Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/1826

 12 2 STA T . 1 803PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 46—J U NE 18, 2008 with,o th erag e nc ie s within the D e p art m ent or non -F e d era l entities to assist the S ecretar y in pro v iding technical assistance necessary to assist in implementing conservation programs u nder this title .‘ ‘ ( e )CERTIF I CA TI ON OF TH IR D - P ART Y PRO V IDER S . — ‘‘( 1 )P U R P OSE.—The purpose o f the third-party provider program is to increase the availa b ility and range of technical e x pertise available to eligible participants to plan and imple- ment conservation measures. ‘‘( 2 ) R E G U L ATIONS.— N ot later than 1 80 days after the date of the enactment of the Food, Conservation, and E nergy A ct of 2008, the Secretary shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section. ‘‘( 3 )E X PERTISE.— I n promulgating such regulations, the Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall— ‘‘(A) ensure that persons with expertise in the technical aspects of conservation planning, watershed planning, and environmental engineering, including commercial entities, nonprofit entities, State or local governments or agencies, and other Federal agencies, are eligible to become approved providers of the technical assistance ‘‘( B ) provide national criteria for the certification of third party providers; and ‘‘(C) approve any uni q ue certification standards estab- lished at the State level. ‘‘(f) AD M INISTRATION.— ‘‘(1) FUNDING.—Effective for fiscal year 2008 and each sub- sequent fiscal year, funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation made available to carry out technical assistance for each of the programs specified in section 12 4 1 shall be available for the provision of technical assistance from third-party providers under this section. ‘‘(2) TERM OF AGREEMENT.—An agreement with a third- party provider under this section shall have a term that— ‘‘(A) at a minimum, is equal to the period beginning on the date on which the agreement is entered into and ending on the date that is 1 year after the date on which all activities performed pursuant to the agreement have been completed; ‘‘(B) does not exceed 3 years; and ‘‘(C) can be renewed, as determined by the Secretary. ‘‘(3) REVIE W OF CERTIFICATION RE Q UIREMENTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Food, Conserva- tion, and Energy Act of 2008, the Secretary shall— ‘‘(A) review certification requirements for third-party providers; and ‘‘(B) ma k eanyad j ustments considered necessary by the Secretary to improve participation. ‘‘(4) ELIGI B LE ACTIVITIES.— ‘‘(A) INCLUSION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may include as activities eligible for payments to a third party provider— ‘‘(i) technical services provided directly to eligible participants, such as conservation planning, education and outreach, and assistance with design and implementation of conservation practices; and ‘‘(ii) related technical assistance services that accel- erate conservation program delivery. Deadlin e .Ef fe ct i v e date. Cr iteria. Deadline.

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