Date: 1992-06-30
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of S. 2780. and recommend its adoption by the Members of the House. S. 2780 would amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to remove certain easement requirements under the conservation reserve program. These requirements have become an unintended Impediment to enrollment of additional lands in the conservation reserve program (CRP]. The elimination of these requirements is necessary to restore interest in the enrollment in the CRP of certain lands to provide costeffective soil erosion and water quality protection in many areas of the Midwest. The problem that this legislation seeks to correct is related to a provision in the Food. Agriculture. Conservation. and Trade Act [FACTA] of 1990 which requires that certain conservation plantings be protected with an easement covering their useful life In order to qualify- for enrollment in the conservation reserve program (CRP]. Thus. croplands that are newly established living snow fences. permanent wildlife habitat. windbreaks. shelterbelts. or filterstrips devoted to trees or shrubs must be made subject to an easement for the useful life of the plantings in order to qualify for entry into the CRP during the 1991 through 1995 calendar years. The problem is that in developing the regulations for the CRP. as amended by the 1990 FACTA. the Department of Agriculture extended the useful life easement requirements to other lands which might -qualify for conservation reserve enrollment. This Includes croplands that are newly created. permanent grass sod waterways. or are contour grass sod strips established and maintained as part of an approved conservation plan. These were also made subject to a useful life easement In order to qualify for enrollment. While this was not the Congress intention in adopting this portion of the legislation. the decision of the Department of Agriculture to extend the useful life easement requirements to include grass sod waterways and strips has apparently reduced interest among farmers in enrolling these lands in the conservation reserve. In order to eliminate this disincentive. S. 2780 would drop the useful life easement requirement as a condition of eligibility for enrollment in the CRP. In addition. S. 2780 would strike the provision of current law that requires easements to be placed on any highly erodible cropland subject to an existing CRP contract that the owner wishes to convert to windbreaks. shelterbelts. or wildlife corridors. I would like to stress that my support for S. 2780 should not in any way be interpreted to diminish my commitment or that of the Committee on Agriculture to other easement programs which were a part of the FACTA. such as the wetland reserve program [WRP] and the environmental easement program. The WRP has been particularly wellreceived. with interest in enrollment far exceeding the resources available for easements. I would recommend no changes In this program except additional funding to permit Its full Implementation. Mr. Speaker. the Department of Agriculture supports the enactment of S. 2780 and intends to Implement it as a part of future signupe for the CRP. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of S. 2780. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.