I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1990 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit certain discharges of dredged material into the Great Lakes System, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2015 

Mr. LATTA (for himself and Ms. KAPTUR) 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 prohibit certain discharges of dredged material into the 

Great Lakes System, 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 ‘‘Protecting Our Great 

5 Lakes Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DISCHARGES OF DREDGED MATE2 RIAL INTO GREAT LAKES SYSTEM. 

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

4 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(u) PROHIBITION ON DISCHARGES OF DREDGED

7 MATERIAL INTO GREAT LAKES SYSTEM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifi9 cally provided by this subsection, beginning on the 

10 date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of 

11 this subsection, a discharge of dredged material into 

12 the Great Lakes System is prohibited. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

14 apply to any of the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) A discharge of dredged material into 

16 a confined disposal facility, including a confined 

17 disposal island. 

18 ‘‘(B) A discharge of dredged material in 

19 connection with— 

20 ‘‘(i) beneficial use; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) habitat establishment, improve22 ment, or restoration (or any combination 

23 thereof). 

24 ‘‘(3) TEMPORARY WAIVERS.—The Secretary (or 

25 a State with an approved permit program under this 

26 section) may waive application of the prohibition esVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 May 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1990.IH H1990

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1 tablished by paragraph (1) during the 2-year period 

2 beginning on the effective date of the prohibition 

3 specified in paragraph (1) with respect to a dis4 charge if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Administrator or State, as appro6 priate, determines that the waiver is necessary 

7 and appropriate; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of a waiver issued by the 

9 Secretary, each concerned State, as identified 

10 by the Secretary, reviews and approves the 

11 waiver. 

12 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH STATES.—The Sec13 retary shall consult with concerned States in the im14 plementation of this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(5) GREAT LAKES SYSTEM DEFINED.—In this 

16 subsection, the term ‘Great Lakes System’ has the 

17 meaning given that term in section 118(a)(3) of the 

18 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

19 1268(a)(3)).’’. 

20 (b) COST ANALYSIS FOR OPERATIONS AND MAINTE21 NANCE ACTIVITIES IN GREAT LAKES SYSTEM.—In deter22 mining, pursuant to section 335.4 of title 33, Code of Fed23 eral Regulations (or any successor regulation), the least 

24 costly manner, and the least costly and most practicable 

25 location, for discharges of dredged material resulting from 


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1 operations and maintenance activities of the Corps of En2 gineers in the Great Lakes System, the Secretary of the 

3 Army shall exclude from consideration the use of open4 water placement of dredged material. 

5 (c) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

6 Nothing in this section, including the amendment made 

7 by section (a), may be construed to limit or otherwise af8 fect the existing responsibilities of the Corps of Engi9 neers— 

10 (1) to dredge United States harbors and navi11 gation channels and dispose of dredged material; 

12 and 

13 (2) to provide, within its budget, for the full 

14 cost of the disposal of dredged material, including 

15 costs to comply with the requirements of this sec16 tion, including the amendment made by subsection 

17 (a). 

Æ 


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