Skip to main content
S 2294 112th Congress Senate Agriculture and Food Agricultural conservation and pollution Alternative and renewable resources Chesapeake Bay Delaware District of Columbia Farmland Forests, forestry, trees Government information and archives Maryland New York State Pennsylvania Virginia Water quality Watersheds West Virginia

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Fairness Act of 2012

Introduced: April 18, 2012 See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 18, 2012
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Apr 18, 2012
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Fairness Act of 2012 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to provide technical assistance to a Chesapeake Bay state (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia) to: (1) assist in developing water quality goals that reduce losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; (2) assist in developing protocols to confirm producer or owner compliance with water quality laws; and (3) harmonize water quality trading technical guidelines in preparation for interstate trading.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide: (1) financial and technical assistance to a Chesapeake Bay state to assist agricultural producers or owners promote water quality goals or conduct water quality trading preparation activities, and (2) technical assistance to agricultural producers and owners of nonindustrial private forest land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for conservation services.

Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to set aside certain watershed funds for projects located within the watershed of any water for which the federal government has established a multi-state maximum daily pollutant load, with priority given to projects that address agricultural and silvicultural sources.

Directs the Secretary to coordinate with each federal agency owning or operating a facility within the Chesapeake Basin the development of plans that maximize forest cover at the facility.

What's happening now April 18, 2012

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1