I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7013 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to the 

scope of national pollutant discharge elimination system permit discharge 

authorizations and the expression of effluent limitations, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 17, 2024 

Mr. DUARTE (for himself and Mr. ROUZER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with 

respect to the scope of national pollutant discharge elimination system permit discharge authorizations and the 

expression of effluent limitations, 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 ‘‘Confidence in Clean 

5 Water Permits Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS. 

7 Section 402(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Con8 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(k)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(k) Compliance with’’ and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(k) COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

5 compliance with’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(2) SCOPE.—For purposes of paragraph (1), 

8 compliance with the conditions of a permit shall be 

9 considered compliance with respect to a discharge 

10 of— 

11 ‘‘(A) any pollutant for which an effluent 

12 limitation is included in the permit; and 

13 ‘‘(B) any pollutant for which an effluent 

14 limitation is not included in the permit that 

15 is— 

16 ‘‘(i) specifically identified as controlled 

17 or monitored through indicator parameters 

18 in the permit, the fact sheet for the per19 mit, or the administrative record relating 

20 to the permit; 

21 ‘‘(ii) specifically identified during the 

22 permit application process as present in 

23 discharges to which the permit will apply; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) whether or not specifically iden2 tified in the permit or during the permit 

3 application process— 

4 ‘‘(I) present in any waste 

5 streams or processes of the point 

6 source to which the permit applies, 

7 which waste streams or processes are 

8 specifically identified during the per9 mit application process; or 

10 ‘‘(II) otherwise within the scope 

11 of any operations of the point source 

12 to which the permit applies, which 

13 scope of operations is specifically iden14 tified during the permit application 

15 process.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. EXPRESSION OF WATER QUALITY-BASED EFFLUENT 

17 LIMITATIONS. 

18 Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

19 Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(t) EXPRESSION OF WATER QUALITY-BASED EF22 FLUENT LIMITATIONS.—The Administrator (or a State, 

23 in the case of a permit program approved by the Adminis24 trator) may not include any water quality-based limitation 

25 on a discharge of a pollutant in a permit under this section 


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1 except in the form of an effluent limitation that speci2 fies— 

3 ‘‘(1) the pollutant to which it applies; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the numerical limit on the discharge of 

5 such pollutant, or the precise waterbody conditions 

6 to be attained with respect to such pollutant, re7 quired to comply with the permit.’’. 

Æ 


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