Senate Bill 658 - EQIP Improvement Act of 2023

EQIP Improvement Act of 2023

This bill amends the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to reduce and remove certain payment requirements. (EQIP provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns.)

Specifically, the bill

• reduces the maximum payments available to a person or legal entity under EQIP to $150,000 per five-year period (from the current level of $450,000), thereby allowing for an increase in the overall number of participants in the program;
• reduces federal cost sharing to 40% (from 75%) for the costs associated with planning, installation, or maintenance for specified conservation practices (e.g., access roads, dams, and waste storage facilities); and
• removes a requirement that 50% of EQIP funding payments go to livestock production programs.