Farmers Freedom Act of 2025
Farmers Freedom Act of 2025
Plain Language Summary
# Farmers Freedom Act of 2025 - Plain Language Summary **What the bill does:** This bill would exempt certain farmland from federal wetland protection rules under the Clean Water Act. Specifically, it would allow farmers to work land that was converted to cropland before December 23, 1985, without needing federal permits—even if that land has since turned back into wetlands. The exemption wouldn't apply if the land has been unused for five or more years and has reverted to wetlands. **Who it affects:** Primarily farmers and agricultural landowners with older converted cropland.
Environmental groups and agencies concerned with wetland protection would also be affected, as the bill would reduce federal oversight of certain water-related activities on farmland. **Why it matters:** The bill addresses ongoing confusion about which farmland is protected under federal wetland rules. The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers tried to clarify these rules in 2020, but a court struck down that rule. This bill would provide a clearer legal standard, giving farmers more certainty about when they need permits—though it reduces federal environmental protections on eligible land. **Current status:** The bill is currently in committee and has not yet been voted on by the full Senate.
CRS Official Summary
Farmers Freedom Act of 2025This 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.
Latest Action
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.