Title: Bridging Responsible Agricultural Conservation Efforts Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Bridging Responsible Agricultural Conservation Efforts Act
This bill revises requirements to protect wetlands under the Clean Water Act, including to add specifics regarding agricultural practices that are excluded from wetland protections and to exclude certain land converted into cropland from protection under the act.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5799 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5799

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to normal 
   farming activities and to require the Corps of Engineers and the 
   Environmental Protection Agency to apply certain decisions of the 
    Secretary of Agriculture when enforcing such Act, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2020

Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Peterson) introduced 
      the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to normal 
   farming activities and to require the Corps of Engineers and the 
   Environmental Protection Agency to apply certain decisions of the 
    Secretary of Agriculture when enforcing such Act, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Bridging Responsible Agricultural 
Conservation Efforts Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Chief of engineers.--The term ``Chief of Engineers'' 
        means the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of 
        Engineers.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.

SEC. 3. NORMAL FARMING ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 404(f)(1)(A) of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344(f)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 
``or upland soil and water conservation practices'' and inserting 
``upland soil and water conservation practices (including changing 
conservation systems), crop changes for soil management (including the 
use of haying and pasturing for the purpose of harvest or grazing), or 
activities and practices employed for purposes of expanding production 
in an operation''.
    (b) Deadline.--Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator and the Chief of Engineers, jointly with 
the Secretary, shall issue a rule to revise the regulations 
implementing section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to 
reflect the amendment made by subsection (a). The rule shall also 
include activities and practices employed for purposes of expanding 
production in an operation, changing crops produced in an operation, 
and changing conservation systems in an operation.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF FOOD SECURITY ACT OF 1985 TO FEDERAL WATER 
              POLLUTION CONTROL ACT ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Secretary of Agriculture Decisions.--
            (1) Prior converted cropland.--
                    (A) Effect of determination.--For purposes of 
                section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 
                the Chief of Engineers and the Administrator shall 
                consider land to be prior converted cropland if the 
                land has, at any time, been determined by the Secretary 
                to be prior-converted cropland or commenced-conversion 
                wetland under the Food Security Act of 1985.
                    (B) No abandonment.--In carrying out subparagraph 
                (A), the Chief of Engineers and the Administrator may 
                not consider any determination by the Secretary under 
                the Food Security Act of 1985 that land previously 
                determined to be prior-converted cropland or commenced-
                conversion wetland has reverted to wetland due to 
                abandonment.
            (2) Wetlands.--For any land with respect to which the 
        Secretary has made a wetland delineation, determination, or 
        certification under section 1222 of the Food Security Act of 
        1985, the Chief of Engineers and the Administrator shall apply 
        such delineation, determination, or certification when carrying 
        out section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
    (b) Waters of the United States.--For purposes of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act, prior converted croplands under subsection 
(a)(1), and any parcel of land that is contiguous to, and owned by the 
same owner as, such prior converted croplands, are not waters of the 
United States.
    (c) Reliance.--The first sentence of section 1222(a)(6) of the Food 
Security Act of 1985 shall apply to enforcement actions under section 
404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
    (d) Judicial Review.--Notwithstanding section 706 of title 5, 
United States Code, a court reviewing any agency action of the 
Secretary, the Chief of Engineers, or the Administrator that is 
affected by this section shall decide de novo all relevant questions of 
law, including the interpretation of constitutional and statutory 
provisions, and rules made. If the reviewing court determines that a 
statutory or regulatory provision relevant to its decision contains a 
gap or ambiguity, the court shall not interpret that gap or ambiguity 
as an implicit delegation of legislative rule making authority and 
shall not rely on such gap or ambiguity as a justification either for 
interpreting agency authority expansively or for deferring to any 
interpretation of the Secretary, the Chief of Engineers, or the 
Administrator on the question of law. Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, this subsection shall apply in any action for 
judicial review of such an agency action authorized under any provision 
of law. No law may exempt any civil action for review of such an agency 
action from the application of this subsection except by specific 
reference to this subsection.
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