1. Short title This Act may be cited as the NRCS Wetland Compliance and Appeals Reform Act . 2. Natural Resources Conservation Service reforms (a) Permissibility of the removal of woody vegetation Section 1221(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3821(d) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (3) Permissibility of the removal of woody vegetation The removal of woody vegetation, including stumps, shall not be considered to be an activity that is for the purpose, or that has the effect, of making the production of an agricultural commodity possible under paragraph (1). . (b) Prohibition on retroactive penalties Section 1221 of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3821 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (g) 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 on, or the conversion of, a wetland that, at the time of that production or conversion, as applicable, the Secretary had not delineated, determined, and certified to be a wetland in accordance with section 1222. . (c) Burden of proof Section 1221 of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3821 ) (as amended by subsection (b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (h) Burden of proof The Secretary shall bear the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that a person is in violation of this section, including— (1) in a case in which there is a lack of evidence to determine such a violation