Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act

Bill: 118-hr-7013
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Duarte, John S. [R-CA-13]
Introduced: 2024-01-17
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Licensing and registrations

Marine pollution

Navigation, waterways, harbors

Solid waste and recycling

State and local government operations

Water quality
Latest action: action_date: 2024-01-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7013 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 17, 2024 Mr. Duarte (for himself and Mr. Rouzer ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to the scope of national pollutant discharge elimination system permit discharge authorizations and the expression of effluent limitations, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act . 2. Compliance with permits Section 402(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1342(k) ) is amended— (1) by striking (k) Compliance with and inserting the following: (k) Compliance with permits (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), compliance with ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (2) Scope For purposes of paragraph (1), compliance with the conditions of a permit shall be considered compliance with respect to a discharge of— (A) any pollutant for which an effluent limitation is included in the permit; and (B) any pollutant for which an effluent limitation is not included in the permit that is— (i) specifically identified as controlled or monitored through indicator parameters in the permit, the fact sheet for the permit, or the administrative record relating to the permit; (ii) specifically identified during the permit application process as present in discharges to which the permit will apply; or (iii) whether or not specifically identified in the permit or during the permit application process— (I) present in any waste streams or processes of the point source to which the permit applies, which waste streams or processes are specifically identified during the permit application process; or (II) otherwise within the scope of any operations of the point source to which the permit applies, which scope of operations is specifically identified during the permit application process. . 3. Expression of water quality-based effluent limitations Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1342 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (t) Expression of water quality-Based effluent limitations The Administrator (or a State, in the case of a permit program approved by the Administrator) may not include any water quality-based limitation on a discharge of a pollutant in a permit under this section except in the form of an effluent limitation that specifies— (1) the pollutant to which it applies; and (2) the numerical limit on the discharge of such pollutant, or the precise waterbody conditions to be attained with respect to such pollutant, required to comply with the permit. .