[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8596 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8596
To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act
of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national
biochar research network, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2022
Mrs. Miller-Meeks (for herself, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Feenstra,
Ms. Kuster, and Ms. Schrier) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act
of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national
biochar research network, 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 ``Biochar Research Network Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL BIOCHAR RESEARCH NETWORK.
Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
Reform Act of 1998 is amended by inserting before section 404 (7 U.S.C.
7624) the following new section:
``SEC. 403. NATIONAL BIOCHAR RESEARCH NETWORK.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a national
biochar research network of not more than 20 research sites to test the
full range of biochar types across soil types, soil conditions,
application methods, and climatic and agronomic regions to--
``(1) assess the soil carbon sequestration potential of
biochar;
``(2) understand how to use biochar productively to
contribute to climate mitigation, crop production, resilience
to extreme weather events, ecosystem health, and natural
resource conservation; and
``(3) deliver science-based, region-specific, cost-
effective, and practical information to farmers, ranchers,
foresters, land reclamation managers, urban land managers and
other land and natural resource managers and businesses on
sustainable biochar production and application.
``(b) Scope.--The national biochar research network established
under subsection (a) shall encompass agriculture, horticulture,
rangeland, forestry, and other biochar uses and a broad range of
feedstocks, production processes, and application treatments. The
research conducted shall include--
``(1) cross-site and mechanistic experiments to--
``(A) fill critical knowledge gaps and gain a more
complete understanding of the impact of various types
of biochar in varying site conditions on soil
properties, plant growth, greenhouse gas emissions, and
carbon sequestration in different soils, climates, and
other natural and agronomic conditions;
``(B) provide mechanistic and techno-economic
insights on thermochemical conversion processes in
biochar production and the co-production of biochar and
bioenergy, including interactions of feedstock
properties with reactor conditions and processes on the
relative proportions and properties of biochar, bio-
fuels, and value-added co-products, as well as process
efficiency;
``(C) generate data to develop, calibrate, and
validate robust mechanistic models to predict the full
life cycle of greenhouse gas, crop response, and
related agronomic and environmental implications of
particular applications of biochar;
``(D) generate data to help guide the design of
new, more-efficient biochar and bioenergy production
reactors and biorefineries; and
``(E) generate data to develop, calibrate, and
validate testing methodologies for biochar to identify
potential contaminants or other factors that may cause
unintended consequences;
``(2) site-specific farm and forestry systems assessments
and pilot-scale biochar production and application systems to--
``(A) refine the most promising soil-based uses,
sources, and methods of producing and applying biochar
in particular regions to enhance productivity, increase
profitability, scalability, and portability, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, improve ecosystem health, and
strengthen resilience to extreme weather events, and
explore soil, crop, climate, management, and biochar
interactions;
``(B) develop new knowledge to support decisions on
sustainable production and use of biochar;
``(C) collect relevant data needed for full life
cycle greenhouse gas and economic analyses and complete
such analysis;
``(D) predict plant-response, soil health, soil
carbon sequestration, ecosystem health, water quality,
greenhouse gas, and economic outcomes for specific
implementations of biochar technology;
``(E) provide data to evaluate local biomass
feedstocks, support selection of sustainable biochar
production methods, and address biochar production
issues; and
``(F) share research results to inform farmers,
horticulturalists, ranchers, foresters, urban biochar
users, extension agents and specialists, and technical
assistance providers on the most advantageous ways to
use biochar to increase profitability, raise
productivity, lower costs, improve soil and plant
health, and enhance resilience to extreme weather
events while contributing to carbon sequestration and
greenhouse gas reductions.
``(c) Eligibility.--An entity is eligible to be selected to conduct
research funded under this section if such entity is--
``(1) a State agricultural experiment station or a State
forestry experiment station;
``(2) a research facility of the Agricultural Research
Service, the Forest Service, or any other agency of the
Department of Agriculture that the Secretary determines is
appropriate; or
``(3) a research facility of the Department of Energy, the
Department of Commerce, or the Department of the Interior.
``(d) Administration.--
``(1) In general.--The research network established under
subsection (a) shall be administered by the Administrator of
the Agricultural Research Service, in partnership with Chief of
the Forest Service, the Director of the National Institute of
Food and Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of
Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and, as determined by
the Secretary of Agriculture, other agencies of the Department
of Agriculture.
``(2) Conservation.--The Secretary, acting through the
Natural Resources Conservation Service--
``(A) may develop a practice standard informed by
the research; and
``(B) shall coordinate the activities of the
research network established under subsection (a)
with--
``(i) the development and refinement of a
biochar conservation practice standard; and
``(ii) improvements and expansion of
conservation program technical and financial
support for biochar production and application.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each fiscal
years 2023 through 2028.''.
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