Sec. 301. Soil assessment
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Subtitle J of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (as amended by section 101) is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment and the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics, shall establish a coordinated soil testing protocol to simplify the process used by agricultural producers and small-scale producers of food to evaluate soil health, including testing for— the optimal level of constituents in and characteristics of the soil, such as organic matter, nutrients, and the potential presence of soil contamination from heavy metals such as lead or other contaminants; and biological and physical characteristics indicative of proper soil functioning.
The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, shall coordinate and conduct research to inform the soil testing protocol and soil remediation practices with respect to soil contaminated with high levels of heavy metals or other contaminants— to remediate, or otherwise manage appropriately, the soil; and to assess and manage for proper soil functioning the soil for sustained biological and physical health.
The Secretary shall— determine metrics used to measure soil health, quality, and safety; in coordination with the heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, develop agricultural best practices with respect to soil contaminated with undesirable levels of heavy metals or other contaminants— to remediate, or otherwise manage appropriately, the soil before agricultural production begins on the land; and to maintain the health of the soil for future use; and evaluate soil quality for food production.
An eligible entity described in subparagraph
(B)may seek technical assistance from the Secretary about options to evaluate soil health, safety, and quality of urban soils and contaminated or degraded land to ensure the soil used by agricultural producers is suitable for producing agricultural products for human consumption. An eligible entity may include— an agricultural producer; a nonprofit organization; a school or institution of higher education; a community gardener; a State, local, or tribal government; and another entity as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall refer any eligible entity receiving consultation under paragraph
(3)that the Secretary determines has a high level of contamination to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for remediation under section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9604(k) ). Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that evaluates the overall effectiveness of this subsection. The Secretary shall establish a national soil testing and remediation program to provide technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers for— implementing the soil testing protocol under subsection (a)(1) for determining the suitability of the soil of the agricultural producer for— producing agricultural products for human consumption; and continued agricultural production; and adopting practices to mitigate any soil contamination or degradation found as a result of the soil testing. The Secretary shall provide information, resources, and other technical assistance to agricultural producers that shall include— an initial assessment of soil test results; a determination of soil quality, soil health, and level of contamination of soil— to limit contaminants from entering agricultural products for human consumption; and to regenerate and sustain the soil; the provision of resources and best practices to agricultural producers regarding methods to keep soils healthy; education, outreach, and technical assistance regarding the uses of soil and methods of addressing soil contamination and soil health degradation; and recommendations on methods to conduct remediation or soil building efforts to improve soils and ensure that the agriculture producers— are not growing products in soils with high levels of heavy metals or other contaminants; have appropriate information regarding methods and programs to assist with soil remediation; and have access to experts that can provide assistance to oversee and monitor soil under remediation or regeneration to ensure soils are suitable for agriculture production in the future. The Secretary shall expand covered practices under the environmental quality incentives program established under chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq. ) to include— soil tests for— heavy metals or other contaminants; and biological and physical soil health; and producer soil remediation practices as determined by the Secretary. Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the requests by, disbursements to, and expenditures for each State under this subsection during the current and previous fiscal year, including the number of agricultural producers served by the program under this subsection in the previous fiscal year. .
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