Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act

Subjects: Agriculture and Food


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1517 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1517

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants to States, 
      territories, and Indian Tribes to address contamination by 
 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances on farms, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2023

Ms. Pingree (for herself, Mr. Golden of Maine, and Ms. Leger Fernandez) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants to States, 
      territories, and Indian Tribes to address contamination by 
 perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances on farms, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agricultural land.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``agricultural land'' 
                means any land that is used, or capable of use without 
                substantial modification, for production of farm 
                products.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``agricultural land'' 
                includes irrigation water, livestock water, surface 
                water, groundwater, and agricultural inputs on or 
                associated with land described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Commercial farm.--The term ``commercial farm'' means a 
        farm on which a person produces any farm product with the 
        intent that the farm product be sold or otherwise disposed of 
        to generate income.
            (3) Eligible government.--The term ``eligible government'' 
        means--
                    (A) a State;
                    (B) the District of Columbia;
                    (C) a territory of the United States; and
                    (D) an Indian Tribe.
            (4) Farm product.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``farm product'' means 
                any plant or animal that is useful to humans.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``farm product'' 
                includes--
                            (i) forages;
                            (ii) sod crops;
                            (iii) grains;
                            (iv) food crops;
                            (v) dairy products;
                            (vi) poultry and poultry products;
                            (vii) bees;
                            (viii) livestock and livestock products;
                            (ix) products of aquaculture;
                            (x) fruits;
                            (xi) berries;
                            (xii) vegetables;
                            (xiii) flowers;
                            (xiv) seeds;
                            (xv) grasses;
                            (xvi) Christmas trees; and
                            (xvii) other similar products, as 
                        determined by the Secretary.
            (5) Perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance; pfas.--The 
        term ``perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance'' or 
        ``PFAS'' means a chemical that--
                    (A) contains at least one of--
                            (i) R-(CF2)-CF(R')R'', where both the CF2 
                        and CF moieties are saturated carbons, and none 
                        of the R groups can be hydrogen;
                            (ii) R-CF2OCF2-R', where both the CF2 
                        moieties are saturated carbons, and none of the 
                        R groups can be hydrogen; or
                            (iii) CF3C(CF3)RR', where all the carbons 
                        are saturated, and none of the R groups can be 
                        hydrogen; or
                    (B) is covered by the most recent working 
                definition of PFAS issued by the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency.
            (6) Program.--The term ``program'' means the program 
        established under section 3(a).
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (8) Septage.--The term ``septage'' means waste, refuse, 
        effluent, sludge, and any other materials from septic tanks, 
        cesspools, or any other similar facilities.
            (9) Sludge.--The term ``sludge'' means--
                    (A) solid, semisolid, or liquid waste generated 
                from a municipal, commercial, or industrial--
                            (i) wastewater treatment plant;
                            (ii) water supply treatment plant; or
                            (iii) wet process air pollution control 
                        facility; and
                    (B) any other waste having similar characteristics 
                and effect.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary shall provide grants to eligible governments for 
the purposes described in section 4(a).
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        the program, the territory of an eligible government shall 
        contain--
                    (A) agricultural land that contains any soil with 
                levels of PFAS that the Secretary, in coordination with 
                the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency, determines to be unsafe; or
                    (B) water used for the production of farm products 
                with levels of PFAS that the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with 
                the Secretary, determines to be unsafe.
            (2) Consideration.--In determining the eligibility of an 
        eligible government for a grant under the program, the 
        Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, shall consider State standards 
        and limitations relating to soil and water.
    (c) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--To receive a grant under the program, the 
        department of agriculture or similar agency of an eligible 
        government shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Secretary may require.
            (2) Spend plan.--An application submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall contain a plan describing how the eligible government 
        will administer the funding received under the program, 
        including funding priorities and oversight.
    (d) Set-Aside.--Each year, the Secretary shall provide not less 
than 30 percent of the total funding provided under the program to 1 or 
more eligible governments with a population of less than 3,000,000.

SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--An eligible government may use a grant received 
under the program to provide funding for any of the following purposes:
            (1) Monitoring (including through blood serum testing) the 
        PFAS-related health complications of a person, and members of 
        the household of that person, if agricultural land the person 
        lives or works on is found to be contaminated by PFAS.
            (2) Buying, selling, or providing compensation for 
        agricultural land or farm products found, through test results 
        provided to the eligible government, to be contaminated by 
        PFAS, including costs associated with the depopulation or 
        disposal of farm products, premortem or postmortem.
            (3) Investing in agricultural equipment, facilities, and 
        infrastructure to ensure that agricultural land that, or a 
        commercial farm any agricultural land of which, is found to be 
        contaminated by PFAS maintains profitability while the 
        producers on the agricultural land, in response to the PFAS 
        contamination--
                    (A) transition to an alternative production system; 
                or
                    (B) implement remediation strategies (including 
                disposal), technological adaptations, or other 
                modifications to the operations of the agricultural 
                land or commercial farm.
            (4) Assisting the producers on agricultural land that, or a 
        commercial farm any agricultural land of which, is found to be 
        contaminated by PFAS in developing an enterprise budget for--
                    (A) alternative production systems;
                    (B) remediation strategies;
                    (C) technological adaptations;
                    (D) transitioning to an alternative revenue stream; 
                or
                    (E) relocating a farming operation to new 
                agricultural land.
            (5) Providing financial assistance to a person the 
        commercial farm of which is found to be contaminated by PFAS, 
        including income replacement.
            (6) Evaluating and expanding the capacity of PFAS testing 
        and data management in the territory of the eligible 
        government.
            (7) Conducting research that--
                    (A) supports short-term farm management decisions 
                with respect to agricultural land that has been 
                contaminated by PFAS; and
                    (B) assesses future options for viable uses of 
                agricultural land and water used for agricultural 
                production that has been contaminated by PFAS.
            (8) Conducting research that quantifies the impact of PFAS 
        on commercial farms and agricultural communities in the 
        territory of the eligible government.
            (9) Conducting research on--
                    (A) soil and water remediation systems;
                    (B) the viability of those systems for PFAS-
                contaminated commercial farms;
                    (C) the composting or disposal of PFAS-contaminated 
                crops or livestock;
                    (D) implementing alternative production systems in 
                response to PFAS contamination;
                    (E) the PFAS uptake of various farm products; and
                    (F) food safety relating to PFAS contamination.
            (10) Developing and implementing educational programs for 
        owners of agricultural land, including determining best 
        practices for--
                    (A) informing residents about the potential of 
                being near or on a site on which sludge or septage 
                application was licensed or permitted by the eligible 
                government or the Federal Government; and
                    (B) providing information and guidance on buying or 
                selling agricultural land on which sludge or septage 
                was applied.
            (11) Long-term monitoring of agricultural land contaminated 
        by PFAS and establishing a corresponding centralized data 
        repository.
            (12) Assisting owners and operators of commercial farms not 
        directly affected by PFAS contamination with marketing efforts 
        whose branding and marketing may be affected by the public 
        perception of PFAS contamination in the territory of the 
        eligible government.
            (13) Voluntary testing of farm products, agricultural land, 
        or other locations that are suspected to be contaminated with 
        PFAS.
    (b) Priority.--
            (1) In general.--In using funding received under the 
        program, an eligible government shall prioritize purposes that 
        directly assist producers who are experiencing financial losses 
        due to agricultural PFAS contamination.
            (2) Department of agriculture priority.--In providing 
        grants under the program, the Secretary shall prioritize the 
        provision of grants to eligible governments that will use the 
        grant funds for the purposes described in paragraphs (3) 
        through (5) of subsection (a).

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

    Each year of the period of a grant received under the program, the 
department of agriculture or similar agency of an eligible government 
shall submit to the Secretary and Congress a report describing--
            (1) the uses of the grant during the previous year, 
        including--
                    (A) the purposes described in section 4(a) for 
                which the grant was used;
                    (B) the amount of the grant allocated to each 
                purpose described in section 4(a); and
                    (C) the extent to which the funding received under 
                the program, including funding priorities and 
                oversight, was administered in accordance with the plan 
                described in section 3(c)(2);
            (2) any additional needs identified by agricultural 
        producers in the territory of the eligible government; and
            (3) any additional information the Secretary determines to 
        be appropriate.

SEC. 6. TASK FORCE.

    The Secretary shall establish a task force composed of officers or 
employees of the Department of Agriculture--
            (1) to provide advice to the Secretary relating to whether 
        addressing PFAS contamination should be added as an eligible 
        activity under each program of the Department of Agriculture;
            (2) to evaluate necessary actions for farms already 
        enrolled in a Department of Agriculture program where PFAS is 
        detected; and
            (3) to provide technical assistance to eligible governments 
        in addressing PFAS contamination.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this Act $500,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 
2028.
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