Sec. 224. Duties of the Secretary
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Section 1240L of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24 ) is amended— by striking subsections
(a)through
(c)and inserting the following: To achieve the conservation goals of a contract under the conservation stewardship program, the Secretary shall— make the program available to eligible producers on a continuous enrollment basis with one or more ranking periods, of which shall occur in the first quarter of each fiscal year; identify not more than 5 designated priority resource concerns in a particular watershed or other appropriate region or area within a State; for any region or area that includes any part of a nutrient-impacted watershed (as determined by the Secretary), ensure that one of the priority resource concerns identified under paragraph
(2)is greenhouse gas emission reductions; develop reliable conservation measurement tools for purposes of carrying out the program; and ensure that conservation measurement tools are transparent and available to producers by— making interactive, user-friendly conservation measurement tools publically available online; making conservation activity natural resource and environmental benefit scores available in an easy to understand format for study both before and during application; and taking other steps, as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall allocate acres to States for enrollment, based on each State’s proportion of eligible land to the total acreage of eligible land in all States as follows: At least 20 percent of the funds made available for financial and technical assistance under the program shall be for contracts addressing designated priority resource concerns related to enhancing the quality and quantity of source water (as that term is used in the Safe Drinking Water Act). At least 20 percent of the funds made available for financial and technical assistance under the program shall be for contracts addressing designated priority resource concerns related to reducing the need for pesticides in agricultural production including organic farming systems and intensive integrated pest management. At least 20 percent of the funds made available for financial and technical assistance under the program shall be for contracts addressing designated priority resource concerns related to reducing soil erosion and improving soil fertility and tilth. At least 20 percent of the funds made available for financial and technical assistance under the program shall be for contracts addressing greenhouse gas emissions. The Secretary shall provide annual payments under the program to compensate the producer for— installing and adopting additional conservation activities that will meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for a designated priority resource concern; and improving, maintaining, and managing conservation activities in place on the agricultural operation of the producer at the time the contract offer is accepted by the Secretary. The amount of the annual payment shall be determined by the Secretary and based, to the maximum extent practicable, on the following factors: Costs incurred by the producer associated with planning, design, materials, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training. Income forgone by the producer. Expected conservation benefits, based to the maximum extent possible on conservation measurement tools. The extent to which designated priority resource concerns will be addressed through the installation and adoption of conservation activities on the agricultural operation. The level of stewardship in place at the time of application and maintained over the term of the contract. The degree to which the conservation activities will be integrated across the entire agricultural operation for all designated priority resource concerns over the term of the contract. Such other factors as are determined appropriate by the Secretary. A payment to a producer under this subsection shall not be provided for— the design, construction, or maintenance of animal waste storage or treatment facilities or associated waste transport or transfer devices for animal feeding operations; or conservation activities for which there is no cost incurred or income forgone to the producer. In making payments under this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable— prorate conservation performance over the term of the contract so as to accommodate, to the extent practicable, producers earning equal annual payments in each fiscal year; and make such payments as soon as practicable after October 1 of each fiscal year for activities carried out in the previous fiscal year. If a contract requires a comprehensive conservation plan the implementation of which will, by the end of the contract term, meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for all designated priority resource concerns, the minimum payment shall be not less than $3,000. ; in subsection (d)— in paragraph (1)(C)— in clause (v), by striking and at the end; in clause (vi), by striking the period and inserting ; and ; by adding at the end the following: prevents pollution of surface water or groundwater; ; and by adding at the end the following: In this subsection, the term transition to organic crop or livestock systems means adoption of conservation activities for certified organic production on land or for herds not previously certified organic that meet all the requirements of the program and that are consistent with the regulations promulgated under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq. ). ; and in paragraph (2)— in subparagraph (A), by striking or at the end; in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and by adding at the end the following: improve, maintain, and manage or adopt and maintain— resource-conserving crop rotations to achieve beneficial crop rotations as appropriate for the eligible land of the producers; or managed intensive rotational grazing; or transition to organic crop or livestock systems. ; and by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall maintain detailed and segmented data on contracts and payments under the program to allow, at a minimum, with respect to each contract— quantification of the type and extent of conservation activities for which payments were made; quantification of the amount of payments made for— the installation and adoption of additional conservation activities and improvements to conservation activities in place on the operation of a producer at the time the conservation stewardship offer is accepted by the Secretary; and the maintenance of existing conservation activities; and identification of the watershed and county in which the agricultural operation receiving payments is located. .
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- 16 USC 3839aa–24
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