Conservation Innovation Act of 2023

Conservation Innovation Act of 2023

This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to establish an Office of Conservation Innovation within the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The office must encourage innovation in conservation practices through (1) revisions to existing conservation practice standards, and (2) recommendations for interim and new standards.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6867 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6867

   To create an Office of Conservation Innovation within the Natural 
                    Resources Conservation Service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2023

   Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Ms. Spanberger) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To create an Office of Conservation Innovation within the Natural 
                    Resources Conservation Service.

    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 ``Conservation Innovation Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF CONSERVATION INNOVATION.

    Section 1242(h) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3842(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Office of conservation innovation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish 
                within the Office of the Chief of the Natural Resources 
                Conservation Service an Office of Conservation 
                Innovation (referred to in this paragraph as the 
                `Office') which shall be under the direct supervision 
                of the Chief.
                    ``(B) Duties.--The Office shall--
                            ``(i) provide support to the Chief in 
                        meeting the requirements of this subsection; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) encourage innovation in conservation 
                        practices through--
                                    ``(I) revisions of existing 
                                conservation practice standards;
                                    ``(II) recommendations of interim 
                                conservation practice standards; and
                                    ``(III) recommendations of new 
                                conservation practice standards.
                    ``(C) Staff.--The Chief shall detail to the Office 
                not more than 6 employees of the Department of 
                Agriculture who are technical specialists that possess 
                an understanding of conventional, organic, and other 
                production techniques representing--
                            ``(i) agronomy and agroecology;
                            ``(ii) grazing lands ecology (including 
                        rangeland, pastureland, and grazed forest 
                        land);
                            ``(iii) animal husbandry (including animal 
                        nutrition and feed management);
                            ``(iv) water conservation, drainage water 
                        management, and irrigation engineering 
                        technology;
                            ``(v) agricultural engineering (including 
                        animal waste management, energy, and structural 
                        measures); and
                            ``(vi) forest ecology.
            ``(6) Funding.--The Secretary shall use funding from the 
        annual appropriations for conservation operations of the 
        Natural Resources Conservation Service to carry out this 
        subsection.''.
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