I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9186 
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants to States to 
address contamination by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances 
on farms, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 14, 2022 
Ms. PINGREE (for herself and Mr. GOLDEN) 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 to address contamination by perfluoroalkyl and 
polyfluoroalkyl substances on farms, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Relief for Farmers Hit 
with PFAS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AGRICULTURAL LAND.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘agricultural 
land’’ means any land that is used, or capable 
of use without substantial modification, for pro-
duction of farm products. 
(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘agricultural 
land’’ includes irrigation water and ground-
water on or associated with land described in 
subparagraph (A). 
(2) COMMERCIAL FARM.—The term ‘‘commer-
cial farm’’ means a farm on which a person pro-
duces any farm product with the intent that the 
farm product be sold or otherwise disposed of to 
generate income. 
(3) FARM PRODUCT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘farm prod-
uct’’ means any plant or animal that is useful 
to humans. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘farm prod-
uct’’ includes— 
(i) forages; 
(ii) sod crops; 
(iii) grains; 
(iv) food crops; 
(v) dairy products; 
(vi) poultry and poultry products; 
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(vii) bees; 
(viii) livestock and livestock products; 
(ix) fruits; 
(x) berries; 
(xi) vegetables; 
(xii) flowers; 
(xiii) seeds; 
(xiv) grasses; 
(xv) Christmas trees; and 
(xvi) other similar products. 
(4) PFAS.—The term ‘‘PFAS’’ means any 
member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals 
containing at least 1 fully fluorinated carbon atom. 
(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 
the program established under section 3(a). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(7) SEPTAGE.—The term ‘‘septage’’ means 
waste, refuse, effluent, sludge, and any other mate-
rials from septic tanks, cesspools, or any other simi-
lar facilities. 
(8) SLUDGE.—The term ‘‘sludge’’ means— 
(A) nonhazardous solid, semisolid, or liquid 
waste generated from a municipal, commercial, 
or industrial— 
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(i) wastewater treatment plant; 
(ii) water supply treatment plant; or 
(iii) wet process air pollution control 
facility; and 
(B) any other waste having similar charac-
teristics and effect. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
program under which the Secretary shall provide grants 
to States for the purposes described in section 4. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under the program, a State shall contain— 
(1) agricultural land that contains any soil with 
levels above 0.3 parts per billion of PFAS; or 
(2) water used for the production of farm prod-
ucts that is above the less stringent of— 
(A) the most recent advisory level for 
PFAS established by the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 
section 1412(b)(1)(F) of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(1)(F)); and 
(B) the most recent advisory level for 
PFAS established by that State, if applicable. 
(c) APPLICATIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under the 
program, the department of agriculture or similar 
agency of a State shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may re-
quire. 
(2) SPEND
PLAN.—An application submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall contain a plan describing 
how the State will administer the funding received 
under the program, including funding priorities and 
oversight. 
(d) SET-ASIDE.—The Secretary shall provide not less 
than 30 percent of the total amount of grants provided 
under the program to 1 or more States with a population 
of less than 3,000,000. 
SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 
A State may use a grant received under the program 
to provide funding for any of the following purposes: 
(1) Monitoring the health of a person, and 
members of the household of that person, whose ag-
ricultural land is found to be contaminated by 
PFAS, including blood serum testing. 
(2) Providing medical care to a person who— 
(A) works or lives on— 
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(i) agricultural land that is found to 
be contaminated by PFAS; or 
(ii) land adjacent to land described in 
clause (i); or 
(B) is found to have— 
(i) blood levels of PFAS greater than 
the general population of the United 
States; or 
(ii) health effects associated with ex-
posure to PFAS. 
(3) Relocating— 
(A) agricultural land that is found to be 
contaminated by PFAS; or 
(B) a commercial farm any agricultural 
land of which is found to be contaminated by 
PFAS. 
(4) Buying, selling, or providing compensation 
for agricultural land or farm products found to be 
contaminated by PFAS, including costs associated 
with the depopulation or disposal of farm products, 
premortem or postmortem. 
(5) Investing in equipment, facilities, and infra-
structure to ensure that agricultural land that, or a 
commercial farm any agricultural land of which, is 
found to be contaminated by PFAS maintains prof-
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itability while the producers on the agricultural land 
or commercial farm, in response to the PFAS con-
tamination— 
(A) transition to an alternative cropping 
system; or 
(B) implement remediation strategies (in-
cluding disposal), technological adaptations, 
solar energy development, or other modifica-
tions to the operations of the agricultural land 
or commercial farm. 
(6) Assisting the producers on agricultural land 
that, or a commercial farm any agricultural land of 
which, is found to be contaminated by PFAS in de-
veloping an enterprise budget for— 
(A) alternative cropping systems; 
(B) remediation strategies; 
(C) technological adaptations; or 
(D) transitioning to an alternative revenue 
stream, including a land-use system that com-
bines agricultural use of the land with solar en-
ergy production. 
(7) Providing financial assistance to a person 
the commercial farm of which is found to be con-
taminated by PFAS, including income replacement 
and mortgage payments. 
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(8) Evaluating and expanding the capacity of 
PFAS testing and data management in the State. 
(9) 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 that has been contaminated 
by PFAS. 
(10) Conducting research that quantifies the 
impact of PFAS on commercial farms and agricul-
tural communities in the State. 
(11) Conducting research on— 
(A) soil and water remediation systems; 
and 
(B) the viability of those systems for com-
mercial farms. 
(12) Conducting research on— 
(A) implementing alternative cropping sys-
tems in response to PFAS contamination; 
(B) the PFAS uptake of various crops; 
(C) the use of livestock systems to mitigate 
exposure to, and for remediation of, PFAS; and 
(D) food safety criteria for food products 
relating to PFAS contamination. 
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(13) 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 State or the Federal Government; and 
(B) providing information and guidance on 
buying or selling agricultural land on which 
sludge or septage was applied. 
(14) Long-term monitoring of agricultural land 
sites contaminated by PFAS and establishing a cor-
responding centralized data repository. 
(15) Assisting commercial farms and other per-
sons in the agricultural sector 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 
State. 
(16) Regional planning with other States and 
the Federal Government to protect the food supply 
and farmers in the State from out-of-State PFAS 
contamination. 
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(17) Testing of farm products, agricultural 
land, or other locations that are suspected to be con-
taminated with PFAS. 
SEC. 5. REPORTS. 
Not later than March 31 following each year of the 
period of a grant received under the program, the depart-
ment of agriculture or similar agency of a State shall sub-
mit to the Secretary a report describing— 
(1) the uses of the grant during the previous 
year, including— 
(A) the purposes described in section 4 for 
which the grant was used; 
(B) the amount of the grant allocated to 
each purpose described in section 4; and 
(C) the extent to which the funding re-
ceived under the program, including funding 
priorities and oversight, was administered in ac-
cordance with the plan described in section 
3(c)(2); and 
(2) any additional needs identified by agricul-
tural producers in the State. 
SEC. 6. TASK FORCE. 
The Secretary shall establish a task force composed 
of officers or employees of the Department of Agri-
culture— 
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(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; and 
(2) to provide technical assistance to States in 
addressing PFAS contamination. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary to carry out this Act $500,000,000 for the period 
of fiscal years 2023 through 2027. 
Æ 
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