I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4420 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to address critical conservation 
conditions under the regional conservation partnership program, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 16, 2017 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. HOYER, Mr. RUP-
PERSBERGER, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, 
Mr. DELANEY, Mr. RASKIN, and Mrs. COMSTOCK) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to address critical 
conservation conditions under the regional conservation 
partnership program, 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Farm 
Bill Enhancements Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
Section 1271(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(16 U.S.C. 3871(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) To encourage alignment of partnership 
projects with other Federal, State, and local agen-
cies and programs addressing similar natural re-
source concerns in a coordinated manner.’’. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 1271A(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(16 U.S.C. 3871a(1)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(E) The conservation reserve program es-
tablished under subchapter B of chapter 1 of 
subtitle D. 
‘‘(F) The Watershed Protection and Flood 
Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), other 
than section 14 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1012).’’. 
SEC. 4. REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS. 
Section 1271B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3871b) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(b) MAXIMUM LENGTH.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the term of a partnership agreement shall 
not be longer than 5 years. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) 
CONCURRENT
PROGRAM
DEAD-
LINE.—Subject to approval by the Secretary, 
the term of a partnership agreement may be 
longer than 5 years if the longer period is con-
current with a deadline established under a 
State or Federal program that relates specifi-
cally to the project. 
‘‘(B) 1-TIME EXTENSION.—The Secretary 
may extend a partnership agreement 1 time for 
a period that is not longer than 12 months if 
the Secretary determines that the extension is 
necessary to meet the objectives of the pro-
gram.’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)(2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘An eligible’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) FORM.—A contribution of an eligible 
partner under this paragraph may be in the 
form of— 
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‘‘(i) direct funding; 
‘‘(ii) in-kind support; or 
‘‘(iii) a combination of direct funding 
and in-kind support. 
‘‘(C) 
TREATMENT.—Any 
amounts 
ex-
pended before the effective date of a partner-
ship agreement under this section by an eligible 
partner for staff salaries or development of the 
partnership agreement shall be considered to be 
a part of the contribution of the eligible partner 
under this paragraph.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(5) FUNDING RENEWALS.—If an eligible part-
ner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary 
that the eligible partner has made progress in ad-
dressing one or more natural resource concerns by 
not later than the date that is 1 fiscal year before 
the date on which the partnership agreement ex-
pires, the eligible partner may submit to the Sec-
retary an application for a renewal of the partner-
ship agreement, including a renewal of funding, 
through an expedited application process— 
‘‘(A) to continue to implement the partner-
ship agreement; 
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‘‘(B) to expand the scope of the partner-
ship agreement; 
‘‘(C) to enroll additional eligible producers; 
or 
‘‘(D) to carry out other conservation activi-
ties relating to the project, including monitoring 
and reporting on outcomes, as mutually agreed 
by the Secretary and the eligible partner. 
‘‘(6) REVIEW.—To the extent practicable, after 
receipt of an application under this subsection, the 
Secretary shall provide to each applicant information 
and feedback (including written information and 
feedback, as the Secretary determines to be appro-
priate) throughout the annual program application 
process for any improvements that could be made to 
the application.’’. 
SEC. 
5. 
FUNDING 
ARRANGEMENTS 
THROUGH 
GRANT 
AGREEMENTS. 
Section 1271C(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(16 U.S.C. 3871c(b)) is amended by striking paragraph 
(2) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) 
FUNDING
ARRANGEMENTS
THROUGH 
GRANT AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A partnership agree-
ment may be a grant agreement entered into 
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with an eligible partner in accordance with this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Under a grant 
agreement under subparagraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) using amounts made available to 
carry out this subtitle, the Secretary shall 
provide to the eligible partner a grant; 
‘‘(ii) the eligible partner shall carry 
out eligible activities on eligible land (in-
cluding by contracting with one or more 
producers, if the eligible partner deter-
mines the contracting to be appropriate), 
on the condition that the eligible activities 
directly or indirectly benefit agricultural 
producers (including forestry producers), 
to address natural resource concerns on a 
regional or watershed scale, such as— 
‘‘(I) infrastructure investments 
relating to agricultural or nonindus-
trial private forest production that 
would benefit multiple producers, such 
as a multiproducer irrigation water 
delivery system; 
‘‘(II) projects addressing water 
quality or quantity concerns in coordi-
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nation with producers, including the 
development and implementation of 
watershed plans; 
‘‘(III) projects that use innova-
tive approaches to leveraging the Fed-
eral investment in conservation with 
private financial mechanisms, in con-
junction with agricultural production 
or forest resource management, such 
as— 
‘‘(aa) the provision of per-
formance-based payments to pro-
ducers; and 
‘‘(bb) support for an envi-
ronmental market; 
‘‘(IV) projects that facilitate pilot 
testing of new conservation practices, 
technologies, or activities; 
‘‘(V) projects that promote the 
long-term viability and sustainability 
of agricultural land through innova-
tive agricultural land protection strat-
egies 
and 
mechanisms, 
including 
projects that support the transfer of 
land to beginning farmers and ranch-
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ers, veteran farmers and ranchers, so-
cially 
disadvantaged 
farmers 
and 
ranchers, and limited resource farm-
ers and ranchers, as determined by 
the Secretary; and 
‘‘(VI) other projects for which 
the Secretary determines that the 
goals and objectives of the program 
would be easier to achieve through the 
grant agreement; and 
‘‘(iii) the Secretary may provide tech-
nical and administrative assistance, as mu-
tually agreed by the parties. 
‘‘(C) NONAPPLICABILITY
OF
ADJUSTED 
GROSS
INCOME
LIMITATION.—The adjusted 
gross income limitation described in section 
1001D(b)(1) shall not apply to the receipt by 
an eligible partner of a grant under this para-
graph. 
‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may 
not use more than 30 percent of funding made 
available to carry out the program for grant 
agreements. 
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‘‘(E) REPORTS.—An eligible partner that 
enters into a grant agreement under this para-
graph shall submit to the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) any information that the Sec-
retary requires to prepare the report under 
section 1271E(b); and 
‘‘(ii) an annual report that describes 
the status of the project carried out by the 
eligible partner, including a description 
of— 
‘‘(I) the use of the grant funds; 
‘‘(II) any subcontracts awarded 
using grant funds; 
‘‘(III) the producers receiving 
funding using the grant funds; 
‘‘(IV)(aa) the progress made by 
the project in addressing any natural 
resource concerns, including in a 
quantified form; and 
‘‘(bb) as appropriate, other envi-
ronmental, economic, or social out-
comes of the project; and 
‘‘(V) any other reporting data the 
Secretary determines are necessary to 
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ensure compliance with the program 
rules.’’. 
SEC. 6. FUNDING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1271D of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871d) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘$100,000,000’’ and in-
serting ‘‘$300,000,000’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 
2014 through 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘for each 
fiscal year’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘for each 
of fiscal years 2014 through 2018’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘for each fiscal year’’; and 
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(2) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Any funds 
or acres reserved under paragraph (1) shall remain 
available for obligation only for the purposes of car-
rying out the program until expended. 
‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—To the max-
imum extent practicable, of projects receiving funds 
or acres reserved under paragraph (1) from a cov-
ered program, the percentage of projects that shall 
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have purposes similar to the purposes of the applica-
ble covered program from which funds or acres were 
reserved shall be approximately equal to the percent-
age of funds or acres reserved from the applicable 
covered program.’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘25 per-
cent of the funds and acres to projects based on 
a State competitive process administered by the 
State Conservationist, with the advice of the 
State technical committee established under 
subtitle G;’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘40 
percent of the funds and acres to projects based 
on a State or multistate competitive process ad-
ministered, as applicable, by the State Con-
servationist or jointly by the State Conserva-
tionists of each State participating in the 
multistate process, with the advice of the appli-
cable State technical committees established 
under subtitle G; and’’; 
(B) by striking paragraph (2); 
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
paragraph (2); and 
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(D) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), 
by striking ‘‘35 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘60 per-
cent’’; 
(4) in subsection (e)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘None of the funds’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), none of the funds’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) 
PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
AND
OUT-
REACH.—Under a partnership agreement, the Sec-
retary may advance reasonable amounts of funding 
for technical assistance to eligible partners to con-
duct project development and outreach activities in 
a project area (including activities conducted before 
the effective date of the partnership agreement), in-
cluding— 
‘‘(A) providing outreach and education to 
producers for potential participation in the 
project; 
‘‘(B) the development of a watershed or 
habitat plan; and 
‘‘(C) establishing baseline metrics to sup-
port the development of the assessment re-
quired under section 1271B(c)(1)(E).’’; and 
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(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time of project se-
lection, the Secretary shall identify and make pub-
lically available the amount that the Secretary shall 
use to provide technical assistance under the terms 
of the partnership agreement. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall limit 
costs of the Secretary for technical assistance to 
costs specific and necessary to carry out the objec-
tives of the partnership agreement. 
‘‘(3) THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 
shall develop and implement strategies to encourage 
third-party technical service providers to provide 
technical assistance to eligible partners pursuant to 
a partnership agreement.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1271F(a) 
of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871f(a)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘1271D(d)(3)’’ and inserting 
‘‘1271D(d)(2)’’. 
SEC. 7. CRITICAL CONSERVATION AREAS. 
Section 1271F of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3871f) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsections (a) (as amend-
ed by section 6(b)), (b), and (c) as subsections (b), 
(c), and (d), respectively; 
(2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CRITICAL
CONSERVATION
AREA.—The 
term ‘critical conservation area’ means a geo-
graphical area that contains a critical conservation 
condition that can be addressed through one or more 
covered programs. 
‘‘(2) CRITICAL
CONSERVATION
CONDITION.— 
The term ‘critical conservation condition’ means— 
‘‘(A) a condition of land that would benefit 
from water quality improvement, including 
through reducing erosion, promoting sediment 
control, and addressing nutrient management 
activities affecting large bodies of water of re-
gional, national, or international significance; 
and 
‘‘(B) a condition of land that would benefit 
from water quantity improvement, including im-
provement relating to— 
‘‘(i) groundwater, surface water, aqui-
fer, or other water sources; or 
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‘‘(ii) water retention and flood preven-
tion.’’; 
(3) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), by 
inserting ‘‘that address each critical conservation 
condition for which the critical conservation area is 
designated’’ before the period at the end; 
(4) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (3) as paragraphs (2) through (4), re-
spectively; 
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 
so redesignated) the following: 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In designating a critical 
conservation area under this section, the Secretary 
shall identify one or more critical conservation condi-
tions that the critical conservation area contains, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(A) the geographical area of land that 
contains the critical conservation condition; and 
‘‘(B) conservation goals and outcomes suf-
ficient to demonstrate that progress is being 
made to address the critical conservation condi-
tions.’’; 
(C) in paragraph (2) (as so redesig-
nated)— 
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(i) by striking subparagraphs (C) and 
(D) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(C) contains a critical conservation condi-
tion; or’’; and 
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph 
(E) as subparagraph (D); and 
(D) by striking paragraph (3) (as so redes-
ignated) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(3) REVIEW
AND
WITHDRAWAL.—The Sec-
retary may— 
‘‘(A) review designations of critical con-
servation areas under this section not more 
than once every 5 years; and 
‘‘(B) withdraw designation of a critical 
conservation area only if the Secretary deter-
mines that the area is no longer a critical con-
servation area.’’; 
(5) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
paragraph (4); 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following: 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri-
ority to an application under this section that ad-
dresses a critical conservation condition by— 
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‘‘(A)(i) including a diversity of stake-
holders in the project; 
‘‘(ii) building new partnerships at the local, 
State, and corporate levels; 
‘‘(iii) leveraging non-Federal financial and 
technical resources; and 
‘‘(iv) coordinating with other local, State, 
or national efforts; 
‘‘(B) delivering a high percentage of envi-
ronmental benefits to address the conservation 
goals and outcomes that shall be achieved for 
the Secretary to determine that the land is no 
longer a critical conservation area; 
‘‘(C) providing innovative conservation 
methods and delivery, including outcome-based 
performance measures and methods; or 
‘‘(D) implementing the project consistent 
with multi-State watershed restoration plans.’’; 
and 
(C) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), 
by striking ‘‘area described in subsection 
(b)(1)(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘condition described 
in subsection (a)(2)(B)’’; and 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
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