[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1948 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1948
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to preserve the
authority of each State to make determinations relating to the State's
water quality standards, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 13, 2013
Mr. Mica (for himself, Mr. Rahall, and Mr. Gibbs) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to preserve the
authority of each State to make determinations relating to the State's
water quality standards, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Water Cooperative Federalism
Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. STATE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS.
(a) State Water Quality Standards.--Section 303(c)(4) of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(c)(4)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses
(i) and (ii), respectively;
(2) by striking ``(4)'' and inserting ``(4)(A)'';
(3) by striking ``The Administrator shall promulgate'' and
inserting the following:
``(B) The Administrator shall promulgate''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A)(ii), the Administrator may
not promulgate a revised or new standard for a pollutant in any case in
which the State has submitted to the Administrator and the
Administrator has approved a water quality standard for that pollutant,
unless the State concurs with the Administrator's determination that
the revised or new standard is necessary to meet the requirements of
this Act.''.
(b) Federal Licenses and Permits.--Section 401(a) of such Act (33
U.S.C. 1341(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7) With respect to any discharge, if a State or interstate
agency having jurisdiction over the navigable waters at the point where
the discharge originates or will originate determines under paragraph
(1) that the discharge will comply with the applicable provisions of
sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307, the Administrator may not take
any action to supersede the determination.''.
(c) State NPDES Permit Programs.--Section 402(c) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 1342(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Limitation on authority of administrator to withdraw
approval of state programs.--The Administrator may not withdraw
approval of a State program under paragraph (3) or (4), or
limit Federal financial assistance for the State program, on
the basis that the Administrator disagrees with the State
regarding--
``(A) the implementation of any water quality
standard that has been adopted by the State and
approved by the Administrator under section 303(c); or
``(B) the implementation of any Federal guidance
that directs the interpretation of the State's water
quality standards.''.
(d) Limitation on Authority of Administrator To Object to
Individual Permits.--Section 402(d) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(d)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) The Administrator may not object under paragraph (2) to the
issuance of a permit by a State on the basis of--
``(A) the Administrator's interpretation of a water quality
standard that has been adopted by the State and approved by the
Administrator under section 303(c); or
``(B) the implementation of any Federal guidance that
directs the interpretation of the State's water quality
standards.''.
SEC. 3. PERMITS FOR DREDGED OR FILL MATERIAL.
(a) Authority of EPA Administrator.--Section 404(c) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(c)'' and inserting ``(c)(1)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any permit if the State in
which the discharge originates or will originate does not concur with
the Administrator's determination that the discharge will result in an
unacceptable adverse effect as described in paragraph (1).''.
(b) State Permit Programs.--The first sentence of section 404(g)(1)
of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1344(g)(1)) is amended by striking ``The
Governor of any State desiring to administer its own individual and
general permit program for the discharge'' and inserting ``The Governor
of any State desiring to administer its own individual and general
permit program for some or all of the discharges''.
SEC. 4. DEADLINES FOR AGENCY COMMENTS.
Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1344) is amended--
(1) in subsection (m) by striking ``ninetieth day'' and
inserting ``30th day (or the 60th day if additional time is
requested)''; and
(2) in subsection (q)--
(A) by striking ``(q)'' and inserting ``(q)(1)'';
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) The Administrator and the head of a department or agency
referred to in paragraph (1) shall each submit any comments with
respect to an application for a permit under subsection (a) or (e) not
later than the 30th day (or the 60th day if additional time is
requested) after the date of receipt of an application for a permit
under that subsection.''.
SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply to actions taken on or
after the date of enactment of this Act, including actions taken with
respect to permit applications that are pending or revised or new
standards that are being promulgated as of such date of enactment.
SEC. 6. IMPACTS OF EPA REGULATORY ACTIVITY ON EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC
ACTIVITY.
(a) Analysis of Impacts of Actions on Employment and Economic
Activity.--
(1) Analysis.--Before taking a covered action, the
Administrator shall analyze the impact, disaggregated by State,
of the covered action on employment levels and economic
activity, including estimated job losses and decreased economic
activity.
(2) Economic models.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Administrator shall utilize the best available economic
models.
(B) Annual gao report.--Not later than December
31st of each year, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to Congress a report on the
economic models used by the Administrator to carry out
this subsection.
(3) Availability of information.--With respect to any
covered action, the Administrator shall--
(A) post the analysis under paragraph (1) as a link
on the main page of the public Internet Web site of the
Environmental Protection Agency; and
(B) request that the Governor of any State
experiencing more than a de minimis negative impact
post such analysis in the Capitol of such State.
(b) Public Hearings.--
(1) In general.--If the Administrator concludes under
subsection (a)(1) that a covered action will have more than a
de minimis negative impact on employment levels or economic
activity in a State, the Administrator shall hold a public
hearing in each such State at least 30 days prior to the
effective date of the covered action.
(2) Time, location, and selection.--A public hearing
required under paragraph (1) shall be held at a convenient time
and location for impacted residents. In selecting a location
for such a public hearing, the Administrator shall give
priority to locations in the State that will experience the
greatest number of job losses.
(c) Notification.--If the Administrator concludes under subsection
(a)(1) that a covered action will have more than a de minimis negative
impact on employment levels or economic activity in any State, the
Administrator shall give notice of such impact to the State's
Congressional delegation, Governor, and Legislature at least 45 days
before the effective date of the covered action.
(d) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Covered action.--The term ``covered action'' means any
of the following actions taken by the Administrator under the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.):
(A) Issuing a regulation, policy statement,
guidance, response to a petition, or other requirement.
(B) Implementing a new or substantially altered
program.
(3) More than a de minimis negative impact.--The term
``more than a de minimis negative impact'' means the following:
(A) With respect to employment levels, a loss of
more than 100 jobs. Any offsetting job gains that
result from the hypothetical creation of new jobs
through new technologies or government employment may
not be used in the job loss calculation.
(B) With respect to economic activity, a decrease
in economic activity of more than $1,000,000 over any
calendar year. Any offsetting economic activity that
results from the hypothetical creation of new economic
activity through new technologies or government
employment may not be used in the economic activity
calculation.
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