,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ccec ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #d1 #bjbe,ms4 ,collins 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,king1 and ,mrs4 ,shaheen7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,secretary of ,agriculture to provide grants to ,states1 territories1 and ,indian ,tribes to address contamination by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances on farms1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,relief for ,farmers ,hit with ,,pfas ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,agricultural land 7,a7 ,in general ,the term agricultural land means any land that is used1 or capable of use without substantial modification1 for production of farm products4 7,b7 ,inclusions ,the term agricultural land includes irrigation water1 livestock water1 surface water1 groundwater1 and agricultural inputs on or associated with land described in subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,commercial farm ,the term commercial farm means a farm on which a person produces any farm product with the intent that the farm product be sold or otherwise disposed of to generate income4 7#c7 ,eligible government ,the term eligible government means-- 7,a7 a ,state2 7,b7 the ,district of ,columbia2 7,c7 a territory of the ,united ,states2 and 7,d7 an ,indian ,tribe4 7#d7 ,farm product 7,a7 ,in general ,the term farm product means any plant or animal that is useful to humans4 7,b7 ,inclusions ,the term farm product includes-- 7i7 forages2 7ii7 sod crops2 7iii7 grains2 7iv7 food crops2 7v7 dairy products2 7vi7 poultry and poultry products2 7vii7 bees2 7viii7 livestock and livestock products2 7ix7 products of aquaculture2 7x7 fruits2 7xi7 berries2 7xii7 vegetables2 7xiii7 flowers2 7xiv7 seeds2 7xv7 grasses2 7xvi7 ,christmas trees2 and 7xvii7 other similar products1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7#e7 ,perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance2 ,,pfas ,the term perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance or ,,pfas means a chemical that-- 7,a7 contains at least one of-- 7i7 ,r-7,,cf#b7-;,,cf7,r7,r1 where both the ,,cf#b and ,,cf moieties are saturated carbons1 and none of the ,r groups can be hydrogen2 7ii7 ,r-,,cf#b,,ocf#b-,r1 where both the ,,cf#b moieties are saturated carbons1 and none of the ,r groups can be hydrogen2 or 7iii7 ,,cf#c;,c7,,cf#c7,,rr1 where all the carbons are saturated1 and none of the ,r groups can be hydrogen2 or 7,b7 is covered by the most recent working definition of ,,pfas issued by the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 7#f7 ,program ,the term program means the program established under section #c7;a74 7#g7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 7#h7 ,septage ,the term septage means waste1 refuse1 effluent1 sludge1 and any other materials from septic tanks1 cesspools1 or any other similar facilities4 7#i7 ,sludge ,the term sludge means-- 7,a7 solid1 semisolid1 or liquid waste generated from a municipal1 commercial1 or industrial-- 7i7 wastewater treatment plant2 7ii7 water supply treatment plant2 or 7iii7 wet process air pollution control facility2 and 7,b7 any other waste having similar characteristics and effect4 #c4 ,establishment 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish a program under which the ,secretary shall provide grants to eligible governments for the purposes described in section #d7;a74 7b7 ,eligibility 7#a7 ,in general ,to be eligible to receive a grant under the program1 the territory of an eligible government shall contain-- 7,a7 agricultural land that contains any soil with levels of ,,pfas that the ,secretary1 in coordination with the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 determines to be unsafe2 or 7,b7 water used for the production of farm products with levels of ,,pfas that the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 in coordination with the ,secretary1 determines to be unsafe4 7#b7 ,consideration ,in determining the eligibility of an eligible government for a grant under the program1 the ,secretary1 in consultation with the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 shall consider ,state standards and limitations relating to soil and water4 7c7 ,applications 7#a7 ,in general ,to receive a grant under the program1 the department of agriculture or similar agency of an eligible government shall submit to the ,secretary an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 7#b7 ,spend plan ,an application submitted under paragraph 7#a7 shall contain a plan describing how the eligible government will administer the funding received under the program1 including funding priorities and oversight4 7d7 ,set-,aside ,each year1 the ,secretary shall provide not less than #cj percent of the total funding provided under the program to #a or more eligible governments with a population of less than #c1jjj1jjj4 #d4 ,purposes 7a7 ,in general ,an eligible government may use a grant received under the program to provide funding for any of the following purposes3 7#a7 ,monitoring 7including through blood serum testing7 the ,,pfas-related health complications of a person1 and members of the household of that person1 if agricultural land the person lives or works on is found to be contaminated by ,,pfas4 7#b7 ,buying1 selling1 or providing compensation for agricultural land or farm products found1 through test results provided to the eligible government1 to be contaminated by ,,pfas1 including costs associated with the depopulation or disposal of farm products1 premortem or postmortem4 7#c7 ,investing in agricultural equipment1 facilities1 and infrastructure to ensure that agricultural land that1 or a commercial farm any agricultural land of which1 is found to be contaminated by ,,pfas maintains profitability while the producers on the agricultural land1 in response to the ,,pfas contamination-- 7,a7 transition to an alternative production system2 or 7,b7 implement remediation strategies 7including disposal71 technological adaptations1 or other modifications to the operations of the agricultural land or commercial farm4 7#d7 ,assisting the producers on agricultural land that1 or a commercial farm any agricultural land of which1 is found to be contaminated by ,,pfas in developing an enterprise budget for-- 7,a7 alternative production systems2 7,b7 remediation strategies2 7,c7 technological adaptations2 7,d7 transitioning to an alternative revenue stream2 or 7,e7 relocating a farming operation to new agricultural land4 7#e7 ,providing financial assistance to a person the commercial farm of which is found to be contaminated by ,,pfas1 including income replacement4 7#f7 ,evaluating and expanding the capacity of ,,pfas testing and data management in the territory of the eligible government4 7#g7 ,conducting research that-- 7,a7 supports short-term farm management decisions with respect to agricultural land that has been contaminated by ,,pfas2 and 7,b7 assesses future options for viable uses of agricultural land and water used for agricultural production that has been contaminated by ,,pfas4 7#h7 ,conducting research that quantifies the impact of ,,pfas on commercial farms and agricultural communities in the territory of the eligible government4 7#i7 ,conducting research on-- 7,a7 soil and water remediation systems2 7,b7 the viability of those systems for ,,pfas-contaminated commercial farms2 7,c7 the composting or disposal of ,,pfas-contaminated crops or livestock2 7,d7 implementing alternative production systems in response to ,,pfas contamination2 7,e7 the ,,pfas uptake of various farm products2 and 7,f7 food safety relating to ,,pfas contamination4 7#aj7 ,developing and implementing educational programs for owners of agricultural land1 including determining best practices for-- 7,a7 informing residents about the potential of being near or on a site on which sludge or septage application was licensed or permitted by the eligible government or the ,federal ,government2 and 7,b7 providing information and guidance on buying or selling agricultural land on which sludge or septage was applied4 7#aa7 ,long-term monitoring of agricultural land contaminated by ,,pfas and establishing a corresponding centralized data repository4 7#ab7 ,assisting owners and operators of commercial farms not directly affected by ,,pfas contamination with marketing efforts whose branding and marketing may be affected by the public perception of ,,pfas contamination in the territory of the eligible government4 7#ac7 ,voluntary testing of farm products1 agricultural land1 or other locations that are suspected to be contaminated with ,,pfas4 7b7 ,priority 7#a7 ,in general ,in using funding received under the program1 an eligible government shall prioritize purposes that directly assist producers who are experiencing financial losses due to agricultural ,,pfas contamination4 7#b7 ,department of ,agriculture priority ,in providing grants under the program1 the ,secretary shall prioritize the provision of grants to eligible governments that will use the grant funds for the purposes described in paragraphs 7#c7 through 7#e7 of subsection 7a74 #e4 ,reports ,each year of the period of a grant received under the program1 the department of agriculture or similar agency of an eligible government shall submit to the ,secretary and ,congress a report describing-- 7#a7 the uses of the grant during the previous year1 including-- 7,a7 the purposes described in section #d7;a7 for which the grant was used2 7,b7 the amount of the grant allocated to each purpose described in section #d7;a72 and 7,c7 the extent to which the funding received under the program1 including funding priorities and oversight1 was administered in accordance with the plan described in section #c7;c77#b72 7#b7 any additional needs identified by agricultural producers in the territory of the eligible government2 and 7#c7 any additional information the ,secretary determines to be appropriate4 #f4 ,task force ,the ,secretary shall establish a task force composed of officers or employees of the ,department of ,agriculture-- 7#a7 to provide advice to the ,secretary relating to whether addressing ,,pfas contamination should be added as an eligible activity under each program of the ,department of ,agriculture2 7#b7 to evaluate necessary actions for farms already enrolled in a ,department of ,agriculture program where ,,pfas is detected2 and 7#c7 to provide technical assistance to eligible governments in addressing ,,pfas contamination4 #g4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary to carry out this ,act #ejj1jjj1jjj for the period of fiscal years #bjbf through #bjcj4