WHB/4/8
Sponsored by Ashley Kalvala, Savannah Poynter of Ravenwood High School
This legislation was filed in the Agriculture category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | Be it enacted by the Tennessee YMCA Youth Legislature: |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act are defined as follows: |
| 4 | a.) Rain Garden: A rain garden is a depressed area in the landscape that collects rain water |
| 5 | designed to increase rain runoff reabsorption by the soil. |
| 6 | b.) Peak Season: Period of the year during which growing conditions, like temperature and |
| 7 | moisture, are most favorable for cultivation of crops.(July, August, and September). |
| 8 | c.) Fertilizer Runoff: the displacement of fertilizer components, via rainwater and mechanical |
| 9 | irrigation, from their intended use |
| 10 | d.) Conservative Fertilization Techniques: Using fertilizers sparingly only at the rate the plants |
| 11 | absorb it. |
| 12 | e.) Tilling: The agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as |
| 13 | digging, stirring, and overturning which accelerates surface runoff and soil erosion. |
| 14 | f.) Groundwater: Water that exists underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Section 2: Accounting for the fact that fertilizer runoff into groundwater in Tennessee is |
| 17 | significantly decreasing water quality and harming biodiversity and within the area. Fertilizer runoff |
| 18 | impairs nearly 3,000 river/stream miles and more than 15,000 acres of lakes and reservoirs in |
| 19 | Tennessee. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Section 3: Selected farms as defined in this act will be subject to implementation of runoff |
| 22 | filtration techniques such as the implementation of rain gardens, the use of conservative |
| 23 | fertilization techniques, and the minimization of tilling within the soil. Larger farms selected, which |
| 24 | have an average size of 1,421 acres, will be subject to construction of rain gardens, while smaller |
| 25 | farms, with an average size of 231 acres, will be subject to minimal till farming and conservative |
| 26 | fertilization techniques. This is due to the fact that minimal till farming and conservative |
| 27 | fertilization techniques are less efficient on a larger scale because of the effects they have on |
| 28 | yields. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Section 4: This bill will start off on a smaller scale, starting with only 6,000 farms as a trial to see |
| 31 | how effective these methods are in minimizing fertilizer pollution in the waters of Tennessee. The |
| 32 | farms selected will be farms within a close vicinity of major water sources that are suspected to |
| 33 | cause the most pollution. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Section 5: Selected farms in Tennessee will undergo the process of putting in place these solutions |
| 36 | over a three month period. Over this three month period, the rain gardens will be planted and |
| 37 | |
| 38 | Section 6: The farms that are subject to these solutions will be more likely to receive loans and |
| 39 | once these techniques are implemented they will be provided with additional resources for their |
| 40 | farms. |
| 41 | |
| 42 | Section 7: 200 workers will be hired to contribute to the construction of rain gardens for 2,000 |
| 43 | large farms over this three month period. There will be one rain garden planted per farm. It takes |
| 44 | 2 days and 4 workers to build a single rain garden. |
| 45 | |
| 46 | Section 8: 4,000 farms with an average size of 231 acres will be subject to minimal till agricultural |
| 47 | practices and use of conservative fertilization techniques. Agriculture experts will be sent to these |
| 48 | farms to educate farmers on these techniques. |
| 49 | |
| 50 | Section 9: This implementation will start on a small scale and after a year long period we will |
| 51 | measure its success at limiting chemical runoff from fertilizers utilized by farms across Tennessee. |
| 52 | If the implementation shows a progression in biodiversity and water quality we will ask to |
| 53 | implement these techniques on a larger scale. Implementation on a larger scale would be utilizing |
| 54 | these techniques on additional farms. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | Section 10: This bill will have a cost of 5.5 million dollars to cover the costs including 2 million for |
| 57 | the construction of rain gardens, 1.5 million to pay the workers to install the rain gardens, and 2 |
| 58 | million for the additional resources provided to the farms. This will be funded through the |
| 59 | Tennessee Department of Agriculture. |
| 60 | |
| 61 | Section 11: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 62 | |
| 63 | Section 12: This act shall take effect March 1st 2025, to provide ample conditions for workers |
| 64 | involved in these resolves, and to ensure that farmland is ready for peak season. |
| 65 |