,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dgjd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #bd1 #bjbj,mr4 ,rounds 7for himself and ,mr4 ,cramer7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to require reforms to programs of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,nrcs ,wetland ,compliance and ,appeals ,reform ,act4 #b4 ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service reforms 7a7 ,permissibility of the removal of woody vegetation ,section #abba7;d7 of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chba7;d77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#c7 ,permissibility of the removal of woody vegetation ,the removal of woody vegetation1 including stumps1 shall not be considered to be an activity that is for the purpose1 or that has the effect1 of making the production of an agricultural commodity possible under paragraph 7#a74 4 7b7 ,prohibition on retroactive penalties ,section #abba of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chba7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7g7 ,prohibition on retroactive penalties ,the ,secretary may not determine a person to be in violation of this section for the production of an agricultural commodity on1 or the conversion of1 a wetland that1 at the time of that production or conversion1 as applicable1 the ,secretary had not delineated1 determined1 and certified to be a wetland in accordance with section #abbb4 4 7c7 ,burden of proof ,section #abba of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chba7 7as amended by subsection 7b77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7h7 ,burden of proof ,the ,secretary shall bear the burden of proving1 by clear and convincing evidence1 that a person is in violation of this section1 including-- 7#a7 in a case in which there is a lack of evidence to determine such a violation2 and 7#b7 the burden of proving1 by clear and convincing evidence1 that evidence offered to prove that a person is not in violation of this section is unreliable4 4 7d7 ,prohibition on using new rationale for wetland determinations previously refuted ,section #abbb7;a7 of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chbb7;a77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#g7 ,prohibition on using new rationale for wetland determinations previously refuted ,if a person successfully appeals a final wetland determination at the ,national ,appeals ,division1 the ,secretary may not subsequently make a determination that the wetland exists based on a rationale that was not used for the determination that was successfully appealed at the ,national ,appeals ,division4 4 7e7 ,appeal process for nonaccepted review of wetland certification requests ,section #abbb7;a7 of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chbb7;a77 7as amended by subsection 7d77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#h7 ,appeal process for nonaccepted review of wetland certification requests ,the ,secretary shall develop an appeal process for requests for the review of wetland certifications that are not accepted by a ,state office of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service1 which shall include a right for the person bringing the appeal to demand that the ,secretary conduct an on-site visit in accordance with subsection 7c74 4 7f7 ,requirement relating to preliminary wetland determinations ,section #abbb7;c7 of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chbb7;c77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#c7 ,requirement relating to preliminary wetland determinations ,the ,secretary may not rely solely on #a on-site visit described in paragraph 7#a7 to determine that the hydrologic criteria for the determination that a wetland exists are satisfied4 4 7g7 ,customer satisfaction survey ,subtitle ,c of title ,,xii of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chba et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #abbe4 ,customer satisfaction survey 7a7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this section are-- 7#a7 to improve customer service at the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service relating to the administration of this subtitle2 7#b7 to identify areas of satisfaction of customers in interacting with the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service in the administration of this subtitle2 7#c7 to identify areas of customer service at the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service in need of improvement due to dissatisfaction of customers in interacting with the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service in the administration of this subtitle2 and 7#d7 to address corrective measures and initiate positive change in customer service at the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service relating to the administration of this subtitle4 7b7 ,option ,to participate in survey ,the ,secretary shall offer to each individual who interacts with the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service in the administration of this subtitle the option to participate in a survey described in subsection 7c74 7c7 ,surveys ,the ,secretary shall enter into an agreement with an independent survey company1 under which the independent survey company shall provide the following services3 7#a7 ,send1 by email or mail1 a customer satisfaction survey to each individual who interacts with the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service in the administration of this subtitle and indicates to the ,secretary a desire to participate in the survey on being offered the option to participate under subsection 7b7 after any of the following occurs3 7,a7 ,the ,secretary completes a final wetland determination1 including a final technical determination1 relating to land of the individual4 7,b7 ,appeals to the ,farm ,service ,agency with respect to a wetland determination are exhausted4 7,c7 ,an appeal is made with respect to a wetland determination to a ,national ,appeals ,division officer4 7,d7 ,an appeal is made with respect to a wetland determination to the ,director of the ,national ,appeals ,division4 7,e7 ,the ,secretary completes a review of a prior certification of a wetland determination4 7,f7 ,the individual has any other interaction with the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service1 as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate4 7#b7 ,receive responses to the surveys from the individuals to which the surveys are sent under paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,each month-- 7,a7 compile the responses to the surveys received under paragraph 7#b72 and 7,b7 submit a report describing the compiled responses to-- 7i7 the applicable ,state ,conservationist2 7ii7 the congressional delegation of each applicable ,state2 7iii7 the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry of the ,senate2 7iv7 the ,committee on ,agriculture of the ,house of ,representatives2 7v7 the applicable ,state department of agriculture2 and 7vi7 the ,secretary4 4 7h7 ,state oversight committees ,subtitle ,c of title ,,xii of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chba et seq47 7as amended by subsection 7g77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #abbf4 ,state oversight committees 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish an oversight committee for each ,state in which appeals of wetland determinations under this subtitle are made4 7b7 ,composition ,each ,state oversight committee shall be composed of-- 7#a7 #b private1 active farmers or ranchers appointed by the ,secretary2 and 7#b7 #a private1 active farmer or rancher appointed by the ,state department of agriculture4 7c7 ,terms ,a member of a ,state oversight committee-- 7#a7 shall be appointed for a term of #e years2 and 7#b7 may serve for not more than #b terms4 7d7 ,duties ,each ,state oversight committee shall have the following duties3 7#a7 ,review the following appeals of wetland determinations under this subtitle in the applicable ,state3 7,a7 ,appeals of preliminary wetland determinations4 7,b7 ,appeals of final wetland determinations4 7,c7 ,wetland determination appeals to the county ,farm ,service ,agency committee4 7,d7 ,wetland determination appeals for ,state ,conservationist review4 7,e7 ,requests for wetland determination mediation4 7,f7 ,wetland determination appeals to the ,national ,appeals ,division4 7,g7 ,wetland determination appeals to the ,director of the ,national ,appeals ,division4 7#b7 ,review all requests for a review of a prior certification of a wetland determination under this subtitle4 7#c7 ,submit a report describing findings of fact and recommendations for change and improvement with respect to each review under paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 to-- 7,a7 the ,state ,conservationist2 7,b7 the ,chief of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service2 7,c7 the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry of the ,senate2 and 7,d7 the ,committee on ,agriculture of the ,house of ,representatives4 7e7 ,assistance ,a ,state oversight committee may procure assistance in carrying out the duties under subsection 7d7 from-- 7#a7 a consultant2 and 7#b7 a legal services provider4 4 7i7 ,reforms to appeals processes ,the ,secretary of ,agriculture shall-- 7#a7 require ,national ,appeals ,division judges and agency heads of the ,department of ,agriculture to receive retraining on providing a fair and balanced hearing2 7#b7 provide to a person the entire record or decisional documentation relating to an allegation of the ,secretary that the person is in violation of section #abba of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chba7 at the time the ,secretary makes the allegation2 7#c7 allow a person 7or counsel of the person7 to call technical staff of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service as a witness in an appeal brought by the person relating to a delineation1 determination1 or certification of a wetland under section #abbb of that ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chbb72 7#d7 in an appeal described in paragraph 7#c71 accept evidence provided by the person bringing the appeal as reliable absent substantial evidence that the evidence provided by the person is not reliable2 and 7#e7 compensate a person for fees and expenses1 including legal fees1 when the person successfully appeals a delineation1 determination1 or certification described in paragraph 7#c7 and has incurred legal costs as a result of the overturned delineation1 determination1 or certification1 as applicable4 7j7 ,regulations ,section #abdf7;b77#b7 of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chdf7;b77#b77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking 7#b7 shall and inserting the following3 7#b7 7,a7 except as provided in subparagraph 7,b71 shall 2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,a7 7as so designated71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 or2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 shall be promulgated in accordance with section #eec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 in the case of-- 7i7 subtitles ,b and ,c2 7ii7 section #abja1 to the extent that section defines a term that appears in1 or otherwise relates to1 subtitle ,b or ,c2 and 7iii7 subtitle ,e1 to the extent that subtitle relates to subtitle ,b or ,c4 4