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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Collaborative Water 
and Soil Enhancement Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. NUTRIENT AND SOIL HEALTH MANAGEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1244 of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
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‘‘(m) NUTRIENT
AND
SOIL
HEALTH
MANAGE-
MENT.—In carrying out the conservation stewardship pro-
gram and the environmental quality incentives program, 
the Secretary shall enroll not less than 5 million acres an-
nually, in watersheds where nutrient delivery to hypoxic 
zones is highest, to provide payments to producers for con-
servation activities or practices that promote nutrient and 
soil health management, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 1242(e) of 
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(e)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) CERTIFIED
CROP
ADVISORS.—The Sec-
retary shall provide a streamlined certification proc-
ess under this subsection for third-party providers 
that have a 4R Nutrient Management Specialty Cer-
tification or a Sustainability Specialty Certification 
from the American Society of Agronomy.’’. 
SEC. 3. SOURCE WATER PROTECTION THROUGH TAR-
GETING OF AGRICULTURE PRACTICES. 
Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3844), as amended by section 2, is further amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(n) SOURCE WATER PROTECTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the con-
servation stewardship program and the environ-
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mental quality incentives program, the Secretary 
shall encourage practices that relate to water quality 
or water quantity that protect source waters for 
drinking water (including protecting against public 
health threats) while also benefitting agricultural 
producers. 
‘‘(2) COLLABORATION WITH DRINKING WATER 
UTILITIES
AND
INCREASED
INCENTIVES.—In en-
couraging practices under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) work collaboratively with community 
water systems and State technical committees 
established under section 1261 to identify, in 
each State, local priority areas for the protec-
tion of source waters for drinking water; and 
‘‘(B) for practices that relate to water 
quality or water quantity that result in benefits 
that primarily occur outside of the land on 
which the practices are implemented, offer in-
creased incentives and higher cost-share rates 
to producers than are otherwise statutorily au-
thorized through the conservation stewardship 
program and the environmental quality incen-
tives program. 
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‘‘(3) RESERVATION OF FUNDS AND ACRES.—In 
each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, the Sec-
retary shall use not less than 10 percent of any 
funds or acres available with respect to the conserva-
tion stewardship program and the environmental 
quality incentives program, in carrying out this sub-
section, to target the most effective practices for im-
proving the quality or quantity of source water. 
‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Secretary shall give priority— 
‘‘(A) to practices determined by the Sec-
retary, using the Conservation Practices Phys-
ical Effects matrix developed by the Secretary, 
to be the most effective; and 
‘‘(B) to practices implemented in local pri-
ority areas identified under paragraph (2)(A).’’. 
Æ 
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