Marking the end of a long legislative process, President Obama on Friday signed into law a new five-year farm bill that will promote cooperation between water utilities and local farmers on projects to benefit water quality.
Under the conference agreement to H.R. 2642 (the “Agricultural Act”) a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) will offer competitive federal grants to farmers who partner with local stakeholders to plan and implement a variety of conservation projects, including those that will improve regional water quality and control nutrient-laced farm runoff. The RCPP will receive $100 million per year in funding through 2018, and local water utilities are listed among the local stakeholders eligible to partner with farmers on these projects.
Enacting an RCPP with provisions to benefit water quality and quantity had been a priority of AMWA and other water sector stakeholders as Congress developed the farm bill over the past several years.