Inflation Reduction Act Increases Resources Aimed at Improving Water and Soil Quality
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August, provides historic levels of expanded and new federal investments to reduce the impacts of climate change and seeks to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. While the new law includes a host of tools to achieve these reductions at a national level, it also includes important new resources that will aim to improve soil health and increase water quality.
The new law includes $20 billion for several key Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs, including almost an additional $5 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) over the next four years. Under the Farm Bill of 2018, the RCPP receives about $300 million annually.
The RCPP is a pivotal program aimed at improving water quality and combating issues such as freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs) by creating strong private-public partnerships. Administered by USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the RCPP seeks to develop broad partnerships and coalitions by directing funding to state-level and multi-state projects as well as projects in critical conservation areas, including the Great Lakes region. Through these partnerships, the RCPP funds projects that provide innovative solutions to difficult conservation challenges.
An example of the RCPP in action in the Great Lakes region is the Lake Erie Conservation Partnership, which is a five-year program awarded to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), and The Ohio State University (OSU). This program is focused on nutrient management, erosion control, water management, and more, to better control the algal bloom in western Lake Erie. Since its creation in the 2014 Farm Bill, the RCPP has provided assistance to multi-state projects to reduce the runoff of phosphorous into the waterways in the western basin of Lake Erie.
While Congress will likely address federal conservation programs in the upcoming Farm Bill debate next Congress, the Inflation Reduction Act will directly increase support for key conservation programs that improve water and soil quality in the region.
Administration Releases Strategy to Implement CHIPS Act
The U.S. Department of Commerce last Tuesday released new guidance on how it plans to implement the recently enacted $50 billion CHIPS Act of 2022. The new law, which was signed by President Joe Biden last month, aims to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States by subsidizing companies to expand new semiconductor manufacturing facilities; providing grants for additional semiconductor research; and additional resources for workforce development initiatives. According to the Department of Commerce’s press release, the strategy will establish the following three initiatives:
$28 billion investment in large-scale and leading-edge technology initiatives that will bolster the domestic production of leading-edge logic and memory chips;
$10 billion investment in new manufacturing capacity for mature and current-generation chips, new and specialty technologies, and for semiconductor industry suppliers; and
$11 billion investment for research and development initiatives that include the creation of a National Semiconductor Technology Center, a National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, and up to three new Manufacturing USA Institutes.
For more details about the strategy, please see the Department of Commerce press release here.
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