To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make changes with respect to water quality certification, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill amends Clean Water Act section 401 to focus certification on direct discharges and specified statutory provisions. It requires certifying agencies to publish requirements, provide written reasons, and identify missing materials within 90 days.
Who Benefits and How
Energy and infrastructure developers benefit from more predictable and narrower certification review. Federal permit applicants gain clearer deadlines and written criteria.
Who Bears the Burden and How
State and interstate certifying agencies and EPA must publish and apply the new criteria. Environmental groups may lose broader certification arguments.
Key Provisions
- Narrows certification to direct discharge effects and specific Clean Water Act provisions
- Requires published certification requirements
- Requires written decisions and timely identification of missing materials
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Narrows and standardizes Clean Water Act section 401 water quality certification for federally permitted projects.
Key Policy Areas
Environment, Energy, Infrastructure
Primary Purpose
Narrows and standardizes Clean Water Act section 401 water quality certification for federally permitted projects.
Policy Domains
Whole bill
Identified Gains
- Energy and infrastructure project applicants
- Federal permit applicants
Identified Costs
- State water quality certifying agencies
- Environmental groups
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedAdditional sponsor: Mr. Perry
Reported from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; committed to …
Mr. Rouzer (for himself and Mr. Graves of Louisiana) introduced …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Energy and infrastructure project applicants needing water quality certification
State and interstate water quality certifying agencies
Environmental groups using broad section 401 certification review
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "administrator"
- → EPA Administrator
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology