109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5734
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 29, 2006
Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. LIPINSKI) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Great Lakes Water Protection Act'.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SEWAGE DUMPING INTO THE GREAT LAKES.
Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (22 U.S.C. 1342)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(r) Prohibition on Sewage Dumping Into the Great Lakes-
`(1) IN GENERAL- A publicly owned treatment works is prohibited from intentionally
diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of a treatment facility
at the treatment works if the diversion results in a discharge into the
Great Lakes 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 the requirements of 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.
`(2) LIMITATION- The requirement of paragraph (1)(A)(ii) is not satisfied
if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise
of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent the bypass and the bypass
occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance.
`(3) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS- A publicly owned treatment works shall provide
to the Administrator (or to the State in the case of a State that has
a permit program approved under this section)--
`(A) prior notice of an anticipated bypass; and
`(B) notice of an unanticipated bypass within 24 hours following the
time the treatment works first becomes aware of the bypass.
`(4) FOLLOW-UP NOTICE REQUIREMENTS- In the case of an unanticipated bypass
for which a publicly owned treatment works provides notice under paragraph
(3)(B), the treatment works shall provide to the Administrator (or to
the State in the case of a State that has a permit program approved under
this section), not later than 5 days following the date on which the treatment
works first becomes aware of the bypass, a follow-up notice containing
a description of--
`(A) the cause of the bypass;
`(B) the reason for the bypass
`(C) the period of bypass, including the exact dates and times;
`(D) if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time the
bypass is expected to continue;
`(E) the volume of the discharge resulting from the bypass;
`(F) any public access areas that may be impacted by the bypass; and
`(G) steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence
of the bypass.
`(5) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF NOTICES- A publicly owned treatment works
providing a notice under this subsection, and the Administrator (or the
State in the case of a State that has a permit program approved under
this section) receiving such a notice, shall each post all such notices
provided or received in a searchable database accessible on the Internet.
`(6) 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.
`(7) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection, the following definitions apply:
`(A) BYPASS- The term `bypass' means an intentional diversion of waste
streams to bypass any portion of a treatment facility which results
in a discharge into the Great Lakes.
`(B) GREAT LAKES- The term `Great Lakes' has the meaning given such
term by section 118(a)(3).
`(C) 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.
`(D) TREATMENT WORKS- The term `treatment works' has the meaning given
that term in section 212.
`(8) IMPLEMENTATION- 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.
`(9) MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTY- Notwithstanding any provision of section 309,
the maximum civil penalty which shall be assessed for a violation of this
subsection, or any permit limitation or condition implementing this subsection,
shall be $100,000 per day for each day the violation occurs.
`(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided by subparagraph (B), the requirements
of this subsection shall become effective beginning January 1, 2026.
`(B) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS- The requirements of paragraphs (3), (4), and
(5) shall become effective one year after the date of enactment of this
subsection.'.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREAT LAKES CLEANUP FUND.
(a) In General- Title V of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1361 et seq.) is amended by redesignating section 519 as section 520 and
inserting after section 518 the following:
`SEC. 519. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREAT LAKES CLEANUP FUND.
`(a) Creation of Fund- There is established in the Treasury of the United
States a trust fund to be known as the `Great Lakes Cleanup Fund' (in this
section referred to as the `Fund').
`(b) Transfers to Fund- Effective January 1, 2026, there are authorized
to be appropriated to the Fund amounts equivalent to the penalties collected
for violations of section 402(r).
`(c) Administration of Fund- The Administrator shall administer the Fund.
`(d) Use of Funds- The Administrator shall make the amounts in the Fund
available to the Great Lakes States for programs and activities for improving
wastewater discharges into the Great Lakes, including habitat protection
and wetland restoration. The Administrator shall allocate such amounts among
the Great Lakes States based on the proportional amount attributable to
each Great Lakes State for penalties collected for violations of section
402(r).
`(e) 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(r) resulting in the collection of penalties.
`(f) Definitions- In this section, the terms `Great Lakes' and `Great Lakes
States' have the meanings given such terms in section 118(a)(3).'.
(b) Conforming Amendment to State Revolving Fund Program- Section 607 of
such Act (33 U.S.C. 1387) is amended--
(1) by inserting `(a) In General- ' before `There is'; and
(2) 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 such funds
shall be made available to the Great Lakes States as provided in section
519.'.
END
