[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 364 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 364

 To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to Federal 
                     facilities pollution control.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 1995

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to Federal 
                     facilities pollution control.

    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 ``Federal Facilities Clean Water 
Compliance Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO FEDERAL FACILITIES.

    Section 313(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1323(a)) is amended by striking the third sentence and all that 
follows through the period at the end of the last sentence and 
inserting the following: ``The Federal, State, interstate, and local 
substantive and procedural requirements, administrative authority, and 
process and sanctions referred to in this subsection include, but are 
not limited to, all administrative orders and all civil and 
administrative penalties and fines, regardless of whether such 
penalties or fines are punitive or coercive in nature or are imposed 
for isolated, intermittent, or continuing violations. The United States 
hereby expressly waives any immunity otherwise applicable to the United 
States with respect to any such requirement, administrative authority, 
and process and sanctions (including, but not limited to, any 
injunctive relief, administrative order or civil or administrative 
penalty or fine referred to in the preceding sentence, or reasonable 
service charge). The reasonable service charges referred to in this 
subsection include, but are not limited to, fees or charges assessed in 
connection with the processing and issuance of permits, renewal of 
permits, amendments to permits, review of plans, studies, and other 
documents, and inspection and monitoring of facilities, as well as any 
other nondiscriminatory charges that are assessed in connection with a 
Federal, State, interstate, or local water pollution regulatory 
program. No agent, employee, or officer of the United States shall be 
personally liable for any civil penalty under any Federal, State, 
interstate, or local water pollution law with respect to any act or 
omission within the scope of the official duties of the agent, 
employee, or officer. An agent, employee, or officer of the United 
States shall be subject to any criminal sanction (including, but not 
limited to, any fine or imprisonment) under any Federal or State water 
pollution law, but no department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Federal Government 
shall be subject to any such sanction.''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL FACILITY ENFORCEMENT.

    Section 309 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1319) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Federal Facility Enforcement.--
            ``(1) Compliance orders.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Whenever on the basis of any 
                information available to him--
                            ``(i) the Administrator determines that any 
                        department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
                        United States has violated or is in violation 
                        of section 301, 302, 306, 307, 308, 311, 318, 
                        or 405 of this Act, or has violated or is in 
                        violation of any permit condition or limitation 
                        implementing any such section in a permit 
                        issued under section 402 of this Act by the 
                        Administrator or by a State, or in a permit 
                        issued under section 404 of this Act by a 
                        State, or any requirement imposed in a 
                        pretreatment program approved under section 
                        402(a)(3) or 402(b)(8) of this Act;
                            ``(ii) the Secretary of the Army determines 
                        that any department, agency, or instrumentality 
                        of the United States has violated or is in 
                        violation of any condition or limitation in a 
                        permit issued under section 404 of this Act;
                            ``(iii) the Secretary of the department in 
                        which the Coast Guard is operating determines 
                        that any department, agency, or instrumentality 
                        of the United States has violated any provision 
                        of section 311 of this Act or any of its 
                        implementing regulations;
        the Administrator or Secretary, as applicable, may propose an 
        order to assess a civil penalty for any past or current 
        violation or require compliance immediately or within a 
        specified time period, or both.
                    ``(B) Required terms.--Any order issued under this 
                subsection--
                            ``(i) by the Administrator may include a 
                        suspension or revocation of any permit issued 
                        by the Administrator or a State under sections 
                        402 and 404 of this Act; and
                            ``(ii) by the Secretary of the Army may 
                        include a suspension or revocation of any 
                        permit issued by the Secretary of the Army or a 
                        State under section 404 of this Act; and
        shall state with reasonable specificity the nature of the 
        violation. Any penalty assessed in the order shall not exceed 
        $25,000 per day for each violation.
            ``(2) Public hearing.--Any order under this section shall 
        become final unless, not later than 30 days after the order is 
        served, a Federal department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
        United States named therein requests a public hearing. Upon 
        such request, the Administrator or Secretary, as applicable, 
        shall promptly conduct a public hearing. Such public hearing 
        shall be conducted in accordance with section 554 of title 5, 
        United States Code. In connection with any proceeding under 
        this subsection, the Administrator or Secretary may issue 
        subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 
        production of relevant papers, books, and documents and may 
        promulgate rules for discovery procedures.
            ``(3) Violation of compliance orders.--If a violator fails 
        to take corrective action within the time specified in an order 
        issued under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) the Administrator or Secretary, as 
                applicable, may assess a civil penalty of not more than 
                $25,000 for each day of continued noncompliance with 
                the order; and
                    ``(B)(i) the Administrator may suspend or revoke 
                any permit issued pursuant to section 402 or 404 of 
                this Act which is the subject of the order, whether 
                issued by the Administrator or the State; and
                    ``(ii) the Secretary of the Army may suspend or 
                revoke any permit issued pursuant to section 404 of 
                this Act, whether issued by the Secretary of the Army 
                or a State.
            ``(4) Determination of amount of penalty.--In determining 
        the amount of any penalty assessed under this subsection, the 
        Administrator or Secretary, as the case may be, shall consider 
        the seriousness of each violation or violations, the violator's 
        economic benefit or savings (if any) resulting from each 
        violation, any history of prior violations, any good-faith 
        efforts to avoid noncompliance or to comply with the applicable 
        requirements, the violator's ability to pay the penalty, and 
        such other matters in mitigation and aggravation as justice may 
        require.
            ``(5) Limitation on actions and right of intervention.--Any 
        violation with respect to which the Administrator or the 
        Secretary, as applicable, has commenced and is diligently 
        prosecuting an action under this subsection, or for which the 
        Administrator or the Secretary has issued a final order and the 
        violator has paid a penalty assessed under this subsection, 
        shall not be the subject of a civil enforcement action under 
        section 505 of this Act. In any action under this subsection, 
        any citizen may intervene as a matter of right.
            ``(6) Penalty fund.--Penalties received under this 
        subsection shall be deposited into a special fund in the United 
        States Treasury for licensing and other services. Amounts in 
        the fund are authorized to be appropriated and shall remain 
        available until expended for allocation by the Administrator to 
        finance water remediation and other restorative and preventive 
        projects at Federal facilities. The Administrator shall 
        annually report to Congress about the sums deposited into the 
        fund, the sources thereof, and the allocations thereof.''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF PERSON.

    (a) General Definitions.--Section 502(5) of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362(5)) is amended by inserting 
before the period at the end the following: ``and includes any 
department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States''.
    (b) Oil and Hazardous Substance Liability Program.--Section 
311(a)(7) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(7)) is amended by inserting 
before the semicolon at the end the following: ``and any department, 
agency, or instrumentality of the United States''.
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