I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4892 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 with respect to nutrient and 

soil health management and source water protection, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 29, 2018 

Ms. FUDGE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 with respect to 

nutrient and soil health management and source water 

protection, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Collaborative Water 

5 and Soil Enhancement Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NUTRIENT AND SOIL HEALTH MANAGEMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1244 of the Food Security 

8 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844) is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(m) NUTRIENT AND SOIL HEALTH MANAGE2 MENT.—In carrying out the conservation stewardship pro3 gram and the environmental quality incentives program, 

4 the Secretary shall enroll not less than 5 million acres an5 nually, in watersheds where nutrient delivery to hypoxic 

6 zones is highest, to provide payments to producers for con7 servation activities or practices that promote nutrient and 

8 soil health management, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

9 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 1242(e) of 

10 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(e)) is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) CERTIFIED CROP ADVISORS.—The Sec13 retary shall provide a streamlined certification proc14 ess under this subsection for third-party providers 

15 that have a 4R Nutrient Management Specialty Cer16 tification or a Sustainability Specialty Certification 

17 from the American Society of Agronomy.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. SOURCE WATER PROTECTION THROUGH TAR19 GETING OF AGRICULTURE PRACTICES. 

20 Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

21 U.S.C. 3844), as amended by section 2, is further amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(n) SOURCE WATER PROTECTION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the con25 servation stewardship program and the environVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Jan 30, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4892.IH H4892

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1 mental quality incentives program, the Secretary 

2 shall encourage practices that relate to water quality 

3 or water quantity that protect source waters for 

4 drinking water (including protecting against public 

5 health threats) while also benefitting agricultural 

6 producers. 

7 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION WITH DRINKING WATER

8 UTILITIES AND INCREASED INCENTIVES.—In en9 couraging practices under paragraph (1), the Sec10 retary shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) work collaboratively with community 

12 water systems and State technical committees 

13 established under section 1261 to identify, in 

14 each State, local priority areas for the protec15 tion of source waters for drinking water; and 

16 ‘‘(B) for practices that relate to water 

17 quality or water quantity that result in benefits 

18 that primarily occur outside of the land on 

19 which the practices are implemented, offer in20 creased incentives and higher cost-share rates 

21 to producers than are otherwise statutorily au22 thorized through the conservation stewardship 

23 program and the environmental quality incen24 tives program. 


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1 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION OF FUNDS AND ACRES.—In 

2 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, the Sec3 retary shall use not less than 10 percent of any 

4 funds or acres available with respect to the conserva5 tion stewardship program and the environmental 

6 quality incentives program, in carrying out this sub7 section, to target the most effective practices for im8 proving the quality or quantity of source water. 

9 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this sub10 section, the Secretary shall give priority— 

11 ‘‘(A) to practices determined by the Sec12 retary, using the Conservation Practices Phys13 ical Effects matrix developed by the Secretary, 

14 to be the most effective; and 

15 ‘‘(B) to practices implemented in local pri16 ority areas identified under paragraph (2)(A).’’. 

Æ 


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