IB 

Union Calendar No. 306 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7023 

[Report No. 118–375] 

To amend section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to codify 

certain regulatory provisions relating to nationwide permits for dredged 

or fill material, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 17, 2024 

Mr. ROUZER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

FEBRUARY 6, 2024 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 17, 2024] 


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A BILL 

To amend section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to codify certain regulatory provisions relating 

to nationwide permits for dredged or fill material, and 

for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Creating Confidence in 

5 Clean Water Permitting Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WATER QUALITY CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT AND 

7 TRANSPARENCY. 

8 (a) INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES.—Section 304(a) 

9 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

10 1314(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(10) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE.—After the 

12 date of enactment of this paragraph, the Adminis13 trator shall issue any new or revised water quality 

14 criteria under paragraph (1) or (9) by rule.’’. 

15 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE AND JUDICIAL RE16 VIEW.—Section 509(b)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution 

17 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1369(b)(1)) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘section 402, and’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘section 402,’’; and 

20 (2) by inserting ‘‘and (H) in issuing any cri21 teria for water quality pursuant to section 

22 304(a)(10),’’ after ‘‘strategy under section 304(l),’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. FEDERAL GENERAL PERMITS. 

2 Section 402(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

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

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(6)(A) The Administrator is authorized to issue gen6 eral permits under this section for discharges of similar 

7 types from similar sources. 

8 ‘‘(B) The Administrator may require submission of a 

9 notice of intent to be covered under a general permit issued 

10 under this section, including additional information that 

11 the Administrator determines necessary. 

12 ‘‘(C) If a general permit issued under this section will 

13 expire and the Administrator decides not to issue a new 

14 general permit for discharges similar to those covered by 

15 the expiring general permit, the Administrator shall pub16 lish in the Federal Register a notice of such decision at least 

17 two years prior to the expiration of the general permit. 

18 ‘‘(D) If a general permit issued under this section ex19 pires and the Administrator has not published a notice in 

20 accordance with subparagraph (C), until such time as the 

21 Administrator issues a new general permit for discharges 

22 similar to those covered by the expired general permit, the 

23 Administrator shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) continue to apply the terms, conditions, and 

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1 charge that was covered by the expired general per2 mit; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) apply such terms, conditions, and require4 ments to any discharge that would have been covered 

5 by the expired general permit (in accordance with 

6 any relevant requirements for such coverage) if the 

7 discharge had occurred before such expiration.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. CONFIDENCE IN CLEAN WATER PERMITS. 

9 (a) COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS.—Section 402(k) of 

10 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

11 1342(k)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(k) Compliance with’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(k) COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS.— 

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

16 compliance with’’; and 

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

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

19 compliance with the conditions of a permit issued 

20 under this section shall be considered compliance with 

21 respect to a discharge of— 

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

23 limitation is included in the permit; and 


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

2 limitation is not included in the permit that 

3 is— 

4 ‘‘(i) specifically identified as controlled 

5 or monitored through indicator parameters 

6 in the permit, the fact sheet for the permit, 

7 or the administrative record relating to the 

8 permit; 

9 ‘‘(ii) specifically identified during the 

10 permit application process as present in 

11 discharges to which the permit will apply; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(iii) whether or not specifically iden14 tified in the permit or during the permit 

15 application process— 

16 ‘‘(I) present in any waste streams 

17 or processes of the point source to 

18 which the permit applies, which waste 

19 streams or processes are specifically 

20 identified during the permit applica21 tion process; or 

22 ‘‘(II) otherwise within the scope of 

23 any operations of the point source to 

24 which the permit applies, which scope 

25 of operations is specifically identified 


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1 during the permit application proc2 ess.’’. 

3 (b) EXPRESSION OF WATER QUALITY-BASED EFFLU4 ENT LIMITATIONS.—Section 402 of the Federal Water Pol5 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(t) EXPRESSION OF WATER QUALITY-BASED EFFLU8 ENT LIMITATIONS.—If the Administrator (or a State, in the 

9 case of a permit program approved by the Administrator) 

10 determines that a water quality-based limitation on a dis11 charge of a pollutant is necessary to include in a permit 

12 under this section in addition to any appropriate tech13 nology-based effluent limitations included in such permit, 

14 the Administrator (or the State) may include such water 

15 quality-based limitation in such permit only in the form 

16 of an effluent limitation that specifies— 

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

18 ‘‘(2) the numerical limit on the discharge of such 

19 pollutant, or the precise waterbody conditions to be 

20 attained with respect to such pollutant, required to 

21 comply with the permit.’’. 

22 SEC. 5. REDUCING PERMITTING UNCERTAINTY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(c) of the Federal Water 

24 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344(c)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(c) The Administrator’’ and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(c) SPECIFICATION OR USE OF DEFINED AREA.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by insert6 ing ‘‘during the period described in paragraph (2) 

7 and’’ before ‘‘after notice and opportunity for public 

8 hearings’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF PROHIBITION.—The period dur11 ing which the Administrator may prohibit the speci12 fication (including the withdrawal of specification) of 

13 any defined area as a disposal site, or deny or re14 strict the use of any defined area for specification (in15 cluding the withdrawal of specification) as a disposal 

16 site, under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) begin on the date on which an appli18 cant submits all the information required to 

19 complete an application for a permit under this 

20 section; and 

21 ‘‘(B) end on the date on which the Secretary 

22 issues the permit.’’. 

23 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub24 section (a) shall apply to a permit application submitted 

25 under section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 


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1 Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) after the date of enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 SEC. 6. NATIONWIDE PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(e) of the Federal Water 

5 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘(e)(1) In carrying’’ and insert7 ing the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) GENERAL PERMITS ON STATE, REGIONAL, OR NA9 TIONWIDE BASIS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PERMITS AUTHORIZED.—In carrying’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘(2) No general’’ and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) TERM.—No general’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘five years’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘ten years’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the en19 vironmental effects of an activity under paragraph 

20 (1) or (2), the Secretary shall consider only the effects 

21 of any discharge of dredged or fill material resulting 

22 from such activity. 

23 ‘‘(4) NATIONWIDE PERMITS FOR LINEAR INFRA24 STRUCTURE PROJECTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of this section, the Secretary 

3 shall maintain general permits on a nationwide 

4 basis for linear infrastructure projects that do 

5 not result in the loss of greater than 1/2-acre of 

6 waters of the United States for each single and 

7 complete project (as defined in section 330.2 of 

8 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 

9 on the date of enactment of this paragraph)). 

10 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF LINEAR INFRASTRUC11 TURE PROJECT.—In this paragraph, the term 

12 ‘linear infrastructure project’ means a project to 

13 carry out any activity required for the construc14 tion, expansion, maintenance, modification, or 

15 removal of infrastructure and associated facility 

16 for the transmission from a point of origin to a 

17 terminal point of communications or electricity 

18 or the transportation from a point of origin to 

19 a terminal point of people, water, wastewater, 

20 carbon dioxide, or fuel or hydrocarbons (in the 

21 form of a liquid, liquescent, gaseous, or slurry 

22 substance or supercritical fluid), including oil 

23 and gas pipeline facilities. 


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1 ‘‘(5) REISSUANCE OF NATIONWIDE PERMITS.—In 

2 determining whether to reissue a general permit 

3 issued under this subsection on a nationwide basis— 

4 ‘‘(A) no consultation with an applicable 

5 State pursuant to section 6(a) of the Endangered 

6 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1535(a)) is re7 quired; 

8 ‘‘(B) no consultation with a Federal agency 

9 pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of such Act (16 

10 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) is required; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the requirements of section 102(2)(C) 

12 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

13 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) shall be satisfied by 

14 preparing an environmental assessment with re15 spect to such general permit.’’. 

16 (b) ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONWIDE PERMIT PRO17 GRAM.—In carrying out section 404(e) of the Federal Water 

18 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), the Secretary of 

19 the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, may not 

20 finalize or implement any modification to— 

21 (1) general condition 15 (relating to single and 

22 complete projects), as included in the final rule titled 

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1 partment of the Army, Corps of Engineers (86 Fed. 

2 Reg. 2868); 

3 (2) the definition of single and complete linear 

4 project, as included in such final rule (86 Fed. Reg. 

5 2877); or 

6 (3) the definition of single and complete project, 

7 as included in section 330.2 of title 33, Code of Fed8 eral Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment 

9 of this Act). 

10 SEC. 7. JUDICIAL REVIEW TIMELINE CLARITY. 

11 Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

12 (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (t) as subsection 

14 (u); 

15 (2) in subsection (u), as so redesignated, by 

16 striking ‘‘Nothing in the section’’ and inserting ‘‘SAV17 INGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section’’; and 

18 (3) by inserting after subsection (s) the following: 

19 ‘‘(t) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

20 ‘‘(1) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

22 applicable provision of law relating to statutes of 

23 limitations, an action seeking judicial review 

24 of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an individual or general permit 

2 issued under this section shall be filed not 

3 later than the date that is 60 days after the 

4 date on which the permit was issued; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) verification that an activity is 

6 authorized by a general permit issued under 

7 this section shall be filed not later than the 

8 date that is 60 days after the date on which 

9 such verification was issued. 

10 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in sub11 paragraph (A) may be construed to authorize an 

12 action seeking judicial review of the structure of, 

13 or authorization for, a State permit program ap14 proved pursuant to this section. 

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON COMMENCEMENT OF CER16 TAIN ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

17 of law, no action described in paragraph (1)(A) may 

18 be commenced unless the action— 

19 ‘‘(A) is filed by a party that submitted a 

20 comment, during the public comment period for 

21 the administrative proceedings related to the ap22 plicable action described in such paragraph, 

23 which comment was sufficiently detailed to put 

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1 tice of the issue upon which the party seeks judi2 cial review; and 

3 ‘‘(B) is related to such comment. 

4 ‘‘(3) REMEDY.—If a court determines that the 

5 Secretary or the State, as applicable, did not comply 

6 with the requirements of this section in issuing an in7 dividual or general permit under this section, or in 

8 verifying that an activity is authorized by a general 

9 permit issued under this section, as applicable— 

10 ‘‘(A) the court shall remand the matter to 

11 the Secretary or the State, as applicable, for fur12 ther proceedings consistent with the court’s deter13 mination; 

14 ‘‘(B) with respect to a determination re15 garding the issuance of an individual or general 

16 permit under this section, the court may not va17 cate, revoke, enjoin, or otherwise limit the per18 mit, unless the court finds that activities author19 ized under the permit would present an immi20 nent and substantial danger to human health or 

21 the environment for which there is no other equi22 table remedy available under the law; and 

23 ‘‘(C) with respect to a determination re24 garding a verification that an activity is author25 ized by a general permit issued under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Feb 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7023.RH H7023

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1 tion, the court may not enjoin the activity, un2 less the court finds that the activity would 

3 present an imminent and substantial danger to 

4 human health or the environment for which there 

5 is no other equitable remedy available under the 

6 law. 

7 ‘‘(4) TIMELINE TO ACT ON COURT ORDER.—If a 

8 court remands a matter under paragraph (2), the 

9 court shall set and enforce a reasonable schedule and 

10 deadline, which may not exceed 180 days from the 

11 date on which the court remands such matter, except 

12 as otherwise required by law, for the Secretary or the 

13 State, as applicable, to take such actions as the court 

14 may order.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the En18 vironmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of the 

19 Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, shall begin 

20 a process to issue guidance on the implementation of the 

21 final rule published on September 8, 2023, by the Depart22 ment of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of De23 fense and the Environmental Protection Agency and titled 

24 ‘‘Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’; Con25 forming’’ (88 Fed. Reg. 61964). 


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1 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In issuing the guidance re2 quired under subsection (a), the Administrator and the Sec3 retary shall— 

4 (1) prior to such issuance, solicit comments from 

5 the public on such guidance; and 

6 (2) ensure that such comments and any re7 sponses to such comments are made publicly avail8 able. 

9 (c) COMPLIANCE.—Any guidance issued pursuant to 

10 this section shall comply with the decision of the Supreme 

11 Court in Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. 651 (2023). 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend the 

Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide regulatory and judicial certainty for regulated entities and 

communities, increase transparency, and promote water 

quality, and for other purposes.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 306 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7023 

[Report No. 118–375] 

A BILL 

To amend section 404 of the Federal Water Polluor fill material, and for other purposes. visions relating to nationwide permits for dredged tion Control Act to codify certain regulatory proFEBRUARY 6, 2024 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Feb 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H7023.RH H7023

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