No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6476 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6476
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants to States,
territories, and Indian Tribes to address contamination by
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances on farms, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 4, 2025
Ms. Pingree (for herself, Mr. Lawler, and Mr. Golden of Maine)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants to States,
territories, and Indian Tribes 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) Inclusions.--The term ``agricultural land''
includes irrigation water, livestock water, surface
water, groundwater, and agricultural inputs 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) Eligible government.--The term ``eligible government''
means--
(A) a State;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) a territory of the United States; and
(D) an Indian Tribe.
(4) 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) products of aquaculture;
(x) fruits;
(xi) berries;
(xii) vegetables;
(xiii) flowers;
(xiv) seeds;
(xv) grasses;
(xvi) Christmas trees; and
(xvii) other similar products, as
determined by the Secretary.
(5) Perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance; pfas.--The
term ``perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance'' or
``PFAS'' means a chemical that--
(A) contains at least one of--
(i) R-(CF2)-CF(R')R'', where both the CF2
and CF moieties are saturated carbons, and none
of the R groups can be hydrogen;
(ii) R-CF2OCF2-R', where both the CF2
moieties are saturated carbons, and none of the
R groups can be hydrogen; or
(iii) CF3C(CF3)RR', where all the carbons
are saturated, and none of the R groups can be
hydrogen; or
(B) is covered by the most recent working
definition of PFAS issued by the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency.
(6) Program.--The term ``program'' means the program
established under section 3(a).
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(8) Septage.--The term ``septage'' means waste, refuse,
effluent, sludge, and any other materials from septic tanks,
cesspools, or any other similar facilities.
(9) Sludge.--The term ``sludge'' means--
(A) 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 eligible governments for
the purposes described in section 4(a).
(b) Eligibility.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
the program, the territory of an eligible government shall
contain--
(A) agricultural land that contains any soil with
levels of PFAS that the Secretary, in coordination with
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, determines to be unsafe; or
(B) water used for the production of farm products
with levels of PFAS that the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with
the Secretary, determines to be unsafe.
(2) Consideration.--In determining the eligibility of an
eligible government for a grant under the program, the
Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, shall consider State standards
and limitations relating to soil and water.
(c) Applications.--
(1) In general.--To receive a grant under the program, the
Department of Agriculture or similar agency of an eligible
government 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 eligible government
will administer the funding received under the program,
including funding priorities and oversight.
(d) Set-Aside.--Each year, the Secretary shall provide not less
than 30 percent of the total funding provided under the program to 1 or
more eligible governments with a population of less than 3,000,000.
SEC. 4. PURPOSES.
(a) In General.--An eligible government may use a grant received
under the program to provide funding for any of the following purposes:
(1) Monitoring (including through blood serum testing) the
PFAS-related health complications of a person, and members of
the household of that person, if agricultural land the person
lives or works on is found to be contaminated by PFAS.
(2) Buying, selling, or providing compensation for
agricultural land or farm products found, through test results
provided to the eligible government, to be contaminated by
PFAS, including costs associated with the depopulation or
disposal of farm products, premortem or postmortem.
(3) Investing in agricultural 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, in response to the PFAS
contamination--
(A) transition to an alternative production system;
or
(B) implement remediation strategies (including
disposal), technological adaptations, or other
modifications to the operations of the agricultural
land or commercial farm.
(4) 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 production systems;
(B) remediation strategies;
(C) technological adaptations;
(D) transitioning to an alternative revenue stream;
or
(E) relocating a farming operation to new
agricultural land.
(5) Providing financial assistance to a person the
commercial farm of which is found to be contaminated by PFAS,
including income replacement.
(6) Evaluating and expanding the capacity of PFAS testing
and data management in the territory of the eligible
government.
(7) 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 and water used for agricultural
production that has been contaminated by PFAS.
(8) Conducting research that quantifies the impact of PFAS
on commercial farms and agricultural communities in the
territory of the eligible government.
(9) Conducting research on--
(A) soil and water remediation systems;
(B) the viability of those systems for PFAS-
contaminated commercial farms;
(C) the composting or disposal of PFAS-contaminated
crops or livestock;
(D) implementing alternative production systems in
response to PFAS contamination;
(E) the PFAS uptake of various farm products; and
(F) food safety relating to PFAS contamination.
(10) 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 eligible
government or the Federal Government; and
(B) providing information and guidance on buying or
selling agricultural land on which sludge or septage
was applied.
(11) Long-term monitoring of agricultural land contaminated
by PFAS and establishing a corresponding centralized data
repository.
(12) Assisting owners and operators of commercial farms 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 territory of the
eligible government.
(13) Voluntary testing of farm products, agricultural land,
or other locations that are suspected to be contaminated with
PFAS.
(b) Priority.--
(1) In general.--In using funding received under the
program, an eligible government shall prioritize purposes that
directly assist producers who are experiencing financial losses
due to agricultural PFAS contamination.
(2) Department of agriculture priority.--In providing
grants under the program, the Secretary shall prioritize the
provision of grants to eligible governments that will use the
grant funds for the purposes described in paragraphs (3)
through (5) of subsection (a).
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
Each year of the period of a grant received under the program, the
department of agriculture or similar agency of an eligible government
shall submit to the Secretary and Congress a report describing--
(1) the uses of the grant during the previous year,
including--
(A) the purposes described in section 4(a) for
which the grant was used;
(B) the amount of the grant allocated to each
purpose described in section 4(a); 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);
(2) any additional needs identified by agricultural
producers in the territory of the eligible government; and
(3) any additional information the Secretary determines to
be appropriate.
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;
(2) to evaluate necessary actions for farms already
enrolled in a Department of Agriculture program where PFAS is
detected; and
(3) to provide technical assistance to eligible governments
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 2026 through
2029.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line