CFR > Title 7 - Agriculture > SUBTITLE B—Regulations of the Department of Agriculture > CHAPTER XIV—COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (parts 1400 to 1499) > SUBCHAPTER B—LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS (parts 1410 to 1499) > PART 1470—CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM > SUBPART B—Contracts and Payments (§1470.20 to §1470.27) > 1470.27—Contract violations and termination.

1470.27—Contract violations and termination.

(a) The State Conservationist may terminate, or by mutual consent with the participants, terminate a contract where:
(1) The participants are unable to comply with the terms of the contract as the result of conditions beyond their control; or
(2) As determined by the State Conservationist, it is in the public interest.
(b) If a contract is terminated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, the State Conservationist may allow the participant to retain a portion of any payments received appropriate to the effort the participant has made to comply with the contract, or in cases of hardship, where forces beyond the participant's control prevented compliance with the contract. If a participant claims hardship, such claims must be clearly documented and cannot have existed when the applicant applied for participation in the program.
(c) If NRCS determines that a participant is in violation of the contract terms or documents incorporated therein, NRCS will give the participant a period of time, as determined by NRCS, to correct the violation and comply with the contract terms and attachments thereto. If a participant continues in violation, NRCS may terminate the CSP contract in accordance with paragraph (e) of this section.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (c) of this section, a contract termination will be effective immediately upon a determination by NRCS that the participant:
(1) Has submitted false information or filed a false claim;
(2) Engaged in any act, scheme, or device for which a finding of ineligibility for payments is permitted under the provisions of § 1470.36; or
(3) Engaged in actions that are deemed to be sufficiently purposeful or negligent to warrant a termination without delay.
(e) If NRCS terminates a contract, the participant will forfeit all rights to future payments under the contract, pay liquidated damages, and refund all or part of the payments received, plus interest. Participants violating CSP contracts may be determined ineligible for future NRCS-administered conservation program funding.
(1) NRCS may require a participant to provide only a partial refund of the payments received if a previously installed conservation activity has achieved the expected conservation performance improvement, is not adversely affected by the violation or the absence of other conservation activities that would have been installed under the contract, and has met the associated operation and maintenance requirement of the activity; and
(2) NRCS will have the option to reduce or waive the liquidated damages, depending upon the circumstances of the case—
(i) When terminating a contract, NRCS may reduce the amount of money owed by the participant by a proportion that reflects the good faith effort of the participant to comply with the contract or the existence of hardships beyond the participant's control that have prevented compliance with the contract. If a participant claims hardship, that claim must be well documented and cannot have existed when the applicant applied for participation in the program, and
(ii) In carrying out its role in this section, NRCS may consult with the local conservation district.