Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2025
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill creates amendment to Food Security Act establishing Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative under USDA to fund conservation activities on agricultural land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including nutrient, creates new Section 1240N of Food Security Act: Detailed Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative provisions including watershed definitions, conservation activity scope (erosion, nutrients, habitat), special, and creates extension of Conservation Reserve Program through FY2028, expanded eligible land to include riparian buffers supporting Chesapeake Bay CREP goals, streamlined CREP agreement amendments for time-sensitive. It relies on grants, exemptions, compliance mandates, and reporting requirements. The main policy areas are Agriculture, Environment, Education, and Healthcare.
Who Benefits and How
Agricultural producers in Chesapeake Bay watershed could gain revenue opportunities, Chesapeake Bay water quality would be affected, and Landowners with eligible CREP land in Chesapeake Bay watershed could see lower costs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
FDA would take on compliance duties and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Creates amendment to Food Security Act establishing Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative under USDA to fund conservation activities on agricultural land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including nutrient...
- Creates new Section 1240N of Food Security Act: Detailed Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative provisions including watershed definitions, conservation activity scope (erosion, nutrients, habitat), special...
- Creates extension of Conservation Reserve Program through FY2028, expanded eligible land to include riparian buffers supporting Chesapeake Bay CREP goals, streamlined CREP agreement amendments for time-sensitive...
- Creates new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Turnkey Pilot Program under which USDA provides forested riparian buffer establishment and management through third-party technical service providers, eliminating all cost...
- Creates expansion of agricultural education grants under NARETPA to include community colleges and postsecondary vocational institutions, addition of paid work-based learning, authorization of $60 million annually...
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill creates amendment to Food Security Act establishing Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative under USDA to fund conservation activities on agricultural land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including nutrient, creates new Section 1240N of Food Security Act: Detailed Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative provisions including watershed definitions, conservation activity scope (erosion, nutrients, habitat), special, and creates extension of Conservation Reserve Program through FY2028, expanded eligible land to include riparian buffers supporting Chesapeake Bay CREP goals, streamlined CREP agreement amendments for time-sensitive.
Key Policy Areas
Agriculture, Environment, Education, Healthcare
Primary Purpose
The bill creates amendment to Food Security Act establishing Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative under USDA to fund conservation activities on agricultural land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including nutrient, creates new Section 1240N of Food Security Act: Detailed Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative provisions including watershed definitions, conservation activity scope (erosion, nutrients, habitat), special, and creates extension of Conservation Reserve Program through FY2028, expanded eligible land to include riparian buffers supporting Chesapeake Bay CREP goals, streamlined CREP agreement amendments for time-sensitive.
Policy Domains
Section 2 - Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative
Identified Gains
- Agricultural producers in Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Chesapeake Bay water quality
- Landowners with eligible CREP land in Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Agricultural producers enrolled in CRP and CREP
- Commercial catfish harvesters in Chesapeake Bay
Identified Costs
- FDA
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Van Hollen (for himself, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Agricultural conservation workforce, Agricultural producers enrolled in CRP and CREP, Agricultural producers in Chesapeake Bay watershed
Chesapeake Bay States (DE, MD, NY, PA, VA, WV, DC), FDA, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service faces effects in multiple directions
Positive-direction: Chesapeake Bay States (DE, MD, NY, PA, VA, WV, DC), USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
Negative-direction: FDA
Chesapeake Bay ecosystem (invasive species removal), Chesapeake Bay riparian habitat, Chesapeake Bay water quality
Commercial catfish harvesters in Chesapeake Bay
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "epa_admin"
- → Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "fda_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Food and Drugs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A forested riparian buffer practice under CREP and associated activities including stream crossings, fencing, alternate water systems, and herbicide applications.
A third-party provider with which the Secretary enters into an agreement to conduct establishment and management of eligible practices.
The Chesapeake Bay, the portions of DE, MD, NY, PA, VA, and WV containing tributaries, backwaters, and side channels draining into the Bay, and the District of Columbia.
The Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative established under subsection (b).
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology