I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 960 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify the authority 
of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to dis-
approve specifications of disposal sites for the discharge of dredged 
or fill material, and to clarify the procedure under which a higher 
review of specifications may be requested. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2011 
Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky (for himself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify 
the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to disapprove specifications of disposal 
sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material, and 
to clarify the procedure under which a higher review 
of specifications may be requested. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mining Jobs Protection 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PERMITS FOR DREDGED OR FILL MATERIAL. 
Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by striking subsection 
(c) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(c) AUTHORITY
OF
ADMINISTRATOR
TO
DIS-
APPROVE SPECIFICATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in ac-
cordance with this subsection, may prohibit the spec-
ification of any defined area as a disposal site, and 
may deny or restrict the use of any defined area for 
specification as a disposal site, in any case in which 
the Administrator determines, after notice and op-
portunity for public hearings and consultation with 
the Secretary, that the discharge of those materials 
into the area will have an unacceptable adverse ef-
fect on— 
‘‘(A) municipal water supplies; 
‘‘(B) shellfish beds and fishery areas (in-
cluding spawning and breeding areas); 
‘‘(C) wildlife; or 
‘‘(D) recreational areas. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR ACTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator 
shall— 
‘‘(i) not later than 30 days after the 
date on which the Administrator receives 
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from the Secretary for review a specifica-
tion proposed to be issued under sub-
section (a), provide notice to the Secretary 
of, and publish in the Federal Register, a 
description of any potential concerns of the 
Administrator with respect to the specifica-
tion, including a list of measures required 
to fully address those concerns; and 
‘‘(ii) if the Administrator intends to 
disapprove a specification, not later than 
60 days after the date on which the Ad-
ministrator receives a proposed specifica-
tion under subsection (a) from the Sec-
retary, provide to the Secretary and the 
applicant, and publish in the Federal Reg-
ister, a statement of disapproval of the 
specification pursuant to this subsection, 
including the reasons for the disapproval. 
‘‘(B) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Adminis-
trator fails to take any action or meet any 
deadline described in subparagraph (A) with re-
spect to a proposed specification, the Adminis-
trator shall have no further authority under 
this subsection to disapprove or prohibit 
issuance of the specification. 
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‘‘(3) NO RETROACTIVE DISAPPROVAL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The authority of the 
Administrator 
to 
disapprove 
or 
prohibit 
issuance of a specification under this sub-
section— 
‘‘(i) terminates as of the date that is 
60 days after the date on which the Ad-
ministrator receives the proposed specifica-
tion from the Secretary for review; and 
‘‘(ii) shall not be used with respect to 
any specification after issuance of the spec-
ification by the Secretary under subsection 
(a). 
‘‘(B) SPECIFICATIONS
DISAPPROVED
BE-
FORE DATE OF ENACTMENT.—In any case in 
which, before the date of enactment of this sub-
paragraph, the Administrator disapproved a 
specification under this subsection (as in effect 
on the day before the date of enactment of the 
Mining Jobs Protection Act) after the specifica-
tion was issued by the Secretary pursuant to 
subsection (a)— 
‘‘(i) the Secretary may— 
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‘‘(I) reevaluate and reissue the 
specification after making appropriate 
modifications; or 
‘‘(II) elect not to reissue the 
specification; and 
‘‘(ii) the Administrator shall have no 
further authority to disapprove the modi-
fied specification or any reissuance of the 
specification. 
‘‘(C) FINALITY.—An election by the Sec-
retary under subparagraph (B)(i) shall con-
stitute final agency action. 
‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (3), this subsection applies to each speci-
fication proposed to be issued under subsection (a) 
that is pending as of, or requested or filed on or 
after, the date of enactment of the Mining Jobs Pro-
tection Act.’’. 
SEC. 3. REVIEW OF PERMITS. 
Section 404(q) of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1344(q)) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘(q) Not 
later than’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(q) AGREEMENTS; HIGHER REVIEW OF PERMITS.— 
‘‘(1) AGREEMENTS.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; 
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Such 
agreements’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—Agreements described 
in subparagraph (A)’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) HIGHER REVIEW OF PERMITS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (C), before the Administrator or the head 
of another Federal agency requests that a per-
mit proposed to be issued under this section re-
ceive a higher level of review by the Secretary, 
the Administrator or other head shall— 
‘‘(i) consult with the head of the State 
agency having jurisdiction over aquatic re-
sources in each State in which activities 
under the requested permit would be car-
ried out; and 
‘‘(ii) obtain official consent from the 
State agency (or, in the case of multiple 
States in which activities under the re-
quested permit would be carried out, from 
each State agency) to designate areas cov-
ered or affected by the proposed permit as 
aquatic resources of national importance. 
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‘‘(B) FAILURE TO OBTAIN CONSENT.—If 
the Administrator or the head of another Fed-
eral agency does not obtain State consent de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) with respect to a 
permit proposed to be issued under this section, 
the Administrator or Federal agency may not 
proceed in seeking higher review of the permit. 
‘‘(C) LIMITATION
ON
ELEVATIONS.—The 
Administrator or the head of another Federal 
agency may request that a permit proposed to 
be issued under this section receive a higher 
level of review by the Secretary not more than 
once per permit. 
‘‘(D) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 
applies to permits for which applications are 
submitted under this section on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2010.’’. 
Æ 
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