NRCS Adopts Interim Rule for Wetland Certification

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has published an interim final rule that ensures most wetland determinations made since 1990 are considered certified.

Producers rely on certified wetland determinations when making decisions about their agricultural operations. These choices can affect producers’ eligibility for USDA services including farm loans, conservation assistance, crop insurance and commodity programs.  

By adopting this interim final rule, NRCS has addressed inconsistencies in how wetland determinations have been certified and issued in the past. It aligns USDA policy with statutory requirements, protects producer reliance interests and reduces administrative burden by preventing the reinterpretation or replacement of previously certified determinations unless the producer asks for a review.

Specifically, the interim final rule ensures all wetland determinations issued after Nov. 28, 1990, are certified if: 

The producer was notified of the determination; and 
The producer was given appeal rights at the time.  
Farmers can rely on the decision to install drainage, clear land and conduct other land alterations without risking their USDA program eligibility so long as the determination shows the area is not a wetland in accordance with the wetland conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985.

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Wayne Creed

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