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tion in the program, a proposal submitted
by an eligible partner shall include—
‘‘(I) identification of the exact ge-
ographic area for which the partner-
ship is proposed, which may be based
on—
‘‘(aa) a watershed (or por-
tion of a watershed);
‘‘(bb) an irrigation, water, or
drainage district;
‘‘(cc) the service area of an
irrigation water delivery entity;
or
‘‘(dd) some other geographic
area with characteristics that
make the area suitable for land-
scape-wide program implementa-
tion;
‘‘(II) identification of the water
quality or water quantity issues that
are of concern in the area;
‘‘(III) a method for determining a
baseline assessment of water quality,
water quantity, and other related re-
source conditions in the region;
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‘‘(IV) a detailed description of the
proposed water quality or water quan-
tity improvement activities to be un-
dertaken in the area, including an esti-
mated timeline and program resources
for every activity; and
‘‘(V) a description of the perform-
ance measures to be used to gauge the
effectiveness of the water quality or
water quantity improvement activities.
‘‘(iii) SELECTION OF PROPOSALS.—The
Secretary shall award multiyear agreements
competitively, with priority given, as deter-
mined by the Secretary, to selecting pro-
posals that—
‘‘(I) have the highest likelihood of
improving the water quality or quan-
tity issues of concern for the area;
‘‘(II) involve multiple stakeholders
and will ensure the highest level of par-
ticipation by producers and land-
owners in the area through perform-
ance incentives to encourage adoption
of specific practices in specific loca-
tions;
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‘‘(III) will result in the inclusion
of the highest percentage of working ag-
ricultural land in the area;
‘‘(IV) will result in the highest
percentage of on-the-ground activities
as compared to administrative costs;
‘‘(V) will provide the greatest con-
tribution to sustaining or enhancing
agricultural or silvicultural production
in the area; and
‘‘(VI) include performance meas-
ures that will allow post-activity con-
ditions to be satisfactorily measured to
gauge overall effectiveness.
‘‘(iv) 
IDENTIFICATION
OF
WATER
QUALITY
AND
WATER
QUANTITY
PRIORITY
AREAS.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to
subclause (II), the Secretary shall iden-
tify areas in which protecting or im-
proving water quality or water quan-
tity is a priority.
‘‘(II) MANDATORY INCLUSIONS.—
The Secretary shall include in any
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identification of areas under subclause
(I)—
‘‘(aa) the Chesapeake Bay;
‘‘(bb) the Upper Mississippi
River basin;
‘‘(cc) the greater Everglades
ecosystem;
‘‘(dd) the Klamath River
basin;
‘‘(ee) 
the 
Sacramento/San
Joaquin River watershed;
‘‘(ff) the Mobile River basin;
‘‘(gg) the Puget Sound;
‘‘(hh) the Ogallala Aquifer;
‘‘(ii) the Illinois River water-
shed (located in the States of Ar-
kansas and Oklahoma);
‘‘(jj) the Champlain Basin
watershed;
‘‘(kk) the Platte River water-
shed;
‘‘(ll) the Republican River
watershed;
‘‘(mm) 
the 
Chattahoochee
River watershed; and
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‘‘(nn) the Rio Grande water-
shed.
‘‘(E) AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 30
days after the date on which the Secretary
awards an agreement under subparagraph (D),
the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with
the eligible partner that, at a minimum,
contains—
‘‘(i) a description of the respective du-
ties and responsibilities of the Secretary
and the eligible partner in carrying out the
activities in the area; and
‘‘(ii) the criteria that the Secretary
will use to evaluate the overall effectiveness
of the regional water enhancement activities
funded by the multiyear agreement in im-
proving the water quality or quantity con-
ditions of the region relative to the perform-
ance measures in the proposal.
‘‘(F) CONTRACTS WITH OTHER PARTIES.—
An agreement awarded under subparagraph (D)
may provide for the use of third-party providers
(including other eligible partners) to undertake
specific regional water enhancement activities in
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a region on a contractual basis with the Sec-
retary or the eligible partner.
‘‘(G) CONSULTATION
WITH
OTHER
AGEN-
CIES.—With respect to areas in which a Federal
or State agency is, or will be, undertaking other
water quality or quantity-related activities, the
Secretary and the eligible partner may consult
with the Federal or State agency in order to—
‘‘(i) coordinate activities;
‘‘(ii) avoid duplication; and
‘‘(iii) ensure that water quality or
quantity improvements attributable to the
other activities are taken into account in
the evaluation of the Secretary under sub-
paragraph (E)(ii).
‘‘(H) 
RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
PRO-
GRAMS.—The Secretary shall ensure that, to the
extent that producers and landowners are indi-
vidually participating in other programs under
subtitle D in a region in which a regional water
enhancement project is in effect, any improve-
ments to water quality or water quantity attrib-
utable to the individual participation are in-
cluded in the evaluation criteria developed under
subparagraph (E)(ii).
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‘‘(I) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE LAW.—Any
water quality or water quantity improvement
activity undertaken under this paragraph shall
be consistent with State water laws.
‘‘(8) DURATION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Multiyear agreements
under this subsection shall be for a period not to
exceed 5 years.
‘‘(B) EARLY TERMINATION.—The Secretary
may terminate a multiyear agreement before the
end of the agreement if the Secretary determines
that performance measures are not being met.
‘‘(9) FUNDING.—
‘‘(A) SET ASIDE.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds pro-
vided for each of fiscal years 2008 through
2012 to carry out the conservation pro-
grams in subtitle D (excluding the conserva-
tion reserve program, the conservation secu-
rity program, the conservation stewardship
program, and the wetlands reserve pro-
gram), the Secretary shall reserve 10 per-
cent of the funds allocated to each State for
use for activities under this subsection.
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‘‘(ii) 
CONSERVATION
STEWARDSHIP
PROGRAM.—Of the acres allocated for the
conservation stewardship program for each
of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, the Sec-
retary shall reserve 10 percent of acres allo-
cated to each State for use for activities
under this subsection.
‘‘(B) USE OF RESOURCES.—Of the funds re-
served and acres allocated to each State under
this subsection in each fiscal year, the Secretary
shall—
‘‘(i) allocate not less than 75 percent to
be used by the State Conservationist to
carry out special projects under this sub-
section (including regional water enhance-
ment projects); and
‘‘(ii) use not more than 25 percent for
multistate projects authorized under this
subsection.
‘‘(C) PARTNERS.—Overhead or administra-
tive costs of partners may not be covered by
funds provided through this subsection.
‘‘(D) UNUSED FUNDING.—Any funds made
available, and any acres reserved, for a fiscal
year under subparagraph (A) that are not obli-
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gated or enrolled by April 1 of the fiscal year
may be used to carry out other activities under
conservation programs under subtitle D during
the fiscal year in which the funding becomes
available.
‘‘(g) ACCURACY OF PAYMENTS.—Immediately after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall im-
plement policies and procedures to ensure proper payment
of farm program benefits to producers participating in con-
servation easement programs and correct other management
deficiencies identified in Report No. 50099–11–SF issued
by the Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector Gen-
eral in August 2007.
‘‘(h) COMPLIANCE AND PERFORMANCE.—For each con-
servation program under this title, the Secretary shall de-
velop procedures—
‘‘(1) to monitor compliance with program re-
quirements by landowners and eligible entities;
‘‘(2) to measure program performance;
‘‘(3) to demonstrate whether the long-term con-
servation benefits of the program are being achieved;
and
‘‘(4) to coordinate activities described in this
subsection with the national conservation program
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authorized under section 5 of the Soil and Water Re-
sources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2004).
‘‘(i) DIRECT ATTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.—In imple-
menting payment limitations for any program under this
title, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are nec-
essary to ensure that the total amount of payments are at-
tributed to an individual by taking into account the direct
and indirect ownership interests of the individual in an
entity that is eligible to receive the payments.’’.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1234 of the
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834) is amended—
(1) in subsection (d)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘(f)(4)’’
and inserting ‘‘(f)(3)’’; and
(2) in subsection (f)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Subject to section 1244(i), the total’’;
and
(ii) by striking ‘‘a person’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘an individual’’;
(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and
(4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively.
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SEC. 2406. CONSERVATION PROGRAMS IN ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES MARKETS.
Subtitle E of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.
3841 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 
1245. 
CONSERVATION 
PROGRAMS 
IN 
ENVIRON-
MENTAL SERVICES MARKETS.
‘‘(a) FRAMEWORK.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish
a framework to facilitate the participation of farmers,
ranchers, and forest landowners in emerging environ-
mental services markets.
‘‘(2) PROCESS.—In carrying out paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall use a collaborative process that in-
cludes representatives of—
‘‘(A) farm, ranch, and forestry interests;
‘‘(B) financial institutions involved in envi-
ronmental services trading;
‘‘(C) institutions of higher education with
relevant expertise or experience;
‘‘(D) nongovernmental organizations with
relevant expertise or experience;
‘‘(E) government agencies of relevant juris-
diction, including—
‘‘(i) the Department of Commerce;
‘‘(ii) the Department of Energy;
‘‘(iii) the Department of the Interior;
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‘‘(iv) the Department of Transpor-
tation;
‘‘(v) the Environmental Protection
Agency; and
‘‘(vi) the Corps of Engineers; and
‘‘(F) other appropriate interests, as deter-
mined by the Secretary.
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) DEFINITION
OF
STANDARD.—In this
paragraph, the term ‘standard’ means a tech-
nical guideline that outlines accepted, science-
based methods to quantify the environmental
services benefits from agricultural and forest con-
servation and land management practices, as de-
termined by the Secretary.
‘‘(B) FRAMEWORK REQUIREMENTS.—In es-
tablishing the framework under paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall—
‘‘(i) establish uniform standards;
‘‘(ii) design accounting procedures to
quantify environmental services benefits
that would assist farmers, ranchers, and
forest landowners in using the uniform
standards to establish certifications, as de-
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fined in emerging environmental services
markets;
‘‘(iii) establish—
‘‘(I) a protocol to report environ-
mental services benefits; and
‘‘(II) a registry to report and
maintain the benefits for future use in
emerging environmental services mar-
kets; and
‘‘(iv) establish a process to verify that
a farmer, rancher, or forest landowner that
reports and maintains an environmental
services benefit in the registry described in
clause (iii)(II) has implemented the re-
ported conservation or land management
activity.
‘‘(C) THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS.—
In developing the process described in subpara-
graph (B)(iv), the Secretary shall consider the
role of third-party service providers.
‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co-
ordinate and leverage activities in existence on the
date of enactment of this section in agriculture and
forestry relating to emerging environmental services
markets.
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‘‘(5) PRIORITY.—In establishing the framework
under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority
to providing assistance to farmers, ranchers, and for-
est landowners participating in carbon markets.
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO DELEGATE.—The Secretary may
delegate any responsibility under this section to a relevant
agency or office, as determined by the Secretary.
‘‘(c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—
‘‘(1) STATUS OF COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—Not
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
section, the Secretary shall provide to the Committee
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For-
estry of the Senate information on the status of the
collaborative process under subsection (a)(2).
‘‘(2) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the committees of Congress de-
scribed in paragraph (1) an interim report that—
‘‘(A) describes the adequacy of existing re-
search and methods to quantify environmental
services benefits;
‘‘(B) proposes methods—
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‘‘(i) to establish technical guidelines,
accounting procedures, and reporting proto-
cols; and
‘‘(ii) to structure the registry; and
‘‘(C) includes recommendations for actions
to remove barriers for farmers, ranchers, and for-
est landowners to participation, reporting, reg-
istration, and verification relating to environ-
mental services markets.
‘‘(3) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months
after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the committees of Congress de-
scribed in paragraph (1) a report that describes—
‘‘(A) the progress of the Secretary in meet-
ing the requirements described in subsection
(a)(3)(B);
‘‘(B) the rates of participation of farmers,
ranchers, and forest landowners in emerging en-
vironmental services markets; and
‘‘(C) any recommendations of the Secretary
relating to reauthorization of this section.
‘‘(d) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary to carry out this section such sums
as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through
2012.’’.
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Subtitle F—State Technical
Committees
SEC. 2501. STATE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES.
(a) STANDARDS.—Section 1261 of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3861(c)) is amended by striking sub-
section (b) and inserting the following:
‘‘(b) STANDARDS.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the Food and Energy Security Act of
2007, the Secretary shall develop—
‘‘(1) standard operating procedures to stand-
ardize the operations of State technical committees;
and
‘‘(2) standards to be used by the State technical
committees in the development of technical guidelines
under section 1262(b) for the implementation of the
conservation provisions of this title.’’.
(b) COMPOSITION.—Section 1261(c) of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3861(c)) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service;
‘‘(2) the Farm Service Agency;’’;
(2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(5) Rural Development agencies;’’;
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(3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(4) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(13) nonindustrial private forest land owners.’’.
(c) FACA REQUIREMENTS.—Section 1262(e) of the
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3862(e)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘The committees’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The committees’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) LOCAL WORKING GROUPS.—For purposes of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),
any local working group established under this sub-
title shall be considered to be a subcommittee of the
applicable State technical committee.’’.
Subtitle G—Other Authorities
SEC. 2601. AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.
Section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1524(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘Idaho’’ after
‘‘Delaware’’; and
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(2) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘2007’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2012’’.
SEC. 2602. AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION EXPERIENCED
SERVICES PROGRAM.
The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of
1994 (7 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘SEC. 307. AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION EXPERIENCED
SERVICES PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law relating to Federal grants, coopera-
tive agreements, or contracts, there is established in
the Department the agriculture conservation experi-
enced services program (referred to in this section as
the ‘ACE program’).
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—Under the ACE pro-
gram, the Secretary may offer to enter into agree-
ments with nonprofit private agencies and organiza-
tions eligible to receive grants for the applicable fiscal
year under title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965
(42 U.S.C. 3056 et seq.) to use the talents of individ-
uals who are age 55 or older, to provide conservation
technical assistance in support of the administration
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of conservation-related programs and authorities ad-
ministered by the Secretary.
‘‘(3) FUNDING.—Agreements described in para-
graph (2) may be carried out using funds made avail-
able to carry out—
‘‘(A) the environmental quality incentives
program of the comprehensive stewardship incen-
tives program established under subchapter A of
chapter 6 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food
Security Act of 1985;
‘‘(B) the Soil Conservation and Domestic
Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590a et seq.); or
‘‘(C) title V of the Older Americans Act of
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056).
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION.—Prior to entering into an
agreement described in subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall
determine that the agreement would not—
‘‘(1) result in the displacement of individuals
employed by the Department, including partial dis-
placement through reduction of nonovertime hours,
wages, or employment benefits;
‘‘(2) result in the use of an individual covered by
this section for a job or function in a case in which
a Federal employee is in a layoff status from the
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same or a substantially-equivalent job or function
with the Department; or
‘‘(3) affect existing contracts for services.
‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may
make available to individuals providing technical assist-
ance under an agreement authorized by this section appro-
priate conservation technical tools, including the use of
agency vehicles necessary to carry out technical assistance
in support of the conservation-related programs affected by
the ACE program.’’.
SEC. 2603. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
(a) SOIL CONSERVATION AND DOMESTIC ALLOTMENT
ACT.—
(1) PREVENTION OF SOIL EROSION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The first section of the
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act
(16 U.S.C. 590a) is amended—
(i) by striking ‘‘That it’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘SECTION 1. PURPOSE.
‘‘It’’; and
(ii) in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ‘‘and thereby to preserve
natural resources,’’ and inserting ‘‘to pre-
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serve soil, water, and related resources, pro-
mote soil and water quality,’’.
(B) POLICIES
AND
PURPOSES.—Section
7(a)(1) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic
Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590g(a)(1)) is amended
by striking ‘‘fertility’’ and inserting ‘‘and water
quality and related resources’’.
(2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 10 of the Soil Con-
servation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.
590j) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘In this Act:
‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term ‘ag-
ricultural commodity’ means—
‘‘(A) an agricultural commodity; and
‘‘(B) any regional or market classification,
type, or grade of an agricultural commodity.
‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘technical as-
sistance’ means technical expertise, information,
and tools necessary for the conservation of nat-
ural resources on land active in agricultural, for-
estry, or related uses.
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘technical as-
sistance’ includes—
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‘‘(i) technical services provided directly
to farmers, ranchers, and other eligible enti-
ties, such as conservation planning, tech-
nical consultation, and assistance with de-
sign and implementation of conservation
practices; and
‘‘(ii) technical infrastructure, includ-
ing activities, processes, tools, and agency
functions needed to support delivery of tech-
nical services, such as technical standards,
resource inventories, training, data, tech-
nology, monitoring, and effects analyses.’’.
(b) SOIL AND WATER RESOURCES CONSERVATION ACT
OF 1977.—
(1) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—Section 2 of the
Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977
(16 U.S.C. 2001) is amended—
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘base, of
the’’ and inserting ‘‘base of the’’; and
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and
all that follows through ‘‘Since individual’’ and
inserting the following:
‘‘(3) Appraisal and inventory of resources, as-
sessment and inventory of conservation needs, evalua-
tion of the effects of conservation practices, and anal-
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yses of alternative conservation programs are basic to
effective soil, water, and related natural resource con-
servation.
‘‘(4) Since individual’’.
(2) CONTINUING
APPRAISAL
OF
SOIL, WATER,
AND RELATED RESOURCES.—Section 5 of the Soil and
Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C.
2004) is amended—
(A) in subsection (a)—
(i) in paragraph (5), by striking
‘‘and’’ at the end;
(ii) in paragraph (6), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’;
and
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(7) data on conservation plans, conservation
practices planned or implemented, environmental out-
comes, economic costs, and related matters under con-
servation programs administered by the Secretary.’’;
(B) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e);
(C) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing:
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‘‘(d) EVALUATION OF APPRAISAL.—In conducting the
appraisal described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall
concurrently solicit and evaluate recommendations for im-
proving the appraisal, including the content, scope, process,
participation in, and other elements of the appraisal, as
determined by the Secretary.’’; and
(D) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by
subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘December 31,
1979’’ and all that follows through ‘‘December
31, 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2010,
December 31, 2015, December 31, 2020, and De-
cember 31, 2025’’.
(3) SOIL
AND
WATER
CONSERVATION
PRO-
GRAM.—Section 6 of the Soil and Water Resources
Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2005) is
amended—
(A) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (d);
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF EXISTING CONSERVATION PRO-
GRAMS.—In evaluating existing conservation programs, the
Secretary shall emphasize demonstration, innovation, and
monitoring of specific program components in order to en-