Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2015
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 284.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state from requiring a permit under the Clean Water Act for a discharge from a point source into navigable waters of:
a pesticide authorized for sale, distribution, or use under FIFRA, or
a residue resulting from the application of the pesticide.
Point source pollution is waste discharged from a distinct place, such as a pipe, channel, and tunnel.
The EPA or a state may require a permit for the following discharges containing a pesticide:
a discharge resulting from the application of a pesticide in violation of FIFRA that is relevant to protecting water quality, if the discharge would not have occurred without the violation, or if the amount of pesticide or residue contained in the discharge is greater than would have occurred without the violation;
a stormwater discharge regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES); and
a discharge of manufacturing or industrial effluent (wastewater), treatment works effluent, or a discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, including discharges from ballast water operations or vessel biofouling prevention.
The EPA must report on: (1) coordination between the Office of Water and the Office of Pesticide Programs regarding streamlining information collection, standards of review, and data use relating to water quality impacts from the registration and use of pesticides; (2) the effectiveness of regulatory actions relating to pesticide registration and use aimed at protecting water quality; and (3) recommendations on modifying FIFRA in order to improve the protection of water quality and human health.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate without amendment" stage on October 29, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 29, 2015: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 284.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced it on June 3, 2015, and 21 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 5 Democrats, 16 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 3, 2015, 4117 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3969 days ago, on October 29, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers