EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS.

SEC. 2504. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS. Section 1240C of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3) is amended to read as follows:“SEC. 1240C. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS.“(a) Evaluation Criteria.—The Secretary shall develop criteria for evaluating applications that will ensure that national, State, and local conservation priorities are effectively addressed.“(b) Prioritization of Applications.—In evaluating applications under this chapter, the Secretary shall prioritize applications—“(1) based on their overall level of cost-effectiveness to ensure that the conservation practices and approaches proposed are the most efficient means of achieving the anticipated environmental benefits of the project;“(2) based on how effectively and comprehensively the project addresses the designated resource concern or resource concerns;“(3) that best fulfill the purpose of the environmental quality incentives program specified in section 1240(1); and“(4) that improve conservation practices or systems in place on the operation at the time the contract offer is accepted or that will complete a conservation system.“(c) Grouping of Applications.—To the greatest extent practicable, the Secretary shall group applications of similar crop or livestock operations for evaluation purposes or otherwise evaluate applications relative to other applications for similar farming operations.” .