(a) Authority to provide technical and financial assistance

The Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter in this subchapter referred to as the “Secretary”) shall establish a program for the conservation of soil, water, and related resources in special areas designated pursuant to section 3413 of this title (hereafter in this subchapter referred to as “designated special areas”) by providing technical and financial assistance to owners and operators or groups of owners and operators of farm, ranch, and certain other lands at their request. Such assistance with respect to State, county, and other public land shall be limited to those lands that are an integral part of a private farm operating unit and under the control of the private landowner or operator.

(b) Contracting authority

To carry out the program established under this subchapter, the Secretary may enter into contracts with owners and operators of farm, ranch, or other land in a designated special area having such control over the land as the Secretary deems necessary. Contracts may be entered into with respect to land in a designated special area which is not farm or ranch land only if the erosion-related problems of such land are so severe as to make such contracts with respect to such land necessary for the effective protection of farm or ranch land in that designated special area. Contracts under this subchapter shall be designed to provide assistance to the owners or operators of such farm, ranch, or other land to make voluntary changes in their cropping systems which are needed to conserve or protect the soil, water, and related resources of such lands, and to carry out the soil and water conservation practices and measures needed under such changed systems and uses.

The basis for such contracts shall be a conservation plan approved by the Secretary and the soil and water conservation district in which the land on which the plan is to be carried out is situated. The Secretary shall provide to the landowner or operator, upon request, such technical assistance as may be needed to prepare and submit to the Secretary a conservation plan that—

(1) incorporates such soil and other conservation practices and measures as may be determined to be practicable to protect such land from erosion or water-related problems;

(2) outlines a schedule for the implementation of changes in cropping systems or use of land or of water and of conservation practices and measures proposed to be carried out on the farm, ranch, or other land during the contract period;

(3) is designed to take into account the local social, economic, and environmental conditions, which will help solve the particular erosion or water-related problems of the designated area;

(4) may allow for such varying levels of conservation application as are appropriate to address the problems and may be developed to cover all or part of a farm, ranch, or other land as determined to be necessary to solve the conservation problems;

(5) may include practices and measures for enhancing fish and wildlife and recreation resources and for reducing or controlling agricultural-related pollution; and

(6) identifies those conservation practices and measures, including planned grazing systems, needed to improve vegetative conditions, reduce erosion, and conserve water on range and pasturelands.

(d) Contract requirements

The landowner or operator, in any contract entered into under this subchapter, shall agree—

(1) to carry out the plan for the owner's or operator's farm, ranch, or other land substantially in accordance with the schedule outlined therein unless any requirement thereof is waived or modified by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f) of this section;

(2) to forfeit further payments under the contract and refund to the United States all payments received thereunder, including interest, upon violation by the owner or operator of the contract at any stage during the time the owner or operator has control of the land if the Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the soil and water conservation district board for the district in which the lands are located, determines that such violation is of such a nature as to warrant termination of the contract, or to make refunds, including interest, or accept such payment adjustments as the Secretary may deem appropriate if the Secretary determines that the violation by the owner or operator does not warrant termination of the contract;

(3) not to adopt any practice or measure specified by the Secretary in the contract which would tend to defeat the purposes of the contract; and

(4) upon transfer, during the contract period, of the rights or interests of the owner or operator in the farm, ranch, or other land on which the plan is to be carried out, to forfeit all rights to further payments under the contract and refund to the United States all payments received thereunder, including interest, unless the transferee of any such land agrees with the Secretary to assume all obligations of the contract.

(e) Cost sharing under contract

In return for such agreement by the landowner or operator, the Secretary shall agree to share the cost of carrying out those conservation practices and measures set forth in the contract for which the Secretary determines that cost sharing is appropriate and in the public interest. The portion of the costs to be shared shall be that part which the Secretary determines is necessary and appropriate to effectuate the implementation, and, if applicable, the maintenance of the conservation practices and measures under the contract, including the cost of labor. In determining the share of costs to be borne by the Federal Government, the Secretary shall take into consideration the particular social, economic, and environmental conditions of the geographic area involved and the degree of conservation to be achieved. The Secretary shall determine the maximum amount of cost-share assistance that may be provided to any single recipient. If adjustments from cultivated crops to permanent vegetative cover or changes in crop varieties are undertaken as a conservation practice or measure under the contract, cost-share assistance may be provided under such contract with regard to the income lost as a result of such adjustments.

(f) Termination, modification, etc., of contract

The Secretary may terminate any contract with a landowner or operator by mutual agreement with the owner or operator if the Secretary determines that such termination would be in the public interest. The Secretary may agree to such modification of contracts previously entered into as the Secretary may determine to be desirable to carry out the purposes of the program or facilitate the practical administration thereof or to accomplish equitable treatment with respect to similar conservation or other programs administered by the Secretary.

(g) Additional contracting authority

The Secretary may also enter into contracts with landowners or operators for the purpose of maintaining any conservation practice or measure established under this subchapter or other conservation practice or measure which has been adequately established, and to provide necessary assistance to retain the practice or measure on the land. The provisions and administration of such contracts shall be in accordance with the requirements set forth in subsections (b) through (f) of this section.