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Farmers Freedom Act of 2025
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vs 5,674 other S bills in the 119th — cohort avg 32d
Farmers Freedom Act of 2025 This bill excludes certain prior converted cropland from permit requirements under the Clean Water Act, including Section 404 permits for discharges of dredged materials into waters of the United States (WOTUS). The exclusion applies to areas that were converted to cropland prior to December 23, 1985. However, the bill does not exclude an area that has reverted to wetlands and has not been used for agricultural purposes in five years. In recent years, there has not been regulatory consistency about which cropland, such as cropland that has reverted to wetlands, is protected under the scope of the act as WOTUS. In 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the Navigable Waters Protection Rule that, among other provisions, defined prior converted cropland in order to specify which cropland is excluded from the scope of the act. However, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona vacated the rule in Pascua Yaqui Tribe v. EPA . In 2023, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers issued another rule that excluded prior converted cropland from the scope of the act, but they defined the exclusion more narrowly than the exclusion in the 2020 rule. Similar to the 2020 rule, this bill broadens the exclusion. The bill determines the scope of the exclusion by defining the term prior converted cropland in statute .
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Filing registrants (1)
2026 · first_quarter · Clean Air and Water (quality)
Addressed concerns and advocated to amend the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. Concerns on CAFO permitting requirements. SUPPORTED THE FOLLOWING BILLS: - S.795, the Farmers Freedom Act, which would amend the Clean Water Act to allow prior converted cropland (PCC) to remain exempt from being regulated under WOTUS. - H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, which would codify longstanding WOTUS exclusions for ephemeral features, groundwater, and prior converted cropland that have been included as part of WOTUS regulations over the years. - H.R.3824, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which would prohibit the EPA or states from requiring permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for discharges of pesticides into navigable waters if the pesticides are registered, used for their intended purposes, and used in compliance with their pesticide label requirements, as already required. - H.R.3935, the Reducing Permitting Uncertainty Act, which would prevent the EPA from vetoing a Section 404 dredge and fill permit before a permit application has been filed or after a permit has already been issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. - H.R.3897, the Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act, which would clarify that NPDES permits must include only clear, objective, concrete limits on specific pollutants or waterbody conditions, and that as long as permit holders are adhering to these clear effluent limitations, they are in compliance under the law, as outlined in the 2025 San Francisco v. EPA case.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Bills with similar content found using semantic analysis.
Sources: Congress.gov
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2026 · first_quarter · Clean Air and Water (quality)
Addressed concerns and advocated to amend the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. Concerns on CAFO permitting requirements. SUPPORTED THE FOLLOWING BILLS: - S.795, the Farmers Freedom Act, which would amend the Clean Water Act to allow prior converted cropland (PCC) to remain exempt from being regulated under WOTUS. - H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, which would codify longstanding WOTUS exclusions for ephemeral features, groundwater, and prior converted cropland that have been included as part of WOTUS regulations over the years. - H.R.3824, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which would prohibit the EPA or states from requiring permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for discharges of pesticides into navigable waters if the pesticides are registered, used for their intended purposes, and used in compliance with their pesticide label requirements, as already required. - H.R.3935, the Reducing Permitting Uncertainty Act, which would prevent the EPA from vetoing a Section 404 dredge and fill permit before a permit application has been filed or after a permit has already been issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. - H.R.3897, the Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act, which would clarify that NPDES permits must include only clear, objective, concrete limits on specific pollutants or waterbody conditions, and that as long as permit holders are adhering to these clear effluent limitations, they are in compliance under the law, as outlined in the 2025 San Francisco v. EPA case.
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2025 · fourth_quarter · Clean Air and Water (quality)
Addressed concerns and advocated to amend the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. Concerns on CAFO permitting requirements. SUPPORTED THE FOLLOWING BILLS: - S.795, the Farmers Freedom Act, which would amend the Clean Water Act to allow prior converted cropland (PCC) to remain exempt from being regulated under WOTUS. - H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, which would codify longstanding WOTUS exclusions for ephemeral features, groundwater, and prior converted cropland that have been included as part of WOTUS regulations over the years. - H.R.3824, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which would prohibit the EPA or states from requiring permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for discharges of pesticides into navigable waters if the pesticides are registered, used for their intended purposes, and used in compliance with their pesticide label requirements, as already required. - H.R.3935, the Reducing Permitting Uncertainty Act, which would prevent the EPA from vetoing a Section 404 dredge and fill permit before a permit application has been filed or after a permit has already been issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. - H.R.3897, the Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act, which would clarify that NPDES permits must include only clear, objective, concrete limits on specific pollutants or waterbody conditions, and that as long as permit holders are adhering to these clear effluent limitations, they are in compliance under the law, as outlined in the 2025 San Francisco v. EPA case.
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2025 · third_quarter · Clean Air and Water (quality)
Addressed concerns and advocated to amend the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. Concerns on CAFO permitting requirements. SUPPORTED THE FOLLOWING BILLS: - S.795, the Farmers Freedom Act, which would amend the Clean Water Act to allow prior converted cropland (PCC) to remain exempt from being regulated under WOTUS. - H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, which would codify longstanding WOTUS exclusions for ephemeral features, groundwater, and prior converted cropland that have been included as part of WOTUS regulations over the years. - H.R.3824, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which would prohibit the EPA or states from requiring permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for discharges of pesticides into navigable waters if the pesticides are registered, used for their intended purposes, and used in compliance with their pesticide label requirements, as already required. - H.R.3935, the Reducing Permitting Uncertainty Act, which would prevent the EPA from vetoing a Section 404 dredge and fill permit before a permit application has been filed or after a permit has already been issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. - H.R.3897, the Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act, which would clarify that NPDES permits must include only clear, objective, concrete limits on specific pollutants or waterbody conditions, and that as long as permit holders are adhering to these clear effluent limitations, they are in compliance under the law, as outlined in the 2025 San Francisco v. EPA case.
Client expense: $20,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2025 · second_quarter · Clean Air and Water (quality)
Addressed concerns and advocated to amend the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. Concerns on CAFO permitting requirements. SUPPORTED THE FOLLOWING BILLS: S.795, the Farmers Freedom Act, which would amend the Clean Water Act to allow prior converted cropland (PCC) to remain exempt from being regulated under WOTUS.
Client expense: $20,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
| Republican |
| SD |
| Joni Ernst | Republican | IA |
| Roger Marshall | Republican | KS |