Sec. 2406. Soil testing and remediation assistance
463 words·~2 min read·
/bill/115/hr/2/eas/section-2406A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after section 1240O ( 16 U.S.C. 3839bb–2 ) the following: In this section, the term producer includes a small-scale producer of food. To improve the health and quality of the soil used for agricultural production, the Secretary shall work with producers to mitigate the presence of contaminants in soil, including by carrying out subsections (c), (d), and (e). The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish a coordinated soil testing protocol to simplify the process used by producers 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, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or other contaminants; and biological and physical characteristics indicative of proper soil functioning.
The Secretary shall make the soil testing protocol established under paragraph
(1)available to the public. The Secretary shall provide technical assistance to a producer carrying out a soil assessment or soil remediation practice that shall include— an overall review of the health of the soil used by the producer for agricultural production; testing of the soil, if applicable, to determine the suitability of the soil for agricultural production; based on the results of the soil tested under subparagraph (B), a consultation with the producer and a determination of the quality, health, and level of contamination of the soil adequate— to protect against a health risk to producers; to limit contaminants from entering agricultural products for human consumption; and to regenerate and sustain the soil; and recommendations on methods to conduct remediation or soil building efforts to improve soils and ensure that the producers— are not growing products in soils with high levels of heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or other contaminants; have appropriate information regarding financial resources and conservation practices available to keep soil healthy, including practices, as defined in section 1240A; and are given information about experts, including experts outside of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, that may provide assistance to producers to oversee and monitor soil under remediation or regeneration to ensure soils are suitable for agricultural production in the future. The Secretary shall conduct education and outreach to producers regarding the uses of soil and methods of addressing soil contamination and soil health degradation. On the request of a producer, where soil is found to pose an imminent hazard to human health, the Secretary may refer the producer to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for additional assistance for remediation under section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9604(k) ). .
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
U.S. Code
1 reference not yet in our index
- 16 USC 3839bb–2
Citation graph
cites case law
Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources