zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Hunt Unrestricted on National Treasures Act or HUNT Act - Requires each head of a federal public land management agency (the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management [BLM]), to annually make available to the public on its website a report that includes: (1) a list of the land more than 640 acres in size under its jurisdiction on which the public is allowed to hunt, fish, or use such land for other recreational purposes and to which there is no public access or egress or to which such access or egress to the land's legal boundaries is significantly restricted; (2) a list of locations and acreage on such land that the agency head determines have significant potential for use for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes; and (3) a plan to provide such access and egress that is consistent with the travel management plan in effect.

Requires each agency head to make available to the public on the agency's website, and thereafter revise, a list of roads or trails that provide the primary public access and egress to the legal boundaries of contiguous parcels of land equal to more than 640 acres in size under the agency's jurisdiction on which the public is allowed to hunt, fish, or use such lands for other recreational purposes.

Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to require allotment from the Land and Water Conservation Fund of an amount not less than 1.5% of the moneys appropriated for projects that secure public access to federal land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes through easements, rights-of-way, or fee title acquisitions from willing sellers.

Date: 2013-09-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Clean Estuaries Act of 2014 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise, and reauthorize through FY2019, the National Estuary Program.

Expands the purposes of management conferences for estuary programs, including by adding components that must be included in a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (Plan).

Requires management conferences to make use of collaborative processes in updating or developing a Plan.

Establishes a process by which a state may resubmit a Plan that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined is incomplete.

Considers a submission or resubmission of a Plan to be approved if the EPA fails to respond within 120 days of receiving it. Requires the EPA to terminate a management conference if the conference fails to submit a Plan within three years of being convened.

Requires the EPA to: (1) evaluate, every five years, the implementation of each Plan developed to determine the degree to which the goals of the plan have been met; (2) submit the results of the evaluation to the appropriate management conference for review and comment; and (3) report on the results of the evaluation and make the report publicly available. Requires management conferences to update plans within 18 months after they are evaluated.

Authorizes the EPA to consider a management conference to be in probationary status if the conference has not received approval for an updated plan within five years of the date of the evaluation's publication. Requires the EPA to: (1) reduce a grant for the implementation of a plan developed by a management conference with probationary status, and (2) terminate a management conference and cease funding for the implementation of the plan if the conference has been in probationary status for two consecutive years.

Requires appropriate federal agencies, after the EPA's approval of a Plan, to cooperate and to coordinate activities related to implementation. Makes the EPA the lead coordinating agency for implementing Plans.

Requires an agency head, in making annual budget requests, to consider the agency's responsibilities under the Program.

Requires the EPA to include measures to track the introduction and establishment of nonnative species within the trend assessment program to monitor variations in environmental parameters that may affect estuarine zones.

Requires the EPA to evaluate and report to the public on the National Estuary Program every five years.

Date: 2014-02-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Regulatory Fairness Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to define the period of time in which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized to restrict or deny a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into navigable waters as the period that:

 begins on the date that the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, provides notice to the Administrator that the Secretary has completed all procedures for processing an application for a permit for dredged or fill material and is ready to determine whether the permit should be issued; and ends on the date that the Secretary issues the permit. Requires the Administrator to consult with the Secretary before restricting or denying a permit.

Directs the Administrator to make publicly available the basis of and reasons for making a determination to restrict or deny such a permit and information reviewed in making the determination.

Prohibits previous action by the Administrator that occurred outside of this period to deny or restrict a permit or to prohibit the specification of any defined area as a disposal site for dredged or fill materials from being valid or otherwise enforceable.

Date: 2014-03-25
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Smart Water Resource Management Conservation and Efficiency Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish and carry out a smart water resource management pilot program to award grants to three to five eligible entities (authorities that provide water, wastewater, or water reuse services) to demonstrate novel and innovative technology-based solutions that will: (1) increase the energy and water efficiency of water, wastewater, and water reuse systems; (2) improve such systems to help communities make significant progress in conserving water, saving energy, and reducing costs; and (3) support the implementation of innovative processes and the installation of advanced automated systems that provide real-time data on energy and water.

Directs the Secretary, in selecting grant recipients, to consider:

 energy and cost savings; the novelty of the technology to be used; the degree to which the project integrates next-generation sensors, software, analytics, and management tools; the anticipated cost-effectiveness of the pilot project in terms of energy efficiency savings, water savings or reuse, and infrastructure costs averted; whether the technology can be deployed in a variety of geographic regions and the degree to which the technology can be implemented on a smaller or larger scale; and whether the project will be completed in five years or less. Requires the Secretary to evaluate, annually, each project for which a grant is provided and make best practices identified available to the public.

Date: 2014-04-09
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
Water Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 30% of amounts paid for certified WaterSense program property (defined as any plumbing fixture or fitting that has been tested and certified in accordance with the WaterSense program of the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], a voluntary partnership program for protecting the water supply by using less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services, or an analogous successor program). Limits the lifetime dollar amount of such credit to $2,000. Terminates such credit after 2015.

Date: 2014-04-09
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Community Water Enhancement Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in making grants under the pilot program for alternative water source projects to meet critical water supply needs, to consider the location and benefits of projects in rural communities (including whether the area is served by a public water system with fewer than 3,000 connections or is located in an area with no public water system).

Includes among such projects: (1) the conjunctive management of groundwater supplies by delivery of surface water instead of groundwater, and (2) water treatment or distribution facilities if the project requires such facilities to deliver the alternative water supply. Authorizes funding for the program through FY2018.

Date: 2014-04-09
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2014 - Requires the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a Delaware River Basin restoration program, under which the Director shall: (1) draw on management plans for the Basin or portions of the Basin and work in consultation with applicable management entities, including representatives of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, the Delaware River Basin Commission, the federal government, other state and local governments, and regional and nonprofit organizations, to identify, prioritize, and implement restoration and protection activities within the Basin; and (2) adopt a Basin-wide strategy that supports the implementation of a shared set of science-based restoration and protection activities, targets cost-effective conservation projects, and supports measurable conservation efforts.

Defines "Basin" as the four-state Delaware Basin region, including all of Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania located in the Delaware River watershed.

Requires the Director to establish the Delaware River Basin restoration grant program to provide competitive matching grants to carry out the restoration program. Requires the Director to develop criteria to ensure that funded activities: (1) restore or protect fish and wildlife and their habitats; (2) improve or protect water quality by reducing pollutants and restoring headwater areas and drinking water basins; (3) improve the management of water volume and mitigation of flood damage to support the ecological needs of fish and wildlife and their habitats; (4) include priority needs or actions identified in the Basin-wide strategy; and/or (5) include restoration and protection activities with multiple benefits in the Basin, including habitat, water quality, and flood damage mitigation. Limits the federal share of the total cost of a funded project to 50%. Authorizes the Director to contract with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or another organization that offers grant management services.

Date: 2014-05-08
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
Highway Runoff Management Act - Requires each state to develop for approval a state highway stormwater management program consisting of management measures to prevent, reduce, or control highway runoff from federal-aid highway projects.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to publish guidance to assist states in the establishment of such measures.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Clean Water Affordability Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise and reauthorize through FY2019 a grant program to intercept, transport, control, or treat combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows.

Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a comprehensive and integrated planning approach to the obligations under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) of a publicly owned treatment work (POTW) or a publicly owned municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4). Allows approval of a NPDES permit under a state-administered program with a term of between 5 and 25 years if a POTW or MS4 has an integrated plan approved under this Act.

Requires the EPA to: (1) amend the CSO control policy to allow a POTW with an approved long-term control plan to modify the plan to incorporate green infrastructure and energy-efficient technologies if they are cost-effective, and (2) allow a POTW 30 years to meet compliance obligations under a modified plan.

Requires the EPA to: (1) promote the use of green infrastructure in permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance; and (2) establish a voluntary green infrastructure portfolio standard to increase the percentage of annual water managed by eligible entities that use green infrastructure.

Requires the EPA to update the guidance entitled "Combined Sewer Overflows - Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development" to ensure that the evaluations of financial capability assessment and schedule development meet specified criteria.

Date: 2014-09-11
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Authorizes funding for environmental restoration activities of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) in Florida as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan if the Army Corps of Engineers gives approval by December 30, 2015.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Digital Coast Act of 2014 - Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a constituent-driven Digital Coast program. (This program currently exists under NOAA to provide data, tools, and training that communities use to manage their coastal resources.) Directs the program to: (1) provide an online resource that integrates geospatial data, decision-support tools, training, and best practices to address coastal management issues and needs and to enhance resilient communities, ecosystem values, and coastal economic growth and development; and (2) provide for the documentation, dissemination, and archiving of the data.

Requires NOAA to focus on filling data needs and gaps for critical coastal management issues, support continued improvement in existing efforts to coordinate the acquisition and integration of key data sets needed for coastal management and other purposes, and enter into financial agreements to carry out the program.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the distribution of a cosmetic that contains synthetic plastic microbeads beginning on January 1, 2018.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Health
Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2014 - Directs the Forest Service to establish a Water Source Protection Program within the region of the National Forest System west of the 100th Meridian.

Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into water source investment partnerships with specified end water users to protect and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds that provide water to non-federal partners.

Allows the Secretary to produce a water source management plan.

Directs the Secretary to establish a Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program within such region to:

 carry out critical maintenance and urgent repairs and improvements on National Forest System roads, trails, and bridges; restore fish and other aquatic organism passage by removing or replacing unnatural barriers to the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms; decommission unneeded roads and trails; and carry out associated activities. Requires the Chief of the Forest Service to develop a national strategy to implement the Remediation Program.

Directs the Forest Service to establish a Watershed Condition Framework within such region to:

 evaluate and classify the condition of watersheds, identify for restoration up to five priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to two priority watersheds in each national grassland, develop a watershed restoration action plan for each priority watershed, prioritize restoration activities for each watershed restoration action plan, implement each watershed restoration action plan, and monitor the effectiveness of restoration actions and indicators of watershed health. Reauthorizes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund for FY2015-FY2024.

Date: 2014-11-12
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Clean Water Compliance and Affordability Act - Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out a pilot program to work with and facilitate the efforts of eligible municipalities to develop and implement integrated plans to meet 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 EPA to select at least 15 municipalities to participate in the program. Sets forth eligibility and selection factors. Prescribes standards for approval of a municipality's integrated plan under the pilot program. Allows priority to be given to municipalities seeking to develop and implement approaches that adapt to changed or future uncertain circumstances.

Authorizes the EPA to: (1) extend the allowable national pollutant discharge elimination system permit term to a maximum of 25 years, (2) modify the implementation terms of a consent decree, and (3) provide additional regulatory flexibility in approving and implementing an integrated plan that includes adaptive approaches.

Date: 2014-12-10
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill revises the boundaries of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Unit L06 in Topsail, North Carolina.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Water in the 21st Century Act or W21

This bill establishes within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a WaterSense program to identify, label, and promote water efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services.

This bill establishes a program to provide financial incentives for consumers to purchase and install products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled under the WaterSense program.

The EPA is required to make grants to owners or operators of water systems to address any ongoing or forecasted impact of climate change on a region's water quality or quantity.

The Department of the Interior may: (1) provide financial assistance to water projects in specified states, including projects for water recycling, water infrastructure, enhanced energy efficiency, desalination, and water storage and conveyance; and (2) transfer to nonfederal entities title to any reclamation projects or facility in need of rehabilitation that are authorized before enactment of this Act.

The U.S. Geological Survey must establish an open water data system to advance the availability, timely distribution, and widespread use of water data and information for water management, education, research, assessment, and monitoring purposes.

This bill reauthorizes through FY2020 the Water Desalination Act of 1996 and water resources research and technology institutes under the Water Resources Research Act of 1984.

After receiving a request from a nonfederal sponsor, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must review the operation of a reservoir and, if appropriate, update the water control manual to incorporate improved weather and runoff forecasting methods.

The EPA is required to develop voluntary national drought resilience guidelines relating to preparedness planning and investments for water users and providers.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must prepare a salmon drought plan for California.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Great Lakes and Fresh Water Algal Bloom Information Act 

This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create an online database of research and information on the causes and corrective actions being taken with regard to algal blooms in the Great Lakes, their tributaries, and other surface fresh waters. NOAA must include relevant chemical, physical, and biological data that have been collected by an accredited university, association or organization, research group, federal agency, state, or local government in the United States or Canada.

This bill does not grant NOAA any new authority, including the authority to require submission of data.

Date: 2015-01-14
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from state volume caps tax-exempt facility bonds for sewage and water supply facilities.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Estuary Urgent Needs Priority Program Act

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise the National Estuary Program by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make competitive awards to address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the economic and ecological well-being of coastal areas, including extensive seagrass habitat losses, recurring harmful algae blooms, unusual marine mammal mortalities, invasive exotic species, and jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons.

The EPA must give priority to national estuary programs that are not part of the Geographic Programs as described in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2015 

This bill prohibits the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from:

 developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering, or enforcing the proposed rule entitled, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act," issued on April 21, 2014, or the proposed guidance entitled, "Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected By the Clean Water Act," dated February 17, 2012; or using the proposed rule or proposed guidance, any successor document, or any substantially similar proposed rule or guidance as the basis for any rulemaking or decision regarding the scope or enforcement of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). The Army Corps and the EPA must withdraw the interpretive rule entitled, "Notice of Availability Regarding the Exemption from Permitting Under Section 404(f)(1)(A) of the Clean Water Act to Certain Agricultural Conservation Practices," issued on April 21, 2014.

The Army Corps and the EPA are required to consult with relevant state and local officials to develop recommendations for a regulatory proposal that would identify the scope of waters covered under the Clean Water Act and the scope of waters not covered.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent after 2014 the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.

The bill also allows a tax deduction for conservation contributions made by a Native Corporation of land conveyed under the Alaska Claims Settlement Act.

Date: 2015-02-02
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Department 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: 2015-02-05
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on February 9, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

This bill modifies certain boundaries of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Units located in Collier County, Florida.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Regulatory Certainty Act of 2015 - This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to limit the period during which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may 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 to the period that:

 begins on the date that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides notice to the EPA that the Corps has completed all procedures for processing an application for a permit for dredged or fill material and is ready to determine whether the permit should be issued; and ends on the date that the Corps issues the permit. The Corps must ensure that the period consists of at least 30 consecutive days.

The Corps may issue a permit for dredged or fill material only after the Corps provides notice to the EPA.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Zika Vector Control Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency or a state from requiring a permit until September 30, 2018, under the Clean Water Act for a discharge from a point source into navigable waters of a pesticide authorized for sale, distribution, or use under FIFRA, or a residue resulting from the application of the pesticide. Point source pollution is waste discharged from a distinct place, such as a pipe, channel, or tunnel.

(Sec. 3) The bill establishes exemptions for the following discharges containing a pesticide or pesticide residue: (1) a discharge resulting from the application of a pesticide in violation of FIFRA that is relevant to protecting water quality, if the discharge would not have occurred but for the violation or the amount of pesticide or pesticide residue contained in the discharge is greater than would have occurred without the violation; (2) stormwater discharges regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES); and (3) discharges regulated under NPDES of manufacturing or industrial effluent or treatment works effluent and discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, including a discharge resulting from operations concerning ballast water held in ships to increase stability or vessel biofouling prevention. These exemptions expire on September 30, 2018.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Douglas County Conservation Act of 2015

Directs the Forest Service to convey approximately 67 acres of certain Forest Service land (Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park) to the state of Nevada to be used for the conservation of wildlife or natural resources or for a public park.

Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make publicly available a prospectus to solicit one or more concessionaires for the approximately 125 acres of land identified as the Round Hill Pines Resort and the approximately 448 acres of land identified as the Zephyr Shoals.

 Directs the Forest Service for National Forest System land and the Department of Interior for land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey approximately 7,990 acres of specified federal land to Douglas County, Nevada, to be used for flood control or any other public purpose. Prohibits such land from being disposed of by the county.

Directs the Forest Service or Interior, as appropriate, to conduct one or more sales of specified public lands in the county to qualified bidders, with the option for the state or county to obtain the land for public purposes before the land is offered for sale. Amends the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 to specify the disposition of funds from a sale.

Transfers all interest of the United States in the approximately 1,016 acres of certain federal land which shall be held in trust for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, and which shall become part of the Tribe's reservation. Prohibits the conduct of certain gaming on such land. Designates approximately 12,330 acres of specified federal land managed by the BLM, to be known as the Burbank Canyons Wilderness, as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Releases the approximately 1,065 acres of public land in the Burbank Canyons Wilderness study area not designated as wilderness by this Act from further study for designation as wilderness.

Authorizes USDA to transfer from the Forest Service to Douglas County, Nevada, certain lands or interests in Forest Service land which are unsuitable for Forest Service administration or necessary for a public purpose.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise the National Estuary Program by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to make competitive awards to address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the economic and ecological well-being of coastal areas, including:

 extensive seagrass habitat losses resulting in significant impacts on fisheries and water quality, recurring harmful algae blooms, unusual marine mammal mortalities, invasive exotic species that may threaten wastewater systems and cause other damage, jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons, flooding that may be related to sea level rise or wetland degradation or loss, and low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters and related nutrient management. The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 grants to develop, implement, and monitor comprehensive conservation and management plans for estuaries. A certain portion of the allocation of appropriations must be used for the competitive awards.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Clean Water Compliance and Ratepayer Affordability Act of 2015

 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out a pilot program to facilitate the efforts of at least 15 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 the EPA in May 2012.

A municipality is eligible to participate in the pilot program if the municipality is: (1) a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit holder or designee; or (2) operating under an administrative order, administrative consent agreement, or judicial consent decree to comply with the requirements of the Clean Water Act.

The EPA may give priority to municipalities seeking to develop and implement an integrated plan that includes approaches that adapt to changed or future uncertain circumstances.

In carrying out the pilot program and in mutual agreement with participating municipalities, the EPA may: (1) extend the allowable NPDES permit term by up to 25 years, (2) modify the implementation terms of a consent decree, and (3) provide additional regulatory flexibility in approving and implementing an integrated plan that includes adaptive approaches.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
San Francisco Bay Restoration Act

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to provide funding for prioritized activities, studies, or projects that advance the goals and objectives of the comprehensive management plan for the San Francisco estuary. Funding may be provided through cooperative agreements, grants, or other means. Funding may not be used for the administration of a management conference for the San Francisco estuary under the National Estuary Program.

Funding amounts provided under this Act may not exceed 75% of the total cost of eligible activities to be carried out using those amounts.

This bill authorizes appropriations for the funding program through FY2019.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Coastal State Climate Change Planning Act 

This bill amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to direct the Department of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation planning and response program which shall assist coastal states with the voluntary development of coastal climate change adaptation plans in order to: (1) minimize contributions to climate change, and (2) prepare for and reduce the negative consequences that may result from climate change in the coastal zone. The program must also provide financial and technical assistance and training to implement the plans through enforceable state policies.

Commerce may make grants to coastal states for developing the plans and supporting projects that implement strategies contained in approved plans. Commerce must promote and encourage the use of National Estuarine Research Reserves as sites for pilot or demonstration projects carried out with the grants.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Ocean Acidification Research Partnerships Act

This bill amends the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 to require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide grants for collaborative research projects on ocean acidification developed and conducted through partnerships between the seafood industry and the academic community. NOAA must prioritize projects which: (1) address ecosystems and communities vulnerable to the impacts of ocean acidification, (2) demonstrate support from local stakeholders, or (3) utilize seafood industry assets as research and monitoring platforms.

NOAA may make a grant to a partnership in which a marine-dependent industry is substituted for the seafood industry.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on December 7, 2015. The summary of the House passed version is repeated here.)

Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ban rinse-off cosmetics that contain intentionally-added plastic microbeads beginning on January 1, 2018, and to ban manufacturing of these cosmetics beginning on July 1, 2017. These bans are delayed by one year for cosmetics that are over-the-counter drugs.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Health
Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act 

This bill amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to permit states to allow qualified (tax-exempt) organizations, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to acquire, hold, and manage conservation easements using funds provided to the state under the Forest Legacy Program. The qualified organizations must be organized for specified conservation purposes.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to authorize states to issue permits to discharge pollutants into navigable waters for up to 20 years. Currently, permits are allowed to be issued for up to 5 years.

Date: 2015-03-25
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Clean Water Affordability Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a comprehensive and integrated planning approach to the permit obligations under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) or a municipal separate storm sewer system.

A state may extend the term of a NPDES permit to up to 25 years under a state-administered NPDES program, if the permittee has an approved integrated plan.

The EPA must update the guidance entitled "Combined Sewer Overflows--Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development," to ensure that the evaluations by the EPA of financial capability assessment and schedule development meet specified criteria.

States must set aside 15% of the amount of each capitalization grant they receive for water pollution control revolving funds to provide assistance to municipalities of fewer than 10,000 individuals that meet specified affordability criteria for activities on the state's priority list of POTW construction projects.

Effluent limitations must be applied at the final point of discharge from a POTW treatment facility and not to flows within the facility.

The EPA may issue NPDES permits with modified effluent limits for discharges of pollutants from a collection system servicing a POTW during periods of peak wet weather if a state concurs and the permit applicant has an approved peak wet weather management plan. States may adopt peak wet weather-related water quality standards for receiving waters during periods of peak wet weather events. The EPA must develop and publish guidance with respect to peak wet weather-related water quality standards and waste water management practices.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw, within 30 days, the proposed rule, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act," dated April 21, 2014, describing the water bodies that fall under the scope of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), as well as any final rule based on the proposed rule.

(Sec. 3) The Army Corps and the EPA must develop a new proposed rule to define the term, "waters of the United States" as used in that Act. In developing the new rule, the Army Corps and the EPA must meet requirements concerning consultation with states and localities enumerated in this bill. The new rule must specifically identify those waters covered and not covered by the Clean Water Act and incorporate the areas and issues where consensus was reached by the interested parties.

The Army Corps and the EPA must prepare a report with details about the new proposed rule and its development, including: (1) explanations of how the rule addresses public comments filed on certain related rules and reports and addresses recommendations provided in the consultation process; and (2) comprehensive regulatory and economic impact analyses of how the rule will impact interested parties and each program under the Clean Water Act.

The Army Corps and the EPA must: (1) publish the report, a description of the areas and issues where consensus was reached with the state and local officials consulted, and the new proposed rule; and (2) make them available for public review and comment for at least 180 days.

(Sec. 5) Within 90 days of issuing a final rule to define the term, the EPA must determine whether each permit program administered by states under the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program, the program to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, and the program regulating the disposal of sewage sludge is in compliance with the rule. States are given two years to bring any noncompliant programs into compliance before the EPA withdraws approval of the state program.

Date: 2015-04-13
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Requires not less than 1.5% of the annual authorized funding amount or $10 million, whichever is greater, to be used for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.

Date: 2015-04-15
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Ban Toxic Dispersants Act of 2015

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise requirements governing the schedule of the National Contingency Plan for removal of oil and hazardous substances.

A dispersant, chemical, or other spill mitigating device or substance that is not included on the schedule may be used in carrying out the plan only if it is proposed to be included on the schedule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must issue a revised regulation for the development of the schedule for the use of those devices and substances. In issuing the regulation, the EPA must: (1) establish minimum toxicity and efficacy testing criteria; (2) establish a requirement that the volume of oil or hazardous substance discharged, and the volume and location of any spill mitigating substance used, be measured and made publicly available on a daily basis; and (3) require the public disclosure of all ingredients of those substance. The EPA must: (1) require manufacturers of mitigating devices to study their risks and effectiveness; (2) provide a mechanism for the delisting of a substance or device that poses a risk to or impact on human health, water quality, or the environment; and (3) initiate a formal review of the potential risks and impacts associated with a substance or device prior to delisting it.

The EPA must: (1) study those potential risks and impacts, (2) impose a moratorium on approval of the use of dispersants until the study is complete, (3) review the schedule for the use of the devices and substances and revise it as necessary every five years, and (4) establish a schedule of fees to be collected from the manufacturers of the substances or devices to offset the costs of evaluating their use.

Date: 2015-04-21
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
This bill requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, acting as chair of the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, to appoint a coordinator to work with appropriate governments to address harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes.

Date: 2015-04-21
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Great Lakes Nutrient Removal Assistance Act 

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program to provide grants to states in the Great Lakes System (i.e., Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) and municipalities in those states to install nutrient removal technologies at a municipal wastewater treatment facility that has a permitted design capacity to treat an annual average of at least 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day.

The EPA must give priority to facilities at which nutrient removal technology installations 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 4 of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Ocean Acidification Innovation Act of 2015

 Amends the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 to authorize any federal agency with a representative serving on the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification, either individually or in cooperation with other agencies, to carry out a program to award prizes competitively under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 for the purpose of stimulating innovation to advance the nation's ability to understand, research, or monitor ocean acidification or its impacts or to develop management or adaptation options for responding to ocean acidification.

Grants priority to establishing programs that address communities, environments, or industries that are in distress due to the impacts of ocean acidification.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Protecting Our Great Lakes Act 

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit discharges of dredged material into the Great Lakes System, except for discharges: (1) into a confined disposal facility; or (2) in connection with a beneficial use or habitat establishment, improvement, and/or restoration. The prohibition becomes effective in five years.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or a state with an approved permit program, may waive application of the prohibition on a discharge during the first two years of the prohibition if: (1) the Environmental Protection Agency or the state determines that the waiver is necessary and appropriate, and (2) each concerned state approves of the waiver in the case of a waiver issued by the Corps of Engineers.

In determining the least costly manner, and the least costly and most practicable location, for discharges of dredged material resulting from Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance activities in the Great Lakes System, the Corps of Engineers must exclude from consideration the use of open-water placement of dredged material.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act 

This bill amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to extend the authorization for the Department of the Interior to carry out certain wetlands conservation projects through FY2020.

Date: 2015-05-14
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Water resources development
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to make grants to states or local governments for monitoring water quality standards for pathogens, or disease-causing organisms, in coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches that are used by the public and notifying the public when those standards are exceeded.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection
Don't Ignore the Will of the American People Act 

This bill prohibits the obligation of funds made available under the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its Office of the Administrator until the EPA rescinds the rule entitled, "Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States," about the scope of the Clean Water Act.

Date: 2015-06-01
Topic: Environment (Conservation)
Subject: Environmental protection