IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7023 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

AN ACT 

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Creating Confidence 

3 in Clean Water Permitting Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. WATER QUALITY CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT AND 

5 TRANSPARENCY. 

6 (a) INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES.—Section 

7 304(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

8 U.S.C. 1314(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(10) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE.—After 

11 the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Admin12 istrator shall issue any new or revised water quality 

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

14 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE AND JUDICIAL

15 REVIEW.—Section 509(b)(1) of the Federal Water Pollu16 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1369(b)(1)) is amended— 

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

18 ‘‘section 402,’’; and 

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘and (H) in issuing any cri20 teria for water quality pursuant to section 

21 304(a)(10),’’ after ‘‘strategy under section 304(l),’’. 

22 SEC. 3. FEDERAL GENERAL PERMITS. 

23 Section 402(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Con24 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(a)) is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(6)(A) The Administrator is authorized to issue gen2 eral permits under this section for discharges of similar 

3 types from similar sources. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Administrator may require submission of 

5 a notice of intent to be covered under a general permit 

6 issued under this section, including additional information 

7 that the Administrator determines necessary. 

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

9 expire and the Administrator decides not to issue a new 

10 general permit for discharges similar to those covered by 

11 the expiring general permit, the Administrator shall pub12 lish in the Federal Register a notice of such decision at 

13 least two years prior to the expiration of the general per14 mit. 

15 ‘‘(D) If a general permit issued under this section 

16 expires and the Administrator has not published a notice 

17 in accordance with subparagraph (C), until such time as 

18 the Administrator issues a new general permit for dis19 charges similar to those covered by the expired general 

20 permit, the Administrator shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) continue to apply the terms, conditions, 

22 and requirements of the expired general permit to 

23 any discharge that was covered by the expired gen24 eral permit; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) apply such terms, conditions, and require2 ments to any discharge that would have been cov3 ered by the expired general permit (in accordance 

4 with any relevant requirements for such coverage) if 

5 the discharge had occurred before such expiration.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION 

7 SYSTEM (NPDES) TERMS. 

8 Section 402(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution 

9 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)(1)(B)) is amended to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B) are for fixed terms— 

12 ‘‘(i) not exceeding 10 years, for a permit 

13 issued to a State or municipality; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) not exceeding 5 years, for a permit 

15 issued to any person not described in clause (i); 

16 and’’. 

17 SEC. 5. CONFIDENCE IN CLEAN WATER PERMITS. 

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

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

20 1342(k)) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘(k) Compliance with’’ and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(k) COMPLIANCE WITH PERMITS.— 

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

25 compliance with’’; and 


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

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

3 compliance with the conditions of a permit issued 

4 under this section shall be considered compliance 

5 with respect to a discharge of— 

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

7 limitation is included in the permit; and 

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

9 limitation is not included in the permit that 

10 is— 

11 ‘‘(i) specifically identified as controlled 

12 or monitored through indicator parameters 

13 in the permit, the fact sheet for the per14 mit, or the administrative record relating 

15 to the permit; 

16 ‘‘(ii) specifically identified during the 

17 permit application process as present in 

18 discharges to which the permit will apply; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(iii) whether or not specifically iden21 tified in the permit or during the permit 

22 application process— 

23 ‘‘(I) present in any waste 

24 streams or processes of the point 

25 source to which the permit applies, 


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1 which waste streams or processes are 

2 specifically identified during the per3 mit application process; or 

4 ‘‘(II) otherwise within the scope 

5 of any operations of the point source 

6 to which the permit applies, which 

7 scope of operations is specifically iden8 tified during the permit application 

9 process.’’. 

10 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 402(l)(3) of 

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

12 1342(l)(3)) is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘section 402’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘this section’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘federal’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Federal’’; and 

18 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Section’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘section’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘402(p)(6)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘subsection (p)(6)’’; 

23 (C) by striking ‘‘402(l)(3)(A),’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘subparagraph (A),’’; and 


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1 (D) by striking ‘‘402(l)(3)(A).’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘such subparagraph.’’. 

3 (c) EXPRESSION OF WATER QUALITY-BASED EFFLU4 ENT LIMITATIONS.—Section 402 of the Federal Water 

5 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(t) EXPRESSION OF WATER QUALITY-BASED EF8 FLUENT LIMITATIONS.—If the Administrator (or a State, 

9 in the case of a permit program approved by the Adminis10 trator) determines that a water quality-based limitation 

11 on a discharge of a pollutant is necessary to include in 

12 a permit under this section in addition to any appropriate 

13 technology-based effluent limitations included in such per14 mit, the Administrator (or the State) may include such 

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

16 form of an effluent limitation that specifies— 

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

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

19 such pollutant, or the precise waterbody conditions 

20 to be attained with respect to such pollutant, re21 quired to comply with the permit.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. REDUCING PERMITTING UNCERTAINTY. 

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

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

25 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 in6 serting ‘‘during the period described in paragraph 

7 (2) and’’ before ‘‘after notice and opportunity for 

8 public hearings’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF PROHIBITION.—The period 

11 during which the Administrator may prohibit the 

12 specification (including the withdrawal of specifica13 tion) of any defined area as a disposal site, or deny 

14 or restrict the use of any defined area for specifica15 tion (including the withdrawal of specification) as a 

16 disposal 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 Sec22 retary 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. 7. NATIONWIDE PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT. 

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

5 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘(e)(1) In carrying’’ and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(e) GENERAL PERMITS ON STATE, REGIONAL, OR

10 NATIONWIDE BASIS.— 

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

12 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘(2) No general’’ and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) TERM.—No general’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘ten years’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the en20 vironmental effects of an activity under paragraph 

21 (1) or (2), the Secretary shall consider only the ef22 fects of any discharge of dredged or fill material re23 sulting from such activity. 

24 ‘‘(4) NATIONWIDE PERMITS FOR LINEAR INFRA25 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 

not result in the loss of greater than 1 5 ⁄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 ef9 fect on the date of enactment of this para10 graph)). 

11 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF LINEAR INFRASTRUC12 TURE PROJECT.—In this paragraph, the term 

13 ‘linear infrastructure project’ means a project 

14 to carry out any activity required for the con15 struction, expansion, maintenance, modification, 

16 or removal of infrastructure and associated fa17 cility for the transmission from a point of origin 

18 to a terminal point of communications or elec19 tricity or the transportation from a point of ori20 gin to a terminal point of people, water, waste21 water, carbon dioxide, or fuel or hydrocarbons 

22 (in the form of a liquid, liquescent, gaseous, or 

23 slurry substance or supercritical fluid), includ24 ing oil and gas pipeline facilities. 


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

2 In 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 Endan6 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1535(a)) 

7 is required; 

8 ‘‘(B) no consultation with a Federal agen9 cy 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 

14 by preparing an environmental assessment with 

15 respect to such general permit.’’. 

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

18 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), the Sec19 retary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, 

20 may not 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 

23 ‘‘Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Per24 mits’’ and published on January 13, 2021, by the 


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1 Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (86 

2 Fed. 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 

7 project, as included in section 330.2 of title 33, Code 

8 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 

9 enactment of this Act). 

10 SEC. 8. JUDICIAL REVIEW TIMELINE CLARITY. 

11 Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

12 Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (t) as sub14 section (u); 

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

16 striking ‘‘Nothing in the section’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section’’; 

18 and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (s) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(t) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

22 ‘‘(1) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

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

24 applicable provision of law relating to statutes 


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1 of limitations, an action seeking judicial review 

2 of— 

3 ‘‘(i) an individual or general permit 

4 issued under this section shall be filed not 

5 later than the date that is 60 days after 

6 the date on which the permit was issued; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) verification that an activity is au9 thorized by a general permit issued under 

10 this section shall be filed not later than the 

11 date that is 60 days after the date on 

12 which such verification was issued. 

13 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

14 subparagraph (A) may be construed to author15 ize an action seeking judicial review of the 

16 structure of, or authorization for, a State per17 mit program approved pursuant to this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON COMMENCEMENT OF CER19 TAIN ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, no action described in paragraph (1)(A) 

21 may be commenced unless the action— 

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

23 comment, during the public comment period for 

24 the administrative proceedings related to the 

25 applicable action described in such paragraph, 


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1 which comment was sufficiently detailed to put 

2 the Secretary or the State, as applicable, on no3 tice of the issue upon which the party seeks ju4 dicial review; and 

5 ‘‘(B) is related to such comment. 

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

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

8 with the requirements of this section in issuing an 

9 individual or general permit under this section, or in 

10 verifying that an activity is authorized by a general 

11 permit issued under this section, as applicable— 

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

13 the Secretary or the State, as applicable, for 

14 further proceedings consistent with the court’s 

15 determination; 

16 ‘‘(B) with respect to a determination re17 garding the issuance of an individual or general 

18 permit under this section, the court may not va19 cate, revoke, enjoin, or otherwise limit the per20 mit, unless the court finds that activities au21 thorized under the permit would present an im22 minent and substantial danger to human health 

23 or the environment for which there is no other 

24 equitable remedy available under the law; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) with respect to a determination re2 garding a verification that an activity is author3 ized by a general permit issued under this sec4 tion, the court may not enjoin the activity, un5 less the court finds that the activity would 

6 present an imminent and substantial danger to 

7 human health or the environment for which 

8 there is no other equitable remedy available 

9 under the law. 

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

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

12 court shall set and enforce a reasonable schedule 

13 and deadline, which may not exceed 180 days from 

14 the date on which the court remands such matter, 

15 except as otherwise required by law, for the Sec16 retary or the State, as applicable, to take such ac17 tions as the court may order.’’. 

18 SEC. 9. LIMITATION ON PERMIT ISSUANCE. 

19 Title IV of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

20 (33 U.S.C. 1341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 407. LIMITATION ON PERMIT ISSUANCE. 

23 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—No permit may be issued under 

24 this title for any discharge from a point source that is 

25 owned or operated by an entity that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) is subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign 

2 country of concern (as defined in section 9901(7) of 

3 the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense 

4 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 

5 4651(7)); or 

6 ‘‘(2) is a subsidiary of an entity that is subject 

7 to the jurisdiction of a foreign country of concern 

8 (as so defined). 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—This section shall be applied in 

10 a manner consistent with the obligations of the United 

11 States under applicable international agreements.’’. 

12 SEC. 10. IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE. 

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

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

15 Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of the 

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

17 a process to issue guidance on the implementation of the 

18 final rule published on September 8, 2023, by the Depart19 ment of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of De20 fense and the Environmental Protection Agency and titled 

21 ‘‘Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’; Con22 forming’’ (88 Fed. Reg. 61964). 

23 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In issuing the guidance re24 quired under subsection (a), the Administrator and the 

25 Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) prior to such issuance, solicit comments 

2 from the public on such guidance; and 

3 (2) ensure that such comments and any re4 sponses to such comments are made publicly avail5 able. 

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

7 this section shall comply with the decision of the Supreme 

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

9 SEC. 11. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

10 Nothing in this Act, including the amendments made 

11 by this Act, may be construed as affecting the ban on oil 

12 and gas development in the Great Lakes described in sec13 tion 386 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

14 15941). 

15 SEC. 12. REPORT ON CORPS STAFFING NEEDS. 

16 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro18 tection Agency and the Secretary of the Army, acting 

19 through the Chief of Engineers, shall submit to Congress 

20 a report on— 

21 (1) the staffing needs of the Environmental 

22 Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers to 

23 process applications for, and issue, permits under 

24 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, based on 

25 the number of such applications submitted during 


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1 the 5-year period preceding such date of enactment; 

2 and 

3 (2) the impact that funding for additional full4 time employees would have on processing timelines 

5 for such permits. 

6 SEC. 13. SAVINGS CLAUSE RELATING TO PFAS. 

7 Nothing in this Act, including the amendments made 

8 by this Act, shall affect the authority of the Administrator 

9 of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct re10 search on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. 

11 SEC. 14. APPROVAL OF FLORIDA PERMIT PROGRAM. 

12 The notice of the Environmental Protection Agency 

13 approving the State of Florida’s request to carry out a 

14 permit program for the discharge of dredged or fill mate15 rial pursuant to section 404 of the Federal Water Pollu16 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), published on Decem17 ber 22, 2020, and titled ‘‘EPA’s Approval of Florida’s 

18 Clean Water Act Section 404 Assumption Request’’ (85 

19 Fed. Reg. 83553) shall have the force and effect of law. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 21, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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