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| [ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_HB2605enr HB2605 Enrolled LRB9103930DHmgA 1 AN ACT to create the Illinois Rivers-Friendly Farmer 2 Program Act. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 6 Illinois Rivers-Friendly Farmer Program Act. 7 Section 5. Program established. The Department of 8 Agriculture shall establish the Illinois Rivers-Friendly 9 Farmer Program to recognize farmers helping to protect and 10 enhance the State's rivers. 11 Section 10. Purposes. The program is intended to promote 12 farming practices that benefit rivers while maintaining farm 13 profitability and to inform the public about farmers' 14 contributions to cleaning up of the rivers of Illinois. 15 Section 15. A farmer seeking the "Rivers-Friendly Farmer" 16 designation may submit a written application to the 17 Department of Agriculture or an agency designated by the 18 Department by rule. 19 Section 20. Program criteria. Farmers who satisfy all 20 of the following criteria applicable to their operations may 21 be designated Rivers-Friendly farmers: 22 (1) Soil loss on cropland is at or below the tolerable 23 soil loss level as certified by a local Soil and Water 24 Conservation District. 25 (2) An approved farm conservation plan is on file at the 26 local Soil and Water Conservation District office. 27 (3) If the farm is required to have a vegetative filter 28 strip, adjacent to a body of water, the strip was constructed HB2605 Enrolled -2- LRB9103930DHmgA 1 in accordance with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation 2 Service Technical Guide. 3 (4) Evidence of participation in programs such as the 4 USDA's Conservation Reserve Program, Conservation Reserve 5 Enhancement Program, and Environmental Quality Incentives 6 Program, or the Department's Conservation 2000 Conservation 7 Practices Program, and Agricultural Areas in accordance with 8 Illinois' Agricultural Areas Conservation and Protection Act, 9 can be considered but is not required to be designated as a 10 "Rivers-Friendly Farmer". 11 Section 25. Rules. The Department of Agriculture shall 12 adopt rules to implement and administer this Act. 13 Section 30. Processing Fee. Any local Soil and Water 14 Conservation District that chooses to review a written 15 application for the "Rivers-Friendly Farmer" designation may 16 collect a reasonable fee for services rendered. 17 The Department of Agriculture may collect an 18 administrative filing fee of $15 for each application for a 19 "Rivers-Friendly Farmer" designation. In addition, the 20 Department shall collect an amount equal to the cost of 21 providing a sign that designates a farmer as a 22 "Rivers-Friendly Farmer". 23 All moneys collected by the Department shall be deposited 24 into a promotional trust account as provided in Section 40.7 25 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Funds 26 collected shall be used for the purposes of the program 27 authorized by this Act.