[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2541 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2541

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt the conduct 
     of silvicultural activities from national pollutant discharge 
              elimination system permitting requirements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2011

   Ms. Herrera Beutler (for herself, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Michaud, Mrs. 
McMorris Rodgers, Ms. Pingree of Maine, and Mr. Walden) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt the conduct 
     of silvicultural activities from national pollutant discharge 
              elimination system permitting requirements.

    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 ``Silviculture Regulatory Consistency 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SILVICULTURAL ACTIVITIES.

    Section 402(l) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1342(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Silvicultural activities.--
                    ``(A) NPDES permit requirements for silvicultural 
                activities.--The Administrator shall neither require a 
                permit under this section, nor directly or indirectly 
                require any State to require a permit under this 
                section, for a discharge resulting from the conduct of 
                any silvicultural activity, such as nursery operations, 
                site preparation, reforestation and subsequent cultural 
                treatment, thinning, prescribed burning, pest and fire 
                control, harvesting operations, surface drainage, or 
                road use, construction, and maintenance, from which 
                there is runoff.
                    ``(B) Permits for dredged or fill material.--
                Nothing in this paragraph exempts the conduct of a 
                silvicultural activity resulting in the discharge of 
                dredged or fill material from any permitting 
                requirement under section 404.''.
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