S. 3353 — Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act

This section defines terms used in the Act, including (1) agricultural land (i.e., land used or capable of use for farm products, including associated water and inputs); (2) commercial farm (i.e., a farm producing farm products for income); (3) eligible government (i.e., a state, the District of Columbia, U.S. territory, or Indian tribe); (4) farm product (i.e., plants or animals useful to humans, including forages, grains, livestock, fruits, and others as determined by the Secretary); (5) perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) (i.e., chemicals meeting specified structural formulas or the latest EPA working definition); (6) program (i.e., the program established under section 3(a)); (7) Secretary (i.e., the Secretary of Agriculture); (8) septage (i.e., waste from septic tanks or similar facilities); and (9) sludge (i.e., solid, semisolid, or liquid waste from wastewater treatment, water supply treatment, or air pollution control facilities).

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary of Agriculture provides grants to eligible governments for purposes described in section 4(a), with eligibility based on the presence in their territory of agricultural land containing soil with unsafe PFAS levels (as determined by the Secretary in coordination with the EPA Administrator) or water used for farm products with unsafe PFAS levels (as determined by the EPA Administrator in coordination with the Secretary). In determining eligibility, the Secretary must consider state standards and limitations relating to soil and water. Eligible governments must apply through their department of agriculture or similar agency, including a spend plan describing funding administration, priorities, and oversight. Each year, the Secretary must provide at least 30% of total program funding to one or more eligible governments with a population of less than 3,000,000.

This section authorizes eligible governments to use grants received under the program for 13 specified purposes related to PFAS contamination of agricultural land and farm products, including (1) monitoring health complications; (2) buying, selling, or compensating for contaminated land or products (including depopulation or disposal costs); (3) investing in equipment, facilities, and infrastructure for alternative production systems or remediation; (4) assisting producers with enterprise budgets for alternatives, remediation, or relocation; (5) providing financial assistance and income replacement; (6) expanding PFAS testing and data management; (7)-(9) conducting research on farm management, impacts, remediation, disposal, alternative systems, uptake, and food safety; (10) developing educational programs on risks and best practices; (11) long-term monitoring and data repositories; (12) assisting unaffected farms with marketing impacted by public perception; and (13) voluntary testing of suspected sites. It requires eligible governments to prioritize uses that directly assist producers experiencing financial losses from PFAS contamination and directs the Secretary to prioritize grants to governments using funds for purposes described in paragraphs (a)(3) through (5).

This section requires the department of agriculture or similar agency of an eligible government receiving a grant under the program to submit an annual report to the Secretary and Congress describing (1) the grant's uses during the previous year, including purposes under section 4(a), amounts allocated to each such purpose, and the extent of compliance with the section 3(c)(2) plan; (2) additional needs identified by agricultural producers in the eligible government's territory; and (3) any other information the Secretary deems appropriate.

This section establishes a task force within the Department of Agriculture, composed of department officers or employees, (1) to advise the Secretary on adding PFAS contamination remediation as an eligible activity under each USDA program; (2) to evaluate necessary actions for farms already enrolled in a USDA program where PFAS is detected; and (3) to provide technical assistance to eligible governments in addressing PFAS contamination.