Title: A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt Indian tribes from compensatory mitigation requirements in connection with certain discharges of dredged or fill material, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to exempt Indian tribes from a requirement to provide compensatory mitigation as a condition of a permit to discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States when the permitted activity is conducted on Indian land. If the Indian tribe ceases to maintain the permitted activity on that land, or seeks to abandon that activity without a good faith transfer, the Indian tribe must obtain a permit modification from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers may require restoration and rehabilitation of the area.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1289 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1289

   To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt Indian 
  tribes from compensatory mitigation requirements in connection with 
certain discharges of dredged or fill material, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 25, 2017

 Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt Indian 
  tribes from compensatory mitigation requirements in connection with 
certain discharges of dredged or fill material, 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. EXEMPTION FROM COMPENSATORY MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS.

    (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:
    ``(u) Indian Tribes.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Indian land.--The term `Indian land' means 
                land owned by, operated by, or otherwise belonging to 
                an Indian tribe.
                    ``(B) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has 
                the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian 
                Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
                U.S.C. 5304).
                    ``(C) Permitted activity.--The term `permitted 
                activity' means a discharge of dredged or fill material 
                for which a permit is issued under this section.
            ``(2) Exemption from compensatory mitigation 
        requirements.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 
        Indian tribe that applies for a permit for a permitted activity 
        to be conducted on Indian land shall not be required to provide 
        any form of compensatory mitigation as a condition of the 
        permit.
            ``(3) Evaluation of indian tribe permit application.--In 
        evaluating a permit application submitted by an Indian tribe to 
        carry out a permitted activity on Indian land, the Secretary 
        may not take into account the nonavailability of compensatory 
        mitigation under the exemption provided by paragraph (2).
            ``(4) Situations in which an indian tribe ceases to 
        maintain permitted activity.--If an Indian tribe described in 
        paragraph (2) ceases to maintain the permitted activity on 
        Indian land or seeks to abandon the permitted activity without 
        a good faith transfer, the Indian tribe shall obtain a permit 
        modification from the Secretary, which may require restoration 
        and rehabilitation of the area.
            ``(5) Effect.--The exemption described in paragraph (2) 
        shall not affect the applicability of any other requirement 
        under this Act to an Indian tribe or Indian land, including any 
        requirement to avoid and minimize adverse impacts to wetlands, 
        streams, and other aquatic resources.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to permits issued under section 404 of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
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