PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Producers can get money or technical help by signing a program contract with the Secretary to do approved conservation work on eligible land. The Secretary must set up the contract rules. Eligible partners can send a bundle of applications for many producers to cover a big part of a project’s conservation goals, and those bundled applications may get priority. The Secretary can make payments to producers as needed to reach the program’s goals. For certain water projects, payments can be made for up to 5 years: to encourage switching from irrigated to dryland farming for water quantity projects, and to encourage better nutrient management for water quality projects. The Secretary can also waive certain program limits if needed. Partnership agreements can be funded by alternative funding arrangements or grants. The Secretary may directly fund partners, give technical and administrative help, and enter into up to 15 such funding agreements each fiscal year. Partners must carry out regional or watershed projects with producers (for example, shared infrastructure, restoration plans, or projects that combine federal and private funding like performance-based payments or environmental markets) and must send an annual report showing how funds were used, any subcontracts, which producers were paid, progress on resource problems (with numbers when possible), and other data needed to show the project is following the rules.

Title 16, §3871c

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

A producer may receive financial or technical assistance to conduct eligible activities on eligible land through a program contract entered into with the Secretary.

(b)Program contracts

(1)In general

The Secretary shall establish a program contract to be entered into with a producer to conduct eligible activities on eligible land, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish.

(2)Application bundles

(A)In general

An eligible partner may submit to the Secretary, on behalf of producers, a bundle of applications for assistance under the program through program contracts to address a substantial portion of the conservation benefits to be achieved by the project, as defined in the partnership agreement.

(B)Priority

The Secretary may give priority to applications described in subparagraph (A).

(c)Payments

(1)In general

Subject to section 3871d of this title, the Secretary may make payments to a producer in an amount determined by the Secretary to be necessary to achieve the purposes of the program.

(2)Payments to certain producers

The Secretary may provide payments for a period of 5 years—

(A)to producers participating in a project that addresses water quantity concerns and in an amount sufficient to encourage conversion from irrigated to dryland farming; and

(B)to producers participating in a project that addresses water quality concerns and in an amount sufficient to encourage adoption of conservation practices and systems that improve nutrient management.

(3)Waiver authority

To assist in the implementation of the program, the Secretary may waive the applicability of the limitation in section 1308–3a(b)(2) of title 7 for producers if the Secretary determines that the waiver is necessary to fulfill the objectives of the program.

(d)Funding through alternative funding arrangements or grant agreements

(1)In general

A partnership agreement entered into with an eligible partner may be funded through an alternative funding arrangement or grant in accordance with this subsection.

(2)Duties of the Secretary

The Secretary shall—

(A)under a funding agreement under paragraph (1)—

(i)use funding made available to carry out this subchapter to provide funding directly to the eligible partner; and

(ii)provide technical and administrative assistance, as mutually agreed by the parties; and

(B)enter into not more than 15 alternative funding arrangements or grant agreements with 1 or more eligible partners each fiscal year.

(3)Duties of eligible partners

Under a funding agreement under paragraph (1), the eligible partner shall—

(A)carry out eligible activities on eligible land in agreement with producers to achieve conservation benefits on a regional or watershed scale, such as—

(i)infrastructure investments relating to agricultural or nonindustrial private forest production that would—

(I)benefit multiple producers; and

(II)address natural resource concerns such as drought, wildfire, or water quality impairment on the land covered by the project;

(ii)projects addressing natural resources concerns in coordination with producers, including the development and implementation of watershed, habitat, or other area restoration plans;

(iii)projects that use innovative approaches to leveraging the Federal investment in conservation with private financial mechanisms, in conjunction with agricultural production or forest resource management, such as—

(I)the provision of performance-based payments to producers; and

(II)support for an environmental market; or

(iv)other projects for which the Secretary determines that the goals and objectives of the program would be easier to achieve through the funding agreement under paragraph (1); and

(B)submit to the Secretary, in addition to any information that the Secretary requires to prepare the report under section 3871e(b) of this title, an annual report that describes the status of the project, including a description of—

(i)the use of the funds awarded under paragraph (1);

(ii)any subcontracts awarded;

(iii)the producers receiving funding through the funding agreement under paragraph (1);

(iv)(I)the progress made by the project in addressing each natural resource concern defined in the funding agreement under paragraph (1), including in a quantified form to the extent practicable; and

(II)as appropriate, other outcomes of the project; and

(v)any other reporting data the Secretary determines are necessary to ensure compliance with the program rules.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(1), added subsecs. (a) and (b) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which authorized the Secretary to enter into contracts with producers to provide financial and technical assistance and set forth provisions relating to terms and conditions, respectively. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(2)(A), substituted “Subject to section 3871d of this title, the Secretary may make payments to a producer” for “In accordance with statutory requirements of the covered programs involved, the Secretary may make payments to a producer”. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(2)(B), struck out “participating” before “producers”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2704(3), added subsec. (d).

§3871c Assistance to Producers

Summary

Title 16, §3871c

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata