Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act
Bill: H.R.9186 | Sponsor: Rep. Pingree, Chellie (D-ME)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a grant program to help states address contamination by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, on agricultural land and commercial farms.
The bill also requires USDA to establish a task force to provide (1) advice regarding whether addressing PFAS contamination should be added as an eligible activity for each USDA program, and (2) technical assistance to states in addressing PFAS contamination.

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``agricultural land'' 
                means any land that is used, or capable of use without 
                substantial modification, for production of farm 
                products.
                    (B) Inclusion.--The term ``agricultural land'' 
                includes irrigation water and groundwater on or 
                associated with land described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Commercial farm.--The term ``commercial farm'' means a 
        farm on which a person produces 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 product'' means 
                any plant or animal that is useful to humans.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``farm product'' 
                includes--
                            (i) forages;
                            (ii) sod crops;
                            (iii) grains;
                            (iv) food crops;
                            (v) dairy products;
                            (vi) poultry and poultry products;
                            (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 materials from septic tanks, 
        cesspools, or any other similar facilities.
            (8) Sludge.--The term ``sludge'' means--
                    (A) nonhazardous solid, semisolid, or liquid waste 
                generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial--
                            (i) wastewater treatment plant;
                            (ii) water supply treatment plant; or
                            (iii) wet process air pollution control 
                        facility; and
                    (B) any other waste having similar characteristics 
                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 products 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.--
            (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 containing such information as the Secretary may 
        require.
            (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 agricultural 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--
                            (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 
                        exposure 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 infrastructure 
        to ensure that agricultural land that, or a commercial farm any 
        agricultural land of which, is found to be contaminated by PFAS 
        maintains profitability while the producers on the agricultural 
        land or commercial farm, in response to the PFAS 
        contamination--
                    (A) transition to an alternative cropping system; 
                or
                    (B) implement remediation strategies (including 
                disposal), technological adaptations, solar energy 
                development, or other modifications 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 developing 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 combines agricultural 
                use of the land with solar energy production.
            (7) Providing financial assistance to a person the 
        commercial farm of which is found to be contaminated by PFAS, 
        including income replacement and mortgage payments.
            (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 agricultural communities in the State.
            (11) Conducting research on--
                    (A) soil and water remediation systems; and
                    (B) the viability of those systems for commercial 
                farms.
            (12) Conducting research on--
                    (A) implementing alternative cropping systems 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.
            (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 corresponding 
        centralized data repository.
            (15) Assisting commercial farms and other persons 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.
            (17) Testing of farm products, agricultural land, or other 
        locations that are suspected to be contaminated with PFAS.

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

    Not later than March 31 following each year of the period of a 
grant received under the program, the department of agriculture or 
similar agency of a State shall submit 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 received under 
                the program, including funding priorities and 
                oversight, was administered in accordance with the plan 
                described in section 3(c)(2); and
            (2) any additional needs identified by agricultural 
        producers in the State.

SEC. 6. TASK FORCE.

    The Secretary shall establish a task force composed of officers or 
employees of the Department of Agriculture--
            (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 Secretary to carry 
out this Act $500,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 
2027.
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