Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3897 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3897

 To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to the 
               scope of permits, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 2025

  Mr. Taylor introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to the 
               scope of permits, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Confidence in Clean Water Permits 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CONFIDENCE IN CLEAN WATER PERMITS.

    (a) Compliance With Permits.--Section 402(k) of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(k)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(k) Compliance with'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(k) Compliance With Permits.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), compliance 
        with''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Scope.--For purposes of paragraph (1), compliance 
        with the conditions of a permit issued under this section shall 
        be considered compliance with respect to a discharge of--
                    ``(A) any pollutant for which an effluent 
                limitation is included in the permit; and
                    ``(B) any pollutant for which an effluent 
                limitation is not included in the permit that is--
                            ``(i) specifically identified as controlled 
                        or monitored through indicator parameters in 
                        the permit, the fact sheet for the permit, or 
                        the administrative record relating to the 
                        permit;
                            ``(ii) specifically identified during the 
                        permit application process as present in 
                        discharges to which the permit will apply; or
                            ``(iii) whether or not specifically 
                        identified in the permit or during the permit 
                        application process--
                                    ``(I) present in any waste streams 
                                or processes of the point source to 
                                which the permit applies, which waste 
                                streams or processes are specifically 
                                identified during the permit 
                                application process; or
                                    ``(II) otherwise within the scope 
                                of any operations of the point source 
                                to which the permit applies, which 
                                scope of operations is specifically 
                                identified during the permit 
                                application process.''.
    (b) Technical Corrections.--Section 402(l)(3) of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(l)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) by striking ``section 402'' and inserting 
                ``this section''; and
                    (B) by striking ``federal'' and inserting 
                ``Federal''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (C)--
                    (A) by striking ``Section'' and inserting 
                ``section'';
                    (B) by striking ``402(p)(6)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (p)(6)'';
                    (C) by striking ``402(l)(3)(A),'' and inserting 
                ``subparagraph (A),''; and
                    (D) by striking ``402(l)(3)(A).'' and inserting 
                ``such subparagraph.''.
    (c) Expression of Water Quality-Based Effluent Limitations.--
Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(t) Expression of Water Quality-Based Effluent Limitations.--If 
the Administrator (or a State, in the case of a permit program approved 
by the Administrator) determines that a water quality-based limitation 
on a discharge of a pollutant is necessary to include in a permit under 
this section in addition to any appropriate technology-based effluent 
limitations included in such permit, the Administrator (or the State) 
may include such water quality-based limitation in such permit only in 
the form of a limitation that--
            ``(1) specifies the pollutant to which it applies; and
            ``(2) clearly describes the manner in which compliance with 
        the limitation may be achieved, which shall include--
                    ``(A) a numerical limit on the discharge of such 
                pollutant; or
                    ``(B) a narrative description of required actions 
                (including any measures or practices required to be 
                applied).''.
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