SEC. 5. IDENTIFICATION OF WATERS PROTECTED BY THE 
CLEAN WATER ACT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army and 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy may not— 
(1) finalize, adopt, implement, administer, or 
enforce the proposed guidance described in the no-
tice of availability and request for comments entitled 
‘‘EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Guidance Re-
garding Identification of Waters Protected by the 
Clean Water Act’’ (EPA–HQ–OW–2011–0409) (76 
Fed. Reg. 24479 (May 2, 2011)); and 
(2) use the guidance described in paragraph 
(1), any successor document, or any substantially 
similar guidance made publicly available on or after 
December 3, 2008, as the basis for any decision re-
garding the scope of the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or any rule-
making. 
(b) RULES.—The use of the guidance described in 
subsection (a)(1), or any successor document or substan-
tially similar guidance made publicly available on or after 
December 3, 2008, as the basis for any rule shall be 
grounds for vacating the rule. 
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SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY TO MODIFY STATE 
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS. 
(a) STATE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS.—Section 
303(c)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1313(c)(4)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 
(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 
(2) by striking ‘‘(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)(A)’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘The Administrator shall pro-
mulgate’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) The Administrator shall promulgate;’’ 
and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) 
Notwithstanding 
subparagraph 
(A)(ii), the Administrator may not promulgate 
a revised or new standard for a pollutant in any 
case in which the State has submitted to the 
Administrator and the Administrator has ap-
proved a water quality standard for that pollut-
ant, unless the State concurs with the Adminis-
trator’s determination that the revised or new 
standard is necessary to meet the requirements 
of this Act.’’. 
(b) FEDERAL LICENSES
AND PERMITS.—Section 
401(a) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1341(a)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(7) With respect to any discharge, if a State 
or interstate agency having jurisdiction over the nav-
igable waters at the point where the discharge origi-
nates or will originate determines under paragraph 
(1) that the discharge will comply with the applica-
ble provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 
307, the Administrator may not take any action to 
supersede the determination.’’. 
SEC. 7. STATE AUTHORITY TO IDENTIFY WATERS WITHIN 
ITS BOUNDARIES. 
Section 303 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1313) is amended by striking subsection 
(d)(2) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2)(A) Each State shall submit to the Admin-
istrator from time to time, with the first such sub-
mission not later than 180 days after the date of 
publication of the first identification of pollutants 
under section 304(a)(2)(D), the waters identified 
and the loads established under paragraphs (1)(A), 
(1)(B), (1)(C), and (1)(D) of this subsection. The 
Administrator shall approve the State identification 
and load or announce his disagreement with the 
State identification and load not later than 30 days 
after the date of submission and if— 
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‘‘(i) the Administrator approves the identi-
fication and load submitted by the State in ac-
cordance with this subsection, such State shall 
incorporate them into its current plan under 
subsection (e); and 
‘‘(ii) the Administrator announces his dis-
agreement with the identification and load sub-
mitted by the State in accordance with this sub-
section he shall submit, not later than 30 days 
after the date that the Administrator announces 
his disagreement with the State’s submission, to 
such State his written recommendation of those 
additional waters that he identifies and such 
loads for such waters as he believes are nec-
essary to implement the water quality standards 
applicable to such waters. 
‘‘(B) Upon receipt of the Administrator’s rec-
ommendation the State shall within 30 days either— 
‘‘(i) disregard the Administrator’s rec-
ommendation in full and incorporate its own 
identification and load into its current plan 
under subsection (e); 
‘‘(ii) 
accept 
the 
Administrator’s 
rec-
ommendation in full and incorporate its identi-
fication and load as amended by the Adminis-
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trator’s recommendation into its current plan 
under subsection (e); or 
‘‘(iii) accept the Administrator’s rec-
ommendation in part, identifying certain addi-
tional waters and certain additional loads pro-
posed by the Administrator to be added to such 
State’s identification and load and incorporate 
the such State’s identification and load as 
amended into its current plan under subsection 
(e). 
‘‘(C)(i) If the Administrator fails to either ap-
prove the State identification and load or announce 
his disagreement with the State identification and 
load within the time specified in this subsection then 
such State’s identification and load is deemed ap-
proved and such State shall incorporate the identi-
fication and load that it submitted into its current 
plan under subsection (e). 
‘‘(ii) If the Administrator announces his dis-
agreement with the State identification and load but 
fails to submit his written recommendation to the 
State within 30 days as required by subparagraph 
(A)(ii) then such State’s identification and load is 
deemed approved and such State shall incorporate 
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the identification and load that it submitted into its 
current plan under subsection (e). 
‘‘(D) This section shall apply to any decision 
made by the Administrator under this subsection 
issued on or after March 1, 2013.’’. 
Æ 
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