To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to limit attorney fees and penalties in citizen suits, and for other purposes.
Latest action · Jul 30, 2015 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.
- IntroducedJul 29, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to limit the amount that may be awarded for the costs of litigation in citizen suits. An award of litigation costs may not exceed: (1) an amount that is proportional to the number of successful claims included in the complaint, or (2) the amount of monetary penalties.
The award of litigation costs must be based on the prevailing rates in the local market area where the violation occurred for the kind and quality of the services furnished.
Citizen suits may not be commenced if the Environmental Protection Agency or a state has commenced and is diligently prosecuting a civil or criminal action through the issuance of a compliance order.
The bill provides for certain affirmative defenses for a person who may be liable for the unlawful discharge of a pollutant under the Clean Water Act.
Cosponsors 4
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 29, 2015 to Apr 21, 2016, with 2 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | Ken Calvert | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| R-CA | Tom McClintock | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| R-CA | Edward R. Royce | Feb 25, 2016 | |
| R-CA | Dana Rohrabacher | Apr 21, 2016 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 30, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Jul 29, 2015Introduced in House
- Jul 29, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 29, 2015Introduced 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.