(a) Grants; requisite provisions of plans

(1) The Secretary shall, beginning not more than one hundred and eighty days after October 1, 1980, make financial assistance available to any State that makes application therefor, and that otherwise meets the requirements of this section, for the purpose of assisting such State in the development of a subterminal facilities plan (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the “State plan”) for such State. Assistance under this section shall be made available in the form of a grant. No grant may be made to any State unless the Governor of such State or the appropriate agency of such State makes an application therefor as provided in this section. To the maximum extent practicable, the personnel and resources of the colleges or universities in the State which are eligible to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 301-305, 307, and 308), or the Act of August 30, 1890 (7 U.S.C. 321-326 and 328), including Tuskegee Institute, shall be utilized in developing the subterminal facilities plan for that State pursuant to this section.

(2) The Secretary may also make grants under this section available to two or more States acting together to develop a coordinated regional subterminal facilities plan (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the “regional plan”) for such region.

(3) Grants made under this section to any State or region may not exceed 80 per centum of the cost of preparing the State or regional plan.

(4) The State or regional plan shall prescribe in detail the actions such State or region proposes to take in order to (A) facilitate the efficient and competitive movement of bulk agricultural commodities from the points of production within such State or region to major market or export points, (B) provide adequate storage facilities for such commodities between points of production and market, (C) provide adequate receiving, storage, and loading facilities for any bulk agricultural commodity, and (D) assure that such facilities will be located at sites that will result in maximum benefits to local producers.

(5) Each State or regional plan shall include the following:

(A) an analysis of the marketing, shipping, storage, and production of bulk agricultural commodities produced in that State or region and the short- and long-range projections with respect to the marketing, shipping, storage, and production of such commodities in that State or region;

(B) a determination, on the basis of the analysis and projections required under clause (A) of this paragraph, of the needs of the State or region for subterminal facilities;

(C) an assessment of the use of existing on-farm storage facilities located within the State or region and an assessment of the ways in which subterminal facilities can benefit the continued use of on-farm storage facilities;

(D) an evaluation of the effect of the development of new subterminal facilities on small capacity rural shipping and storage facilities within the State or region;

(E) an evaluation of ways to ensure adequate rail service for subterminal facilities described in clause (D) of this paragraph, including an evaluation of the use and feasibility of contract rates;

(F) an assessment of the ways that subterminal facilities can enhance the operation of small capacity shipping and storage facilities within the State or region;

(G) an assessment of other actions being taken or considered in such State or region for the improvement of agricultural transportation, including an evaluation of the use being made of shuttle or collector trains and combinations of rail and barge service;

(H) an evaluation of the potential benefits of subterminal ownership and leasing arrangements for rail rolling stock (including locomotive power), motor trucks, barge equipment, and other bulk agricultural commodity transport equipment that may help achieve maximum benefits from the operation of subterminal facilities within the State or region;

(I) an assessment of the overall transportation system in the State or region and future plans for that overall system, including the adequacy of highways and bridges; and

(J) consideration of the feasibility and advisability of the ownership and operation of rail branch lines by farmer-owned cooperatives, and the role that such cooperatives might play in any overall planning for the restructuring and rehabilitation of rail service and marketing facilities within the State or region.

(b) Plan review commissions

Funds made available to a State or region under this chapter for the purposes of assisting such State or region to develop a plan shall be subject to the condition that the State or region establish a plan review commission composed of local producers, local elevator operators, representatives of affected motor and rail carriers, other interested individuals, and, when appropriate in the judgment of the Secretary, consumers of bulk agricultural commodities used in the production of unprocessed agricultural products. A majority of the members of any plan review commission must be local producers or, when appropriate in the judgment of the Secretary, consumers of bulk agricultural commodities used in the production of unprocessed agricultural products. The plan review commission shall consider the information and analyses developed by the State or region in the development of a State or regional plan and make appropriate recommendations regarding the State or regional plan. The plan review commission shall also make recommendations, based on information developed in the plan, for the most beneficial location of subterminal facilities.

(c) Recommendations of need

No application for planning assistance authorized pursuant to this section may be submitted by a State or region until the appropriate plan review commission established in accordance with this chapter has had the opportunity to make recommendations to the Governor or Governors that a need exists for the development of a State or regional plan, and a majority of the members of such plan review commission concur that such application should be submitted.

(d) Prerequisites for receipt of grant

No State or region may receive a grant under this section unless—

(1) an application therefor has been submitted that complies with the provisions of this chapter;

(2) the average annual production of bulk agricultural commodities produced within such State or region, or shipments of such commodities transported into such State or region, meets minimum levels established by the Secretary for a period the Secretary considers appropriate preceding the year in which application for such grant is made;

(3) the Governor of such State or the Governors of the States in such region certify to the Secretary that producers of agricultural commodities have experienced serious storage and transportation problems within such State or region during the three years preceding the year in which application for such grant is made; and

(4) such State or each State within such region has established an adequate plan, as described in section 22102 of title 49, for rail service in such State or States, or such State or each State in such region is actively developing such a plan.

(e) Approved State plans; approved regional plans

Whenever any State or region has submitted a State or regional plan under this section, the Secretary shall approve such plan only if it has been approved by a majority of the members of the appropriate plan review commission established pursuant to this chapter, and it meets the other conditions specified in this chapter and those prescribed in regulations issued by the Secretary to carry out this chapter. When a plan is approved by the Secretary, such plan shall be known as an “approved State plan” or an “approved regional plan”, as appropriate.

(f) Authorization of appropriations

To carry out the purposes of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $3,300,000 for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1981, September 30, 1982, and September 30, 1983.