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1 | | Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, and the
Department |
2 | | of Agriculture for purposes relating to natural resource |
3 | | protection,
planning, recreation, tourism, climate resilience, |
4 | | and compatible agricultural and economic development
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5 | | activities. Without limiting these general purposes, moneys in |
6 | | these Funds may
be used, subject to appropriation, for the |
7 | | following specific purposes:
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8 | | (1) To foster sustainable agriculture practices and |
9 | | control soil erosion,
sedimentation, and nutrient loss |
10 | | from farmland, including grants to Soil and Water |
11 | | Conservation Districts
for conservation practice |
12 | | cost-share grants and for personnel, educational, and
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13 | | administrative expenses.
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14 | | (2) To establish and protect a system of ecosystems in |
15 | | public and private
ownership through conservation |
16 | | easements, incentives to public and private
landowners, |
17 | | natural resource restoration and preservation, water |
18 | | quality protection and improvement, land use and watershed |
19 | | planning, technical assistance and grants, and
land |
20 | | acquisition provided these mechanisms are all voluntary on |
21 | | the part of the
landowner and do not involve the use of |
22 | | eminent domain.
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23 | | (3) To develop a systematic and long-term program to |
24 | | effectively measure
and monitor natural resources and |
25 | | ecological conditions through investments in
technology |
26 | | and involvement of scientific experts.
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1 | | (4) To initiate strategies to enhance, use, and |
2 | | maintain Illinois' inland
lakes through education, |
3 | | technical assistance, research, and financial
incentives.
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4 | | (5) To partner with private landowners and with units |
5 | | of State, federal, and local government and with |
6 | | not-for-profit organizations in order to integrate State |
7 | | and federal programs with Illinois' natural resource |
8 | | protection and restoration efforts and to meet |
9 | | requirements to obtain federal and other funds for |
10 | | conservation or protection of natural resources. |
11 | | (6) To support implement the State's Nutrient Loss |
12 | | Reduction Strategy, including, but not limited to, funding |
13 | | the resources needed to support the Strategy's Policy |
14 | | Working Group, cover water quality monitoring in support |
15 | | of Strategy implementation, prepare a biennial report on |
16 | | the progress made on the Strategy every 2 years, and |
17 | | provide cost share funding for nutrient capture projects. |
18 | | (7) To provide capacity grants to support soil and |
19 | | water conservation districts, including, but not limited |
20 | | to, developing soil health plans, conducting soil health |
21 | | assessments, peer-to-peer training, convening |
22 | | producer-led dialogues, professional memberships, |
23 | | professional development , and travel stipends for meetings |
24 | | and educational events.
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25 | | (8) To develop guidelines and local soil health |
26 | | assessments for advancing soil health. |
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1 | | (9) To implement a crop insurance premium discount |
2 | | program at the State level for practices that improve soil |
3 | | health. |
4 | | (b) The State Comptroller and State Treasurer shall |
5 | | automatically transfer
on the last day of each month, |
6 | | beginning on September 30, 1995 and ending on
June 30, 2023,
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7 | | from the General Revenue Fund to the Partners for Conservation
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8 | | Fund,
an
amount equal to 1/10 of the amount set forth below in |
9 | | fiscal year 1996 and
an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount set |
10 | | forth below in each of the other
specified fiscal years:
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11 | | Fiscal Year |
Amount |
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12 | | 1996 |
$ 3,500,000 |
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13 | | 1997 |
$ 9,000,000 |
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14 | | 1998 |
$10,000,000 |
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15 | | 1999 |
$11,000,000 |
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16 | | 2000 |
$12,500,000 |
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17 | | 2001 through 2004 |
$14,000,000 |
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18 | | 2005
| $7,000,000 | |
19 | | 2006
| $11,000,000
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20 | | 2007
| $0
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21 | | 2008 through 2011
| $14,000,000
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22 | | 2012 | $12,200,000 | |
23 | | 2013 through 2017 | $14,000,000 | |
24 | | 2018 | $1,500,000 | |
25 | | 2019 | $14,000,000 | |
26 | | 2020 | $7,500,000 | |
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1 | | 2021 through 2023 | $14,000,000 |
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2 | | (c) The State Comptroller and State Treasurer shall |
3 | | automatically transfer on the last day of each month beginning |
4 | | on July 31, 2021 and ending June 30, 2022, from the |
5 | | Environmental Protection Permit and Inspection Fund to the |
6 | | Partners for Conservation Fund, an amount equal to 1/12 of |
7 | | $4,135,000.
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8 | | (c-1) The State Comptroller and State Treasurer shall |
9 | | automatically transfer on the last day of each month beginning |
10 | | on July 31, 2022 and ending June 30, 2023, from the |
11 | | Environmental Protection Permit and Inspection Fund to the |
12 | | Partners for Conservation Fund, an amount equal to 1/12 of |
13 | | $5,900,000. |
14 | | (d) There shall be deposited into the Partners for
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15 | | Conservation Projects Fund such
bond proceeds and other moneys |
16 | | as may, from time to time, be provided by law.
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17 | | (Source: P.A. 101-10, eff. 6-5-19; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; |
18 | | 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
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19 | | Section 10. The Grant Accountability and Transparency Act |
20 | | is amended by changing Section 45 as follows:
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21 | | (30 ILCS 708/45)
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22 | | Sec. 45. Applicability.
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23 | | (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the |
24 | | requirements established under this Act apply to State |
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1 | | grant-making agencies that make State and federal pass-through |
2 | | awards to non-federal entities. These requirements apply to |
3 | | all costs related to State and federal pass-through awards.
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4 | | The requirements established under this Act do not apply to |
5 | | private awards, to allocations of State revenues paid over by |
6 | | the Comptroller to units of local government and other taxing |
7 | | districts pursuant to the State Revenue Sharing Act from the |
8 | | Local Government Distributive Fund or the Personal Property |
9 | | Tax Replacement Fund, to allotments of State motor fuel tax |
10 | | revenues distributed by the Department of Transportation to |
11 | | units of local government pursuant to the Motor Fuel Tax Law |
12 | | from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund or the Transportation Renewal |
13 | | Fund, or to awards, including capital appropriated funds, made |
14 | | by the Department of Transportation to units of local |
15 | | government for the purposes of transportation projects |
16 | | utilizing State funds, federal funds, or both State and |
17 | | federal funds. This Act shall recognize that federal and |
18 | | federal pass-through awards from the Department of |
19 | | Transportation to units of local government are governed by |
20 | | and must comply with federal guidelines under 2 CFR Part 200. |
21 | | The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 102nd |
22 | | General Assembly apply to pending actions as well as actions |
23 | | commenced on or after the effective date of this amendatory |
24 | | Act of the 102nd General Assembly. |
25 | | (a-5) Nothing in this Act shall prohibit the use of State |
26 | | funds for purposes of federal match or maintenance of effort. |
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1 | | (b) The terms and conditions of State, federal, and |
2 | | pass-through awards apply to subawards and subrecipients |
3 | | unless a particular Section of this Act or the terms and |
4 | | conditions of the State or federal award specifically indicate |
5 | | otherwise. Non-federal entities shall comply with requirements |
6 | | of this Act regardless of whether the non-federal entity is a |
7 | | recipient or subrecipient of a State or federal pass-through |
8 | | award. Pass-through entities shall comply with the |
9 | | requirements set forth under the rules adopted under |
10 | | subsection (a) of Section 20 of this Act, but not to any |
11 | | requirements in this Act directed towards State or federal |
12 | | awarding agencies, unless the requirements of the State or |
13 | | federal awards indicate otherwise.
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14 | | When a non-federal entity is awarded a cost-reimbursement |
15 | | contract, only 2 CFR 200.330 through 200.332 are incorporated |
16 | | by reference into the contract. However, when the Cost |
17 | | Accounting Standards are applicable to the contract, they take |
18 | | precedence over the requirements of this Act unless they are |
19 | | in conflict with Subpart F of 2 CFR 200. In addition, costs |
20 | | that are made unallowable under 10 U.S.C. 2324(e) and 41 |
21 | | U.S.C. 4304(a), as described in the Federal Acquisition |
22 | | Regulations, subpart 31.2 and subpart 31.603, are always |
23 | | unallowable. For requirements other than those covered in |
24 | | Subpart D of 2 CFR 200.330 through 200.332, the terms of the |
25 | | contract and the Federal Acquisition Regulations apply.
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26 | | With the exception of Subpart F of 2 CFR 200, which is |
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1 | | required by the Single Audit Act, in any circumstances where |
2 | | the provisions of federal statutes or regulations differ from |
3 | | the provisions of this Act, the provision of the federal |
4 | | statutes or regulations govern. This includes, for agreements |
5 | | with Indian tribes, the provisions of the Indian |
6 | | Self-Determination and Education and Assistance Act, as |
7 | | amended, 25 U.S.C. 450-458ddd-2.
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8 | | (c) State grant-making agencies may apply subparts A |
9 | | through E of 2 CFR 200 to for-profit entities, foreign public |
10 | | entities, or foreign organizations, except where the awarding |
11 | | agency determines that the application of these subparts would |
12 | | be inconsistent with the international obligations of the |
13 | | United States or the statute or regulations of a foreign |
14 | | government.
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15 | | (d) 2 CFR 200.101 specifies how 2 CFR 200 is applicable to |
16 | | different types of awards. The same applicability applies to |
17 | | this Act.
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18 | | (e) (Blank). |
19 | | (f) For public institutions of higher education, the |
20 | | provisions of this Act apply only to awards funded by federal |
21 | | pass-through awards from a State agency to public institutions |
22 | | of higher education. This Act shall recognize provisions in 2 |
23 | | CFR 200 as applicable to public institutions of higher |
24 | | education, including Appendix III of Part 200 and the cost |
25 | | principles under Subpart E. |
26 | | (g) Each grant-making agency shall enhance its processes |
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1 | | to monitor and address noncompliance with reporting |
2 | | requirements and with program performance standards. Where |
3 | | applicable, the process may include a corrective action plan. |
4 | | The monitoring process shall include a plan for tracking and |
5 | | documenting performance-based contracting decisions.
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6 | | (h) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, |
7 | | grants awarded from federal funds received from the federal |
8 | | Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund in accordance with |
9 | | Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 are |
10 | | subject to the provisions of this Act, but only to the extent |
11 | | required by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of |
12 | | 2021 and other applicable federal law or regulation. |
13 | | (i) This Act does not apply to the Department of |
14 | | Agriculture's Soil and Water Conservation District Grants |
15 | | Program. |
16 | | (Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; |
17 | | 102-626, eff. 8-27-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-1092, eff. |
18 | | 6-10-22.)
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19 | | Section 15. The Soil and Water Conservation Districts Act |
20 | | is amended by adding Sections 3.24, 3.25, 3.26, 3.27, 22.03a, |
21 | | 22.03b, 22.03c, and 22.03d as follows:
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22 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.24 new) |
23 | | Sec. 3.24. "Healthy soils practices" means systems of |
24 | | agricultural, forestry, and land management practices that: |
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1 | | (1) improve the health of soils, including, but not |
2 | | limited to, consideration of depth of topsoil horizons, |
3 | | water infiltration rate, water-holding capacity, organic |
4 | | matter content, biologically accessible nutrient content, |
5 | | bulk density, biological activity, and biological and |
6 | | microbiological diversity; |
7 | | (2) follow the principles of: minimizing soil |
8 | | disturbance and external inputs; keeping soil covered; |
9 | | maximizing biodiversity; diversifying crop rotations; |
10 | | maximizing presence of living roots; integrating animals |
11 | | and insects into land management, including grazing |
12 | | animals, birds, beneficial insects, or keystone species, |
13 | | such as earthworms; and incorporating the context of local |
14 | | conditions in decision-making, including, for example, |
15 | | soil type, topography, and time of year; and |
16 | | (3) include practices such as tillage or no-till, |
17 | | cover-cropping, perennialization of highly erodible land, |
18 | | precision nitrogen and phosphorus application, managed |
19 | | grazing, integrated crop-livestock systems, silvopasture, |
20 | | agroforestry, perennial crops, integrated pest management, |
21 | | nutrient best management practices, invasive species |
22 | | removal and the planting of native species and those |
23 | | practices recommended by the United States Department of |
24 | | Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service - |
25 | | Field Office Technical Guide.
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1 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.25 new) |
2 | | Sec. 3.25. "Soil health assessment" means a suite of |
3 | | soil-health-indicator measures, including, but not limited to, |
4 | | soil organic matter, soil structure, infiltration and bulk |
5 | | density, water-holding capacity, microbial biomass, and soil |
6 | | respiration.
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7 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.26 new) |
8 | | Sec. 3.26. "Initiative" means the Illinois Healthy Soils |
9 | | Initiative.
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10 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.27 new) |
11 | | Sec. 3.27. "Healthy soil" means the continuing capacity of |
12 | | a soil to function as a vital, living biological system that |
13 | | sustains plants, animals, and humans, increases soil organic |
14 | | matter, improves soil structure and water-holding and |
15 | | nutrient-holding capacity and nutrient cycling, enhances water |
16 | | infiltration and filtration capability, promotes water |
17 | | quality, and results in net long-term ecological benefits. |
18 | | "Healthy soil" includes soil that hosts a diversity of |
19 | | beneficial organisms, grow vigorous crops, enhance |
20 | | agricultural resilience, including the ability of crops and |
21 | | livestock to tolerate and recover from drought, temperature |
22 | | extremes, extreme precipitation events, pests, diseases, and |
23 | | other stresses, break down harmful chemicals, and help convert |
24 | | organic residues into stable soil organic matter and retaining |
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1 | | nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus.
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2 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03a new) |
3 | | Sec. 22.03a. Illinois Healthy Soils Initiative. |
4 | | (a) The Illinois Healthy Soils Initiative is created. It |
5 | | is the purpose of the Initiative to improve the health of soils |
6 | | through efforts that improve soil and water quality, increase |
7 | | the resilience of ecosystems to extreme weather events, |
8 | | protect and improve agricultural productivity, and support |
9 | | aquatic and wildlife habitat. |
10 | | The Initiative shall be administered by the Director of |
11 | | Agriculture with consultation from soil and water conservation |
12 | | districts, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the |
13 | | Department of Natural Resources, and the University of |
14 | | Illinois Extension Program. The Department shall create |
15 | | guidelines and guidance to assist soil and water
conservation |
16 | | districts in developing soil health assessments in order to |
17 | | identify desired capacity and funding levels and establish |
18 | | regular, measurable, cost-effective, and technically |
19 | | achievable goals to advance voluntary and incentive-based |
20 | | strategies that improve healthy soils. These assessments shall |
21 | | be used to identify opportunities to access and leverage |
22 | | financial and technical assistance from local, State, and |
23 | | federal sources to guide resources to their best potential |
24 | | use. |
25 | | The Initiative shall complement and improve coordination |
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1 | | of existing resources and processes and shall not replace |
2 | | existing, local, State, private, or federal funding or |
3 | | technical assistance programs. The Department shall report on |
4 | | progress of the Initiative annually. |
5 | | The Initiative shall promote voluntary and incentive-based |
6 | | soil health efforts. No part of this Section shall be used to |
7 | | impose mandates or require practice adoption.
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8 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03b new) |
9 | | Sec. 22.03b. Guidelines for soil health assessments. The |
10 | | Department shall adopt and revise guidelines to assist soil |
11 | | and water conservation districts in determining local goals |
12 | | and needs for implementing soil health assessments. |
13 | | In developing its guidelines to assist soil and water |
14 | | conservation districts in determining local goals and needs |
15 | | for soil health assessments, the Department shall consider: |
16 | | (1) county and State levels of conservation practice |
17 | | adoption. Guidance should also be provided to districts to |
18 | | meet USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service determined |
19 | | conservation practice standards or Illinois Urban Manual |
20 | | Practice Standards; |
21 | | (2) information regarding beginning, socially |
22 | | disadvantaged, and veteran farmers and ranchers, as well |
23 | | as disadvantaged communities; |
24 | | (3) availability of State, federal, and private |
25 | | financial and technical assistance programs to soil and |
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1 | | water conservation districts, local governments, and |
2 | | conservation partners; and |
3 | | (4) opportunities for evaluating results-based |
4 | | practices utilizing tools, such as the U.S. Department of |
5 | | Agriculture's revised universal soil loss equation, that |
6 | | model environmental outcomes at the field, county, |
7 | | watershed, or State level. |
8 | | The information collected through the development of the |
9 | | guidelines shall be summarized and provided to the soil and |
10 | | water conservation districts to inform the development of |
11 | | local soil health assessments. |
12 | | Initial guidelines shall be completed and provided to soil |
13 | | and water conservation districts by July 1 of each year and |
14 | | shall include the grant agreement for the Soil and Water |
15 | | Conservation District Grants Program as well as outlining the |
16 | | funding resource support contained within the grant agreement |
17 | | to better inform the development of local soil health |
18 | | assessments.
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19 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03c new) |
20 | | Sec. 22.03c. Local soil health assessments. Upon the |
21 | | adoption of guidelines described in Section 22.03b, each soil |
22 | | and water conservation district shall develop its own soil |
23 | | health assessment to guide voluntary and incentive-based |
24 | | strategies to improve soil health. The soil health assessment |
25 | | shall be technically feasible and economically reasonable. |
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1 | | The Department shall provide a template to the districts |
2 | | for the local soil health assessment, including the required |
3 | | information listed in this Section as well as information |
4 | | regarding available data and support materials collected as |
5 | | the guidance information listed in Section 25. |
6 | | Each district is encouraged to collaborate with other |
7 | | local governmental entities and local stakeholders in |
8 | | developing and implementing its soil health assessment. Each |
9 | | district shall use the guidelines provided by the Department |
10 | | in developing its soil health assessment. |
11 | | Upon the request of a district, the Department shall |
12 | | assist in the preparation of the district's soil health |
13 | | assessment. Districts may also work collaboratively to |
14 | | establish joint plans to leverage existing capacity and |
15 | | resources most effectively. |
16 | | To carry out its assessment, a district shall identify |
17 | | soil health practices. The soil health assessment must |
18 | | consider opportunities to access, leverage, and use State and |
19 | | federal resources within a specific soil and water |
20 | | conservation district service area. |
21 | | Soil and water conservation districts may also convene |
22 | | producer-led dialogues to identify special initiatives or |
23 | | pilot projects to leverage additional resources and implement |
24 | | soil health practices at scale across multiple operations and |
25 | | land ownerships. |
26 | | In developing a soil health assessment, the soil and water |
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1 | | conservation district shall: |
2 | | (1) evaluate existing assets, such as current |
3 | | practices, current cropping systems, crop processing
and |
4 | | market infrastructure, riparian buffers, wetlands, public |
5 | | lands, funding, education, research
and peer-to-peer |
6 | | training opportunities, and existing partnerships; |
7 | | (2) consider the eligible funding categories available |
8 | | through the Partners for Conservation Fund and the |
9 | | district's ability to advance healthy soils practices |
10 | | consistent with Natural Resource Conservation Service soil |
11 | | health principles within a soil and water conservation |
12 | | district service area; |
13 | | (3) determine vulnerabilities, such as runoff risk, |
14 | | riparian function, stormwater, floodplains and stream |
15 | | impairments, and observed and predicted impacts from |
16 | | climate change, especially to socially disadvantaged |
17 | | farmers, ranchers, and communities; |
18 | | (4) identify opportunities to conduct outreach to |
19 | | agricultural producers and landowners and to develop |
20 | | individual soil health plans; |
21 | | (5) establish goals for achieving measurable outcomes |
22 | | for soil health and farmer viability through voluntary and |
23 | | incentive-based activities. This includes identifying |
24 | | opportunities to support beginning, socially |
25 | | disadvantaged, and veteran farmers as well as small and |
26 | | mid-scale farmers; |
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1 | | (6) estimate 2-year funding levels needed from State, |
2 | | federal and private sources in order to achieve goals; and |
3 | | (7) identify opportunities to develop partnerships and |
4 | | leverage resources from local governments, utilities, and |
5 | | State and federal agencies. |
6 | | The Department shall identify shared goals and priorities |
7 | | between districts and shall assist in developing partnerships |
8 | | and shared funding approaches to maximize capacity and |
9 | | resources. Initial soil health assessments shall be submitted |
10 | | to the Department by September 1, 2024.
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11 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03d new) |
12 | | Sec. 22.03d. Compliance and standards; cost sharing. To be |
13 | | eligible to receive State cost-share support after September |
14 | | 1, 2024, soil and water conservation districts shall have an |
15 | | updated soil health assessment. |
16 | | The Department shall update its rules and procedures for |
17 | | cost-share funding to be inclusive of all relevant soil health |
18 | | practices promoting the rapid adoption of cost-effective and |
19 | | technically feasible projects. Updates to the rules and |
20 | | procedures for State cost-share programs shall also address |
21 | | barriers to access experienced by beginning, socially |
22 | | disadvantaged, and veteran farmers. |
23 | | The Department may require results-based practices or the |
24 | | assessments of the environmental outcomes of projects, at the |
25 | | field or county level, as a condition of cost-share funding.
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