Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 87.djvu/275

 87

STAT.]

243

PUBLIC LAW 93-86-AUG. 10, 1973

servation district or the State forester or other appropriate State official in which their lands are situated shall form a basis for contracts under this title. Under the contract the landowner or operator shall agree— " (5) to comply with all applicable Federal, State, or local laws, and regulations, including those governing environmental protection and noxious weed abatement; and "(6) to such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are desirable and includes in the contract to effectuate the purposes of the program or to facilitate the practical administration of the program: Provided, That all contracts entered into to effectuate the purposes of the Water Bank Act for wetlands shall contain the further agreement of the owner or operator that he shall not drain, burn, fill, or otherwise destroy the wetland character of such areas, nor use such areas for agricultural purposes: And provided further, That contracts entered into for the protection of wetlands to effectuate the purposes of the Water Bank Act may include wetlands covered by Federal or State government easement which permits agricultural use, together with such adjacent areas as determined desirable by the Secretary. "(b) In return for such agreement by the landowner or operator the Secretary shall agree to make payments in appropriate circumstances for the use of land maintained for conservation purposes as set forth in this title, and share the cost of carrying out those conservation practices and measures set forth in the contract for which he determines that cost-sharing is appropriate and in the public interest. The portion of such cost (including labor) to be shared shall be that part which the Secretary determines is necessary and appropriate to effectuate the physical installation of the conservation practices and measures under the contract, but, in the case of a contract not entered into under an advertising and bid procedure under the provisions of section 1009(d) of this title, not less than 50 per centum or more than 75 per centum of the actual costs incurred by the owner or operator. "(c) 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, and may agree to such modification of contracts previously entered into as he 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 other similiar conservation, land use, or commodity programs administered by the Secretary. "SEC. 1004. The Secretary is authorized to make available to eligible owners and operators conservation materials including seeds, seed inoculants, soil conditioning materials, trees, plants, and, if he determines it is appropriate to the purposes of this title, fertilizer and liming materials. "SEC. 1005. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other title, the Secretary may establish multiyear set-aside contracts for a period not to extend beyond the 1977 crop. Such contracts may be entered into only as a part of the programs m effect for wheat, feed grains, and cotton for the years 1974 through 1978, and only producers participating in one or more of such programs shall be eligible to contract with the Secretary under this section. Producers agreeing to a multiyear set-aside agreement shall be required to devote this acreage to vegetative cover capable of maintaining itself throughout such period to provide soil protection, water quality enhancement, wildlife production, and natural beauty. Grazing of livestock under this section shall be prohibited. Producers entering into agreements under this section shall

84 Stat. 1468. 16 USC 1301 note.

Land conservation, payments.

Conservation materials, availability.

Multiyear set-aside contracts.

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