Restoring Federalism in Clean Water Permitting Act

This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and update its rules for approving state-run permit programs under section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The EPA must finish this review within 180 days, with the goal of making approvals faster, cutting paperwork, and encouraging more states to run these programs, and then put any needed changes in place.

It also sets clear court rules for challenges to an EPA approval of a state’s program. People have 60 days after an approval to file a lawsuit. Only those who submitted detailed comments during the public comment period on that approval can sue, and only on the issues they raised. If a court finds the EPA didn’t follow the law, it must send the issue back to the EPA to fix, but the court generally may not stop the state from issuing permits while the fix happens unless there’s an imminent and serious danger to health or the environment and no other fair remedy exists. Courts must set a deadline—up to 180 days—for the EPA to act after a remand.

Key points

• Who is affected: EPA; states that want to run a section 404 permit program; people or groups who might challenge an EPA approval.
• What changes: EPA must review and streamline approval rules; lawsuits must be filed within 60 days; only prior detailed commenters can sue; courts remand rather than halt state permitting except in urgent danger; EPA gets a court-set deadline (up to 180 days) to respond.
• When: EPA review due within 180 days of enactment; lawsuits must be filed within 60 days of an approval; EPA action after a court remand must meet a court-set deadline of up to 180 days.