S. 1495 — NRCS Wetland Compliance and Appeals Reform Act

This section amends the "Swampbuster" wetland conservation provisions (16 U.S.C. 3821 et seq.) of the Food Security Act of 1985, which generally make persons ineligible for most USDA program benefits (e.g., farm loans and payments) if they convert wetlands to produce an agricultural commodity, as follows: (1) permits removal of woody vegetation, including stumps, without it being considered an activity to make agricultural production possible (new 16 U.S.C. 3821(d)(3)); (2) prohibits the Secretary from determining violations for production on, or conversion of, a wetland not previously delineated, determined, and certified by the Secretary (new 16 U.S.C. 3821(g)); (3) requires the Secretary to prove violations by clear and convincing evidence, including in cases of insufficient evidence or unreliable proffered evidence (new 16 U.S.C. 3821(h)); (4) prohibits the Secretary from subsequently determining a wetland exists using a rationale not used in a prior determination successfully appealed at the National Appeals Division (new 16 U.S.C. 3822(a)(7)); (5) requires an appeal process for Natural Resources Conservation Service state office denials of wetland certification review requests, including a right to an on-site visit (new 16 U.S.C. 3822(a)(8)); and (6) prohibits reliance solely on one on-site visit to determine that hydrologic criteria for a wetland are satisfied (new 16 U.S.C. 3822(c)(3)). This section also requires the Secretary, via an independent survey company, to offer and conduct customer satisfaction surveys after specified Natural Resources Conservation Service wetland interactions (e.g., final determinations, appeals, reviews), with monthly reports to state conservationists and congressional delegations (new sec. 1225 of the Food Security Act of 1985).