Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2026

This bill would change the federal Clean Water Act's definition of "navigable waters" to cover only waters that are navigable-in-fact and permanent or continuously flowing streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans connected to them. It would exclude waters that flow only some of the time, drainage channels, and wetlands without a continuous surface connection to such waters, and it would treat ground water as state water. It would cancel existing federal rules and guidance defining these waters, bar federal agencies from issuing new ones unless Congress expressly allows it, and ban use of the "significant nexus" test. It would require written owner consent before federal staff enter private property to collect water data, allow expedited court review of jurisdiction decisions, and require agencies to pay owners twice the value lost when a water-definition rule lowers their property's value.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Rand Paul Republican sponsor
• 2 cosponsors