Title: Wetland Delineation Act of 2018
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Wetland Delineation Act of 2018
This bill modifies wetland conservation requirements that deny various Department of Agriculture (USDA) program benefits to agricultural producers who plant crops on certain converted wetlands.
The bill requires USDA to (1) determine that an exemption permitted under current law does not apply to a producer before determining that a producer is ineligible for benefits, and (2) publish categorical minimal effect exemptions within 180 days of the enactment of this bill.
The bill also authorizes additional funding for the wetland mitigation banking program.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2834 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2834

     To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to improve the wetland 
                         conservation program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 10, 2018

  Mr. Hoeven introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to improve the wetland 
                         conservation program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wetland Delineation Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. WETLAND CONVERSION.

    Section 1221(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3821(d)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Except as'' and inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Except as''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Duty of the secretary.--The Secretary shall determine 
        that a person is ineligible under paragraph (1) only after the 
        Secretary determines that an exemption under section 1222(b) 
        does not apply to that person.''.

SEC. 3. DELINEATION OF WETLANDS.

    (a) Identification of Minimal Effect Exemptions.--Section 1222(d) 
of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3822(d)) is amended in the 
first sentence by inserting ``and not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of the Wetland Delineation Act of 2018,'' before 
``the Secretary''.
    (b) Mitigation Banking.--Section 1222(k)(1)(B) of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3822(k)(1)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Of the funds'' and inserting the 
        following:
                            ``(i) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds'';
            (2) in clause (i) (as so designated), by striking 
        ``$10,000,000'' and all that follows through ``paragraph'' and 
        inserting ``to carry out this paragraph $10,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter, to remain available 
        until expended''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) Authorization of appropriations.--
                        There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
                        Secretary to carry out this paragraph 
                        $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 
                        through 2023.''.
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