91st Congress, H. R. 15770 An Act To provide for conserving surface waters; to preserve and improve habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife resources; to reduce runoff, soil and wind erosion, and contribute to flood control; and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Water Bank Act". Water Bank Act. Water bank program. SEC. 2. The Congress finds that it is in the public interest to preserve, restore, and improve the wetlands of the Nation, and thereby to conserve surface waters, to preserve and improve habitat for migratory 84 STAT. 1468 waterfowl and other wildlife resources, to reduce runoff, soil and wind 84 STAT. 1469 erosion, and contribute to flood control, to contribute to improved water quality and reduce stream sedimentation, to contribute to improved subsurface moisture, to reduce acres of new land coming into production and to retire lands now in agricultural production, to enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, and to promote comprehensive and total water management planning. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Secretary") is authorized and directed to formulate and carry cut a continuous program to prevent the serious loss of wetlands, and to preserve, restore, and improve such lands, which program shall begin on July 1, 1971. SEC. 3. In effectuating the water bank program authorized by this Act, the Secretary shall have authority to enter into agreements with landowners and operators in important migratory waterfowl nesting and breeding areas for the conservation of water on specified farm, ranch, or other wetlands identified in a conservation plan developed in cooperation with the Soil and Water Conservation District in which the lands are located, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. These agreements shall be entered into for a period of ten years, with provision for renewal for additional periods of ten years each. The Secretary shall reexamine the payment rates at the beginning of any such ten-year renewal period in the light of the then current land and crop values and make needed adjustments in rates for any such renewal period. As used in this Act, the term "wetlands" means the inland fresh areas (types 1 through 5) described in Circular 39, Wetlands of the United States, published by the United States Department of the Interior (including artificially developed inland fresh areas which meet the description of inland fresh areas, types 1 through 5, contained in such Circular 39). No agreement shall be entered into under this Act concerning land with respect to which the ownership or control has changed in the two-year period preceding the first year of the agreement period unless the new ownership was acquired by will or succession as a result of the death of the previous owner, or unless the new ownership was acquired prior to July 1, 1971, under other circumstances which the Secretary determines, and specifies by regulation, will give adequate assurance that such land was not acquired for the purpose of placing it in the program, except that this sentence shall not be construed to prohibit the continuation of an agreement by a new owner or operator after an agreement has once been entered into under this Act. A person who has operated the land to be covered by an agreement under this Act for as long as two years preceding the date of the agreement and who controls the land for the agreement period shall not be required to own the land as a condition of eligibility for entering into the agreement. Nothing in this section shall prevent an owner or operator from placing land in the program if the land was acquired by the owner or operator to replace eligible land from which he was displaced because of its acquisition by any Federal, State, or other agency having the right of eminent domain. Conservation agreements. "Wetlands." 84 STAT. 1470 Safeguards. Agreement provisions. Annual payments. The Secretary shall provide adequate safeguards to protect the interests of tenants and sharecroppers, including provision for sharing, on a fair and equitable basis, in payments or compensation under this program. No provision of this Act shall prevent an owner or operator who is participating in the program under this Act from participating in other Federal or State programs designed to conserve or protect wetlands. SEC. 4. In the agreement between the Secretary and an owner or operator, the owner or operator shall agree— (1) to place in the program for the period of the agreement eligible wetland areas he designates, which areas may include wetlands covered by a Federal or State government easement which permits agricultural use, together with such adjacent areas as determined desirable by the Secretary; (2) not to drain, buru, fill, or otherwise destroy the wetland character of such areas, nor to use such areas for agricultural purposes, as determined by the Secretary; (3) to effectuate the wetland conservation and development plan for his land in accordance with the terms of the agreement, unless any requirement thereof is waived or modified by the Secretary pursuant to section 7 of this Act; (4) to forfeit all rights to further payments or grants under the agreement and refund to the United States all payments or grants received thereunder upon his violation of the agreement at any stage during the time he has control of the land subject to the agreement if the Secretary determines that such violation is of such a nature as to warrant termination of the agreement, or to make refunds or accept such payment adjustments as the Secretary may deem appropriate if he determines that the violation by the owner or operator does not warrant termination of the agreement; (5) upon transfer of his right and interest in the lands subject to the agreement during the agreement period, to forfeit all rights to further payments or grants under the agreement and refund to the United States all payments or grants received thereunder during the year of the transfer unless the transferee of any such land agrees with the Secretary to assume all obligations of the agreement; (6) not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the agreement as a practice which would tend to defeat the purposes of the agreement; and (7) to such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are desirable and includes in the agreement to effectuate the purposes of the program or to facilitate its administration. SEC. 5. In return for the agreement of the owner or operator, the Secretary shall (1) make an annual payment to the owner or operator for the period of the agreement at such rate or rates as the Secretary determines to be fair and reasonable in consideration of the obligations undertaken by the owner or operator; and (2) bear such part of the average cost of establishing and maintaining conservation and development practices on the wetlands and adjacent areas for the purposes of this Act as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. In making his determination, the Secretary shall consider, among other things, the rate of compensation necessary to encourage owners or operators of wetlands to participate in the water bank program. The rate or rates of annual payments as determined hereunder shall be increased, by an amount determined by the Secretary to be appropriate, in relation to the benefit to the general public of the use of the wetland areas, together with designated adjacent areas, if the owner or operator agrees to permit, without other compensation, access to such acreage by the general public, during the agreement period, for hunting, trapping, fishing, and hiking, subject to applicable State and Federal regulations. SEC. 6. Any agreement may be renewed or extended at the end of the agreement period for an additional period of ten years by mutual agreement of the Secretary and the owner or operator, subject to any rate redetermination by the Secretary. If during the agreement period the owner or operator sells or otherwise divests himself of the ownership or right of occupancy of such land, the new owner or operator may continue such agreement under the same terms or conditions, or enter into a new agreement in accordance with the provisions of this Act, including the provisions for renewal and adjustment of payment rates, or he may choose not to participate in such program. 84 STAT. 1471 Agreement renewal. SEC. 7. The Secretary may terminate any agreement by mutual agree- Termination. ment 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 agreements as he may determine to be desirable to carry out the purposes of the program or facilitate its administration. SEC. 8. In carrying out the program, the Secretary may utilize the Services and services of local, county, and State committees established under section 8 of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended. The Secretary is authorized to utilize the facilities and services of the Commodity Credit Corporation in discharging his functions and responsibilities under this program. facilities, utilization. 49 Stat. 1149. 16 USC 590h. SEC. 9. The Secretary may, without regard to the civil service laws, Advisory appoint an Advisory Board to advise and consult on matters relating Board. to his functions under this Act as he deems appropriate. The Board shall consist of persons chosen from members of organizations such as wildlife organizations, land-grant colleges, farm organizations, State game and fish departments, soil and water conservation district associations, water management organizations, and representatives of the general public. Members of such an Advisory Board who are not regular full-time employees of the United States shall be entitled to reimbursement on an actual expense basis for attendance at Advisory Board meetings. of programs. SEC. 10. The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the In- Congruity terior and take appropriate measures to insure that the program carried out pursuant to this Act is in harmony with wetlands programs administered by the Secretary of the Interior. He shall also, insofar as practicable, consult with and utilize the technical and related services of appropriate local, State, Federal, and private conservation agencies to assure coordination of the program with programs of such agencies and a solid technical foundation for the program. SEC. 11. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated without Appropriation. fiscal year limitation, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the 84 STAT. 1471 program authorized by this Act. In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall not enter into agreements with owners and operators which would require payments to owners or operators in any calendar year under such agreements in excess of $10,000,000. SEC. 12. The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as he determines necessary and desirable to carry out the provisions of this Act. Approved December 19, 1970. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: HOUSE REPORT No. 91-1307 (Comm. on Merchant Marine and Fisheries). Oct. 5, considered and passed House. 92nd Congress, S. 1893 July 11, 1972 An Act To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to restore the Golden 86 STAT. 459 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection Golden Eagle 1(b) of the Act of July 15, 1968 (82 Stat. 354) is hereby repealed. Passport ProSEC. 2. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (78 gram, Stat. 897), as amended (16 U.S.C. 4601), is further amended by inserting the following new section and renumbering subsequent sections accordingly: "ADMISSION AND SPECIAL RECREATION USE FEES: ESTABLISHMENT AND REGULATIONS "SEC. 4. (a) ADMISSION FEES.-Entrance or admission fees shall be charged only at designated units of the National Park System administered by the Department of the Interior and National Recreation Areas administered by the Department of Agriculture. No admission fees of any kind shall be charged or imposed for entrance into any other Federally owned areas used for outdoor recreation purposes. Restoration. 16 USC 4601-5 note. 16 USC 4601-4 note. "(1) For admission into any such designated area, an annual admis- "Golden Eagle sion permit (to be known as the 'Golden Eagle Passport) shall be Passport." available, for a fee of not more than $10. Any person purchasing the annual permit, and any person accompanying him, in a single, private, noncommercial vehicle shall be entitled to general admission into any admission fee area designated pursuant to this section during the calendar year in which the annual fee is paid, but such permit shall not authorize any use of specialized sites, facilities, equipment, or services for which additional fees are charged pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The annual permit shall be nontransferable and the unlawful use thereof shall be punishable in accordance with regulations established pursuant to subsection (d). The annual permit shall be available for purchase through the offices of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture and through all post offices of the first- and second-class and at such others as the Postmaster General shall direct. The Secretary of the Interior shall transfer to the Postal Service, Postal Service from the receipts thereof such funds as are adequate reimbursement. for the reimbursement of the cost of the service so provided. "(2) Reasonable admission fees for a single visit at any designated Single-visit area shall be established by the administering Secretary for persons fees. who choose not to purchase the annual permit or who enter such an area by means other than by private, noncommercial vehicle. "(3) No admission fee shall be charged for travel by private, non- Fee-free commercial vehicle over any national parkway or any road or high- travel areas. way established as a part of the National Federal Aid System, as defined in section 101, title 23, United States Code, which is commonly 72 Stat. 885. used by the public as a means of travel between two places either or both of which are outside the area. Nor shall any fee be charged for travel by private, noncommercial vehicle over any road or highway to any land in which such person has any property right if such land is within any such designated area. In the Smoky Mountains National Smoky Mountains Park, unless fees are charged for entrance into said park on main high- National Park. ways and thoroughfares, fees shall not be charged for entrance on other routes into said park or any part thereof. "(4) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture "Golden Age shall establish procedures providing for the issuance of an annual Passport." entrance permit (to be known as the 'Golden Age Passport') to any |