119-s2421

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2421 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2421

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide exclusions 
 from the term ``navigable waters'', and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 23, 2025

Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Tillis, 
and Mr. Wicker) 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 provide exclusions 
 from the term ``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 ``Clarifying Legal Exclusions Around 
Regulated Waters Act'' or the ``CLEAR Waters Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF NAVIGABLE WATERS.

 

Section 502

    (7) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1362

    (7) ) is amended--

    (1) by striking ``

    (7) The term'' and inserting the 
 following:
 ``

    (7) Navigable waters.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--The term''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
        (B) Exclusions.--The term `navigable waters' does 
 not include any of the following:
 ``
            (i) Any component of a waste treatment 
 system, including any lagoon or treatment pond 
 (such as a settling or cooling pond), designed 
 to actively or passively--
 ``
            (I) convey or retain wastewater; 
 or
 ``
            (II) concentrate, settle, reduce, 
 or remove pollutants from wastewater.
 ``
            (ii) Ephemeral features that flow only in 
 direct response to precipitation.
 ``
            (iii) Groundwater.
 ``
            (iv) Any other features determined to be 
 excluded by the Administrator and the Secretary 
 of the Army, acting through the Chief of 
 Engineers.''.
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