16 U.S.C. § 3832 | Duties of owners and operators

(a)

In general

Under the terms of a contract entered into under this subpart, during the term of the contract, an owner or operator of a farm or ranch shall agree—

(1)

to implement a plan approved by the local conservation district (or in an area not located within a conservation district, a plan approved by the Secretary) for converting eligible land normally devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity on the farm or ranch to a less intensive use (as defined by the Secretary), such as pasture, permanent grass, legumes, forbs, shrubs, or trees, substantially in accordance with a schedule outlined in the plan;

(2)

to place highly erodible cropland subject to the contract in the conservation reserve established under this subpart;

(3)

not to use the land for agricultural purposes, except as permitted by the Secretary;

(4)

to establish approved vegetative cover (which may include emerging vegetation in water), water cover for the enhancement of wildlife, or, where practicable, maintain existing cover on the land, except that—

(A)

the water cover shall not include ponds for the purpose of watering livestock, irrigating crops, or raising fish for commercial purposes; and

(B)

the Secretary shall not terminate the contract for failure to establish approved vegetative or water cover on the land if—

(i)

the failure to plant the cover was due to excessive rainfall or flooding;

(ii)

the land subject to the contract that could practicably be planted to the cover is planted to the cover; and

(iii)

the land on which the owner or operator was unable to plant the cover is planted to the cover after the wet conditions that prevented the planting subsides;

(5)

to undertake management on the land as needed throughout the term of the contract to implement the conservation plan;

(6)

on a violation of a term or condition of the contract at any time the owner or operator has control of the land—

(A)

to forfeit all rights to receive rental payments and cost sharing payments under the contract and to refund to the Secretary any rental payments and cost sharing payments received by the owner or operator under the contract, together with interest on the payments as determined by the Secretary, if the Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the soil conservation district and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, determines that the violation is of such nature as to warrant termination of the contract; or

(B)

to refund to the Secretary, or accept adjustments to, the rental payments and cost sharing payments provided to the owner or operator, as the Secretary considers appropriate, if the Secretary determines that the violation does not warrant termination of the contract;

(7)

on the transfer of the right and interest of the owner or operator in land subject to the contract—

(A)

to forfeit all rights to rental payments and cost sharing payments under the contract; and

(B)

to refund to the United States all rental payments and cost sharing payments received by the owner or operator, or accept such payment adjustments or make such refunds as the Secretary considers appropriate and consistent with the objectives of this subpart;

unless the transferee of the land agrees with the Secretary to assume all obligations of the contract, except that no refund of rental payments and cost sharing payments shall be required if the land is purchased by or for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the transferee and the Secretary agree to modifications to the contract, in a case in which the modifications are consistent with the objectives of the program, as determined by the Secretary;

(8)

section 3833 of this title not to conduct any harvesting or grazing, nor otherwise make commercial use of the forage, on land that is subject to the contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the contract, except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of ;

(9)

not to conduct any planting of trees on land that is subject to the contract unless the contract specifies that the harvesting and commercial sale of trees such as Christmas trees are prohibited, nor otherwise make commercial use of trees on land that is subject to the contract unless it is expressly permitted in the contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the contract, except that no contract shall prohibit activities consistent with customary forestry practice, such as pruning, thinning, or stand improvement of trees, on land converted to forestry use;

(10)

on land devoted to hardwood or other trees, excluding windbreaks and shelterbelts, to carry out proper thinning and other practices—

(A)

to enhance the conservation benefits and wildlife habitat resources addressed by the conservation practice under which the land is enrolled; and

(B)

to promote forest management;

(11)

not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the contract as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of this subpart; and

(12)

to comply with such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are desirable and are included in the contract to carry out this subpart or to facilitate the practical administration of this subpart.

(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)

Foreclosure

(1)

In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner or operator who is a party to a contract entered into under this subpart may not be required to make repayments to the Secretary of amounts received under the contract if the land that is subject to the contract has been foreclosed on and the Secretary determines that forgiving the repayments is appropriate in order to provide fair and equitable treatment.

(2)

Resumption of control

(A)

In general

This subsection shall not void the responsibilities of an owner or operator under the contract if the owner or operator resumes control over the land that is subject to the contract within the period specified in the contract.

(B)

Contract

On the resumption of the control over the land by the owner or operator, the provisions of the contract in effect on the date of the foreclosure shall apply.

Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1232 Pub. L. 107–171, title II, § 2101(a)May 13, 2002116 Stat. 242 Pub. L. 108–7, div. N, title II, § 212Feb. 20, 2003117 Stat. 545 Pub. L. 110–234, title IIMay 22, 2008122 Stat. 1032 Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a)June 18, 2008122 Stat. 1664 Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2003Feb. 7, 2014128 Stat. 715 Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2205Dec. 20, 2018132 Stat. 4543 (, as added , , ; amended , , ; , §§ 2107, 2108, , , 1033; , title II, §§ 2107, 2108, , , 1760, 1761; , , ; , , .)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Pub. L. 110–234 Pub. L. 110–246 Pub. L. 110–234 section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246 and made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by were repealed by .

Prior Provisions

Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1232Dec. 23, 198599 Stat. 1509 Pub. L. 101–512, title INov. 5, 1990104 Stat. 1919 Pub. L. 101–624, title XIVNov. 28, 1990104 Stat. 3579 Pub. L. 102–237, title II, § 204(5)Dec. 13, 1991105 Stat. 1855 Pub. L. 102–552, title V, § 516(a)Oct. 28, 1992106 Stat. 4136 Pub. L. 104–127, title III, § 332(a)(2)Apr. 4, 1996110 Stat. 994 Pub. L. 106–78, title VIIOct. 22, 1999113 Stat. 1173 Pub. L. 106–387, § 1(a) [title VIII, § 817, title XI, § 1103]Oct. 28, 2000114 Stat. 1549 Pub. L. 107–76, title VIINov. 28, 2001115 Stat. 741 Pub. L. 107–171A prior section 3832, , , ; , , ; , §§ 1433, 1447(a), , , 3605; , , ; , , ; , , ; , §§ 763, 769, , , 1174; , , , 1549A–58, 1549A–77; , §§ 758(b), 759(b)(2), , , related to duties of owners and operators, prior to the general amendment of this subpart by .

Amendments

Pub. L. 115–3342018—Subsec. (a)(10) to (12). added par. (10) and redesignated former pars. (10) and (11) as (11) and (12), respectively.

Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(a)section 3833 of this title2014—Subsec. (a)(8). , substituted “except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of ;” for “except that the Secretary may permit, consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat (including habitat during nesting seasons for birds in the area)—” and struck out subpars. (A) to (D), which related to managed harvesting, commercial use in response to an emergency, grazing for the control of invasive species, and the installation of wind turbines, respectively.

Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(b)Subsec. (b). , amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The plan referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section—

“(1) shall set forth—

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

“(B) the commercial use, if any, to be permitted on the land during the term; and

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

Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(c)Subsec. (d). , struck out subsec. (d). Text read as follows: “In the case of an authorized activity under subsection (a)(8) on land that is subject to a contract under this subpart, the Secretary shall reduce the rental payment otherwise payable under the contract by an amount commensurate with the economic value of the authorized activity.”

Pub. L. 110–246, § 21072008—Subsec. (a)(5) to (7). , added par. (5) and redesignated former pars. (5) and (6) as (6) and (7), respectively. Former par. (7) redesignated (8).

Pub. L. 110–246, § 2108(a)Subsec. (a)(8). , added par. (8) and struck out former par. (8) which related to prohibition against harvesting, grazing, or other commercial use of the forage, with exception authorizing Secretary to permit managed harvesting and grazing if appropriate requirements were developed and timeframes identified or in a drought or other emergency, and exception for the installation of wind turbines.

Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107(1), redesignated par. (7) as (8). Former par. (8) redesignated (9).

Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107(1)Subsec. (a)(9) to (11). , redesignated pars. (8) to (10) as (9) to (11), respectively.

Pub. L. 110–246, § 2108(b)Subsec. (d). , added subsec. (d).

Pub. L. 108–72003—Subsec. (a)(7)(A)(iii). inserted before semicolon “, except that this clause shall not apply to the 2002 calendar year, and the Secretary shall repay the owner or operator (in a manner determined by the Secretary) for any reduction in rental payments made to the owner or operator as the result of the application of this clause to the 2002 calendar year”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2008 Amendment

Pub. L. 110–234 Pub. L. 110–246May 22, 2008Pub. L. 110–234 section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246 section 8701 of Title 7Amendment of this section and repeal of by effective , the date of enactment of , see , set out as an Effective Date note under , Agriculture.