Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023

Bill: 118-hr-6821
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]
Introduced: 2023-12-14
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Latest action: action_date: 2024-08-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6821 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 14, 2023 Ms. Kaptur (for herself and Mr. Gallagher ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish a pilot program that focuses Department of Agriculture conservation funding on reducing the most problematic nutrients in the highest-impact areas, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and other water bodies of national significance are integral to the health and wealth of millions of Americans; (2) excessive loading of nutrients in these water bodies leads to eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and dead zones that threaten human health and adversely impact fish and wildlife resources, tourism, and industry; (3) the Federal Government, State and local governments, non-profit organizations, and private entities have expended billions of dollars to reduce nutrient loading in the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and other water bodies of national significance; (4) despite the investments described in paragraph (3), harmful algal blooms and dead zones continue to occur in the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and other water bodies of national significance; (5) phosphorus, particularly dissolved reactive phosphorus, is a primary driver of eutrophication in the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay tributaries, and other water bodies of national significance; (6) targeted, strategic assistance to producers in agricultural sub-watersheds with high levels of dissolved reactive phosphorus loading has the potential to significantly improve water quality the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and other water bodies of national significance; and (7) the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture is well positioned to provide the targeted, strategic assistance described in paragraph (6) through its conservation programs. 3. Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program Subchapter A of chapter 4 of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 1240H–1. Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered agreement The term covered agreement means a contract or agreement under the program or a covered program entered into for purposes of the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program carried out under this section. (2) Covered program The term covered program means the following: (A) The agricultural conservation easement program. (B) The regional conservation partnership program. (C) The conservation stewardship program, not including the grassland conservation initiative under section 1240L–1. (D) The conservation reserve program. (E) The programs established by the Secretary to carry out the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. ), except for any program established by the Secretary to carry out section 14 ( 16 U.S.C. 1012 ) of that Act. (3) Eligible activity The term eligible activity means a practice, activity, agreement, easement, or related conservation measure that is available under the statutory authority for the program or a covered program. (4) Eligible partner The term eligible partner means an eligible partner under the regional conservation partnership program established under subtitle I. (5) Priority watershed The term priority watershed means a watershed that is— (A) delineated at the hydrologic unit code level 12 in the Watershed Boundary Dataset managed by the United States Geological Survey; (B) located in an area designated by the Secretary as a critical conservation area under section 1271F; and (C) designated by a Federal interagency task force or council, or other appropriate Federal interagency group, as a watershed most in need of phosphorus reduction from agricultural activities to improve water quality in a large body of water of regional, national, or international significance. (b) In general The Secretary shall carry out a pilot program, to be known as the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program, to maximize reduction of dissolved reactive phosphorus in priority watersheds through the implementation of eligible activities in such watersheds under the program and covered programs in fiscal years 2025 through 2031. (c) Action plans (1) In general Using funds made available under this subchapter, the Secretary shall select priority watersheds for purposes of the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program and prepare for each priority watershed so selected an action plan to maximize reduction of dissolved reactive phosphorus through implementation of eligible activities in the watershed under the program and covered programs. (2) Elements An action plan prepared under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) an appraisal of the extent to which each eligible activity available for implementation in the watershed under the program or a covered program is effective at reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus, based on existing data and analysis; (B) identification of target implementation goals for each eligible activity available for implementation in the watershed under the program or a covered program that is determined by the Secretary to be effective at reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus; (C) a strategy to monitor and adaptively manage implementation of the action plan, including implementation of applicable eligible activities, that— (i) leverages, to the maximum extent practicable, ongoing water quality monitoring activities carried out in the watershed by non-profit organizations, colleges and universities, and Federal, State, and local government agencies; and (ii) provides for the development and validation of integrated, reliable, and easy-to-use models for predicting changes in dissolved reactive phosphorus arising from implementation of such eligible activities; and (D) a strategy for enhanced outreach to identify and recruit eligible partners and producers in the watershed to increase adoption of eligible activities determined to be effective by the Secretary under subparagraph (B). (d) Prioritization The Secretary shall prioritize entering into covered agreements to demonstrate— (1) non-digester methods to transition from wet manure handling and storage to dry manure handling and storage, including open solar drying or composting of manure onsite, conversion of dairy and livestock operations to pasture-based management, solid separation technologies, vermifiltration, and scrape conversion, provided that such methods do not otherwise result in the discharge or runoff of wastewater with high dissolved phosphorus content into a watershed; (2) methods to reduce dissolved reactive phosphorus inputs to a priority watershed from land characterized by phosphorus— (A) that has accumulated from prior agricultural land management activities; and (B) the levels of which exceed agronomic rates; and (3) strategies to overcome barriers to implementation of methods to reduce dissolve reactive phosphorus inputs to priority watersheds on vacant and leased land. (e) Incentive payments Notwithstanding any otherwise applicable limitation on payments under the program or a covered program, during the period described in subsection (b), the Secretary is authorized to make payments to producers and eligible partners under covered agreements in accordance with a graduated scale of payment amounts based on measured, quantitative reductions in dissolved reactive phosphorus achieved through the implementation of eligible activities under the covered agreements. (f) Interpretation Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect— (1) the duration authorized for a contract or agreement under the program or a covered program; (2) any contract or agreement entered into under the program or a covered program prior to the date of enactment of the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023, including the process or criteria for renewing or extending such a contract or agreement; or (3) any requirements relating to the program or a covered program for any other purpose for which the program or covered program is implemented. (g) Coordination and consistency (1) In general In carrying out the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program, the Secretary shall coordinate with relevant Federal agencies and State and local governments. (2) Action plans The Secretary shall ensure that any action plan prepared for a priority watershed under subsection (c) is consistent to the maximum extent practicable with any State water quality management plan that includes the priority watershed. (h) Supplement not supplant Assistance provided under the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program shall supplement, not supplant, assistance provided to eligible partners or producers in a priority watershed under the program or a covered program for purposes other than the purposes of the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program. (i) Reports The Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate— (1) not later than January 1, 2027, an interim report on implementation of the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program; and (2) not later than June 1, 2032, a final report on implementation of the Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Action Program. .