[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 10]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1467.4]

[Page 698-700]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
  CHAPTER XIV--COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 1467_WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1467.4  Program requirements.

    (a) General. Under the WRP, the Department may purchase conservation 
easements from, or enter into restoration cost-share agreements with, 
eligible landowners who voluntarily cooperate in the restoration and 
protection of wetlands and associated lands. To participate in WRP, a 
landowner will agree to the implementation of a Wetlands Reserve Plan of 
Operations (WRPO), the effect of which is to restore, protect, enhance, 
maintain, and manage the hydrologic conditions of inundation or 
saturation of the soil, native vegetation, and natural topography of 
eligible lands. The Department may provide cost-share assistance for the 
activities that promote the restoration, protection, enhancement, 
maintenance, and management of wetland functions and values. Specific 
restoration, protection, enhancement, maintenance, and management 
actions may be undertaken by the landowner or other Department designee.
    (b) Acreage limitations. (1) Except for areas devoted to windbreaks 
or shelterbelts after November 28, 1990, no more than 25 percent of the 
total cropland in any county, as determined by the Farm Service Agency, 
may be enrolled in the CRP and the WRP, and no more than 10 percent of 
the total cropland in the county may be subject to an easement acquired 
under the CRP and the WRP.
    (2) The Department and the Farm Service Agency shall concur before a 
waiver of either the 25 percent limit or the 10 percent limit of this 
subsection can be approved for an easement proposed for enrollment in 
the WRP. Such a waiver will only be approved if it will not adversely 
affect the local economy, and operators in the county are having 
difficulties complying with the conservation plans implemented under 16 
U.S.C. 3812.
    (c) Landowner eligibility. The Department may determine that a 
person is not eligible to participate in the WRP or receive any WRP 
payment because the person did not comply with the provisions of 7 CFR 
part 12. To be eligible to enroll an easement in the WRP, a person must:

[[Page 699]]

    (1) Be the landowner of eligible land for which enrollment is 
sought;
    (2) Have been the landowner of such land for the 12 months prior to 
the time the intention to participate is declared unless it is 
determined by the State Conservationist that the land was acquired by 
will or success as a result of the death of the previous landowner, the 
ownership change occurred due to foreclosure on the land and the owner 
of the land immediately before the foreclosure exercises a right of 
redemption from the mortgage holder in accordance with State law, or 
that adequate assurances have been presented to the State 
Conservationist that the new landowner of such land did not acquire such 
land for the purpose of placing it in the WRP; and
    (3) Agree to provide such information to the Department as the 
agency deems necessary or desirable to assist in its determination of 
eligibility for program benefits and for other program implementation 
purposes.
    (d) Eligible land. (1) The Department 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 
restoration of wetland functions and values when considering the cost of 
acquiring the easement and restoration, protection, enhancement, 
maintenance, and management costs.
    (2) Land shall only be considered eligible for enrollment in the WRP 
if the Department determines, in consultation with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, that:
    (i) Such land maximizes wildlife benefits and wetland values and 
functions;
    (ii) The likelihood of the successful restoration of such land and 
the resultant wetland values merit inclusion of such land in the 
program, taking into consideration the cost of such restoration; and
    (iii) Such land meets the criteria of paragraph (d)(3) of this 
section.
    (3) The following land may be eligible for enrollment in the WRP, 
which land may be identified by the Department pursuant to regulations 
and implementing policies pertaining to wetland conservation found at 7 
CFR part 12, as:
    (i) Wetlands farmed under natural conditions, farmed wetlands, prior 
converted cropland, commenced conversion wetlands, farmed wetland 
pastures, and lands substantially altered by flooding so as to develop 
wetland functions and values;
    (ii) Former or degraded wetlands that occur on lands that have been 
used or are currently being used for the production of food and fiber, 
including rangeland and forest production lands, where the hydrology has 
been significantly degraded or modified and will be substantially 
restored;
    (iii) Riparian areas along streams or other waterways that link or, 
after restoring the riparian area, will link wetlands which are 
protected by an easement or other device or circumstance that achieves 
the same objectives as an easement:
    (iv) Land adjacent to the restored wetland which would contribute 
significantly to wetland functions and values including buffer areas, 
wetland creations, and non-cropped natural wetlands, but not more than 
the State Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical 
Committee, determines is necessary for such contribution;
    (v) Other wetlands that would not otherwise be eligible but would 
significantly add to the wetland functions and values; and
    (vi) Wetlands that have been restored under a private, State, or 
Federal restoration program with an easement or deed restriction with a 
duration of less than 30 years.
    (4) To be enrolled in the program, eligible land must be configured 
in a size and with boundaries that allow for the efficient management of 
the area for easement purposes and otherwise promote and enhance program 
objectives.
    (e) Ineligible land. The following land is not eligible for 
enrollment in the WRP:
    (1) Converted wetlands if the conversion was commended after 
December 23, 1985;
    (2) Land that contains timber stands established under a CRP 
contract or pasture land established to trees under a CRP contract.
    (3) Lands owned by an agency of the United States;

[[Page 700]]

    (4) Land subject to an easement or deed restriction with a duration 
of 30 years or more prohibiting the production of agricultural 
commodities; and,
    (5) Lands where implementation of restoration practices would be 
futile due to on-site or off-site conditions.
    (f) Enrollment of CRP lands. Land subject to an existing CRP 
contract may be enrolled into the WRP only if the land and landowner 
meet the requirements of this part, and the enrollment is requested by 
the landowner and agreed to by the Department. To enroll in WRP, the CRP 
contract for the property shall be terminated or otherwise modified 
subject to such terms and conditions as are mutually agreed upon by the 
Farm Service Agency and the landowner.

[60 FR 28514, June 1, 1995; 60 FR 33034, June 26, 1995. Redesignated and 
amended at 61 FR 42141, Aug. 14, 1996; 67 FR 39255, June 7, 2002]