Statutory and Regulatory Citations

• Author: Margaret 'Peggy' Strand/Lowell Rothschild
• Pages: 255-564

Food Security Act—16 U.S.C. §§ 3801-3862 Page 255

U.S. Code, Current through Public

Law 111-42, enacted July 28, 2009

TITLE 16 — CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 58 — ERODIBLE LAND

AND WETLAND CONSERVATION

AND RESERVE PROGRAM

SUBCHAPTER I — DEFINITIONS

§ 3801. Def‌initions

(a)For purposes of subchapters I through V of

this chapter:

(1)e term “agricultural commodity” means—

(A)any agricultural commodity planted and

produced in a State by annual tilling of the soil,

including tilling by one-trip planters; or

(B)sugarcane planted and produced in a State.

(2)Beginning fa rmer or rancher—e term

“beginning farmer or rancher” has the meaning

given the term in section 1991 (a)(8) of title 7.

(3)Conservation plan—e term “conservation

plan’ means the document that—

(A)applies to highly erodible cropland;

(B)describes the conservation system applicable

to the highly erodible cropland and describes the

decisions of the person with respect to location,

land use, tillage systems, and conservation treat-

ment measures and schedule; and

(C)is approved by the local soil conservation dis-

trict, in consultation with the local committees

established under section 590h(b)(5) of this title

and the Secretary, or by the Secretary.

(4)Conservation system—e term “conserva-

tion system” means a combination of 1 or more

conservation measures or management practices

that—

(A)are based on local resource conditions, avail-

able conservation technology, and the standards

and guidelines contained in the Natural Resources

Conservation Service eld oce technical guides;

and

(B)are designed to achieve, in a cost eective

and technically practicable manner, a substantial

reduction in soil erosion or a substantial improve-

ment in soil conditions on a eld or group of elds

containing highly erodible cropland when com-

pared to the level of erosion or soil conditions that

existed before the application of the conservation

measures and management practices.

(5)e term “conservation district” means any

district or unit of State or local government

formed under State or territorial law for the

express purpose of developing and carrying out a

local soil and water conservation program. Such

district or unit of government may be referred to

as a “conservation district” , “soil conservation

district” , “soil and water conservation district” ,

“resource conservation district” , “natural resource

district” , “land conser vation committee” , or a

similar name.

(6)e term “cost sharing payment” means a pay-

ment made by the Secretary to an owner or opera-

tor of a farm or ranch containing highly erodible

cropland under the provisions of section 3834(b)

of this title.

(7)(A)e term “converted wetland” means

wetland that has been drained, dredged, lled,

leveled, or otherwise manipulated (including any

activity that results in impairing or reducing the

ow, circulation, or reach of water) for the purpose

or to have the eect of making the production of

an agricultural commodity possible if—

(i)such production would not have been possible

but for such action; and

(ii)before such action—

(I)such land was wetland; and

(II)such land was neither highly erodible land nor

highly erodible cropland.

(B)Wetland shall not be considered converted

wetland if production of an agricultural commod-

ity on such land during a crop year—

Page 256 Wetlands Deskbook

(i)is possible as a result of a natural condition,

such as drought; and

(ii)is not assisted by an action of the producer

that destroys natural wetland characteristics.

(8)Farm—e term “farm” means a farm that—

(A)is under the general control of one operator;

(B)has one or more owners;

(C)consists of one or more tracts of land, whether

or not contiguous;

(D)is located within a county or region, as deter-

mined by the Secretary; and

(E)may contain lands that are incidental to the

production of perennial crops, including conserv-

ing uses, forestry, and livestock, as determined by

the Secretary.

(9)Field—e term “eld” means a part of a

farm that is separated from the balance of the

farm by permanent boundaries such as fences,

roads, permanent waterways, or other similar fea-

tures. At the option of the owner or operator of

the farm, croplines may also be used to delineate a

eld if farming practices make it probable that the

croplines are not subject to change. Any highly

erodible land on which an agricultura l commodity

is produced after December 23, 1985, and that is

not exempt under section 3812 of this title, shall

be considered as part of the eld in which the land

was included on December 23, 1985, unless the

owner and Secretary agree to modication of the

boundaries of the eld to carry out this chapter.

(10)e term “highly erodible cropland” means

highly erodible land that is in cropland use, as

determined by the Secretary.

(11)(A)e term “highly erodible land” means

land—

(i)that is classied by the Soil Conservation Ser-

vice as class IV, VI, VII, or VIII land under the

land capability classication system in eect on

December 23, 1985; or

(ii)that has, or that if used to produce an agricul-

tural commodity, would have an excessive average

annual rate of erosion in relation to the soil loss

tolerance level, as established by the Secretar y, and

as determined by the Secretar y through applica-

tion of factors from the universal soil loss equation

and the wind erosion equation, including factors

for climate, soil erodibility, and eld slope.

(B)For purposes of this paragraph, the land

capability class or rate of erosion for a eld shall

be that determined by the Secretar y to be the pre-

dominant class or rate of erosion under regulations

issued by the Secretary.

(C)Equations—Not later than 60 days after

the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the

Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register the

universal soil loss equation and wind erosion equa-

tion used by the Department of Agriculture as of

that date. e Secretary may not change the equa-

tions after that date except following notice and

comment in a manner consistent with section 553

of Title 5.

(12)e term “hydric soil” means soil that, in

its undrained condition, is saturated, ooded,

or ponded long enough during a growing season

to develop an anaerobic condition that supports

the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic

vegetation.

(13)e term “hydrophytic vegetation” means a

plant growing in—

(A)water; or

(B)a substrate that is at least periodically decient

in oxygen during a growing season as a result of

excessive water content.

(14)Indian tribe—e term “Indian tribe” has

the meaning given the term in section 450b (e) of

title 25.

(15)e term “in-kind commodities” means com-

modities that are normally produced on land that

is the subject of an agreement entered into under

subchapter IV of this chapter.

(16)Integrated pest management—e term

“integrated pest management” means a sustain-

Food Security Act—16 U.S.C. §§ 3801-3862 Page 257

able approach to managing pests by combining

biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools

in a way that minimizes economic, health, and

environmental risks.

(17)Livestock—e term “livestock” means all

animals raised on farms, as determined by the

Secretary.

(18)Nonindustria l private forest land—e

term “nonindustrial private forest land” means

rural land, as determined by the Secretary, that—

(A)has existing tree cover or is suitable for grow-

ing trees; and

(B)is owned by any nonindustrial private individ-

ual, group, association, corporation, Indian tribe,

or other private legal entity that has denitive

decisionmaking authority over the land.

(19)Person and legal entit y—For purposes of

applying payment limitations under subchapter

IV of this chapter, the terms “person” and “legal

entity” have the meanings given those terms in

section 1308 (a) of title 7.

(20)e term “rental payment” means a payment

made by the Secretary to an owner or operator

of a farm or ranch containing highly erodible

cropland to compensate the owner or operator for

retiring such land from crop production and plac-

ing such land in the conservation reserve in accor-

dance with subchapter IV of this chapter.

(21)e term “Secretary” means the Secretary of

Agriculture.

(22)e term “shelterbelt” means a vegetative bar-

rier with a linear conguration composed of trees,

shrubs, and other approved perennial vegetation.

(23)Socially disadva ntaged farmer or

rancher—e term “socially disadvantaged

farmer or rancher” has the meaning given the

term in section 2279 (e)(2) of title 7.

(24)e term “State” means each of the 50 States,

the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth

of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the

United States, American Samoa, the Common-

wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the

Trust Territory of the Pacic Islands.

(25)Technical a ssistance—e term “technical

assistance” means technical expertise, informa-

tion, and tools necessary for the conservation of

natural resources on land active in agricultura l,

forestry, or related uses. e term includes the

following:

(A)Technical services provided directly to farm-

ers, ranchers, and other eligible entities, such as

conservation planning, technical consultation,

and assistance with design and implementation of

conservation practices.

(B)Technical infrastructure, including activities,

processes, tools, and agency functions needed

to support delivery of technical services, such as

technical standards, resource inventories, training,

data, technology, monitoring, and eects analyses.

(26)e term “vegetative cover” means—

(A)perennial grasses, legumes, forbs, or shrubs

with an expected life span of 5 or more years; or

(B)trees.

(27)e term “wetland” , except when such term

is part of the term “converted wetland” , means

land that—

(A)has a predominance of hydric soils;

(B)is inundated or saturated by surface or

groundwater at a frequency and duration sucient

to support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation

typically adapted for life in saturated soil condi-

tions; and

(C)under normal circumstances does support a

prevalence of such vegetation.

For purposes of this Act, and any other Act, this

term shall not include lands in Ala ska identied as

having high potential for agricultural development

which have a predominance of permafrost soils.

(b)e Secretary shall develop—