I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1252

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve stormwater

management, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 15, 1995

Mrs. LINCOLN 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

improve stormwater management, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stormwater Manage5 ment Improvement Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. STORMWATER MANAGEMENT.

7 Section 402(p) of the Federal Water Pollution Con8 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(p)) is amended to read as fol9 lows:
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1 ‘‘(p) MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER

2 DISCHARGES.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of para4 graph (4) for applications and the issuance of per5 mits shall apply to the following stormwater dis6 charges:

7 ‘‘(A) A discharge with respect to which a

8 permit has been issued under this section before

9 February 4, 1987.

10 ‘‘(B) A discharge associated with industrial

11 or commercial activity.

12 ‘‘(C) A discharge from a municipal storm

13 sewer system serving a population of 250,000

14 individuals or more.

15 ‘‘(D) A discharge from a municipal storm

16 sewer system serving a population of 100,000

17 individuals or more but fewer than 250,000 in18 dividuals.

19 ‘‘(E) A discharge from a municipal storm

20 sewer system serving a population of 50,000 in21 dividuals or more but fewer than 100,000 indi22 viduals that is located in an urbanized area (as

23 designated by the Bureau of the Census) in

24 which a stormwater discharge covered by a per-
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1 mit issued under subparagraph (C) or (D) is

2 also located.

3 ‘‘(F) A discharge for which the Adminis4 trator or the State, as the case may be, deter5 mines that the stormwater discharge contrib6 utes to a violation of a water quality standard

7 or is a significant contributor of pollutants to

8 waters of the United States.

9 ‘‘(2) OTHER MUNICIPAL STORMWATER DIS10 CHARGES.—

11 ‘‘(A) MORATORIUM ON PERMITTING FOR

12 REMAINING URBANIZED AREAS.—

13 ‘‘(i) MUNICIPAL STORMWATER SYS14 TEMS.—Except as provided in clauses (iii)

15 and (iv), prior to October 1, 2001, neither

16 the Administrator nor the State (in the

17 case of a permit program approved under

18 subsection (b)) shall require a permit

19 under this section for discharges composed

20 entirely of stormwater from municipal

21 storm sewer systems serving a population

22 of 50,000 individuals or more but fewer

23 than 100,000 individuals that is located in

24 an urbanized area (as designated by the
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1 Bureau of the Census) other than dis2 charges described in paragraph (1)(E).

3 ‘‘(ii) ADVANCE NOTICE OF PROPOSED

4 RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 years

5 after the date of enactment of this sub6 paragraph, the Administrator shall publish

7 an advance notice of proposed rulemaking

8 that summarizes available information on

9 municipal storm sewer systems covered by

10 clause (i) and outlines the options being

11 considered for regulations under clause

12 (iii).

13 ‘‘(iii) REGULATIONS.—The Adminis14 trator may issue regulations specifying per15 mit application requirements for permits

16 for the discharges covered by clause (i)

17 prior to October 1, 1998, based on a deter18 mination by the Administrator that the

19 discharges would be appropriately regu20 lated by a permit issued pursuant to this

21 subsection. If the Administrator issues the

22 regulations, permits shall be issued or de23 nied for the discharges not later than 7

24 years after the date of enactment of this

25 clause.
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1 ‘‘(iv) FAILURE TO ISSUE REGULA2 TIONS.—Notwithstanding clause (i), if the

3 Administrator fails to issue the regulations

4 described in clause (iii) prior to October 1,

5 1998, the discharges covered by clause (i)

6 shall be subject to the requirements of sec7 tion 301 and this section as of October 1,

8 1998.

9 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FROM PERMIT REQUIRE10 MENTS FOR NONURBANIZED AREAS.—Notwith11 standing section 301 or any other provision of

12 this section, a source of discharges composed

13 entirely of stormwater from municipal storm

14 sewer systems, other than the discharges de15 scribed in paragraph (1) or subparagraph (A),

16 is not required to obtain a permit for the dis17 charges under this Act.

18 ‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this

19 subsection shall be interpreted, construed, or

20 applied to modify the requirements of this Act

21 (including other provisions of this section) oth22 erwise applicable to discharges of stormwater

23 combined with domestic or industrial

24 wastewater.

25 ‘‘(3) PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL DIS2 CHARGES.—Permits for discharges associated

3 with industrial and commercial activity shall

4 meet all applicable provisions of this section

5 and section 301.

6 ‘‘(B) MUNICIPAL DISCHARGE.—Permits

7 for discharges from municipal storm sewers—

8 ‘‘(i) may be issued on a system- or ju9 risdiction-wide basis;

10 ‘‘(ii) shall include a requirement to ef11 fectively prohibit non-stormwater dis12 charges into the storm sewers;

13 ‘‘(iii) shall require controls to reduce

14 the discharge of pollutants to the maxi15 mum extent practicable, including manage16 ment practices, control techniques and sys17 tem, design and engineering methods, and

18 such other provisions as the Administrator

19 or the State determines appropriate for the

20 control of such pollutants; and

21 ‘‘(iv) shall include monitoring and re22 porting requirements that, at minimum,

23 provide for—
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1 ‘‘(I) representative monitoring

2 for the quality of receiving waters;

3 and

4 ‘‘(II) reporting for the implemen5 tation of management measures.

6 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE.—

7 ‘‘(i) MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE

8 DEFINED.—As used in subparagraph

9 (B)(iii) (and with respect to permits issued

10 after the date that is 2 years after the date

11 of enactment of this subparagraph), the

12 term ‘maximum extent practicable’ means

13 applying management measures, as defined

14 in section 6217(g)(5) of the Coastal Zone

15 Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990

16 (16 U.S.C. 1455b(g)(5)), for municipal

17 stormwater discharges that, in the judg18 ment of the Administrator (or a State au19 thorized to issue a permit under this sec20 tion), will attain and maintain water qual21 ity standards.

22 ‘‘(ii) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 2

23 years after the date of enactment of this

24 subparagraph, the Administrator, after

25 consultation with persons with expertise in
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1 the management of stormwater (including

2 officials of local governments and rep3 resentatives of public interest groups),

4 shall—

5 ‘‘(I) establish requirements for

6 specific management measures for

7 municipal stormwater discharges

8 based on the guidance issued under

9 section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act

10 Reauthorization Amendments of 1990

11 (16 U.S.C. 1445b) to define ‘maxi12 mum extent practicable’ for the pur13 poses of this section; and

14 ‘‘(II) if practicable, include in the

15 requirements minimum and objective

16 performance standards for each of the

17 management measures.

18 ‘‘(D) NUMERIC EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS.—

19 Notwithstanding section 301 and this section,

20 during the 10-year period beginning on the date

21 of enactment of this subparagraph, a permit is22 sued pursuant to this subsection for discharges

23 from municipal storm sewers composed entirely

24 of stormwater shall not require compliance with

25 numeric effluent limitations and water quality
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1 standards shall not be applied or enforced as

2 effluent limitations.

3 ‘‘(E) MUNICIPALLY OWNED AND COMMER4 CIAL DISCHARGES.—The Administrator (or a

5 State with a program approved under sub6 section (b)) may issue a consolidated permit for

7 discharges from a storm sewer system owned by

8 a municipality and the stormwater discharges

9 from industrial or commercial sources owned by

10 the same municipality.

11 ‘‘(4) PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—

12 ‘‘(A) INDUSTRIAL AND LARGE MUNICIPAL

13 DISCHARGES.—Not later than 2 years after

14 February 4, 1987, the Administrator shall es15 tablish regulations setting forth the permit ap16 plication requirements for stormwater dis17 charges described in paragraphs (1)(B) and

18 (1)(C). Applications for permits for such dis19 charges shall be filed no later than 3 years after

20 February 4, 1987. Not later than 4 years after

21 February 4, 1987, the Administrator or the

22 State, as the case may be, shall issue or deny

23 each such permit. Any such permit shall provide

24 for compliance as expeditiously as practicable,
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1 but in no event later than 3 years after the date

2 of issuance of such permit.

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER MUNICIPAL DISCHARGES.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4

5 years after February 4, 1987, the Adminis6 trator shall establish regulations setting

7 forth the permit application requirements

8 for stormwater discharges described in

9 paragraph (1)(D). Applications for permits

10 for such discharges shall be filed no later

11 than 5 years after February 4, 1987. Not

12 later than 6 years after February 4, 1987,

13 the Administrator or the State, as the case

14 may be, shall issue or deny each such per15 mit. Any such permit shall provide for

16 compliance as expeditiously as practicable,

17 but in no event later than 3 years after the

18 date of issuance of such permit.

19 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF

20 APPLICATION.—Applications for permits

21 for discharges from municipal storm sys22 tems that were not required to apply for a

23 permit before the date of enactment of this

24 clause because the systems are combined

25 storm and sanitary systems shall be filed
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1 not later than 4 years after the date of en2 actment of this clause.

3 ‘‘(iii) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The re4 quirement for a permit under section 301

5 and this section shall apply to discharges

6 from municipal storm sewer systems de7 scribed in paragraph (1)(E) beginning on

8 the date of the expiration of a permit for

9 a discharge described in subparagraph (C)

10 or (D) of paragraph (1) that is located in

11 the same urbanized area and that occurs

12 after the date that is 3 years after the date

13 of enactment of this clause.

14 ‘‘(C) COMMERCIAL AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL

15 DISCHARGES.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro17 vided in clause (ii), the Administrator

18 shall, after notice and opportunity for pub19 lic comment, establish permit application

20 and other requirements for stormwater dis21 charges from commercial and light indus22 trial sources and ensure that permits

23 under this section for all sources are issued

24 as expeditiously as practicable, but no later
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1 than 8 years after the date of enactment

2 of this subparagraph.

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—This subpara4 graph shall not apply to discharges from

5 sources that—

6 ‘‘(I) were required to submit ap7 plications for a permit by the rule

8 published by the Administrator at 55

9 Fed. Reg. 47990 (November 16,

10 1990);

11 ‘‘(II) are in a source or a class

12 for which an exemption to the permit

13 requirements of this section and sec14 tion 301 is granted before the date

15 that is 8 years after the date of enact16 ment of this subparagraph, pursuant

17 to paragraph (5); or

18 ‘‘(III) are owned or operated by

19 a municipality and are subject to a

20 consolidated permit as authorized by

21 paragraph (3)(E).

22 ‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator

23 shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking

24 for the requirements described in subparagraph

25 (C) not later than 4 years after the date of en-
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1 actment of this subparagraph and shall issue

2 final regulations relating to the requirements

3 not later than 6 years after the date of enact4 ment of this subparagraph.

5 ‘‘(5) COMMERCIAL AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DIS6 CHARGES.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

8 may exempt a class or category of commercial

9 and light industrial discharges composed en10 tirely of stormwater (other than discharges sub11 ject to permit application requirements pub12 lished at 55 Fed. Reg. 47990 (November 16,

13 1990)) from the requirement to obtain a permit

14 pursuant to section 301 and this section if the

15 Administrator determines based on available in16 formation that, considering controls and man17 agement measures installed at sources in the

18 class or category, stormwater discharges from

19 sources in the class or category have minimal

20 effect on water or sediment quality.

21 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

23 shall issue regulations for classes or cat24 egories of discharges exempt under sub25 paragraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Such regulations

2 shall, at a minimum, establish priorities,

3 establish requirements for State

4 stormwater management programs, and es5 tablish expeditious deadlines for compli6 ance with the requirements established by

7 the regulations. The regulations may in8 clude performance standards, guidelines,

9 guidance, and management practices and

10 treatment requirements, as appropriate.

11 The Administrator may, in making a de12 termination under subparagraph (A), take

13 into account controls and management

14 measures established pursuant to this sub15 paragraph.

16 ‘‘(iii) REFERENCES.—For purposes of

17 sections 309 and 505, any reference to a

18 permit issued under section 402 shall be

19 interpreted to include a requirement im20 posed by a regulation issued pursuant to

21 this subparagraph.

22 ‘‘(6) DISCHARGES FROM SMALL INDUSTRIAL OR

23 COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by

25 subparagraph (B), a stormwater discharge from
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1 a small industrial or commercial business shall

2 not be subject to the permitting requirements of

3 section 301 or this section.

4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator or

5 a State (in the case of a permit program ap6 proved under subsection (b)) may require a per7 mit under section 301 and this section for a

8 stormwater discharge described in subpara9 graph (A) in any case in which the Adminis10 trator or the State, as appropriate, determines

11 that the discharge contributes to a violation of

12 a water quality standard or is a significant con13 tributor of pollutants to waters of the United

14 States.

15 ‘‘(C) SMALL INDUSTRIAL OR COMMERCIAL

16 BUSINESS DEFINED.—For the purposes of this

17 paragraph, the term ‘small industrial or com18 mercial business’ means an industrial or com19 mercial business that employees no more than

20 25 individuals and is a small business concern

21 as defined under section 3(a) of the Small Busi22 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)).

23 ‘‘(7) STORMWATER RESEARCH.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To determine the

25 most cost-effective and technologically feasible
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1 means of improving the quality of the waters of

2 the Nation, the Administrator shall establish an

3 initiative through which the Administrator shall

4 fund State and local demonstration programs

5 and research to test innovative approaches to

6 address the impacts of hydrologic and hydraulic

7 changes, source controls, and water quality

8 management practices and controls for runoff

9 from municipal storm sewers. Persons conduct10 ing demonstration programs and research fund11 ed under the initiative shall also take into ac12 count the physical nature of episodic

13 stormwater flows, the varying pollutants in

14 stormwater, the actual risk the flows pose to

15 the designated beneficial uses, and the ability of

16 natural ecosystems to accept temporary

17 stormwater events.

18 ‘‘(B) AWARD OF FUNDS.—The Adminis19 trator shall award the demonstration and re20 search program funds taking into account re21 gional and population variations.

22 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA23 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro24 priated to carry out this paragraph a total of

25 $100,000,000 for fiscal years 1995 through
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1 2004. Such sums shall remain available until

2 expended.

3 ‘‘(8) ADDITIONAL MONITORING SUPPORT.—Mu4 nicipalities subject to permits issued under this sub5 section shall be eligible for grants under section

6 319(h) to train and facilitate training of citizens in

7 citizen watershed monitoring activities to support

8 municipal stormwater management programs.’’.

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