A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Federal responsibility for stormwater pollution.

Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to provide that reasonable service charges applicable to federal entities for water pollution include any reasonable nondiscriminatory fee, charge, or assessment that is: (1) based on some fair approximation of the proportionate contribution of the property or facility to stormwater pollution; and (2) used to pay or reimburse the costs associated with any stormwater management program (whether associated with a separate storm sewer system or a system that manages a combination of stormwater and sanitary waste), including the full range of costs attributable to collecting stormwater, reducing pollutants in stormwater, and reducing the volume and rate of stormwater discharge, regardless of whether that charge is denominated a tax. Limits payments of such charges so that: (1) they shall not be made using funds from any permanent authorization account in the Treasury; and (2) federal entities shall not be obligated to pay or reimburse any such charge, except to the extent and in an amount provided in advance by any appropriations Act to pay or reimburse the charge.

Congressional Research Service · 2011-01-04