The COMPOST Act directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to officially recognize composting as a conservation practice eligible for federal support programs. The bill defines composting broadly to include both on-farm composting operations and bringing organic waste from nearby communities to farms for compost production, as long as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions overall. Farmers and composting facilities would become eligible for grants and loan guarantees through existing USDA conservation programs, including the Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program, to help them establish or expand composting operations that improve soil health and water retention. The Secretary of Agriculture, working with the Environmental Protection Agency, must develop regulations defining which communities qualify as "nearby" for the purposes of transporting waste to farms. The bill does not specify a dedicated funding amount but incorporates composting into existing conservation funding mechanisms.
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