Sec. 5. Improving water quality certifications and American energy infrastructure
1,527 words·~7 min read·
/bill/119/hr/3898/rfs/section-5A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1341 ) is amended— in subsection (a)— in paragraph (1)— in the first sentence, by striking may result and inserting may directly result ; in the second sentence, by striking activity and inserting discharge ; in the third sentence, by striking applications each place it appears and inserting requests ; in the fifth sentence, by striking act on a request for certification, within a reasonable period of time (which shall not exceed one year) after receipt of such request, the certification requirements of this subsection and inserting grant the request for certification with or without conditions, deny the request for certification, or waive the requirement for certification under this subsection with respect to such Federal application, within a reasonable period of time to be determined by the licensing or permitting agency (which shall not exceed one year) after receipt of such request, the requirement for certification under this subsection ; in the sixth sentence, by striking waived as provided in the preceding sentence and inserting waived under this paragraph ; and by inserting after the fourth sentence the following:
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the ; PERMIT Act , each State and interstate agency that has authority to give such a certification, and the Administrator, shall publish requirements for certification to demonstrate to such State, such interstate agency, or the Administrator, as the case may be, compliance with the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307. A decision to grant or deny a request for certification shall be based only on compliance with the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307, and the grounds for the decision shall be set forth in writing and provided to the applicant.
Not later than 90 days after receipt of a request for certification, the State, interstate agency, or Administrator, as the case may be, shall identify in writing all specific additional materials or information necessary for the request for certification to be complete, as described in subsection (g). The State, interstate agency, or the Administrator, as the case may be, may grant a request for certification with or without conditions, deny a request for certification, or waive the requirement for certification under this subsection with respect to such Federal application. in paragraph (2)— in the second sentence, by striking notice of application for such Federal license or permit and inserting receipt of a notice under the preceding sentence ; in the third sentence— by striking any water quality requirement in such State and inserting any water quality standard in effect for the State under section 303 ; and by inserting before the period at a time that is agreed to by such State and the applicant ; in the fifth sentence, by striking insure compliance with applicable water quality requirements. and inserting ensure compliance with the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307. ; in the final sentence, by striking insure and inserting ensure ; by striking the first sentence and inserting On receipt of a request for certification, the certifying State or interstate agency, as applicable, shall immediately notify the Administrator of the request. ; and by inserting after the second sentence the following:
If the Administrator determines under the preceding sentence that such a discharge will not affect the waters of any other State, no such notification is required. ; in paragraph (3)— in the first sentence, by striking there will be compliance and inserting any such discharge will comply ; and in the second sentence, by striking section and inserting any applicable provision of section ; in paragraph (4)— in the first sentence— by inserting directly before result in any discharge ; and by striking applicable effluent limitations or other limitations or other applicable water quality requirements will not be violated and inserting no applicable provision of section 301, 302, 303, 306, or 307 will be violated ; in the second sentence, by striking will violate applicable effluent limitations or other limitations or other water quality requirements and inserting will directly result in a discharge that violates an applicable provision of section 301, 302, 303, 306, or 307, ; and in the third sentence, by striking such facility or activity will not violate the applicable provisions and inserting operation of such facility or activity will not directly result in a discharge that violates any applicable provision ; and in paragraph (5), by striking the applicable provisions and inserting any applicable provision ; in subsection (b), by striking Nothing in this section and inserting Except as provided in subsection (e), nothing in this section ; in subsection (d), by striking applicant for a Federal license or permit will comply with any applicable effluent limitations and other limitations, under section 301 or 302 of this Act, standard of performance under section 306 of this Act, or prohibition, effluent standard, or pretreatment standard under section 307 of this Act, and with any other appropriate requirement of State law set forth in such certification, and shall become a condition on any Federal license or permit subject to the provisions of this section and inserting discharge subject to this section will comply with the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307, and any such limitations or requirements shall be imposed by the licensing or permitting agency as a condition on any Federal license or permit subject to the provisions of this section ; and by adding at the end the following:
Notwithstanding section 505, any condition imposed on a Federal license or permit by a licensing or permitting agency under this section may be enforced only by such licensing or permitting agency. For purposes of this section, the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307 are any applicable effluent limitations and other limitations under section 301 or 302, any water quality standard in effect for a State under section 303, any standard of performance under section 306, and any prohibition, effluent standard, or pretreatment standard under section 307.
A request for certification under this section shall be made in writing to the State, interstate agency, or Administrator, as the case may be. A complete request for certification shall consist of the following: Identification of each applicant for the Federal license or permit with respect to which the certification is requested. A statement that information included in the request for certification is truthful, accurate, and complete, to the best knowledge of each such applicant.
In the case of a request for certification with respect to an individual permit or license— identification of the Federal license or permit that is the subject of the application with respect to which the certification is requested; identification of any activity the conduct of which is subject to such Federal license or permit; identification of the location and nature of any discharge that may directly result from such activity, and the location of the receiving waters; a description of means that may be used to monitor, control, or manage any such discharge; and a list of all other Federal, interstate, Tribal, State, or local agency authorizations required for the conduct of such activity, and any approval or denial of such an authorization already received.
In the case of a request for certification with respect to the issuance of a general license or general permit— identification of the proposed categories of activities to be covered by the general license or general permit for which certification is requested; a description of the proposed general license or general permit, which may include a draft of the proposed general license or permit; and an estimate of the number of discharges expected to result from the proposed general license or general permit annually.
This subsection shall apply to any civil action for the review of a certification action with respect to an applicant for a license or permit— for the construction or operation of facilities for the transmission of electric energy or energy fuels in interstate or foreign commerce; or from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Not withstanding any other provision of law, no court shall have jurisdiction to review a civil action under this subsection, except for a civil action filed not later than 30 days after the final action on the certification by— the applicant; or a person who has suffered, or likely and imminently will suffer, direct and irreparable economic harm from the authorization; provided that an organization or association satisfies this harm requirement only if each member of the organization or association satisfies the requirement.
The Court shall— set any petition for review brought under this subsection for expedited consideration; and issue a final decision no later than 120 days after the filing of the civil action, unless the court finds extraordinary circumstances, in which the Court may take up to 60 additional days to issue a final decision. If the civil action concerns a certification that has been granted, the Court’s failure to issue a final decision in compliance with the deadlines in subparagraph
(A)shall mean the civil action is denied with prejudice. .
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
U.S. Code
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 5
Improving water quality certifications and American energy infrastructure
Cites 1Cited by 0 across 0 sources