S. 5262, Environmental Deregulation & Property-Owner Liability Shield. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a net cost — and names who bears it.
S. 5262 · Net cost
What it does
This bill narrows the federal government's authority over water pollution by redefining 'navigable waters' to exclude wetlands, intermittent streams, and groundwater unless they directly connect to traditional navigable bodies like rivers and oceans. It strips the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers of their ability to use scientific 'significant nexus' analysis to assert jurisdiction, requires written landowner consent before federal agents can enter private property to inspect water, and mandates that the federal government pay property owners twice the appraised value of any economic loss caused by water-protection regulations—with payments blocking enforcement until paid.
The analysis names real estate developers and property owners with wetland or stream-adjacent land — and 3 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The cost
The 2× damages provision (Section 6) creates a de facto enforcement freeze: agencies must pay property owners before any regulation takes effect, making federal water protection financially unsustainable and shifting the cost burden from polluters to taxpayers.
The analysis put a critical warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 35%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by Rand Paul. Cosponsored by Mike Lee and Ted Cruz.