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This bill would change federal water pollution law so that “prior converted cropland” is no longer treated as regulated water or wetland under the law. In plain terms, land that was drained or altered long ago to make farming possible would generally not be covered as a “navigable water,” which could reduce federal oversight on some farm fields. The bill also says that if this land has been left unused for too long and has turned back into wetland, it would no longer count as prior converted cropland. It gives a broad meaning to farming uses and blocks federal agencies from using a policy that would change how this land is treated when its use changes.
- It removes prior converted cropland from the legal definition of “navigable waters” under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
- It says prior converted cropland means land that was drained or altered before December 23, 1985, to allow farming, including land the Agriculture Secretary has already labeled that way.
- It defines farming use broadly, including grazing, haying, conservation idling, irrigation storage, fish farming, cranberry bogs, nutrient retention, and helping land recover after disasters like hurricanes or drought.
- It says land counts as “abandoned” if it has not been used for agricultural purposes at least once in the past five years, and federal agencies may not use a similar “change in use” policy to regulate this land differently.
Official Summaries
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.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 795 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 795
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exclude prior
converted cropland from the definition of ``navigable waters'', and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2025
Mr. Rounds (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Thune, Mr. Hoeven, and Mr.
Marshall) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exclude prior
converted cropland from the definition of ``navigable waters'', and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Farmers Freedom Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PRIOR CONVERTED CROPLAND.
(a) In General.--Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by striking paragraph (7) and inserting
the following:
``(7) Navigable waters.--
``(A) In general.--The term `navigable waters'
means the waters of the United States, including the
territorial seas.
``(B) Exclusion.--The term `navigable waters' does
not include prior converted cropland.
``(C) Associated definitions.--For purposes of this
paragraph:
``(i) Abandoned.--The term `abandoned',
with respect to an area that was prior
converted cropland, means that the area was not
used for, or in support of, agricultural
purposes at least once in the immediately
preceding 5-year period, as determined by the
Administrator.
``(ii) Agricultural purpose.--The term
`agricultural purpose' includes land use that
makes the production of an agricultural product
possible, including--
``(I) grazing and haying;
``(II) idling land for conservation
use, such as habitat management,
pollinator and wildlife management,
water storage and supply management,
and flood management;
``(III) irrigation tailwater
storage;
``(IV) farm-raised fish production;
``(V) cranberry bogs;
``(VI) nutrient retention; and
``(VII) idling land for soil
recovery after natural disasters such
as hurricanes and drought.
``(iii) Prior converted cropland.--
``(I) In general.--The term `prior
converted cropland' means any area
that, prior to December 23, 1985, was
drained or otherwise manipulated for
the purpose, or having the effect, of
making production of an agricultural
product possible, including such areas
that are designated as prior converted
cropland by the Secretary of
Agriculture.
``(II) Exclusion.--The term `prior
converted cropland' does not include an
area that is abandoned and has reverted
to wetlands.
``(iv) Wetlands.--The term `wetlands' means
an area that is inundated or saturated by
surface or ground water at a frequency and
duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances do support, a prevalence
of vegetation typically adapted for life in
saturated soil conditions, including swamps,
marshes, bogs, and similar areas.''.
(b) Prohibition on Change in Use Policy.--In carrying out the
amendments made by this section, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Army, acting through the
Chief of Engineers, may not, with respect to prior converted cropland,
carry out the change in use policy described in the final rule of the
Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers entitled
``Revised Definition of `Waters of the United States''' (88 Fed. Reg.
3004 (January 18, 2023)) or a substantially similar policy.
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