Title: Farmer Driven Conservation Outcomes Act of 2020
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Farmer Driven Conservation Outcomes Act of 2020
This bill modifies the authority of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with respect to strategic assessment and planning for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of soil, water, and related natural resources.
USDA may establish a conservation effects assessment project to
USDA must establish a goals and assessment process for conservation programs that includes (1) the identification of natural resource and environmental objectives, outcomes, and results for the programs; (2) assessments of the resulting changes in the status and conditions of natural resources and the environment; and (3) a monitoring and evaluation process for the programs and initiatives.
In implementing the monitoring and evaluation process, USDA must use certain funds provided for conservation programs and establish a National Technical Committee.
The bill also sets forth reporting requirements regarding the progress conservation programs have made in achieving the objectives and outcomes.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3429 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3429

  To amend the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 with 
    respect to assessments of conservation programs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2020

Mr. Casey (for himself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 with 
    respect to assessments of conservation programs, 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 ``Farmer Driven Conservation Outcomes 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE SOIL AND WATER RESOURCES CONSERVATION ACT OF 
              1977.

    The Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 
2001 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 8 through 10 as sections 10 
        though 12, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 7 the following:

``SEC. 8. CONSERVATION PROGRAMS ASSESSMENT.

    ``(a) In General.--In coordination with the appraisal of soil, 
water, and related resources and the soil and water conservation 
program, the Secretary may carry out a conservation effects assessment 
project--
            ``(1) to quantify the environmental and economic effects of 
        conservation practices;
            ``(2) to develop the science base for managing the 
        agricultural landscape for environmental quality and 
        sustainable productive capacity; and
            ``(3) to improve the efficacy of conservation practices and 
        programs by evaluating conservation effects.
    ``(b) Scope.--The project under this section may--
            ``(1) be carried out at national, regional, and watershed 
        scales; and
            ``(2) include cropland, grazing land, wetlands, forests, 
        and such other land as the Secretary may determine to be 
        appropriate.
    ``(c) Activities.--The project under this section may include 
research, literature reviews and bibliographies, modeling, assessment, 
monitoring and data collection, outreach, extension education, and such 
other activities as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate.

``SEC. 9. GOALS AND ASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Natural Resource and Environmental Objectives and Outcomes.--
            ``(1) In general.--In coordination with the appraisal of 
        soil, water, and related resources, the soil and water 
        conservation program, and the conservation effects assessment 
        project established under section 8, the Secretary shall 
        identify, and periodically revise, specific natural resource 
        and environmental objectives and anticipated conservation 
        outcomes and results, by resource concern, for--
                    ``(A) the conservation programs established under 
                subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 
                1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.);
                    ``(B) the agricultural conservation easement 
                program established under subtitle H of that title (16 
                U.S.C. 3865 et seq.); and
                    ``(C) the landscape conservation initiatives 
                developed by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Assessments.--To help measure outcomes and results, 
        the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, make 
        assessments of changes in the status and conditions of natural 
        resources and the environment that result from the application 
        of conservation activities supported directly by the 
        conservation programs and initiatives described in 
        subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Monitoring and program evaluation.--The Secretary 
        shall establish a coordinated monitoring and evaluation process 
        for the programs and initiatives described in subparagraphs (A) 
        through (C) of paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) to assess progress toward the objectives 
                identified under that paragraph;
                    ``(B) to gather information to improve the 
                implementation of those programs and initiatives in 
                accordance with the outcomes and results identified 
                under that paragraph; and
                    ``(C) to assess the need for modifications to the 
                statutes or regulations for those programs and 
                initiatives.
    ``(b) Monitoring and Program Evaluation.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall use not more than 1 
        percent of the total annual funding from the funds of the 
        Commodity Credit Corporation made available for new annual 
        enrollments for the conservation programs described in 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1) to establish a 
        comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process to 
        assess--
                    ``(A) progress in reaching natural resource and 
                environmental objectives identified under that 
                subsection;
                    ``(B) the contribution of individual programs to 
                that progress; and
                    ``(C) the contribution of those programs 
                collectively to that progress.
            ``(2) Implementation.--In implementing the comprehensive 
        monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary may consider and incorporate--
                    ``(A) resource concern inventories;
                    ``(B) trends and analyses;
                    ``(C) quality and quantity criteria;
                    ``(D) conservation practices and enhancements; and
                    ``(E) such other information as the Secretary 
                determines relevant for applying the monitoring and 
                program evaluation process across each major land use 
                identified by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Monitoring and evaluation process.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of enactment of the Farmer Driven Conservation 
                Outcomes Act of 2020, the Secretary shall issue--
                            ``(i) a design for the comprehensive 
                        monitoring and program evaluation process under 
                        paragraph (1);
                            ``(ii) a schedule for implementing that 
                        process; and
                            ``(iii) a plan for coordinating that 
                        process with--
                                    ``(I) the soil and water 
                                conservation program; and
                                    ``(II) the conservation effects 
                                assessment project established under 
                                section 8.
                    ``(B) Methodology.--The design for the 
                comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process 
                described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall--
                            ``(i) ensure that data made available to 
                        cooperators and researchers from the 
                        comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation 
                        process are transformed into statistical 
                        aggregate data at the county level and in a 
                        form that protects personally identifiable 
                        information; and
                            ``(ii) take into account--
                                    ``(I) the cumulative nature of 
                                conservation over time;
                                    ``(II) the interactions and 
                                sequencing effects between conservation 
                                activities;
                                    ``(III) the differing times for 
                                conservation effects to be realized; 
                                and
                                    ``(IV) other related measurement 
                                challenges.
                    ``(C) Public research.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding any 
                        other provision of law, subject to clause (ii), 
                        in order to facilitate implementation of the 
                        comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation 
                        process under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
                        shall make available conservation activity and 
                        program data to cooperators and researchers 
                        engaged in public research and evaluation 
                        activities to improve conservation outcomes 
                        under this subsection.
                            ``(ii) Conditions.--The availability of 
                        data under clause (i) shall be subject to the 
                        conditions that--
                                    ``(I) adequate assurances are 
                                provided to the Secretary that any 
                                resulting research or information will 
                                be made publicly available in a form 
                                that protects personally identifiable 
                                information; and
                                    ``(II) the national technical 
                                committee established under paragraph 
                                (5) finds that the data is likely to 
                                generate information that furthers the 
                                purpose of this section.
            ``(4) Cooperative agreements.--The Secretary may implement 
        the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process 
        under paragraph (1) in part through cooperative or contribution 
        agreements with Federal, State, and local agencies, 
        institutions of higher education, and nongovernmental 
        organizations with requisite expertise, as determined by the 
        Secretary, in consultation with the national technical 
        committee established under paragraph (5).
            ``(5) National technical committee.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The comprehensive monitoring and 
                program evaluation process under paragraph (1) shall be 
                administered by the Secretary, acting through the Chief 
                of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, with 
                assistance from a national technical committee 
                described in subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Composition.--The national technical 
                committee referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be 
                appointed by the Secretary and composed of individuals 
                with relevant technical and scientific expertise 
                representing--
                            ``(i) the Agricultural Research Service;
                            ``(ii) the Economic Research Service;
                            ``(iii) the Farm Service Agency;
                            ``(iv) the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                        Service;
                            ``(v) the Forest Service;
                            ``(vi) the National Institute of Food and 
                        Agriculture;
                            ``(vii) the United States Geological 
                        Survey;
                            ``(viii) the Environmental Protection 
                        Agency;
                            ``(ix) State and Tribal agencies;
                            ``(x) land grant university natural 
                        resource research programs;
                            ``(xi) nongovernmental organizations with 
                        expertise in the full array of conservation 
                        issues and measurement and evaluation of 
                        conservation outcomes;
                            ``(xii) farmers that reflect a variety of 
                        geographic regions and production types; and
                            ``(xiii) such other agencies, institutions, 
                        or organizations as the Secretary may determine 
                        to be appropriate.
                    ``(C) FACA exemption.--The national technical 
                committee shall be exempt from the Federal Advisory 
                Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
                    ``(D) Transparency.--The Secretary shall ensure 
                that the proceedings and recommendations of the 
                national technical committee are available to the 
                public.
            ``(6) Voluntary participation.--In carrying out this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that any on-farm 
        monitoring activities that may be included as part of the 
        comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) are voluntary on the part of the producer; 
                and
                    ``(B) may include appropriate compensation, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
    ``(c) Reporting.--
            ``(1) Report on objectives and methods.--Beginning in the 
        fiscal year that is 3 years after the date of enactment of the 
        Farmer Driven Conservation Outcomes Act of 2020, and 
        periodically thereafter, as determined by the Secretary, the 
        Secretary shall submit to Congress, and make publicly 
        available, a report that includes--
                    ``(A) a description of conservation outcome 
                objectives that are, to the maximum extent practicable, 
                quantitative, measurable, and time-bound for each 
                program or initiative described in subparagraphs (A) 
                through (C) of subsection (a)(1);
                    ``(B) a description of the approaches, tools, and 
                methods used--
                            ``(i) to measure or model the conservation 
                        outcomes and results; and
                            ``(ii) to estimate the cost-effectiveness 
                        of each of the programs or initiatives; and
                    ``(C) guidance to the conservation project partners 
                working to implement conservation programs within a 
                landscape-level project that provides a description of 
                the approaches, tools, and methods that the partners 
                might consider using to measure and model the 
                conservation outcomes and results of the projects.
            ``(2) Report on outcomes.--In conjunction with each of the 
        reports to Congress pursuant to section 7, the Secretary shall 
        submit to Congress, and make publicly available, a report that 
        includes--
                    ``(A) an assessment of progress made towards 
                achieving conservation program objectives and 
                anticipated outcomes and results for each program or 
                initiative described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) 
                of subsection (a)(1), individually and collectively;
                    ``(B) an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of 
                each of those conservation programs and initiatives; 
                and
                    ``(C) recommendations, taking into consideration 
                the assessment and evaluation under subparagraphs (A) 
                and (B), respectively, to improve program 
                implementation and the scientific and economic tools 
                (including any new or revised conservation practices, 
                conservation enhancements, or conservation planning 
                tools) used to achieve stated natural resource 
                conservation and environmental objectives.
            ``(3) Coordination.--The Secretary may coordinate the 
        reports required under paragraphs (1) and (2) with any reports 
        developed as part of the conservation effects assessment 
        project established under section 8 when that coordination is 
        feasible and warranted, as determined by the Secretary.''.
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