I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3271 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to allow preservation 
leasing as a form of compensatory mitigation for discharges of dredged 
or fill material affecting State or Indian land, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2015 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to allow 
preservation leasing as a form of compensatory mitiga-
tion for discharges of dredged or fill material affecting 
State or Indian land, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. PRESERVATION LEASING OF STATE OR INDIAN 
LAND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(u) PRESERVATION LEASING OF STATE OR INDIAN 
LAND.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allow a 
permittee to satisfy compensatory mitigation re-
quirements for a permitted activity by entering into 
a preservation lease with— 
‘‘(A) a State if the permitted activity af-
fects wetlands that are located in the same wa-
tershed as the State land to be leased; or 
‘‘(B) an Indian tribe if the permitted activ-
ity affects wetlands that are located in the same 
watershed as the Indian land to be leased. 
‘‘(2) PRESERVATION LEASE.—As used in para-
graph (1), a preservation lease is an agreement 
under which a permittee leases wetlands or other 
aquatic sites on State or Indian land for the sole 
purpose of preserving the wetlands or other aquatic 
sites in an undisturbed state during the term of the 
lease to mitigate for a permitted activity. 
‘‘(3) TERM.—In order to satisfy compensatory 
mitigation requirements, the term of a preservation 
lease may be not less than the life of the permitted 
activity, and such term shall be adjusted to account 
for the cessation, in whole or in part, of the impacts 
caused by the permitted activity. 
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‘‘(4) SITUATIONS IN WHICH PERMITTEE CEASES 
TO MAINTAIN PERMITTED ACTIVITY.— 
‘‘(A) PERMIT MODIFICATIONS.—If a per-
mittee enters into a preservation lease with a 
State or Indian tribe under this subsection and 
subsequently ceases to maintain the permitted 
activity, or seeks to abandon the permitted ac-
tivity without a good faith transfer, the per-
mittee shall obtain a permit modification from 
the Secretary, which may require restoration 
and rehabilitation of the area. 
‘‘(B) CONSULTATION WITH STATE OR IN-
DIAN TRIBE.—Before making a determination 
under subparagraph (A) as to whether, and to 
what degree, restoration and rehabilitation are 
required, the Secretary shall consult, and fully 
consider, the position of the State or Indian 
tribe that is a party to any preservation lease 
associated with the permitted activity. 
‘‘(C) RESTORATION AND REHABILITATION 
PLANS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—If the Secretary 
determines under subparagraph (A) that 
restoration and rehabilitation are required, 
the Secretary may require the permittee to 
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submit to the Secretary and the State or 
Indian tribe, as appropriate, a plan for 
conducting the restoration and rehabilita-
tion. 
‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—A restoration and 
rehabilitation plan submitted under clause 
(i) shall include, at a minimum, goals and 
objectives, performance standards, and 
plans for site treatment, reporting, reme-
dial work, and monitoring to ensure that 
performance standards are met. 
‘‘(D) REVERSION OF LAND.—After activi-
ties conducted under a restoration and rehabili-
tation plan submitted under subparagraph 
(D)(i) 
have 
been 
completed, 
and 
the 
hydrological functions and fish and wildlife 
habitat of the area impacted by the permitted 
activity have been restored pursuant to the res-
toration and rehabilitation plan, the land sub-
ject to the lease shall revert back to the State 
or Indian tribe, as appropriate, without restric-
tion. 
‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
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‘‘(A) INDIAN
LAND.—The term ‘Indian 
land’ means land owned by, operated by, or oth-
erwise belonging to an Indian tribe. 
‘‘(B) INDIAN
TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian 
tribe’ means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or 
other organized group or community, including 
any Alaska Native village or regional or village 
corporation as defined in or established pursu-
ant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which is recognized as 
eligible for the special programs and services 
provided by the United States to Indians be-
cause of their status as Indians. 
‘‘(C) PERMITTED
ACTIVITY.—The term 
‘permitted activity’ means a discharge of 
dredged or fill material for which a permit is 
issued under this section. 
‘‘(D) PERMITTEE.—The term ‘permittee’ 
means a person that is issued a permit under 
this section. 
‘‘(E) STATE LAND.—The term ‘State land’ 
means land owned by, operated by, or otherwise 
belonging to a State.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply to permits issued under section 404 
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