Revises Clean Water Act permitting for pollution discharges and dredge-and-fill projects

§1What it does

Why this matters: A plain-English description of the bill as it was voted on, written by us from the official summary and text.

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This bill would change several parts of the Clean Water Act, the main federal water pollution law, including its permits for discharging pollutants and for placing dredged or fill material, such as soil or rock, into the streams, wetlands and other waters the law covers.^2,3 For dredge-and-fill projects, it would limit the Environmental Protection Agency's power to veto disposal sites chosen by the Army Corps of Engineers, extend general permits from 5 to 10 years, exempt the Corps from some consultation and environmental review steps when it reissues nationwide permits, and give legal backing to the EPA's 2020 approval of Florida running its own permit program, which a federal court had vacated.² For pollution-discharge permits, it would write into law a shield from liability for permit holders in certain circumstances and allow 10-year permits for state and local governments, and it would bar Clean Water Act permits for sources owned or operated by companies under the jurisdiction of China, Iran, North Korea or Russia.² It would also require the EPA to issue any new or revised state water quality criteria by rule, and direct the EPA and the Corps to start work on guidance for carrying out the 2023 rule defining which waters the law covers, guidance that must comply with the Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. EPA.²

§2Status

§3How Congress voted

Why this matters: The official count.