I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 806
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish a National
Clean Water Trust Fund and to authorize the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency to use amounts in that Fund to carry
out projects to restore and recover waters of the United States from
damages resulting from violations of that Act, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 13, 1997
Mr. VISCLOSKY (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mrs. LOWEY)
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 estab-
lish a National Clean Water Trust Fund and to author-
ize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency to use amounts in that Fund to carry out
projects to restore and recover waters of the United
States from damages resulting from violations of that
Act, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Clean Water
Trust Fund Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CLEAN WATER TRUST FUND.
Section 309 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1319) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(h) NATIONAL CLEAN WATER TRUST FUND.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in
the Treasury a National Clean Water Trust Fund
(hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the
‘Fund’) consisting of amounts transferred to the
Fund under paragraph (2) and amounts credited to
the Fund under paragraph (3).
‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS.—For fiscal year
1997, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary
of the Treasury shall transfer to the Fund an
amount determined by the Secretary to be equal to
the total amount deposited in the general fund of
the Treasury in the preceding fiscal year from fines,
penalties, and other moneys obtained through en-
forcement actions conducted pursuant to this section
and section 505(a)(1), including moneys obtained
under consent decrees and excluding any amounts
ordered to be used to carry out mitigation projects
under this section or section 505(a), as the case may
be.
‘‘(3) INVESTMENT
OF
AMOUNTS.—The Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall invest in interest-bear-
ing obligations of the United States such portion of
the Fund as is not, in the Secretary’s judgment, re-
quired to meet current withdrawals. Such obligations
shall be acquired and sold and interest on, and the
proceeds from the sale or redemption of, such obliga-
tions shall be credited to the Fund in accordance
with the requirements of section 9602 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986.
‘‘(4) 
USE
OF
AMOUNTS
FOR
REMEDIAL
PROJECTS.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available,
as provided in appropriations Acts, to the Adminis-
trator to carry out projects to restore and recover
waters of the United States from damages resulting
from violations of this Act which are subject to en-
forcement actions under this section and similar
damages resulting from the discharge of pollutants
into the waters of the United States.
‘‘(5) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—
‘‘(A) PRIORITY.—In selecting projects to
carry out under this subsection, the Adminis-
trator shall give priority to a project to restore
and recover waters of the United States from
damages described in paragraph (4), if an en-
forcement action conducted pursuant to this
section or section 505(a)(1) against such viola-
tion, or another violation in the same adminis-
trative region of the Environmental Protection
Agency as such violation, resulted in amounts
being deposited in the general fund of the
Treasury.
‘‘(B) CONSULTATION
WITH
STATES.—In
selecting projects to carry out under this sec-
tion, the Administrator shall consult with
States in which the Administrator is consider-
ing carrying out a project.
‘‘(C) ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS.—In de-
termining an amount to allocate to carry out a
project to restore and recover waters of the
United States from damages described in para-
graph (4), the Administrator shall, in the case
of a priority project under subparagraph (A),
take into account the total amount deposited in
the general fund of the Treasury as a result of
enforcement actions conducted with respect to
such violation pursuant to this section or sec-
tion 505(a)(1).
‘‘(6) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator
may carry out a project under this subsection either
directly or by making grants to, or entering into
contracts with, the Secretary of the Army or any
other public or private entity.
‘‘(7) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1
year after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, and every 2 years thereafter, the Adminis-
trator shall transmit to Congress a report on imple-
mentation of this subsection.’’.
SEC. 3. USE OF CIVIL PENALTIES FOR MITIGATION
PROJECTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 309(d) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(d)) is
amended by inserting after the second sentence the follow-
ing: ‘‘The court may, in the court’s discretion, order that
a civil penalty be used for carrying out mitigation projects
which are consistent with the purposes of this Act and
which enhance the public health or environment.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 505(a) of
such Act (33 U.S.C. 1365(a)) is amended by inserting be-
fore the period at the end of the last sentence the follow-
ing: ‘‘, including ordering the use of a civil penalty for
carrying out mitigation projects in accordance with section
309(d)’’.
Æ