Bill weakens water rules and limits who can sue over permits

What it does

This bill changes how permits work under the Clean Water Act. It stops requiring permits for farm runoff and bug spray runoff. It extends permits from 5 years to 10 years. It limits who can sue over permits to 60 days after the permit is issued. Only people who spoke up during the permit process can sue.

Who it affects

Citizens lose water protections. Farm operations, bug spray makers, energy firms, and pipeline operators get faster permits. States gain more control. Environmental groups and downstream communities lose the right to sue.

One thing to notice

Farm runoff and bug spray runoff no longer need permits. The agency stops tracking these sources of water harm.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

8 cosponsors: 8 Republicans.

• Jun 11, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 11, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
• Jun 25, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jun 25, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 34 - 30”
• Dec 11, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 221 - 205 (Roll no. 330)”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

87 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 133 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $112,311,850 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 14 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 99% of bills with any report.

Mike Collins, who sponsored the bill, received $541,500 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. — $54,660,000 in 3 reports
• National Association of Realtors — $14,580,000 in 1 report
• American Petroleum Institute — $4,700,000 in 2 reports
• National Multifamily Housing Council Inc — $3,890,000 in 2 reports
• Conocophillips — $2,630,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• permit — official written approval from the agency to release water pollution
• Clean Water Act — the main federal law that stops pollution from entering rivers, lakes, and coastal waters
• runoff — rain and melted snow that flows over land and carries dirt and chemicals into waterways
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.