Official Summaries

Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025

This bill revises the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to expand eligibility for payments to agricultural producers and owners of forest land impacted by natural disasters. The bill also provides additional options to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments before carrying out emergency measures.

The bill expands advance ECP payments to include payments for the rehabilitation of farmland or to repair or replace a farmland or conservation structure. Producers may receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for 75% of the cost of the replacement or rehabilitation and 50% of the cost of the repair. Current law limits advanced cost-sharing payments to 25% of the cost of the repair or replacement of fencing.

The bill also expands eligibility for payments under ECP to include emergency measures to address damages caused by a 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 wildfire due to natural causes.

Under EFRP, the bill allows owners of nonindustrial private forest land impacted by a natural disaster to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for up to 75% of the cost of the emergency measures. Recipients must use the funds within 180 days after the funds are disbursed. Currently, advance payments are not available under the program.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1011 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1011

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Conservation Program 
Improvement Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

    Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``and 
                Other Emergency Conservation Measures'' after 
                ``Fencing''; and
                    (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) In general.--With respect to a payment to an 
        agricultural producer under subsection (a) for the repair or 
        replacement of fencing, or for other emergency measures to 
        rehabilitate farmland or to repair or replace a farmland or 
        conservation structure, the Secretary shall give the 
        agricultural producer the option of receiving--
                    ``(A) before carrying out such replacement or 
                rehabilitation, not more than 75 percent of the payment 
                for such replacement or rehabilitation, which shall be 
                based on the fair market value of the replacement or 
                rehabilitation, as determined by the Secretary; and
                    ``(B) before carrying out such repair, not more 
                than 50 percent of the payment for such repair, which 
                shall be based on the fair market value of the repair, 
                as determined by the Secretary.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Wildfires.--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.''.

SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE EMERGENCY FOREST RESTORATION PROGRAM.

    Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Advance Payments.--
            ``(1) In general.--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.
            ``(2) Return of funds.--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.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 14, 2026.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
119th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1011

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  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.