Summary of H.R. 1948 - Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2013.

Sponsored by Representative John Mica (Republican Florida District 7). Co-sponsored by Representative Nick J. Rahall (Democrat West Virginia District 3) Co-sponsored by Representative Bob Gibbs (Republican Ohio West District 7)
Introduced in House (05/13/2013) Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from:
promulgating a revised or new water quality standard for a pollutant when the Administrator has approved a state water quality standard for such pollutant unless the state concurs with the Administrator's determination that the revised or new standard is necessary to meet the requirements of such Act; taking action to supersede a state's determination that a discharge will comply with effluent limitations, water quality standards, controls on the discharge of pollutants, and toxic and pretreatment effluent standards under such Act; withdrawing approval of a state program under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), limiting federal financial assistance for a state NPDES program, or objecting to the issuance of a NPDES permit by a state on the basis that the Administrator disagrees with the state regarding the implementation of an approved water quality standard or the implementation of any federal guidance that directs the interpretation of such standard; or denying or restricting the use of an area as a disposal site for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters in a permit if the state where the discharge originates does not concur with the Administrator's determination that the discharge will result in an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds, and fishery areas.

Shortens the period in which the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service must submit comments with respect to a general dredge and fill permit application. Requires the Administrator and other agencies to submit comments on an application for a general permit or a permit to discharge into navigable waters at specified disposal sites within 30 days (or 60 days if additional time is requested) after the date of receipt of such application. Applies this Act to actions taken on or after this Act's date of enactment, including actions taken with respect to permit applications that are pending or revised or new standards that are being promulgated. Requires the Administrator, before issuing a regulation, policy statement, guidance, response to a petition, or other requirement or implementing a new or substantially altered program under this Act, to analyze the impact, disaggregated by state, of such action on employment levels and economic activity. Directs the Administrator to: (1) post such analysis on EPA's website; (2) request that the governor of any state experiencing more than a de minimis negative impact on employment levels or economic activity (a loss of more than 100 jobs or a decrease in economic activity of more than $1 million) post such analysis in the state's capitol; (3) hold a public hearing in each state where such action will have more than a de minimis negative impact; and (4) give notice of such impact to states' congressional delegations, governors, and legislatures.

In Laymens terms:
This bill is a reintroduction of House bill 2018 which was passed in 2011 but was never voted on the by the senate. The bill will do the following:

Prevent states from protecting their waterways from pollution that is discharged upstream or by neighboring states. Prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from requiring states to update and revise water quality standards that dont adequately protect rivers, lakes, springs, and estuaries. Create a system of inconsistent water quality rules, regulations and programs that dont provide adequate protections for our nations waterways. Allow states failing to meet minimal federal clean water standards to continue receiving federal taxpayer funding for inadequate programs.

Prevent the EPA from providing a safety net and intervening, when necessary, in proposed permits and projects that would threaten the health of waterways and drinking water supplies. The EPA has apparently exercised this authority only 13 times in the 40 years of the Clean Water Act, most recently to prohibit a mine from filling six miles of Appalachian streams with its waste.

Text from the Saint John River Keepers:

Rep. Mica apparently sponsored the legislation in retaliation for the numeric nutrient criteria that was esablished by the EPA to address Florida's widespread nutrient pollution problem. Excessive nutrients from sewage, fertilizer runoff, and municipal and commercial wastewater continue to trigger toxic algal blooms and fish kills throughout the state.

The truth is that EPA was forced to step in and establish these important safeguards for Floridas polluted waterways, because our state politicians and the FL Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) failed to fulfill this important responsibility. The DEP has repeatedly acknowledged the benefit and need for numeric nutrient criteria, yet failed to follow through despite having over a decade to get the job done.

According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (FDEP) 2010 Integrated Water Quality Assessment for Florida, approximately 569 square miles of estuaries, 1,918 miles of rivers and streams, and 378,435 acres of lakes were identified as impaired by nutrients. This recent water quality data and the fact that our state has failed to implement nutrient pollution protections in a timely manner demonstrate the importance of the Clean Water Act and the benefit of oversight and shared authority to ensure the protection of our waterways.

The Polluter behind this bill

The National mining Association. The National Mining Association (NMA) is the national trade organization of the U.S. mining industry. Formed in 1995 and comprised of over 300 corporate members, it is the largest and most powerful lobbying group representing the mining industry. NMA does not disclose who its members are. According to its website, the goal of the NMA is to represent the interests of mining before Congress, the Administration, federal agencies, the judiciary and the media. To accomplish this, NMA lobbies extensively. NMA also runs Political Action Commitees (PACS), and ground level voter education campaigns through their Advocacy Campaign Team for Mining (ACT). The NMA is dedicated to preventing the passage of any new environmental regulations. They oppose attempts to keep mining out of wilderness areas and national parks, replying to efforts to protect wild lands with their standard response: Further environmental standards or enforcement mechanisms are not needed. The NMA also staunchly opposes climate legislation that does not include large subsidies for carbon capture storage. They also fund a number of clean coalgreenwash campaigns. In addition to their opposition to pro-environment legislation, the NMA has frequently sued the EPA to keep regulations on Mountain Top Removal mining, greenhouse gas emissions, and gas and oil drilling from being enforced.

Other members of the subcommitee:

Bob Gibbs, Ohio, Chairman Don Young, Alaska Gary Miller, California

Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Candice Miller, Michigan Rick Crawford, Arkansas, Vice Chair Richard L. Hanna, New York Dan Webster, Florida Jeff Denham, California Reid Ribble, Wisconsin Thomas Massie, Kentucky Steve Daines, Montana Tom Rice, South Carolina Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma Mark Meadows, North Carolina Rodney L. Davis, Illinois Mark Sanford, South Carolina Tim Bishop, New York, Ranking Member Donna Edwards, Maryland John Garamendi, California Lois Frankel, Florida Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Columbia Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas Grace Napolitano, California Steve Cohen, Tennessee Janice Hahn, California Rick Nolan, Minnesota Ann Kirkpatrick, Arizona Dina Titus, Nevada

Sean Patrick Maloney, New York Ex officio Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania Nick Rahall, West Virginia