# 119-s-2421: CLEAR Waters Act

119-s-2421, CLEAR Waters Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA); status introduced (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2421
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2421
- Congress: 119
- Title: CLEAR Waters Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-23
- Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Would narrow the federal definition of “navigable waters”** by reorganizing the Clean Water Act definition and listing specific exclusions for certain features. - Operators of waste treatment systems would be affected because any component of a treatment system, including lagoons or settling and cooling ponds used to convey, retain, or remove pollutants, is listed as excluded from the term. - Landowners and property managers would see ephemeral features that flow only after precipitation and groundwater explicitly excluded from the statutory definition. - Federal agencies would gain a clear backstop because the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, could designate additional excluded features.

## Cosponsors (6)

- Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID] (R-ID), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-07-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Less federal oversight for certain waters: mixed, medium. If enacted, this bill would narrow which waters the federal pollution law covers. It would exclude parts of waste treatment systems, including lagoons or settling and cooling ponds used to hold, move, or remove wastewater. It would also exclude ephemeral streams that flow only after rain and it wou…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025
- 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-2421 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2421)

## Related
- [119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2296)
- [119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4784)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-401)
- [119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-587)
- [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2421 (as of 2026-09-10).