Great Lakes Water Protection Act

.....................................................................

(Original Signature of Member)

114TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. ll To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit sewage

dumping into the Great Lakes, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. DOLD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on llllllllllllll

A BILL To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to pro-

hibit sewage dumping into the Great Lakes, 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 Great Lakes Water 4

Protection Act. 5

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2SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SEWAGE DUMPING INTO THE 1

GREAT LAKES. 2

(a) IN GENERAL.Section 402 of the Federal Water 3

Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by 4

adding at the end the following: 5

(s) PROHIBITION ON SEWAGE DUMPING INTO THE 6

GREAT LAKES.7

(1) DEFINITIONS.In this subsection: 8

(A) BYPASS.The term bypass means 9

an intentional diversion of waste streams to by-10

pass any portion of a treatment facility that re-11

sults in a discharge into the Great Lakes. 12

(B) DISCHARGE.13

(i) IN GENERAL.The term dis-14

charge means a direct or indirect dis-15

charge of untreated sewage or partially 16

treated sewage from a treatment works 17

into the Great Lakes or a tributary of the 18

Great Lakes. 19

(ii) INCLUSIONS.The term dis-20

charge includes a bypass and a combined 21

sewer overflow. 22

(C) GREAT LAKES.The term Great 23

Lakes has the meaning given the term in sec-24

tion 118(a)(3). 25



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3(D) PARTIALLY TREATED SEWAGE.The 1

term partially treated sewage means any sew-2

age, sewage and storm water, or sewage and 3

wastewater, from domestic or industrial sources 4

that5

(i) is not treated to national sec-6

ondary treatment standards for waste-7

water; or 8

(ii) is treated to a level less than the 9

level required by the applicable national 10

pollutant discharge elimination system per-11

mit. 12

(E) TREATMENT FACILITY.The term 13

treatment facility includes all wastewater 14

treatment units used by a publicly owned treat-15

ment works to meet secondary treatment stand-16

ards or higher, as required to attain water qual-17

ity standards, under any operating conditions. 18

(F) TREATMENT WORKS.The term 19

treatment works has the meaning given the 20

term in section 212. 21

(2) PROHIBITION.A publicly owned treat-22

ment works is prohibited from performing a bypass 23

unless24



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4(A)(i) the bypass is unavoidable to pre-1

vent loss of life, personal injury, or severe prop-2

erty damage; 3

(ii) there is not a feasible alternative to 4

the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treat-5

ment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or 6

maintenance during normal periods of equip-7

ment downtime; and 8

(iii) the treatment works provides notice 9

of the bypass in accordance with this sub-10

section; or 11

(B) the bypass does not cause effluent 12

limitations to be exceeded, and the bypass is for 13

essential maintenance to ensure efficient oper-14

ation of the treatment facility. 15

(3) LIMITATION.The requirement of para-16

graph (2)(A)(ii) is not satisfied if17

(A) adequate back-up equipment should 18

have been installed in the exercise of reasonable 19

engineering judgment to prevent the bypass; 20

and 21

(B) the bypass occurred during normal 22

periods of equipment downtime or preventive 23

maintenance. 24

(4) IMMEDIATE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.25



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5(A) IN GENERAL.The Administrator 1

shall work with States having publicly owned 2

treatment works subject to the requirements of 3

this subsection to create immediate notice re-4

quirements in the event of discharge that pro-5

vide for the method, contents, and requirements 6

for public availability of the notice. 7

(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.8

(i) IN GENERAL.At a minimum, 9

the contents of the notice shall include10

(I) the exact dates and times of 11

the discharge; 12

(II) the volume of the discharge; 13

and 14

(III) a description of any public 15

access areas impacted. 16

(ii) CONSISTENCY.Minimum re-17

quirements shall be consistent for all 18

States. 19

(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.The 20

Administrator and States described in subpara-21

graph (A) shall include22

(i) follow-up notice requirements 23

that provide a more full description of each 24



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6event, the cause, and plans to prevent reoc-1

currence; and 2

(ii) annual publication requirements 3

that list each treatment works from which 4

the Administrator or the State receive a 5

follow-up notice. 6

(D) TIMING.The notice and publication 7

requirements described in this paragraph shall 8

be implemented not later than 2 years after the 9

date of enactment of this subsection. 10

(5) SEWAGE BLENDING.Bypasses prohibited 11

by this section include bypasses resulting in dis-12

charges from a publicly owned treatment works that 13

consist of effluent routed around treatment units 14

and thereafter blended together with effluent from 15

treatment units prior to discharge. 16

(6) IMPLEMENTATION.As soon as prac-17

ticable, the Administrator shall establish procedures 18

to ensure that permits issued under this section (or 19

under a State permit program approved under this 20

section) to a publicly owned treatment works include 21

requirements to implement this subsection. 22

(7) INCREASE IN MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTY 23

FOR VIOLATIONS OCCURRING AFTER JANUARY 1, 24

2035.Notwithstanding section 309, in the case of a 25



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7violation of this subsection occurring on or after 1

January 1, 2035, or any violation of a permit limita-2

tion or condition implementing this subsection occur-3

ring after that date, the maximum civil penalty that 4

shall be assessed for the violation shall be $100,000 5

per day for each day the violation occurs. 6

(8) APPLICABILITY.This subsection shall 7

apply to a bypass occurring after the last day of the 8

1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 9

this subsection.. 10

(b) GREAT LAKES CLEANUP FUND.11

(1) ESTABLISHMENT.Title V of the Federal 12

Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1361 et 13

seq.) is amended14

(A) by redesignating section 519 (33 15

U.S.C. 1251 note) as section 520; and 16

(B) by inserting after section 518 (33 17

U.S.C. 1377) the following: 18

SEC. 519. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREAT LAKES CLEANUP 19

FUND. 20

(a) DEFINITIONS.In this section: 21

(1) FUND.The term Fund means the Great 22

Lakes Cleanup Fund established by subsection (b). 23

(2) GREAT LAKES; GREAT LAKES STATES.24

The terms Great Lakes and Great Lakes States 25



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8have the meanings given the terms in section 1

118(a)(3). 2

(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.There is estab-3

lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 4

to be known as the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund (referred 5

to in this section as the Fund). 6

(c) TRANSFERS TO FUND.Effective January 1, 7

2035, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 8

amounts equivalent to the penalties collected for violations 9

of section 402(s). 10

(d) ADMINISTRATION OF FUND.The Adminis-11

trator shall administer the Fund. 12

(e) USE OF FUNDS.The Administrator shall13

(1) make the amounts in the Fund available 14

to the Great Lakes States for use in carrying out 15

programs and activities for improving wastewater 16

discharges into the Great Lakes, including habitat 17

protection and wetland restoration; and 18

(2) allocate those amounts among the Great 19

Lakes States based on the proportion that20

(A) the amount attributable to a Great 21

Lakes State for penalties collected for violations 22

of section 402(s); bears to 23

(B) the total amount of those penalties 24

attributable to all Great Lakes States. 25



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9(f) PRIORITY.In selecting programs and activities 1

to be funded using amounts made available under this sec-2

tion, a Great Lakes State shall give priority consideration 3

to programs and activities that address violations of sec-4

tion 402(s) resulting in the collection of penalties.. 5

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO STATE RE-6

VOLVING FUND PROGRAM.Section 607 of the Fed-7

eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1387) 8

is amended9

(A) by striking There is and inserting 10

(a) IN GENERAL.There is; and 11

(B) by adding at the end the following: 12

(b) TREATMENT OF GREAT LAKES CLEANUP 13

FUND.For purposes of this title, amounts made avail-14

able from the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund under section 15

519 shall be treated as funds authorized to be appro-16

priated to carry out this title and as funds made available 17

under this title, except that the funds shall be made avail-18

able to the Great Lakes States in accordance with section 19

519..20



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F:\M14\DOLD\DOLD_017.XML 6/17/2015 11:50 06/17/2015 09:32 1141-0617-937960 606532|2 [Discussion Draft] (Original Signature of Member) [DISCUSSION DRAFT] I 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. __ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. Dold introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on ______________ A BILL To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit sewage dumping into the Great Lakes, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Great Lakes Water Protection Act. 2. Prohibition on sewage dumping into the Great Lakes (a) In general Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by adding at the end the following: (s) Prohibition on sewage dumping into the great lakes (1) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Bypass The term bypass means an intentional diversion of waste streams to bypass any portion of a treatment facility that results in a discharge into the Great Lakes. (B) Discharge (i) In general The term discharge means a direct or indirect discharge of untreated sewage or partially treated sewage from a treatment works into the Great Lakes or a tributary of the Great Lakes. (ii) Inclusions The term discharge includes a bypass and a combined sewer overflow. (C) Great lakes The term Great Lakes has the meaning given the term in section 118(a)(3). (D) Partially treated sewage The term partially treated sewage means any sewage, sewage and storm water, or sewage and wastewater, from domestic or industrial sources that (i) is not treated to national secondary treatment standards for wastewater; or (ii) is treated to a level less than the level required by the applicable national pollutant discharge elimination system permit. (E) Treatment facility The term treatment facility includes all wastewater treatment units used by a publicly owned treatment works to meet secondary treatment standards or higher, as required to attain water quality standards, under any operating conditions. (F) Treatment works The term treatment works has the meaning given the term in section 212. (2) Prohibition A publicly owned treatment works is prohibited from performing a bypass unless (A) (i) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (ii) there is not a feasible alternative to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime; and (iii) the treatment works provides notice of the bypass in accordance with this subsection; or (B) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded, and the bypass is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility. (3) Limitation The requirement of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) is not satisfied if (A) adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent the bypass; and (B) the bypass occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance. (4) Immediate notice requirements (A) In general The Administrator shall work with States having publicly owned treatment works subject to the requirements of this subsection to create immediate notice requirements in the event of discharge that provide for the method, contents, and requirements for public availability of the notice. (B) Minimum requirements (i) In general At a minimum, the contents of the notice shall include (I) the exact dates and times of the discharge; (II) the volume of the discharge; and (III) a description of any public access areas impacted. (ii) Consistency Minimum requirements shall be consistent for all States. (C) Additional requirements The Administrator and States described in subparagraph (A) shall include (i) follow-up notice requirements that provide a more full description of each event, the cause, and plans to prevent reoccurrence; and (ii) annual publication requirements that list each treatment works from which the Administrator or the State receive a follow-up notice. (D) Timing The notice and publication requirements described in this paragraph shall be implemented not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection. (5) Sewage blending Bypasses prohibited by this section include bypasses resulting in discharges from a publicly owned treatment works that consist of effluent routed around treatment units and thereafter blended together with effluent from treatment units prior to discharge. (6) Implementation As soon as practicable, the Administrator shall establish procedures to ensure that permits issued under this section (or under a State permit program approved under this section) to a publicly owned treatment works include requirements to implement this subsection. (7) Increase in maximum civil penalty for violations occurring after January 1, 2035 Notwithstanding section 309, in the case of a violation of this subsection occurring on or after January 1, 2035, or any violation of a permit limitation or condition implementing this subsection occurring after that date, the maximum civil penalty that shall be assessed for the violation shall be $100,000 per day for each day the violation occurs. (8) Applicability This subsection shall apply to a bypass occurring after the last day of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this subsection. . (b) Great lakes cleanup fund (1) Establishment Title V of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amended (A) by redesignating section 519 (33 U.S.C. 1251 note) as section 520; and (B) by inserting after section 518 (33 U.S.C. 1377) the following: 519. Establishment of great lakes cleanup fund (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Fund The term Fund means the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund established by subsection (b). (2) Great lakes; great lakes states The terms Great Lakes and Great Lakes States have the meanings given the terms in section 118(a)(3). (b) Establishment of fund There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund (referred to in this section as the Fund). (c) Transfers to fund Effective January 1, 2035, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund amounts equivalent to the penalties collected for violations of section 402(s). (d) Administration of fund The Administrator shall administer the Fund. (e) Use of funds The Administrator shall (1) make the amounts in the Fund available to the Great Lakes States for use in carrying out programs and activities for improving wastewater discharges into the Great Lakes, including habitat protection and wetland restoration; and (2) allocate those amounts among the Great Lakes States based on the proportion that (A) the amount attributable to a Great Lakes State for penalties collected for violations of section 402(s); bears to (B) the total amount of those penalties attributable to all Great Lakes States. (f) Priority In selecting programs and activities to be funded using amounts made available under this section, a Great Lakes State shall give priority consideration to programs and activities that address violations of section 402(s) resulting in the collection of penalties. . (2) Conforming amendments to state revolving fund program Section 607 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1387) is amended (A) by striking There is and inserting (a) In General.There is; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (b) Treatment of great lakes cleanup fund For purposes of this title, amounts made available from the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund under section 519 shall be treated as funds authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title and as funds made available under this title, except that the funds shall be made available to the Great Lakes States in accordance with section 519. .

Great Lakes Water Protection Act

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