Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 1.djvu/1009

 PUBLIC LAW 104-127—APR. 4, 1996 110 STAT. 985 with the conservation plan under which the conservation system is being applied. "(3) REVISIONS AND MODIFICATIONS. —The Secretary shall permit a person who makes a certification under paragraph (1) with respect to a conservation plan to revise the conservation plan in any manner, if the same level of conservation treatment provided for by the conservation system under the person's conservation plan is maintained. The Secretary may not revise the person's conservation plan without the concurrence of the person. "(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. —The Secretary shall, using available resources and consistent with the Secretary's other conservation responsibilities and objectives, provide technical assistance to a person throughout the development, revision, and application of the conservation plan and any conservation system of the person. At the request of the person, the Secretary may provide technical assistance regarding conservation measures and management practices for other lands of the person that do not contain highly erodible cropland. "(f) ENCOURAGEMENT OF ON-FARM RESEARCH. —To encourage on-farm conservation research, the Secretary may allow a person to include in the person's conservation plan or a conservation system under the plan, on a field trial basis, practices that are not currently approved but that the Secretary considers have a reasonable likelihood of success.". (b) TREATMENT OF TECHNICAL DETERMINATIONS.— Section 226(d)(2) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6932(d)(2)) is amended— (1) by striking "DETERMINATION. — With" and inserting " DETERMINATION.— "(A) IN GENERAL. —With"; and (2) by adding at the end the following: "(B) ECONOMIC HARDSHIP.— After a technical determination has been made, on a producer's request, if a county or area committee determines that the application of the producer's conservation system would impose an undue economic hardship on the producer, the committee shall provide the producer with relief to avoid the hardship.". SEC. 316. INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBLE COMPLIANCE DEFICIENCIES. Subtitle B of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as amended by section 315(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: "SEC. 1215. NOTICE AND INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBLE COMPLIANCE 16 USC 3814. DEFICIENCIES. "(a) IN GENERAL. —An employee of the Department of Agriculture who observes a possible compliance deficiency or other potential violation of a conservation plan or this subtitle while providing on-site technical assistance shall provide to the responsible persons, not later than 45 days after observing the possible violation, information regarding actions needed to comply with the plan and this subtitle. The employee shall provide the information in lieu of reporting the observation as a compliance violation. "(b) CORRECTIVE ACTION. —The responsible persons shall attempt to correct the deficiencies as soon as practicable after receiving the information.

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