Water Quality Certification and Energy Project Improvement Act of 2023

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make changes with respect to water quality certification, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Water Quality Certification and Energy Project Improvement Act of 2023 2. Certification Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1341 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in the first sentence, by striking may result may directly result (ii) in the second sentence, by striking activity discharge (iii) in the third sentence, by striking applications requests (iv) in the fifth sentence, by striking act on grant or deny (v) by inserting after the fourth sentence the following: Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the Water Quality Certification and Energy Project Improvement Act of 2023 (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) in the second sentence, by striking notice of application for such Federal license or permit receipt of a notice under the preceding sentence (ii) in the third sentence, by striking any water quality requirement any applicable provision of section 301, 302, 303, 306, or 307 (iii) in the fifth sentence, by striking insure compliance with applicable water quality requirements. ensure compliance with the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307. (iv) in the final sentence, by striking insure ensure (v) by striking the first sentence and inserting On receipt of a request for certification, the certifying State or interstate agency, as applicable, shall immediately notify the Administrator of the request. (C) in paragraph (3), in the second sentence, by striking section any applicable provision of section (D) in paragraph (4)— (i) in the first sentence, by striking applicable effluent limitations or other limitations or other applicable water quality requirements will not be violated no applicable provision of section 301, 302, 303, 306, or 307 will be violated (ii) in the second sentence, by striking will violate applicable effluent limitations or other limitations or other water quality requirements will directly result in a discharge that violates an applicable provision of section 301, 302, 303, 306, or 307, (iii) in the third sentence, by striking such facility or activity will not violate the applicable provisions operation of such facility or activity will not directly result in a discharge that violates any applicable provision (E) in paragraph (5), by striking the applicable provisions any applicable provision (2) in subsection (d), by striking any applicable effluent limitations and other limitations, under section 301 or 302 of this Act, standard of performance under section 306 of this Act, or prohibition, effluent standard, or pretreatment standard under section 307 of this Act, and with any other appropriate requirement of State law set forth in such certification, and the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307, and any such limitations or requirements (3) by adding at the end the following: (e) For purposes of this section, the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307 are any applicable effluent limitations and other limitations, under section 301 or 302, standard of performance under section 306, prohibition, effluent standard, or pretreatment standard under section 307, and requirement of State law implementing water quality criteria under section 303 necessary to support the designated use or uses of the receiving navigable waters. . March 17, 2023 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Summary: Water Quality Certification and Energy Project Improvement Act of 2023 This bill revises the water quality certification process under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for any activity that requires a federal license or permit and may result in a discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States. Activities that require such federal licenses or permits include hydropower, natural gas pipeline, or mining projects. Under the existing Section 401, an applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct such activities must provide the federal licensing or permitting agency with a certification. The certification must attest that the discharge will comply with enumerated sections of the CWA (i.e., Sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307) and with any other appropriate requirement of state law set forth in the certification. The certifying authority—usually the state in which the discharge originates, but sometimes an Indian tribe or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—may grant, grant with conditions, deny, or waive certification of a proposed federal license or permit. This bill limits the scope of the certification process by eliminating the requirement that the discharge comply with appropriate state law set forth in the certification. It also requires decisions to grant or deny a request for certification to be based only on the enumerated sections of the CWA and provisions of state law that implement water quality criteria under Section 303. In addition, it also limits the certification process to activities that may directly result in a discharge into waters of the United States. In addition, the bill requires certifying authorities to identify all materials or information that are necessary to grant or deny the request within 90 days of receiving a request for certification. They must also publish requirements for their water quality certifications.