[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2294 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2294

  To provide for continued conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay 
   watershed, increase energy production from animal waste, improve 
 transparency of Federal restoration efforts, and expand agricultural 
 opportunities to participate in State voluntary water quality credit 
                           trading programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 18, 2012

 Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Warner, and Mr. 
Webb) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
        to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for continued conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay 
   watershed, increase energy production from animal waste, improve 
 transparency of Federal restoration efforts, and expand agricultural 
 opportunities to participate in State voluntary water quality credit 
                           trading programs.

    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 ``Chesapeake Bay Watershed Fairness 
Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839bb-4) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Chesapeake bay state; state.--The terms `Chesapeake 
        Bay State' and `State' means any of--
                    ``(A) the States of Delaware, Maryland, New York, 
                Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; and
                    ``(B) the District of Columbia.
            ``(2) Chesapeake bay watershed.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed' means all tributaries, backwaters, and side 
        channels, including their watersheds, draining into the 
        Chesapeake Bay in a Chesapeake Bay State.
            ``(3) Technical service provider.--The term `technical 
        service provider' may include any provider who--
                    ``(A) has experience working with individuals who, 
                due to religious tenets, do not accept government 
                assistance; and
                    ``(B) meets the requirements of section 1242(e).
            ``(4) Water quality trading preparation activity.--The term 
        `water quality trading preparation activity' includes the 
        following activities carried out with respect to agricultural 
        land or nonindustrial private forest land:
                    ``(A) Identification of existing and additional 
                best management practices required for eligibility to 
                participate in water quality trading.
                    ``(B) Related activities that the Secretary 
                determines will help agricultural producers or owners 
                achieve eligibility to participate in water quality 
                markets.'';
            (2) by inserting ``and owners'' after ``producers'' each 
        place it appears in subsections (b), (c), (d)(1)(A), (d)(2), 
        and (e)(1);
            (3) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``and nonindustrial private forest lands'' 
        after ``agricultural lands'';
            (4) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and 
        (h) as subsections (e), (f), (j), (k), and (l), respectively;
            (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Technical Assistance.--
            ``(1) Technical assistance to chesapeake bay states.--
                    ``(A) State water quality goals.--The Secretary may 
                provide technical assistance to a Chesapeake Bay State 
                to assist in developing the water quality goals of the 
                State to result in reductions in losses of nitrogen, 
                phosphorus, and sediment from agricultural or 
                nonindustrial private forest land in the Chesapeake Bay 
                watershed to improve water quality in the Chesapeake 
                Bay watershed.
                    ``(B) Certainty.--The Secretary may provide 
                technical assistance to a Chesapeake Bay State to 
                assist in developing protocols to confirm producer or 
                owner achievement of compliance with State water 
                quality laws and provide a reduced level of scrutiny if 
                the producer or owner maintains compliance.
                    ``(C) Interstate trading.--The Secretary may 
                provide technical assistance to a Chesapeake Bay State 
                to harmonize State water quality trading technical 
                guidelines with other Chesapeake Bay States in 
                preparation for interstate trading.
                    ``(D) Targeted assistance to chesapeake bay 
                states.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary may enter 
                        into an agreement with a Chesapeake Bay State 
                        (including any political subdivision and agency 
                        of the Chesapeake Bay State) to provide 
                        financial and technical assistance to the 
                        Chesapeake Bay State.
                            ``(ii) Purpose of assistance.--Assistance 
                        provided by the Secretary under this 
                        subparagraph shall be used by the Chesapeake 
                        Bay State to provide, through a technical 
                        service provider, the technical assistance 
                        needed by an agricultural producer or owner in 
                        the Chesapeake Bay watershed--
                                    ``(I) to promote water quality 
                                goals of the Chesapeake Bay State;
                                    ``(II) to obtain certainty under 
                                subparagraph (B); or
                                    ``(III) to conduct a water quality 
                                trading preparation activity.
            ``(2) Technical assistance to agricultural producers and 
        owners of certain nonindustrial private forest land.--The 
        Secretary may provide technical assistance to agricultural 
        producers and owners of nonindustrial private forest land in 
        the Chesapeake Bay watershed directly or through third-party 
        providers--
                    ``(A) for conservation services, including--
                            ``(i) education regarding activities the 
                        producers and owners can undertake to reduce 
                        losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment 
                        from agricultural and nonindustrial private 
                        forest land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) conservation planning, 
                        implementation, and maintenance to reduce 
                        losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment 
                        from agricultural and nonindustrial private 
                        forest land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
                    ``(B) in identifying existing best management 
                practices and assessing practices required to achieve 
                compliance with State and Federal water quality laws, 
                including through--
                            ``(i) outreach to producers and owners to 
                        determine interest in receiving assistance; and
                            ``(ii) adoption and use of tools and 
                        technology capable of assessing practices 
                        required to achieve compliance with State and 
                        Federal water quality laws; and
                    ``(C) in attaining eligibility to participate in 
                water quality trading markets, including preparation 
                activities.'';
            (6) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by paragraph (4))--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) provide technical assistance directly or 
                through technical service providers in carrying out 
                this section.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(E) The James River.'';
            (7) in paragraph (2) of subsection (f) (as redesignated by 
        paragraph (4)), by inserting ``or owner'' after ``producer''; 
        and
            (8) by inserting after subsection (f) (as redesignated by 
        paragraph (4)) the following:
    ``(g) Cost-Effectiveness.--In providing assistance under this 
section, the Secretary may consider the cost-effectiveness of the 
conservation practices that may be needed to reduce losses of nitrogen, 
phosphorus, and sediment from agricultural or nonindustrial private 
forest land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to improve water quality in 
the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
    ``(h) Crosscut Budget.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Chesapeake Executive Council, the chief executive of each 
        Chesapeake Bay State, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission, shall 
        annually submit to Congress a financial report containing--
                    ``(A) an interagency crosscut budget that 
                displays--
                            ``(i) the proposed funding for any Federal 
                        restoration activity to be carried out in the 
                        succeeding fiscal year, including any planned 
                        interagency or intraagency transfer, for each 
                        Federal agency that carries out restoration 
                        activities;
                            ``(ii) to the extent that information is 
                        available, the estimated funding for any State 
                        restoration activity to be carried out in the 
                        succeeding fiscal year;
                            ``(iii) all expenditures for Federal 
                        restoration activities from the preceding 3 
                        fiscal years, the current fiscal year, and the 
                        succeeding fiscal year; and
                            ``(iv) all expenditures, to the extent that 
                        information is available, for State restoration 
                        activities during the equivalent time period 
                        described in clause (iii);
                    ``(B) a detailed accounting of all amounts received 
                and obligated by each Federal agency for restoration 
                activities during the current and preceding fiscal 
                years, including the identification of amounts that 
                were transferred to a Chesapeake Bay State for 
                restoration activities;
                    ``(C) to the extent that information is available, 
                a detailed accounting from each State of all amounts 
                received and obligated from a Federal agency for 
                restoration activities during the current and preceding 
                fiscal years; and
                    ``(D) a description of each of the proposed Federal 
                and State restoration activities to be carried out in 
                the succeeding fiscal year (corresponding to those 
                activities listed in clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                subparagraph (A)), including--
                            ``(i) the project description;
                            ``(ii) the current status of the project;
                            ``(iii) the Federal or State statutory or 
                        regulatory authority, program, or responsible 
                        agency;
                            ``(iv) the authorization level for 
                        appropriations;
                            ``(v) a timeline for the project, including 
                        benchmarks;
                            ``(vi) references to project documents;
                            ``(vii) descriptions of risks and 
                        uncertainties of project implementation;
                            ``(viii) a description of the applicable 
                        adaptive management actions or framework;
                            ``(ix) a list of coordinating entities;
                            ``(x) a description of funding history for 
                        the project;
                            ``(xi) cost-sharing, if any, for the 
                        project; and
                            ``(xii) alignment with existing Chesapeake 
                        Bay Agreement and Chesapeake Executive Council 
                        goals and priorities.
            ``(2) Minimum funding levels.--The Secretary shall only 
        describe restoration activities in the report required under 
        paragraph (1) that--
                    ``(A) for Federal restoration activities, have 
                funding amounts greater than or equal to $100,000; and
                    ``(B) for State restoration activities, have 
                funding amounts greater than or equal to $50,000.
            ``(3) Submission.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
        which the President submits the annual budget to Congress under 
        section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary 
        shall submit the report required by paragraph (1) to--
                    ``(A) the Committees on Appropriations, 
                Agriculture, Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce, 
                and Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    ``(B) the Committees on Appropriations, 
                Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Environment and 
                Public Works, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
                of the Senate.
            ``(4) Effective date.--This subsection shall apply 
        beginning with the first fiscal year after the date of 
        enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Fairness Act of 2012 
        for which the President submits a budget to Congress under 
        section 1105 of title 31, United States Code.
    ``(i) Websites.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall establish 
        and maintain--
                    ``(A) a user-friendly, publicly available website 
                to promote greater accountability and transparency 
                regarding the crosscut budget described in subsection 
                (h); and
                    ``(B) a user-friendly, publicly available website 
                to provide information on Federal, State, local and 
                private resources available to those interested in 
                implementing conservation practices.
            ``(2) Crosscut budget website.--The website established 
        under paragraph (1)(A) shall provide--
                    ``(A) accountability information, including 
                findings from audits, inspectors general, and the 
                Government Accountability Office;
                    ``(B) data on relevant economic, financial, grant, 
                and contract information in user-friendly visual 
                presentations to enhance public awareness of the use of 
                covered funds;
                    ``(C) links to other government websites at which 
                key information relating to efforts to improve the 
                water quality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed may be 
                found;
                    ``(D) printable reports on covered funds obligated 
                by month to each State and congressional district; and
                    ``(E) links to other government websites providing 
                information concerning covered funds, including Federal 
                agency and State websites.
            ``(3) Website focused on resources.--The website 
        established under paragraph (1)(B) shall--
                    ``(A) provide--
                            ``(i) user-friendly access for agricultural 
                        producers, owners of nonindustrial private 
                        forest land, Federal, State, and local 
                        governments, academic and nongovernmental 
                        organizations, industry associations, and other 
                        interested parties to industry-specific 
                        regulatory compliance and conservation program 
                        information that the Secretary considers 
                        potentially useful to agricultural producers 
                        and owners of nonindustrial private forest land 
                        located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; and
                            ``(ii) detailed examples of successful 
                        conservation projects; and
                    ``(B) be arranged in industry-specific categories.
            ``(4) Revisions.--The Secretary shall enhance and update 
        the websites established under paragraph (1) as necessary.''.
    (b) Funding.--Subsection (l) of section 1240Q of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb-4) (as redesignated by subsection (a)(4)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 
                through 2018.''.

SEC. 3. WATER QUALITY TRADING ELIGIBILITY PLANNING.

    Section 1240A(5)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3839aa-1(5)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
            (3) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
                            ``(ii) water quality trading eligibility 
                        planning; and''.

SEC. 4. ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM AGRICULTURAL SOURCES IN THE CHESAPEAKE 
              BAY.

    (a) Rural Energy for America Program.--Section 9007 of the Farm 
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 
                subparagraph (H); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the 
                following:
                    ``(G) in the case of a manure-to-energy system or 
                improvement, whether the system or improvement includes 
                an integrative approach to water quality issues; and''; 
                and
            (2) in subsection (g), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Watershed projects.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Of the funds made available for 
                each fiscal year to carry out this section, 10 percent 
                shall be used to carry out projects located within the 
                watershed of any water for which the Federal Government 
                has established a multistate total maximum daily load 
                for pollutants under section 303(d)(2) of the Federal 
                Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)(2)), 
                with priority given to projects that address 
                agricultural and silvicultural sources.
                    ``(B) Insufficient applications.--If funds 
                described in subparagraph (A) remain available by April 
                1 of the fiscal year due to insufficient applications 
                for projects described in that subparagraph, the funds 
                shall be available to carry out other purposes under 
                this section.''.
    (b) Environmental Quality Incentives Program.--Section 1240C(b) of 
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-3(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) in the case of applications involving manure-to-
        energy projects, whether the projects include an integrative 
        approach to water quality issues.''.

SEC. 5. FOREST COVER AT FEDERAL FACILITIES.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Agriculture, with the advice of the Chief of the Forest 
Service and the appropriate Chesapeake Basin State forester, shall 
coordinate with the head of each Federal agency that owns or operates a 
facility within the Chesapeake Basin (as determined by the Secretary) 
to develop plans to maximize forest cover at the facility through--
            (1) the preservation of existing forest cover; or
            (2) with respect to a facility that has been previously 
        disturbed or developed, the development of a reforestation 
        plan, as appropriate.
                                 <all>