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16 USC CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS

PRESERVATION 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

.

-HEAD-

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-MISC1-

Sec.

1301. Congressional declaration of policy; authority of Secretary.

1302. Conservation agreements to effectuate water bank program;

duration and renewal; adjustment of payment rate for renewal

period; ''wetlands'' defined; duration of ownership or control of

land as determining eligibility for agreements; protection of and

compensation for tenants and sharecroppers; participation by

owner or operator in other Federal or State programs.

1303. Terms of agreement; required provisions.

1304. Annual payment; adjustment.

1305. Renewal or extension of agreement; participation of

subsequent owner or operator in program.

1306. Termination or modification of agreements.

1307. Utilization of services and facilities.

1308. Advisory Board; appointment; functions; membership;

reimbursement for expenses.

1309. Consultation with Secretary of the Interior; conformity of

program with wetlands programs administered by Secretary of the

Interior; consultation with and utilization of technical services

of appropriate local, State, Federal, and private conservation

agencies; coordination of programs.

1310. Authorization of appropriations; maximum amount of payments

pursuant to agreements.

1311. Rules and regulations.

-SECREF-

CHAPTER REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This chapter is referred to in section 3839 of this title; title

7 section 6962; title 26 section 126.

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16 USC Sec. 1301 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1301. Congressional declaration of policy; authority of

Secretary

-STATUTE-

The Congress finds that it is in the public interest to preserve,

restore, and improve the wetlands of the Nation, and thereby to

conserve surface waters, to preserve and improve habitat for

migratory waterfowl and other wildlife resources, to reduce runoff,

soil and wind erosion, and contribute to flood control, to

contribute to improved water quality and reduce stream

sedimentation, to contribute to improved subsurface moisture, to

reduce acres of new land coming into production and to retire lands

now in agricultural production, to enhance the natural beauty of

the landscape, and to promote comprehensive and total water

management planning. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter in

this chapter referred to as the ''Secretary'') is authorized and

directed to formulate and carry out a continuous program to prevent

the serious loss of wetlands, and to preserve, restore, and improve

such lands, which program shall begin on July 1, 1971.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 2, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1468.)

-MISC1-

SHORT TITLE

Section 1 of Pub. L. 91-559 provided: ''That this Act (enacting

this chapter) may be cited as the 'Water Bank Act'.''

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16 USC Sec. 1302 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1302. Conservation agreements to effectuate water bank

program; duration and renewal; adjustment of payment rate for

renewal period; ''wetlands'' defined; duration of ownership or

control of land as determining eligibility for agreements;

protection of and compensation for tenants and sharecroppers;

participation by owner or operator in other Federal or State

programs

-STATUTE-

In effectuating the water bank program authorized by this

chapter, the Secretary shall have authority to enter into

agreements with landowners and operators in important migratory

waterfowl nesting and breeding areas for the conservation of water

on specified farm, ranch, or other wetlands identified in a

conservation plan developed in cooperation with the Soil and Water

Conservation District in which the lands are located, under such

rules and regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. These

agreements shall be entered into for a period of ten years, with

provision for renewal for additional periods of ten years each.

The Secretary shall, beginning in 1980, reexamine the payment rates

at the beginning of the fifth year of any such ten-year initial or

renewal period and before the beginning of any renewal period, in

the light of the then current land and crop values, and make needed

adjustments in rates for any such initial or renewal period as

provided in section 1304 of this title. In addition, the Secretary

shall, beginning in 1980, reexamine the payment rates in any

agreement that has been in effect for five years or more in the

light of current land and crop values and make any needed

adjustments in rates. As used in this chapter, the term

''wetlands'' means (1) the inland fresh areas described as types 1

through 7 in Circular 39, Wetlands of the United States, published

by the United States Department of the Interior (or the inland

fresh areas corresponding to such types in any successor wetland

classification system developed by the Department of the Interior),

(2) artificially developed inland fresh areas that meet the

description of the inland fresh areas described in clause (1) of

this sentence, and (3) such other wetland types as the Secretary

may designate. No agreement shall be entered into under this

chapter concerning land with respect to which the ownership or

control has changed in the two-year period preceding the first year

of the agreement period unless the new ownership was acquired by

will or succession as a result of the death of the previous owner,

or unless the new ownership was acquired prior to July 1, 1971,

under other circumstances which the Secretary determines, and

specifies by regulation, will give adequate assurance that such

land was not acquired for the purpose of placing it in the program,

except that this sentence shall not be construed to prohibit the

continuation of an agreement by a new owner or operator after an

agreement has once been entered into under this chapter. A person

who has operated the land to be covered by an agreement under this

chapter for as long as two years preceding the date of the

agreement and who controls the land for the agreement period shall

not be required to own the land as a condition of eligibility for

entering into the agreement. Nothing in this section shall prevent

an owner or operator from placing land in the program if the land

was acquired by the owner or operator to replace eligible land from

which he was displaced because of its acquisition by any Federal,

State, or other agency having the right of eminent domain. The

Secretary shall provide adequate safeguards to protect the

interests of tenants and sharecroppers, including provision for

sharing, on a fair and equitable basis, in payments or compensation

under this program. No provision of this chapter shall prevent an

owner or operator who is participating in the program under this

chapter from participating in other Federal or State programs

designed to conserve or protect wetlands.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 3, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1469; Pub. L.

96-182, Sec. 1, 2, Jan. 2, 1980, 93 Stat. 1317.)

-MISC1-

AMENDMENTS

1980 - Pub. L. 96-182, in provisions relating to the

reexamination of payment rates, substituted provisions requiring

the Secretary to make such reexamination, beginning in 1980, at the

beginning of the fifth year of any ten-year initial or renewal

period and before the beginning of any renewal period, and make

adjustments in accordance with section 1304 of this title, and in

agreements in effect for five years or more, requiring the

Secretary to make adjustments in the light of current land and crop

values for provisions requiring reexamination and adjustment at the

beginning of the ten-year renewal period only, and, in definition

of ''wetlands'', designated existing provisions as cl. (1) and,

among other changes, substituted types 1-7 for types 1-5, and added

cls. (2) and (3).

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 1304 of this title.

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16 USC Sec. 1303 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1303. Terms of agreement; required provisions

-STATUTE-

In the agreement between the Secretary and an owner or operator,

the owner or operator shall agree -

(1) to place in the program for the period of the agreement

eligible wetland areas he designates, which areas may include

wetlands covered by a Federal or State government easement which

permits agricultural use, together with such adjacent areas as

determined desirable by the Secretary;

(2) not to drain, burn, fill, or otherwise destroy the wetland

character of such areas, nor to use such areas for agricultural

purposes, as determined by the Secretary;

(3) to effectuate the wetland conservation and development plan

for his land in accordance with the terms of the agreement,

unless any requirement thereof is waived or modified by the

Secretary pursuant to section 1306 of this title;

(4) to forfeit all rights to further payments or grants under

the agreement and refund to the United States all payments or

grants received thereunder upon his violation of the agreement at

any stage during the time he has control of the land subject to

the agreement if the Secretary determines that such violation is

of such a nature as to warrant termination of the agreement, or

to make refunds or accept such payment adjustments as the

Secretary may deem appropriate if he determines that the

violation by the owner or operator does not warrant termination

of the agreement;

(5) upon transfer of his right and interest in the lands

subject to the agreement during the agreement period, to forfeit

all rights to further payments or grants under the agreement and

refund to the United States all payments or grants received

thereunder during the year of the transfer unless the transferee

of any such land agrees with the Secretary to assume all

obligations of the agreement;

(6) not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the

agreement as a practice which would tend to defeat the purposes

of the agreement; and

(7) to such additional provisions as the Secretary determines

are desirable and includes in the agreement to effectuate the

purposes of the program or to facilitate its administration.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 4, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1470.)

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16 USC Sec. 1304 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1304. Annual payment; adjustment

-STATUTE-

In return for the agreement of the owner or operator, the

Secretary shall (1) make an annual payment to the owner or operator

for the period of the agreement at such rate or rates as the

Secretary determines to be fair and reasonable in consideration of

the obligations undertaken by the owner or operator; and (2) bear

such part of the average cost of establishing and maintaining

conservation and development practices on the wetlands and adjacent

areas for the purposes of this chapter as the Secretary determines

to be appropriate. In making his determination, the Secretary

shall consider, among other things, the rate of compensation

necessary to encourage owners or operators of wetlands to

participate in the water bank program. The rate or rates of annual

payments as determined hereunder shall be increased, by an amount

determined by the Secretary to be appropriate, in relation to the

benefit to the general public of the use of the wetland areas,

together with designated adjacent areas, if the owner or operator

agrees to permit, without other compensation, access to such

acreage by the general public, during the agreement period, for

hunting, trapping, fishing, and hiking, subject to applicable State

and Federal regulations. The rates of annual payment shall be

adjusted, to the extent provided for in advance by appropriation

Acts, in accordance with section 1302 of this title.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 5, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1470; Pub. L.

96-182, Sec. 3, Jan. 2, 1980, 93 Stat. 1317.)

-MISC1-

AMENDMENTS

1980 - Pub. L. 96-182 inserted provisions that the rates of

annual payment shall be adjusted, to the extent provided for in

advance by appropriation acts, in accordance with section 1302 of

this title.

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 1302 of this title.

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16 USC Sec. 1305 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1305. Renewal or extension of agreement; participation of

subsequent owner or operator in program

-STATUTE-

Any agreement may be renewed or extended at the end of the

agreement period for an additional period of ten years by mutual

agreement of the Secretary and the owner or operator, subject to

any rate redetermination by the Secretary. If during the agreement

period the owner or operator sells or otherwise divests himself of

the ownership or right of occupancy of such land, the new owner or

operator may continue such agreement under the same terms or

conditions, or enter into a new agreement in accordance with the

provisions of this chapter, including the provisions for renewal

and adjustment of payment rates, or he may choose not to

participate in such program.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 6, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1471.)

-MISC1-

ONE-YEAR EXTENSION OF AGREEMENTS

Pub. L. 103-393, Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4105, provided that:

''SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

''This Act may be cited as the 'Water Bank Extension Act of

1994'.

''SEC. 2. SPECIAL AUTHORITY TO EXTEND WATER BANK ACT AGREEMENTS.

''(a) Subject to subsection (b), any agreement entered into under

the Water Bank Act (16 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) and due to expire on

December 31, 1994, may be extended for 1 year under section 6 of

the Water Bank Act (16 U.S.C. 1305).

''(b) The authority to extend Water Bank Act agreements under

this Act may only be exercised to the extent that the amount

available for obligation under the Wetlands Reserve Program (16

U.S.C. 1637 et seq.) (probably means 16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.), and

the amount used for the extension of Water Bank Act agreements

under subsection (a), does not exceed $93,200,000 as provided for

the Wetlands Reserve Program under the Agricultural, Rural

Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act, 1995 (Pub. L. 103-330, 108 Stat. 2453).''

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16 USC Sec. 1306 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1306. Termination or modification of agreements

-STATUTE-

The Secretary may terminate any agreement by mutual agreement

with the owner or operator if the Secretary determines that such

termination would be in the public interest, and may agree to such

modification of agreements as he may determine to be desirable to

carry out the purposes of the program or facilitate its

administration.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 7, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1471.)

-SECREF-

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 1303 of this title.

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16 USC Sec. 1307 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1307. Utilization of services and facilities

-STATUTE-

In carrying out the program, the Secretary may utilize the

services of local, county, and State committees established under

section 590h of this title. The Secretary is authorized to utilize

the facilities and services of the Commodity Credit Corporation in

discharging his functions and responsibilities under this program.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 8, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1471.)

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16 USC Sec. 1308 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1308. Advisory Board; appointment; functions; membership;

reimbursement for expenses

-STATUTE-

The Secretary may, without regard to the civil service laws,

appoint an Advisory Board to advise and consult on matters relating

to his functions under this chapter as he deems appropriate. The

Board shall consist of persons chosen from members of organizations

such as wildlife organizations, land-grant colleges, farm

organizations, State game and fish departments, soil and water

conservation district associations, water management organizations,

and representatives of the general public. Members of such an

Advisory Board who are not regular full-time employees of the

United States shall be entitled to reimbursement on an actual

expense basis for attendance at Advisory Board meetings.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 9, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1471.)

-REFTEXT-

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The civil service laws, referred to in text, are set forth in

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. See, particularly,

section 3301 et seq. of Title 5.

-MISC2-

TERMINATION OF ADVISORY BOARDS

Advisory boards in existence on Jan. 5, 1973, to terminate not

later than the expiration of the 2-year period following Jan. 5,

1973, unless, in the case of a board established by the President

or an officer of the Federal Government, such board is renewed by

appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year period,

or in the case of a board established by the Congress, its duration

is otherwise provided by law. See sections 3(2) and 14 of Pub. L.

92-463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770, 776, set out in the Appendix to

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

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16 USC Sec. 1309 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1309. Consultation with Secretary of the Interior; conformity

of program with wetlands programs administered by Secretary of

the Interior; consultation with and utilization of technical

services of appropriate local, State, Federal, and private

conservation agencies; coordination of programs

-STATUTE-

The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior

and take appropriate measures to insure that the program carried

out pursuant to this chapter is in harmony with wetlands programs

administered by the Secretary of the Interior. He shall also,

insofar as practicable, consult with and utilize the technical and

related services of appropriate local, State, Federal, and private

conservation agencies to assure coordination of the program with

programs of such agencies and a solid technical foundation for the

program.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 10, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1471.)

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16 USC Sec. 1310 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1310. Authorization of appropriations; maximum amount of

payments pursuant to agreements

-STATUTE-

There are hereby authorized to be appropriated without fiscal

year limitation, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the

program authorized by this chapter. In carrying out the program,

in each fiscal year through the fiscal year ending September 30,

1980, the Secretary shall not enter into agreements with owners and

operators which would require payments to owners or operators in

any calendar year under such agreements in excess of $10,000,000.

In carrying out the program, in each fiscal year after the fiscal

year ending September 30, 1980, the Secretary shall not enter into

agreements with owners and operators which would require payments

to owners or operators in any calendar year under such agreements

in excess of $30,000,000. Not more than 15 percent of the funds

authorized to be appropriated in any fiscal year after the fiscal

year ending September 30, 1980, may be used for agreements entered

into with owners or operators in any one State.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 11, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1471; Pub. L.

96-182, Sec. 4, Jan. 2, 1980, 93 Stat. 1317.)

-MISC1-

AMENDMENTS

1980 - Pub. L. 96-182 limited restrictions on Secretary's

authority to enter into agreements in excess of $10,000,000 to each

fiscal year through fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1980, and inserted

restrictions relating to agreements in excess of $30,000,000 for

each fiscal year after fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1980, and that

not more than 15 percent of the funds authorized to be appropriated

in any fiscal year after fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1980, may be

used for agreements entered into with owners or operators in any

one State.

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16 USC Sec. 1311 01/06/03

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION

CHAPTER 29 - WATER BANK PROGRAM FOR WETLANDS PRESERVATION

-HEAD-

Sec. 1311. Rules and regulations

-STATUTE-

The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as he determines

necessary and desirable to carry out the provisions of this

chapter.

-SOURCE-

(Pub. L. 91-559, Sec. 12, Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1471.)

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