16 USC 3839aa-2 - Establishment and administration

U.S Code last checked for updates: Jul 11, 2026

§ 3839aa–2.

Establishment and administration

(a)

Establishment

(b)

Practices and term

(1)

Practices

(2)

Term

(c)

Bidding down

(d)

Payments

(1)

Availability of payments

(2)

Limitation on payment amounts

A payment to a producer for performing a practice may not exceed, as determined by the Secretary—

(A)

75 percent of the costs associated with planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training;

(B)

100 percent of income foregone by the producer; or

(C)

in the case of a practice consisting of elements covered under subparagraphs (A) and (B)—

(i)

75 percent of the costs incurred for those elements covered under subparagraph (A); and

(ii)

100 percent of income foregone for those elements covered under subparagraph (B).

(3)

In determining the amount and rate of payments under paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary may accord great significance to a practice that, as determined by the Secretary, promotes—

(A)

soil health;

(B)

water quality and quantity improvement;

(C)

nutrient management;

(D)

pest management;

(E)

air quality improvement;

(F)

wildlife habitat development, including pollinator habitat; or

(G)

invasive species management.

(4)

Increased payments for certain producers

(A)

In general

Notwithstanding paragraph (2), in the case of a producer that is a limited resource, socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher, a veteran farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2279(e) 1

 See References in Text note below.

of title 7), or a beginning farmer or rancher, the Secretary shall increase the amount that would otherwise be provided to a producer under this subsection—

(i)

to not more than 90 percent of the costs associated with planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training; and

(ii)

to not less than 25 percent above the otherwise applicable rate.

(B)

Advance payments

(i)

In general

(ii)

Return of funds

(iii)

Notification and documentation

The Secretary shall—

(I)

notify each producer described in subparagraph (A), at the time of enrollment in the program, of the option to receive advance payments under clause (i); and

(II)

document the election of each producer described in subparagraph (A) to receive advance payments under clause (i) with respect to each practice that has costs described in that clause.

(5)

Financial assistance from other sources

(6)

Other payments

(7)

Increased payments for high-priority practices

(A)

State determination

Each State, in consultation with the State technical committee established under section 3861(a) of this title for the State, may designate not more than 10 practices to be eligible for increased payments under subparagraph (B), on the condition that the practice, as determined by the Secretary—

(i)

addresses specific causes of impairment relating to excessive nutrients in groundwater or surface water;

(ii)

addresses the conservation of water to advance drought mitigation and declining aquifers;

(iii)

meets other environmental priorities and other priority resource concerns identified in habitat or other area restoration plans; or

(iv)

is geographically targeted to address a natural resource concern in a specific watershed.

(B)

Increased payments

(e)

Modification or termination of contracts

(1)

Voluntary modification or termination

The Secretary may modify or terminate a contract entered into with a producer under the program if—

(A)

the producer agrees to the modification or termination; and

(B)

the Secretary determines that the modification or termination is in the public interest.

(2)

Involuntary termination

(f)

Allocation of funding

(1)

Livestock

(2)

Wildlife habitat

(A)

Fiscal years 2014 through 2018

(B)

Fiscal years 2019 through 2031

(g)

Wildlife habitat incentive program

(1)

In general

The Secretary shall provide payments under the environmental quality incentives program for conservation practices that support the restoration, development, protection, and improvement of wildlife habitat on eligible land, including—

(A)

upland wildlife habitat;

(B)

wetland wildlife habitat;

(C)

habitat for threatened and endangered species;

(D)

fish habitat;

(E)

habitat on pivot corners and other irregular areas of a field; and

(F)

other types of wildlife habitat, as determined by the Secretary.

(2)

State technical committee

(3)

Maximum term

(4)

Included practices

For the purpose of providing seasonal wetland habitat for waterfowl and migratory birds, a practice that is eligible for payment under paragraph (1) and targeted for funding under subsection (f) may include—

(A)

a practice to carry out postharvest flooding; or

(B)

a practice to maintain the hydrology of temporary and seasonal wetlands of not more than 2 acres to maintain waterfowl and migratory bird habitat on working cropland.

(h)

Water conservation or irrigation efficiency practice

(1)

Availability of payments

The Secretary may provide water conservation and system efficiency payments under this subsection to an entity described in paragraph (2) or a producer for—

(A)

water conservation scheduling, water distribution efficiency, soil moisture monitoring, or an appropriate combination thereof;

(B)

irrigation-related structural or other measures that conserve surface water or groundwater, including managed aquifer recovery practices; or

(C)

a transition to water-conserving crops, water-conserving crop rotations, or deficit irrigation.

(2)

Eligibility of certain entities

(A)

In general

(B)

Implementation

Water conservation or irrigation practices that are the subject of a contract entered into under subparagraph (A) shall be implemented on—

(i)

eligible land of a producer; or

(ii)

land that is—

(I)

under the control of an irrigation district, groundwater management district, acequia, land-grant mercedes, or similar entity; and

(II)

adjacent to eligible land described in clause (i), as determined by the Secretary.

(C)

Waiver authority

(D)

Contract limitations

(3)

Priority

In providing payments under this subsection for a water conservation or irrigation practice, the Secretary shall give priority to applications in which—

(A)

consistent with the law of the State in which the land on which the practices will be implemented is located, there is a reduction in water use in the operation on that land; or

(B)

except in the case of an application under paragraph (2), the producer agrees not to use any associated water savings to bring new land, other than incidental land needed for efficient operations, under irrigated production, unless the producer is participating in a watershed-wide project that will effectively conserve water, as determined by the Secretary.

(4)

Effect

(i)

Payments for conservation practices related to organic production

(1)

Payments authorized

The Secretary shall provide payments under this subsection for conservation practices, on some or all of the operations of a producer, related—

(A)

to organic production; and

(B)

to the transition to organic production.

(2)

Eligibility requirements

As a condition for receiving payments under this subsection, a producer shall agree—

(A)

to develop and carry out an organic system plan; or

(B)

to develop and implement conservation practices for certified organic production that are consistent with an organic system plan and the purposes of this subpart.

(3)

Payment limitations

(A)

In general

Payments under this subsection to a person or legal entity, directly or indirectly, may not exceed, in the aggregate—

(i)

through fiscal year 2018—

(I)

$20,000 per year; or

(II)

$80,000 during any 6-year period; and

(ii)

during the period of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, $140,000.

(B)

Technical assistance

(4)

Exclusion of certain organic certification costs

(5)

Termination of contracts

The Secretary may cancel or otherwise nullify a contract to provide payments under this subsection if the Secretary determines that the producer—

(A)

is not pursuing organic certification; or

(B)

is not in compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq).

(j)

Conservation incentive contracts

(1)

Identification of eligible priority resource concerns for States

(A)

In general

(B)

Limitation

(2)

Contracts

(A)

Authority

(i)

In general

(ii)

Inclusions

Through a contract entered into under clause (i), the Secretary may provide—

(I)

funding, through annual payments, for certain incentive practices to attain increased levels of conservation on eligible land; or

(II)

assistance, through a practice payment, to implement an incentive practice.

(B)

Term

(C)

Prioritization

Notwithstanding section 3839aa–3 of this title, the Secretary shall develop criteria for evaluating incentive practice applications that—

(i)

give priority to applications that address eligible priority resource concerns identified under paragraph (1); and

(ii)

evaluate applications relative to other applications for similar agriculture and forest operations.

(3)

Incentive practice payments

(A)

In general

The Secretary shall provide payments to producers through contracts entered into under paragraph (2) for—

(i)

adopting and installing incentive practices; and

(ii)

managing, maintaining, and improving the incentive practices for the duration of the contract, as determined appropriate by the Secretary.

(B)

Payment amounts

In determining the amount of payments under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider, to the extent practicable—

(i)

the level and extent of the incentive practice to be installed, adopted, completed, maintained, managed, or improved;

(ii)

the cost of the installation, adoption, completion, management, maintenance, or improvement of the incentive practice;

(iii)

income foregone by the producer, including payments, as appropriate, to address—

(I)

increased economic risk;

(II)

loss in revenue due to anticipated reductions in yield; and

(III)

economic losses during transition to a resource-conserving cropping system or resource-conserving land use; and

(iv)

the extent to which compensation would ensure long-term continued maintenance, management, and improvement of the incentive practice.

(C)

Delivery of payments

In making payments under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable—

(i)

in the case of annual payments under paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(I), make those payments as soon as practicable after October 1 of each fiscal year for which increased levels of conservation are maintained during the term of the contract; and

(ii)

in the case of practice payments under paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(II), make those payments as soon as practicable on the implementation of an incentive practice.

(Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1240B, as added Pub. L. 107–171, title II, § 2301, May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 254; amended Pub. L. 108–447, div. A, title VII, § 794(a), Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 2852; Pub. L. 109–171, title I, § 1203(a), Feb. 8, 2006, 120 Stat. 6; Pub. L. 110–234, title II, § 2503, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1059; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title II, § 2503, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1787; Pub. L. 112–55, div. A, title VII, § 716(c), Nov. 18, 2011, 125 Stat. 582; Pub. L. 113–76, div. A, title VII, § 750(a), Jan. 17, 2014, 128 Stat. 42; Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2203, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 729; Pub. L. 115–123, div. F, § 60102(a), Feb. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 312; Pub. L. 115–334, title II, §§ 2301(d)(1)(F), 2304, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4554, 4556; Pub. L. 117–169, title II, § 21001(c)(1), Aug. 16, 2022, 136 Stat. 2017.)

cite as: 16 USC 3839aa-2