Clean Water for All Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6745 To prohibit implementation of a rule defining ‘‘waters of the United States’’ under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 8, 2020 Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself and Mrs. NAPOLITANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure A BILL To prohibit implementation of a rule defining ‘‘waters of the United States’’ under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Water for All 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 6 The purposes of this Act are to— 7 (1) reaffirm Congress’ commitment to ‘‘restore 8 and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6745 IH integrity of the Nation’s waters’’, as enacted 1 through the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 2 Amendments of 1972, more commonly known as the 3 Clean Water Act, by a 10-to-1 margin over the veto 4 of President Richard M. Nixon; 5 (2) overturn the Trump administration’s Dirty 6 Water Rule, which eliminates Clean Water Act pro- 7 tections for countless rivers, streams, lakes, and wet- 8 lands that have been protected by the Clean Water 9 Act for decades under regulations established by the 10 Corps of Engineers under the Reagan administra- 11 tion in 1986, and implemented by Republican and 12 Democratic administrations alike; and 13 (3) restore bipartisan Clean Water Act protec- 14 tions over the Nation’s network of streams, lakes, 15 rivers, and wetlands that are necessary for sus- 16 taining life, are critical to the economic and environ- 17 mental health of the Nation, and are essential for 18 the well-being of farmers, small businesses, commu- 19 nities, and the Nation’s way of life. 20 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 21 Congress finds the following: 22 (1) Access to clean water is a fundamental 23 right; it is necessary to sustain life and the economic 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6745 IH and environmental health and well-being of cities, 1 towns, and communities. 2 (2) Americans rely on the Nation’s network of 3 streams and rivers, and the bodies of water into 4 which they flow, for human and environmental 5 health, as well as the economic health of cities, 6 towns, and communities. 7 (3) This network of streams and rivers, includ- 8 ing the intermittent and ephemeral streams that 9 constitute more than two-thirds of all streams in the 10 conterminous United States, feed the public drinking 11 water systems of approximately 117 million Ameri- 12 cans. 13 (4) The Environmental Protection Agency’s 14 own comprehensive review of peer-reviewed scientific 15 publications stated that ‘‘the scientific literature un- 16 equivocally demonstrates that streams, individually 17 or cumulatively, exert a strong influence on the in- 18 tegrity of downstream waters’’ and that the connec- 19 tions between streams and downstream waters are 20 critical to the health of downstream waters, includ- 21 ing where the upstream waters serve as the primary 22 source of water for the downstream waters, and the 23 myriad other chemical, physical, and biological con- 24 nections. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6745 IH (5) Americans also rely on wetlands, including 1 non-floodplain wetlands, to capture and store excess 2 water, nutrients, and materials from stormwater or 3 runoff, preventing or reducing pollution to down- 4 stream waters, and lessening the potential for down- 5 stream flooding. 6 (6) There is overwhelming scientific evidence, 7 which has been reviewed and confirmed by the Envi- 8 ronmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory 9 Board, that there are no streams or rivers safe to 10 pollute or degrade, and that wetlands, both individ- 11 ually and cumulatively, have a direct and consequen- 12 tial impact on the quality of downstream waters and 13 on the health and safety of downstream commu- 14 nities. 15 (7) Restoring the protection of the network of 16 streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, and other 17 waters of the United States, is necessary to restore 18 and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological 19 integrity of all waters in the United States. 20 (8) Recent events demonstrate how increased 21 pollution in and degradation of streams, rivers, 22 lakes, and wetlands, and other waters of the United 23 States, can cause catastrophic harm to communities’ 24 health and economic strength, such as— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6745 IH (A) the 2014 harmful algal bloom in west- 1 ern Lake Erie, which resulted in a three-day 2 shutdown of the drinking water supply of To- 3 ledo, Ohio, affecting approximately 500,000 4 people; 5 (B) the 2014 chemical spill into the Elk 6 River in Charleston, West Virginia, causing the 7 city to shut down its municipal drinking water 8 supply for approximately 300,000 people for 9 several days; 10 (C) outbreaks of blue-green algae and red 11 tide in the State of Florida in 2018 and 2019, 12 causing widespread harm to businesses, rec- 13 reational opportunities, local economies, and the 14 local environment; 15 (D) recent flooding events, including along 16 the Mississippi and Missouri River watersheds, 17 and in communities, such as Houston, Texas, 18 demonstrate how destruction of critical wet- 19 lands and degradation of watersheds can exac- 20 erbate the severity and duration of flood events 21 and increase the financial impacts to local com- 22 munities, homeowners, farmers, economies, and 23 businesses; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6745 IH (E) worsening drought conditions and fre- 1 quency have highlighted the importance of 2 source water protection, reclamation, and recy- 3 cling to ensure communities, farmers, and small 4 businesses have sufficient quantities and quality 5 of water resources for current and future needs. 6 (9) Congress has recently recognized the impor- 7 tance of comprehensive approaches to protect critical 8 waterbodies, such as the Chesapeake Bay, the Great 9 Lakes, Lake Pontchartrain, the Long Island Sound, 10 the Puget Sound, and the San Francisco Bay, and 11 national estuaries, which depend on protection of the 12 entire watersheds of these waterbodies to reduce lev- 13 els of pollution and prevent further degradation of 14 rivers, streams, and wetlands that feed and maintain 15 these critical waterbodies. 16 (10) Despite the overwhelming, bipartisan sup- 17 port for clean water and the overwhelming scientific 18 evidence on the interconnectivity of rivers, streams, 19 lakes, wetlands, and other waters of the United 20 States, following calls by corporate polluters to 21 weaken the Clean Water Act, the Trump administra- 22 tion finalized its Dirty Water Rule, also known as 23 the ‘‘Navigable Waters Protection Rule’’, to radically 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6745 IH narrow decades-old regulations established by Presi- 1 dent Ronald Reagan. 2 (11) According to Environmental Protection 3 Agency documents, the Trump administration’s 4 Dirty Water Rule would— 5 (A) eliminate Clean Water Act protections 6 on between 18 to 71 percent of the Nation’s 7 stream and river miles that were protected 8 under the Reagan-era regulations; 9 (B) eliminate Federal protections on over 10 half of the Nation’s wetlands in the continental 11 United States that were protected under the 12 Reagan-era regulations; and 13 (C) result in approximately 16,000 existing 14 Clean Water Act permitted facilities (including 15 industrial facilities and sewage treatment sys- 16 tems) that may be allowed to discharge pollut- 17 ants without Federal oversight under the Clean 18 Water Act. 19 (12) In addition to the adverse human and en- 20 vironmental health impacts of the Trump adminis- 21 tration’s Dirty Water Rule, this effort will also have 22 lasting adverse economic impacts on American fami- 23 lies, on farmers and other small businesses, and on 24 the national, regional, and local economies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6745 IH (13) Additionally, America’s wildlife-watching, 1 hunting, fishing, and $887 billion outdoor recreation 2 economy all depend upon access to clean water. 3 (14) In some rural communities, river recre- 4 ation, hunting, fishing, and related activities gen- 5 erate the largest share of the local economy; the 6 streams and wetlands that will lose Federal protec- 7 tions under this rule include waters that provide es- 8 sential aquatic habitat for the fish, waterfowl, and 9 wildlife that sustain this way of life. 10 (15) The Trump administration’s own docu- 11 ment entitled ‘‘Economic Analysis for the Navigable 12 Waters Protection Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the 13 United States’ ’’, dated January 22, 2020, recog- 14 nizes the potential adverse impacts of its Dirty 15 Water Rule on local economies, individual house- 16 holds, and public health, including— 17 (A) an increase in the discharge of pollut- 18 ants from point sources to newly unprotected 19 rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands, including 20 ‘‘reduced protection for aquatic ecosystems and 21 public health and welfare’’; 22 (B) a degradation of water quality in riv- 23 ers, streams, and lakes ‘‘as a result of pollution 24 loadings from newly non-jurisdictional waters’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6745 IH that will adversely affect the environment, will 1 increase the costs of drinking water treatment 2 and reservoir maintenance, and will negatively 3 affect recreational opportunities for downstream 4 waters, such as fishing and swimming; 5 (C) a ‘‘loss of wetlands and streams with- 6 out corresponding mitigation’’; 7 (D) an increased risk for communities 8 from flooding, both in terms of the magnitude 9 of potential floods as well as the duration of 10 flooding events; and 11 (E) an increased risk in the frequency and 12 duration of oil and chemical spills and the ad- 13 verse consequences of such spills on human and 14 environmental health and local communities. 15 (16) Despite recognizing the potential adverse 16 impacts of the Trump administration’s Dirty Water 17 Rule on local economies, individual households, and 18 the public health, the Trump administration has re- 19 peatedly refused to quantify these impacts to Con- 20 gress and the American people. 21 (17) With many communities living with unsafe 22 waters and increased risks from extreme weather, 23 flooding, and drought, now is not the time to cut 24 back on the protection of clean water, as would 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6745 IH occur with implementation of the Trump administra- 1 tion’s Dirty Water Rule. 2 (18) The American people demand more, not 3 less, protection for clean water. 4 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RULE. 5 The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 6 Agency and the Secretary of the Army may not implement 7 or enforce the final rule entitled ‘‘The Navigable Waters 8 Protection Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the United 9 States’ ’’, published in the Federal Register on April 21, 10 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 22250), and such rule shall have no 11 force or effect. 12 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 14 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 15 Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of the 16 Army shall promulgate a regulation defining ‘‘waters of 17 the United States’’ for all purposes under the Federal 18 Water Pollution Control Act, in accordance with this sec- 19 tion. 20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 21 the Administrator and the Secretary shall ensure that— 22 (1) the rulemaking process includes an oppor- 23 tunity for public comment on the proposed regula- 24 tion lasting no fewer than 180 days and at least one 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6745 IH public hearing allowing for in-person presentations 1 by the public; 2 (2) the promulgated definition of ‘‘waters of the 3 United States’’ includes categories of water bodies 4 that affect the physical, chemical, or biological integ- 5 rity of traditionally navigable and interstate waters, 6 based on the best available scientific evidence; and 7 (3) implementation of the Federal Water Pollu- 8 tion Control Act using such definition will prevent 9 any— 10 (A) degradation of surface water quality; 11 (B) increased contaminant levels in drink- 12 ing water sources; 13 (C) increased flooding-related risks to 14 human life or property; and 15 (D) disproportionate adverse impacts on 16 minority or low-income populations. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6745.IH H6745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS