secretary
to develop and implement conservation practices.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of the conservation
incentive program—
(1) to carry out a conservation program that
uses incentives and technical assistance to solve lo-
cally identified resource problems from agricultural
activities and that provides—
(A) flexible technical and financial assist-
ance to operators that face the most serious
threats to soil, water, and related resources, in-
cluding grazing lands, wetlands, and wildlife
habitat;
(B) assistance to operators in complying
with Federal and State environmental laws, and
encourages long term agricultural sustain-
ability;
(C) assistance to operators in making ben-
eficial, cost-effective changes to cropping sys-
tems, grazing management, manure manage-
ment, nutrient, pest, or irrigation management,
land uses, or other measures needed to conserve
and improve soil, water, and related natural re-
sources; and
(D) simplification of the conservation plan-
ning process to reduce administrative burdens
on operators.
(2) to complement other Federal and State pro-
grams to provide—
(A) optimum and effective use of available
Federal and State programs at the local level
where resource problems exist;
(B) coordination of the Federal and State
programs through the State technical commit-
tees established under section 1261 of the Food
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3861); and
(C) development of a performance meas-
urement process for each local resource problem
area that reflects progress in program imple-
mentation and resolution of the resource prob-
lem.
(c) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—
(1) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
shall use conservation incentive program funds to
provide operators with technical assistance to de-
velop a program plan and design program plan com-
ponents. An operator who develops and implements
a program plan approved by the Natural Resources
Conservation Service and the local conservation dis-
trict shall be eligible for additional technical assist-
ance from conservation incentive program funds, in-
cluding assistance in laying out the program plan
components on the farm or ranch, training on oper-
ation and maintenance of the plan components, and
assistance in evaluating program plan performance.
(2) COST-SHARE.—Structural practices and
vegetative practices shall be eligible for cost-share
payments or technical assistance, or both, as deter-
mined by the Secretary.
(3) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—Management prac-
tices shall be eligible for incentive payments or tech-
nical assistance, or both, as determined by the Sec-
retary.
(d) CONTRACTS.—
(1) TERM AND CONDITIONS.—A contract be-
tween an operator and the Secretary under the con-
servation incentives program may—
(A) apply to 1 or more conservation prac-
tices;
(B) have a term of not more than 10
years, as determined appropriate by the Sec-
retary, depending on the conservation practice
or practices covered by the contract; and
(C) provide cost-share and incentive pay-
ments.
(2) CONCURRENCE OF OWNER.—If the operator
is a tenant, the operator shall obtain the concur-
rence of the owner of the land before the conserva-
tion incentive program contract is accepted by the
Secretary.
(e) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.—
(1) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—
The total amount of cost-share and incentive pay-
ments paid to a person under the conservation in-
centives program may not exceed—
(A) $10,000 for any fiscal year for one
year contract; or
(B) $75,000 for any multiyear contract.
(2) PAYMENT
INCREMENTS.—The Secretary
shall make payments for multiyear contracts in an-
nual increments. The entire contract obligation may
be paid in one year when the operator is required to
make a major initial investment based on the con-
tract, as determined by the Secretary.
(3) FEDERAL
SHARE
OF
COST-SHARE
PAY-
MENTS.—The Federal share of cost-share payments
to an operator proposing to implement 1 or more
structural or vegetative practices, or both, as part of
an approved program plan shall not receive more
than 75 percent of the projected cost of the practice,
as determined by the Secretary.
(4) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
LIVESTOCK
OPER-
ATIONS.—An operator of a large confined livestock
operation shall not be eligible for cost-sharing on
structural and vegetative practices to construct an
animal waste management facility, but shall be eligi-
ble for incentive payments and technical assistance.
An operator of a confined livestock operation, re-
gardless of size, that has been in operation for less
than 5 years shall not be eligible for cost-share on
structural and vegetative practices to construct an
animal waste management facility, but shall be eligi-
ble of technical assistance.
(5) FEDERAL
SHARE
OF
INCENTIVE
PAY-
MENTS.—The Secretary shall make incentive pay-
ments in an amount and at a rate determined by the
Secretary to be necessary to encourage an operator
to perform 1 or more management practices, when
necessary to attain the purposes of the conservation
incentives program and in the public interest as de-
termined by the Secretary.
(6) FUNDING FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
The Secretary shall allocate funding for the provi-
sion of technical assistance according to the purpose
and projected cost for which the technical assistance
is provided in a fiscal year. The receipt of technical
assistance under the conservation incentives program
shall not affect the eligibility of the operator to re-
ceive technical assistance under other authorities of
law available to the Secretary.
(f) MODIFICATION
OR
TERMINATION
OF
CON-
TRACTS.—
(1) VOLUNTARY
MODIFICATION
OR
TERMI-
NATION.—The Secretary may modify or terminate a
contract entered into with an operator under the
conservation incentives program if—
(A) the operator agrees to the modification
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 the conserva-
tion incentives program if the Secretary determines
that the operator violated the contract.
(g) NON-FEDERAL
ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
may request the services of a State water quality agency,
State fish and wildlife agency, State forestry agency, or
any other governmental or private resource considered ap-
propriate to assist in providing the technical assistance
necessary for the development and implementation of a
conservation practice.
(h) REGULATIONS.—Within 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue reg-
ulations to administrator of the conservation incentive pro-
gram.
SEC. 4. PROGRAM PRIORITIES AND COORDINATION.
(a) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary shall provide tech-
nical assistance, cost-share payments, and incentive pay-
ments to operators in a region, watershed, or conservation
priority area under the conservation incentives program
based on the significance of the soil, water, and related
natural resource problems in the region, watershed, or
area.
(b) COORDINATION OF PRIORITIES.—The Secretary
shall coordinate the establishment of priorities within a
State or multiple States for large interstate regions with
other Federal and State programs through the State tech-
nical Committee established under section 1261 of the
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3861) to optimize
program effectiveness and maximize environmental bene-
fits for per dollar of expenditures.
(c) PRIORITY CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish national criteria for selecting priority areas.
(d) STATE AND LOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall accord a higher priority to operations located
within watersheds, regions, or conservation priority areas
in which State or local governments have provided or will
provide, financial or technical assistance to the operators
for the same conservation or environmental purposes.
(e) PRIORITY LANDS.—The Secretary shall accord a
higher priority to installing conservation practices on
lands on which agricultural production has been deter-
mined to contribute to, or create, the potential for failure
to meet applicable water quality standards or other envi-
ronmental objectives of Federal and State law.
SEC. 5. DUTIES OF OPERATORS.
To receive technical assistance, cost-sharing pay-
ments, or incentives payments under the conservation in-
centives program, an operator shall agree—
(1) to implement a program plan that describes
conservation and environmental goals to be achieved
through one or more conservation practices approved
by the Secretary;
(2) not to conduct any practices on the farm or
ranch that would tend to defeat the purpose of the
conservation incentives program;
(3) on the violation of a term or condition of
the contract at any time the operator has control of
the land, to refund any cost-sharing or incentive
payment received with interest, and forfeit any fu-
ture payments under the conservation incentives pro-
gram, as determined by the Secretary;
(4) on the transfer of the right and interest of
the operator in land subject to the contract, unless
the transferee of the right and interest agrees with
the Secretary to assume all obligations of the con-
tract, to refund all cost-sharing payments and incen-
tive payments received under the conservation incen-
tives program, as determined by the Secretary;
(5) to supply information as required by the
Secretary to determine compliance with the program
plan and requirements of the conservation incentives
program; and
(6) to comply with such additional provisions as
the Secretary determines are necessary to carry out
the conservation incentives program.
SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.
To the extent appropriate, the Secretary shall assist
an operator in achieving the conservation and environ-
mental goals of a program plan—
(1) by providing an eligibility assessment of the
farming or ranching operation of the operator as a
basis for developing the program plan;
(2) by providing technical assistance in develop-
ing and implementing the program plan;
(3) by providing technical assistance, cost-shar-
ing payments, or incentive payments for developing
and implementing conservation practices as provided
in section 3;
(4) providing the operator with information,
education, and training to aid in implementation of
the program plan; and
(5) encouraging the operator to obtain technical
assistance, cost-sharing payments, or grants from
other Federal, State, local, or private sources.
SEC. 7. ELIGIBLE LANDS.
Agricultural land on which one or more conservation
practice shall be eligible for technical assistance, cost-shar-
ing payments, or incentive payments under the conserva-
tion incentives program include—
(1) agricultural land (including cropland, range-
land, pasture, and other land on which crops or live-
stock are produced) that the Secretary determines
poses a serious threat to soil, water, or related re-
sources by reason of the soil types, terrain, climatic,
soil, topographic, flood, or shine characteristics, or
other factors or natural hazards;
(2) an area that is considered to be critical ag-
ricultural land on which either crop or livestock pro-
duction is carried out, as identified in a plan submit-
ted by the State under section 319 of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1329) as
having priority problems that result from an agricul-
tural nonpoint source of pollution;
(3) an area recommended by the State lead
agency for protection of soil, water, and related re-
sources ad designated by a Governor of a State; and
(4) land that is not located within a designated
or approve area, but that if permitted to continue to
be operated under existing management practices,
would defeat the purpose of the conservation incen-
tives program, as determined by the Secretary.
SEC. 8. FUNDING.
(a) MANDATORY EXPENSES.—Secretary shall use the
funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each of
the fiscal years 1996 through 2005 to carry out the con-
servation incentive program, including cost-sharing pay-
ments, incentives payments, and technical assistance
costs.
(b) FUNDING LIMITATIONS.—Funding for the con-
servation incentives program from the Commodity Credit
Corporation shall be limited to $100,000,000 for fiscal
year 1996 and $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1997
through 2005.
(c) DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.—
(1) LIVESTOCK
PRODUCTION.—Not less than
50 percent of the funding for technical assistance,
cost-sharing payments, and incentive payments
under the conservation incentive program shall be
for conservation practices relating to livestock pro-
duction.
(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may allocate
less than 50 percent of the total program funding
level for a fiscal year for conservation practices re-
lating to livestock production, but in no case less
than 35 percent, if the Secretary determines that
the 50 percent funding level is not reasonable based