Great Lakes Water Protection Act
Latest action · Mar 15, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 14, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Great Lakes Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) from performing a discharge (defined as an intentional diversion of waste streams to bypass any portion of a treatment facility which results in a discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage into the Great Lakes) unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage, there is no feasible alternative, and the treatment works provides notice; or (2) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility.
Requires a POTW to provide prior notice for any anticipated discharge, or notice as soon as practicable for any unanticipated discharge (but no later than two hours after a discharge begins for a POTW with an automated detection system or 12 hours after a discharge begins for a POTW without such system), to: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or a state if the state has an approved permit program), (2) each local health department (or a state health department if a local department does not exist), (3) the municipality in which a discharge occurred, (4) each municipality with jurisdiction over waters that may be affected, (5) a daily newspaper of general circulation in each county in which such a municipality is located, and (6) the public.
Requires a POTW, within five days after such initial notice, to provide follow-up notice regarding the cause of, reason for, dates and times of, anticipated duration of, volume of, public access areas affected by, and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of, the discharge. Requires the Administrator (or a state with an approved permit program) to annually publish and make available to the public a list of the POTWs from which a follow-up notice was received.
Includes among prohibited bypasses those resulting in discharges from a POTW that consist of effluent routed around treatment units and blended with effluent from treatment units prior to discharge.
Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to comply with this Act.
Establishes a maximum civil penalty of $100,000 per day for violations of this Act occurring on or after January 1, 2033.
Establishes the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund into which penalties for violations of this Act shall be deposited and from which amounts shall be provided for improving wastewater discharges.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 14, 2013.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IL | Daniel Lipinski | Original | Mar 14, 2013 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Mar 14, 2013 |
| Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee | Referred Mar 15, 2013 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 15, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Mar 14, 2013Introduced in House
- Mar 14, 2013Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H1429.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 571 | Great Lakes Water Protection Act | Identical bill | Jul 16, 2014 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish a deadline for restricting sewage dumping into the Great Lakes and to fund programs and activities for improving wastewater discharges into the Great Lakes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Great Lakes Water Protection Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 14, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
