Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act

Factories that make or handle pre-production plastic pellets — the tiny beads melted down to create plastic products — would face new EPA pollution limits under this bill. Within two years, the EPA would set specific standards for how much pellet runoff facilities can discharge into waterways, treating the problem like industrial pollution rather than an afterthought. These pellets, called "nurdles," frequently escape into rivers and oceans where they're ingested by wildlife and enter the food chain. The bill targets manufacturers, processors, and transporters of plastic pellets and requires the EPA to regulate them under the Clean Water Act.