I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6023 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the designation of 
composting as a conservation practice and conservation activity, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2020 
Ms. BROWNLEY of California (for herself and Ms. PINGREE) 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 
designation of composting as a conservation practice and 
conservation activity, 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 ‘‘Cultivating Organic 
Matter through the Promotion Of Sustainable Techniques 
Act’’ or the ‘‘COMPOST Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Composting is one of the most environ-
mentally friendly means to dispose of food waste and 
other organic wastes. 
(2) Composting not only causes less nutrient 
pollution of surface and ground water and emits a 
smaller quantity of greenhouse gases compared to 
alternative disposal methods, but also yields a valu-
able soil amendment that enhances soil health and 
fertility and agricultural resilience to the impacts of 
climate change. 
(3) It is critical for the Natural Resources Con-
servation Service to provide technical and financial 
support to producers in the on-farm production of 
compost from on-farm and off-farm organic byprod-
ucts, and the utilization of compost in accordance 
with sound soil health and nutrition management. 
SEC. 3. COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE. 
Section 1241(j) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3841(j)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE 
AND ACTIVITY.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall by 
regulation provide that composting is a con-
servation practice and a conservation activity 
for the purposes of this title. 
‘‘(B) COMPOSTING DEFINED.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes 
of this paragraph, the term ‘composting’ 
means— 
‘‘(I) an activity (including an ac-
tivity that does not require the use of 
a composting facility) to produce com-
post from organic waste that is— 
‘‘(aa) generated on a farm; 
or 
‘‘(bb) brought to a farm 
from a nearby community and 
used to produce compost on that 
farm; and 
‘‘(II) the use and active manage-
ment of compost on a farm, in accord-
ance with any applicable Federal, 
State, or local law, to improve water 
retention and soil health. 
‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION
OF
NEARBY 
COMMUNITIES.—The Secretary, in con-
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sultation with the Administrator of the En-
vironmental Protection Agency, shall issue 
regulations for determining whether a com-
munity is nearby for purposes of clause 
(i)(I) which shall ensure that bringing or-
ganic waste from the community to the 
farm to produce compost results in a net 
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.’’. 
Æ 
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