Clean Water Enforcement and Compliance Improvement Act of 2003

Bill: 108-hr-1624
Sponsor: Rep. Pallone, Frank, Jr. [D-NJ-6]
Introduced: 2003-04-03 in the House
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Agriculture and Food
Animals
Cancer
Carcinogens
Citizen lawsuits
Citizen participation
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Civil actions and liability
Commerce
Computers
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Consent decrees
Consumer education
Crime and Law Enforcement
Damages
Depressed areas
Disciplining of employees
Discrimination in employment
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic data interchange
Electronic government information
Employee rights
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental assessment
Environmental health
Environmental justice
Environmental law enforcement
Environmental protection groups
Evidence (Law)
Federal aid to water pollution control
Federal-local relations
Federal-state relations
Fees
Fines (Penalties)
Fisheries
Fishery management
Fishing
Food safety
Freedom of information
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Government liability
Government paperwork
Government trust funds
Governmental investigations
Habitat conservation
Health
Industrial pollution
Infrastructure
Judicial review
Labor and Employment
Law
Legal fees
Liability for environmental damages
Licenses
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Marine pollution
Oil pollution
Planning
Pollution measurement
Prosecution
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Right of petition
Science, Technology, Communications
Shellfish
Signs and signboards
Sports and Recreation
Standards
State laws
Subpoena
Telephone
Unemployment
Waste disposal in rivers, lakes, etc.
Waste water treatment
Water Resources Development
Water pollution control
Water quality
Water treatment plants
Watersheds
Whistle blowing
Wildlife conservation
Witnesses

Summary:
action_date: 2003-04-03
text: Clean Water Enforcement and Compliance Improvement Act of 2003- Amends enforcement provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) regarding: (1) findings concerning harm caused and citizen suits; (2) compliance under State permits; (3) recordkeeping, effluent monitoring, and notice of pollution information; (4) priority areas (with a high degree of economic distress or social disenfranchisement); (5) violations of pretreatment requirements; (6) amounts of penalties; (7) the effect of State actions upon Federal ones; (8) inspection of significantly noncomplying facilities; and (9) the scope of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emergency powers.
Revises State pollutant discharge permit program requirements concerning program approval, inspection, monitoring, introduction of pollutants into publicly owned treatment works, poor compliance histories, submission of pollution prevention plans, and reporting.
Restricts the duration of permits that modify effluent limitations for toxic pollutants to two years and requires a hearing concerning owner-operator control and reasonable progress.
Authorizes citizen suits for past violations of effluent standards or limitations if there is evidence of repeated violations.
Includes in employee protections a prohibition against harassment or prosecution of, or discrimination against, persons for assisting in achieving compliance with, or refusing to violate, FWPCA.
Expands EPA subpoena authority and subjects additional actions under FWPCA to judicial review.
Establishes the Clean Water Trust Fund for mitigation projects.
Makes Federal agencies subject to all Federal, State, and local water pollution control and abatement requirements in the same manner as any other person. Waives sovereign immunity of the United States with respect to such requirements.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-04-04
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
action_date: 2003-04-03
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2003-04-03
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2003-04-03
text: Introduced in House