[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S4419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3101. Mr. COTTON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 2, to provide for the reform and continuation of 
agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture 
through fiscal year 2023, and for other purposes; which was ordered to 
lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 125__. WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES.

       (a) Waters of the United States Rule Termination.--The 
     final rule issued by the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Army entitled 
     ``Clean Water Rule: Definition of `Waters of the United 
     States' '' (80 Fed. Reg. 37054 (June 29, 2015)) is void.
       (b) Navigable Waters Definition.--Section 502 of the 
     Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is 
     amended by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(7) Navigable waters.--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `navigable waters' means--
       ``(i) waters that are used, were used before the date of 
     enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, or are 
     susceptible to use in the natural and ordinary condition of 
     those waters, as a means to transport interstate or foreign 
     commerce, including all waters that are subject to the ebb 
     and flow of the tide;
       ``(ii) interstate waters, including interstate wetlands;
       ``(iii) other waters, such as intrastate lakes, rivers, 
     streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, 
     sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, 
     playa lakes, or natural ponds, the use, degradation, or 
     destruction of which could affect interstate or foreign 
     commerce, including any waters--

       ``(I) which are or could be used by interstate or foreign 
     travelers for recreational or other purposes;
       ``(II) from which fish or shellfish are or could be taken 
     and sold in interstate or foreign commerce; and
       ``(III) which are used or could be used for industrial 
     purposes by industries in interstate commerce;

       ``(iv) any impoundment of waters described under this 
     subparagraph;
       ``(v) tributaries of waters described in clauses (i) 
     through (iv);
       ``(vi) the territorial sea; and
       ``(vii) wetlands adjacent to waters (other than waters that 
     are wetlands) described in clauses (i) through (vi), 
     including wetlands separated from other waters through 
     objects such as--

       ``(I) manmade dikes or barriers;
       ``(II) natural river berms; or
       ``(III) beach dunes.

       ``(B) Exclusions.--The term `navigable waters' does not 
     include--
       ``(i) waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or 
     lagoons designed to meet the requirements of this Act (other 
     than a cooling pond that meets the requirements under 
     subparagraph (A)); and
       ``(ii) prior converted cropland.
       ``(C) Associated definitions.--For the purposes of this 
     paragraph:
       ``(i) Adjacent.--The term `adjacent' means bordering, 
     contiguous, or neighboring.
       ``(ii) Territorial seas.--The term `territorial sea' means 
     the belt of the sea measured from the baseline, as determined 
     in accordance with the Convention on the Territorial Sea and 
     the Contiguous Zone (15 UST 1606; TIAS 5639).
       ``(iii) Wetlands.--

       ``(I) In general.--The term `wetlands' means areas that are 
     inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a 
     frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under 
     normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation 
     typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
       ``(II) Inclusion.--The term `wetlands' includes swamps, 
     marshes, bogs, and similar areas.''.

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