H.R. 4764

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4764 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4764

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 
of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national 
biochar research network, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 25, 2025

Mrs. Miller-Meeks (for herself, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Newhouse, 
Mr. Panetta, Mr. Lawler, and Mr. Casten) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 
of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national 
biochar research network, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Biochar Research Network Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL BIOCHAR RESEARCH NETWORK.

Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
Reform Act of 1998 is amended by inserting before section 404 (7 U.S.C. 
7624) the following:

``SEC. 403. NATIONAL BIOCHAR RESEARCH NETWORK.

``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a national 
biochar research network (referred to in this section as the `research 
network') of not more than 20 research sites or facilities described in 
subsection (c) to test the full range of biochar types across soil 
types, soil health and soil management conditions, application methods, 
and climatic and agronomic regions--
``(1) to assess the soil carbon sequestration potential of 
various biochars and management systems integrating biochar 
use;
``(2) to understand how to use biochar productively to 
contribute to climate mitigation, crop production, resilience 
to extreme weather events, ecosystem and soil health, natural 
resource conservation, and farm profitability; and
``(3) to deliver science-based, region-specific, cost-
effective, and practical information to farmers, ranchers, 
foresters, land reclamation managers, urban land managers, and 
other land and natural resource managers and businesses on 
sustainable biochar production and application.
``(b) Scope.--
``(1) In general.--The research network shall encompass--
``(A) agriculture, horticulture, rangeland, 
forestry, and other biochar uses; and
``(B) a broad range of feedstocks, production 
processes, and application treatments.
``(2) Research.--The research conducted by the research 
network shall include--
``(A) cross-site and mechanistic experiments--
``(i) to fill critical knowledge gaps and 
gain a more complete understanding of the 
impact of various types of biochar in varying 
site conditions on soil properties, plant 
growth, greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon 
sequestration in different soils, climates, and 
other natural and agronomic conditions;
``(ii) to provide mechanistic and 
technoeconomic insights on thermochemical 
conversion processes in biochar production and 
the coproduction of biochar and bioenergy, 
including interactions of feedstock properties 
with reactor conditions and processes on the 
relative proportions and properties of biochar, 
biofuels, and value-added coproducts, as well 
as process efficiency;
``(iii) to generate data to develop, 
calibrate, and validate robust mechanistic 
models to predict the full life cycle of 
greenhouse gas, crop response, and related 
agronomic and environmental implications of 
particular applications of biochar;
``(iv) to generate data to help guide the 
design of new, more efficient biochar and 
bioenergy production reactors and 
biorefineries; and
``(v) to generate data to develop, 
calibrate, and validate testing methodologies 
for biochar to identify potential contaminants 
or other factors that may cause unintended 
consequences; and
``(B) site-specific farm and forestry systems 
assessments and pilot-scale biochar production and 
application systems--
``(i) to refine the most promising soil-
based uses, sources, and methods of producing 
and applying biochar in particular regions--
``(I) to enhance productivity;
``(II) to increase profitability, 
scalability, and portability;
``(III) to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions;
``(IV) to improve ecosystem and 
soil health;
``(V) to strengthen resilience to 
extreme weather events; and
``(VI) to explore soil, crop, 
climate, management, and biochar 
interactions;
``(ii) to develop new knowledge to support 
decisions on sustainable production and use of 
biochar;
``(iii) to collect relevant data needed for 
full life cycle greenhouse gas and economic 
analyses and complete those analysis;
``(iv) to predict plant response, soil 
health, soil carbon sequestration, ecosystem 
health, water quality, greenhouse gas, and 
economic outcomes for specific implementations 
of biochar technology;
``(v) to provide data to evaluate local 
biomass feedstocks, support selection of 
sustainable biochar production methods, and 
address biochar production issues; and
``(vi) to share research results to inform 
farmers, horticulturalists, ranchers, 
foresters, urban biochar users, extension 
agents and specialists, and technical 
assistance providers on the most advantageous 
ways to use biochar to increase profitability, 
raise productivity, lower costs, improve soil 
and plant health, and enhance resilience to 
extreme weather events while contributing to 
carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas 
reductions.
``(c) Eligibility.--An entity shall be eligible to be selected to 
conduct research as part of the research network if the entity is--
``(1) a State agricultural experiment station or a State 
forestry experiment station;
``(2) a research facility of the Agricultural Research 
Service, the Forest Service, or any other agency of the 
Department of Agriculture that the Secretary determines to be 
appropriate; or
``(3) a research facility of the Department of Energy, the 
Department of Commerce, or the Department of the Interior.
``(d) Administration.--
``(1) In general.--The research network shall be 
administered by the Administrator of the Agricultural Research 
Service, in partnership with--
``(A) the Chief of the Forest Service;
``(B) the Director of the National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture;
``(C) the Secretary of Energy;
``(D) the Secretary of Commerce;
``(E) the Secretary of the Interior; and
``(F) such other agencies of the Department of 
Agriculture as the Secretary determines to be 
appropriate.
``(2) Conservation.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service--
``(A) may develop or revise practice standards 
informed by the research conducted by the research 
network; and
``(B) shall coordinate the activities of the 
research network with--
``(i) the development, expansion, and 
refinement of conservation practice standards 
for biochar production and use for soil and 
forest health, climate adaptation and 
mitigation, and other conservation purposes; 
and
``(ii) improvements and expansion of 
conservation program technical and financial 
support for biochar production, application, 
and integration into soil health management 
systems and other conservation approaches.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.''.
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