House File 2298 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2298 BY ISENHART A BILL FOR An Act providing for a statewide soil resource health and 1 recovery monitoring system. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5870HH (3) 87 da/rj
H.F. 2298 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 466B.51 Soil resource health and 1 recovery monitoring system. 2 1. The division in cooperation with the center shall 3 establish a statewide soil resource health and recovery 4 monitoring system that receives data regarding the continued 5 capacity of this state’s soils to permanently sustain plant and 6 animal life. As part of the program, the division shall adopt 7 long-term objectives and short-term interim goals or benchmarks 8 on a statewide and regional basis. 9 2. The system shall provide for methods to measure, analyze, 10 and track all of the following: 11 a. A soil’s nutrient retention capacity and a soil’s 12 fertility. 13 b. The structure, stability, and compaction of a soil. 14 c. Soil depth and degrees of soil erosion. 15 d. The capacity of a soil to retain precipitation and its 16 capacity to filter the transport of nutrients. 17 e. A soil’s habitat for earthworms and soil microbes. 18 f. The value of a soil to produce crops, and levels of 19 nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, and calcium 20 present in a soil. 21 3. The division in cooperation with the center shall do all 22 of the following: 23 a. Evaluate its progress in administering the program to 24 ensure its long-term viability and improvement. 25 b. Collaborate with participating landowners. The division 26 may enter into maintenance agreements or easements with 27 participating landowners. 28 4. a. Beginning December 14, 2018, and each two years 29 after that date, the division in cooperation with the center 30 shall submit a soil resource health and recovery report to the 31 governor and general assembly. 32 b. The report shall provide a summary of the division’s 33 activities, findings, and recommendations to sustain and 34 improve this state’s soil resources, including methods to 35 -1- LSB 5870HH (3) 87 da/rj 1/ 2
H.F. 2298 assist in the recovery of soil health. The recommendation 1 shall include proposed legislation or administrative rules. 2 EXPLANATION 3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 5 This bill requires the division of soil conservation 6 and water quality of the department of agriculture and land 7 stewardship, in cooperation with the Iowa nutrient research 8 center associated with Iowa state university of science and 9 technology, to establish a statewide soil resources health and 10 recovery monitoring system in order to measure, analyze, and 11 track soil health regarding the continued capacity of this 12 state’s soils to permanently sustain plant and animal life. 13 The division and center must collaborate with participating 14 landowners. The division and center must submit a report to 15 the governor and general assembly each two years, beginning 16 December 14, 2018, that summarizes the division’s activities, 17 findings, and recommendations. 18 -2- LSB 5870HH (3) 87 da/rj 2/ 2