This bill changes the Federal Water Pollution Control Act definition of "navigable waters" so that "prior converted cropland" is not included. It defines prior converted cropland as land that was drained or otherwise changed before December 23, 1985, to make farming possible. The bill says prior converted cropland does not include areas that were abandoned and have since reverted to wetlands. It defines "abandoned" as not used for agricultural purposes at least once in the immediately preceding five years, as determined by the Administrator. The bill lists what counts as "agricultural purpose," including grazing, haying, various conservation idling uses, irrigation tailwater storage, farm-raised fish production, cranberry bogs, nutrient retention, and idling for soil recovery after natural disasters. It also defines "wetlands." Finally, the bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers from applying the change-in-use policy described in the January 18, 2023 final rule (Revised Definition of "Waters of the United States") or a substantially similar policy to prior converted cropland.
If your land was drained or changed before December 23, 1985 to allow farming, this bill would exclude that land from the statutory term "navigable waters" used in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, unless the land was abandoned and reverted to wetlands. The bill also prevents the EPA and Army Corps from using the 2023 change-in-use approach for this kind of land. No publicly available information on how agencies would apply these changes in practice is included in the bill text.
No publicly available information on costs, budgetary effects, or federal spending changes is included in the bill text or provided metadata.
No publicly available information in the bill text or provided metadata states proponents' arguments or claims about effects. The bill text shows the sponsors' intent is to remove prior converted cropland from the statutory definition of navigable waters and to bar a specific change-in-use approach for that land.
No publicly available information in the bill text or provided metadata states opponents' arguments or concerns.