Capital Update – For the Week Ending Dec. 12, 2025

House Passes Bill to Reform Clean Water Act Permit Processes

What happened: The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that will reform the Environmental Protection Agency’s processes related to Clean Water Act permits, a major victory for U.S. agriculture. The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Among other actions, the “Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act” will:

• Codify that ephemeral features, groundwater, and prior-converted cropland are excluded from EPA jurisdiction under the CWA’s Waters of the United States rule.
• Clarify that the Clean Water Act’s agricultural stormwater exemptions apply to all agricultural land regardless of the source of nutrients applied to the ground (including the use of manure) and whether the agricultural land utilizes subsurface agricultural drainage systems.
• Streamline and expedite the establishment and enforcement of water-quality standards and reduce the time required to obtain permits for activities that could affect water quality.
• Mandate that EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers eliminate the backlog of CWA Section 404 dredge and fill permit applications and pending wetlands and “navigable waters” jurisdictional determinations. The bill also narrows what qualifies as “navigable waters.”
• Restrict EPA’s authority to block a Section 404 permit after it has been issued. The agency’s window for blocking such permits closes when the Corps issues a permit.
• Increase review frequency to 10 years (from the current five) for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits issued under CWA Section 402, which regulates the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters, setting specific limits and conditions.
• Impose a 60-day statute of limitations for lawsuits against permit approvals.
• Clarify that if a pollutant is covered by a permit, or identified during the application process, permit holders are considered in compliance for that pollutant as long as they follow the permit terms.

NPPC’s take: NPPC joined other livestock and poultry organizations on a June 24 letter to Congress expressing support for the CWA permitting reforms.

Why it matters: Agricultural producers need a predictable permitting process and environmental regulations that are efficacious and cost-effective and that do not result in unnecessary delays, uncertainty, and administrative burdens that hinder agricultural production, conservation, and environmentally beneficial projects.

Lawmakers Warn About Overreliance on China for Vitamins

What happened: In a letter to President Trump, 16 members of Congress warned the administration about the country’s overreliance on China for “critical nutrients that are essential to both human health and animal agriculture.”

China, the global leader in vitamin production, accounts for more than 70% of the world’s feed-grade vitamin A and 62% of vitamin E. An estimated 78% of U.S. vitamin imports come from China, with the country providing as much as 100% of some vitamins (Nearly 100% of folic acid is produced in China).

For food animal production, vitamins are indispensable, forming the “backbone of our food supply,” said the House lawmakers. They noted that without adequate vitamins, sectors including eggs, aquaculture, swine, pet food, poultry, beef, and dairy would face severe disruptions. “Shortages could lead to reduced feed efficiency, impaired growth rates, compromised animal health, and diminished protein output, ultimately threatening livestock productivity and food availability,” they said.

The lawmakers asked the administration to invest in domestic vitamin manufacturing, incorporate vitamin production into national security strategies, conduct a comprehensive review of vitamin supply chain vulnerabilities, and ensure infant formula nutrition inputs, such as vitamins, minerals, and premixes, are integrated into federal supply chain vulnerability assessments and contingency planning.

NPPC’s take: Vitamins are essential nutrients required by swine to optimize health, productivity, and wellbeing. The U.S. pork industry is dependent on vitamins manufactured in China because production is limited, and in some cases, there are no other country of origin options to meet industry volume demands.

NPPC Past President and Minnesota pork producer Lori Stevermer highlighted this in her testimonies before the Senate and House Agriculture Committees earlier this year. NPPC, along with the American Feed Industry Association and other organizations, have been pressing the Trump administration on securing our vitamin supply chain.

Why it matters: The reliance of the United States on China for its vitamins has created a dependency that poses a significant threat to U.S. food security, the agricultural community, and public health, the lawmakers pointed out to the president.