Bill > S4704

This bill, the NRCS Wetland Compliance and Appeals Reform Act, proposes several reforms to the programs of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The key provisions include allowing the removal of woody vegetation without it being considered an activity that makes agricultural production possible, prohibiting retroactive penalties for wetland conversions, shifting the burden of proof to the Secretary to demonstrate a violation, restricting the use of new rationales for wetland determinations that have been previously refuted, creating an appeal process for requests to review wetland certifications, requiring multiple on-site visits to determine if a wetland exists, establishing customer satisfaction surveys and state oversight committees to improve NRCS customer service, and implementing various reforms to the appeals process for wetland determinations.