2002 NS Agreement Cooperative Agreement – Acceptance of USDA Grant for Farmland Easements

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TEMPLATE 09/13/02 ~ Prior to signing the cooperative agreement, for a landowner's donation to be considered as part of an entity's matching offer, the entity must have a current appraisal on the land in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices or the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions (Interagency Land Acquisition Conference, 1992). V. PAYMENTS Orange County shall notify NRCS when the CCC funds are to be paid. CCC funds shall be paid to Orange County when NRCS is notified that the conservation easement has been recorded and Orange County has paid the landowner(s). Where the County cannot obtain 100 percent of the funds to be paid at closing to the landowner(s) and requires NRCS to make its payment at closing rather than on a reimbursable basis, the County may request a waiver for NRCS to pay its share of the conservation easement purchase at closing. In the instance where a waiver is requested, the County shall notify NRCS at least 60 days prior to closing. Where a waiver is requested, CCC sha11 make payment to an authorized closing agent. These funds will be transmitted to the Closing Agent by electronic transfer. The Closing Agent will hold the funds in escrow for a period not to exceed 14 calendar days. Upon receipt of the funds, the closing agent will sign a payment receipt form and return it to NRCS. If interest is earned upon CCC funds, the Closing Agent must return any interest earned to CCC. All deeds used by Orange County sha11 be approved by the Office of General Counsel (OGC) National office or regional OGC office prior to purchase of the conservation easement or other interest in land. Orange County will submit Form SF-270 (Request for Advance/Reimbursement of Funds), and the information specified below to the North Carolina NRCS State Office. Prior to submitting the SF-270, the County must also request a copy of closing agent requirements from NRCS and ensure that the closing agent meets these requirements. Orange County may submit the Form SF-270 after all the deeds have been recorded and the landowner has been paid or on a quarterly basis for each quarter that conservation easements have been recorded and the landowner has been paid. At a minimum, the following information shall be included in, or attached to, the SF-270: (1) the name of the County; (2) this cooperative agreement number; (3) conservation easement or other land interest number; (4) total amount of dollars paid the landowner for the conservation easement, specifying the CCC share and the non-CCC share of the conservation easement cost; (5) term of conservation easement; (6) acres acquired; (7) Tax Identification Number (TIN) for Orange County; (8) Federal Infortnation Processing Standazds (FII'S) number for Orange County; (9) Bank routing number and account number for desired deposit location; and (10) copy of the conservation easement deed that contains the contingent right clause as described in Part VI of this Agreement. Where a landowner donation is accepted as part of the entity's matching offer, a copy of the current appraisal and IRS Form 8283 must be submitted to NRCS. VI. CONSERVATION EASEMENT REQUIREMENTS.