Search

Search bills, members, committees and pages...

H.R. 7543

U.S. HouseIn House Committee

Summary

H.R. 7543, the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act, was introduced in the House on Feb 12, 2026 by Rep. Mike Levin (D) with 64 co-sponsors. It was referred to Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, and last saw action on Feb 13, 2026: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.


Record

Text

H.R. 7543 has 64 co-sponsors.

hb7543/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 7543 IH: Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2026-02-12
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
I 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7543 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 12, 2026 Mr. Levin (for himself, Ms. Scholten , Ms. Davids of Kansas , Ms. Bonamici , Mr. Kennedy of New York , Mr. Mullin , Ms. Castor of Florida , Mr. Magaziner , Mr. Moulton , Mr. Moskowitz , Mr. Tonko , Mr. Carbajal , Ms. Sánchez , Ms. Tlaib , Ms. Barragán , Mr. Cohen , Ms. McClellan , Mr. Smith of Washington , Ms. Pingree , Mr. Lynch , Mr. McGovern , Ms. Jayapal , Mrs. Ramirez , Mr. Keating , Mr. Carson , Mr. Krishnamoorthi , Ms. Schakowsky , Ms. Wasserman Schultz , Mr. Carter of Louisiana , Mr. Quigley , Ms. Chu , Ms. Matsui , Ms. Jacobs , Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania , Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania , and Mr. DeSaulnier ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate certain limitations with respect to pre-production plastic pellet pollution, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act .
2.
Effluent limitations for wastewater, spills, and runoff from plastic polymer production facilities, plastic molding and forming facilities, and other point sources associated with the transport and packaging of plastic pellets or other pre-production plastic materials
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this section as the Administrator ) shall promulgate a final rule to ensure that—
(1)
the discharge of plastic pellets or other pre-production plastic materials (including discharge into wastewater and other runoff) from facilities regulated under part 414 or 463 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), is prohibited;
(2)
the discharge of plastic pellets or other pre-production plastic materials (including discharge into wastewater and other runoff) from a point source (as defined in section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1362 )) that makes, uses, packages, or transports those plastic pellets and other pre-production plastic materials is prohibited; and
(3)
the requirements under paragraphs (1) and (2) are reflected in—
(A)
all wastewater, stormwater, and other permits issued by the Administrator and State-delegated programs under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1342 ) to facilities and other point sources (as defined in section 502 of that Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1362 )) that make, use, package, or transport plastic pellets or other pre-production plastic materials, as determined by the Administrator, in addition to other applicable limits and standards; and
(B)
all standards of performance promulgated under section 312(p) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1322(p) ) that are applicable to point sources (as defined in section 502 of that Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1362 )) that make, use, package, or transport plastic pellets or other pre-production plastic materials, as determined by the Administrator.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2026-02-12
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Feb 12, 2026

hb7543/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (02/12/2026)

Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a final rule that prohibits certain discharges of plastic pellets and other preproduction plastic into waters of the United States.

Sponsors

Rep. Mike Levin (D) sponsors H.R. 7543, and 64 members have co-sponsored it, 35 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 7543 went before 2 committees: Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and Transportation and Infrastructure.

Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee
Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee
Referred to · Feb 13, 2026 · 85 Bills
Transportation and Infrastructure
Transportation and Infrastructure
Referred To · Feb 12, 2026 · 156 Bills

Actions

H.R. 7543 has taken 3 actions since Feb 12, 2026, the latest on Feb 13, 2026.

ChamberAction
Feb 13, 2026
House
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee
Feb 12, 2026
House
Introduced in House
Feb 12, 2026
House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Votes

H.R. 7543 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to H.R. 7543, as Identical bill.

Titles

H.R. 7543 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act — Display Title
  • Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate certain limitations with respect to pre-production plastic pellet pollution, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

5 clients hired 5 firms and 18 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 7543 in 8 quarterly filings, 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Budget/Appropriations, Natural Resources, Environment/Superfund, Marine/Maritime/Boating/Fisheries, Transportation, Trade (domestic/foreign), Agriculture, Clean Air and Water (quality).

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
LYONDELL CHEMICAL COMPANYTexas12
OCEANA INCDistrict of Columbia12
OCEAN CONSERVANCYDistrict of Columbia12
ENVIRONMENT AMERICA INCDistrict of Columbia11
PLASTICS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, INC.District of Columbia11

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
LYONDELL CHEMICAL COMPANYLYONDELL CHEMICAL COMPANY2026 first_quarter$1.8M1st Quarter - Report
LYONDELL CHEMICAL COMPANYLYONDELL CHEMICAL COMPANY2026 second_quarter$690K2nd Quarter - Report
OCEANA INCOCEANA, INC.2026 second_quarter$280K2nd Quarter - Report
OCEAN CONSERVANCYOCEAN CONSERVANCY2026 second_quarter$260K2nd Quarter - Report
OCEAN CONSERVANCYOCEAN CONSERVANCY2026 first_quarter$202K1st Quarter - Report
OCEANA INCOCEANA, INC.2026 first_quarter$200K1st Quarter - Report
PLASTICS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, INC.PLASTICS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, INC.2026 second_quarter$150K2nd Quarter - Report
ENVIRONMENT AMERICA INCENVIRONMENT AMERICA, INC.2026 first_quarter$30K1st Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 7543 under Environmental Protection, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 7543’s is Environmental Protection.

hr7543/policy-areas.txt
Environmental ProtectionAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 7543, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 30 (Thursday, February 12, 2026)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. LEVIN:H.R. 7543.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8[Page H2220]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com