Jan 14, 2014, H.R. 3862 — Introduced in House by Rep. Robert Latta (R-OH)
Clean Water Affordability Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a comprehensive and integrated planning approach to the obligations concerning permits for pollutant discharges of a publicly owned permittee. Defines such a permittee as a treatment works that is publicly owned or a municipal separate storm sewer system. Requires the approach to such...
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist municipalities and regional sewer authorities that would experience a significant hardship raising the revenue necessary to finance projects and activities for the construction of wastewater treatment works, 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 “Clean Water Affordability Act of 2014”.
SEC. 2. INTEGRATED PERMITTING PROCESS.
(a) In General.—Section 402(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(6) INTEGRATED PERMITS.—
“(A) DEFINITION OF PUBLICLY OWNED PERMITTEE.—In this paragraph, the term ‘publicly owned permittee’ means either—
“(i) a treatment works (as defined in section 212) that is publicly owned; or
“(ii) a municipal separate storm sewer system referred to in this section.
“(B) PLANNING APPROACH.—The Administrator shall establish a comprehensive and integrated planning approach to the obligations under this section of a publicly owned permittee—
“(i) under which permit obligations may be implemented according to a schedule that—
“(I) accounts for the financial capability of the publicly owned permittee;
“(II) prioritizes permit obligations according to the most cost-effective and environmentally beneficial outcomes;
“(III) accounts for the preexisting maintenance, operational, and regulatory obligations of the publicly owned permittee under this section; and
“(IV) enables the publicly owned permittee to implement innovative approaches to meet those obligations; and
“(ii) that accounts for changed circumstances in the obligations of the publicly owned permittee, such as—
“(I) new innovative treatment approaches;
“(II) new regulatory requirements; and
“(III) changes in financial capability.”.
(b) Duration Of Permits.—Section 402(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: “, except that a permit with a term of more than 5 years but not more than 25 years may be approved if the permittee has an approved integrated plan established under subsection (a)(6)”.
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