House File 2587 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2587 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 5207YH (2) 89 da/ns
H.F. 2587 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 466B.44A 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 system, 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 system 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 13, 2023, and not later than 29 every two years after that anniversary date, the division in 30 cooperation with the center shall submit a soil resource health 31 and recovery report to the 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 5207YH (2) 89 da/ns 1/ 2
H.F. 2587 assist in the recovery of soil health. The recommendation may 1 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 resource 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 every two years, beginning 16 December 13, 2023, that summarizes the division’s activities, 17 findings, and recommendations. 18 -2- LSB 5207YH (2) 89 da/ns 2/ 2