[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1985 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1985

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for the use 
     of biological monitoring and whole effluent toxicity tests in 
connection with publicly owned treatment works, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             March 25 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Campbell) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for the use 
     of biological monitoring and whole effluent toxicity tests in 
connection with publicly owned treatment works, 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 ``Publicly Owned Treatment Works 
Biological Monitoring Use Act''.

SEC. 2. BIOLOGICAL MONITORING FOR PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS.

    (a) Section 303(c)(2)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1313(c)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting at the end thereof 
``, Provided: That for publicly owned treatment works, nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to authorize the use of effluent limitations 
which result in finding of a violation upon failure of whole effluent 
toxicity tests or biological monitoring tests''.
    (b) Section 303 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1313) is amended by adding the following new subsection after 
(c)(2)(B) and renumber subsequent paragraphs accordingly:
    ``(C) Where the permitting authority determines that the discharge 
of a publicly owned treatment works causes, has the reasonable 
potential to cause, or contributes to an instream excursion above a 
narrative or numeric criterion for whole effluent toxicity, the permit 
shall contain terms, conditions or limitations for biological 
monitoring or whole effluent toxicity tests which shall provide for a 
process for the identification and reduction of the cause of the whole 
effluent toxicity including procedures for ending the identification 
and reduction of such toxicity if the source or cause of the toxicity 
cannot be located, and measures to control such toxicity in accordance 
with a reasonable schedule.''.
    (c) Section 301(b)(1)(C) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1311(b)(1)(C)) is amended by inserting ``or permit 
condition'' after ``limitation''.
    (d) Section 304(a)(8) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1314(a)(8)) is amended by inserting ``, consistent with 
section 303(c)(2) (B) and (C) of this Act,'' after ``publish''.
    (e) Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act is 
amended by adding the following new section at the end thereof:
    ``(q) Use of Biological Monitoring or Whole Effluent Toxicity 
Testing at Publicly Owned Treatment Works.--Where the administrator 
determines that it is necessary in accordance with Section 303(c)(2) 
(B) and (C) of this Act to include biological monitoring, tests or 
assessment methods or whole effluent toxicity tests as a term or 
condition in a permit issued to a publicly owned treatment works 
pursuant to this section, such permit terms and conditions shall be in 
accordance with Section 303(c)(2)(C) of this Act, and the failure of 
biological monitoring tests or whole effluent toxicity tests shall not 
result in a finding of violation.''.
    (f) Section 502(11) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1362(11)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(11) The terms `effluent limitation' and `effluent limit' shall 
mean any restriction established by a State or the Administrator on 
quantities, rates, and concentrations of chemical, physical, 
biological, and other constituents which are discharged from point 
sources into navigable waters, the waters of the contiguous zone, or 
the ocean, including schedules of compliance as established through 
permit conditions, enforcement orders, or consent decrees.''.

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