HR 3899119th CongressIntroduced

Clarifying Federal General Permits Act

Introduced: Jun 11, 2025

Environment & Climate

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Clarifying Federal General Permits Act would revise how general permits under the Clean Water Act (specifically the NPDES program) can be issued and managed. It authorizes the EPA Administrator to issue general permits not only on a nationwide basis, but also for state or regional scopes or for specific geographic areas, as long as the discharges cover similar types and sources of activity. The bill also adds requirements to prevent regulatory gaps when a general permit is set to expire: if the Administrator decides not to issue a new general permit for similar discharges, a public notice must be published at least two years before expiration. If a general permit does expire without a new one in place, the terms of the expiring permit would temporarily continue to apply to existing discharges and to those that would have been covered, until a new permit is issued or two years pass after the decision-not-to-issue notice. In short, the bill clarifies the geographic flexibility of general permits, and strengthens protection against gaps in coverage by extending the transitional period and mandating advance notice when a replacement permit will not be issued.

Key Points

1Allows general permits under Section 402(a) to be issued on a state, regional, or nationwide basis, or for a delineated area, for discharges from categories of activities that are similar in type and source.
2If the Administrator decides not to issue a new general permit for discharges similar to those covered by an expiring general permit, the Administrator must publish a Federal Register notice at least two years before the expiration.
3If a general permit expires and no new general permit has been issued or announced, the terms of the expired permit continue to apply to:
4- discharges that were covered by the expired permit, and
5- discharges that would have been covered by the expired permit if they had occurred before expiration.
6The continuation lasts until the earlier of: (a) issuance of a new general permit for similar discharges, or (b) two years after the publication of the notice of a decision not to issue a new general permit.
7The changes would be added to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as the Clean Water Act.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected:- Facilities and activities regulated under the NPDES general permits (e.g., industrial facilities, construction sites, public municipalities) and the state or regional environmental agencies that oversee permit administration.Secondary group/area affected:- States, tribes, and local governments that implement or rely on general permits for discharges; potential changes in how permits are designed and issued across jurisdictions.Additional impacts:- Regulatory certainty and continuity for permit holders, since there is a built-in mechanism to prevent coverage gaps if a new general permit is not issued in time.- Potential shifts in administrative processes, including increased emphasis on multi-jurisdictional (state/ regional) permit programs and the need for timely Federal Register notices when decisions are made not to issue new general permits.- Clarification of the scope of general permits may affect how categories of discharges are grouped and regulated, possibly impacting compliance planning for facilities within those categories.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 3, 2025