[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3871 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3871

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to 
  include as a high-priority research and extension area research on 
          microplastics in land-applied biosolids on farmland.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 6, 2023

   Ms. Perez (for herself and Mrs. Kim of California) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to 
  include as a high-priority research and extension area research on 
          microplastics in land-applied biosolids on farmland.

    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 ``Research for Healthy Soils Act''.

SEC. 2. MICROPLASTICS IN LAND-APPLIED BIOSOLIDS ON FARMLAND.

    (a) In General.--Section 1672(d) of the Food, Agriculture, 
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(d)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(21) Microplastics in land-applied biosolids on 
        farmland.--Research and extension grants may be made under this 
        section for the purposes of carrying out or enhancing research 
        on the agricultural impacts of microplastics in land-applied 
        biosolids on farmland, including by--
                    ``(A) conducting surveys and collecting data on 
                microplastic concentration, particle size and chemical 
                composition in land-applied biosolids on farmland;
                    ``(B) the development or analysis of wastewater 
                treatment techniques to filter out or biodegrade 
                microplastics from biosolids intended to be used for 
                agricultural purposes;
                    ``(C) conducting an analysis of the impact on 
                agricultural crops and soil health of microplastics in 
                land-applied biosolids on farmland;
                    ``(D) conducting research to better understand how 
                wastewater processing impacts microplastics; and
                    ``(E) conducting research to better understand the 
                fate, residence time, and transport of microplastics on 
                farmland.''.
    (b) Microplastics Defined.--Section 1672(b) of the Food, 
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(b)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Definitions.--In this section, the term 
        `microplastic' means a plastic or plastic-coated particle that 
        is less than 5 millimeters in any dimension.''.

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF HIGH-PRIORITY RESEARCH AND EXTENSION 
              INITIATIVES.

    Section 1672 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 
of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925) is amended by striking ``2023'' each place it 
appears in subsection (e)(5), subsection (f)(5), paragraphs (1)(B), 
(2)(B), and (3) of subsection (g), and subsection (h) and inserting 
``2028''.
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