Collapse to view only § 2201. Emergency conservation program
- § 2201. Emergency conservation program
- § 2202. Payments to agricultural producers for carrying out water conservation or water enhancing measures; criteria
- § 2202a. Cost-share requirement
- § 2202b. Payment limitation
- § 2203. Emergency watershed program
- § 2204. Funding and administration
- § 2205. Regulations for implementation of provisions
- § 2206. Emergency forest restoration program
The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this chapter as the “Secretary”) is authorized to make payments to agricultural producers who carry out emergency measures to control wind erosion on farmlands or to rehabilitate farmlands damaged by wind erosion, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, or other natural disasters when, as a result of the foregoing, new conservation problems have been created that (1) if not treated, will impair or endanger the land, (2) materially affect the productive capacity of the land, (3) represent damage that is unusual in character and, except for wind erosion, is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area, and (4) will be so costly to rehabilitate that Federal assistance is or will be required to return the land to productive agricultural use.
With respect to a payment to an agricultural producer under subsection (a) for the repair or replacement of fencing, the Secretary shall give the agricultural producer the option of receiving not more than 25 percent of the payment, determined by the Secretary based on the applicable percentage of the fair market value of the cost of the repair or replacement, before the agricultural producer carries out the repair or replacement.
If the funds provided under paragraph (1) are not expended by the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date on which the agricultural producer receives those funds, the funds shall be returned within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the Secretary.
The Secretary is authorized to make payments to agricultural producers who carry out emergency water conservation or water enhancing measures (including measures carried out to assist confined livestock) during periods of severe drought as determined by the Secretary.
Subject to subsections (b) and (c), the maximum cost-share payment under sections 2201 and 2202 of this title shall not exceed 75 percent of the total allowable cost, as determined by the Secretary.
Notwithstanding subsection (a), a payment to a limited resource farmer or rancher, a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (as defined in subsection (a) of section 2279 of title 7), or a beginning farmer or rancher under section 2201 or 2202 of this title shall not exceed 90 percent of the total allowable cost, as determined by the Secretary.
The total payment under sections 2201 and 2202 of this title for a single event may not exceed 50 percent of the agriculture value of the land, as determined by the Secretary.
The maximum payment made under the emergency conservation program to an agricultural producer under sections 2201 and 2202 of this title shall not exceed $500,000.
The Secretary is authorized to undertake emergency watershed protection measures, including the purchase of floodplain easements, for runoff retardation and soil-erosion prevention, in cooperation with landowners and land users, as the Secretary deems necessary to safeguard lives and property from floods, drought, and the products of erosion on any watershed whenever fire, flood, or any other natural occurrence is causing or has caused a sudden impairment of that watershed.
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.
There are authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, to remain available until expended.
Of the amounts made available under subsection (a) for a fiscal year, 25 percent shall be set aside until April 1 of that fiscal year for the repair or replacement of fencing.
In implementing this chapter, the Secretary may use the facilities, services, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation.
The Commodity Credit Corporation shall not make any expenditures to carry out the provisions of this chapter unless funds specifically appropriated for such purpose have been transferred to it.
The Secretary is authorized to prescribe such regulations as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
The term “natural disaster” includes wildfires, hurricanes or excessive winds, drought, ice storms or blizzards, floods, or other resource-impacting events, as determined by the Secretary.
The Secretary may make payments to an owner of nonindustrial private forest land who carries out emergency measures to restore the land after the land is damaged by a natural disaster.
To be eligible to receive a payment under subsection (b), an owner must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the nonindustrial private forest land on which the emergency measures are carried out had tree cover immediately before the natural disaster.
Payments made under subsection (b) shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the emergency measures carried out by an owner of nonindustrial private forest land.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such funds as may be necessary to carry out this section. Amounts so appropriated shall remain available until expended.