IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1732 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 13, 2015 

Received 

JULY 14, 2016 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

AN ACT 

To preserve existing rights and responsibilities with respect 

to waters of the United States, 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 ‘‘Regulatory Integrity 

3 Protection Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL OF EXISTING PROPOSED RULE. 

5 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Secretary of the Army and the Adminis7 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall with8 draw the proposed rule described in the notice of proposed 

9 rule published in the Federal Register entitled ‘‘Definition 

10 of ‘Waters of the United States’ Under the Clean Water 

11 Act’’ (79 Fed. Reg. 22188 (April 21, 2014)) and any final 

12 rule based on such proposed rule (including RIN 2040– 

13 AF30). 

14 SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PROPOSED RULE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army and 

16 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen17 cy shall develop a new proposed rule to define the term 

18 ‘‘waters of the United States’’ as used in the Federal 

19 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 

20 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PROPOSED RULE.—In 

21 developing the new proposed rule under subsection (a), the 

22 Secretary and the Administrator shall— 

23 (1) take into consideration the public comments 

24 received on— 

25 (A) the proposed rule referred to in section 

26 2; 


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1 (B) the accompanying economic analysis of 

2 the proposed rule entitled ‘‘Economic Analysis 

3 of Proposed Revised Definition of Waters of the 

4 United States’’ (dated March 2014); and 

5 (C) the report entitled ‘‘Connectivity of 

6 Streams & Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A 

7 Review & Synthesis of Scientific Evidence’’ 

8 (EPA/600/R–14/475F; dated January 2015); 

9 (2) jointly consult with and solicit advice and 

10 recommendations from representative State and 

11 local officials, stakeholders, and other interested par12 ties on how to define the term ‘‘waters of the United 

13 States’’ as used in the Federal Water Pollution Con14 trol Act; and 

15 (3) prepare a regulatory proposal that will, con16 sistent with applicable rulings of the United States 

17 Supreme Court, specifically identify those waters 

18 covered under, and those waters not covered under, 

19 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act— 

20 (A) taking into consideration— 

21 (i) the public comments referred to in 

22 paragraph (1); and 

23 (ii) the advice and recommendations 

24 made by the State and local officials, 


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1 stakeholders, and other interested parties 

2 consulted under this section; and 

3 (B) incorporating the areas and issues 

4 where consensus was reached with the parties. 

5 (c) FEDERALISM CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 As part of consulting with and soliciting advice and rec7 ommendations from State and local officials under sub8 section (b), the Secretary and the Administrator shall— 

9 (1) seek to reach consensus with the State and 

10 local officials on how to define the term ‘‘waters of 

11 the United States’’ as used in the Federal Water 

12 Pollution Control Act; 

13 (2) provide the State and local officials with no14 tice and an opportunity to participate in the con15 sultation process under subsection (b); 

16 (3) consult with State and local officials that 

17 represent a broad cross-section of regional, eco18 nomic, policy, and geographic perspectives in the 

19 United States; 

20 (4) emphasize the importance of collaboration 

21 with and among the State and local officials; 

22 (5) allow for meaningful and timely input by 

23 the State and local officials; 

24 (6) recognize, preserve, and protect the primary 

25 rights and responsibilities of the States to protect 


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1 water quality under the Federal Water Pollution 

2 Control Act, and to plan and control the develop3 ment and use of land and water resources in the 

4 States; 

5 (7) protect the authorities of State and local 

6 governments and rights of private property owners 

7 over natural and manmade water features, including 

8 the continued recognition of Federal deference to 

9 State primacy in the development of water law, the 

10 governance of water rights, and the establishment of 

11 the legal system by which States mediate disputes 

12 over water use; 

13 (8) incorporate the advice and recommendations 

14 of the State and local officials regarding matters in15 volving differences in State and local geography, hy16 drology, climate, legal frameworks, economies, prior17 ities, and needs; and 

18 (9) ensure transparency in the consultation 

19 process, including promptly making accessible to the 

20 public all communications, records, and other docu21 ments of all meetings that are part of the consulta22 tion process. 

23 (d) STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION REQUIRE24 MENTS.—As part of consulting with and soliciting rec25 ommendations from stakeholders and other interested parVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 15, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1732.RFS H1732

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1 ties under subsection (b), the Secretary and the Adminis2 trator shall— 

3 (1) identify representatives of public and pri4 vate stakeholders and other interested parties, in5 cluding small entities (as defined in section 601 of 

6 title 5, United States Code), representing a broad 

7 cross-section of regional, economic, and geographic 

8 perspectives in the United States, which could poten9 tially be affected, directly or indirectly, by the new 

10 proposed rule under subsection (a), for the purpose 

11 of obtaining advice and recommendations from those 

12 representatives about the potential adverse impacts 

13 of the new proposed rule and means for reducing 

14 such impacts in the new proposed rule; and 

15 (2) ensure transparency in the consultation 

16 process, including promptly making accessible to the 

17 public all communications, records, and other docu18 ments of all meetings that are part of the consulta19 tion process. 

20 (e) TIMING OF FEDERALISM AND STAKEHOLDER

21 CONSULTATION.—Not later than 3 months after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Adminis23 trator shall initiate consultations with State and local offi24 cials, stakeholders, and other interested parties under sub25 section (b). 


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1 (f) REPORT.—The Secretary and the Administrator 

2 shall prepare a report that— 

3 (1) identifies and responds to each of the public 

4 comments filed on— 

5 (A) the proposed rule referred to in section 

6 2; 

7 (B) the accompanying economic analysis of 

8 the proposed rule entitled ‘‘Economic Analysis 

9 of Proposed Revised Definition of Waters of the 

10 United States’’ (dated March 2014); and 

11 (C) the report entitled ‘‘Connectivity of 

12 Streams & Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A 

13 Review & Synthesis of Scientific Evidence’’ 

14 (EPA/600/R–14/475F; dated January 2015); 

15 (2) provides a detailed explanation of how the 

16 new proposed rule under subsection (a) addresses 

17 the public comments referred to in paragraph (1); 

18 (3) describes in detail— 

19 (A) the advice and recommendations ob20 tained from the State and local officials con21 sulted under this section; 

22 (B) the areas and issues where consensus 

23 was reached with the State and local officials 

24 consulted under this section; 


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1 (C) the areas and issues of continuing dis2 agreement that resulted in the failure to reach 

3 consensus; and 

4 (D) the reasons for the continuing dis5 agreements; 

6 (4) provides a detailed explanation of how the 

7 new proposed rule addresses the advice and rec8 ommendations provided by the State and local offi9 cials consulted under this section, including the 

10 areas and issues where consensus was reached with 

11 the State and local officials; 

12 (5) describes in detail— 

13 (A) the advice and recommendations ob14 tained from the stakeholders and other inter15 ested parties, including small entities, consulted 

16 under this section about the potential adverse 

17 impacts of the new proposed rule and means for 

18 reducing such impacts in the new proposed rule; 

19 and 

20 (B) how the new proposed rule addresses 

21 such advice and recommendations; 

22 (6) provides a detailed explanation of how the 

23 new proposed rule— 

24 (A) recognizes, preserves, and protects the 

25 primary rights and responsibilities of the States 


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1 to protect water quality and to plan and control 

2 the development and use of land and water re3 sources in the States; and 

4 (B) is consistent with the applicable rul5 ings of the United States Supreme Court re6 garding the scope of waters to be covered under 

7 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and 

8 (7) provides comprehensive regulatory and eco9 nomic impact analyses, utilizing the latest data and 

10 other information, on how definitional changes in 

11 the new proposed rule will impact, directly or indi12 rectly— 

13 (A) each program under the Federal Water 

14 Pollution Control Act for Federal, State, and 

15 local government agencies; and 

16 (B) public and private stakeholders and 

17 other interested parties, including small enti18 ties, regulated under each such program. 

19 (g) PUBLICATION.— 

20 (1) FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE.—Not later 

21 than 3 months after the completion of consultations 

22 with and solicitation of recommendations from State 

23 and local officials, stakeholders, and other interested 

24 parties under subsection (b), the Secretary and the 


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1 Administrator shall publish for comment in the Fed2 eral Register— 

3 (A) the new proposed rule under sub4 section (a); 

5 (B) a description of the areas and issues 

6 where consensus was reached with the State 

7 and local officials consulted under this section; 

8 and 

9 (C) the report described in subsection (f). 

10 (2) DURATION OF REVIEW.—The Secretary and 

11 the Administrator shall provide not fewer than 180 

12 days for the public to review and comment on— 

13 (A) the new proposed rule under sub14 section (a); 

15 (B) the accompanying economic analysis 

16 for the new proposed rule; and 

17 (C) the report described in subsection (f). 

18 (h) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—Subchapter II 

19 of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code 

20 (commonly known as the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’) 

21 shall apply to the development and review of the new pro22 posed rule under subsection (a). 

23 (i) STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS DEFINED.—In this 

24 section, the term ‘‘State and local officials’’ means elected 


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1 or professional State and local government officials or 

2 their representative regional or national organizations. 

3 SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA4 TIONS. 

5 No additional funds are authorized to be appro6 priated to carry out this Act, and this Act shall be carried 

7 out using amounts otherwise available for such purpose. 

8 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON STATE PERMIT PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator of the Envi10 ronmental Protection Agency, based on the proposed rule 

11 developed under section 3, issues a final rule to define the 

12 term ‘‘waters of the United States’’ as used in the Federal 

13 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the 

14 Administrator shall— 

15 (1) not later than 90 days after the date of 

16 issuance of the final rule, review each permit pro17 gram being administered by a State under section 

18 402, 404, or 405 of that Act (33 U.S.C. 1342, 

19 1344, or 1345) to determine whether the permit 

20 program complies with the terms of the final rule; 

21 and 

22 (2) not later than 10 days after the date of 

23 completion of the review, notify the State of— 

24 (A) the Administrator’s determination 

25 under paragraph (1); and 


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1 (B) in any case in which the Administrator 

2 determines that a permit program does not 

3 comply with the final rule, the actions required 

4 to bring the permit program into compliance. 

5 (b) COMPLIANCE PERIOD.—During the 2-year period 

6 beginning on the date on which the Administrator provides 

7 notice to a State under subsection (a)(2), the Adminis8 trator may not withdraw approval of a State permit pro9 gram referred to in subsection (a)(1) on the basis that 

10 the permit program does not comply with the terms of 

11 a final rule described in subsection (a). 

12 (c) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

13 Nothing in this section may be construed to limit or other14 wise affect the authority of the Administrator under the 

15 Federal Water Pollution Control Act or any other provi16 sion of law— 

17 (1) to withdraw approval of a State permit pro18 gram referred to in subsection (a)(1), except as spe19 cifically prohibited by subsection (b); or 


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1 (2) to disapprove a proposed permit under a 

2 State permit program referred to in subsection (a). 

Passed the House of Representatives May 12, 2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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