Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation
Key claim: USDA is amending its regulations so that wetland determinations issued after November 28, 1990 are certified—with notice and appeal rights—as the basis for ineligibility under the Wetland Conservation provisions of the Food Security Act, correcting inconsistent treatment of 1990–1996 determinations and responding to a February 2024 federal court ruling.
Abstract
(Rule · Agriculture Department) The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is amending its regulations to ensure that wetland determinations issued after November 28, 1990, have been and will be certified as sufficient to serve as the basis for determining ineligibility for certain USDA program benefits under the Wetland Conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended. Certification requires notifying the affected person at the time of the determination and informing them of their appeal rights. This interim rule addresses inconsistencies in how wetland determinations certified and issued between November 28, 1990, and July 3, 1996, have been treated. It also responds to a February 22, 2024, Federal court ruling that determined that Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) did not fully meet procedural requirements in its 2020 final rule concerning certification of pre-1996 determinations. This interim rule aligns USDA’s regulations with the governing statute, legislative history, and congressional intent.
Why this matters
Wetland Conservation compliance determines whether farmers remain eligible for USDA program benefits (commodity payments, crop insurance premium subsidies, conservation payments), so the certification status of a wetland determination directly affects farm income and land-use decisions. By formalizing appeal rights for pre-1996 determinations, the rule gives producers a clearer procedural path to contest ineligibility findings while locking in decades-old determinations as binding, with limited direct impact on consumers or food prices.