[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 6]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR633.4]

[Page 403]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
   CHAPTER VI--NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF 
                               AGRICULTURE
 
PART 633--WATER BANK PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 633.4  Program requirements.

    (a) General. Under the WBP, the NRCS will enter 10-year agreements 
with eligible persons who voluntarily cooperate in the protection of 
wetlands and associated lands. To participate in WBP, a person will 
agree to the implementation of a conservation plan, the effect of which 
is to protect, enhance, maintain, and manage the hydrologic conditions 
of inundation or saturation of the soil, native vegetation, and natural 
topography of eligible lands. The NRCS may provide cost-share assistance 
for the activities that promote the protection of wetland functions and 
values. Specific protection actions may be undertaken by the participant 
or other NRCS designee.
    (b) Participant eligibility. To be eligible to participate in the 
WBP, a person must:
    (1) Be the landowner of eligible land for which enrollment is 
sought; or
    (2) Have possession of the land by written lease over all designated 
acreage in the agreement for at least two years preceding the date of 
the agreement and will have possession over the all designated acreage 
for the agreement period.
    (c) Eligible land. (1) The NRCS shall determine whether land is 
eligible for enrollment and whether, once found eligible, the lands may 
be included in the program based on the likelihood of successful 
protection of wetland functions and values when considering the cost of 
entering the agreement and protection costs. Land placed under an 
agreement shall be specifically identified and designated for the period 
of the agreement.
    (2) The following land is eligible for enrollment in the WBP:
    (i) Privately owned inland fresh wetland areas of types 1 through 7.
    (ii) Privately owned inland fresh wetland areas of types 1 through 7 
which are under a drainage easement with the U.S. Department of the 
Interior or with a State government which permits agricultural use; or
    (iii) Other privately owned land which is adjacent to or within one 
quarter mile of designated types 1 through 7 wetlands and which is 
determined by the State Conservationist to be essential for the nesting, 
breeding, or feeding of migratory waterfowl, or for the protection of 
wetland.
    (d) Ineligible land. The following land is not eligible for 
enrollment in the WBP:
    (1) Converted wetlands if the conversion was in violation of 16 
U.S.C. 3821 et seq.;
    (2) Lands owned by an agency of the United States;
    (3) Land which is set aside or diverted under any other program 
administered by the Department of Agriculture;
    (4) Land which is harvested in the first year of the agreement 
period prior to being designated, except for land on which timber is 
harvested in accordance with a Forest Management Plan which is included 
in the conservation plan and is approved by the State forester or 
equivalent State official;
    (5) Lands where implementation of agreement practices would be 
futile due to on-site or off-site conditions; and
    (6) Land on which the ownership has changed during the 2-year period 
preceding the first year of the agreement period unless:
    (i) The new ownership was acquired by will or succession as a result 
of the death of the previous owner,
    (ii) 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, 
or
    (iii) The new owner operated the land to be designated for as long 
as 2 years preceding the first year of the agreement and has control of 
such land for the agreement period.