S.Amdt. 3218

SA 3218. Mr. GARDNER (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Wyden, Mr.
Udall, Mr. Moran, Mr. Bennet, and Ms. Harris) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2, to provide for the
reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the
Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2023, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

In section 2105(a), strike the closing quotation marks and
the following period and insert the following:
``(g) Drought and Water Conservation Agreements.--In the
case of an agreement under subsection (b)(1) to address
regional drought concerns, in accordance with the
conservation purposes of the program, the Secretary, in
consultation with the applicable State technical committee
established under section 1261(a), may--

[[Page S4455]]

``(1) notwithstanding subsection (a)(1), enroll other
agricultural land on which the resource concerns identified
in the agreement can be addressed if the enrollment of the
land is critical to the accomplishment of the purposes of the
agreement;
``(2) permit dryland agricultural uses with the adoption of
best management practices on enrolled land if the agreement
involves the significant long-term reduction of consumptive
water use and dryland production is compatible with the
agreement; and
``(3) calculate annual rental payments consistent with
existing administrative practice for similar drought and
water conservation agreements under this subchapter and
ensure regional consistency in those rates.''.
On page 123, line 3, insert ``or for addressing the
conservation of water to advance drought mitigation'' before
the semicolon.
In section 2303, strike paragraph (5) and insert the
following:
(5) in subsection (h)--
(A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
``(1) Availability of payments.--The Secretary may provide
water conservation and system efficiency payments under this
subsection to an entity described in paragraph (2) or a
producer for--
``(A) water conservation scheduling, water distribution
efficiency, soil moisture monitoring, or an appropriate
combination thereof;
``(B) irrigation-related structural or other measures that
conserve surface water or groundwater, including managed
aquifer recovery practices; or
``(C) a transition to water-conserving crops, water-
conserving crop rotations, or deficit irrigation.'';
(B) by redesigning paragraph (2) as paragraph (3);
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) Eligibility of certain entities.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 1001(f)(6), the
Secretary may enter into a contract under this subsection
with a State, irrigation district, groundwater management
district, acequia, or similar entity under a streamlined
contracting process to implement water conservation or
irrigation practices under a watershed-wide project that will
effectively conserve water, provide fish and wildlife
habitat, or provide for drought-related environmental
mitigation, as determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Implementation.--Water conservation or irrigation
practices that are the subject of a contract entered into
under subparagraph (A) shall be implemented on--
``(i) eligible land of a producer; or
``(ii) land that is under the control of an irrigation
district, a groundwater management district, an acequia, or a
similar entity.
``(C) Waiver authority.--The Secretary may waive the
applicability of the limitations in section 1001D(b) or
section 1240G for a payment made under a contract entered
into under this paragraph if the Secretary determines that
the waiver is necessary to fulfill the objectives of the
project.'';
(D) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``to a producer'' and inserting ``under this subsection'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``the eligible land
of the producer is located, there is a reduction in water use
in the operation of the producer'' and inserting ``the land
on which the practices will be implemented is located, there
is a reduction in water use in the operation on that land'';
and
(iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``except in the
case of an application under paragraph (2),'' before ``the
producer agrees''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Effect.--Nothing in this section authorizes the
Secretary to modify the process for determining the annual
allocation of funding to States under the program.''.
______