No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5101 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5101
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
September 18, 2024
Mr. Casey 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 2024''.
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
through 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 shall 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 shall 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.);
``(C) the regional conservation partnership program
established under subtitle I of that title (16 U.S.C.
3871 et seq.); and
``(D) 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 (D) 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 (D) 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) through (C) 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 2024, 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 impact 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, production types, racial
and ethnic backgrounds, and farm acreages; 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 for the
producer, as determined by the Secretary, subject to
the condition that the compensation, for any fiscal
year, shall not exceed the lesser of--
``(i) 10 percent of the net annual income
of the producer; and
``(ii) $2,000.
``(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 2024, and every 2
years thereafter, 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 (D) 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 (D)
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.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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