Title II — Conservation

113th Congress · Approved Feb 7, 2014 · 128 Stat. 649

TITLE II Conservation

Subtitle A Conservation Reserve Program

SEC. 2001. Extension and Enrollment Requirements of Conservation Reserve Program.

(a)

Extension.— Section 1231(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(a)) is amended by striking “ 2012” and inserting “ 2018”.

(b)

Eligible Land.— Section 1231(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1)(B), by striking “ the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008” and inserting “ the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014”;

(2)

by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2);

(3)

by inserting before paragraph (4) the following new paragraph:

“(3) grasslands that—

“(A) contain forbs or shrubland (including improved rangeland and pastureland) for which grazing is the predominant use;

“(B) are located in an area historically dominated by grasslands; and

“(C) could provide habitat for animal and plant populations of significant ecological value if the land is retained in its current use or restored to a natural condition;”

(4)

in paragraph (4)(C), by striking “ filterstrips devoted to trees or shrubs” and inserting “ filterstrips or riparian buffers devoted to trees, shrubs, or grasses”; and

(5)

by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following new paragraph:

“(5) the portion of land in a field not enrolled in the conservation reserve in a case in which—

“(A) more than 50 percent of the land in the field is enrolled as a buffer or filterstrip, or more than 75 percent of the land in the field is enrolled as a conservation practice other than as a buffer or filterstrip; and

“(B) the remainder of the field is—

“(i) infeasible to farm; and

“(ii) enrolled at regular rental rates.”

(c)

Planting Status of Certain Land.— Section 1231(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(c)) is amended by striking “ if” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “ if, during the crop year, the land was devoted to a conserving use.”.

(d)

Enrollment.— Subsection (d) of section 1231 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amended to read as follows:

“(d) Enrollment.—

“(1) Maximum acreage enrolled.—The Secretary may maintain in the conservation reserve at any one time during—

“(A) fiscal year 2014, no more than 27,500,000 acres;

“(B) fiscal year 2015, no more than 26,000,000 acres;

“(C) fiscal year 2016, no more than 25,000,000 acres;

“(D) fiscal year 2017, no more than 24,000,000 acres; and

“(E) fiscal year 2018, no more than 24,000,000 acres.

“(2) Grasslands.—

“(A) Limitation.—For purposes of applying the limitations in paragraph (1), no more than 2,000,000 acres of the land described in subsection (b)(3) may be enrolled in the program at any one time during the 2014 through 2018 fiscal years.

“(B) Priority.—In enrolling acres under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may give priority to land with expiring conservation reserve program contracts.

“(C) Method of enrollment.—In enrolling acres under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make the program available to owners or operators of eligible land on a continuous enrollment basis with one or more ranking periods.”

(e)

Duration of Contract.— Section 1231(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(e)) is amended by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the following new paragraph:

“(2) Special rule for certain land.—In the case of land devoted to hardwood trees, shelterbelts, windbreaks, or wildlife corridors under a contract entered into under this subchapter, the owner or operator of the land may, within the limitations prescribed under paragraph (1), specify the duration of the contract.”

(f)

Conservation Priority Areas.— Section 1231(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(f)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by striking “ watershed areas of the Chesapeake Bay Region, the Great Lakes Region, the Long Island Sound Region, and other”;

(2)

in paragraph (2), by striking “ Watersheds.—Watersheds” and inserting “ Areas.—Areas”; and

(3)

in paragraph (3), by striking “ a watershed’s designation—” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “ an area’s designation if the Secretary finds that the area no longer contains actual and significant adverse water quality or habitat impacts related to agricultural production activities.”.

SEC. 2002. Farmable Wetland Program.

(a)

Extension.— Section 1231B(a)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831b(a)(1)) is amended—

(1)

by striking “ 2012” and inserting “ 2018”; and

(2)

by striking “ a program” and inserting “ a farmable wetland program”.

(b)

Eligible Acreage.— Section 1231B(b)(1)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831b(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking “ flow from a row crop agriculture drainage system” and inserting “ surface and subsurface flow from row crop agricultural production”.

(c)

Acreage Limitation.— Section 1231B(c)(1)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831b(c)(1)(B)) is amended by striking “ 1,000,000” and inserting “ 750,000”.

(d)

Clerical Amendments.— Section 1231B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831b) is amended—

(1)

by striking the heading and inserting the following: “ farmable wetland program”; and

(2)

in subsection (f)(2), by striking “ section 1234(c)(2)(B)” and inserting “ section 1234(d)(2)(A)(ii)”.

SEC. 2003. Duties of Owners and Operators.

(a)

Limitation on Harvesting, Grazing, or Commercial Use of Forage.— Section 1232(a)(8) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)(8)) is amended by striking “ except that” and all that follows through the semicolon at the end of the paragraph and inserting “ except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of section 1233;”.

(b)

Conservation Plan Requirements.— Subsection (b) of section 1232 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3832) is amended to read as follows:

“(b) Conservation Plans.—The plan referred to in subsection (a)(1) shall set forth—

“(1) the conservation measures and practices to be carried out by the owner or operator during the term of the contract; and

“(2) the commercial use, if any, to be permitted on the land during the term.”

(c)

Rental Payment Reduction.— Section 1232 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3832) is amended by striking subsection (d).

SEC. 2004. Duties of the Secretary.

Section 1233 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3833) is amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 1233. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

“(a) Cost-Share and Rental Payments.—In return for a contract entered into by an owner or operator under the conservation reserve program, the Secretary shall—

“(1) share the cost of carrying out the conservation measures and practices set forth in the contract for which the Secretary determines that cost sharing is appropriate and in the public interest; and

“(2) for a period of years not in excess of the term of the contract, pay an annual rental payment in an amount necessary to compensate for—

“(A) the conversion of highly erodible cropland or other eligible lands normally devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity on a farm or ranch to a less intensive use;

“(B) the retirement of any base history that the owner or operator agrees to retire permanently; and

“(C) the development and management of grasslands for multiple natural resource conservation benefits, including to soil, water, air, and wildlife.

“(b) Specified Activities Permitted.—The Secretary shall permit certain activities or commercial uses of land that is subject to a contract under the conservation reserve program if those activities or uses are consistent with a plan approved by the Secretary and include—

“(1) harvesting, grazing, or other commercial use of the forage in response to a drought, flooding, or other emergency, without any reduction in the rental rate;

“(2) consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat (including habitat during primary nesting seasons for birds in the area), and in exchange for a reduction of not less than 25 percent in the annual rental rate for the acres covered by the authorized activity, managed harvesting and other commercial use (including the managed harvesting of biomass), except that in permitting those activities, the Secretary, in coordination with the State technical committee—

“(A) shall develop appropriate vegetation management requirements; and

“(B) shall identify periods during which the activities may be conducted, such that the frequency is at least every 5 but not more than once every 3 years;

“(3) subject to appropriate restrictions during the nesting season for birds in the local area that are economically significant, in significant decline, or conserved in accordance with Federal or State law, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the State technical committee, and in exchange for a reduction of not less than 25 percent in the annual rental rate for the acres covered by the authorized activity—

“(A) prescribed grazing for the control of invasive species, which may be conducted annually;

“(B) routine grazing, except that in permitting such routine grazing, the Secretary, in coordination with the State technical committee—

“(i) shall develop appropriate vegetation management requirements and stocking rates for the land that are suitable for continued routine grazing; and

“(ii) shall identify the periods during which routine grazing may be conducted, such that the frequency is not more than once every 2 years, taking into consideration regional differences such as—

“(I) climate, soil type, and natural resources;

“(II) the number of years that should be required between routine grazing activities; and

“(III) how often during a year in which routine grazing is permitted that routine grazing should be allowed to occur; and

“(C) the installation of wind turbines and associated access, except that in permitting the installation of wind turbines, the Secretary shall determine the number and location of wind turbines that may be installed, taking into account—

“(i) the location, size, and other physical characteristics of the land;

“(ii) the extent to which the land contains threatened or endangered wildlife and wildlife habitat; and

“(iii) the purposes of the conservation reserve program under this subchapter;

“(4) the intermittent and seasonal use of vegetative buffer practices incidental to agricultural production on lands adjacent to the buffer such that the permitted use does not destroy the permanent vegetative cover; and

“(5) grazing by livestock of a beginning farmer or rancher without any reduction in the rental rate, if the grazing is—

“(A) consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat;

“(B) subject to appropriate restrictions during the nesting season for birds in the local area that are economically significant, in significant decline, or conserved in accordance with Federal or State law, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the State technical committee; and

“(C) described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (3).

“(c) Authorized Activities on Grasslands.—For eligible land described in section 1231(b)(3), the Secretary shall permit the following activities:

“(1) Common grazing practices, including maintenance and necessary cultural practices, on the land in a manner that is consistent with maintaining the viability of grassland, forb, and shrub species appropriate to that locality.

“(2) Haying, mowing, or harvesting for seed production, subject to appropriate restrictions during the nesting season for birds in the local area that are economically significant, in significant decline, or conserved in accordance with Federal or State law, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the State technical committee.

“(3) Fire presuppression, fire-related rehabilitation, and construction of fire breaks.

“(4) Grazing-related activities, such as fencing and livestock watering.

“(d) Resource Conserving Use.—

“(1) In general.—Beginning on the date that is 1 year before the date of termination of a contract under the program, the Secretary shall allow an owner or operator to make conservation and land improvements for economic use that facilitate maintaining protection of enrolled land after expiration of the contract.

“(2) Conservation plan.—The Secretary shall require an owner or operator carrying out the activities described in paragraph (1) to develop and implement a conservation plan.

“(3) Re-enrollment prohibited.—Land improved under paragraph (1) may not be re-enrolled in the conservation reserve program for 5 years after the date of termination of the contract.

“(4) Payment reduction.—In the case of an activity carried out under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall reduce the payment otherwise payable under the contract by an amount commensurate with the economic value of the activity.”

SEC. 2005. Payments.

(a)

Trees, Windbreaks, Shelterbelts, and Wildlife Corridors.— Section 1234(b)(3)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(b)(3)(A)) is amended to read as follows:

“(A) Applicability.—This paragraph applies to land devoted to the production of hardwood trees, windbreaks, shelterbelts, or wildlife corridors under a contract entered into under this subchapter after November 28, 1990.”

(b)

Incentives for Thinning.— Section 1234 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (b)—

(A)

in the heading, by striking “ Federal Percentage of”; and

(B)

in paragraph (3)(B)—

(i)

in clause (i), by striking “ or thinning”; and

(ii)

by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:

“(ii) Duration.—The Secretary shall make payments as described in clause (i) for a period of not less than 2 years, but not more than 4 years, beginning on the date of the planting of the trees or shrubs.”

(2)

by redesignating subsections (c) through (g) as subsections (d) through (h), respectively; and

(3)

by inserting after subsection (b) the following:

“(c) Incentive Payments.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary may make incentive payments to an owner or operator of eligible land in an amount sufficient to encourage proper thinning and other practices to improve the condition of resources, promote forest management, or enhance wildlife habitat on the land.

“(2) Limitation.—A payment described in paragraph (1) may not exceed 150 percent of the total cost of thinning and other practices conducted by the owner or operator.”

(c)

Annual Rental Payments.— Section 1234(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by subsection (b)(2)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by inserting “ or other eligible lands” after “ highly erodible cropland” both places it appears;

(2)

by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following new paragraph:

“(2) Methods of determination.—

“(A) In general.—The amounts payable to owners or operators in the form of rental payments under contracts entered into under this subchapter may be determined through—

“(i) the submission of bids for such contracts by owners and operators in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe; or

“(ii) such other means as the Secretary determines are appropriate.

“(B) Grasslands.—In the case of eligible land described in section 1231(b)(3), the Secretary shall make annual payments in an amount that is not more than 75 percent of the grazing value of the land covered by the contract.”

; and

(3)

in paragraph (5)—

(A)

in subparagraph (A), by striking “ conduct an annual survey” and inserting “ , not less frequently than once every other year, conduct a survey”;

(B)

in subparagraph (B), by striking “ annual”; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

“(C) Use.—The Secretary may use the estimates derived from the survey conducted under subparagraph (A) relating to dryland cash rental rates as a factor in determining rental rates under this section in a manner determined appropriate by the Secretary.”

(d)

Payment Schedule.— Subsection (e) of section 1234 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by subsection (b)(2)) is amended to read as follows:

“(e) Payment Schedule.—

“(1) In general.—Except as otherwise provided in this section, payments under this subchapter shall be made in cash in such amount and on such time schedule as is agreed on and specified in the contract.

“(2) Advance payment.—Payments under this subchapter may be made in advance of determination of performance.”

(e)

Payment Limitation.— Section 1234(g) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by subsection (b)(2)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by striking “ , including rental payments made in the form of in-kind commodities,”;

(2)

by striking paragraph (3); and

(3)

by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (2).

SEC. 2006. Contract Requirements.

(a)

Early Termination by Owner or Operator.— Section 1235(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3835(e)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1)(A)—

(A)

by striking “ The Secretary” and inserting “ During fiscal year 2015, the Secretary”; and

(B)

by striking “ before January 1, 1995,”;

(2)

in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following:

“(C) Land devoted to hardwood trees.

“(D) Wildlife habitat, duck nesting habitat, pollinator habitat, upland bird habitat buffer, wildlife food plots, State acres for wildlife enhancement, shallow water areas for wildlife, and rare and declining habitat.

“(E) Farmable wetland and restored wetland.

“(F) Land that contains diversions, erosion control structures, flood control structures, contour grass strips, living snow fences, salinity reducing vegetation, cross wind trap strips, and sediment retention structures.

“(G) Land located within a federally designated wellhead protection area.

“(H) Land that is covered by an easement under the conservation reserve program.

“(I) Land located within an average width, according to the applicable Natural Resources Conservation Service field office technical guide, of a perennial stream or permanent water body.

“(J) Land enrolled under the conservation reserve enhancement program.”

; and

(3)

in paragraph (3), by striking “ 60 days after the date on which the owner or operator submits the notice required under paragraph (1)(C)” and inserting “ upon approval by the Secretary”.

(b)

Transition Option for Certain Farmers or Ranchers.— Section 1235(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3835(f)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1)—

(A)

in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “ Duties” and all that follows through “ a beginning farmer or rancher or” and inserting “ Transition to covered farmer or rancher.—In the case of a contract modification approved in order to facilitate the transfer of land subject to a contract from a retired farmer or rancher to a beginning farmer or rancher, a veteran farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))), or a”;

(B)

in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting “ , including preparing to plant an agricultural crop” after “ improvements”;

(C)

in subparagraph (D), by striking “ the farmer or rancher” and inserting “ the covered farmer or rancher”; and

(D)

in subparagraph (E), by striking “ section 1001A(b)(3)(B)” and inserting “ section 1001”; and

(2)

in paragraph (2), by striking “ requirement of section 1231(h)(4)(B)” and inserting “ option pursuant to section 1234(d)(2)(A)(ii)”.

(c)

Final Year Contract.— Section 1235 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3835) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:

“(g) Final Year of Contract.—The Secretary shall not consider an owner or operator to be in violation of a term or condition of the conservation reserve contract if—

“(1) during the year prior to expiration of the contract, the land is enrolled in the conservation stewardship program; and

“(2) the activity required under the conservation stewardship program pursuant to such enrollment is consistent with this subchapter.

“(h) Land Enrolled in Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.—The Secretary may terminate or modify a contract entered into under this subchapter if eligible land that is subject to such contract is transferred into the agricultural conservation easement program under subtitle H.”

SEC. 2007. Conversion of Land Subject to Contract to Other Conserving Uses.

Section 1235A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3835a) is repealed.

SEC. 2008. Effect on Existing Contracts.

(a)

In General.— Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amendments made by this subtitle shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract.

(b)

Updating of Existing Contracts.— The Secretary shall permit an owner or operator of land subject to a contract entered into under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, to update the contract to reflect the activities and uses of land under contract permitted under the terms and conditions of section 1233(b) of that Act (as amended by section 2004), as determined appropriate by the Secretary.

Subtitle B Conservation Stewardship Program

SEC. 2101. Conservation Stewardship Program.

(a)

Revision of Current Program.— Subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838d et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

“Subchapter B— Conservation Stewardship Program

“SEC. 1238D. DEFINITIONS.

“In this subchapter:

“(1) Agricultural operation.—The term ‘agricultural operation’ means all eligible land, whether or not contiguous, that is—

“(A) under the effective control of a producer at the time the producer enters into a contract under the program; and

“(B) operated with equipment, labor, management, and production or cultivation practices that are substantially separate from other agricultural operations, as determined by the Secretary.

“(2) Conservation activities.—

“(A) In general.—The term ‘conservation activities’ means conservation systems, practices, or management measures.

“(B) Inclusions.—The term ‘conservation activities’ includes—

“(i) structural measures, vegetative measures, and land management measures, including agriculture drainage management systems, as determined by the Secretary; and

“(ii) planning needed to address a priority resource concern.

“(3) Conservation stewardship plan.—The term ‘conservation stewardship plan’ means a plan that—

“(A) identifies and inventories priority resource concerns;

“(B) establishes benchmark data and conservation objectives;

“(C) describes conservation activities to be implemented, managed, or improved; and

“(D) includes a schedule and evaluation plan for the planning, installation, and management of the new and existing conservation activities.

“(4) Eligible land.—

“(A) In general.—The term ‘eligible land’ means—

“(i) private or tribal land on which agricultural commodities, livestock, or forest-related products are produced; and

“(ii) lands associated with the land described in clause (i) on which priority resource concerns could be addressed through a contract under the program.

“(B) Inclusions.—The term ‘eligible land’ includes—

“(i) cropland;

“(ii) grassland;

“(iii) rangeland;

“(iv) pasture land;

“(v) nonindustrial private forest land; and

“(vi) other land in agricultural areas (including cropped woodland, marshes, and agricultural land used or capable of being used for the production of livestock), as determined by the Secretary.

“(5) Priority resource concern.—The term ‘priority resource concern’ means a natural resource concern or problem, as determined by the Secretary, that—

“(A) is identified at the national, State, or local level as a priority for a particular area of a State;

“(B) represents a significant concern in a State or region; and

“(C) is likely to be addressed successfully through the implementation of conservation activities under this program.

“(6) Program.—The term ‘program’ means the conservation stewardship program established by this subchapter.

“(7) Stewardship threshold.—The term ‘stewardship threshold’ means the level of management required, as determined by the Secretary, to conserve and improve the quality and condition of a natural resource.

“SEC. 1238E. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM.

“(a) Establishment and Purpose.—During each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the Secretary shall carry out a conservation stewardship program to encourage producers to address priority resource concerns and improve and conserve the quality and condition of natural resources in a comprehensive manner—

“(1) by undertaking additional conservation activities; and

“(2) by improving, maintaining, and managing existing conservation activities.

“(b) Exclusions.—

“(1) Land enrolled in other conservation programs.—Subject to paragraph (2), the following land (even if covered by the definition of eligible land) is not eligible for enrollment in the program:

“(A) Land enrolled in the conservation reserve program, unless—

“(i) the conservation reserve contract will expire at the end of the fiscal year in which the land is to be enrolled in the program; and

“(ii) conservation reserve program payments for land enrolled in the program cease before the first program payment is made to the applicant under this subchapter.

“(B) Land enrolled in a wetland reserve easement through the agricultural conservation easement program.

“(C) Land enrolled in the conservation security program.

“(2) Conversion to cropland.—Eligible land used for crop production after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, that had not been planted, considered to be planted, or devoted to crop production for at least 4 of the 6 years preceding that date shall not be the basis for any payment under the program, unless the land does not meet such requirement because—

“(A) the land had previously been enrolled in the conservation reserve program;

“(B) the land has been maintained using long-term crop rotation practices, as determined by the Secretary; or

“(C) the land is incidental land needed for efficient operation of the farm or ranch, as determined by the Secretary.

“SEC. 1238F. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTS.

“(a) Submission of Contract Offers.—To be eligible to participate in the conservation stewardship program, a producer shall submit to the Secretary a contract offer for the agricultural operation that—

“(1) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the producer, at the time of the contract offer, meets or exceeds the stewardship threshold for at least 2 priority resource concerns; and

“(2) would, at a minimum, meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for at least 1 additional priority resource concern by the end of the stewardship contract by—

“(A) installing and adopting additional conservation activities; and

“(B) improving, maintaining, and managing existing conservation activities across the entire agricultural operation in a manner that increases or extends the conservation benefits in place at the time the contract offer is accepted by the Secretary.

“(b) Evaluation of Contract Offers.—

“(1) Ranking of applications.—In evaluating contract offers submitted under subsection (a), the Secretary shall rank applications based on—

“(A) the level of conservation treatment on all applicable priority resource concerns at the time of application;

“(B) the degree to which the proposed conservation activities effectively increase conservation performance;

“(C) the number of applicable priority resource concerns proposed to be treated to meet or exceed the stewardship threshold by the end of the contract;

“(D) the extent to which other priority resource concerns will be addressed to meet or exceed the stewardship threshold by the end of the contract period;

“(E) the extent to which the actual and anticipated conservation benefits from the contract are provided at the least cost relative to other similarly beneficial contract offers; and

“(F) the extent to which priority resource concerns will be addressed when transitioning from the conservation reserve program to agricultural production.

“(2) Prohibition.—The Secretary may not assign a higher priority to any application because the applicant is willing to accept a lower payment than the applicant would otherwise be eligible to receive.

“(3) Additional criteria.—The Secretary may develop and use such additional criteria that the Secretary determines are necessary to ensure that national, State, and local priority resource concerns are effectively addressed.

“(c) Entering Into Contracts.—After a determination that a producer is eligible for the program under subsection (a), and a determination that the contract offer ranks sufficiently high under the evaluation criteria under subsection (b), the Secretary shall enter into a conservation stewardship contract with the producer to enroll the eligible land to be covered by the contract.

“(d) Contract Provisions.—

“(1) Term.—A conservation stewardship contract shall be for a term of 5 years.

“(2) Required provisions.—The conservation stewardship contract of a producer shall—

“(A) state the amount of the payment the Secretary agrees to make to the producer for each year of the conservation stewardship contract under section 1238G(d);

“(B) require the producer—

“(i) to implement a conservation stewardship plan that describes the program purposes to be achieved through 1 or more conservation activities;

“(ii) to maintain and supply information as required by the Secretary to determine compliance with the conservation stewardship plan and any other requirements of the program; and

“(iii) not to conduct any activities on the agricultural operation that would tend to defeat the purposes of the program;

“(C) permit all economic uses of the eligible land that—

“(i) maintain the agricultural nature of the land; and

“(ii) are consistent with the conservation purposes of the conservation stewardship contract;

“(D) include a provision to ensure that a producer shall not be considered in violation of the contract for failure to comply with the contract due to circumstances beyond the control of the producer, including a disaster or related condition, as determined by the Secretary;

“(E) include provisions requiring that upon the violation of a term or condition of the contract at any time the producer has control of the land—

“(i) if the Secretary determines that the violation warrants termination of the contract—

“(I) the producer shall forfeit all rights to receive payments under the contract; and

“(II) the producer shall refund all or a portion of the payments received by the producer under the contract, including any interest on the payments, as determined by the Secretary; or

“(ii) if the Secretary determines that the violation does not warrant termination of the contract, the producer shall refund or accept adjustments to the payments provided to the producer, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate;

“(F) include provisions in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4); and

“(G) include any additional provisions the Secretary determines are necessary to carry out the program.

“(3) Change of interest in land subject to a contract.—

“(A) In general.—At the time of application, a producer shall have control of the eligible land to be enrolled in the program. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a change in the interest of a producer in eligible land covered by a contract under the program shall result in the termination of the contract with regard to that land.

“(B) Transfer of duties and rights.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if—

“(i) within a reasonable period of time (as determined by the Secretary) after the date of the change in the interest in eligible land covered by a contract under the program, the transferee of the land provides written notice to the Secretary that all duties and rights under the contract have been transferred to, and assumed by, the transferee for the portion of the land transferred;

“(ii) the transferee meets the eligibility requirements of the program; and

“(iii) the Secretary approves the transfer of all duties and rights under the contract.

“(4) Modification and termination of contracts.—

“(A) Voluntary modification or termination.—The Secretary may modify or terminate a contract with a producer if—

“(i) the producer agrees to the modification or termination; and

“(ii) the Secretary determines that the modification or termination is in the public interest.

“(B) Involuntary termination.—The Secretary may terminate a contract if the Secretary determines that the producer violated the contract.

“(5) Repayment.—If a contract is terminated, the Secretary may, consistent with the purposes of the program—

“(A) allow the producer to retain payments already received under the contract; or

“(B) require repayment, in whole or in part, of payments received and assess liquidated damages.

“(e) Contract Renewal.—At the end of the initial 5-year contract period, the Secretary may allow the producer to renew the contract for 1 additional 5-year period if the producer—

“(1) demonstrates compliance with the terms of the initial contract;

“(2) agrees to adopt and continue to integrate conservation activities across the entire agricultural operation, as determined by the Secretary; and

“(3) agrees, by the end of the contract period—

“(A) to meet the stewardship threshold of at least 2 additional priority resource concerns on the agricultural operation; or

“(B) to exceed the stewardship threshold of 2 existing priority resource concerns that are specified by the Secretary in the initial contract.

“SEC. 1238G. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

“(a) In General.—To achieve the conservation goals of a contract under the conservation stewardship program, the Secretary shall—

“(1) make the program available to eligible producers on a continuous enrollment basis with 1 or more ranking periods, 1 of which shall occur in the first quarter of each fiscal year;

“(2) identify not less than 5 priority resource concerns in a particular watershed or other appropriate region or area within a State; and

“(3) establish a science-based stewardship threshold for each priority resource concern identified under paragraph (2).

“(b) Allocation to States.—The Secretary shall allocate acres to States for enrollment, based—

“(1) primarily on each State’s proportion of eligible land to the total acreage of eligible land in all States; and

“(2) also on consideration of—

“(A) the extent and magnitude of the conservation needs associated with agricultural production in each State;

“(B) the degree to which implementation of the program in the State is, or will be, effective in helping producers address those needs; and

“(C) other considerations to achieve equitable geographic distribution of funds, as determined by the Secretary.

“(c) Acreage Enrollment Limitation.—During the period beginning on the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, and ending on September 30, 2022, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable—

“(1) enroll in the program an additional 10,000,000 acres for each fiscal year; and

“(2) manage the program to achieve a national average rate of $18 per acre, which shall include the costs of all financial assistance, technical assistance, and any other expenses associated with enrollment or participation in the program.

“(d) Conservation Stewardship Payments.—

“(1) Availability of payments.—The Secretary shall provide annual payments under the program to compensate the producer for—

“(A) installing and adopting additional conservation activities; and

“(B) improving, maintaining, and managing conservation activities in place at the agricultural operation of the producer at the time the contract offer is accepted by the Secretary.

“(2) Payment amount.—The amount of the annual payment shall be determined by the Secretary and based, to the maximum extent practicable, on the following factors:

“(A) Costs incurred by the producer associated with planning, design, materials, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training.

“(B) Income forgone by the producer.

“(C) Expected conservation benefits.

“(D) The extent to which priority resource concerns will be addressed through the installation and adoption of conservation activities on the agricultural operation.

“(E) The level of stewardship in place at the time of application and maintained over the term of the contract.

“(F) The degree to which the conservation activities will be integrated across the entire agricultural operation for all applicable priority resource concerns over the term of the contract.

“(G) Such other factors as are determined appropriate by the Secretary.

“(3) Exclusions.—A payment to a producer under this subsection shall not be provided for—

“(A) the design, construction, or maintenance of animal waste storage or treatment facilities or associated waste transport or transfer devices for animal feeding operations; or

“(B) conservation activities for which there is no cost incurred or income forgone to the producer.

“(4) Delivery of payments.—In making payments under this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable—

“(A) 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

“(B) make such payments as soon as practicable after October 1 of each fiscal year for activities carried out in the previous fiscal year.

“(e) Supplemental Payments for Resource-Conserving Crop Rotations.—

“(1) Availability of payments.—The Secretary shall provide additional payments to producers that, in participating in the program, agree to adopt or improve resource-conserving crop rotations to achieve beneficial crop rotations as appropriate for the eligible land of the producers.

“(2) Beneficial crop rotations.—The Secretary shall determine whether a resource-conserving crop rotation is a beneficial crop rotation eligible for additional payments under paragraph (1) based on whether the resource-conserving crop rotation is designed to provide natural resource conservation and production benefits.

“(3) Eligibility.—To be eligible to receive a payment described in paragraph (1), a producer shall agree to adopt and maintain beneficial resource-conserving crop rotations for the term of the contract.

“(4) Resource-conserving crop rotation.—In this subsection, the term ‘resource-conserving crop rotation’ means a crop rotation that—

“(A) includes at least 1 resource-conserving crop (as defined by the Secretary);

“(B) reduces erosion;

“(C) improves soil fertility and tilth;

“(D) interrupts pest cycles; and

“(E) in applicable areas, reduces depletion of soil moisture or otherwise reduces the need for irrigation.

“(f) Payment Limitations.—A person or legal entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, payments under the program that, in the aggregate, exceed $200,000 under all contracts entered into during fiscal years 2014 through 2018, excluding funding arrangements with Indian tribes, regardless of the number of contracts entered into under the program by the person or legal entity.

“(g) Specialty Crop and Organic Producers.—The Secretary shall ensure that outreach and technical assistance are available, and program specifications are appropriate to enable specialty crop and organic producers to participate in the program.

“(h) Coordination With Organic Certification.—The Secretary shall establish a transparent means by which producers may initiate organic certification under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) while participating in a contract under the program.

“(i) Regulations.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations that—

“(1) prescribe such other rules as the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable application of the limitations established under subsection (f); and

“(2) otherwise enable the Secretary to carry out the program.”

(b)

Effect on Existing Contracts.—

(1)

In general.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838d et seq.) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract.

(2)

Conservation stewardship program.— Funds made available under section 1241(a)(4) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(4)) (as amended by section 2601(a) of this title) may be used to administer and make payments to program participants that enrolled into contracts during any of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

Subtitle C Environmental Quality Incentives Program

SEC. 2201. Purposes.

Section 1240 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (3)—

(A)

in subparagraph (A), by striking “ and” at the end;

(B)

by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C) and, in such subparagraph, by inserting “ and” after the semicolon; and

(C)

by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:

“(B) developing and improving wildlife habitat; and”

(2)

in paragraph (4), by striking “ ; and” and inserting a period; and

(3)

by striking paragraph (5).

SEC. 2202. Definitions.

Section 1240A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is amended—

(1)

by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) as paragraphs (2) through (5), respectively; and

(2)

in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), by inserting “ established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.)” after “ national organic program”.

SEC. 2203. Establishment and Administration.

Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a), by striking “ 2014” and inserting “ 2018”;

(2)

in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following new paragraph:

“(2) Term.—A contract under the program shall have a term that does not exceed 10 years.”

(3)

in subsection (d)—

(A)

in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraphs (A) through (G) and inserting the following:

“(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.”

; and

(B)

in paragraph (4)—

(i)

in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “ , a veteran farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))),” before “ or a beginning farmer or rancher”; and

(ii)

by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following new subparagraph:

“(B) Advance payments.—

“(i) In general.—Not more than 50 percent of the amount determined under subparagraph (A) may be provided in advance for the purpose of purchasing materials or contracting.

“(ii) Return of funds.—If funds provided in advance are not expended during the 90-day period beginning on the date of receipt of the funds, the funds shall be returned within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the Secretary.”

(4)

by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following new subsection:

“(f) Allocation of Funding.—

“(1) Livestock.—For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, at least 60 percent of the funds made available for payments under the program shall be targeted at practices relating to livestock production.

“(2) Wildlife habitat.—For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, at least 5 percent of the funds made available for payments under the program shall be targeted at practices benefitting wildlife habitat under subsection (g).”

; and

(5)

by striking subsection (g) and inserting the following new subsection:

“(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.—In determining the practices eligible for payment under paragraph (1) and targeted for funding under subsection (f), the Secretary shall consult with the relevant State technical committee not less often than once each year.”

SEC. 2204. Evaluation of Applications.

Section 1240C(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3(b)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by striking “ environmental” and inserting “ conservation”; and

(2)

in paragraph (3), by striking “ purpose of the environmental quality incentives program specified in section 1240(1)” and inserting “ purposes of the program”.

SEC. 2205. Duties of Producers.

Section 1240D(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–4(2)) is amended by striking “ farm, ranch, or forest” and inserting “ enrolled”.

SEC. 2206. Limitation on Payments.

Section 1240G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 1240G. LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.

“A person or legal entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments under this chapter that, in aggregate, exceed $450,000 for all contracts entered into under this chapter by the person or legal entity during the period of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, regardless of the number of contracts entered into under this chapter by the person or legal entity.”

SEC. 2207. Conservation Innovation Grants and Payments.

Section 1240H of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a)(2)—

(A)

in subparagraph (C), by striking “ ; and” and inserting a semicolon;

(B)

in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:

“(E) facilitate on-farm conservation research and demonstration activities; and

“(F) facilitate pilot testing of new technologies or innovative conservation practices.”

(2)

in subsection (b)(2)—

(A)

by striking “ $37,500,000” and inserting “ $25,000,000”; and

(B)

by striking “ 2012” and inserting “ 2018”; and

(3)

by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(c) Reporting.—Not later than December 31, 2014, and every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report on the status of projects funded under this section, including—

“(1) funding awarded;

“(2) project results; and

“(3) incorporation of project findings, such as new technology and innovative approaches, into the conservation efforts implemented by the Secretary.”

SEC. 2208. Effect on Existing Contracts.

The amendments made by this subtitle shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract.

Subtitle D Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

SEC. 2301. Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.

(a)

Establishment.— Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle:

“Subtitle H— Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

“SEC. 1265. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES.

“(a) Establishment.—The Secretary shall establish an agricultural conservation easement program for the conservation of eligible land and natural resources through easements or other interests in land.

“(b) Purposes.—The purposes of the program are to—

“(1) combine the purposes and coordinate the functions of the wetlands reserve program established under section 1237, the grassland reserve program established under section 1238N, and the farmland protection program established under section 1238I, as such sections were in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014;

“(2) restore, protect, and enhance wetlands on eligible land;

“(3) protect the agricultural use and future viability, and related conservation values, of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses of that land; and

“(4) protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring and conserving eligible land.

“SEC. 1265A. DEFINITIONS.

“In this subtitle:

“(1) Agricultural land easement.—The term ‘agricultural land easement’ means an easement or other interest in eligible land that—

“(A) is conveyed for the purpose of protecting natural resources and the agricultural nature of the land; and

“(B) permits the landowner the right to continue agricultural production and related uses subject to an agricultural land easement plan, as approved by the Secretary.

“(2) Eligible entity.—The term ‘eligible entity’ means—

“(A) an agency of State or local government or an Indian tribe (including a farmland protection board or land resource council established under State law); or

“(B) an organization that is—

“(i) organized for, and at all times since the formation of the organization has been operated principally for, 1 or more of the conservation purposes specified in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;

“(ii) an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of that Code that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code; or

“(iii) described in—

“(I) paragraph (1) or (2) of section 509(a) of that Code; or

“(II) section 509(a)(3) of that Code and is controlled by an organization described in section 509(a)(2) of that Code.

“(3) Eligible land.—The term ‘eligible land’ means private or tribal land that is—

“(A) in the case of an agricultural land easement, agricultural land, including land on a farm or ranch—

“(i) that is subject to a pending offer for purchase of an agricultural land easement from an eligible entity;

“(ii)

(I) that has prime, unique, or other productive soil;

“(II) that contains historical or archaeological resources;

“(III) the enrollment of which would protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring and conserving land; or

“(IV) the protection of which will further a State or local policy consistent with the purposes of the program; and

“(iii) that is—

“(I) cropland;

“(II) rangeland;

“(III) grassland or land that contains forbs, or shrubland for which grazing is the predominant use;

“(IV) located in an area that has been historically dominated by grassland, forbs, or shrubs and could provide habitat for animal or plant populations of significant ecological value;

“(V) pastureland; or

“(VI) nonindustrial private forest land that contributes to the economic viability of an offered parcel or serves as a buffer to protect such land from development;

“(B) in the case of a wetland reserve easement, a wetland or related area, including—

“(i) farmed or converted wetlands, together with adjacent land that is functionally dependent on that land, if the Secretary determines it—

“(I) is likely to be successfully restored in a cost-effective manner; and

“(II) will maximize the wildlife benefits and wetland functions and values, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior at the local level;

“(ii) cropland or grassland that was used for agricultural production prior to flooding from the natural overflow of—

“(I) a closed basin lake and adjacent land that is functionally dependent upon it, if the State or other entity is willing to provide 50 percent share of the cost of an easement; or

“(II) a pothole and adjacent land that is functionally dependent on it;

“(iii) farmed wetlands and adjoining lands that—

“(I) are enrolled in the conservation reserve program;

“(II) have the highest wetland functions and values, as determined by the Secretary; and

“(III) are likely to return to production after they leave the conservation reserve program;

“(iv) riparian areas that link wetlands that are protected by easements or some other device that achieves the same purpose as an easement; or

“(v) other wetlands of an owner that would not otherwise be eligible, if the Secretary determines that the inclusion of such wetlands in a wetland reserve easement would significantly add to the functional value of the easement; or

“(C) in the case of either an agricultural land easement or a wetland reserve easement, other land that is incidental to land described in subparagraph (A) or (B), if the Secretary determines that it is necessary for the efficient administration of an easement under the program.

“(4) Program.—The term ‘program’ means the agricultural conservation easement program established by this subtitle.

“(5) Wetland reserve easement.—The term ‘wetland reserve easement’ means a reserved interest in eligible land that—

“(A) is defined and delineated in a deed; and

“(B) stipulates—

“(i) the rights, title, and interests in land conveyed to the Secretary; and

“(ii) the rights, title, and interests in land that are reserved to the landowner.

“SEC. 1265B. AGRICULTURAL LAND EASEMENTS.

“(a) Availability of Assistance.—The Secretary shall facilitate and provide funding for—

“(1) the purchase by eligible entities of agricultural land easements in eligible land; and

“(2) technical assistance to provide for the conservation of natural resources pursuant to an agricultural land easement plan.

“(b) Cost-Share Assistance.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary shall protect the agricultural use, including grazing, and related conservation values of eligible land through cost-share assistance to eligible entities for purchasing agricultural land easements.

“(2) Scope of assistance available.—

“(A) Federal share.—An agreement described in paragraph (4) shall provide for a Federal share determined by the Secretary of an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement, as determined by the Secretary using—

“(i) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice;

“(ii) an areawide market analysis or survey; or

“(iii) another industry-approved method.

“(B) Non-federal share.—

“(i) In general.—Under the agreement, the eligible entity shall provide a share that is at least equivalent to that provided by the Secretary.

“(ii) Source of contribution.—An eligible entity may include as part of its share under clause (i) a charitable donation or qualified conservation contribution (as defined by section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) from the private landowner if the eligible entity contributes its own cash resources in an amount that is at least 50 percent of the amount contributed by the Secretary.

“(C) Exception.—

“(i) Grasslands.—In the case of grassland of special environmental significance, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary may provide an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement.

“(ii) Cash contribution.—For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii), the Secretary may waive any portion of the eligible entity cash contribution requirement for projects of special significance, subject to an increase in the private landowner donation that is equal to the amount of the waiver, if the donation is voluntary and the property is in active agricultural production.

“(3) Evaluation and ranking of applications.—

“(A) Criteria.—The Secretary shall establish evaluation and ranking criteria to maximize the benefit of Federal investment under the program.

“(B) Considerations.—In establishing the criteria, the Secretary shall emphasize support for—

“(i) protecting agricultural uses and related conservation values of the land; and

“(ii) maximizing the protection of areas devoted to agricultural use.

“(C) Bidding down.—If the Secretary determines that 2 or more applications for cost-share assistance are comparable in achieving the purpose of the program, the Secretary shall not assign a higher priority to any of those applications solely on the basis of lesser cost to the program.

“(4) Agreements with eligible entities.—

“(A) In general.—The Secretary shall enter into agreements with eligible entities to stipulate the terms and conditions under which the eligible entity is permitted to use cost-share assistance provided under this section.

“(B) Length of agreements.—An agreement shall be for a term that is—

“(i) in the case of an eligible entity certified under the process described in paragraph (5), a minimum of five years; and

“(ii) for all other eligible entities, at least three, but not more than five years.

“(C) Minimum terms and conditions.—An eligible entity shall be authorized to use its own terms and conditions for agricultural land easements so long as the Secretary determines such terms and conditions—

“(i) are consistent with the purposes of the program;

“(ii) permit effective enforcement of the conservation purposes of such easements;

“(iii) include a right of enforcement for the Secretary, that may be used only if the terms of the easement are not enforced by the holder of the easement;

“(iv) subject the land in which an interest is purchased to an agricultural land easement plan that—

“(I) describes the activities which promote the long-term viability of the land to meet the purposes for which the easement was acquired;

“(II) requires the management of grasslands according to a grasslands management plan; and

“(III) includes a conservation plan, where appropriate, and requires, at the option of the Secretary, the conversion of highly erodible cropland to less intensive uses; and

“(v) include a limit on the impervious surfaces to be allowed that is consistent with the agricultural activities to be conducted.

“(D) Substitution of qualified projects.—An agreement shall allow, upon mutual agreement of the parties, substitution of qualified projects that are identified at the time of the proposed substitution.

“(E) Effect of violation.—If a violation occurs of a term or condition of an agreement under this subsection—

“(i) the Secretary may terminate the agreement; and

“(ii) the Secretary may require the eligible entity to refund all or part of any payments received by the entity under the program, with interest on the payments as determined appropriate by the Secretary.

“(5) Certification of eligible entities.—

“(A) Certification process.—The Secretary shall establish a process under which the Secretary may—

“(i) directly certify eligible entities that meet established criteria;

“(ii) enter into long-term agreements with certified eligible entities; and

“(iii) accept proposals for cost-share assistance for the purchase of agricultural land easements throughout the duration of such agreements.

“(B) Certification criteria.—In order to be certified, an eligible entity shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the entity will maintain, at a minimum, for the duration of the agreement—

“(i) a plan for administering easements that is consistent with the purpose of the program;

“(ii) the capacity and resources to monitor and enforce agricultural land easements; and

“(iii) policies and procedures to ensure—

“(I) the long-term integrity of agricultural land easements on eligible land;

“(II) timely completion of acquisitions of such easements; and

“(III) timely and complete evaluation and reporting to the Secretary on the use of funds provided under the program.

“(C) Review and revision.—

“(i) Review.—The Secretary shall conduct a review of eligible entities certified under subparagraph (A) every three years to ensure that such entities are meeting the criteria established under subparagraph (B).

“(ii) Revocation.—If the Secretary finds that a certified eligible entity no longer meets the criteria established under subparagraph (B), the Secretary may—

“(I) allow the certified eligible entity a specified period of time, at a minimum 180 days, in which to take such actions as may be necessary to meet the criteria; and

“(II) revoke the certification of the eligible entity, if, after the specified period of time, the certified eligible entity does not meet such criteria.

“(c) Method of Enrollment.—The Secretary shall enroll eligible land under this section through the use of—

“(1) permanent easements; or

“(2) easements for the maximum duration allowed under applicable State laws.

“(d) Technical Assistance.—The Secretary may provide technical assistance, if requested, to assist in—

“(1) compliance with the terms and conditions of easements; and

“(2) implementation of an agricultural land easement plan.

“SEC. 1265C. WETLAND RESERVE EASEMENTS.

“(a) Availability of Assistance.—The Secretary shall provide assistance to owners of eligible land to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands through—

“(1) wetland reserve easements and related wetland reserve easement plans; and

“(2) technical assistance.

“(b) Easements.—

“(1) Method of enrollment.—The Secretary shall enroll eligible land under this section through the use of—

“(A) 30-year easements;

“(B) permanent easements;

“(C) easements for the maximum duration allowed under applicable State laws; or

“(D) as an option for Indian tribes only, 30-year contracts.

“(2) Limitations.—

“(A) Ineligible land.—The Secretary may not acquire easements on—

“(i) land established to trees under the conservation reserve program, except in cases where the Secretary determines it would further the purposes of this section; and

“(ii) farmed wetlands or converted wetlands where the conversion was not commenced prior to December 23, 1985.

“(B) Changes in ownership.—No wetland reserve easement shall be created on land that has changed ownership during the preceding 24-month period unless—

“(i) the new ownership was acquired by will or succession as a result of the death of the previous owner;

“(ii)

(I) the ownership change occurred because of foreclosure on the land; and

“(II) immediately before the foreclosure, the owner of the land exercises a right of redemption from the mortgage holder in accordance with State law; or

“(iii) the Secretary determines that the land was acquired under circumstances that give adequate assurances that such land was not acquired for the purposes of placing it in the program.

“(3) Evaluation and ranking of offers.—

“(A) Criteria.—The Secretary shall establish evaluation and ranking criteria for offers from landowners under this section to maximize the benefit of Federal investment under the program.

“(B) Considerations.—When evaluating offers from landowners, the Secretary may consider—

“(i) the conservation benefits of obtaining a wetland reserve easement, including the potential environmental benefits if the land was removed from agricultural production;

“(ii) the cost effectiveness of each wetland reserve easement, so as to maximize the environmental benefits per dollar expended;

“(iii) whether the landowner or another person is offering to contribute financially to the cost of the wetland reserve easement to leverage Federal funds; and

“(iv) such other factors as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry out the purposes of the program.

“(C) Priority.—The Secretary shall give priority to acquiring wetland reserve easements based on the value of the wetland reserve easement for protecting and enhancing habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.

“(4) Agreement.—To be eligible to place eligible land into the program through a wetland reserve easement, the owner of such land shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary to—

“(A) grant an easement on such land to the Secretary;

“(B) authorize the implementation of a wetland reserve easement plan developed for the eligible land under subsection (f);

“(C) create and record an appropriate deed restriction in accordance with applicable State law to reflect the easement agreed to;

“(D) provide a written statement of consent to such easement signed by those holding a security interest in the land;

“(E) comply with the terms and conditions of the easement and any related agreements; and

“(F) permanently retire any existing base history for the land on which the easement has been obtained.

“(5) Terms and conditions of easement.—

“(A) In general.—A wetland reserve easement shall include terms and conditions that—

“(i) permit—

“(I) repairs, improvements, and inspections on the land that are necessary to maintain existing public drainage systems; and

“(II) owners to control public access on the easement areas while identifying access routes to be used for restoration activities and management and easement monitoring;

“(ii) prohibit—

“(I) the alteration of wildlife habitat and other natural features of such land, unless specifically authorized by the Secretary;

“(II) the spraying of such land with chemicals or the mowing of such land, except where such spraying or mowing is authorized by the Secretary or is necessary—

“(aa) to comply with Federal or State noxious weed control laws;

“(bb) to comply with a Federal or State emergency pest treatment program; or

“(cc) to meet habitat needs of specific wildlife species;

“(III) any activities to be carried out on the owner’s or successor’s land that is immediately adjacent to, and functionally related to, the land that is subject to the easement if such activities will alter, degrade, or otherwise diminish the functional value of the eligible land; and

“(IV) the adoption of any other practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the program, as determined by the Secretary;

“(iii) provide for the efficient and effective establishment of wetland functions and values; and

“(iv) include such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are desirable to carry out the program or facilitate the practical administration thereof.

“(B) Violation.—On the violation of a term or condition of a wetland reserve easement, the wetland reserve easement shall remain in force and the Secretary may require the owner to refund all or part of any payments received by the owner under the program, with interest on the payments as determined appropriate by the Secretary.

“(C) Compatible uses.—Land subject to a wetland reserve easement may be used for compatible economic uses, including such activities as hunting and fishing, managed timber harvest, or periodic haying or grazing, if such use is specifically permitted by the wetland reserve easement plan developed for the land under subsection (f) and is consistent with the long-term protection and enhancement of the wetland resources for which the easement was established.

“(D) Reservation of grazing rights.—The Secretary may include in the terms and conditions of a wetland reserve easement a provision under which the owner reserves grazing rights if—

“(i) the Secretary determines that the reservation and use of the grazing rights—

“(I) is compatible with the land subject to the easement;

“(II) is consistent with the historical natural uses of the land and the long-term protection and enhancement goals for which the easement was established; and

“(III) complies with the wetland reserve easement plan developed for the land under subsection (f); and

“(ii) the agreement provides for a commensurate reduction in the easement payment to account for the grazing value, as determined by the Secretary.

“(6) Compensation.—

“(A) Determination.—

“(i) Permanent easements.—The Secretary shall pay as compensation for a permanent wetland reserve easement acquired under the program an amount necessary to encourage enrollment in the program, based on the lowest of—

“(I) the fair market value of the land, as determined by the Secretary, using the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice or an areawide market analysis or survey;

“(II) the amount corresponding to a geographical cap, as determined by the Secretary in regulations; or

“(III) the offer made by the landowner.

“(ii) Other.—Compensation for a 30-year contract or 30-year wetland reserve easement shall be not less than 50 percent, but not more than 75 percent, of the compensation that would be paid for a permanent wetland reserve easement.

“(B) Form of payment.—Compensation for a wetland reserve easement shall be provided by the Secretary in the form of a cash payment, in an amount determined under subparagraph (A).

“(C) Payment schedule.—

“(i) Easements valued at $500,000 or less.—For wetland reserve easements valued at $500,000 or less, the Secretary may provide payments in not more than 10 annual payments.

“(ii) Easements valued at more than $500,000.—For wetland reserve easements valued at more than $500,000, the Secretary may provide payments in at least 5, but not more than 10 annual payments, except that, if the Secretary determines it would further the purposes of the program, the Secretary may make a lump-sum payment for such an easement.

“(c) Easement Restoration.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary shall provide financial assistance to owners of eligible land to carry out the establishment of conservation measures and practices and protect wetland functions and values, including necessary maintenance activities, as set forth in a wetland reserve easement plan developed for the eligible land under subsection (f).

“(2) Payments.—The Secretary shall—

“(A) in the case of a permanent wetland reserve easement, pay an amount that is not less than 75 percent, but not more than 100 percent, of the eligible costs, as determined by the Secretary; and

“(B) in the case of a 30-year contract or 30-year wetland reserve easement, pay an amount that is not less than 50 percent, but not more than 75 percent, of the eligible costs, as determined by the Secretary.

“(d) Technical Assistance.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary shall assist owners in complying with the terms and conditions of a wetland reserve easement.

“(2) Contracts or agreements.—The Secretary may enter into 1 or more contracts with private entities or agreements with a State, nongovernmental organization, or Indian tribe to carry out necessary restoration, enhancement, or maintenance of a wetland reserve easement if the Secretary determines that the contract or agreement will advance the purposes of the program.

“(e) Wetland Reserve Enhancement Option.—The Secretary may enter into 1 or more agreements with a State (including a political subdivision or agency of a State), nongovernmental organization, or Indian tribe to carry out a special wetland reserve enhancement option that the Secretary determines would advance the purposes of program.

“(f) Administration.—

“(1) Wetland reserve easement plan.—The Secretary shall develop a wetland reserve easement plan for any eligible land subject to a wetland reserve easement, which shall include practices and activities necessary to restore, protect, enhance, and maintain the enrolled land.

“(2) Delegation of easement administration.—

“(A) In general.—The Secretary may delegate any of the management, monitoring, and enforcement responsibilities of the Secretary under this section to other Federal or State agencies that have the appropriate authority, expertise, and resources necessary to carry out such delegated responsibilities, or to conservation organizations if the Secretary determines the organization has similar expertise and resources.

“(B) Limitation.—The Secretary shall not delegate any of the monitoring or enforcement responsibilities under this section to conservation organizations.

“(3) Payments.—

“(A) Timing of payments.—The Secretary shall provide payment for obligations incurred by the Secretary under this section—

“(i) with respect to any easement restoration obligation under subsection (c), as soon as possible after the obligation is incurred; and

“(ii) with respect to any annual easement payment obligation incurred by the Secretary, as soon as possible after October 1 of each calendar year.

“(B) Payments to others.—If an owner who is entitled to a payment under this section dies, becomes incompetent, is otherwise unable to receive such payment, or is succeeded by another person or entity who renders or completes the required performance, the Secretary shall make such payment, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary and without regard to any other provision of law, in such manner as the Secretary determines is fair and reasonable in light of all of the circumstances.

“(g) Application.—The relevant provisions of this section shall also apply to a 30-year contract.

“SEC. 1265D. ADMINISTRATION.

“(a) Ineligible Land.—The Secretary may not use program funds for the purposes of acquiring an easement on—

“(1) lands owned by an agency of the United States, other than land held in trust for Indian tribes;

“(2) lands owned in fee title by a State, including an agency or a subdivision of a State, or a unit of local government;

“(3) land subject to an easement or deed restriction which, as determined by the Secretary, provides similar protection as would be provided by enrollment in the program; or

“(4) lands where the purposes of the program would be undermined due to on-site or off-site conditions, such as risk of hazardous substances, proposed or existing rights of way, infrastructure development, or adjacent land uses.

“(b) Priority.—In evaluating applications under the program, the Secretary may give priority to land that is currently enrolled in the conservation reserve program in a contract that is set to expire within 1 year and—

“(1) in the case of an agricultural land easement, is grassland that would benefit from protection under a long-term easement; and

“(2) in the case of a wetland reserve easement, is a wetland or related area with the highest wetland functions and value and is likely to return to production after the land leaves the conservation reserve program.

“(c) Subordination, Exchange, Modification, and Termination.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary may subordinate, exchange, modify, or terminate any interest in land, or portion of such interest, administered by the Secretary, either directly or on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation under the program if the Secretary determines that—

“(A) it is in the Federal Government’s interest to subordinate, exchange, modify, or terminate the interest in land;

“(B) the subordination, exchange, modification, or termination action—

“(i) will address a compelling public need for which there is no practicable alternative; or

“(ii) such action will further the practical administration of the program; and

“(C) the subordination, exchange, modification, or termination action will result in comparable conservation value and equivalent or greater economic value to the United States.

“(2) Consultation.—The Secretary shall work with the owner, and eligible entity if applicable, to address any subordination, exchange, modification, or termination of the interest, or portion of such interest, in land.

“(3) Notice.—At least 90 days before taking any termination action described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide written notice of such action to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.

“(d) Land Enrolled in Other Programs.—

“(1) Conservation reserve program.—The Secretary may terminate or modify a contract entered into under section 1231(a) if eligible land that is subject to such contract is transferred into the program.

“(2) Other.—In accordance with the provisions of subtitle H of title II of the Agricultural Act of 2014, land enrolled in the wetlands reserve program, grassland reserve program, or farmland protection program on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 shall be considered enrolled in the program.

“(e) Compliance With Certain Requirements.—The Secretary may not provide assistance under this subtitle to an eligible entity or owner of eligible land unless the eligible entity or owner agrees, during the crop year for which the assistance is provided—

“(1) to comply with applicable conservation requirements under subtitle B; and

“(2) to comply with applicable wetland protection requirements under subtitle C.”

(b)

Cross Reference; Calculation.— Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (c)—

(A)

in paragraph (1)—

(i)

by inserting “ and” at the end of subparagraph (A);

(ii)

by striking “ and” at the end of subparagraph (B); and

(iii)

by striking subparagraph (C);

(B)

by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

(C)

by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:

“(2) the agricultural conservation easement program established under subtitle H; and”

; and

(2)

in subsection (f)—

(A)

in paragraph (1)—

(i)

in subparagraph (A), by striking “ programs administered under subchapters B and C of chapter 1 of subtitle D” and inserting “ conservation reserve program established under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D and wetland reserve easements under section 1265C”; and

(ii)

in subparagraph (B), by striking “ an easement acquired under subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D” and inserting “ a wetland reserve easement under section 1265C”;

(B)

by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:

“(4) Exclusions.—

“(A) Shelterbelts and windbreaks.—The limitations established under paragraph (1) shall not apply to cropland that is subject to an easement under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D that is used for the establishment of shelterbelts and windbreaks.

“(B) Wet and saturated soils.—For the purposes of enrolling land in a wetland reserve easement under section 1265C, the limitations established under paragraph (1) shall not apply to cropland designated by the Secretary with subclass w in the land capability classes IV through VIII because of severe use limitations due to soil saturation or inundation.”

; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) Calculation.—In calculating the percentages described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include any acreage that was included in calculations of percentages made under such paragraph, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, and that remains enrolled when the calculation is made after that date under paragraph (1).”

Subtitle E Regional Conservation Partnership Program

SEC. 2401. Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after subtitle H, as added by section 2301, the following new subtitle:

“Subtitle I— Regional Conservation Partnership Program

“SEC. 1271. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES.

“(a) Establishment.—The Secretary shall establish a regional conservation partnership program to implement eligible activities on eligible land through—

“(1) partnership agreements with eligible partners; and

“(2) contracts with producers.

“(b) Purposes.—The purposes of the program are as follows:

“(1) To use covered programs to accomplish purposes and functions similar to those of the following programs, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014:

“(A) The agricultural water enhancement program established under section 1240I.

“(B) The Chesapeake Bay watershed program established under section 1240Q.

“(C) The cooperative conservation partnership initiative established under section 1243.

“(D) The Great Lakes basin program for soil erosion and sediment control established under section 1240P.

“(2) To further the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of soil, water, wildlife, and related natural resources on eligible land on a regional or watershed scale.

“(3) To encourage eligible partners to cooperate with producers in—

“(A) meeting or avoiding the need for national, State, and local natural resource regulatory requirements related to production on eligible land; and

“(B) implementing projects that will result in the installation and maintenance of eligible activities that affect multiple agricultural or nonindustrial private forest operations on a local, regional, State, or multistate basis.

“SEC. 1271A. DEFINITIONS.

“In this subtitle:

“(1) Covered program.—The term ‘covered program’ means the following:

“(A) The agricultural conservation easement program.

“(B) The environmental quality incentives program.

“(C) The conservation stewardship program.

“(D) The healthy forests reserve program established under section 501 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571).

“(2) Eligible activity.—The term ‘eligible activity’ means a conservation activity for any of the following:

“(A) Water quality restoration or enhancement projects, including nutrient management and sediment reduction.

“(B) Water quantity conservation, restoration, or enhancement projects relating to surface water and groundwater resources, including—

“(i) the conversion of irrigated cropland to the production of less water-intensive agricultural commodities or dryland farming; or

“(ii) irrigation system improvement and irrigation efficiency enhancement.

“(C) Drought mitigation.

“(D) Flood prevention.

“(E) Water retention.

“(F) Air quality improvement.

“(G) Habitat conservation, restoration, and enhancement.

“(H) Erosion control and sediment reduction.

“(I) Forest restoration.

“(J) Other related activities that the Secretary determines will help achieve conservation benefits.

“(3) Eligible land.—

“(A) In general.—The term ‘eligible land’ means—

“(i) land on which agricultural commodities, livestock, or forest-related products are produced; and

“(ii) lands associated with the lands described in clause (i).

“(B) Inclusions.—The term ‘eligible land’ includes—

“(i) cropland;

“(ii) grassland;

“(iii) rangeland;

“(iv) pastureland;

“(v) nonindustrial private forest land; and

“(vi) other land incidental to agricultural production (including wetlands and riparian buffers) on which significant natural resource issues could be addressed under the program.

“(4) Eligible partner.—The term ‘eligible partner’ means any of the following:

“(A) An agricultural or silvicultural producer association or other group of producers.

“(B) A State or unit of local government.

“(C) An Indian tribe.

“(D) A farmer cooperative.

“(E) A water district, irrigation district, rural water district or association, or other organization with specific water delivery authority to producers on agricultural land.

“(F) A municipal water or wastewater treatment entity.

“(G) An institution of higher education.

“(H) An organization or entity with an established history of working cooperatively with producers on agricultural land, as determined by the Secretary, to address—

“(i) local conservation priorities related to agricultural production, wildlife habitat development, or nonindustrial private forest land management; or

“(ii) critical watershed-scale soil erosion, water quality, sediment reduction, or other natural resource issues.

“(5) Partnership agreement.—The term ‘partnership agreement’ means an agreement entered into under section 1271B between the Secretary and an eligible partner.

“(6) Program.—The term ‘program’ means the regional conservation partnership program established by this subtitle.

“SEC. 1271B. REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS.

“(a) Partnership Agreements Authorized.—The Secretary may enter into a partnership agreement with an eligible partner to implement a project that will assist producers with installing and maintaining an eligible activity on eligible land.

“(b) Length.—A partnership agreement shall be for a period not to exceed 5 years, except that the Secretary may extend the agreement one time for up to 12 months when an extension is necessary to meet the objectives of the program.

“(c) Duties of Partners.—

“(1) In general.—Under a partnership agreement, the eligible partner shall—

“(A) define the scope of a project, including—

“(i) the eligible activities to be implemented;

“(ii) the potential agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land operations affected;

“(iii) the local, State, multistate, or other geographic area covered; and

“(iv) the planning, outreach, implementation, and assessment to be conducted;

“(B) conduct outreach and education to producers for potential participation in the project;

“(C) at the request of a producer, act on behalf of a producer participating in the project in applying for assistance under section 1271C;

“(D) leverage financial or technical assistance provided by the Secretary with additional funds to help achieve the project objectives;

“(E) conduct an assessment of the project’s effects; and

“(F) at the conclusion of the project, report to the Secretary on its results and funds leveraged.

“(2) Contribution.—An eligible partner shall provide a significant portion of the overall costs of the scope of the project that is the subject of the agreement entered into under subsection (a), as determined by the Secretary.

“(d) Applications.—

“(1) Competitive process.—The Secretary shall conduct a competitive process to select applications for partnership agreements and may assess and rank applications with similar conservation purposes as a group.

“(2) Criteria used.—In carrying out the process described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make public the criteria used in evaluating applications.

“(3) Content.—An application to the Secretary shall include a description of—

“(A) the scope of the project, as described in subsection (c)(1)(A);

“(B) the plan for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on progress made toward achieving the project’s objectives;

“(C) the program resources requested for the project, including the covered programs to be used and estimated funding needed from the Secretary;

“(D) each eligible partner collaborating to achieve project objectives, including their roles, responsibilities, capabilities, and financial contribution; and

“(E) any other elements the Secretary considers necessary to adequately evaluate and competitively select applications for funding under the program.

“(4) Priority to certain applications.—The Secretary may give a higher priority to applications that—

“(A) assist producers in meeting or avoiding the need for a natural resource regulatory requirement;

“(B) have a high percentage of producers in the area to be covered by the agreement;

“(C) significantly leverage non-Federal financial and technical resources and coordinate with other local, State, or national efforts;

“(D) deliver high percentages of applied conservation to address conservation priorities or regional, State, or national conservation initiatives;

“(E) provide innovation in conservation methods and delivery, including outcome-based performance measures and methods; or

“(F) meet other factors that are important for achieving the purposes of the program, as determined by the Secretary.

“SEC. 1271C. ASSISTANCE TO PRODUCERS.

“(a) In General.—The Secretary shall enter into contracts with producers to provide financial and technical assistance to—

“(1) producers participating in a project with an eligible partner; or

“(2) producers that fit within the scope of a project described in section 1271B or a critical conservation area designated under section 1271F, but who are seeking to implement an eligible activity on eligible land independent of an eligible partner.

“(b) Terms and Conditions.—

“(1) Consistency with program rules.—

“(A) In general.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B) and paragraph (2), the Secretary shall ensure that the terms and conditions of a contract under this section are consistent with the applicable rules of the covered programs to be used as part of the partnership agreement, as described in the application under section 1271B(d)(3)(C).

“(B) Adjustments.—

“(i) In general.—The Secretary may adjust the rules of a covered program, including—

“(I) operational guidance and requirements for a covered program at the discretion of the Secretary so as to provide a simplified application and evaluation process; and

“(II) nonstatutory, regulatory rules or provisions to better reflect unique local circumstances and purposes if the Secretary determines such adjustments are necessary to achieve the purposes of the covered program.

“(ii) Limitation.—The Secretary shall not adjust the application of statutory requirements for a covered program, including requirements governing appeals, payment limits, and conservation compliance.

“(iii) Irrigation.—In States where irrigation has not been used significantly for agricultural purposes, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary shall not limit eligibility under section 1271B or this section on the basis of prior irrigation history.

“(2) Alternative funding arrangements.—

“(A) In general.—For the purposes of providing assistance for land described in subsection (a) and section 1271F, the Secretary may enter into alternative funding arrangements with a multistate water resource agency or authority if—

“(i) the Secretary determines that the goals and objectives of the program will be met by the alternative funding arrangements;

“(ii) the agency or authority certifies that the limitations established under this section on agreements with individual producers will not be exceeded; and

“(iii) all participating producers meet applicable payment eligibility provisions.

“(B) Conditions.—As a condition of receiving funding under subparagraph (A), the multistate water resource agency or authority shall agree—

“(i) to submit an annual independent audit to the Secretary that describes the use of funds under this paragraph;

“(ii) to provide any data necessary for the Secretary to issue a report on the use of funds under this paragraph; and

“(iii) not to use any of the funds provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) for administration or to provide for administrative costs through contracts with another entity.

“(C) Limitation.—The Secretary may enter into not more than 20 alternative funding arrangements under this paragraph.

“(c) Payments.—

“(1) In general.—In accordance with statutory requirements of the covered programs involved, 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 1001D(b)(2) of this Act for participating producers if the Secretary determines that the waiver is necessary to fulfill the objectives of the program.

“SEC. 1271D. FUNDING.

“(a) Availability of Funds.—The Secretary shall use $100,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out the program.

“(b) Duration of Availability.—Funds made available under subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.

“(c) Additional Funding and Acres.—

“(1) In general.—In addition to the funds made available under subsection (a), the Secretary shall reserve 7 percent of the funds and acres made available for a covered program for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 in order to ensure additional resources are available to carry out this program.

“(2) Unused funds and acres.—Any funds or acres reserved under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year from a covered program that are not committed under this program by April 1 of that fiscal year shall be returned for use under the covered program.

“(d) Allocation of Funding.—Of the funds and acres made available for the program under subsection (a) and reserved for the program under subsection (c), the Secretary shall allocate—

“(1) 25 percent of the funds and acres to projects based on a State competitive process administered by the State Conservationist, with the advice of the State technical committee established under subtitle G;

“(2) 40 percent of the funds and acres to projects based on a national competitive process to be established by the Secretary; and

“(3) 35 percent of the funds and acres to projects for critical conservation areas designated under section 1271F.

“(e) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.—None of the funds made available or reserved for the program may be used to pay for the administrative expenses of eligible partners.

“SEC. 1271E. ADMINISTRATION.

“(a) Disclosure.—In addition to the criteria used in evaluating applications as described in section 1271B(d)(2), the Secretary shall make publicly available information on projects selected through the competitive process described in section 1271B(d)(1).

“(b) Reporting.—Not later than December 31, 2014, and every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on the status of projects funded under the program, including—

“(1) the number and types of eligible partners and producers participating in the partnership agreements selected;

“(2) the number of producers receiving assistance;

“(3) total funding committed to projects, including from Federal and non-Federal resources; and

“(4) a description of how the funds under section 1271C(b)(2) are being administered, including—

“(A) any oversight mechanisms that the Secretary has implemented;

“(B) the process through which the Secretary is resolving appeals by program participants; and

“(C) the means by which the Secretary is tracking adherence to any applicable provisions for payment eligibility.

“SEC. 1271F. CRITICAL CONSERVATION AREAS.

“(a) In General.—In administering funds under section 1271D(d)(3), the Secretary shall select applications for partnership agreements and producer contracts within critical conservation areas designated under this section.

“(b) Critical Conservation Area Designations.—

“(1) Priority.—In designating critical conservation areas under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to geographical areas based on the degree to which the geographical area—

“(A) includes multiple States with significant agricultural production;

“(B) is covered by an existing regional, State, binational, or multistate agreement or plan that has established objectives, goals, and work plans and is adopted by a Federal, State, or regional authority;

“(C) would benefit from water quality improvement, including through reducing erosion, promoting sediment control, and addressing nutrient management activities affecting large bodies of water of regional, national, or international significance;

“(D) would benefit from water quantity improvement, including improvement relating to—

“(i) groundwater, surface water, aquifer, or other water sources; or

“(ii) a need to promote water retention and flood prevention; or

“(E) contains producers that need assistance in meeting or avoiding the need for a natural resource regulatory requirement that could have a negative impact on the economic scope of the agricultural operations within the area.

“(2) Expiration.—Critical conservation area designations under this section shall expire after 5 years, subject to redesignation, except that the Secretary may withdraw designation from an area if the Secretary finds the area no longer meets the conditions described in paragraph (1).

“(3) Limitation.—The Secretary may not designate more than 8 geographical areas as critical conservation areas under this section.

“(c) Administration.—

“(1) In general.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall administer any partnership agreement or producer contract under this section in a manner that is consistent with the terms of the program.

“(2) Relationship to existing activity.—The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that eligible activities carried out in critical conservation areas designated under this section complement and are consistent with other Federal and State programs and water quality and quantity strategies.

“(3) Additional authority.—For a critical conservation area described in subsection (b)(1)(D), the Secretary may use authorities under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), other than section 14 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1012), to carry out projects for the purposes of this section.”

Subtitle F Other Conservation Programs

SEC. 2501. Conservation of Private Grazing Land.

Section 1240M(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb(e)) is amended by striking “ 2012” and inserting “ 2018”.

SEC. 2502. Grassroots Source Water Protection Program.

Section 1240O(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–2(b)) is amended to read as follows:

“(b) Funding.—

“(1) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2018.

“(2) Availability of funds.—In addition to funds made available under paragraph (1), of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.”

SEC. 2503. Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program.

(a)

Funding.— Section 1240R(f)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–5(f)(1)) is amended—

(1)

in the heading, by striking “ Fiscal years 2009 through 2012” and inserting “ Mandatory funding”; and

(2)

by inserting “ and $40,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2014 through 2018” before the period at the end.

(b)

Report on Program Effectiveness.— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report evaluating the effectiveness of the voluntary public access and habitat incentive program established by section 1240R of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–5), including—

(1)

identifying cooperating agencies;

(2)

identifying the number of land holdings and total acres enrolled by State;

(3)

evaluating the extent of improved access on eligible land, improved wildlife habitat, and related economic benefits; and

(4)

any other relevant information and data relating to the program that would be helpful to such Committees.

SEC. 2504. Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services Program.

Subsection (c)(2) of section 1252 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3851) is amended to read as follows:

“(2) Exclusion.—Funds made available to carry out the conservation reserve program may not be used to carry out the ACES program.”

SEC. 2505. Small Watershed Rehabilitation Program.

(a)

Availability of Funds.— Section 14(h)(1) of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1012(h)(1)) is amended—

(1)

in subparagraph (E), by striking “ ; and” and inserting a semicolon;

(2)

in subparagraph (F), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon;

(3)

in subparagraph (G), by striking the period and inserting “ ; and”; and

(4)

by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(H) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2014, to remain available until expended.”

(b)

Authorization of Appropriations.— Section 14(h)(2)(E) of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1012(h)(2)(E)) is amended by striking “ 2012” and inserting “ 2018”.

SEC. 2506. Emergency Watershed Protection Program.

Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is amended—

(1)

by striking “ Sec. 403. The Secretary” and inserting the following:

“SEC. 403. EMERGENCY MEASURES.

“(a) In General.—The Secretary”

; and

(2)

by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Floodplain Easements.—

“(1) Modification and termination.—The Secretary may modify or terminate a floodplain easement administered by the Secretary under this section if—

“(A) the current owner agrees to the modification or termination; and

“(B) the Secretary determines that the modification or termination—

“(i) will address a compelling public need for which there is no practicable alternative; and

“(ii) is in the public interest.

“(2) Consideration.—

“(A) Termination.—As consideration for termination of an easement and associated agreements under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall enter into compensatory arrangements as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary.

“(B) Modification.—In the case of a modification under paragraph (1)—

“(i) as a condition of the modification, the current owner shall enter into a compensatory arrangement (as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary) to incur the costs of modification; and

“(ii) the Secretary shall ensure that—

“(I) the modification will not adversely affect the floodplain functions and values for which the easement was acquired;

“(II) any adverse impacts will be mitigated by enrollment and restoration of other land that provides greater floodplain functions and values at no additional cost to the Federal Government; and

“(III) the modification will result in equal or greater environmental and economic values to the United States.”

SEC. 2507. Terminal Lakes.

Section 2507 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (43 U.S.C. 2211 note; Public Law 107–171) is amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 2507. TERMINAL LAKES ASSISTANCE.

“(a) Definitions.—In this section:

“(1) Eligible land.—The term ‘eligible land’ means privately owned agricultural land (including land in which a State has a property interest as a result of State water law)—

“(A) that a landowner voluntarily agrees to sell to a State; and

“(B) which—

“(i)

(I) is ineligible for enrollment as a wetland reserve easement established under the agricultural conservation easement program under subtitle H of the Food Security Act of 1985;

“(II) is flooded to—

“(aa) an average depth of at least 6.5 feet; or

“(bb) a level below which the State determines the management of the water level is beyond the control of the State or landowner; or

“(III) is inaccessible for agricultural use due to the flooding of adjoining property (such as islands of agricultural land created by flooding);

“(ii) is located within a watershed with water rights available for lease or purchase; and

“(iii) has been used during at least 5 of the immediately preceding 30 years—

“(I) to produce crops or hay; or

“(II) as livestock pasture or grazing.

“(2) Program.—The term ‘program’ means the voluntary land purchase program established under this section.

“(3) Terminal lake.—The term ‘terminal lake’ means a lake and its associated riparian and watershed resources that is—

“(A) considered flooded because there is no natural outlet for water accumulating in the lake or the associated riparian area such that the watershed and surrounding land is consistently flooded; or

“(B) considered terminal because it has no natural outlet and is at risk due to a history of consistent Federal assistance to address critical resource conditions, including insufficient water available to meet the needs of the lake, general uses, and water rights.

“(b) Assistance.—The Secretary shall—

“(1) provide grants under subsection (c) for the purchase of eligible land impacted by a terminal lake described in subsection (a)(3)(A); and

“(2) provide funds to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to subsection (e)(2) with assistance in accordance with subsection (d) for terminal lakes described in subsection (a)(3)(B).

“(c) Land Purchase Grants.—

“(1) In general.—Using funds provided under subsection (e)(1), the Secretary shall make available land purchase grants to States for the purchase of eligible land in accordance with this subsection.

“(2) Implementation.—

“(A) Amount.—A land purchase grant shall be in an amount not to exceed the lesser of—

“(i) 50 percent of the total purchase price per acre of the eligible land; or

“(ii)

(I) in the case of eligible land that was used to produce crops or hay, $400 per acre; and

“(II) in the case of eligible land that was pasture or grazing land, $200 per acre.

“(B) Determination of purchase price.—A State purchasing eligible land with a land purchase grant shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the purchase price of such land reflects the value, if any, of other encumbrances on the eligible land to be purchased, including easements and mineral rights.

“(C) Cost-share required.—To be eligible to receive a land purchase grant, a State shall provide matching non-Federal funds in an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount described in subparagraph (A), including additional non-Federal funds.

“(D) Conditions.—To receive a land purchase grant, a State shall agree—

“(i) to ensure that any eligible land purchased is—

“(I) conveyed in fee simple to the State; and

“(II) free from mortgages or other liens at the time title is transferred;

“(ii) to maintain ownership of the eligible land in perpetuity;

“(iii) to pay (from funds other than grant dollars awarded) any costs associated with the purchase of eligible land under this section, including surveys and legal fees; and

“(iv) to keep eligible land in a conserving use, as defined by the Secretary.

“(E) Loss of federal benefits.—Eligible land purchased with a grant under this section shall lose eligibility for any benefits under other Federal programs, including—

“(i) benefits under title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.);

“(ii) benefits under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and

“(iii) covered benefits described in section 1001D(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a).

“(F) Prohibition.—Any Federal rights or benefits associated with eligible land prior to purchase by a State may not be transferred to any other land or person in anticipation of or as a result of such purchase.

“(d) Water Assistance.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, may use the funds described in subsection (e)(2) to administer and provide financial assistance to carry out this subsection to provide water and assistance to a terminal lake described in subsection (a)(3)(B) through willing sellers or willing participants only—

“(A) to lease water;

“(B) to purchase land, water appurtenant to the land, and related interests; and

“(C) to carry out research, support, and conservation activities for associated fish, wildlife, plant, and habitat resources.

“(2) Exclusions.—The Secretary of the Interior may not use this subsection to deliver assistance to the Great Salt Lake in Utah, lakes that are considered dry lakes, or other lakes that do not meet the purposes of this section, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.

“(3) Transitional provision.—

“(A) In general.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any funds made available before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 under a provision of law described in subparagraph (B) shall remain available using the provisions of law (including regulations) in effect on the day before the date of enactment of that Act.

“(B) Described laws.—The provisions of law described in this section are—

“(i) section 2507 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (43 U.S.C. 2211 note; Public Law 107–171) (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014);

“(ii) section 207 of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public Law 108–7; 117 Stat. 146);

“(iii) section 208 of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–103; 119 Stat. 2268, 123 Stat. 2856); and

“(iv) section 208 of the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–85; 123 Stat. 2858, 123 Stat. 2967, 125 Stat. 867).

“(e) Funding.—

“(1) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out subsection (c) $25,000,000, to remain available until expended.

“(2) Commodity credit corporation.—As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, the Secretary shall transfer to the ‘Bureau of Reclamation—Water and Related Resources’ account $150,000,000 from the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out subsection (d), to remain available until expended.”

SEC. 2508. Soil and Water Resources Conservation.

(a)

Congressional Policy and Declaration of Purpose.— Section 4 of the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2003) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (b), by inserting “ and tribal” after “ State” each place it appears; and

(2)

in subsection (c)(2), by inserting “ , tribal,” after “ State”.

(b)

Continuing Appraisal of Soil, Water, and Related Resources.— Section 5 of the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2004) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a)(4), by striking “ and State” and inserting “ , State, and tribal”;

(2)

in subsection (b), by inserting “ , tribal” after “ State” each place it appears; and

(3)

in subsection (c)—

(A)

by striking “ State soil” and inserting “ State and tribal soil”; and

(B)

by striking “ local” and inserting “ local, tribal,”.

(c)

Soil and Water Conservation Program.— Section 6(a) of the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2005(a)) is amended—

(1)

by inserting “ , tribal,” after “ State” the first place it appears;

(2)

by inserting “ , tribal” after “ State” each other place it appears; and

(3)

by inserting “ , tribal,” after “ private”.

(d)

Utilization of Available Information and Data.— Section 9 of the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2008) is amended by inserting “ , tribal” after “ State”.

Subtitle G Funding and Administration

SEC. 2601. Funding.

(a)

In General.— Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

“(a) Annual Funding.—For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the following programs under this title (including the provision of technical assistance):

“(1) The conservation reserve program under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D, including, to the maximum extent practicable—

“(A) $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to provide payments under section 1234(c); and

“(B) $33,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out section 1235(f) to facilitate the transfer of land subject to contracts from retired or retiring owners and operators to beginning farmers or ranchers and socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.

“(2) The agricultural conservation easement program under subtitle H using to the maximum extent practicable—

“(A) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;

“(B) $425,000,000 for fiscal year 2015;

“(C) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2016;

“(D) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; and

“(E) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2018.

“(3) The conservation security program under subchapter A of chapter 2 of subtitle D, using such sums as are necessary to administer contracts entered into before September 30, 2008.

“(4) The conservation stewardship program under subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D.

“(5) The environmental quality incentives program under chapter 4 of subtitle D, using, to the maximum extent practicable—

“(A) $1,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;

“(B) $1,600,000,000 for fiscal year 2015;

“(C) $1,650,000,000 for fiscal year 2016;

“(D) $1,650,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; and

“(E) $1,750,000,000 for fiscal year 2018.”

(b)

Guaranteed Availability of Funds.— Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended—

(1)

by redesignating subsections (b) through (h) as subsections (c) through (i), respectively;

(2)

by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

“(b) Availability of Funds.—Amounts made available by subsection (a) for fiscal years 2014 through 2018 shall be used by the Secretary to carry out the programs specified in such subsection and shall remain available until expended.”

; and

(3)

in subsection (d) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), by striking “ subsection (b)” and inserting “ subsection (c)”.

SEC. 2602. Technical Assistance.

Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended by striking subsection (c) (as redesignated by section 2601(b)(1)) and inserting the following:

“(c) Technical Assistance.—

“(1) Availability.—Commodity Credit Corporation funds made available for a fiscal year for each of the programs specified in subsection (a)—

“(A) shall be available for the provision of technical assistance for the programs for which funds are made available as necessary to implement the programs effectively;

“(B) except for technical assistance for the conservation reserve program under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D, shall be apportioned for the provision of technical assistance in the amount determined by the Secretary, at the sole discretion of the Secretary; and

“(C) shall not be available for the provision of technical assistance for conservation programs specified in subsection (a) other than the program for which the funds were made available.

“(2) Priority.—

“(A) In general.—In the delivery of technical assistance under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590a et seq.), the Secretary shall give priority to producers who request technical assistance from the Secretary in order to comply for the first time with the requirements of subtitle B and subtitle C of this title as a result of the amendments made by section 2611 of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

“(B) Report.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report regarding the extent to which the conservation compliance requirements contained in the amendments made by section 2611 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 apply to and impact specialty crop growers, including national analysis and surveys to determine the extent of specialty crop acreage that includes highly erodible land and wetlands.

“(3) Report.—Not later than December 31, 2014, the Secretary shall submit (and update as necessary in subsequent years) to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report—

“(A) detailing the amount of technical assistance funds requested and apportioned in each program specified in subsection (a) during the preceding fiscal year; and

“(B) any other data relating to this provision that would be helpful to such Committees.

“(4) Compliance report.—Not later than November 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that includes—

“(A) a description of the extent to which the requests for highly erodible land conservation and wetland compliance determinations are being addressed in a timely manner;

“(B) the total number of requests completed in the previous fiscal year;

“(C) the incomplete determinations on record; and

“(D) the number of requests that are still outstanding more than 1 year since the date on which the requests were received from the producer.”

SEC. 2603. Regional Equity.

Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended by striking subsection (e) (as redesignated by section 2601(b)(1)) and inserting the following:

“(e) Regional Equity.—

“(1) Equitable distribution.—When determining funding allocations each fiscal year, the Secretary shall, after considering available funding and program demand in each State, provide a distribution of funds for conservation programs under subtitle D (excluding the conservation reserve program under subchapter B of chapter 1), subtitle H, and subtitle I to ensure equitable program participation proportional to historical funding allocations and usage by all States.

“(2) Minimum percentage.—In determining the specific funding allocations under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

“(A) ensure that during the first quarter of each fiscal year each State has the opportunity to establish that the State can use an aggregate allocation amount of at least 0.6 percent of the funds made available for those conservation programs; and

“(B) for each State that can so establish, provide an aggregate amount of at least 0.6 percent of the funds made available for those conservation programs.”

SEC. 2604. Reservation of Funds to Provide Assistance to Certain Farmers or Ranchers for Conservation Access.

Subsection (h) of section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) (as redesignated by section 2601(b)(1)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1) by striking “ 2012” and inserting “ 2018”; and

(2)

by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(4) Preference.—In providing assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to a veteran farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))) that qualifies under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1).”

SEC. 2605. Annual Report on Program Enrollments and Assistance.

Subsection (i) of section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) (as redesignated by section 2601(b)(1)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by striking “ wetlands reserve program” and inserting “ agricultural conservation easement program”;

(2)

by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively;

(3)

in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)—

(A)

by striking “ agricultural water enhancement program” and inserting “ regional conservation partnership program”; and

(B)

by striking “ 1240I(g)” and inserting “ 1271C(c)(3)”; and

(4)

by adding at the end the following:

“(5) Payments made under the conservation stewardship program.

“(6) Exceptions provided by the Secretary under section 1265B(b)(2)(C).”

SEC. 2606. Administrative Requirements Applicable to All Conservation Programs.

Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(E) Veteran farmers or ranchers (as defined in section 2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))).”

(2)

in subsection (d), by inserting “ , H, and I” before the period at the end;

(3)

in subsection (f)—

(A)

in paragraph (1)(B), by striking “ country” and inserting “ county”; and

(B)

in paragraph (3), by striking “ subsection (c)(2)(B) or (f)(4)” and inserting “ subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii) or (g)(2)”;

(4)

in subsection (h)(2), by inserting “ , including, to the extent practicable, practices that maximize benefits for honey bees” after “ pollinators”; and

(5)

by adding at the end the following new subsections:

“(j) Improved Administrative Efficiency and Effectiveness.—In administrating a conservation program under this title, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable—

“(1) seek to reduce administrative burdens and costs to producers by streamlining conservation planning and program resources; and

“(2) take advantage of new technologies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

“(k) Relation to Other Payments.—Any payment received by an owner or operator under this title, including an easement payment or rental payment, shall be in addition to, and not affect, the total amount of payments that the owner or operator is otherwise eligible to receive under any of the following:

“(1) This Act.

“(2) The Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.).

“(3) The Agricultural Act of 2014.

“(4) Any law that succeeds a law specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).

“(l) Funding for Indian Tribes.—In carrying out the conservation stewardship program under subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D and the environmental quality incentives program under chapter 4 of subtitle D, the Secretary may enter into alternative funding arrangements with Indian tribes if the Secretary determines that the goals and objectives of the programs will be met by such arrangements, and that statutory limitations regarding contracts with individual producers will not be exceeded by any tribal member.”

SEC. 2607. Standards for State Technical Committees.

Section 1261(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3861(b)) is amended by striking “ Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, the Secretary shall develop” and inserting “ The Secretary shall review and update as necessary”.

SEC. 2608. Rulemaking Authority.

Subtitle E of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“SEC. 1246. REGULATIONS.

“(a) In General.—The Secretary shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement programs under this title, including such regulations as the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable application of the limitations established under section 1244(f).

“(b) Rulemaking Procedure.—The promulgation of regulations and administration of programs under this title—

“(1) shall be carried out without regard to chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the Paperwork Reduction Act); and

“(2) shall be made as an interim rule effective on publication with an opportunity for notice and comment.

“(c) Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking.—In promulgating regulations under this section, the Secretary shall use the authority provided under section 808 of title 5, United States Code.”

SEC. 2609. Wetlands Mitigation.

Section 1222(k) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3822(k)) is amended to read as follows:

“(k) Mitigation Banking.—

“(1) Mitigation banking program.—

“(A) In general.—Using authorities available to the Secretary, the Secretary shall operate a program or work with third parties to establish mitigation banks to assist persons in complying with the provisions of this section while mitigating any loss of wetland values and functions.

“(B) Funding.—Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use $10,000,000, to remain available until expended, to carry out this paragraph.

“(2) Applicability.—Subsection (f)(2)(C) shall not apply to this subsection.

“(3) Policy and criteria.—The Secretary shall develop the appropriate policy and criteria that will allow willing persons to access existing mitigation banks, under this section or any other authority, that will serve the purposes of this section without requiring the Secretary to hold an easement, in whole or in part, in a mitigation bank.”

SEC. 2610. Lesser Prairie-Chicken Conservation Report.

(a)

In General.— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report containing the results of a review and analysis of each of the activities (including those administered by the Secretary) that pertain to the conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken, including the conservation reserve program, the environmental quality incentives program, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances for Oil and Gas, and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan.

(b)

Contents.— The Secretary shall include in the report required by this section, at a minimum—

(1)

with respect to each activity described in subsection (a) as it relates to the conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken, findings regarding—

(A)

the cost of the activity to the Federal Government, impacted State governments, and the private sector;

(B)

the conservation effectiveness of the activity; and

(C)

the cost effectiveness of the activity; and

(2)

a ranking of the activities described in subsection (a) based on their relative cost effectiveness.

SEC. 2611. Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation for Crop Insurance.

(a)

Highly Erodible Land Program Ineligibility.—

(1)

In general.— Section 1211(a)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811(a)(1)) is amended—

(A)

in subparagraph (C), by striking “ or” at the end;

(B)

in subparagraph (D), by adding “ or” at the end; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

“(E) any portion of the premium paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation for a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), on the condition that if a person is determined to have committed a violation under this subsection during a crop year, ineligibility under this subparagraph shall—

“(i) only apply to reinsurance years subsequent to the date of final determination of a violation, including all administrative appeals; and

“(ii) not apply to the existing reinsurance year or any reinsurance year prior to the date of final determination;”

(2)

Exemptions.— Section 1212(a)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812(a)(2)) is amended—

(A)

in the first sentence, by striking “ (2) If,” and inserting the following:

“(2) Eligibility based on compliance with conservation plan.—

“(A) In general.—If,”

(B)

in the second sentence, by striking “ In carrying” and inserting the following:

“(B) Minimization of documentation.—In carrying”

; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

“(C) Crop insurance.—

“(i) Operations new to compliance.—Notwithstanding section 1211(a), in the case of a person that is subject to section 1211 for the first time solely due to the amendment made by section 2611(a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014, any person who produces an agricultural commodity on the land that is the basis of the payments described in section 1211(a)(1)(E) shall have 5 reinsurance years after the date on which such payments become subject to section 1211 to develop and comply with an approved conservation plan so as to maintain eligibility for such payments.

“(ii) Existing operations with prior violations.—Notwithstanding section 1211(a), in the case of a person that the Secretary determines would have been in violation of section 1211(a) if the person had continued participation in the programs requiring compliance at any time after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 and is currently in violation of section 1211(a), the person shall have 2 reinsurance years after the date on which the payments described in section 1211(a)(1)(E) become subject to section 1211 to develop and comply with an approved conservation plan, as determined by the Secretary, so as to maintain eligibility for such payments.

“(iii) Applicable reinsurance year.—Ineligibility for the payment described in section 1211(a)(1)(E) for a violation under this subparagraph during a crop year shall—

“(I) only apply to reinsurance years subsequent to the date of a final determination of a violation, including all administrative appeals; and

“(II) not apply to the existing reinsurance year or any reinsurance year prior to the date of the final determination.”

(3)

Crop insurance premium assistance.— Section 1213(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812a(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(4) Crop insurance premium assistance.—For the purpose of determining the eligibility of a person for the payment described in section 1211(a)(1)(E), the Secretary shall apply the procedures described in section 1221(c)(3)(E) and coordinate the certification process so as to avoid duplication or unnecessary paperwork.”

(b)

Wetland Conservation Program Ineligibility.— Section 1221 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3821) is amended—

(1)

by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and

(2)

by inserting after subsection (b) the following:

“(c) Ineligibility for Crop Insurance Premium Assistance.—

“(1) Requirements.—

“(A) In general.—If a person is determined to have committed a violation under subsection (a) or (d) during a crop year, the person shall be ineligible to receive any payment of any portion of premium paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation for a plan or policy of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) pursuant to this subsection.

“(B) Applicability.—Ineligibility under this subsection shall—

“(i) only apply to reinsurance years subsequent to the date of a final determination of a violation, including all administrative appeals; and

“(ii) not apply to the existing reinsurance year or any reinsurance year prior to the date of the final determination.

“(2) Conversions.—

“(A) In general.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), ineligibility for crop insurance premium assistance shall apply in accordance with this paragraph.

“(B) New conversions.—In the case of a wetland that the Secretary determines was converted after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014—

“(i) the person shall be ineligible to receive crop insurance premium subsidies in subsequent reinsurance years unless the Secretary determines that an exemption pursuant to section 1222 applies; or

“(ii) for any violation that the Secretary determines impacts less than 5 acres of an entire farm, the person may pay a contribution in an amount equal to 150 percent of the cost of mitigation, as determined by the Secretary, to the fund described in section 1241(f) for wetland restoration in lieu of ineligibility to receive crop insurance premium assistance.

“(C) Prior conversions.—In the case of a wetland that the Secretary determines was converted prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, ineligibility under this subsection shall not apply.

“(D) Conversions and new policies or plans of insurance.—In the case of an agricultural commodity for which an individual policy or plan of insurance is available for the first time to the person after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014—

“(i) ineligibility shall apply only to conversions that take place after the date on which the policy or plan of insurance first becomes available to the person; and

“(ii) the person shall take such steps as the Secretary determines appropriate to mitigate any prior conversion in a timely manner but not to exceed 2 reinsurance years.

“(3) Limitations.—

“(A) Mitigation required.—Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, a person subject to a final determination, including all administrative appeals, of a violation described in subsection (d) shall have 1 reinsurance year to initiate a mitigation plan to remedy the violation, as determined by the Secretary, before becoming ineligible under this subsection in the following reinsurance year to receive any payment of any portion of the premium paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation for a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).

“(B) Persons covered for the first time.—Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (1), in the case of a person that is subject to this subsection for the first time solely due to the amendment made by section 2611(b) of the Agricultural Act of 2014, the person shall have 2 reinsurance years after the reinsurance year in which a final determination is made, including all administrative appeals, of a violation described in this subsection to take such steps as the Secretary determines appropriate to remedy or mitigate the violation in accordance with this subsection.

“(C) Good faith.—If the Secretary determines that a person subject to a final determination, including all administrative appeals, of a violation described in this subsection acted in good faith and without intent to commit a violation described in this subsection as described in section 1222(h), the person shall have 2 reinsurance years to take such steps as the Secretary determines appropriate to remedy or mitigate the violation in accordance with this subsection.

“(D) Tenant relief.—

“(i) In general.—If a tenant is determined to be ineligible for payments and other benefits under this subsection, the Secretary may limit the ineligibility only to the farm that is the basis for the ineligibility determination if the tenant has established, to the satisfaction of the Secretary that—

“(I) the tenant has made a good faith effort to meet the requirements of this section, including enlisting the assistance of the Secretary to obtain a reasonable plan for restoration or mitigation for the farm;

“(II) the landlord on the farm refuses to comply with the plan on the farm; and

“(III) the Secretary determines that the lack of compliance is not a part of a scheme or device to avoid the compliance.

“(ii) Report.—The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an annual report concerning the ineligibility determinations limited during the previous 12-month period under this subparagraph.

“(E) Certificate of compliance.—

“(i) In general.—Beginning with the first full reinsurance year immediately following the date of enactment of this paragraph, all persons seeking eligibility for the payment of a portion of the premium paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation for a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) shall provide certification of compliance with this section as determined by the Secretary.

“(ii) Timely evaluation.—The Secretary shall evaluate the certification in a timely manner and—

“(I) a person who has properly complied with certification shall be held harmless with regard to eligibility during the period of evaluation; and

“(II) if the Secretary fails to evaluate the certification in a timely manner and the person is subsequently found to be in violation of this subsection, ineligibility shall not apply to the person for that violation.

“(iii) Equitable contribution.—

“(I) In general.—If a person fails to notify the Secretary as required and is subsequently found to be in violation of this subsection, the Secretary shall—

“(aa) determine the amount of an equitable contribution to conservation by the person for the violation; and

“(bb) deposit the contribution in the fund described in section 1241(f).

“(II) Limitation.—The contribution shall not exceed the total of the portion of the premium paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation for a policy or plan of insurance for all years the person is determined to have been in violation subsequent to the date on which certification was first required under this subparagraph.

“(4) Duties of the secretary.—

“(A) In general.—In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall use existing processes and procedures for certifying compliance.

“(B) Responsibility.—The Secretary, acting through the agencies of the Department of Agriculture, shall be solely responsible for determining whether a producer is eligible to receive crop insurance premium subsidies in accordance with this subsection.

“(C) Limitation.—The Secretary shall ensure that no agent, approved insurance provider, or employee or contractor of an agency or approved insurance provider, bears responsibility or liability for the eligibility of an insured producer under this subsection, other than in cases of misrepresentation, fraud, or scheme and device.”

Subtitle H Repeal of Superseded Program Authorities and Transitional Provisions; Technical Amendments

SEC. 2701. Comprehensive Conservation Enhancement Program.

Section 1230 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830) is repealed.

SEC. 2702. Emergency Forestry Conservation Reserve Program.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), section 1231A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing contracts and agreements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract or agreement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under section 1231A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract or agreement.

(2)

Funding.— The Secretary may use funds made available to carry out the conservation reserve program under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) to continue to carry out contracts or agreements referred to in paragraph (1) using the provisions of law and regulation applicable to such contracts or agreements as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

SEC. 2703. Wetlands Reserve Program.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing contracts, agreements, and easements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract, agreement, or easement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract, agreement, or easement.

(2)

Funding.—

(A)

Use of prior year funds.— Notwithstanding the repeal of subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.), any funds made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the wetlands reserve program under that subchapter for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 shall be made available to carry out contracts, agreements, or easements referred to in paragraph (1) that were entered into prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (including the provision of technical assistance), provided that no such contract, agreement, or easement is modified so as to increase the amount of the payment received.

(B)

Other.— The Secretary may use funds made available to carry out the agricultural conservation easement program under subtitle H of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 2301, to continue to carry out contracts, agreements, and easements referred to in paragraph (1) using the provisions of law and regulation applicable to such contracts, agreements, and easements as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

SEC. 2704. Farmland Protection Program and Farm Viability Program.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), subchapter C of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838h et seq.) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing agreements and easements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any agreement or easement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under subchapter C of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838h et seq.) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the agreement or easement.

(2)

Funding.—

(A)

Use of prior year funds.— Notwithstanding the repeal of subchapter C of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838h et seq.), any funds made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the farmland protection program under that subchapter for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 shall be made available to carry out agreements and easements referred to in paragraph (1) that were entered into prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (including the provision of technical assistance).

(B)

Other.— On exhaustion of funds made available under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may use funds made available to carry out the agricultural conservation easement program under subtitle H of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 2301, to continue to carry out agreements and easements referred to in paragraph (1) using the provisions of law and regulation applicable to such agreements and easements as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

SEC. 2705. Grassland Reserve Program.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), subchapter D of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838n et seq.) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing contracts, agreements, and easements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract, agreement, or easement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under subchapter D of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838n et seq.) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract, agreement, or easement.

(2)

Funding.—

(A)

Use of prior year funds.— Notwithstanding the repeal of subchapter D of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838n et seq.), any funds made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the grassland reserve program under that subchapter for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 shall be made available to carry out contracts, agreements, or easements referred to in paragraph (1) that were entered into prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (including the provision of technical assistance), provided that no such contract, agreement, or easement is modified so as to increase the amount of the payment received.

(B)

SEC. 2706. Agricultural Water Enhancement Program.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–9) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing contracts and agreements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract or agreement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–9) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract or agreement.

(2)

Funding.—

(A)

Use of prior year funds.— Notwithstanding the repeal of section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–9), any funds made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the agricultural water enhancement program under that section for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 shall be made available to carry out contracts and agreements referred to in paragraph (1) that were entered into prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (including the provision of technical assistance).

(B)

Other.— On exhaustion of funds made available under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may use funds made available to carry out the regional conservation partnership program under subtitle I of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 2401, to continue to carry out contracts and agreements referred to in paragraph (1) using the provisions of law and regulation applicable to such contracts and agreements as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

SEC. 2707. Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), section 1240N of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–1) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing contracts and agreements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract or agreement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under section 1240N of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–1) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract or agreement.

(2)

Funding.—

(A)

Use of prior year funds.— Notwithstanding the repeal of section 1240N of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–1), any funds made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the wildlife habitat incentive program under that section for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 shall be made available to carry out contracts or agreements referred to in paragraph (1) which were entered into prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (including the provision of technical assistance).

(B)

Other.— On exhaustion of funds made available under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may use funds made available to carry out the environmental quality incentives program under chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) to continue to carry out contracts or agreements referred to in paragraph (1) using the provisions of law and regulation applicable to such contracts or agreements as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

SEC. 2708. Great Lakes Basin Program.

Section 1240P of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–3) is repealed.

SEC. 2709. Chesapeake Bay Watershed Program.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–4) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing contracts, agreements, and easements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract, agreement, or easement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–4) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract, agreement, or easement.

(2)

Funding.—

(A)

Use of prior year funds.— Notwithstanding the repeal of section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–4), any funds made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the Chesapeake Bay watershed program under that section for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 shall be made available to carry out contracts, agreements, and easements referred to in paragraph (1) that were entered into prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (including the provision of technical assistance).

(B)

Other.— The Secretary may use funds made available to carry out the regional conservation partnership program under subtitle I of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 2401, to continue to carry out contracts, agreements, and easements referred to in paragraph (1) using the provisions of law and regulation applicable to such contracts, agreements, and easements as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

SEC. 2710. Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative.

(a)

Repeal.— Except as provided in subsection (b), section 1243 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843) is repealed.

(b)

Transitional Provisions.—

(1)

Effect on existing contracts and agreements.— The amendment made by this section shall not affect the validity or terms of any contract or agreement entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under section 1243 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843) before the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, or any payments required to be made in connection with the contract or agreement.

(2)

Funding.—

(A)

Use of prior year funds.— Notwithstanding the repeal of section 1243 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843), any funds made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the cooperative conservation partnership initiative under that section for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 shall be made available to carry out contracts and agreements referred to in paragraph (1) that were entered into prior to the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (including the provision of technical assistance).

(B)

SEC. 2711. Environmental Easement Program.

Chapter 3 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839 et seq.) is repealed.

SEC. 2712. Temporary Administration of Conservation Programs.

(a)

Applicability.— This section is applicable to activities under—

(1)

the wetlands reserve program, the farmland protection program, and the farm viability program being merged into the agricultural conservation easement program under the amendment made by section 2301;

(2)

the wildlife habitat incentive program being merged into the environmental quality incentives program under the amendments made by subtitle C;

(3)

the agricultural water enhancement program, the Chesapeake Bay watershed program, the cooperative conservation partnership initiative, and the Great Lakes basin program being merged into the regional conservation partnership program under the amendment made by section 2401; and

(4)

the grassland reserve program being merged into the conservation reserve program under the amendments made by subtitle A and into the agricultural conservation easement program under the amendment made by section 2301.

(b)

Interim Administration.— Subject to subsection (d), with respect to the implementation of the agricultural conservation easement program under subtitle H of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 2301, the amendments to the environmental quality incentives program made by subtitle C, the regional conservation partnership program under subtitle I of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 2401, and the amendments to the conservation reserve program made by subtitle A, the Secretary shall use the regulations in existence as of the day before the date of enactment of this Act that are applicable to the wetlands reserve program, the grassland reserve program, the farmland protection program, the farm viability program, the wildlife habitat incentive program, the agricultural water enhancement program, the Chesapeake Bay watershed program, the cooperative conservation partnership initiative, and the Great Lakes basin program repealed by this subtitle, to the extent that the terms and conditions of such regulations are consistent with—

(1)

the provisions of the agricultural conservation easement program and the regional conservation partnership program; and

(2)

the amendments to the environmental quality incentives program and the conservation reserve program made by this title.

(c)

Funding.— The Secretary may only use funds authorized in this title or in the amendments made by this title for the specific programs listed in subsection (b), including any restrictions on the use of those funds, for the purposes identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b).

(d)

Termination of Authority.— The authority of the Secretary to carry out subsection (b) shall terminate on the date that is 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

(e)

Permanent Administration.— Effective beginning on the termination date described in subsection (d), the Secretary shall provide technical assistance, financial assistance, and easement enrollment in accordance with any final regulations that the Secretary considers necessary to carry out this title and the amendments made by this title.

SEC. 2713. Technical Amendments.

(a)

Definitions.— Section 1201(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “ E” and inserting “ I”.

(b)

Program Ineligibility.— Section 1211(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811(a)) is amended by striking “ predominate” each place it appears and inserting “ predominant”.

(c)

Specialty Crop Producers.— Section 1242(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(i)) is amended in the header by striking “ Speciality” and inserting “ Specialty”.