§5402 Office of Agricultural Environmental Quality

Summary

The Secretary must create an Office of Agricultural Environmental Quality inside the Department of Agriculture. The Secretary must pick a Director who knows a lot about farming and the environment. The Director can hire staff with skills in areas like farm production, water and wetland issues, wildlife and soil conservation, and farm chemicals. If asked, the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior must each send at least one expert to work there for up to 3 years, paid back by the Department. Other federal agencies can also send employees if asked and reimbursed. The Director must help the Council write a department-wide environmental policy, agency plans, and an annual report as the law requires. The Director coordinates and watches over the Department’s environmental work and serves as a Council member and its Executive Director. The Director must recommend goals and programs that balance farming and environmental protection, advise and review agency actions to keep them consistent with those goals, coordinate policy inside the Department and with other governments, schools, and groups, manage related data and reports, and provide staff to support the Council.