
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-76 Section 758(b)]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-76 Section 759(b)(2)]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-76 Section 759(b)(3)]
[CITE: 16USC3832]

 
                         TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
 
 CHAPTER 58--ERODIBLE LAND AND WETLAND CONSERVATION AND RESERVE PROGRAM
 
       SUBCHAPTER IV--AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION PROGRAM
 
       Part I--Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program
 
                     subpart b--conservation reserve
 
Sec. 3832. Duties of owners and operators


(a) Terms of contract

    Under the terms of a contract entered into under this subpart, 
during the term of such contract, an owner or operator of a farm or 
ranch must agree--
        (1) to implement a plan approved by the local conservation 
    district (or in an area not located within a conservation district, 
    a plan approved by the Secretary) for converting eligible lands 
    normally devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity on 
    the farm or ranch to a less intensive use (as defined by the 
    Secretary), such as pasture, permanent grass, legumes, forbs, 
    shrubs, or trees, substantially in accordance with a schedule 
    outlined in the plan;
        (2) to place highly erodible cropland subject to the contract in 
    the conservation reserve established under this subpart;
        (3) not to use such land for agricultural purposes, except as 
    permitted by the Secretary;
        (4) to establish approved vegetative cover, or water cover for 
    the enhancement of wildlife, on such land, except that--
            (A) such water cover shall not include ponds for the purpose 
        of watering livestock, irrigating crops, or raising fish for 
        commercial purposes; and
            (B) the Secretary shall not terminate the contract for 
        failure to establish approved vegetative or water cover on the 
        land if--
                (i) the failure to plant such cover was due to excessive 
            rainfall or flooding;
                (ii) the land subject to the contract that could 
            practicably be planted to such cover is planted to such 
            cover; and
                (iii) the land on which the owner or operator was unable 
            to plant such cover is planted to such cover after the wet 
            conditions that prevented the planting subsides;

        (5) in addition to the remedies provided under section 3836(d) 
    of this title, on the violation of a term or condition of the 
    contract at any time the owner or operator has control of such 
    land--
            (A) to forfeit all rights to receive rental payments and 
        cost sharing payments under the contract and to refund to the 
        Secretary any rental payments and cost sharing payments received 
        by the owner or operator under the contract, together with 
        interest thereon as determined by the Secretary, if the 
        Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the soil 
        conservation district and the Soil Conservation Service, 
        determines that such violation is of such nature as to warrant 
        termination of the contract; or
            (B) to refund to the Secretary, or accept adjustments to, 
        the rental payments and cost sharing payments provided to the 
        owner or operator, as the Secretary considers appropriate, if 
        the Secretary determines that such violation does not warrant 
        termination of the contract;

        (6) on the transfer of the right and interest of the owner or 
    operator in land subject to the contract--
            (A) to forfeit all rights to rental payments and cost 
        sharing payments under the contract; and
            (B) to refund to the United States all rental payments and 
        cost sharing payments received by the owner or operator, or 
        accept such payment adjustments or make such refunds as the 
        Secretary considers appropriate and consistent with the 
        objectives of this subpart;

    unless the transferee of such land agrees with the Secretary to 
    assume all obligations of the contract, or the transferee and the 
    Secretary agree to modifications to such contract, where such 
    modifications are consistent with the objectives of the program as 
    determined by the Secretary; Provided however, no refund of rental 
    payments and cost sharing payments shall be required when the land 
    is purchased by or for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
        (7) not to conduct any harvesting or grazing, nor otherwise make 
    commercial use of the forage, on land that is subject to the 
    contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract 
    by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the 
    purposes of the contract, except that the Secretary--
            (A) may permit--
                (i) harvesting or grazing or other commercial use of the 
            forage on land that is subject to the contract in response 
            to a drought or other similar emergency; and
                (ii) limited grazing on such land where such grazing is 
            incidental to the gleaning of crop residues on the fields in 
            which such land is located and occurs--
                    (I) in the case of land other than eligible acreage 
                enrolled under section 3831(h) of this title, during the 
                7-month period in which grazing of conserving use 
                acreage is allowed in a State under the Agricultural Act 
                of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) or after the producer 
                harvests the grain crop of the surrounding field for a 
                reduction in rental payment commensurate with the 
                limited economic value of such incidental grazing; and
                    (II) in the case of eligible acreage enrolled under 
                section 3831(h) of this title, at any time other than 
                during the period beginning May 1 and ending August 1 of 
                each year for a reduction in rental payment commensurate 
                with the limited economic value of such incidental 
                grazing; and

            (B) shall approve not more than six projects, no more than 
        one of which may be in any State, under which land subject to 
        the contract may be harvested for recovery of biomass used in 
        energy production if--
                (i) no acreage subject to the contract is harvested more 
            than once every other year;
                (ii) not more than 25 percent of the total acreage 
            enrolled in the program under this subpart in any crop 
            reporting district (as designated by the Secretary), is 
            harvested in any 1 year;
                (iii) no portion of the crop is used for any commercial 
            purpose other than energy production from biomass;
                (iv) no wetland, or acreage of any type enrolled in a 
            partial field conservation practice (including riparian 
            forest buffers, filter strips, and buffer strips), is 
            harvested;
                (v) the owner or operator agrees to a payment reduction 
            under this section in an amount determined by the Secretary.

            (C) the total acres for all of the projects shall not exceed 
        250,000 acres.

        (8) not to conduct any planting of trees on land that is subject 
    to the contract unless the contract specifies that the harvesting 
    and commercial sale of trees such as Christmas trees are prohibited, 
    nor otherwise make commercial use of trees on land that is subject 
    to the contract unless it is expressly permitted in the contract, 
    nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract by the 
    Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of 
    the contract, except that no contract shall prohibit activities 
    consistent with customary forestry practice, such as pruning, 
    thinning, or stand improvement of trees, on lands converted to 
    forestry use;
        (9) not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the 
    contract as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of 
    this subpart; and
        (10) to comply with such additional provisions as the Secretary 
    determines are desirable and are included in the contract to carry 
    out this subpart or to facilitate the practical administration 
    thereof.

(b) Conversion plan provisions

    The plan referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section--
        (1) shall set forth--
            (A) the conservation measures and practices to be carried 
        out by the owner or operator during the term of the contract; 
        and
            (B) the commercial use, if any, to be permitted on the land 
        during such term; and

        (2) may provide for the permanent retirement of any existing 
    cropland base and allotment history for the land.

(c) Environmental use

    To the extent practicable, not less than one-eighth of land that is 
placed in the conservation reserve under this subpart during the 1991 
through 2002 calendar years shall be devoted to trees, or devoted to 
shrubs or other noncrop vegetation or water that may provide a permanent 
habitat for wildlife including migratory waterfowl.

(d) Alley cropping

    (1) The Secretary may permit alley cropping of agricultural 
commodities on land that is subject to contracts entered into under this 
subpart, if--
        (A) such land is planted to hardwood trees;
        (B) such agricultural commodities will be produced in 
    conjunction with, and in close proximity to, such hardwood trees; 
    and
        (C) the owner or operator of such land agrees to implement 
    appropriate conservation practices concerning such land.

    (2) The Secretary shall develop a bid system by which owners and 
operators may offer to reduce their annual rental payments in exchange 
for permission to produce agricultural commodities on such land in 
accordance with this subsection. The Secretary shall not accept offers 
under this paragraph that provide for less than a 50 percent reduction 
in such annual payments.
    (3) The Secretary shall ensure that the total annual rental payments 
over the term of any contract modified under this subsection are not in 
excess of that specified in the original contract.
    (4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term ``alley cropping'' 
means the practice of planting rows of trees bordered on each side by a 
narrow strip of groundcover, alternated with wider strips of row crops 
or grain.

(e) Foreclosure

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner or operator who 
is a party to a contract entered into under this subpart may not be 
required to make repayments to the Secretary of amounts received under 
such contract if the land that is subject to such contract has been 
foreclosed upon and the Secretary determines that forgiving such 
repayments is appropriate in order to provide fair and equitable 
treatment. This subsection shall not void the responsibilities of such 
an owner or operator under the contract if such owner or operator 
resumes control over the property that is subject to the contract within 
the period specified in the contract. Upon the resumption of such 
control over the property by the owner or operator, the provisions of 
the contract in effect on the date of the foreclosure shall apply.

(Pub. L. 99-198, title XII, Sec. 1232, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1509; 
Pub. L. 101-512, title I, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1919; Pub. L. 101-624, 
title XIV, Secs. 1433, 1447(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3579, 3605; 
Pub. L. 102-237, title II, Sec. 204(5), Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1855; 
Pub. L. 102-552, title V, Sec. 516(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4136; 
Pub. L. 104-127, title III, Sec. 332(a)(2), Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 994; 
Pub. L. 106-78, title VII, Secs. 763, 769, Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 
1173, 1174; Pub. L. 106-387, Sec. 1(a) [title VIII, Sec. 817, title XI, 
Sec. 1103], Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1549, 1549A-58, 1549A-77.)

                       References in Text

    The Agricultural Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (a)(7), is act 
Oct. 31, 1949, ch. 792, 63 Stat. 1051, as amended, which is classified 
principally to chapter 35A (Sec. 1421 et seq.) of Title 7, Agriculture. 
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title 
note set out under section 1421 of Title 7 and Tables.

                          Codification

    Pub. L. 101-512 and Pub. L. 101-624 were approved by the President 
after Congress adjourned and in reverse order of passage by Congress. 
Accordingly, the amendments made by Pub. L. 101-624 were executed to 
text prior to the amendment made by Pub. L. 101-512 to reflect the 
probable intent of Congress.


                               Amendments

    2000--Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 106-387, Sec. 1(a) [title VIII, 
Sec. 817], substituted ``except that--'' for ``except that'', inserted 
``(A)'' before ``such water'', inserted ``and'' at end, and added 
subpar. (B).
    Subsec. (a)(7)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 106-387, Sec. 1(a) [title XI, 
Sec. 1103], substituted ``occurs--'' for ``occurs during'', inserted 
``(I) in the case of land other than eligible acreage enrolled under 
section 3831(h) of this title, during'' before ``the 7-month period'', 
and added subcl. (II).
    1999--Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 106-78, Sec. 769, designated portion 
of existing provisions as subpar. (A) and cls. (i) and (ii), and added 
subpar. (B).
    Subsec. (a)(9) to (11). Pub. L. 106-78, Sec. 763, inserted ``and'' 
at end of par. (9), substituted a period for ``; and'' at end of par. 
(10), and struck out par. (11) which read as follows: ``with respect to 
any contract entered into after November 28, 1990, concerning highly 
erodible land in a county that has not reached the limitation 
established by section 3843(f) of this title--
        ``(A) not to produce an agricultural commodity for the duration 
    of the contract on any other highly erodible land that such owner or 
    operator has purchased after November 28, 1990, and that does not 
    have a history of being used to produce an agricultural commodity 
    other than forage crops; and
        ``(B) on the violation of a contract described in subparagraph 
    (A), to be subject to the sanctions described in paragraph (5).''
    1996--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-127 substituted ``2002'' for 
``1995''.
    1992--Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 102-552 made technical correction to 
directory language of Pub. L. 101-512. See 1991 Amendment note below.
    1991--Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 102-237, Sec. 204(5)(A), struck out 
extra semicolon after ``determined by the Secretary;''.
    Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 102-237, Sec. 204(5)(B), struck out ``fall 
and winter'' after ``Secretary may permit limited'' and substituted 
``and occurs during the 7-month period in which grazing of conserving 
use acreage is allowed in a State under the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 
U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) or after the producer harvests the grain crop of 
the surrounding field for a reduction in rental payment commensurate 
with the limited economic value of such incidental grazing'' for ``for 
an applicable reduction in rental payment''.
    1990--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1447(a), substituted 
reference to this subpart for reference to this subchapter wherever 
appearing.
    Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(a)(1), substituted 
``eligible lands'' for ``highly erodible cropland''.
    Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(a)(2), inserted ``, or 
water cover for the enhancement of wildlife,'' after ``cover'' and ``, 
except that such water cover shall not include ponds for the purpose of 
watering livestock, irrigating crops, or raising fish for commercial 
purposes'' after ``land''.
    Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(a)(3), inserted reference 
to remedies under section 3836(d) of this title.
    Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(a)(4), inserted before 
semicolon at end ``, or the transferee and the Secretary agree to 
modifications to such contract, where such modifications are consistent 
with the objectives of the program as determined by the Secretary;''. 
See Codification note above.
    Pub. L. 101-512, as amended by Pub. L. 102-552, inserted at end 
``Provided however, no refund of rental payments and cost sharing 
payments shall be required when the land is purchased by or for the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service;''. See Codification note above.
    Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(a)(5), inserted before 
semicolon at end ``, and the Secretary may permit limited fall and 
winter grazing on such land where such grazing is incidental to the 
gleaning of crop residues on the fields in which such land is located 
for an applicable reduction in rental payment''.
    Subsec. (a)(11). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(a)(6)-(8), added par. 
(11).
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(b), added subsec. (c) and 
struck out former subsec. (c) which read as follows: ``To the extent 
practicable, not less than one eighth of the number of acres of land 
that is placed in the conservation reserve under this subpart in each of 
the 1986 through 1990 crop years shall be devoted to trees.''
    Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1447(a), substituted ``this subpart'' for 
``this subchapter'' in subsec. (c) as it existed prior to enactment of 
Pub. L. 101-624.
    Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 101-624, Sec. 1433(b), added subsecs. (d) 
and (e).

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 3831, 3833 of this title.
