Sec. 2. Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative
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Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after section 1240M ( 16 U.S.C. 3839bb ) the following: In this section: The term Chesapeake Bay watershed means— the Chesapeake Bay; the portions of the States of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia that contain the tributaries, backwaters, and side channels (including their watersheds) that drain into the Chesapeake Bay; and the District of Columbia.
The term Initiative means the Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative established under subsection (b). The Secretary shall establish and carry out an initiative, to be known as the Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative , to assist producers in implementing conservation activities on agricultural land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the purposes of— improving water quality and quantity; restoring, enhancing, and preserving soil, air, and related resources; and increasing the resilience of agricultural production to withstand the impacts of climate change.
The Secretary shall provide funds made available to carry out the Initiative through applicable programs under this subtitle, including by providing enrollment opportunities that are targeted to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, to assist producers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in enhancing land and water resources by— controlling erosion and reducing sediment and nutrient levels in groundwater and surface water; and planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating habitat conservation, restoration, and enhancement measures in cases in which there is significant ecological value if the applicable land is— retained in the current use of the land; or restored to the natural condition of the land.
In providing funds under the Initiative, the Secretary shall give special consideration to applications— submitted by producers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed river basins in which nutrient reduction efforts would be most effective; or to carry out conservation activities that reduce nitrogen and sediment, improve management of livestock and waste, or conserve wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In carrying out the Initiative, the Secretary shall— as available, use existing plans, models, and assessments to assist producers in implementing conservation activities; and proceed expeditiously to provide funding to producers to implement conservation activities that are consistent with State strategies for the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The Secretary shall— in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, ensure that conservation activities carried out under the Initiative complement Federal, State, and local programs, including programs that address water quality, in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; and in carrying out this section, coordinate with the Farm Service Agency to identify needs and opportunities for buffer management on land subject to a contract under the conservation reserve program under subchapter B of chapter 1 that may be expiring soon.
The Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall jointly establish a Federal task force, to be known as the Task Force on Crediting Chesapeake Bay Conservation Investments (referred to in this subsection as the Task Force ). The Task Force shall develop an action plan that— identifies improvements to the processes of analyzing, reporting, and quantifying nutrient reductions from conservation activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; is responsive to the needs of States in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (including the District of Columbia) and the agricultural community; maintains the scientific integrity of the decisionmaking process and accounting tools under the Chesapeake Bay Program (as defined in section 117(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1267(a) )); and ensures producer privacy is protected.
The Task Force shall leverage findings from successful data-sharing pilot projects to identify opportunities to integrate time-saving technologies for the implementation of conservation activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. .
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