16 U.S.C. § 3865d (CONSERVATION)
§ 3865d. Administration
(a) Ineligible land
The Secretary may not use program funds for the purposes of acquiring an easement on—
(1) lands owned by an agency of the United States, other than land held in trust for Indian tribes;
(2) lands owned in fee title by a State, including an agency or a subdivision of a State, or a unit of local government;
(3) land subject to an easement or deed restriction which, as determined by the Secretary, provides similar protection as would be provided by enrollment in the program; or
(4) lands where the purposes of the program would be undermined due to on-site or off-site conditions, such as risk of hazardous substances, proposed or existing rights of way, infrastructure development, or adjacent land uses.
(b) Priority
In evaluating applications under the program, the Secretary may give priority to land that is currently enrolled in the conservation reserve program in a contract that is set to expire within 1 year and—
(1) in the case of an agricultural land easement, is grassland that would benefit from protection under a long-term easement; and
(2) in the case of a wetland reserve easement, is a wetland or related area with the highest wetland functions and value and is likely to return to production after the land leaves the conservation reserve program.
(c) Subordination, exchange, modification, and termination
(1) In general
The Secretary may subordinate, exchange, modify, or terminate any interest in land, or portion of such interest, administered by the Secretary, either directly or on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation under the program if the Secretary determines that—
(A) it is in the Federal Government’s interest to subordinate, exchange, modify, or terminate the interest in land;
(B) the subordination, exchange, modification, or termination action—
(i) will address a compelling public need for which there is no practicable alternative; or
(ii) such action will further the practical administration of the program; and
(C) the subordination, exchange, modification, or termination action will result in comparable conservation value and equivalent or greater economic value to the United States.
(2) Consultation
The Secretary shall work with the owner, and eligible entity if applicable, to address any subordination, exchange, modification, or termination of the interest, or portion of such interest, in land.
(3) Notice
At least 90 days before taking any termination action described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide written notice of such action to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
(d) Land enrolled in other programs
(1) Conservation reserve program
The Secretary may terminate or modify a contract entered into under section 3831(a) of this title if eligible land that is subject to such contract is transferred into the program.
(2) Other
In accordance with the provisions of subtitle H of title II of the Agricultural Act of 2014, land enrolled in the wetlands reserve program, grassland reserve program, or farmland protection program on the day before February 7, 2014, shall be considered enrolled in the program.
(e) Compliance with certain requirements
The Secretary may not provide assistance under this subchapter to an eligible entity or owner of eligible land unless the eligible entity or owner agrees, during the crop year for which the assistance is provided—
(1) to comply with applicable conservation requirements under subchapter II; and
(2) to comply with applicable wetland protection requirements under subchapter III.
(Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1265D, as added Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2301(a), Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 742.)
heading: References in Text
text: The Agricultural Act of 2014, referred to in subsec. (d)(2), is Pub. L. 113–79, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 649. Subtitle H of title II of the Act, is subtitle H (§§ 2701–2713) of title II of Pub. L. 113–79. For complete classification of subtitle H to the Code, see Tables.