[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6023 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6023
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the designation of
composting as a conservation practice and conservation activity, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 28, 2020
Ms. Brownley of California (for herself and Ms. Pingree) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the designation of
composting as a conservation practice and conservation activity, 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 ``Cultivating Organic Matter through
the Promotion Of Sustainable Techniques Act'' or the ``COMPOST Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Composting is one of the most environmentally friendly
means to dispose of food waste and other organic wastes.
(2) Composting not only causes less nutrient pollution of
surface and ground water and emits a smaller quantity of
greenhouse gases compared to alternative disposal methods, but
also yields a valuable soil amendment that enhances soil health
and fertility and agricultural resilience to the impacts of
climate change.
(3) It is critical for the Natural Resources Conservation
Service to provide technical and financial support to producers
in the on-farm production of compost from on-farm and off-farm
organic byproducts, and the utilization of compost in
accordance with sound soil health and nutrition management.
SEC. 3. COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE.
Section 1241(j) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.
3841(j)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph:
``(2) Composting as conservation practice and activity.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall by
regulation provide that composting is a conservation
practice and a conservation activity for the purposes
of this title.
``(B) Composting defined.--
``(i) In general.--For the purposes of this
paragraph, the term `composting' means--
``(I) an activity (including an
activity that does not require the use
of a composting facility) to produce
compost from organic waste that is--
``(aa) generated on a farm;
or
``(bb) brought to a farm
from a nearby community and
used to produce compost on that
farm; and
``(II) the use and active
management of compost on a farm, in
accordance with any applicable Federal,
State, or local law, to improve water
retention and soil health.
``(ii) Determination of nearby
communities.--The Secretary, in consultation
with the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, shall issue regulations for
determining whether a community is nearby for
purposes of clause (i)(I) which shall ensure
that bringing organic waste from the community
to the farm to produce compost results in a net
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.''.
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