Highly Erodible Land Conservation Fact Sheet
Variances and Exemptions from Ineligibility
Sections 1213, 1214, and 1215 (16 U.S.C. §3812, 16 U.S.C. §3813 and 16 U.S.C. §3814) of
the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended provides the authority and criteria under which
USDA agencies (FSA and NRCS) may grant variances or exemptions from potential
violations or situations of noncompliance with the HELC provisions.
Exemptions and Criteria for Granting
The following exemptions from the HELC provisions are provided—
• Land for which there is no soils mapping available (see 16 U.S.C. §3812(a);
§3813; and 7 CFR 12.5(a)(1)). When USDA participant begins producing annually tilled
agricultural commodity crops on land on which there is either no available soils mapping
or the soils mapping is not of sufficient quality for making an HEL determination, NRCS
must provide adequate soils mapping no later than 2 years from the date that the land
is put into crop production.
Further, the USDA participant must apply a conservation system that would provide
sufficient protection to the soils resources in accordance with information developed by
the local USDA office in lieu of an official HEL determination. Until such time as an
official HEL determination can be made, the USDA participant will not be ineligible for
USDA benefits.
• Cropland from expired CRP contracts (see 16 U.S.C. §3812(a)(3) and 7 CFR
12.23(d)). When land from an expired or terminated CRP contract is returned to
production of annually tilled agricultural commodity crops, the USDA participant shall
only be required to apply a conservation system that provides the following level of soil
protection—
• The equivalent level of erosion as the conservation system being used prior to
enrollment in the CRP; or
• A level of protection that is 75% of the PE not to exceed 2T in accordance with 7 CFR
12.23(b) and 7 CFR 12.23(h).
Further, if the conservation plan or conservation system that the USDA participant will
be using requires the construct