Sponsors (66)
The bill reduces plastic pellet pollution and protects public health—especially in disadvantaged communities—by tightening discharge controls, but it imposes compliance costs on businesses, administrative burdens on permitting agencies, potential taxpayer-funded enforcement expenses, and legal/implementation risks from an accelerated rulemaking timeframe.
Urban and rural communities will have less plastic pellet pollution in waterways and runoff, improving local water quality and reducing aquatic contamination.
People who use local water bodies for recreation or fishing will face lower exposure to plastic debris, protecting public health and local ecosystem services.
Disadvantaged communities that often bear higher environmental burdens will see reduced microplastic pollution, advancing environmental justice outcomes.
Facilities that make, use, package, or transport pre-production plastics, including small businesses, will likely incur compliance and remediation costs.
Taxpayers may face higher enforcement and monitoring costs if EPA or states expand inspections or oversight to ensure compliance.
State and EPA permitting programs could face administrative burdens and permit backlogs from revising numerous NPDES permits and issuing new rules on a short timeline.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires EPA to ban discharges of plastic pellets and similar pre-production plastics and to incorporate that ban into NPDES permits and performance standards.
Official title: 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.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Mike Levin · Last progress February 12, 2026
Prohibits discharges of plastic pellets and other pre-production plastic materials from covered industrial point sources and facilities, and requires the EPA to issue a final rule within 60 days of enactment. The rule must be incorporated into NPDES permits issued by the EPA and state-delegated permit programs and into applicable standards of performance for covered point sources.