12 2 STA T . 1 78 7 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 46—J U NE 18 , 2008 ‘ ‘ (A)incur r ed c ost s a ssociated w it hpl annin g, design, m aterials, e q uipment, installation, la b or, management, maintenance, or training
and ‘‘( B ) income f orgone b y the producer . ‘‘( 5 ) PRACTI C E . —T he term ‘practice ’ means 1 or more impro v ements and conservation activities that are consistent with the purposes of the program under this chapter, as deter - mined by the S ecretary, including— ‘‘(A) improvements to eligible land of the producer, including— ‘‘(i) structural practices; ‘‘(ii) land management practices; ‘‘(iii) vegetative practices; ‘‘(iv) forest management; and ‘‘(v) other practices that the Secretary determines would further the purposes of the program; and ‘‘(B) conservation activities involving the development of plans appropriate for the eligible land of the producer, including— ‘‘(i) comprehensive nutrient management planning; and ‘‘(ii) other plans that the Secretary determines would further the purposes of the program under this chapter. ‘‘( 6 )PR OG RA M .—The term ‘program’ means the environ- mental quality incentives program established by this chapter.’’. SEC.2503 . ES TABLI S HM E N TAN D ADMINIST R ATI O NO F EN V IRON - MENTAL QU ALIT Y INCENTIVES P RO G RAM. Section 1 240 Bofthe F ood Security Act of 1 98 5 (16 U .S. C . 3 839aa – 2) is amended to read as follows
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‘SEC. 1 2 4 0B. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. ‘‘(a) ES TA BL IS H ME N T.— D uring each of the 2002 through 2012 fiscal years, the Secretary shall provide payments to producers that enter into contracts with the Secretary under the program. ‘‘(b) PRACTICES AN D TERM.— ‘‘(1) PRACTICES.—A contract under the program may apply to the performance of one or more practices. ‘‘(2) TERM.—A contract under the program shall have a term that— ‘‘(A) at a minimum, is equal to the period beginning on the date on which the contract is entered into and ending on the date that is one year after the date on which all practices under the contract have been imple- mented; but ‘‘(B) not to e x ceed 10 years. ‘‘(c) BIDDING DO W N.— I f the Secretary determines that the environmental values of two or more applications for payments are comparable, the Secretary shall not assign a higher priority to the application only because it would present the least cost to the program. ‘‘(d) PA Y MENTS.— ‘‘(1) A V AILABILITY O FP AYMENTS.—Payments are provided to a producer to implement one or more practices under the program.
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