[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2026 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2026

  To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt certain 
silvicultural activities from national pollutant discharge elimination 
        system permitting requirements, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2013

  Ms. Herrera Beutler (for herself, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Benishek, Mrs. 
      McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Thompson of 
    Pennsylvania, Mr. Walden, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Larsen of 
 Washington, Mr. Rahall, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Duncan 
of South Carolina, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Jones, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Barrow of 
 Georgia, Mr. Peterson, and Mr. Hastings of Washington) 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 certain 
silvicultural activities from national pollutant discharge elimination 
        system permitting requirements, 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 ``Silviculture Regulatory Consistency 
Act of 2013''.

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 not require a 
                permit or otherwise promulgate regulations under this 
                section or directly or indirectly require any State to 
                require a permit under this section for a discharge of 
                stormwater runoff resulting from the conduct of the 
                following silviculture activities: nursery operations, 
                site preparation, reforestation and subsequent cultural 
                treatment, thinning, prescribed burning, pest and fire 
                control, harvesting operations, surface drainage, and 
                road use, construction, and maintenance.
                    ``(B) Permits for dredged or fill material.--
                Nothing in this paragraph exempts a silvicultural 
                activity resulting in the discharge of dredged or fill 
                material from any permitting requirement under section 
                404.''.
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