I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3120 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agri-
culture to establish a Great Lakes basin initiative for agricultural 
nonpoint source pollution prevention. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2015 
Mrs. MILLER of Michigan (for herself and Mr. WALBERG) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the 
Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Great Lakes basin 
initiative for agricultural nonpoint source pollution pre-
vention. 
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 ‘‘Great Lakes Assurance 
Program Verification Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES BASIN INITIATIVE FOR AGRICUL-
TURAL NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION PRE-
VENTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Food Security Act of 1985 
is amended by inserting after section 1240H the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 1240I. GREAT LAKES BASIN INITIATIVE FOR AGRICUL-
TURAL NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION PRE-
VENTION. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Great Lakes States, shall establish a Great 
Lakes basin initiative for agricultural nonpoint source pol-
lution prevention in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(b) INITIATIVE ELEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) GRANTS TO STATES.—In implementing the 
initiative, the Secretary shall provide grants to Great 
Lakes States to fund the following: 
‘‘(A) Education and outreach, for pro-
ducers in the Great Lakes basin, regarding— 
‘‘(i) nonpoint pollution of ground and 
surface water from agricultural activities; 
‘‘(ii) State verification programs; and 
‘‘(iii) the initiative. 
‘‘(B) Technical assistance, including train-
ing, to producers in the Great Lakes basin for 
the implementation of activities that reduce or 
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prevent nonpoint pollution of ground and sur-
face water from agricultural activities. 
‘‘(C) Development and implementation of 
voluntary State verification programs, with a 
funding priority for voluntary State verification 
programs that incorporate Department of Agri-
culture conservation planning and practice 
standards. 
‘‘(2) FUNDING
PRIORITY
FOR
CERTAIN
PRO-
DUCERS.—In implementing the initiative, the Sec-
retary shall establish a funding priority within the 
Great Lakes basin for payments to producers under 
this chapter for producers that participate in the ini-
tiative with the purpose of achieving verification 
through a State verification program. 
‘‘(c) USE OF EXISTING DATA.—In establishing the 
initiative, the Secretary shall, where available, use existing 
plans, models, and assessments. 
‘‘(d) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out activities 
under the initiative, a State may collaborate with entities 
that have agricultural or environmental expertise, includ-
ing academic or nonprofit organizations. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) GREAT LAKES STATE.—The term ‘Great 
Lakes State’ means any one of the States of Illinois, 
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Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. 
‘‘(2) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘initiative’ means 
the Great Lakes basin initiative for agricultural 
nonpoint source pollution prevention established 
under subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) NONPOINT
SOURCE
POLLUTION.—The 
term ‘nonpoint source pollution’ is used within the 
meaning of that term under the Federal Water Pol-
lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 
‘‘(4) STATE
VERIFICATION
PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘State verification program’ means a program 
established by a Great Lakes State to verify pro-
ducer implementation of practices approved by the 
State to reduce nonpoint pollution of ground and 
surface water from agricultural activities, which may 
include verification by a third party approved by the 
State or the Secretary. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.—Of the funds made available to carry 
out this chapter, the Secretary shall carry out this section 
using— 
‘‘(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 
‘‘(2) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 
‘‘(3) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 
‘‘(4) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.’’. 
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1240C of 
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR GREAT LAKES BASIN.—In 
evaluating applications of producers in the Great Lakes 
basin under this chapter, the Secretary shall prioritize ap-
plications in accordance with section 1240I(b)(2).’’. 
Æ 
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