[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 179 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 179
To require the designation of composting as a conservation practice and
activity, to provide grants and loan guarantees for composting
facilities and programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 31, 2023
Mr. Booker (for himself and Ms. Smith) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the designation of composting as a conservation practice and
activity, to provide grants and loan guarantees for composting
facilities and programs, 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. COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE.
(a) Conservation Standards and Requirements.--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:
``(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) Definition of composting.--
``(i) In general.--In 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)(bb), 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.''.
(b) Conservation Stewardship Program.--Section 1240I(2)(B)(i) of
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-21(2)(B)(i)) is amended
by inserting ``and composting practices'' after ``agriculture drainage
management systems''.
(c) Environmental Quality Incentives Program.--Section
1240A(6)(A)(ii) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-
1(6)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting ``, including composting
practices'' before the semicolon at the end.
(d) Delivery of Technical Assistance.--Section 1242(h) of the Food
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(h)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(5) Development of composting practice standard.--In
addition to conducting a review under this subsection of any
composting facility practice standard established before the
date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall
establish a composting practice standard under the process
developed under paragraph (3).''.
SEC. 3. COMPOSTING GRANT AND LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM.
The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act is amended by
inserting after section 310I (7 U.S.C. 1936c) the following:
``SEC. 310J. GRANTS AND LOAN GUARANTEES FOR COMPOSTING PROGRAMS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Centralized commercial composting facility.--The term
`centralized commercial composting facility' means a regional
composting facility that produces at least 10,000 tons of
compost annually.
``(2) Source separated organics.--
``(A) In general.--The term `source separated
organics' means organic waste that is separated from
other waste by the waste generator.
``(B) Inclusion.--The term `source separated
organics' includes materials that are certified to meet
ASTM standard D6400 or D6868.
``(C) Exclusion.--The term `source separated
organics' does not include mixed solid waste.
``(b) Program.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish
and carry out a program to award grants and loan guarantees, on a
competitive basis, for projects that expand access to food waste
composting.
``(c) Grants.--
``(1) Amount.--
``(A) Cost share.--The total amount of grant funds
awarded for a project under this section shall not
exceed 75 percent of the cost of the project for which
the grant is awarded, as determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Maximum.--The total amount of grant funds
awarded for a project under this subsection shall not
exceed $5,000,000.
``(2) Allocation.--Of funds made available to carry out
this subsection in each fiscal year, the Secretary shall
allocate not less than 25 percent to projects that do not
include the use of centralized commercial composting
facilities, to the extent there are sufficient applications for
those projects.
``(3) Timeline.--An entity receiving a grant under this
subsection shall fully expend the awarded grant funds within 3
years of receiving the funds.
``(4) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a grant
under this subsection to any of the following entities:
``(A) A State, local, territorial, or Tribal
government.
``(B) A local educational agency (as defined in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)).
``(C) An institution of higher education.
``(D) A nonprofit organization.
``(E) A farmer or rancher.
``(F) A consortium of any of the entities described
in subparagraphs (A) through (E).
``(G) 1 or more of any of the entities described in
subparagraphs (A) through (F), in coordination with a
for-profit organization.
``(d) Loan Guarantees.--
``(1) Amount.--
``(A) Cost share.--The Secretary may award a loan
guarantee under this section in an amount that does not
exceed 80 percent of the cost of a project that is
eligible for assistance under this section, as
determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Maximum.--The Secretary may not provide a
loan guarantee under this section in an amount that
exceeds $5,000,000.
``(2) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a loan
guarantee under this section to a for-profit organization,
farmer, or rancher that demonstrates successful prior
experience in developing, managing, and marketing composting
facilities.
``(e) Eligible Projects.--The Secretary may award grants and loan
guarantees under this section for projects to carry out the following:
``(1) Composting facility or site permitting, planning, and
construction.
``(2) Acquisition of machinery, equipment, and other
physical necessities required to operate a composting facility,
system, or program, except depackaging equipment.
``(3) Activities to increase the production capacity
throughput of a composting facility.
``(4) Implementation of onsite composting systems and
programs (such as home composting programs, community garden
and urban farm composting, and other onsite composting systems
at institutions, nonprofit organizations, and businesses).
``(5) Projects that are based on a distributed
infrastructure strategy (such as a strategy that incorporates a
mix or choice of home composting, farm and ranch composting,
onsite composting, community-scale composting, or centralized
commercial composting).
``(6) Collection of organic waste intended for processing
at a composting facility or system, or through a composting
program, including curbside pick-up programs, community drop-
off programs, and facility- or event-specific programs (such as
programs at schools, restaurants, stadiums, or festivals).
``(7) Activities for land-based compost application,
including compost application on a farm or ranch.
``(8) Market development projects that create a demand for
compost product or increase commercial and residential
participation in composting.
``(f) Requirements.--An eligible entity applying for a grant or
loan guarantee under this section shall demonstrate that the project
for which that assistance is sought--
``(1) will--
``(A) result in composting of food waste (which may
include such composting in combination with non-food
organic waste);
``(B) result in increased total capacity to accept
and process food waste into finished compost product;
and
``(C) include at least 1 operator of a facility or
system, if applicable, who is trained on best
management practices for composting (such as odor,
vector, pathogen, and contaminant control practices);
``(2) in the case of a market development project, is
likely to create sufficient demand to increase total capacity,
in the targeted market, to accept and process food waste into
high-quality finished compost; or
``(3) in the case of land-based compost application
activities, is consistent with any applicable requirements
under paragraph (2) of section 1241(j) of the Food Security Act
of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(j)).
``(g) Priority Factors.--In awarding grants and loan guarantees
under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize projects that
include the greatest number of the following factors:
``(1) The project is located in or serving a location with
significant access to food waste and no or limited prior access
to food waste composting.
``(2) The project demonstrates the potential to create new
capacity for the volume or weight of food waste collected and
processed, or make significant gains in the number of people
with access to food waste composting facilities or systems.
``(3) The project includes a demonstrated plan for
following best management practices and producing a high-
quality compost product.
``(4) The project incorporates the participation of small
and diverse businesses (such as minority-, woman-, and veteran-
owned businesses certified by the Small Business Administration
or under a State program or another recognized certification
program and other businesses led by Black people, Indigenous
people, or other people of color).
``(5) The project creates opportunities for hiring and
leadership development practices that are inclusive and provide
living wages.
``(6) The project serves disadvantaged and low-income
communities, engages Black farmers, Indigenous farmers, and
other farmers of color, or incorporates an environmental
justice plan or principles.
``(7) The project is for a facility or system that accepts
or plans to accept and process only source separated organics.
``(h) Limitation.--The Secretary may award only 1 grant or loan
guarantee under this section for any project.
``(i) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through
2032.''.
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