North Carolina § 106-850 - Agriculture cost share program.

§ 106-850. Agriculture cost share program.

There is created the Agriculture Cost Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control. The program shall be created, implemented, and supervised by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission. The program shall be subject to the following requirements and limitations: The purpose of the program shall be to reduce the input of agricultural nonpoint source pollution into the watercourses of the State. The program shall include the entire State. Subject to subdivision (7) of this subsection, priority designations for inclusions in the program shall be under the authority of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission. The Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall retain the authority to allocate the cost share funds. Areas shall be included in the program as the funds are appropriated and the technical assistance becomes available from the local Soil and Water Conservation District. Funding may be provided to assist practices including conservation tillage, diversions, filter strips, field borders, critical area plantings, sedimentation control structures, sod-based rotations, grassed waterways, strip-cropping, terraces, cropland conversion to permanent vegetation, grade control structures, water control structures, closure of lagoons, emergency spillways, riparian buffers or equivalent controls, odor control best management practices, insect control best management practices, and animal waste management systems and application. Funding for animal waste management shall be allocated for practices in river basins such that the funds will have the greatest impact in improving water quality. Except as provided in subdivision (8) of this subsection, State funding shall be limited to seventy-five percent (75%) of the average cost for each practice with the assisted farmer providing twenty-five percent (25%) of the cost, which may include in-kind support of the practice, with a maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year to each applicant. Priority designation for inclusion in the program for State funding shall be given to projects that improve water quality. To be eligible for cost share funds under this subdivision, a project shall be evaluated before funding is awarded and after the project is completed to determine the impact on water quality. For practices that are eligible for funding from the federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, State funding from the program shall be limited to seventy-five percent (75%) of the average cost of each practice, with the remainder paid from funding from the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, other available federal funds, other State funds, or the assisted farmer, whose contribution may include in-kind support of the practice. This subdivision is subject to subdivision (9) of this subsection. When the applicant is either (i) a limited-resource farmer, (ii) a beginning farmer, or (iii) a person farming land that is located in an enhanced voluntary agricultural district and is subject to a conservation agreement under G.S. 106-743.2 that remains in effect, State funding shall be limited to ninety percent (90%) of the average cost for each practice with the assisted farmer providing ten percent (10%) of the cost, which may include in-kind support of the practice, with a maximum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per year to each applicant. The following definitions apply in this subdivision: Beginning farmer. - A farmer who has not operated a farm or who has operated a farm for not more than 10 years and who will materially and substantially participate in the operation of the farm. Enhanced voluntary agricultural district. - A district established by a county or a city by ordinance under Part 3 of Article 61 of this Chapter. Limited-resource farmer. - A farmer with direct and indirect annual gross farm sales that do not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and with an adjusted household income in each of the previous two years that is at or below the greater of the county median household income, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or two times the national poverty level based on the federal poverty guidelines established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services and revised each April 1. Materially and substantially participate. In the case of an individual, for the individual, including members of the immediate family of the individual, to provide substantial day-to-day labor and management of the farm, consistent with the practices in the county in which the farm is located. In the case of an entity, for all members of the entity, to participate in the operation of the farm, with some members providing management and some members providing labor and management necessary for day-to-day activities such that if the members did not provide the management and labor, the operation of the farm would be seriously impaired. To be eligible for cost share funds under this program, each applicant must establish that the applicant meets the definition of a bona fide farm as described by G.S. 153A-340(b)(2). In extraordinary circumstances, the Commission may permit an applicant to establish that he or she is engaged in farming with an alternate form of documentation if the farm has a conservation plan that meets the statutory purposes of the program. The program shall be reviewed, prior to implementation, by the Committee created by G.S. 106-852. The Technical Review Committee shall meet quarterly to review the progress of this program. State funds for the program shall remain available until expended for the program. The Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall report on or before January 31 of each year to the Environmental Review Commission, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Fiscal Research Division. This report shall include a list of projects that received State funding pursuant to the program, the results of the evaluations conducted pursuant to subdivision (7) of subsection (b) of this section, findings regarding the effectiveness of each of these projects to accomplish its primary purpose, and any recommendations to assure that State funding is used in the most cost-effective manner and accomplishes the greatest improvement in water quality. This report shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission and the Fiscal Research Division with the reports required by G.S. 106-860(e) and G.S. 139-60(d) as a single report. History (1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1014, s. 149(a); 1987, c. 827, s. 154; c. 830, s. 102; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 626, ss. 9, 10; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 27.22(a), (b); 1997-496, s. 15; 1998-221, s. 3.1; 2002-165, s. 2.18; 2003-284, s. 11.6; 2004-124, s. 12.6; 2005-390, s. 8; 2007-495, s. 18; 2011-145, ss. 13.22A(a), (t)-(w), 13.23A(a); 2011-391, s. 32; 2012-142, s. 11.2A(a); 2015-263, s. 37(a); 2017-10, s. 4.18(a); 2021-78, s. 13A.) Cross References. - As to moratorium on the construction or expansion of swine farms or lagoons or animal waste management systems for swine farms, established by Session Laws 1997-458, ss. 1.1 and 1.2, as amended by Session Laws 1998-188, ss. 2 and 3, by Session Laws 1999-329, ss. 2.1 and 2.2, by Session Laws 2001-254, ss. 1 and 2, and by Session Laws 2003-266, ss. 1 and 2, see the Editor's notes following G.S. 143-215.10 A. Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program. - Session Laws 2008-107, s. 12.4, provides: "(a) Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program. - The Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program is established. The Program shall provide cost share funds to assist North Carolina farmers who suffered damage from the severe and extreme drought conditions in North Carolina in 2007. These cost share funds shall be used to assist farmers with the following projects: "(1) To redrill damaged wells or to drill new wells to be used as a water supply for livestock or for irrigation. "(2) To renovate damaged or inadequate farm ponds or construct new farm ponds to be used as a water supply for livestock or for irrigation. "(3) To renovate pastures depleted by the 2007 drought. "(b) Program Administration. - The Program shall be implemented and supervised by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission through the Agriculture Cost Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control. The Commission shall administer this Program as provided in this section and in Part 9 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 [now Article 72 of Chapter 106 ] of the General Statutes. "(c) Program Functions. - Under the Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program, the Division shall: "(1) Within funds available for this Program, provide cost share funds subject to all of the following limitations and requirements: "a. Except as provided in G.S. 143-215.74(b)(9) [now G.S. 106-850(b)(9) ], State funding shall be limited to: "1. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the average cost for each project with the assisted person providing twenty-five percent (25%) of the project cost, which may include in-kind support of the project. "2. A maximum of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year to each applicant. "b. Applicants shall be limited to farmers who have an adjusted gross income in each of the previous two years that is at or below two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), unless at least seventy-five percent (75%) of this adjusted gross income is derived directly from farming, ranching, or forestry operations. "c. To be eligible for cost share funds under subdivision (1) or subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, applicants must demonstrate that their existing water supplies are insufficient to provide reliable water to meet current needs for livestock watering or irrigation. "d. Applicants may apply for cost share funds for projects under subsection (a) of this section that were installed as of August 1, 2007, so long as the costs of installation are documented to the satisfaction of the Commission. "e. The requirements and limitations under subdivisions (1), (2), (5), and (8) of subsection (b) of G.S. 143-215.74 [now G.S. 106-850 ] do not apply. All other limitations and requirements set out in Part 9 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 [now Article 72 of Chapter 106 ] of the General Statutes, as modified by this section, apply. "(2) Establish criteria to prioritize the redrilling of damaged wells and the drilling of new wells, the renovation of damaged or inadequate farm ponds and the construction of new farm ponds, and the renovation of pastures depleted by the drought. "(3) Establish criteria for the selection of applicants who are eligible for participation in the Program. "(4) Develop a process for soliciting and reviewing applications and for selecting farmers to participate in the Program. "(5) Investigate and pursue other funding sources to supplement State funds, including federal, local, and private funding sources. "(6) Provide technical assistance to participating persons to assist with the projects that are eligible for cost share funds under subsection (a) of this section and to facilitate the timely transfer of technology among participating persons. "(d) Report. - No later than 31 January of each year, the Division shall prepare a comprehensive report on the implementation of subsections (a) through (c) of this section. The report shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission as a part of the report required by G.S. 143-215.74(e) [now G.S. 106-850(e) ]. The first report required by this subsection shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission no later than 31 January 2009. "(e) Program Funds. - The Soil and Water Conservation Commission may use up to one hundred fifteen thousand dollars ($115,000) of the funds appropriated in this act to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the 2008-2009 fiscal year to be used for the Agricultural Drought Response Cost Share Program for the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and for the Soil and Water Conservation Districts for the costs of providing engineering assistance, providing technical assistance, and administering the Program. Further, twenty-five percent (25%) of the remaining funds shall not be allocated during the initial funding cycle, but shall be retained to be allocated by the Commission consistent with the limitations under this section, for the purposes under this section, and to address future drought emergencies or to allocate to farmers who received cost share funds under this section who need additional funds to achieve the purpose of the initial cost share disbursement." Lagoon Conversion Program. - Session Laws 2007-523, s. 2(a)-(f), provides: "(a) Definitions. - The definitions set out in G.S. 143-215.10 I(a), as enacted by Section 1 of this act, apply to this section. As used in this section, an 'innovative animal waste management system' means an animal waste management system that serves a swine farm that may be permitted under G.S. 143-215.10 I(b), as enacted by Section 1 of this act. "(b) Lagoon Conversion Program. - The Lagoon Conversion Program is hereby established. The Program shall provide grants to assist in the conversion of animal waste management systems that serve swine farms in operation on or before 1 September 2007 that employ anaerobic lagoons as the primary method of treatment to innovative animal waste management systems. Grants under the Program may also be used to: "(1) Assist in the closure of sprayfield and lagoon systems that are replaced by innovative animal waste management systems if the closure is performed in accordance with applicable federal and State laws, regulations, and rules. "(2) Establish centralized waste collection and treatment systems that serve innovative animal waste management systems. "(c) Program Administration. - The Program shall be administered by the Division of Soil and Water Conservation in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [now Division of Soil and Water Conservation of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services] through the Agriculture Cost Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control established pursuant to G.S. 143-215.74 [now G.S. 106-850 ]. The Division shall administer the Program as provided in this section and Part 9 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 [now Article 72 of Chapter 106 ] of the General Statutes. "(d) Program Functions. - Under the Lagoon Conversion Program, the Division of Soil and Water Conservation in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [now Division of Soil and Water Conservation of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services], through the Agriculture Cost Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, shall: "(1) Within funds available to the Swine Farm Waste Management System Conversion Account established by Section 3 of this act, provide grants subject to all of the following limitations and requirements: "a. For grants approved on or before 30 June 2012, State funding shall be limited to: "1. Ninety percent (90%) of the average cost for each practice with the assisted person providing ten percent (10%) of the cost, which may include in-kind support of the practice. "2. A maximum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per year to each applicant. "b. For grants approved on or after 1 July 2012 and on or before 30 June 2017, State funding shall be limited to: "1. Eighty percent (80%) of the average cost for each practice with the assisted person providing twenty percent (20%) of the cost, which may include in-kind support of the practice. "2. A maximum of four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000) per year to each applicant. "c. For grants approved on or after 1 July 2017, State funding shall be limited to: "1. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the average cost for each practice with the assisted person providing twenty-five percent (25%) of the cost, which may include in-kind support of the practice. "2. A maximum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) per year to each applicant. "d. All other limitations and requirements set out in Part 9 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 [now Article 72 of Chapter 106 ] of the General Statutes, as modified by this section. "(2) Establish criteria to prioritize the installation of innovative animal waste management systems that serve swine farms. Priority shall be given to systems that are affordable, easily maintained, produce marketable by-products, reduce or eliminate the emission of ammonia and greenhouse gases, and are capable of being connected to a centralized waste collection and treatment. "(3) Establish criteria for the selection of applicants who are eligible for participation in the Program. Priority shall be given to applicants whose participation in the Program will result in the removal of animal waste management systems from floodplains; who have substantially complied with federal and State laws, regulations, and rules for the protection of the environment, natural resources, and public health; and who have a limited ability to pay for or finance an innovative swine waste management system through private or cooperative credit at reasonable rates and terms. "(4) Develop a process for soliciting and reviewing applications and for selecting persons to participate in the Program. "(5) Investigate and pursue other funding sources to supplement State funds, including federal, local, and private funding sources. "(6) Provide technical assistance to participating persons to assist with modifications of waste management systems and facilitate the timely transfer of technology among participating persons. "(e) Advisory Committee. - The Director of the Division of Soil and Water Conservation may establish an advisory committee to assist the Division with the implementation of this act. If the Director establishes an advisory committee, the Director may direct the advisory committee to evaluate: "(1) Markets for by-products derived from swine waste and make recommendations for development of the markets, including identification of regulatory obstacles. "(2) Methods to encourage growers, integrators, and electric power suppliers to cooperate in the production and use of renewable energy or other marketable by-products derived from swine waste, including an examination of tax incentives, carbon sequestration credits, and trading mechanisms. "(f) Report. - No later than 1 October of each year, the Division of Soil and Water Conservation in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [now Division of Soil and Water Conservation of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services] shall prepare a comprehensive report on the implementation of Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this act. The report shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission as a part of the report required by G.S. 143-215.10 M. The first report required by this subsection shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission no later than 1 October 2008." Session Laws 2007-523, s. 3, provides: "Account. - There is hereby established the Swine Farm Waste Management System Conversion Account within the Division of Soil and Water Conservation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [now Division of Soil and Water Conservation of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services]. Funds in the Account shall be used only as provided in subsection (b) of Section 2 of this act. The Account shall consist of funds appropriated to the Account by the General Assembly; any federal funds available for this purpose; and any grants, gifts, or contributions to the State for this purpose. Funds in the Account shall not revert." Editor's Note. - This Article is former Part 9 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 , as recodified by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(t), effective July 1, 2011. The historical citations to the sections in the former Part have been added to the corresponding sections in this Article as recodified. This section was formerly codified as G.S. 143-215.74 . It was recodified as G.S. 106-850 by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(t), effective July 1, 2011. Following the recodification of this section by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(t), the sub-subdivisions in subdivision (9) were redesignated at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(dd), provides: "The Revisor of Statutes shall make the conforming statutory changes necessary to reflect the transfers under subsections (a) and (b) of this section. The Revisor of Statutes may correct any reference in the General Statutes to the statutes that are recodified by this section and any other conforming changes necessitated by this section." Pursuant to that provision, conforming changes have been made in some of the Session Laws noted above. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2011.'" Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-394, s. 21, as amended by Session Laws 2013-413, s. 57(ff), provides: "In order to ensure the ongoing delivery of services by the nonpoint source pollution control programs of the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, the Division of Water Resources in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall transfer Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program Base Grant funds to the Division of Forest Resources and Division of Soil and Water Conservation, where consistent with the federal grant program requirements, in an amount that is no less than the average annual amount of funding received by each of those two Divisions over the two most-recent fiscal bienniums. In the event that the level of Section 319 base grant funds received by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources by the United States Environmental Protection Agency is increased or decreased in any funding cycle, the level of funding received by the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation shall be adjusted proportionally. Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program Competitive Grant funds shall consider water quality benefit and be distributed in a fair and equitable manner based on the grant requirements and the benefit. The Division of Water Resources will establish a Workgroup of Nonpoint Source Agencies, including the Division of Forest Resources and the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, which will consider the competitive grant project proposals. The Workgroup will be given full input to the project funding decisions." Session Laws 2015-263, s. 37(c), made the amendments to this section by Session Laws 2015-263, s. 37(a), applicable to applications submitted or pending on or after September 30, 2015. Session Laws 2015-263, s. 38(a) contains a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-10, s. 4.18(d), provides that the first combined report required by Session Laws 2017-10, s. 4.18(a), which added the requirement to subsection (e) of this section, shall be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission and the Fiscal Research Division no later than January 31, 2018. Session Laws 2017-10, s. 5.1 , is a severability clause. Session Laws 2021-78, s. 14(a), is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2004-124, s. 12.6, effective July 1, 2004, rewrote subdivision (b)(9)b. Session Laws 2005-390, s. 8, effective September 13, 2005, substituted "(i) a limited-resource farmer, (ii) a beginning farmer, or (iii) a person farming land that is located in an enhanced voluntary agricultural district and is subject to a conservation agreement under G.S. 106-743.2 that remains in effect" for "a limited-resource farmer or a beginning farmer" in the introductory paragraph in subdivision (b)(9); and added subdivision (b)(9)(a1). Session Laws 2007-495, s. 18, effective August 30, 2007, made a minor stylistic change in subdivision (b)(1). Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.22A(u), (v), and (w), effective July 1, 2011, substituted "Part 3 of Article 61 of this Chapter" for "Part 3 of Article 61 of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes" in the sub-subdivision designated herein as sub-subdivision (b)(9)b.; updated the section reference in subsection (c); and inserted "the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services" in the first sentence of subsection (e). Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.23A(a), as added by Session Laws 2011-391, s. 32, effective July 1, 2011, added subdivision (b)(10). Session Laws 2012-142, s. 11.2A(a), effective July 1, 2012, in subdivision (b)(10), substituted "any of the following to the Soil and Water Conservation Commission with his or her application:" for "application a copy of the applicant's federal tax Schedule F (Form 1040) for the most recent tax year showing the applicant's profit or loss from farming.", and added sub-subdivisions (b)(10)a. through (b)(10)c; and added subdivision (b)(11). Session Laws 2015-263, s. 37(a), effective September 30, 2015, rewrote subdivision (b)(10). For applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2017-10, s. 4.18(a), effective May 4, 2017, in subsection (e), added the last sentence; and made a stylistic change. Session Laws 2021-78, s. 13A, effective July 2, 2021, substituted "include the entire State” for "initially include the present 16 nutrient sensitive watershed counties and 17 additional counties” in subdivision (b)(2).