AN ACT

To provide for the protection of land resources against soil erosion, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it is hereby recognized that the wastage of soil and moisture resources on farm, grazing, and forest lands of the Nation, resulting from soil erosion, is a menace to the national welfare and that it is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress to provide permanently for the control and prevention of soil erosion and thereby to preserve natural resources, control floods, prevent impairment of reservoirs, and maintain the navigability of rivers and harbors, protect public health, public lands and relieve unemployment, and the Secretary of Agriculture, from now on, shall coordinate and direct all activities with relation to soil erosion and in order to effectuate this policy is hereby authorized, from time to time

(1) To conduct surveys, investigations, and research relating to the character of soil erosion and the preventive measures needed, to publish the results of any such surveys, investigations, or research, to disseminate information concerning such methods, and to conduct demonstrational projects in areas subject to erosion by wind or water; (2) To carry out preventive measures, including, but not limited to, engineering operations, methods of cultivation, the growing of vegetation, and changes in use of land;

(3) To cooperate or enter into agreements with, or to furnish financial or other aid to, any agency, governmental or otherwise, or any person, subject to such conditions as he may deem necessary, for the purposes of this Act; and

(4) To acquire lands, or rights or interests therein, by purchase, gift, condemnation, or otherwise, whenever necessary for the purposes of this Act. (16 U.S.C. 590a.)

LANDS ON WHICH PREVENTIVE MEASURES MAY BE TAKEN

SEC. 2. The acts authorized in section 1 (1) and (2) may be performed

(a) On lands owned or controlled by the United States or any of its agencies, with the cooperation of the agency having jurisdiction thereof; and

(b) On any other lands, upon obtaining proper consent or the necessary rights or interests in such lands. (16 U.S.C. 590b.)

BENEFITS FOR NON-GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED LANDS

SEC. 3. As a condition to the extending of any benefits under this Act to any lands not owned or controlled by the United States or any of its agencies, the Secretary of Agriculture may, insofar as he may deem necessary for the purposes of this Act, require

(1) The enactment and reasonable safeguards for the enforcement

P. L. 46, 74th Cong., 49 Stat. 163, April 27, 1935.

1-2

of State and local laws imposing suitable permanent restrictions on the use of such lands and otherwise providing for the prevention of soil erosion;

(2) Agreements or covenants as to the permanent use of such lands; and

(3) Contributions in money, services, materials, or otherwise, to any operations conferring such benefits. (16 U.S.C. 590c.)

PERSONNEL

SEC. 4. For the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may

(1) Secure the cooperation of any governmental agency;

(2) Subject to the provisions of the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1949, appoint and fix the compensation of such officers and employees as he may deem necessary, except for a period not to exceed eight months from the date of this enactment, the Secretary of Agriculture may make appointments and may continue employees of the organization heretofore established for the purpose of administering those provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act which relate to the prevention of soil erosion, without regard to the civil-service laws or regulations and the Classification Act of 1949, as amended; and any person with technical or practical knowledge may be employed and compensated under this Act on a basis to be determined by the Civil Service Commission; and

(3) Make expenditures for personal services and rent in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, for the purchase of lawbooks and books of reference, for printing and binding, for the purchase, operation, and maintenance of passenger-carrying vehicles, and perform such acts, and prescribe such regulations, as he may deem proper to carry out the provisions of this Act. (16 U.S.C. 590d.)

ESTABLISHMENT OF SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE

SEC. 5. The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an agency to be known as the "Soil Conservation Service," to exercise the powers conferred on him by this Act and may utilize the organization heretofore established for the purpose of administering those provisons of section 202 and 203 of the National Industrial Recovery Act which relate to the prevention of soil erosion, together with such personnel thereof as the Secretary of Agriculture may determine, and all unexpended balances of funds heretofore allotted to said organization shall be available until June 30, 1937, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall assume all obligations incurred by said organization prior to transfer to the Department of Agriculture. In order that there may be proper coordination of erosion-control activities the Secretary of Agriculture may transfer to the agency created under this Act such functions, funds, personnel, and property of other agencies in the Department of Agriculture as he may from time to time determine. (16 U.S.C. 590e.)

* Functions of Soil Conservation Service in Department of Agriculture with respect to soil and moisture conservation operations conducted on lands under jurisdiction of Department of the Interior were transferred to the Department of the Interior, to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior through such agencies in the Department of the Interior as the Secretary shall designate, by Reorganization Plan No. IV, Sec. 6, effective June 30, 1940, 5 F.R. 2421, 54 Stat. 1235, 5 U.S.C. 1337 note.

APPROPRIATION AUTHORIZED

SEC. 6. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this Act such sums as Congress may from time to time determine to be necessary.

Appropriations for carrying out this Act allocated for the production or procurement of nursery stock by any Federal agency, or funds appropriated to any Federal agency for allocation to cooperating States for the production or procurement of nursery stock, shall remain available for expenditure for not more than 3 fiscal years. (16 U.S.C.590f.)

[Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944. SEC. 302. (b)3 The Soil Conservation Service subject to applicable regulations under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, may sell and distribute supplies, materials, and equipment to other Government activities, the cost of such supplies and materials or the value of such equipment (including the cost of transportation and handling) to be reimbursed by appropriations current at the time additional supplies, materials, or equipment are procured from the appropriations chargeable with the cost or value of such supplies, materials, or equipment. (16 U.S.C. 590q-1.)]

AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION POLICY AND ENUMERATION OF

PURPOSES

SEC. 7. (a) It is hereby declared to be the policy of this Act also to secure, and the purposes of this Act shall also include, (1) preservation and improvement of soil fertility; (2) promotion of the economic use and conservation of land; (3) diminution of exploitation and wasteful and unscientific use of national soil resources; (4) the protection of rivers and harbors against the results of soil erosion in aid of maintaining the navigability of water and water courses and in aid of flood control; (5) reestablishment, at as rapid a rate as the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be practicable and in the general public interest, of the ratio between the purchasing power of the net income per person on farms and that of the income per person not on farms that prevailed during the five-year period August 1909-July 1914, inclusive, as determined from statistics available in the United States Department of Agriculture, and the maintenance of such ratio; and (6) prevention and abatement of agricultural-related pollution. The powers conferred under sections 7 to 14, inclusive, of this Act shall be used to assist voluntary action calculated to effectuate the purposes specified in this section. Such powers shall not be used to discourage the production of supplies of foods and fibers sufficient to maintain normal domestic human consumption as determined by the Secretary from the records of domestic human consumption in the years 1920 to 1929, inclusive, taking into consideration increased population, quantities of any commodity that were forced into domestic consumption by decline in exports during such period, current trends in domestic consumption and exports of particular commodities, and the quantities of substitutes available for domestic consumption within any general class of food

3 Act of September 21, 1944, P.L. 78-425, 58 Stat. 738, as amended by Act of October 31, 1951, P.L. 82-247, 65 Stat. 707. * Clause (6) was added by P.L. 92-419, 86 Stat. 676, August 30, 1972.

commodities. In carrying out the purposes of this section due regard shall be given to the maintenance of a continuous and stable supply of agricultural commodities adequate to meet consumer demand at prices fair to both producers and consumers. (16 U.S.C. 590g(a).)

SEC. 7. (b) (g)5

AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY TO MAKE PAYMENTS OR GRANTS OF AID DIRECTLY TO FARMERS

SEC. 8. (a)6

(b) The Secretary is authorized to carry out the policy and purposes specified in section 7(a) of this Act by providing financial assistance to agricultural producers for carrying out enduring conservation (including energy conservation) and environmental enhancement measures. Eligibility for financial assistance shall be based upon the existence of a conservation or environmental problem which reduces the productive capacity of the Nation's land and water resources or causes degradation of environmental quality.

The amount of financial assistance to be provided shall be that portion of the cost of installing conservation and environmental enhancement measures which the Secretary determines is necessary. In determining the level of payment, consideration will be given to (A) the amount of expected conservation or environmental benefit accruing to society, (B) the total cost of carrying out the needed measures, (C) the degree to which appropriate conservation or pollution abatement practices will be applied in the absence of financial assistance, and (D) in order to avoid duplication of assistance, the degree to which the agricultural producer benefits from other public programs for conservation and environmental enhancement.

The Secretary may provide financial assistance to agricultural producers for the purpose of encouraging energy conservation by sharing the costs of and providing technical assistance for (1) the establishment, restoration, and better use of shelter belts to conserve energy on farmsteads and feed lots, (2) the establishment and use of minimum tillage systems, (3) the efficient storage and application of manure and other suitable wastes to the land for land fertility and soil improvement, (4) the use of integrated pest management, (5) the use of energyefficient irrigation water management, and (6) such other land, water, and related resource management practices as the Secretary may determine to have significant energy-conserving effects.9

The Secretary, in formulating the national program, shall take into consideration (A) the need to control erosion and sedimentation from agricultural land and to conserve the water resources on such land, (B) the need to control pollution from animal wastes, (C) the need to facili

Section 7(b) (g) repealed by the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962, P.L. 87-703, 76 Stat. 605, Sept. 27, 1962. Section 8(a) repealed by the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962, P.L. 87-703, 76 Stat. 605, Sept. 27, 1962. Sec. 1501 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, P.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 1019, Sept. 29, 1977, amended subsec. (b) by deleting the first three sentences, inserting in lieu thereof the first three paragraphs shown in the text, and redesignating the remainder of the original paragraph as a separate paragraph. P.L. 88-534. 78 Stat. 742, Aug. 31, 1964, deleted two sentences and inserted sentences 4 through 8 of this paragraph in lieu thereof, effective for elections of committeemen held on or after January 1, 1965. Subsection (b) was previously amended by the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962, P.L. 87-703, 76 Stat. 605, Sept. 27, 1962.

See also title IV of the Act of Aug. 4, 1978, on p. 42-11.

*The material "(including energy conservation)" was added by sec. 259 of the Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act of 1980, enacted as Title II of the Energy Security Act, P.L. 96-294, 94 Stat. 709, June 30, 1980.

This paragraph was added by Sec. 259 of the Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act of 1980, enacted as Title II of the Energy Security Act, P.L. 96-294, 94 Stat. 709, June 30, 1980.

tate sound resources management systems through soil and water conservation, (D) the need to encourage voluntary compliance by agricultural producers with Federal and State requirements to solve point and nonpoint sources of pollution, (E) national priorities reflected in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other congressional and administrative actions, (F) the degree to which the measures contribute to the national objective of assuring a continuous supply of food and fiber necessary for the maintenance of a strong and healthy people and economy, and (G) the type of conservation measures needed to improve water quality in rural America.

In carrying out the provisions of this section in the States of the Union, except Alaska, 10 the Secretary is directed to utilize the services of local and State committees selected as hereinafter provided. The Secretary shall designate local administrative areas as units for administration of programs under this section. No such local area shall include more than one county or parts of different counties. Farmers within any such local administrative area, and participating or cooperating in programs administered within such area, shall elect annually from among their number a local committee of not more than three members for such area. The members of the local committees shall, in a county convention, nominate and elect a county committee which shall consist of three members who are farmers in the county. At the first county convention held on or after the effective date of this sentence, one member of the county committee shall be elected for one year; one member shall be elected for two years; and one member shall be elected for three years. Thereafter, each member of a county committee shall be elected for a term of three years. No member of the county committee shall be elected for more than three consecutive terms (exclusive of any term which began prior to the effective date of this sentence). The local committee shall select a secretary and may utilize the county agricultural extension agent for such purpose. The county committee shall select a secretary who may be the county agricultural extension agent. If such county agricultural extension agent shall not have been elected secretary of such committee, he shall be ex officio a member of the county committee. The county agricultural extension agent shall not have the power to vote. In any county in which there is only one local committee the local committee shall also be the county committee. In each State there shall be a State committee for the State composed of not less than three or more than five farmers who are legal residents of the State and who are appointed by the Secretary. The State director of the Agricultural Extension Service shall be ex officio a member of such State committee. The ex officio members of the county and State committees shall be in addition to the number of members of such committee, herein before specified. The Secretary shall make such regulations as are necessary relating to the selection and exercise of the functions of the respective committees, and to the administration, through such committees, of such programs. In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Secretary shall, as far as practicable, protect the interests of tenants and sharecroppers; is authorized to utilize the agricultural extension service and other ap

10 The words "States of the Union, except Alaska" substituted for previous language by the Act of July 12, 1960, P.L. 86-624, 74 Stat. 412.