Source: USDA, 8/27/20 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its final rule on determining whether land is considered highly erodible or a wetland, integrating input from the public and making updates in accordance with the 2018 Farm Bill. This final rule follows a focused effort by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to improve consistency and use of science in making determinations. “Feedback is a very important resource, and we appreciate all of those who help us improve how determinations are made,” said NRCS Acting Chief Kevin Norton. “Highly erodible land and wetland determinations are the gateway to USDA programs, and we strive to provide the highest quality technical assistance to inform decision-making by farmers and ranchers.” To
be eligible for most USDA programs, producers must be conservation compliant
with the highly erodible land and wetland provisions. These provisions aim to
reduce soil loss on erosion-prone lands and to protect wetlands for the
multiple benefits they provide. The
final rule was made available for public inspection today, and it will be
published tomorrow in the Federal Register. This follows an interim final rule
published Dec. 7, 2018. This
final rule confirms most of the changes made by the December 2018 interim final
rule and makes these additional updates:
- Adding
the requirement of the 2018 Farm Bill that USDA will make a reasonable
effort to include the affected person in an on-site investigation
conducted prior to making a wetland violation technical determination.
- Further
clarifying how wetland hydrology is identified for farmed wetlands and
farmed wetland pasture.
- Adding
clarification to the consideration of best-drained condition for wetland
hydrology in keeping with the definition of prior converted cropland.
- Relocating
the provision that wetland determinations can be done on a tract, field,
or sub-field basis in order to improve clarity.
NRCS
has recently updated its conservation compliance webpages, adding highly
erodible land and wetland determination resources for agricultural producers by
state. Learn
more about conservation compliance on the NRCS
website.
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