zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Coordinating Water Research for a Clean Water Future Act of 2012 - Requires the President to begin to implement a National Water Research and Development Initiative through the National Science and Technology Council, the National Water Research Coordination Office, and federal agencies. Requires such Initiative to: (1) establish the goals, priorities, and metrics for the evaluation of federal water research and development and other activities related to water; (2) invest in research and development activities related to water to achieve the goals established under the National Water Research and Development Strategic Plan; and (3) provide for interagency coordination of such research, development, and activities undertaken pursuant to such Initiative. Sets forth minimum activities that the Initiative is required to carry out. Requires such Council to: (1) oversee the planning, management, and coordination of such Initiative; (2) establish goals and priorities for the Initiative based on national needs; (3) coordinate all federal research, development, demonstration, data collection and dissemination, education, and technology development and transfer activities pertaining to water; (4) coordinate the Initiative's activities with the water-related research and development activities of the United States Global Change Research Program; (5) develop and submit an Annual National Water Research Report that analyzes the progress made toward achieving the goals and priorities established for the Initiative; (6) develop and update every three years a five-year National Water Research and Development Strategic Plan to guide the Initiative and prioritize its activities; and (7) through the Coordination Office, provide for public input and outreach to be integrated into the Initiative. Requires the President to establish a National Water Research Coordination Office to: (1) support such Council and the National Water Research Initiative Advisory Committee; (2) serve as the primary point of contact on federal water research and development activities; (3) conduct public outreach; (4) solicit input and recommendations from stakeholders during the development of each Strategic Plan and Annual Report; and (5) promote access to and early application of innovations, best practices, and expertise derived from Initiative activities. Establishes a National Water Research Initiative Advisory Committee to advise the President and the Council on matters relating to the Initiative.

Date: 2012-05-18
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Fairness Act of 2012 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to provide technical assistance to a Chesapeake Bay state (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia) to assist in developing water quality goals that reduce losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to such a state to assist agricultural producers or owners to promote state water quality goals. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to producers and owners in such watershed, either directly or through a technical service provider, an agricultural or silvicultural producer association, a state or local government, an Indian tribe, a farmer cooperative, an institution of higher education, or an organization with an established history of working with producers on agricultural land, to address: (1) local conservation priorities related to agricultural production, wildlife habitat development, and nonindustrial private forest land management; or (2) critical watershed-scale soil erosion, water quality, sediment reduction, or other natural resource concerns. Authorizes such technical assistance to be provided for: (1) conservation services to reduce losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from agricultural and nonindustrial private forest land in such watershed; or (2) identifying best management practices and assessing practices required to achieve compliance with state and federal water quality laws. Authorizes funding for each of FY2013-FY2018 for such activities in such watershed.

Date: 2012-06-29
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Water and Agriculture Technology Economic Revitalization Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies to earn income from dispositions of certain real property and stock interests without affecting their tax exempt status. Requires that such income be used to pay the costs of operations, maintenance, and capital improvements of such a company.

Date: 2012-09-20
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of, and land acquisition for, a project to reclaim and reuse wastewater in Sacramento County, California. Requires the project to consist of three phases, the first of which shall include the planning, design, and construction of water conveyance and related infrastructure to provide recycled water to irrigate approximately 4,500 acres of land in southern Sacramento County.

Date: 2012-12-19
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
Making Public Lands Public Access Act - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure, from amounts requested for the Land and Water Conservation Fund per fiscal year, that not less than the greater of 1.5% of the requested amounts or $10 million be made available for certain projects identified on an annual priority list to be developed pursuant to this Act. Requires projects identified on such a list to secure, through rights-of-way or the acquisition of lands or interests from willing sellers, recreational public access to existing federal public lands that have significantly restricted access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.

Date: 2011-05-05
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act of 2011 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Makes monies covered into the Fund available for expenditure to carry out the purposes of the Act without further appropriation. Requires not less than 1.5% of the annual authorized funding amount to be made available for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.

Date: 2011-06-23
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to provide payments to owners and operators of qualifying muck land (as determined by the Secretary) in agricultural production to conserve and improve such land's soil, water, and wildlife resources.

Date: 2011-09-21
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Agriculture and food
North Texas Zebra Mussel Barrier Act of 2012 - Makes the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 and provisions of the federal criminal code prohibiting importation of injurious animals inapplicable to any water transfer by the North Texas Municipal Water District and the Greater Texoma Utility Authority using only closed conveyance systems from the Lake Texoma raw water intake structure to treatment facilities at which all zebra mussels are extirpated and removed from the transferred water.

Date: 2012-09-13
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act or the FUELS Act - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in implementing the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure rule with respect to any farm, to require certification of compliance with such rule by: (1) a professional engineer for a farm with an individual tank with an aboveground storage capacity greater than 10,000 gallons, an aggregate aboveground storage capacity of at least 42,000 gallons, or a history that includes a spill, as determined by the Administrator; or (2) the owner or operator of the farm (via self-certification) for a farm with an aggregate aboveground storage capacity greater than 10,000 gallons but less than 42,000 gallons and no history of spills. Exempts from all requirements of such rule any farm with an aggregate aboveground storage capacity of at least 10,000 gallons and no history of spills. Excludes all containers on separate parcels that have a capacity that is less than 1,320 gallons from the aggregate storage capacity of a farm.

Date: 2012-09-19
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Ditch and Irrigation Company Tax Reform Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies to earn income from dispositions of certain real property and stock interests without affecting their tax exempt status. Requires that such income be used to pay the operational and maintenance expenses of such a company.

Date: 2012-11-29
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Coral Reef Conservation Act Reauthorization and Enhancement Amendments of 2013 - Amends the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 to extend the award of remaining coral reef conservation program grant funds to appropriate projects, including monitoring and assessment, research, pollution reduction, education, and technical support.

Authorizes actions to: (1) minimize injury to a coral reef or loss of an ecosystem function resulting from human activities; and (2) stabilize, repair, or restore the reef.

Deems specified terms (such as "sanctuary resources" and "national marine sanctuary") to include any coral reef that is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States or (subject to state consent) any state, regardless of whether the reef is in a national marine sanctuary.

Makes the destruction, loss, or injury of a coral reef not unlawful in certain circumstances, including if it was: (1) from permitted usage of fishing gear; (2) caused by an authorized activity; (3) subject to exception, the necessary result of marine scientific research; (4) caused by a federal agency in certain circumstances; or (5) unavoidable.

Modifies the Act's purposes, the goals and objectives of the national coral reef action strategy, and the Act's authorized activities.

Allows the Coral Reef Conservation Fund to be used to address emergency response actions.

Authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to: (1) make community-based planning grants for increased protection of high priority coral reefs, (2) maintain an inventory of all coral reef vessel groundings, (3) identify all coral reefs with a high incidence of vessel impacts, and (4) identify measures to reduce such impacts.

Directs the Secretary of Commerce to submit an international coral reef ecosystem strategy to Congress and authorizes the Secretary to establish an international coral reef ecosystem partnership program.

Establishes the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to coordinate federal actions.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, subject to appropriations, to provide financial assistance for coral reef conservation.

Date: 2013-01-03
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Water Advanced Technologies for Efficient Resource Use Act of 2013 - Establishes within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a WaterSense program to identify and promote water efficient products, buildings and landscapes, and services to reduce water use, conserve energy, and preserve water resources. Sets forth the duties of the EPA Administrator for promoting, publicizing, and administering the WaterSense program.

Requires federal agencies to purchase WaterSense products or services or a Federal Energy Management Program designated product through their procurement process.

Establishes a program to provide financial incentives for consumer purchase and installation of residential water efficient products and services.

Date: 2013-01-03
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Replaces the map included in the set of maps entitled "Coastal Barrier Resources System" (referred to in specified provisions of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act and relating to Unit L06 in the state of North Carolina) with another map relating to the same unit entitled "John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Corrected Unit L06."

Date: 2013-01-04
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act or the FUELS Act - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in implementing the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure rule with respect to any farm, to require certification of compliance with such rule by: (1) a professional engineer for a farm with an individual tank with an aboveground storage capacity greater than 10,000 gallons, an aggregate aboveground storage capacity of at least 42,000 gallons, or a history that includes a spill, as determined by the Administrator; or (2) the owner or operator of the farm (via self-certification) for a farm with an aggregate aboveground storage capacity greater than 10,000 gallons but less than 42,000 gallons and no history of spills. Directs the Administrator to exempt from all requirements of such rule any farm with an aggregate aboveground storage capacity of 10,000 gallons or less and no history of spills.

Excludes from the aggregate storage capacity of a farm all containers on separate parcels that have a capacity that is less than 1,320 gallons.

Date: 2013-01-18
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Preserving Marginal Lands and Protecting Farming Act of 2013 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to set the maximum number of acres that may be enrolled at any one time in the conservation reserve program (CRP) at: (1) 29 million acres for FY2013, (2) 26 million acres for FY2014, and (3) 26 million acres for each of FY2015 through FY2018.

Prohibits the enrollment of land in the conservation reserve that is classified as class I or class II land under the National Soil Survey Handbook's land capability classification system unless such land is enrolled as a buffer, filterstrip, or strip adjacent to a riparian area.

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), during FY2014, to permit a participant that entered into a CRP contract to terminate the contract at any time if the contract has been in effect for at least five years.

Revises the types of land that are not subject to early contract termination.

Date: 2013-01-22
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a tax deduction for business-related expenses paid or incurred by a responsible party relating to an incident resulting in the discharge of oil into the navigable waters, other than an incident caused by an act of God or an act of war.

Date: 2013-02-04
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

 Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to remove the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the specification, or restrict the use, of an area as a disposal site for discharges of dredged or fill materials into waters of the United States once the Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit for the discharge.

Date: 2013-02-06
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Great Lakes Nutrient Removal Assistance Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program to provide grants to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and municipalities in such states to upgrade eligible municipal wastewater treatment plants with nutrient removal technologies. Requires the Administrator to give priority to plants at which nutrient removal technology upgrades would: (1) produce the greatest nutrient load reductions at points of discharge, (2) result in the greatest environmental benefits to the Great Lakes System, and (3) help meet the objectives related to nutrients outlined in Annex four of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Defines as "eligible" a plant that: (1) has a permitted design capacity to treat an annual average of at least 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day, and (2) is located within the Great Lakes System in any of such states.

Prohibits the federal share from exceeding 55% of the total cost of upgrading such plants.

Date: 2013-02-08
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Coastal State Climate Change Planning Act - Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation planning and response program to: (1) provide assistance to coastal states to voluntarily develop coastal climate change adaptation plans to minimize contributions to climate change and to prepare for and reduce the negative consequences that may result from climate change in the coastal zone, and (2) provide financial and technical assistance and training to enable coastal states to implement such plans through coastal states' enforceable policies.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to coastal states to develop such plans and to support projects that implement strategies contained in such plans. Requires the Secretary to promote and encourage the use of National Estuarine Research Reserves as sites for pilot or demonstration projects carried out with such grants.

Date: 2013-02-15
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Sunshine on Conflicts Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue a rule within 60 days to prohibit any member of a board or body that approves permit applications for the discharge of pollutants from seeking to influence the approval of any permit in which that member has a financial interest.

Provides that the requirement that state national pollutant discharge elimination system programs ensure that any board or body that approves permits excludes as a member any person who receives or has received during the previous two years a significant portion of income from permit holders or applicants shall have no force or effect after the earlier of the date on which such rule is issued or 120 days after this Act's enactment.

Date: 2013-02-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
San Francisco Bay Restoration Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide funding for activities, studies, or projects, including restoration projects and habitat improvement for fish, waterfowl, and wildlife, that are identified in an annual priority list and that advance the goals and objectives of the comprehensive management plan for the San Francisco estuary.

Authorizes funding to be provided through cooperative agreements, grants, or other means to state and local agencies, special districts, public or nonprofit agencies, institutions, and organizations. Prohibits funding from being used for the administration of a management conference for the San Francisco estuary under the National Estuary Program.

Requires the Administrator, in developing the priority list, to consult with and consider the recommendations of: (1) the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, (2) the state of California and affected local governments in the San Francisco Bay estuary watershed, and (3) any other relevant stakeholder involved with the protection and restoration of such estuary.

Limits funding amounts under this Act to 75% of the total cost of eligible activities to be carried out using those amounts.

Authorizes the Administrator to carry out this Act for each of FY2013-FY2017.

Date: 2013-02-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Amends the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to remove from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System and related maps the areas comprising Indian Peninsula Unit FL-92 and Cape San Blas Unit P-30 in Florida.

Date: 2013-03-04
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Asian Carp Prevention Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of the Army to coordinate and lead federal actions with respect to preventing the spread of Asian carp in the Great Lakes and its tributaries.

Authorizes the Secretary to carry out projects to prevent the spread of Asian carp in the Great Lakes and its tributaries, including: (1) installing electric, acoustic, air bubble, and other barriers; (2) applying pesticides; (3) improving locks; and (4) taking actions at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, Illinois, to prevent the spread of Asian carp.

Requires the Secretary to implement measures recommended in the dispersal barrier efficacy study, or provided in interim reports, authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 to prevent aquatic nuisance species from bypassing the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier Project and dispersing into the Great Lakes.

Date: 2013-03-06
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
Great Lakes Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) from performing a discharge (defined as an intentional diversion of waste streams to bypass any portion of a treatment facility which results in a discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage into the Great Lakes) unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage, there is no feasible alternative, and the treatment works provides notice; or (2) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility.

Requires a POTW to provide prior notice for any anticipated discharge, or notice as soon as practicable for any unanticipated discharge (but no later than two hours after a discharge begins for a POTW with an automated detection system or 12 hours after a discharge begins for a POTW without such system), to: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or a state if the state has an approved permit program), (2) each local health department (or a state health department if a local department does not exist), (3) the municipality in which a discharge occurred, (4) each municipality with jurisdiction over waters that may be affected, (5) a daily newspaper of general circulation in each county in which such a municipality is located, and (6) the public.

Requires a POTW, within five days after such initial notice, to provide follow-up notice regarding the cause of, reason for, dates and times of, anticipated duration of, volume of, public access areas affected by, and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of, the discharge. Requires the Administrator (or a state with an approved permit program) to annually publish and make available to the public a list of the POTWs from which a follow-up notice was received.

 Includes among prohibited bypasses those resulting in discharges from a POTW that consist of effluent routed around treatment units and blended with effluent from treatment units prior to discharge.

Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to comply with this Act.

Establishes a maximum civil penalty of $100,000 per day for violations of this Act occurring on or after January 1, 2033.

Establishes the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund into which penalties for violations of this Act shall be deposited and from which amounts shall be provided for improving wastewater discharges.

Date: 2013-03-14
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Flood Control Facility Maintenance Clarification Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to: (1) include the removal of sediment, debris, and vegetation as "maintenance" of a currently serviceable structure for which the discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters at specified disposal sites is not prohibited; and (2) include a channel or basin as such a structure.

Date: 2013-03-20
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 8, 2013. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act of 2013 - Expands the boundary of the California Coastal National Monument, established by Presidential Proclamation 7264, to include the Point Arena-Stornetta public lands in Mendocino County, California.

Requires management of such lands in accordance with such Proclamation, and as part of the Monument, except that: (1) traditional economic activities and existing uses, such as grazing and maintenance of existing structures used for grazing, shall not be restricted; and (2) lands and interests in land within the proposed land addition not owned by the federal government shall not become part of the Monument, and the future acquisition of such lands and interests by the government may only occur through donation or exchange with the landowner's written consent.

Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to finalize an amendment to the Monument's management plan for the long-term protection and management of the lands added to the Monument under this Act. Requires the plan amendment to be developed with an opportunity for full public participation.

Permits the use of motorized and mechanized vehicles in the Monument only on roads and trails designated for such use, except as needed for emergency or authorized administrative purposes.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire non-federal land or interests within or adjacent to the land added to the Monument only through exchange, or donation with the landowner's written consent. Bars the inclusion of non-federal land within the boundaries of the Monument without such consent. Requires any such acquired land or interests to be added to and administered as part of the Monument.

Prohibits the addition of lands to the Monument under this Act from resulting in a lack of or restricted access by motorized vehicle to any non-federal lands within the Monument.

Declares that nothing in this Act: (1) restricts or precludes low-level military, commercial, and general aviation overflights; (2) affects law enforcement authorities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); (3) enlarges, diminishes, or modifies the rights of any Indian tribes and Indian religious communities; or (4) affects livestock grazing and the maintenance of existing structures used for grazing with the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands or the Monument.

States that: (1) the expansion of the Monument is not intended to lead to the establishment of protective perimeters and buffer zones around the land included in the Monument by this Act; and (2) the fact that activities outside the Monument can be seen or heard within the land added to the Monument by this Act shall not, of itself, preclude those activities or uses up to the Monument's boundary.

Requires management of the Monument as part of the National Landscape Conservation System.

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Marine Debris Emergency Act of 2013 - Amends the Marine Debris Act to: (1) require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to approve or disapprove a grant application with respect to a severe marine debris event and provide grant funds to an approved applicant within 60 days after receipt of the grant application, and (2) authorize the Administrator to give preference under the Marine Debris Program to projects that address such an event.

Authorizes state governors to request that the Administrator declare a severe marine debris event for purposes of grant consideration and disbursement. Requires the Administrator, within 30 days after receiving such request, to either declare such an event or provide a response explaining why the declaration was not made.

Allows the Administrator to: (1) require a grant recipient to provide training to persons engaged in grant-funded marine debris response efforts on the potential impacts of marine debris, including nonindigenous species related to the debris, on the economy, the marine environment, and navigation safety; and (2) enter into agreements to use the personnel, services, equipment, or facilities of federal agencies, state and local governments, regional agencies, interstate agencies, and other entities on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis.

Defines "nonindigenous species" to mean any species or other viable biological material that enters an ecosystem beyond its historic range, including any such organism transferred from one country into another.

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide funds to any state, local, or tribal government impacted by the events, including marine debris, resulting from the March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan (such events are defined collectively as a "covered severe marine debris event"). Provides for such funds to assist with the costs of any activity carried out to address the effects of such event.

Permits the Administrator to provide such funds using any funds provided by the government of Japan for such purposes.

Date: 2013-04-11
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Revises the boundaries of the Gasparilla Island Unit FL-70P in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in Florida.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to revise the maps of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System to remove from Florida System Unit P-16 the areas of Collier County, Florida, known as Royal Marco Point on Marco Island and La Peninsula of the Isles of Capri in Naples.

Exempts such removed areas from provisions denying new insurance coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program to properties in violation of state or local laws restricting land development or occupancy in flood-prone areas, thereby making new flood insurance available to the removed areas. Prohibits the removed areas from being denied flood insurance pursuant to such restrictions unless: (1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determines that such property would have been declared by a state or local zoning authority to be in violation of state or local laws without regard to whether this Act had been in effect at the time of such declaration; or (2) after the enactment of this Act, a state or local zoning authority finds such property to be in violation of such state or local laws.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Clean Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to define "fill material" to mean any pollutant that replaces portions of waters of the United States with dry land or that changes the bottom elevation of a water body for any purpose and to exclude any pollutant discharged into the water primarily to dispose of waste.

Date: 2013-05-06
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Offending Oil Polluters Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny all income tax credits and deductions to an offending oil polluter. Defines "offending oil polluter" to mean any person responsible for a vessel or a facility from which oil is discharged, unless such person: (1) has met all obligations under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to provide compensation for covered removal costs and damages; (2) was not found during the seven-year period after the first oil discharge to have committed willful or repeated violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; (3) was not convicted of a criminal violation for death or serious bodily injury; (4) did not have more than 10 fatalities at its facilities or refineries resulting from violations of federal or state health, safety, or environmental laws; and (5) was not required to pay fines of more than $10 million for violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) or the Clean Air Act.

Date: 2013-05-08
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from:

 promulgating a revised or new water quality standard for a pollutant when the Administrator has approved a state water quality standard for such pollutant unless the state concurs with the Administrator's determination that the revised or new standard is necessary to meet the requirements of such Act; taking action to supersede a state's determination that a discharge will comply with effluent limitations, water quality standards, controls on the discharge of pollutants, and toxic and pretreatment effluent standards under such Act; withdrawing approval of a state program under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), limiting federal financial assistance for a state NPDES program, or objecting to the issuance of a NPDES permit by a state on the basis that the Administrator disagrees with the state regarding the implementation of an approved water quality standard or the implementation of any federal guidance that directs the interpretation of such standard; or denying or restricting the use of an area as a disposal site for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters in a permit if the state where the discharge originates does not concur with the Administrator's determination that the discharge will result in an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds, and fishery areas. Shortens the period in which the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service must submit comments with respect to a general dredge and fill permit application. Requires the Administrator and other agencies to submit comments on an application for a general permit or a permit to discharge into navigable waters at specified disposal sites within 30 days (or 60 days if additional time is requested) after the date of receipt of such application.

Applies this Act to actions taken on or after this Act's date of enactment, including actions taken with respect to permit applications that are pending or revised or new standards that are being promulgated.

Requires the Administrator, before issuing a regulation, policy statement, guidance, response to a petition, or other requirement or implementing a new or substantially altered program under this Act, to analyze the impact, disaggregated by state, of such action on employment levels and economic activity. Directs the Administrator to: (1) post such analysis on EPA's website; (2) request that the governor of any state experiencing more than a de minimis negative impact on employment levels or economic activity (a loss of more than 100 jobs or a decrease in economic activity of more than $1 million) post such analysis in the state's capitol; (3) hold a public hearing in each state where such action will have more than a de minimis negative impact; and (4) give notice of such impact to states' congressional delegations, governors, and legislatures.

Date: 2013-05-13
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Silviculture Regulatory Consistency Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from requiring, or from promulgating regulations that direct a state to require, a permit under the national pollutant discharge elimination system for a discharge of stormwater runoff resulting from the conduct of the following silviculture activities: nursery operations, site preparation, reforestation, thinning, prescribed burning, pest and fire control, harvesting operations, surface drainage, and road use, construction, and maintenance.

 Specifies that nothing in this Act exempts a silvicultural activity resulting in the discharge of dredged of fill material from permit requirements for discharges into navigable waters.

Date: 2013-05-16
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Amends the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to remove from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System and related maps the areas comprising Bay County Unit P-31P in Florida.

Date: 2013-05-20
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act - Amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to reauthorize appropriations for allocations to carry out approved wetlands conservation projects through FY2018.

Prohibits: (1) the Secretary of the Interior from using these funds to acquire land, or (2) a nongovernment organization from using these funds to acquire land unless the acquisition is approved by the state or insular area fish and wildlife agency with jurisdiction with respect to that land.

Revises reporting requirements by requiring the annual assessment of the status of wetlands conservation projects to include an accounting of expenditures made for acquisition of federal lands.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
Reauthorizes the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 with specified appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce through FY2018.

Date: 2013-06-03
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to revise the Coastal Barrier Resources System maps relating to the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in North Carolina to remove the following properties from such system:

 Lot Number 3, Waters Edge in Hampstead, NC 28443; 182 S Beach Road, Wilmington, NC 28405; 311 Windchase Lane, Wilmington, NC 28409; and 225 Chimney Lane Wilmington, NC 28411.

Date: 2013-06-06
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Preserving Rural Resources Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to replace a requirement that a permit be obtained for any discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters incidental to any activity having as its purpose bringing an area of such waters into a use to which it was not previously subject and where the flow or circulation of such waters may be impaired or the reach of such waters may be reduced with a requirement that a permit be obtained for any such discharge that is not currently exempted from permit requirements.

Date: 2013-06-28
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Clean Water Compliance and Ratepayer Affordability Act of 2013 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out a pilot program to work cooperatively with and facilitate the efforts of municipalities to develop and implement integrated plans to meet their wastewater and stormwater obligations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) in a cost-effective and flexible manner and consistent with the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Approach Framework issued by EPA in May 2012.

Directs the Administrator, in consultation with states that have approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System programs, to select at least 15 municipalities to participate in the program. Sets forth selection factors, including by giving a priority to those with a history of knowledgeable, detailed, and comprehensive efforts to develop integrated and adaptive clean water management practices, without regard to the municipality's status in the process of planning or implementing them.

Provides standards for approval of a municipality's integrated plan under the pilot program, including concerning financial capability, prioritization of obligations under the Clean Water Act, and the use of innovative and flexible approaches to meet obligations.

Allows priority to be given to municipalities seeking to develop and implement approaches that adapt to changed or future uncertain circumstances.

Provides additional authorities regarding selected municipalities concerning: (1) extension of the allowable national pollutant discharge elimination system permit term, (2) modification of implementation terms of a consent decree, and (3) additional regulatory flexibility in approving and implementing an integrated plan that includes adaptive approaches.

Date: 2013-07-17
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to require that the comprehensive statement of estimated requirements submitted with the annual U.S. budget specify that not less than 40% of appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund be made available for the Land and Water Conservation Fund State Assistance Program.

Date: 2013-07-18
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes. Makes this Act applicable to contributions made in taxable years beginning after 2013.

Date: 2013-07-24
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies to earn income from dispositions of certain real property and stock interests without affecting their tax-exempt status. Requires that such income be used to pay the costs of operations, maintenance, and capital improvements of such a company.

Date: 2013-08-02
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Reauthorization Act - Amends the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network through FY2018.

Date: 2013-09-19
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Revises the boundaries of the Long Pond Unit SC-01 in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in South Carolina.

Date: 2013-10-01
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Revises the boundaries of the Huntington Beach Unit SC-03 in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in South Carolina.

Date: 2013-10-01
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Commercial Vessel Discharges Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit a permit from being required under such Act for a discharge incidental to the normal operation of a covered vessel.

Defines a "covered vessel" to mean every description of watercraft, or other artificial contrivance used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, that is engaged in commercial service and that is: (1) less than 79 feet in length; or (2) a fishing vessel, regardless of length.

Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) determine, within one year, the discharges incidental to the normal operation of a covered vessel for which it is reasonable and practicable to develop best management practices to mitigate adverse impacts on the waters of the United States; and (2) review such determination every five years.

Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, in consultation with the Administrator, to promulgate regulations on the use of best management practices for discharges incidental to the normal operation of a covered vessel that the Administrator determines are reasonable and practicable.

Prohibits, upon the promulgation of such regulation, the owner or operator of a covered vessel from operating in, or discharging such discharge into, navigable waters, if the owner or operator of the vessel is not using such practices.

Date: 2013-11-13
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on December 2, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Revises the boundaries of the following units within the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System:

 Lea Island Complex L07, Wrightsville Beach Unit L08, and Masonboro Island Unit L09 in North Carolina; Sachuest Point Unit RI-04P, Easton Beach Unit RI-05P, Almy Pond Unit RI-06, and Hazards Beach Unit RI-07 in Rhode Island; Gasparilla Island Unit FL-70P in Florida; and Long Pond Unit SC-01 and Huntington Beach Unit SC-03 in South Carolina;

Date: 2013-11-21
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Making Public Lands Public Access Act - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure, from amounts requested for the Land and Water Conservation Fund per fiscal year, that not less than the greater of 1.5% of the requested amounts or $10 million be made available for certain projects identified on an annual priority list to be developed pursuant to this Act.

Requires projects identified on such a list to secure, through rights-of-way or the acquisition of lands or interests from willing sellers, recreational public access to existing federal public lands that have significantly restricted access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.

Date: 2014-01-29
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources