The Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to grant permits for discharging dredge or fill material into waters of the United States. Some activities, including those related to farming, forestry, and ranching, result in discharges that in some circumstances are exempt from such permit requirements. However, if those activities would impair the flow or circulation of water by filling wetlands, for example, then a CWA permit is required. H.R. 4278 would not require any of those activities to have a CWA permit under any circumstances. Read on at:
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43548
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43548
