113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5078 

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 ‘‘Waters of the United 

3 States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. RULES AND GUIDANCE. 

5 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF WATERS PROTECTED BY

6 THE CLEAN WATER ACT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Ad8 ministrator are prohibited from— 

9 (A) developing, finalizing, adopting, imple10 menting, applying, administering, or enforc11 ing— 

12 (i) the proposed rule described in the 

13 notice of proposed rule published in the 

14 Federal Register entitled ‘‘Definition of 

15 ‘Waters of the United States’ Under the 

16 Clean Water Act’’ (79 Fed. Reg. 22188 

17 (April 21, 2014)); or 

18 (ii) the proposed guidance submitted 

19 to the Office of Information and Regu20 latory Affairs of the Office of Management 

21 and Budget for regulatory review under 

22 Executive Order 12866, entitled ‘‘Guidance 

23 on Identifying Waters Protected By the 

24 Clean Water Act’’ and dated February 17, 

25 2012 (referred to as ‘‘Clean Water Protec26 tion Guidance’’, Regulatory Identifier 
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1 Number (RIN) 2040–ZA11, received Feb2 ruary 21, 2012); or 

3 (B) using the proposed rule or proposed 

4 guidance described in subparagraph (A), any 

5 successor document, or any substantially simi6 lar proposed rule or guidance, as the basis for 

7 any rulemaking or decision regarding the scope 

8 or enforcement of the Federal Water Pollution 

9 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 

10 (2) USE OF RULES AND GUIDANCE.—The use 

11 of the proposed rule or proposed guidance described 

12 in paragraph (1)(A), any successor document, or any 

13 substantially similar proposed rule or guidance, as 

14 the basis for any rulemaking or decision regarding 

15 the scope or enforcement of the Federal Water Pol16 lution Control Act shall be grounds for vacating the 

17 final rule, decision, or enforcement action. 

18 (b) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL CON19 SERVATION PRACTICES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Ad21 ministrator are prohibited from developing, final22 izing, adopting, implementing, applying, admin23 istering, or enforcing the interpretive rule described 

24 in the notice of availability published in the Federal 

25 Register entitled ‘‘Notice of Availability Regarding 
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1 the Exemption from Permitting Under Section 

2 404(f)(1)(A) of the Clean Water Act to Certain Ag3 ricultural Conservation Practices’’ (79 Fed. Reg. 

4 22276 (April 21, 2014)). 

5 (2) WITHDRAWAL.—The Secretary and the Ad6 ministrator shall withdraw the interpretive rule de7 scribed in paragraph (1), and such interpretive rule 

8 shall have no force or effect. 

9 (3) APPLICATION.—Section 404(f)(1)(A) of the 

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

11 1344(f)(1)(A)) shall be applied without regard to the 

12 interpretive rule described in paragraph (1). 

13 SEC. 3. FEDERALISM CONSULTATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Adminis15 trator shall jointly consult with relevant State and local 

16 officials to develop recommendations for a regulatory pro17 posal that would, consistent with applicable rulings of the 

18 United States Supreme Court, identify— 

19 (1) the scope of waters covered under the Fed20 eral Water Pollution Control Act; and 

21 (2) the scope of waters not covered under such 

22 Act. 

23 (b) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS.—In developing 

24 the recommendations under subsection (a), the Secretary 

25 and the Administrator shall— 
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1 (1) provide relevant State and local officials 

2 with notice and an opportunity to participate in the 

3 consultation process under subsection (a); 

4 (2) seek to consult State and local officials that 

5 represent a broad cross-section of regional, eco6 nomic, and geographic perspectives in the United 

7 States; 

8 (3) emphasize the importance of collaboration 

9 with and among the relevant State and local offi10 cials; 

11 (4) allow for meaningful and timely input by 

12 State and local officials; 

13 (5) be respectful of maintaining the Federal14 State partnership in implementing the Federal 

15 Water Pollution Control Act; 

16 (6) take into consideration the input of State 

17 and local officials regarding matters involving dif18 ferences in State and local geography, hydrology, cli19 mate, legal frameworks, economies, priorities, and 

20 needs; 

21 (7) promote transparency in the consultation 

22 process under subsection (a); and 

23 (8) explore with State and local officials wheth24 er Federal objectives under the Federal Water Pollu-
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1 tion Control Act can be attained by means other 

2 than through a new regulatory proposal. 

3 (c) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary and the Administrator shall publish in the 

7 Federal Register a draft report describing the rec8 ommendations developed under subsection (a). 

9 (2) CONSENSUS REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

10 and the Administrator may include a recommenda11 tion in the draft report only if consensus has been 

12 reached with regard to the recommendation among 

13 the Secretary, the Administrator, and the State and 

14 local officials consulted under subsection (a). 

15 (3) FAILURE TO REACH CONSENSUS.—If the 

16 Secretary, the Administrator, and the State and 

17 local officials consulted under subsection (a) fail to 

18 reach consensus on a regulatory proposal, the draft 

19 report shall identify that consensus was not reached 

20 and describe— 

21 (A) the areas and issues where consensus 

22 was reached; 

23 (B) the areas and issues of continuing dis24 agreement that resulted in the failure to reach 

25 consensus; and 
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1 (C) the reasons for the continuing dis2 agreements. 

3 (4) DURATION OF REVIEW.—The Secretary and 

4 the Administrator shall provide not fewer than 180 

5 days for the public review and comment of the draft 

6 report. 

7 (5) FINAL REPORT.—The Secretary and the 

8 Administrator shall, in consultation with the relevant 

9 State and local officials, address any comments re10 ceived under paragraph (4) and prepare a final re11 port describing the final results of the consultation 

12 process under subsection (a). 

13 (d) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not 

14 later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act, the Secretary and the Administrator shall jointly sub16 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc17 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and 

19 make publicly available the final report prepared under 

20 subsection (c)(5). 

21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

23 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of the Army. 
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1 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

4 (3) STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS.—The term 

5 ‘‘State and local officials’’ means elected or profes6 sional State and local government officials or their 

7 representative regional or national organizations. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 9, 

2014. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5078 

AN ACT 

To preserve existing rights and responsibilities with 

other purposes. respect to waters of the United States, and for