National Wildlife Refuge System; Drain Tile Setbacks

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), promulgate new regulations pertaining to wetland easements to bring consistency, transparency, and clarity for both easement landowners and the Service in the administration of conservation easements, pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. These regulations codify the process by which landowners can request and the Service will provide drain tile setbacks under wetland easement contracts. Under these regulations, if landowners fully comply with Service-provided setbacks when installing drain tile and do not later replace or modify the drain tile, the Service grants the landowners a safe harbor from legal action in the event that the setback drain tile nevertheless results in the draining of an easement wetland. Setback distances are calculated based upon the best available science considering soil characteristics, tile diameter, the depth of the tile below the surface, and/or topography sufficient to the easement contract's standard of protection that ensures no drainage of adjacent protected wetland areas. The regulations apply only to setbacks provided by the Service beginning on the effective date of this final rule.