To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to the period during which areas may be prohibited from being specified as disposal sites for dredged or fill material, 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 requires restricts EPA's authority to veto Clean Water Act Section 404 permits by establishing a fixed time window (from application submission to permit issuance) during which the Administrator may prohibit or restrict. It relies on exemptions and compliance mandates. The main policy areas are Energy, Environment, Agriculture, and Housing.
Who Benefits and How
Real estate developers seeking to fill wetlands could face lower compliance burdens, Construction companies seeking wetland fill permits could face lower compliance burdens, and Oil and gas pipeline companies crossing wetlands could face lower compliance burdens.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Environmental conservation organizations could face increased risk, Communities dependent on water quality and wetlands could face increased risk, and Fishing and seafood industries dependent on wetland ecosystems could face increased risk.
Key Provisions
- Requires restricts EPA's authority to veto Clean Water Act Section 404 permits by establishing a fixed time window (from application submission to permit issuance) during which the Administrator may prohibit or restrict...
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
The bill requires restricts EPA's authority to veto Clean Water Act Section 404 permits by establishing a fixed time window (from application submission to permit issuance) during which the Administrator may prohibit or restrict.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Environment, Agriculture, Housing
Primary Purpose
The bill requires restricts EPA's authority to veto Clean Water Act Section 404 permits by establishing a fixed time window (from application submission to permit issuance) during which the Administrator may prohibit or restrict.
Policy Domains
Entire Bill
Identified Gains
- Real estate developers seeking to fill wetlands
- Construction companies seeking wetland fill permits
- Oil and gas pipeline companies crossing wetlands
- Mining companies requiring wetland fills (e.g., mountaintop removal operations)
- Port and waterfront development companies
Identified Costs
- Environmental conservation organizations
- Communities dependent on water quality and wetlands
- Fishing and seafood industries dependent on wetland ecosystems
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Stauber introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Construction companies seeking wetland fill permits
Mining companies requiring wetland fills (e.g., mountaintop removal operations)
Agricultural operations requiring drainage or wetland conversion
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Army (who issues Section 404 permits via Army Corps of Engineers)
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Note: 'The Secretary' refers to Secretary of the Army (who administers Section 404 permits through the Army Corps of Engineers), distinct from 'The Administrator' (EPA)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A permit issued under Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) that authorizes the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. These permits are issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The EPA Administrator's authority to prohibit the specification of any defined area as a disposal site, or deny or restrict the use of any defined area for specification as a disposal site, when such discharge would have unacceptable adverse effects on water supplies, fisheries, wildlife, or recreational areas.
The date on which an applicant submits all the information required to complete an application for a Section 404 permit (as defined in new paragraph 2(A)).
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