Iowa Code 161A.73 – Voluntary establishment of soil and water conservation practices
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1. The division shall establish voluntary financial incentive programs which shall provide for the following:
a. The allocation of cost-share moneys as financial incentives provided for the purpose of establishing permanent soil and water conservation practices, including but not limited to terraces, diversions, grade stabilization structures, grassed waterways, and critical area planting. Except for edge-of-field practices, financial incentives shall not exceed fifty percent of the estimated cost of establishing the practices, or fifty percent of the actual cost, whichever is less.
b. The allocation of moneys as financial incentives provided for the purpose of establishing management practices to control soil erosion on land that is row cropped, including but not limited to cover crops, no-till planting, ridge-till planting, contouring, and contour strip-cropping. The division shall by rule establish limits on the amount of incentives which shall be authorized for payment to landowners upon establishment of the practice.
c. The allocation of cost-share moneys as financial incentives provided to establish practices to protect watersheds above publicly owned lakes of the state from soil erosion and sediment. The financial incentives shall be awarded to watersheds which are of the highest importance based on soil loss as established by the natural resource commission pursuant to section 456A.33A. The financial incentives shall not exceed seventy-five percent of the estimated cost of establishing the practices as determined by the commissioners or seventy-five percent of the actual cost of establishing the practices, whichever is less.
d. The allocation of cost-share moneys as financial incentives to establish permanent grass and buffer zones, including an erosion control structure or an erosion control practice to mitigate the effects of concentrated runoff on surface water quality. The financial incentives shall not exceed one hundred percent of the estimated cost of establishing a zone, as determined by the commissioners, or one hundred percent of the actual cost of establishing the zone, whichever is less.
e. The allocation of cost-share moneys as financial incentives for the same purposes that are supported from the soil and water enhancement account of the resources enhancement and protection fund as provided in section 455A.19, or by the water protection practices account of the water protection fund established pursuant to section 161C.4. The financial incentives shall not exceed fifty percent of the estimated cost of establishing the practices, or fifty percent of the actual cost, whichever is less.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 161A.73
- Agricultural land: has the meaning assigned that term by section 9H. See Iowa Code 161A.42
- Farm unit: means a single contiguous tract of agricultural land, or two or more adjacent tracts of agricultural land, located within a single soil and water conservation district, upon which farming operations are being conducted by a person who owns or is purchasing or renting all of the land, or by that person's tenant or tenants. See Iowa Code 161A.42
- fence: includes a fence bordering a public road. See Iowa Code 169C.1
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Forest: means stands of native or introduced trees containing at least two hundred trees per acre and located on privately owned land. See Iowa Code 161A.42
- Fund: means the grain depositors and sellers indemnity fund created in section 203D. See Iowa Code 203D.1
- Landowner: means a person who holds an interest in land, including a titleholder or tenant. See Iowa Code 169C.1
- Livestock: means cattle, sheep, swine, ostriches, rheas, emus, poultry, and other animals or fowl, which are being produced primarily for use as food or food products for human consumption. See Iowa Code 172D.1
- Loss: means the amount of a claim held by a seller or depositor against a grain dealer or warehouse operator which has not been recovered through other legal and equitable remedies including the liquidation of assets. See Iowa Code 203D.1
- Maintenance: means the provision of shelter, food, water, or a nutritional formulation as required pursuant to chapter 717. See Iowa Code 169C.1
- Payment: means the actual payment or tender of payment by a grain dealer to a seller of the agreed purchase price, or in the case of disputes as to sales of grain, the undisputed portion of the purchase price without reduction for any separate claim of the grain dealer against the seller. See Iowa Code 203.8
- Permanent soil and water conservation practices: means planting of perennial grasses, legumes, shrubs, or trees, the establishment of grassed waterways, and the construction of terraces, or other permanent soil and water practices approved by the committee. See Iowa Code 161A.42
- Professional forester: means a forestry graduate of an institution of higher learning, who has a minimum of two years of forest management experience. See Iowa Code 161A.42
- road: include public bridges, and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" "common road" and "state road". See Iowa Code 4.1
- Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
- Soil and water conservation practices: means any of the practices designated in or pursuant to this subsection which serve to prevent erosion of soil by wind or water, in excess of applicable soil loss limits, from land used for agricultural or horticultural purposes only. See Iowa Code 161A.42
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
- State forester: means a person employed by the department of natural resources as required by section 456A. See Iowa Code 161A.42
2. The commissioners of a district may establish voluntary financial incentive programs which shall provide for the following:
a. The allocation of cost-share moneys as financial incentives under a special agreement with owners of land in the district who promise to adopt a watershed conservation plan as provided by rules which shall be adopted by the division. The watershed conservation plan shall be in conjunction with the owners’ respective farm unit soil conservation plans. The funding agreement must provide for the funding of a project which includes five or more contiguous farm units which have at least five hundred acres of agricultural land and which constitutes at least seventy-five percent of the agricultural land located within a watershed or subwatershed. The financial incentives shall not exceed sixty percent of the estimated cost of the project as determined by the commissioners or sixty percent of the actual cost, whichever is less.
b. The allocation of cost-share moneys as financial incentives to encourage summer construction of permanent soil and water conservation practices. The practices must be constructed on or after June 15 but not later than October 15. The commissioners may also provide for the payment of moneys on a prorated basis to compensate persons for the production loss on an area disturbed by construction, according to rules which shall be adopted by the division.
3. a. The division may reimburse private landowners for a portion of the cost of fencing materials and installation for permanent fence used to protect forest land from domestic livestock grazing, if the division determines that the grazing has caused excessive soil loss. For purposes of this subsection, forests shall be considered as agricultural land eligible for cost-share moneys. The total expenditure of reimbursement moneys shall not exceed fifty percent of the total landowner expenditures. Expenditures for boundary and road fence construction and for repair and replacement of existing fences are not eligible for reimbursement unless the complete fence is replaced.
b. A landowner shall sign an agreement with the division as a condition for receiving cost-share moneys. The agreement shall provide that the landowner shall maintain the fence for a minimum of ten years and shall follow written professional forester recommendations relating to land protected by fencing. The recommendations must be approved by the state forester or the forester’s designee.
c. A landowner who violates the maintenance agreement shall maintain, repair, or reconstruct the damaged fence, or shall pay the division an amount equal to the amount of cost-share moneys reimbursed.
d. The division shall adopt rules to administer this subsection, including rules relating to procedures required to receive reimbursement, and eligibility requirements such as the minimum forest acreage required, and the maximum reimbursement amount allowed.