HR 1011
Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025
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Bill overview
This bill, the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025, aims to make it easier for farmers and forest landowners to access financial assistance after natural disasters. It expands eligibility for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to include a wider range of emergency measures, such as repairing or replacing farmland structures, and allows producers to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments before implementing those measures. The bill also increases the amount of advance payments available for wildfire damage, and expands the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to allow landowners to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for emergency forest restoration efforts.
Key provisions
- Allows agricultural producers to receive an advance on ECP payments for repairing or replacing farmland or conservation structures.
- Increases the advance payment percentage for ECP repairs and replacements from 25% to 75% for repairs and 50% for replacements.
- Expands ECP eligibility to include emergency measures addressing wildfire damage caused by natural spread, even if the wildfire is initiated by the federal government.
- Allows owners of nonindustrial private forest land to receive an advance on EFRP cost-sharing payments.
- Sets a maximum advance payment of 75% for EFRP emergency measures.
- Requires recipients to use advance funds within 180 days.
- Provides a mechanism for returning unspent advance funds to the government.
- Clarifies that wildfire damage includes wildfires caused by the federal government if spread by natural causes.
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 1011
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to remove barriers to agricultural producers in accessing funds to carry out emergency measures under the emergency conservation program, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025
.
Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201) is amended—
in subsection (b)—
in the subsection heading, by inserting and other emergency conservation measures
after fencing
; and
by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
by adding at the end the following:
A wildfire that causes damage with respect to which a payment may be made under subsection (a) includes any wildfire that is not caused naturally, including a wildfire that is caused by the Federal Government, if the damage is caused by the spread of the fire due to natural causes.
Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended—
by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
The Secretary shall give an owner of nonindustrial private forest land the option of receiving, before the owner carries out emergency measures under this section, not more than 75 percent of the cost of the emergency measures, as determined by the Secretary based on the fair market value of the cost of the emergency measures using the estimated cost of the applicable practice published in the Field Office Technical Guide of each State by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
If the funds provided under paragraph (1) are not expended by the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date on which the owner of nonindustrial private forest land receives those funds, the funds shall be returned within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the Secretary.