Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to citizen suits and the specification of disposal sites, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act 2. Citizen suits (a) Costs of litigation Section 505(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1365(d) (d) The court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to this section, shall award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to the prevailing party. For purposes of this subsection, the prevailing party shall be considered to be the party, if any, that prevails on more than half of the claims at issue in the action. The court may, if a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction is sought, require the filing of a bond or equivalent security in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. . (b) Restriction on certain settlements Section 505(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1365(c) (4) Restriction on certain orders and settlements A Federal court may not order, or approve a settlement requiring, in an action brought pursuant to this section, a governmental entity to carry out, or otherwise provide for, compensatory mitigation with respect to a permit applied for by, or issued to, the entity under section 404 in excess of the requirements for such mitigation under parts 320, 323, 325, and 332 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, and part 230 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. . 3. Eliminating duplicative oversight (a) In general Section 404(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344(c) (b) Conforming amendments Section 404(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344(b) (1) by striking Subject to subsection (c) of this section, each such disposal site Each such disposal site (2) by striking the Administrator, in conjunction with 4. Prohibition on excess mitigation Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344 (u) No governmental entity may carry out, or otherwise provide for, compensatory mitigation, with respect to a permit issued to the entity under this section, in excess of the requirements for such mitigation under parts 320, 323, 325, and 332 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, and part 230 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. .

Summary: Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act This bill revises requirements concerning (1) citizen suits under the Clean Water Act, (2) permits for wetlands, and (3) wetland mitigation. Litigation costs (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) must be awarded to the prevailing party, thus the bill removes a court's discretion to award the fees. A prevailing party is defined as the party that prevails on more than half of the claims at issue. In addition, the bill repeals the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny or restrict the use of any area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material when the discharge of those materials would have an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas. Finally, the bill revises mitigation requirements. Current law requires compensatory mitigation to replace the loss of aquatic resource functions in a watershed when a permit to discharge dredged or fill materials into navigable waters has unavoidable impacts on aquatic resources. This bill prohibits government entities from carrying out compensatory mitigation in excess of existing regulatory requirements.