§ 2-1579 — Fund; grants; conditions; acceptance, how construed

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of
this section, expenditures may be made from the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation
Fund as grants to individual landowners of not to exceed seventy-five percent
of the actual cost of eligible projects and practices for soil and water conservation
or water quality protection, with priority given to those projects and practices
providing the greatest number of public benefits.
(2) The department shall reserve at least two percent of the funds credited
to the fund for grants to landowners ordered by a natural resources district
pursuant to the Erosion and Sediment Control Act to install permanent soil
and water conservation practices. Such funds shall be made available for ninety
percent of the actual cost of the required practices and shall be granted
on a first-come, first-served basis until exhausted. Applications not served
shall receive priority in ensuing fiscal years.
(3) The commission shall determine which specific projects and practices
are eligible for the funding assistance authorized by this section and shall
adopt, by reference or otherwise, appropriate standards and specifications
for carrying out such projects and practices. A natural resources district
assisting the department in the administration of the program may, with commission
approval, further limit the types of projects and practices eligible for funding
assistance in that district.
(4) As a condition for receiving any cost-share funds pursuant to this
section, the landowner shall be required to enter into an agreement that if
a conservation practice is terminated or a project is removed, altered, or
modified so as to lessen its effectiveness, without prior approval of the
department or its delegated agent, for a period of ten years after the date
of receiving payment, the landowner shall refund to the fund any public funds
used for the practice or project. When deemed necessary by the department
or its delegated agent, the landowner may as a further condition for receiving
such funds be required to grant a right of access for the operation and maintenance
of any eligible project constructed with such assistance. Acceptance of money
from the fund shall not in any other manner be construed as affecting land
ownership rights unless the landowner voluntarily surrenders such rights.
(5) To the extent feasible, the department and the commission shall
administer the fund so that federal funds available within the state for the
same general purposes are supplemented and not replaced with state funds.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1977, LB 450, § 5; Laws 1978, LB 707, § 1; Laws 1979, LB 326, § 1; Laws 1980, LB 687, § 1; Laws 1983, LB 236, § 5; Laws 1986, LB 474, § 15; Laws 1990, LB 906, § 1; Laws 1993, LB 247, § 2; Laws 2000, LB 900, § 29; Laws 2002, LB 1003, § 11; Laws 2011, LB2, § 1. Cross References: Erosion and Sediment Control Act, see section 2-4601.