The president is expected to sign a new farm bill, approved by Congress last month, which contains all of the rural development initiatives supported by NACo. The rural development section in the new bill closely follows the Senate-approved bill (S. 1541) which NACo supported after it became apparent that the House block grant would not be put forward at this time. Most of the provisions will be in effect through 2002.
The final version of the Rural Community Advancement Program has expanded state and local involvement in rural development planning and directed that the application process for getting rural development funds be simplified. Funding will be provided to states in three accounts for rural utilities, housing and business development programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s State Rural Economic and Community Development directors will have authority to transfer funds among the accounts to meet local needs.
Improvements in RCAP which NACo wanted include:
• local involvement in the development of strategic rural development plans which are based on local development plans
• local government certification of applications for rural development projects from private organizations
• a streamlined and simplified application process for all USDA rural development programs which conforms with the process used by the Small Business Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development
• devolution of authority to USDA’s State Rural Economic and Development directors to transfer up to 25 percent of the funds in each of the three state accounts for rural utilities, housing and business and cooperative development to the account or accounts meeting the greatest current need or needs in the state, and
• retention of 15 percent of all rural development funds at USDA the first year and lesser percentages in subsequent years to five percent, to be held by the secretary to meet emergency needs.
NACo also supported additional rural development funding for rural water and waste disposal facilities in the Fund for Rural America. The Senate bill recommended that $300 million be earmarked for this fund over the next three years. Although the Administration and conference committee Democrats sought a substantial increase in funding, congressional budget guidelines kept the funding level at the recommended $300 million. These funds will be spent over three years, $100 million annually, for rural development projects and research and extension activities.
Other farm bill provisions of interest to county officials:
About $2 billion is slated to be provided annually for conservation, water quality improvement and other environmental protection programs. The Conservation Reserve Program was reauthorized and capped at 36.4 million acres. The Wetlands Reserve Program also was reauthorized with added emphasis on temporary leases and cost-share restorations. However, the bill did not create new exemptions for wetlands that are one acre or less in size. Fifty million dollars was designated for wildlife habitat development and $35 million was targeted to protect farmland from being developed for other, potentially environmentally damaging uses.
The new Environmental Quality Incentives Program will receive $1.4 billion annually for technical assistance to farmers and cost-sharing of pollution-control measures with half of the funds designated for livestock producers and feedlot operators, primarily small and medium-size operations.
Conferees put an 18-month moratorium on the Senate proposal to restrict the Forest Service from diverting water in western areas, pending further study.
The Food Stamp Program was reauthorized for two years to allow time for the re-examination the House wanted as part of comprehensive welfare reform. Other nutrition programs — commodity assistance, soup kitchens and emergency food aid — were reauthorized for seven years.