Title: Federal Regulatory Certainty for Water Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Federal Regulatory Certainty for Water Act
This bill nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Rule signed on May 27, 2015, which describes the scope of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act).
Under this bill, the Clean Water Act applies to waters of the United States that are: (1) navigable-in-fact; or (2) permanent or continuously flowing bodies of water that form geographical features commonly known as streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes that are connected to waters that are navigable-in-fact.
Under this bill, the Act does not apply to: (1) waters that do not physically abut those waters of the United States through an actual and continuous surface water connection; (2) man-made or natural structures or channels through which water flows intermittently or ephemerally; or (3) wetlands (including playa lakes, prairie potholes, wet meadows, wet prairies, and vernal pools) that lack that continuous surface water connection.
The aggregation of wetlands or waters may not be used to determine whether the wetlands or waters are navigable waters.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1261 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1261

 To clarify the definition of navigable waters, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2017

Mr. Thornberry introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To clarify the definition of navigable waters, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Regulatory Certainty for 
Water Act''.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF AGENCY REGULATIONS.

    The final rule issued by the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Army entitled ``Clean Water 
Rule: Definition of `Waters of the United States''', signed by the 
Administrator and the Assistant Secretary on May 27, 2015, shall have 
no force or effect.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF NAVIGABLE WATERS.

    Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1362) is amended by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
            ``(7) Navigable waters.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `navigable waters' 
                means the waters of the United States, including the 
                territorial seas, that are--
                            ``(i) navigable-in-fact; or
                            ``(ii) permanent or continuously flowing 
                        bodies of water that form geographical features 
                        commonly known as streams, oceans, rivers, and 
                        lakes that are connected to waters that are 
                        navigable-in-fact.
                    ``(B) Exclusions.--The term `navigable waters' does 
                not include--
                            ``(i) waters that do not physically abut 
                        waters described in subparagraph (A) through an 
                        actual and continuous surface water connection;
                            ``(ii) man-made or natural structures or 
                        channels through which water flows 
                        intermittently or ephemerally, including for 
                        the periodic drainage of rainfall; or
                            ``(iii) wetlands, including playa lakes, 
                        prairie potholes, wet meadows, wet prairies, 
                        and vernal pools, that lack a continuous 
                        surface water connection to bodies of water 
                        that are waters described in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) No aggregation.--The aggregation of wetlands 
                or waters shall not be used to determine whether the 
                wetlands or waters are navigable waters.''.

SEC. 4. COAST GUARD.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed to impair, diminish, or otherwise affect the authority, 
function, jurisdiction, or power of the Coast Guard, or any member 
thereof, with respect to the navigable waters of the United States, or 
to affect or alter the status of such waters as navigable waters of the 
United States for such purposes.
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