II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2624 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to make adjustments to the 

environmental quality incentives program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2018 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. LEE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to make adjustments to the environmental quality incentives program, 

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 ‘‘EQIP Improvement 

5 Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM 

7 REFORMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1240B of the Food Secu9 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (2) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—A payment 

4 to a producer for performing a practice may not ex5 ceed, as determined by the Secretary— 

6 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraphs 

7 (B) through (D), 75 percent of the costs associ8 ated with planning, design, materials, equip9 ment, installation, labor, management, mainte10 nance, or training; 

11 ‘‘(B) 40 percent of the costs associated 

12 with planning, design, materials, equipment, in13 stallation, labor, management, maintenance, or 

14 training for— 

15 ‘‘(i) an access road; 

16 ‘‘(ii) an animal mortality facility; 

17 ‘‘(iii) an aquaculture pond; 

18 ‘‘(iv) clearing and snagging; 

19 ‘‘(v) a dam; 

20 ‘‘(vi) a dam using a diversion; 

21 ‘‘(vii) a dike; 

22 ‘‘(viii) a diversion; 

23 ‘‘(ix) a fish raceway or tank; 

24 ‘‘(x) an irrigation pipeline; 

25 ‘‘(xi) an irrigation reservoir; 


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1 ‘‘(xii) land clearing; 

2 ‘‘(xiii) land smoothing; 

3 ‘‘(xiv) a livestock pipeline; 

4 ‘‘(xv) obstruction removal; 

5 ‘‘(xvi) a pond; 

6 ‘‘(xvii) a pumping plant; 

7 ‘‘(xviii) spoil spreading; 

8 ‘‘(xix) a surface drain using a field 

9 ditch; 

10 ‘‘(xx) a main or lateral surface drain; 

11 ‘‘(xxi) a vertical drain; 

12 ‘‘(xxii) a waste facility closure; 

13 ‘‘(xxiii) a waste storage facility; 

14 ‘‘(xxiv) waste transfer; or 

15 ‘‘(xxv) a waste treatment lagoon; 

16 ‘‘(C) 100 percent of income foregone by 

17 the producer; or 

18 ‘‘(D) in the case of a practice that includes 

19 one or more elements described in subpara20 graphs (A) through (C)— 

21 ‘‘(i) 75 percent of the costs incurred 

22 with respect to any elements described in 

23 subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 40 percent of the costs incurred 

2 with respect to any elements described in 

3 subparagraph (B); and 

4 ‘‘(iii) 100 percent of the income for5 gone with respect to any elements de6 scribed in subparagraph (C).’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (f), by striking the subsection 

8 designation and heading and all that follows through 

9 ‘‘For each’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING FOR WILDLIFE HABI12 TAT.—For each’’. 

13 (b) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—Section 1240G of 

14 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘$450,000’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘$150,000’’. 

17 (c) PROGRAM REFORMS.—Section 1240F of the Food 

18 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–6) is amended— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

20 striking ‘‘To the extent’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(a) PRODUCER ASSISTANCE.—To the extent’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REFORMS.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Sec25 retary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) coordinate the program with the conserva2 tion effects assessments carried out by the Sec3 retary— 

4 ‘‘(A) to ensure that the conservation ef5 fects assessments consider the practical limita6 tions and costs and benefits encountered by the 

7 Secretary in implementing the program; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to use information collected through 

9 conservation effects assessments carried out by 

10 the Secretary to direct funds of the program to 

11 contracts that will optimize environmental bene12 fits; and 

13 ‘‘(2) revise guidance issued to States with re14 gards to allocation processes of program funds with15 in the States to provide that, in determining the al16 location of program funds within a State, the State 

17 should use data regarding environmental concerns, if 

18 available, as a primary factor to prioritize projects.’’. 

19 (d) HIGH-PRIORITY PRACTICES.— 

20 (1) DEFINITION OF HIGH-PRIORITY PRAC21 TICE.—Section 1240A of the Food Security Act of 

22 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

24 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re25 spectively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) HIGH-PRIORITY PRACTICE.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘high-pri5 ority practice’ means a land management prac6 tice or vegetative practice that, as determined 

7 by the Secretary, is a cost-effective means of 

8 addressing the most pressing specific impair9 ments that threaten to degrade or impair— 

10 ‘‘(i) water quality; 

11 ‘‘(ii) water quantity; 

12 ‘‘(iii) soil or related natural resources 

13 within a local watershed; or 

14 ‘‘(iv) a specific natural resource 

15 boundary. 

16 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘high-pri17 ority practice’ includes the planning, design, 

18 materials, equipment, installation, labor, man19 agement, maintenance, or training for— 

20 ‘‘(i) conservation cover; 

21 ‘‘(ii) conservation crop rotation; 

22 ‘‘(iii) cover crops; 

23 ‘‘(iv) critical area planting; 

24 ‘‘(v) a filter strip; 

25 ‘‘(vi) nutrient management; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) prescribed grazing; 

2 ‘‘(viii) residue and tillage management 

3 using no till; 

4 ‘‘(ix) a riparian forest buffer; 

5 ‘‘(x) a riparian herbaceous cover; and 

6 ‘‘(xi) tree and shrub establishment.’’. 

7 (2) PRIORITIZATION OF APPLICATIONS.—Sec8 tion 1240C(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

9 U.S.C. 3839aa–3(b)) is amended— 

10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

11 through (4) as paragraphs (2) through (5), re12 spectively; and 

13 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 

14 redesignated by subparagraph (A)) the fol15 lowing— 

16 ‘‘(1) that consist only of the performance of one 

17 or more high-priority practices;’’. 

18 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 1240B of the 

19 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(j) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not less fre22 quently than once each year, the Secretary shall submit 

23 to Congress a report describing— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the amount obligated under the program 

2 with respect to each category of practice, with infor3 mation categorized by fiscal year and State; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the amount obligated under the program 

5 in each State, with information categorized by fiscal 

6 year and the size of the operation of each pro7 ducer.’’. 

Æ 


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