I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7023 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 17, 2024 Mr. Rouzer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to codify certain regulatory provisions relating to nationwide permits for dredged or fill material, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Nationwide Permitting Improvement Act . 2. Permits for dredged or fill material (a) In general Section 404(e) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344 ) is amended— (1) by striking (e)(1) In carrying and inserting the following: (e) General permits on State, regional, or nationwide basis (1) Permits authorized In carrying ; (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) by striking (2) No general and inserting the following: (2) Term No general ; and (B) by striking five years and inserting ten years ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (3) Considerations In determining the environmental effects of an activity under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall consider only the effects of any discharge of dredged or fill material resulting from such activity. (4) Nationwide permits for linear infrastructure projects (A) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Secretary shall maintain a general permit on a nationwide basis for linear infrastructure projects that do not result in the loss of greater than 1/2 -acre of waters of the United States for each single and complete project (as defined in section 330.2 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this paragraph)). (B) Definition of linear infrastructure project In this paragraph, the term linear infrastructure project means a project to carry out any activity required for the construction, expansion, maintenance, modification, or removal of infrastructure and associated facility for the transmission from a point of origin to a terminal point of communications or electricity or the transportation from a point of origin to a terminal point of people, water, wastewater, carbon dioxide, or fuel or hydrocarbons (in the form of a liquid, liquescent, gaseous, or slurry substance or supercritical fluid), including oil and gas pipeline facilities. (5) Reissuance of nationwide permits In determining whether to reissue a general permit issued under this subsection on a nationwide basis— (A) no consultation with an applicable State pursuant to section 6(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1535(a) ) is required; (B) no consultation with a Federal agency pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of such Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2) ) is required; and (C) the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) ) shall be satisfied by preparing an environmental assessment with respect to such general permit. . (b) Administration of nationwide permit program In carrying out section 404(e) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344 ), the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, may not finalize or implement any modification to— (1) general condition 15 (relating to single and complete projects), as included in the final rule titled Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits and published on January 13, 2021, by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (86 Fed. Reg. 2868); (2) the definition of single and complete linear project, as included in such final rule (86 Fed. Reg. 2877); or (3) the definition of single and complete project, as included in section 330.2 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act).