[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1706 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1706

   To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exclude from 
stormwater regulation certain areas and activities, and to improve the 
 regulation and limit the liability of local governments concerning co-
         permitting and the implementation of control measures.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 7, 1999

  Mrs. Hutchison (for herself and Mr. Gramm) 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 exclude from 
stormwater regulation certain areas and activities, and to improve the 
 regulation and limit the liability of local governments concerning co-
         permitting and the implementation of control measures.

    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 ``Water Regulation Improvement Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER OF LIABILITY OF CO-PERMITTEES.

    Section 402(p)(3)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1342(p)(3)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'';
            (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) shall--
                                    ``(I) recognize the responsibility 
                                of governmental entities to carry out 
                                the control measures described in 
                                clause (iii), including 
                                responsibilities established through 
                                co-permits or other mechanisms; and
                                    ``(II) provide that, in the case of 
                                a local governmental entity (including 
                                a municipality, county, city, or 
                                borough) that relies on a co-permittee 
                                or another governmental entity to 
                                comply with any requirement to 
                                implement a control measure in which 
                                the co-permittee or other governmental 
                                entity assumes responsibility for 
                                implementation of, but fails to 
                                implement, the control measure, the 
                                local governmental entity shall not be 
                                liable for the failure of the co-
                                permittee or other governmental entity 
                                to implement the control measure.''.

SEC. 3. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AREAS AND ACTIVITIES FROM STORMWATER 
              REGULATION.

    Section 402(p) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1342(p)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Exclusions.--
                    ``(A) Vegetated road ditches.--For stormwater 
                discharges identified under paragraph (5), the 
                Administrator shall not require any local governmental 
                entity (including a municipality, county, city, or 
                borough), to apply for and obtain a permit for any 
                stormwater discharge associated with an above-ground 
                vegetated drainage ditch or a drainage way owned or 
                operated in connection with a road or street under the 
                jurisdiction of the local governmental entity.
                    ``(B) Construction activities and routine road 
                maintenance.--A discharge regulated under subparagraph 
                (B) or (E) of paragraph (2), and any stormwater 
                discharge identified under paragraph (5), shall not 
                include--
                            ``(i) a stormwater discharge associated 
                        with a construction activity (including 
                        grading, clearing, and excavation) that 
                        disturbs not more than 5 acres of land; or
                            ``(ii) a routine maintenance activity 
                        associated with a road, street, vegetated road 
                        ditch, or vegetated drainage way.
                    ``(C) Prohibition of requirements exceeding state 
                law authority.--Nothing in this subsection requires a 
                local governmental entity to exceed the authority 
                granted to the local governmental entity under State 
                law to implement a regulatory requirement.''.
                                 <all>