I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4902 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish a groundwater 

conservation easement program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 26, 2023 

Ms. CARAVEO (for herself and Mr. LATURNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish a 

groundwater conservation easement 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 ‘‘Voluntary Ground5 water Conservation Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION EASEMENT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT PRO9 GRAM PURPOSES.—Section 1265(b) of the Food Security 

10 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) facilitate reductions in groundwater con7 sumption to support local, regional, or State ground8 water management.’’. 

9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subtitle H of title XII of the 

10 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865 et seq.) is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1265E. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION EASEMENT 

13 PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en16 tity’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) an agency of State or local govern18 ment; 

19 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe; or 

20 ‘‘(C) an organization described in section 

21 1265A(3)(B). 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 

23 means the surface estate of land on which eligible 

24 water rights have been historically used, as deter25 mined by governing State law, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) cropland; 

2 ‘‘(B) grassland; 

3 ‘‘(C) rangeland; 

4 ‘‘(D) pasture land; 

5 ‘‘(E) nonindustrial private forest land; and 

6 ‘‘(F) other agricultural land. 

7 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE WATER RIGHTS.—The term ‘eli8 gible water rights’ means rights that are— 

9 ‘‘(A) owned or controlled by 1 or more pri10 vate, governmental, or Tribal landowners to 

11 groundwater that has been used on eligible 

12 land; and 

13 ‘‘(B) subject to a pending offer for the 

14 purchase of a groundwater conservation ease15 ment from an eligible entity, the purchase of 

16 which would— 

17 ‘‘(i) promote reduced groundwater 

18 consumption and reduced reliance on 

19 groundwater; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) advance local, regional, or State 

21 groundwater management consistent with 

22 the purposes of the groundwater conserva23 tion easement program. 

24 ‘‘(4) GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION EASE25 MENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘ground2 water conservation easement’ means an ease3 ment or other interest in eligible water rights 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(i) is conveyed for the purpose of 

6 supporting local, regional, or State ground7 water management that reduces ground8 water consumption while providing commu9 nity and environmental benefits; 

10 ‘‘(ii) includes restrictions on the con11 sumption of groundwater related to the 

12 historical withdrawals of the groundwater 

13 of the landowner associated with the en14 tirety of the eligible land associated with 

15 the eligible water rights; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) expressly permits the landowner 

17 the right to continue agricultural produc18 tion and other uses compatible with re19 duced groundwater consumption, con20 sistent with the legally permissible use and 

21 administration of the water rights by the 

22 applicable State. 

23 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE LAND.—An easement or 

24 other interest described in subparagraph (A) 

25 may include eligible land associated with the eliVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902

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1 gible water rights described in that subpara2 graph, subject to the choice of the owner of the 

3 eligible land, consistent with applicable State 

4 law. 

5 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish a groundwater conservation easement program for the 

7 conservation of groundwater resources associated with eli8 gible water rights, which may include eligible land associ9 ated with those eligible water rights, through groundwater 

10 conservation easements. 

11 ‘‘(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the groundwater 

12 conservation easement program are— 

13 ‘‘(1) to promote the conservation and reduction 

14 in consumption of groundwater resources, including 

15 the recharging of declining aquifers, while allowing 

16 for continued agricultural production and other uses; 

17 ‘‘(2) to support landowners in the adaptation 

18 to, and reduction in reliance on, declining ground19 water resources; and 

20 ‘‘(3) to protect agricultural use, community vi21 tality, and economic well-being, including through 

22 the development of renewable energy, in the face of 

23 long-term declines in groundwater availability. 

24 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

25 shall facilitate and provide funding for— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the purchase by eligible entities of ground2 water conservation easements; and 

3 ‘‘(2) technical assistance to implement the 

4 groundwater conservation easement program. 

5 ‘‘(e) COST-SHARE ASSISTANCE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall encour7 age conservation of groundwater resources through 

8 cost-share assistance to eligible entities for pur9 chasing groundwater conservation easements. 

10 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An agreement de12 scribed in paragraph (4) shall provide for— 

13 ‘‘(i) subject to subparagraph (D), a 

14 Federal share determined by the Secretary 

15 of an amount not to exceed 65 percent of 

16 the fair market value of the groundwater 

17 conservation easement, as determined 

18 under subparagraph (B); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) an additional payment in an 

20 amount not to exceed 5 percent of the 

21 Federal share determined under clause (i) 

22 for costs associated with securing a deed to 

23 the groundwater conservation easement, 

24 including the costs of valuation, survey, in25 spection, and title. 


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1 ‘‘(B) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The fair 

2 market value of a groundwater conservation 

3 easement shall be determined by the Secretary 

4 using— 

5 ‘‘(i) the Uniform Standards of Profes6 sional Appraisal Practice; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an areawide market analysis or 

8 survey; 

9 ‘‘(iii) another industry-approved meth10 od; 

11 ‘‘(iv) a methodology used by another 

12 Federal agency; 

13 ‘‘(v) a model for valuation developed 

14 by a research institution; or 

15 ‘‘(vi) a method of valuing ecosystem 

16 services associated with protected water 

17 rights. 

18 ‘‘(C) REIMBURSABLE COSTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro20 vided in clause (ii), the Secretary shall pro21 vide a payment under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

22 to an eligible entity as a reimbursement 

23 after the costs described in that subpara24 graph are incurred by the eligible entity. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) LIMITED RESOURCE LAND2 OWNERS.—In the case of eligible water 

3 rights or eligible land owned by a limited4 resource landowner, as determined by the 

5 Secretary, the Secretary shall provide a 

6 payment under subparagraph (A)(ii) in ad7 vance as part of an agreement described in 

8 paragraph (4). 

9 ‘‘(D) LOWER FEDERAL SHARE OPTION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

11 may elect to enter into an agreement de12 scribed in paragraph (4) under which the 

13 Federal share does not exceed 25 percent 

14 of the fair market value of the ground15 water conservation easement, as deter16 mined under subparagraph (B). 

17 ‘‘(ii) NO RIGHT OF ENFORCEMENT.— 

18 Notwithstanding paragraph (4)(C)(iii), an 

19 agreement with respect to which an eligible 

20 entity makes the election under clause (i) 

21 shall not include a right of enforcement for 

22 the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(E) PERMISSIBLE FORMS.—The non-Fed24 eral share provided by an eligible entity under 

25 this paragraph may comprise— 


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1 ‘‘(i) cash resources; 

2 ‘‘(ii) a charitable donation or qualified 

3 conservation contribution (as defined in 

4 section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue 

5 Code of 1986) from the landowner from 

6 which the groundwater conservation ease7 ment will be purchased; 

8 ‘‘(iii) costs associated with securing a 

9 deed to the groundwater conservation ease10 ment, including the cost of appraisal, sur11 vey, inspection, and title; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) other costs, as determined by the 

13 Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND RANKING OF APPLICA15 TIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es17 tablish evaluation and ranking criteria to maxi18 mize the benefit of Federal investment under 

19 the groundwater conservation easement pro20 gram. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing 

22 the criteria under subparagraph (A), the Sec23 retary shall emphasize support for— 

24 ‘‘(i) maintaining or enhancing ground25 water-dependent ecosystems; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) advancing long-term groundwater 

2 sustainability consistent with existing State 

3 or local groundwater management initia4 tives. 

5 ‘‘(C) BIDDING DOWN.—If the Secretary 

6 determines that 2 or more applications for cost7 share assistance under this subsection are com8 parable in achieving the purpose of the ground9 water conservation easement program, the Sec10 retary shall not assign a higher priority to any 

11 of those applications solely on the basis of less12 er cost to the groundwater conservation ease13 ment program. 

14 ‘‘(4) AGREEMENTS WITH ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

16 enter into agreements with eligible entities to 

17 stipulate the terms and conditions under which 

18 the eligible entity is permitted to use cost-share 

19 assistance provided under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(B) LENGTH OF AGREEMENTS.—An 

21 agreement under this paragraph shall be for a 

22 term that is— 

23 ‘‘(i) in the case of an eligible entity 

24 certified under the process described in 

25 paragraph (5), a minimum of 5 years; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for all other eligible entities, not 

2 less than 3, but not more than 5, years. 

3 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

4 An eligible entity shall be authorized to use 

5 such terms and conditions for groundwater con6 servation easements as the eligible entity may 

7 establish, subject to the condition that the Sec8 retary shall determine that those terms and 

9 conditions— 

10 ‘‘(i) are consistent with the purposes 

11 of the groundwater conservation easement 

12 program; 

13 ‘‘(ii) permit effective enforcement of 

14 the conservation purposes of the ground15 water conservation easements, including— 

16 ‘‘(I) a mechanism for the meas17 urement of groundwater pumping re18 ductions; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the ability to enforce those 

20 reductions under relevant State law; 

21 ‘‘(iii) except as provided in paragraph 

22 (2)(D)(ii), include a right of enforcement 

23 for the Secretary, which may be used only 

24 if the terms of the groundwater conserva25 tion easement are not enforced by the 


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1 holder of the groundwater conservation 

2 easement; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) subject the eligible water rights 

4 and eligible land, if applicable, in which an 

5 interest is purchased to a groundwater 

6 conservation easement plan that includes— 

7 ‘‘(I) a description of the activities 

8 that demonstrate protection of soil re9 sources and reduced groundwater use 

10 and meet any other conservation pur11 poses for which the groundwater con12 servation easement was acquired; 

13 ‘‘(II) a groundwater conservation 

14 plan, where appropriate, that includes, 

15 at the option of the Secretary, activi16 ties that will help maintain or enhance 

17 groundwater-dependent ecosystems; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(III) any other provisions that 

20 the Secretary determines to be nec21 essary to accomplish the purposes of 

22 the groundwater conservation ease23 ment program. 

24 ‘‘(D) SUBSTITUTION OF QUALIFIED

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1 graph shall allow, on mutual agreement of the 

2 parties, substitution of qualified projects that 

3 are identified at the time of the proposed sub4 stitution. 

5 ‘‘(E) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If a viola6 tion of a term or condition of an agreement 

7 under this paragraph occurs, the Secretary 

8 may— 

9 ‘‘(i) terminate the agreement; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) require the eligible entity to re11 fund all, or part of, any payments received 

12 by the eligible entity under the ground13 water conservation easement program, with 

14 interest on the payments, as determined 

15 appropriate by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(5) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.—The Sec18 retary shall establish a process under which the 

19 Secretary may— 

20 ‘‘(i) directly certify eligible entities 

21 that meet established criteria; 

22 ‘‘(ii) enter into long-term agreements 

23 with certified eligible entities; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) accept proposals for cost-share 

25 assistance for the purchase of groundwater 


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1 conservation easements throughout the du2 ration of those agreements. 

3 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION CRITERIA.—To be 

4 certified under subparagraph (A), an eligible 

5 entity shall demonstrate to the Secretary that 

6 the eligible entity will maintain, at a minimum, 

7 for the duration of the agreement— 

8 ‘‘(i) a plan for administering ground9 water conservation easements that is con10 sistent with the purposes of the ground11 water conservation easement program; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the capacity and resources to 

13 monitor and enforce groundwater conserva14 tion easements; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) policies and procedures to en16 sure— 

17 ‘‘(I) the long-term integrity of 

18 groundwater conservation easements; 

19 ‘‘(II) timely completion of acqui20 sitions of groundwater conservation 

21 easements; and 

22 ‘‘(III) timely and complete eval23 uation and reporting to the Secretary 

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1 vided under the groundwater con2 servation easement program. 

3 ‘‘(C) REVIEW AND REVISION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

5 conduct a review of eligible entities cer6 tified under subparagraph (A) not less fre7 quently than once every 3 years to ensure 

8 that the eligible entities are meeting the 

9 criteria established under subparagraph 

10 (B). 

11 ‘‘(ii) REVOCATION.—If the Secretary 

12 finds that a certified eligible entity no 

13 longer meets the criteria established under 

14 subparagraph (B), the Secretary may— 

15 ‘‘(I) allow the certified eligible 

16 entity a specified period of time, but 

17 not less than 180 days, during which 

18 to take such actions as may be nec19 essary to meet the criteria; and 

20 ‘‘(II) revoke the certification of 

21 the eligible entity, if, after that speci22 fied period of time, the certified eligi23 ble entity does not meet the criteria. 


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1 ‘‘(f) GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE.—The Secretary may only 

2 enroll eligible water rights or eligible land under this sec3 tion in regions— 

4 ‘‘(1) experiencing significant groundwater de5 pletion, as determined by the Secretary consistent 

6 with data of the United States Geological Survey; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(2) where groundwater monitoring and permit9 ting exists through the State, a local government, or 

10 a groundwater management district. 

11 ‘‘(g) METHOD OF ENROLLMENT.—The Secretary 

12 shall enroll eligible water rights and eligible land under 

13 this section through the use of— 

14 ‘‘(1) permanent easements; or 

15 ‘‘(2) easements for the maximum duration al16 lowed under applicable State laws. 

17 ‘‘(h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

18 provide technical assistance, if requested, to assist in— 

19 ‘‘(1) compliance with the terms and conditions 

20 of groundwater conservation easements; and 

21 ‘‘(2) implementation of an approved ground22 water conservation easement plan described in sub23 section (e)(4)(C)(iv).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATION. 

2 Section 1001D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 

3 U.S.C. 1308–3a) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘In this’’ and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—In this section, the 

10 term ‘average adjusted gross income’ does not 

11 include any income received by a person or legal 

12 entity that is a landowner of eligible land (as 

13 defined in section 1265A) as compensation for 

14 the purchase of an agricultural land easement 

15 under subtitle H.’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting ‘‘, or aqui17 fer recovery or a permanent reduction in consump18 tive use of water would be achieved,’’ after ‘‘pro19 tected’’. 

Æ 


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