16 U.S.C. § 3871e — Administration

Page 2443 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3871e (d) Limitation on administrative expenses (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), none of the funds made available for the program, in- cluding for a partnership agreement funded through an alternative funding arrangement or grant agreement under section 3871c(d) of this title, may be used to pay for the adminis- trative expenses of eligible partners. (2) Project development and outreach Under a partnership agreement that is not funded through an alternative funding ar- rangement or grant agreement under section 3871c(d) of this title, the Secretary may ad- vance reasonable amounts of funding for not longer than 90 days for technical assistance to eligible partners to conduct project develop- ment and outreach activities in a project area, including— (A) providing outreach and education to producers for potential participation in the project; (B) establishing baseline metrics to sup- port the development of the assessment re- quired under section 3871b(c)(1)(E) of this title; or (C) providing technical assistance to pro- ducers. (e) Technical assistance (1) In general At the time of project selection, the Sec- retary shall identify and make publicly avail- able the amount that the Secretary shall use to provide technical assistance under the terms of the partnership agreement. (2) Limitation The Secretary shall limit costs of the Sec- retary for technical assistance to costs spe- cific and necessary to carry out the objectives of the program. (3) Third-party providers The Secretary shall develop and implement strategies to encourage third-party technical service providers to provide technical assist- ance to eligible partners pursuant to a part- nership agreement. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1271D, as added Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2401, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 749; amended Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2705, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4598; Pub. L. 117–169, title II, § 21001(c)(7), Aug. 16, 2022, 136 Stat. 2017.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–169 substituted ‘‘2031’’ for ‘‘2023’’. 2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2705(1), substituted ‘‘$300,000,000’’ for ‘‘$100,000,000’’ and ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ for ‘‘2014 through 2018’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2705(2)–(4)(A), redesig- nated subsec. (d) as (c), struck out ‘‘and acres’’ after ‘‘funds’’ and ‘‘and reserved for the program under sub- section (c)’’ after ‘‘under subsection (a)’’ in introduc- tory provisions, and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to reservation of additional funding and acres for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2705(4)(B), substituted ‘‘50 percent of the funds to projects based on a State or multistate competitive process administered by the Secretary at the local level with the advice of the ap- plicable State technical committees’’ for ‘‘25 percent of the funds and acres to projects based on a State com- petitive process administered by the State Conserva- tionist, with the advice of the State technical com- mittee’’ and inserted ‘‘and’’ at end. Subsec. (c)(2), (3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2705(4)(C)–(E), re- designated par. (3) as (2), substituted ‘‘50 percent of the funds’’ for ‘‘35 percent of the funds and acres’’, and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘40 percent of the funds and acres to projects based on a national competitive process to be established by the Secretary; and’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2705(5), designated exist- ing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, substituted ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2), none of the funds made available for the program, including for a part- nership agreement funded through an alternative fund- ing arrangement or grant agreement under section 3871c(d) of this title,’’ for ‘‘None of the funds made available or reserved for the program’’, and added par. (2). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2705(3), redesignated subsec. (e) as (d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (c). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2705(6), added subsec. (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (d). § 3871e. Administration (a) Disclosure In addition to the criteria used in evaluating applications as described in section 3871b(e)(2) of this title, the Secretary shall make publicly available information on projects selected through the competitive process described in section 3871b(e)(1) of this title. (b) Reporting Not later than December 31, 2019, and every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agri- culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on the status of projects funded under the program, including— (1) a summary of— (A) the progress made towards achieving the conservation benefits defined for the projects; and (B) any other related outcomes of the projects; (2) the number and types of eligible partners and producers participating in the partnership agreements selected; (3) the number of producers receiving assist- ance; (4) total funding committed to projects, in- cluding from Federal and non-Federal re- sources; (5) a description of how the funds under sec- tion 3871c(d) of this title are being adminis- tered, including— (A) any oversight mechanisms that the Secretary has implemented; (B) the process through which the Sec- retary is resolving appeals by program par- ticipants; and (C) the means by which the Secretary is tracking adherence to any applicable provi- sions for payment eligibility; and (6) in the case of a project within a critical conservation area under section 3871f of this title, the status of each priority resource con- Page 2444 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 3871f 1 So in original. Probably should be preceded by ‘‘section’’. cern for each designated critical conservation area, including— (A) the priority resource concerns for which each critical conservation area is des- ignated; (B) conservation goals and outcomes suffi- cient to demonstrate that progress is being made to address the priority resource con- cerns; (C) the partnership agreements selected to address each conservation goal and outcome; and (D) the extent to which each conservation goal and outcome is being addressed by the partnership agreements. (c) Compliance with certain requirements The Secretary may not provide assistance under the program to a producer unless the pro- ducer agrees, during the program year for which the assistance is provided— (1) to comply with applicable conservation requirements under subchapter II; and (2) to comply with applicable wetland pro- tection requirements under subchapter III. (d) Historically underserved producers To the maximum extent practicable, in car- rying out the program, the Secretary and eligi- ble partners shall conduct outreach to beginning farmers and ranchers, veteran farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and limited resource farmers and ranchers to encourage participation by those producers in a project subject to a partnership agreement or funding agreement under 3871c(d) 1 of this title. (e) Regulations The Secretary shall issue regulations to carry out the program. (Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1271E, as added Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2401, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 749; amended Pub. L. 115–334, title II, § 2706, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4599.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2706(1), which di- rected amendment of subsec. (a) by substituting ‘‘3871b(e)’’ for ‘‘3871b(d)’’ wherever appearing, was exe- cuted by substituting ‘‘3871(e)(2)’’ for ‘‘3871b(d)(2)’’ and ‘‘3871(e)(1)’’ for ‘‘3871b(d)(1)’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2706(2)(A), substituted ‘‘December 31, 2019’’ for ‘‘December 31, 2014’’ in intro- ductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(1) to (3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2706(2)(B), (C), added par. (1) and redesignated former pars. (1) and (2) as (2) and (3), respectively. Former par. (3) redesignated (4). Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2706(2)(B), (D), redesig- nated par. (3) as (4) and struck out ‘‘and’’ at end. Former par. (4) redesignated (5). Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2706(2)(B), (E), redesig- nated par. (4) as (5) and substituted ‘‘3871c(d)’’ for ‘‘3871c(b)(2)’’ in introductory provisions and ‘‘; and’’ for period at end. Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2706(2)(F), added par. (6). Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2706(3), added sub- secs. (c) to (e). § 3871f. Critical conservation areas (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Critical conservation area The term ‘‘critical conservation area’’ means a geographical area that contains a critical conservation condition that can be ad- dressed through the program. (2) Priority resource concern The term ‘‘priority resource concern’’ means a natural resource concern located in a crit- ical conservation area that can be addressed through— (A) water quality improvement, including through reducing erosion, promoting sedi- ment control, and addressing nutrient man- agement activities affecting large bodies of water of regional, national, or international significance; (B) water quantity improvement, includ- ing improvement relating to— (i) drought; (ii) groundwater, surface water, aquifer, or other water sources; or (iii) water retention and flood preven- tion; (C) wildlife habitat restoration to address species of concern at a Federal, State, or local level; and (D) other natural resource improvements, as determined by the Secretary, within the critical conservation area. (b) Applications In administering funds under section 3871d(d)(2) of this title, the Secretary shall se- lect applications for partnership agreements and program contracts within critical conservation areas designated under this section that address 1 or more priority resource concerns for which the critical conservation area is designated. (c) Critical conservation area designations (1) In general The Secretary shall identify 1 or more pri- ority resource concerns that apply to each critical conservation area designated under this section after February 7, 2014, including the conservation goals and outcomes suffi- cient to demonstrate that progress is being made to address the priority resource concern. (2) Priority In designating critical conservation areas under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to geographical areas based on the de- gree to which the geographical area— (A) includes multiple States with signifi- cant 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) contains 1 or more priority resource concerns; or (D) contains producers that need assist- ance in meeting or avoiding the need for a natural resource regulatory requirement