H.R. 3898 — PERMIT Act

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act” or the “PERMIT Act” and sets forth the table of contents.

This section revises state triennial reviews of water quality standards under CWA Section 303(c)(1) to require, for waters receiving municipal combined sewer overflows (CSOs) under a permit, order, or decree, assessment of standards to ensure cost-effective CSO controls. It further amends Section 303(c)(2)(A) to require states, when designating uses for waters, to consider (iii) the cost and U.S. commercial availability of treatment technologies (including whether demonstrated at applicable scale) needed for point source compliance with such standards. It also requires EPA, in developing or revising water quality criteria under CWA Section 304(a), to consider the cost and U.S. commercial availability of such treatment technologies for point source compliance with standards under Section 303. (As background, water quality standards—adopted by states and approved by EPA—establish designated uses for waters and pollutant criteria protective of those uses; CSOs occur when stormwater overwhelms combined sanitary/storm sewers, causing untreated discharges.)

This section amends section 304(a) of the Clean Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(a))—commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA)—to require the EPA Administrator, after enactment, to issue any new or revised water quality criteria under paragraphs (1) or (9) by rule (i.e., through notice-and-comment procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act). (Water quality criteria reflect the latest scientific knowledge on pollutant effects on health, welfare, biological communities, and water integrity and guide states in adopting water quality standards.) It also amends CWA section 509(b)(1) (33 U.S.C. 1369(b)(1)) to provide for direct judicial review of such rules in the courts of appeals.

This section amends Clean Water Act Section 304(b) (33 U.S.C. 1314(b))—which requires the EPA Administrator to publish information on factors for effluent limitations applicable to point source categories—to include, as an additional factor relating to treatment technologies in paragraphs (1)(B) [best practicable control technology currently available (BPT)], (2)(B) [best available technology economically achievable (BAT)], and (4)(B) [new source performance standards], the commercial availability of the technology in the United States (including whether it has been demonstrated at an applicable scale).

This section revises Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1341), which requires states (or EPA, if applicable) to certify that federal licenses or permits for activities discharging into navigable waters comply with Clean Water Act effluent limitations, standards, and water quality requirements before issuance. (As background, these certifications allow states to condition or deny permits to protect water quality but have delayed energy and infrastructure projects due to variable state procedures and timelines.) Specifically, the section—(1) limits certification requirements to activities or discharges that "may directly result" in a discharge into navigable waters (from "may result"); (2) requires states, interstate agencies, or EPA to publish certification requirements within 30 days of enactment, identify any additional information needed within 90 days of a request, base decisions solely on compliance with Clean Water Act sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307 (effluent limits, water quality standards, new source standards, and toxic pollutant standards), and act by granting with or without conditions, denying, or waiving within a reasonable period (not exceeding one year, previously automatic waiver after one year of inaction) as determined by the licensing or permitting agency; (3) streamlines federal agency notifications and limits EPA review to potential impacts on other states' section 303 water quality standards; and (4) specifies that certification conditions become federal permit conditions limited to those Clean Water Act provisions.

This section authorizes the EPA Administrator to issue general permits under Clean Water Act section 402(a)—which governs federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for pollutant discharges—for categories of similar activities and sources on a state, regional, nationwide, or delineated-area basis. It requires the Administrator to publish a Federal Register notice at least two years before expiration if deciding not to issue a new general permit for similar discharges. If no such notice is published upon expiration, the terms, conditions, and requirements of the expired permit continue to apply to previously covered discharges and to any new discharge that would have qualified for coverage, until either a new permit is issued or two years after publication of a non-renewal notice.

This section revises the compliance shield under Clean Water Act section 402(k) for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits—issued by EPA or approved states to regulate point source pollutant discharges into U.S. waters—to limit its scope to (1) any pollutant with an effluent limitation in the permit and (2) any pollutant without such a limitation that is specifically identified as controlled or monitored through indicator parameters in the permit, fact sheet, or administrative record; present in discharges during the permit application process; present in identified waste streams or processes of the point source; or within the identified scope of the point source's operations. (Thus, compliance with permit conditions no longer provides a shield against enforcement for unidentified pollutants or operations.) This section also establishes requirements under new section 402(t) for expressing water quality-based effluent limitations—imposed when necessary to meet water quality standards in addition to technology-based limits—such that each limitation must specify the pollutant and clearly describe compliance methods, including a numerical limit, narrative description of required actions or practices, or narrative description of the control level to be applied.

This section expands a Clean Water Act exemption from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements for certain silvicultural discharges to also include discharges resulting from the aerial application of a product used for fire control and suppression purposes that appears on the most current Forest Service Qualified Products List (or successor list). (Thus, NPDES permits are not required for such aerial wildfire suppression activities.)

This section exempts discharges of stormwater—including from subsurface drainage—from agricultural land in direct response to a precipitation event from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements under CWA section 402, prohibiting the EPA Administrator from requiring such permits or directly or indirectly requiring states to do so. Agricultural land includes (1) land on which agricultural inputs such as manure, crop nutrients, crop protection, or seed are applied; (2) land on which animals (including fish and shellfish), crops (including fruit and nut trees), crop residue, plants, seed, or vegetation are present for farming or ranching; and (3) immediately adjacent, functionally related land necessary for agricultural production, soil conservation, flood control, or water quality. (Thus, farmers and ranchers generally are not required to obtain NPDES permits for such precipitation-related stormwater discharges.)

This section exempts from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements under the Clean Water Act discharges from point sources into navigable waters of pesticides authorized for sale, distribution, or use under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), or residues of such pesticides, resulting from the application of such pesticides. The exemption does not apply to the following: (1) discharges resulting from a FIFRA violation relevant to protecting water quality, where the discharge would not have occurred but for the violation or the amount discharged exceeds what would have occurred without the violation; (2) stormwater discharges regulated under CWA section 402(p); or (3) manufacturing or industrial effluent, publicly owned treatment works effluent, or discharges incidental to vessel operations (including ballasting or biofouling prevention).

This section limits the EPA Administrator's authority under Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404(c)—which allows prohibition or restriction of specified disposal sites for dredged or fill material if discharges would have unacceptable adverse effects on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds, fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas—to the period beginning on the date an applicant submits all information required to complete a permit application under CWA section 404 and ending on the date the Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of Engineers) issues the permit (previously, no such time limit). The amendments apply to permit applications submitted after enactment. (Thus, the Administrator may exercise this veto authority only during pendency of a specific permit application.)

This section revises the general (nationwide) permit program under section 404(e) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344)—which authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue general permits for categories of dredged or fill material discharges into navigable waters that have minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects—as follows: (1) extends the maximum term of such general permits to 10 years (from 5 years); (2) directs the Corps, in evaluating environmental effects of proposed activities, to deem discharges into less than 3 acres of navigable waters a minimal adverse effect and to consider discharges into 3 acres or more as potentially minimal; (3) requires the Corps to maintain nationwide general permits for linear infrastructure projects (e.g., communications, electricity, transportation of people/water/wastewater) discharging into less than 3 acres per single and complete project and for linear pipeline projects (e.g., carbon dioxide, fuel, hydrocarbons) with no more than 0.5 acre loss per single and complete project; and (4) for reissuance of nationwide permits, eliminates requirements for consultation with states under ESA §6(a) (16 U.S.C. 1535(a)), eliminates interagency consultation under ESA §7(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)), and deems NEPA compliance achieved via environmental assessment (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). This section further directs the Corps to revise implementing regulations to streamline general permit processes and prohibits the Corps from modifying specified 2021 regulatory definitions or conditions related to single and complete projects.

This section requires the EPA Administrator to submit a written request to a state for additional information, if determined necessary to complete a program description under subsection (g)(1), not later than 45 days after receipt of the state's submission for assuming administration of the dredged or fill material permit program. It also (1) redesignates paragraph (3) as paragraph (4) in subsection (g) and (2) revises a cross-reference in subsection (h)(1) from "paragraph (1) of this subsection" to "subsection (g)(1)."

This section establishes a judicial review process for approvals of state permit programs, issuances of individual or general permits, and verifications of activities under general permits pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (i.e., permits issued by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for discharges of dredged or fill material into navigable waters). Specifically, it (1) imposes a 60-day statute of limitations for filing such actions, notwithstanding any other law; (2) limits commencement of actions challenging state program approvals or permit issuances to parties that submitted detailed public comments putting the relevant agency or state on notice of the issue; (3) requires courts, upon finding a violation, to remand for further proceedings while generally prohibiting vacatur, revocation, injunctions, or other limitations on state authority, permits, or activities except upon a finding of imminent and substantial danger to human health or the environment with no other equitable remedy available; and (4) directs courts to set and enforce a reasonable schedule, not exceeding 180 days, for agencies or states to act on remand orders. The section also redesignates existing subsection (t) as subsection (u) and revises its heading to "Savings provision.—".

This section ratifies three specified state permit programs under CWA §404 (33 U.S.C. 1344)—for Michigan (approved 1984), New Jersey (approved 1994), and Florida (approved 2020)—and prohibits the EPA Administrator from withdrawing approval of those programs, including under §404(i), absent an Act of Congress enacted after this Act's date of enactment. (As background, CWA §404 authorizes states to assume dredged and fill material discharge permitting from the Army Corps of Engineers after EPA approval; EPA may withdraw such approval if a state fails to administer the program adequately.) For Florida's program, both the Corps and the state may issue permits during a 90-day transition period beginning on this Act's date of enactment. This section further requires EPA to approve any new state §404(g) program determined comparable to these three, notify the Corps and state, and direct the Corps—upon state notification of program administration—to suspend federal permitting under §404(a) and (e) for covered activities.

This section directs the EPA Administrator, not later than 180 days after enactment, to review regulations applicable to the approval of state permit programs under §404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344)—which authorizes states to administer dredged or fill material discharge permits instead of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—to identify revisions that streamline the approval process, reduce administrative burdens, and encourage additional states to participate; the Administrator must implement such revisions as appropriate.

This section directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers and in coordination with the EPA Administrator, to publish a proposed rule within 180 days of enactment revising the 2008 compensatory mitigation regulations for losses of aquatic resources under CWA section 404 (73 Fed. Reg. 19594). The revisions must (1) incorporate lessons learned and advances in science, restoration, and efficiency; (2) promote equivalency and flexibility among mitigation banking, in-lieu fee programs, and permittee-responsible mitigation; (3) expedite approval of such mitigation plans; (4) support regional watershed approaches by encouraging cross-service-area credit generation/sales and consistent policies; (5) ensure timely coordination between Corps districts and Interagency Review Teams; (6) for temporary impacts from projects with approved reclamation plans (including mining), account for their temporary nature, recognize reclamation as minimization, consider existing financial assurances when requiring more, and allow surplus mitigation credits if meeting standards; (7) encourage off-site and out-of-kind mitigation where appropriate; and (8) include other appropriate changes. (As background, compensatory mitigation replaces unavoidable impacts to wetlands and aquatic resources authorized under CWA section 404 permits; approved reclamation plans include those under SMCRA section 510 (30 U.S.C. 1260) and various DOI/USDA mining plans (Thus, the revisions facilitate mining operations by crediting reclamation toward mitigation.) After issuing a final rule, the Secretary must issue guidance establishing measurable success criteria and phased credit release schedules for generating credits from activities under approved reclamation plans. The section defines "approved reclamation plan" and "Secretary."

This section directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, not later than 60 days after enactment, to expedite procedures and reallocate or augment Corps of Engineers personnel and resources as necessary to eliminate any backlog existing as of June 5, 2025, in (1) applications for permits under section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), which authorize discharges of dredged or fill material into regulated waters (i.e., waters of the United States), or (2) requests for jurisdictional determinations or wetlands delineations under Corps jurisdiction. (Thus, this addresses delays in regulatory processes affecting development, infrastructure, and land use.)

This section revises the definition of "navigable waters" under the Clean Water Act—generally, waters of the United States subject to EPA regulation of pollutant discharges—by adding specific exclusions. The exclusions are for (1) components of waste treatment systems, including lagoons or treatment ponds designed to convey/retain wastewater or concentrate/settle/reduce/remove pollutants; (2) ephemeral features that flow only in direct response to precipitation; (3) areas drained or manipulated before December 23, 1985, to enable agricultural production (i.e., prior converted cropland) that, as determined by the EPA Administrator, have been used for agricultural purposes at least once in the preceding 10 years—including grazing, haying, idling for conservation, or recovery from disasters—and have not reverted to wetlands; (4) groundwater; and (5) any other features determined to be excluded by the EPA Administrator and Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.

This section revises thresholds for applicability of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule to farms under Section 1049 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 by (1) in subsection (b)—(A) increasing the aggregate aboveground storage capacity threshold in paragraph (1)(B) to 42,000 gallons (from 20,000 gallons); (B) revising paragraph (2)(A) to cover farms with capacity greater than 10,000 gallons but less than 42,000 gallons; (C) in paragraph (3), revising subparagraph (A) to cover farms with capacity of 10,000 gallons or less and replacing the semicolon after subparagraph (B) with a period; and (D) striking paragraph (4); (2) in subsection (c)(2)(A), increasing thresholds in clause (i) to 1,320 gallons (from 1,000 gallons) and in clause (ii) to 3,000 gallons (from 2,500 gallons); and (3) striking subsection (d). (As background, the SPCC rule requires oil storage facilities above certain thresholds to develop spill prevention plans; these changes expand exemptions and simplified plan options for more farms.)

This section encourages a state, to the maximum extent practicable, to participate in the environmental review and authorization process under FAST Act §41003(c)(3)(A) (42 U.S.C. 4370m–2(c)(3)(A)) for any covered project—as defined in 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6) (i.e., a NEPA-required activity in the United States typically involving over $200 million in investment for infrastructure such as energy production, transmission, transportation, or pipelines—that requires a state certification or permit under Clean Water Act §401 (water quality certification), §402 (NPDES permit), or §404 (dredge and fill permit).

This section expresses the sense of Congress that the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement is a voluntary, cooperative agreement among the federal government, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia, and that the federal government should take a collaborative approach regarding those parties' compliance with the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (TMDL).

This section directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, within one year of enactment to review lands under the Secretary's jurisdiction and identify parcels hydrologically and geologically suitable for water recharge projects (i.e., aquifer recharge, surface water infiltration, or managed aquifer recharge), considering factors such as soil permeability, proximity to water sources, and minimal environmental impact. The section further directs the Secretary, in consultation with the EPA Administrator and relevant state water resource agencies, to establish streamlined permitting processes for such projects on identified parcels—including facilitation of actions under section 17 and expedited issuance of permits under CWA section 404 (33 U.S.C. 1344)—that minimize regulatory burdens, provide categorical exclusions or streamlined environmental assessments, and promote collaboration with state and local entities. Finally, the section requires the Secretary to submit to Congress, within 18 months of enactment, a report detailing the identified parcels and established permitting processes.

This section directs the EPA Administrator to establish a voluntary pilot program to support state-led water quality improvements in waters listed as impaired for nitrogen or phosphorus under CWA section 303(d) (i.e., waters not meeting standards, requiring states to develop total maximum daily loads for pollutants). Participation by agricultural producers is voluntary, and the program does not authorize regulation of nonpoint sources (e.g., agricultural runoff) or expand federal jurisdiction.

This section authorizes the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (IBWC), to accept funds from federal or non-federal entities, including through grants or funding agreements, to study, design, construct, operate, or maintain wastewater treatment works, water conservation projects, flood control works, and related structures consistent with the IBWC's functions. Such funds must be deposited into the IBWC's Treasury account and, subject to appropriations, are available until expended. It imposes two limitations: (1) the IBWC may not provide credit toward a non-federal project cost share or reimbursements exceeding $5 million total per fiscal year; and (2) the IBWC may not accept funds from non-federal entities domiciled, headquartered, organized under the laws of, principally located in, or having agreements with a foreign country of concern (i.e., People's Republic of China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Islamic Republic of Iran, or other countries designated by the Secretary of State). The IBWC must submit an annual report to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure describing funds accepted, activities conducted, and associated costs.