I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1304 

To permit the chief executive of a State to create an exemption from certain 

requirements of Federal environmental laws for producers of agricultural 

commodities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2013 

Mr. WALBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To permit the chief executive of a State to create an exemption from certain requirements of Federal environmental 

laws for producers of agricultural commodities, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flexibility to Farm 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The agricultural community of the United 

2 States serves as the economic backbone of many 

3 communities and employs millions of Americans. 

4 (2) In recent years, one-size-fits-all policies 

5 issued by the Environmental Protection Agency have 

6 increased dramatically, requiring agricultural pro7 ducers to focus on regulation compliance rather than 

8 on growing the world’s healthiest, most abundant 

9 food supply. 

10 (3) Attempts by the Environmental Protection 

11 Agency to expand the definition of ‘‘navigable 

12 waters’’ under the Federal Water Pollution Control 

13 Act expand the scope of Federal jurisdiction under 

14 that Act well beyond the intent of Congress, and 

15 would eliminate a central precept of that Act, which 

16 reserves certain waters to the exclusive jurisdiction 

17 of the States. 

18 (4) The Environmental Protection Agency’s in19 terpretation of the Spill Prevention, Control, and 

20 Countermeasure program has attempted to regulate 

21 milk in the same manner as petroleum, requiring 

22 dairy farmers to develop oil spill prevention plans 

23 and moving far beyond common sense and the intent 

24 of the law. 


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1 (5) An increasing number of poultry and live2 stock operations have been forced to apply for per3 mits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimi4 nation System resulting from the Environmental 

5 Protection Agency’s expanding definition of what 

6 constitutes a discharge under the Federal Water 

7 Pollution Control Act. 

8 (6) Duplicative and costly permitting require9 ments under the Federal Water Pollution Control 

10 Act will require additional National Pollutant Dis11 charge Elimination System permits for pesticide ap12 plications, subjecting pesticide users to unnecessary 

13 red tape and financial burdens while exposing them 

14 to the threat of unfounded litigation. 

15 (7) The Environmental Protection Agency has 

16 initiated a program to regulate greenhouse gases as 

17 ‘‘air pollutants’’ under the Clean Air Act, which 

18 could impose an undue burden on agricultural pro19 ducers by requiring them to obtain permits to con20 tinue operations. 

21 (8) The Federal Government should not impose 

22 further rules or regulations that are overly burden23 some or cause economic hardship for the agricultural 

24 community. 


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1 SEC. 3. UNDULY BURDENSOME REGULATIONS EXEMPTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the chief executive of a State 

3 determines, in accordance with this section, that a require4 ment of a covered Federal environmental law, or a regula5 tion thereunder, is unduly burdensome to persons in the 

6 State acting in their capacity as farmers, such require7 ment or regulation shall not apply to persons in the State 

8 acting in that capacity. 

9 (b) PROCEDURE.—Before finalizing any determina10 tion under subsection (a), the chief executive of a State 

11 shall solicit and accept public comments regarding such 

12 determination for a period of not less than 90 days. 

13 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

14 (1) COVERED FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL

15 LAW.—The term ‘‘covered Federal environmental 

16 law’’ means— 

17 (A) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 

18 seq.), insofar as such Act applies to emissions 

19 of air pollutants other than emissions resulting 

20 from the combustion of any fossil fuel; and 

21 (B) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

22 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 

23 (2) FARMER.—The term ‘‘farmer’’ means— 

24 (A) a producer, as that term is defined 

25 in— 


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1 (i) section 1001 of the Food, Con2 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 

3 U.S.C. 8702); 

4 (ii) section 1506(a) of the Food, Con5 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 

6 U.S.C. 8773(a)); and 

7 (iii) section 212 of the Agricultural 

8 Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635a); 

9 and 

10 (B) a producer of a specialty crop, as that 

11 term is defined in section 3 of the Specialty 

12 Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 

13 1621 note; Public Law 108–465). 

14 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

15 the several States of the United States, the District 

16 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

17 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

18 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

19 Islands, and any other territory or possession of the 

20 United States. 

Æ 


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