USDA Wetlands Rule Draws Agriculture Groups' Ire

 Agriculture and environmental groups alike are not impressed with USDA's interim final rule on wetland conservation and highly erodible land posted in December. A public comment period on the rule closed on Tuesday. USDA made revisions to codify technical portions of the existing agency policy that had not undergone public review and comment. The revisions amend four sections of USDA's regulations.Agriculture groups, in particular, made the case in public comments that USDA has not followed proper procedure on the regulations from the get-go, and it is making an already confusing situation worse for farmers.