I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5723 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide information and education 

tools to farmers on the cost savings, energy savings, water conservation, 

and carbon emissions reductions that can be realized through the use 

of energy-efficient pumping systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 

Mr. MOLINARO (for himself, Ms. CARAVEO, and Ms. SLOTKIN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide information and education tools to farmers on the cost savings, 

energy savings, water conservation, and carbon emissions 

reductions that can be realized through the use of energy-efficient pumping systems, 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 ‘‘Leveraging Efficiency 

5 Awareness for Pumping Systems Act’’ or the ‘‘LEAPS 

6 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) There are over 600,000 pumping systems 

4 used for irrigation on agricultural land in the United 

5 States, many of which still rely on fossil fuels. 

6 (2) Improving the efficiency of agricultural irri7 gation pumping systems can save up to 22 billion 

8 kilowatt hours of energy per year and eliminate 8.3 

9 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually. 

10 (3) Energy savings from electrifying agricul11 tural irrigation pumping systems can save farmers 

12 and ranchers more than $1.8 billion annually in en13 ergy costs. 

14 (4) Pumping systems play a central role in the 

15 watering of livestock and the management of animal 

16 waste in every State. 

17 (5) Pumping systems are a critical component 

18 of the Nation’s $2,300,000,000 aquaculture indus19 try. 

20 (6) Improving the efficiency of pumping sys21 tems used in raising livestock and fish can signifi22 cantly reduce energy use, save producers millions of 

23 dollars annually, and provide meaningful reductions 

24 in carbon emissions. 

25 (7) Agricultural irrigation pumping systems uti26 lizing plastic piping can provide significant drought 


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1 relief benefits, dramatically reducing water losses 

2 from evaporation and seepage; agriculture uses 37 

3 percent of the Nation’s surface and ground water, 

4 30 percent of which is lost to seepage and evapo5 ration. 

6 (8) Reducing the friction in piping used for ag7 ricultural irrigation and livestock watering can pro8 vide meaningful energy and cost savings; there are 

9 potentially 2,500 kWh of energy savings for every 10 

10 miles of plastic piping utilized in delivering water for 

11 crops and livestock. 

12 (9) Solar pumping systems can play an impor13 tant role in protecting riparian habitat and improv14 ing water quality in streams, rivers, lakes, and estu15 aries through providing alternative watering options 

16 for livestock. 

17 SEC. 3. INFORMATION ON ENERGY-EFFICIENT PUMPING 

18 SYSTEMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta21 tion with pumping system experts, in order to educate 

22 farmers on the benefits of energy-efficient pumping sys23 tems, shall develop and make publicly available on the 

24 website of the Department of Agriculture easily accessible 

25 information on cost savings, energy savings, water conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Sep 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5723.IH H5723

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1 servation, and carbon emissions reductions that can be re2 alized through the use of energy-efficient pumping sys3 tems. 

4 (b) CONTENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

5 Secretary shall include information on— 

6 (1) pumps, pipes, motors, drives, and controls 

7 that can provide energy savings and cost savings, 

8 conserve water, and reduce carbon emissions; and 

9 (2) Department of Agriculture programs that 

10 provide farmers resources for acquiring energy-effi11 cient pumping systems and drought management in12 frastructure, including the environmental quality in13 centives program, the Rural Energy for America 

14 Program, and the conservation stewardship pro15 gram. 

16 SEC. 4. ENERGY EFFICIENCY PRE-ASSESSMENT TOOL. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta19 tion with pumping system experts, in order to raise aware20 ness of the benefits of energy-efficient pumping systems 

21 and increase participation in Department of Agriculture 

22 programs that promote energy efficiency, shall develop 

23 and make publicly available on the website of the Depart24 ment of Agriculture a user-friendly tool to— 


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1 (1) assist farmers in making a preliminary as2 sessment of the energy efficiency of existing pump3 ing systems; and 

4 (2) provide an estimate of potential energy sav5 ings, cost savings, and carbon emissions reductions 

6 that may be realized through pumping system im7 provements. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) EASE OF USE.—The Secretary shall ensure 

10 that the tool made available under subsection (a) 

11 provides a user with projected energy savings, pro12 jected cost savings, and projected carbon emissions 

13 reductions through the input by the user of the fol14 lowing data relating to an existing pumping system: 

15 (A) Pump type. 

16 (B) Flow rating and actual flow. 

17 (C) Pressure rating and actual pressure. 

18 (D) Speed rating and actual speed. 

19 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary shall en20 sure that the tool made available under subsection 

21 (a)— 

22 (A) in assessing the energy efficiency of a 

23 pumping system, takes into consideration 

24 pumps, pipes, motors, drives, and controls asso25 ciated with the pumping system; and 


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1 (B) in projecting the energy savings, cost 

2 savings, and carbon emissions reductions that 

3 may be realized through pumping system im4 provements, takes into consideration the cost of 

5 electricity and the profile of the existing pump6 ing system. 

7 SEC. 5. ENERGY AUDITOR EDUCATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta10 tion with pumping system experts, in order to increase the 

11 effectiveness of Department of Agriculture energy effi12 ciency programs, shall establish a process to educate per13 sons performing energy efficiency audits for the Depart14 ment of Agriculture on energy use and energy efficiency 

15 in pumping systems. 

16 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out subsection 

17 (a), the Secretary shall consider the use of existing edu18 cation and training programs focused on energy use and 

19 energy efficiency in pumping systems. 

20 SEC. 6. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM ACTIVI21 TIES. 

22 Section 1240I(2)(B)(i) of the Food Security Act of 

23 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–21(2)(B)(i)) is amended by in24 serting ‘‘and energy-efficient pumping systems’’ before ‘‘, 

25 as determined’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 (2) PUMPING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘pumping 

6 system’’ means any pumps, pipes, motors, drives, 

7 and controls used to move water and other fluids on 

8 farms, ranches, and aquaculture operations. 

Æ 


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