Sponsors (3)
The bill reduces federal regulatory and permitting burdens for local land and water uses in certain Texas watersheds, benefiting developers and local governments in the short term, but it removes federal protections and funding for six mussel species—raising extinction risk and threats to water quality and long-term community costs.
Landowners, developers, and water users in the affected Texas watersheds face fewer federal regulatory restrictions and permitting delays for projects near the listed mussel habitats, reducing compliance costs and speeding approvals.
State and local agencies avoid new compliance costs and permitting delays tied to the federal endangered-species rule, lowering administrative burden on government operations.
The six listed mussel species lose federal endangered/threatened protections, increasing the risk of further population declines and possible extinction.
Local water quality and ecosystem services (such as filtration and habitat stability) may degrade without species protections, harming residents and downstream water users.
Federal conservation funding and recovery actions tied to listed status would be halted, reducing federal support for restoration and likely shifting long-term costs to state and local governments and communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Nullifies the USFWS final rule that listed seven Texas freshwater mussel species as endangered or threatened and removed the associated regulatory protections and critical habitat designations.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Jodey Cook Arrington · Last progress January 31, 2025
Nullifies the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service final rule that listed seven Texas freshwater mussel species as endangered or threatened and established associated critical habitat and a Section 4(d) rule, so that the rule “shall have no force or effect.” The action would remove the federal regulatory protections and habitat designations created by that rule for those mussel species. This change affects federal endangered species protections, federal permitting and consultations tied to those listings, and parties who manage or use habitat where the mussels occur (including state and local governments, water users, and developers). It may also prompt legal, conservation, and agency-level responses after enactment.