H.R. 5734: Great Lakes Water Protection Act

109th Congress · introduced 2006-06-29 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2006-06-29 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL-10] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Great Lakes Water Protection Act

Plain summary

Great Lakes Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (popularly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of the treatment facility if the diversion results in a discharge into the Great Lakes unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (2) there is no feasible alternative; and (3) the treatment works provides notice; or (4) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility. Requires: (1) such notice to be provided to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or to a state with an approved permit program) prior to an anticipated bypass or within 24 hours of becoming aware of an unanticipated bypass; and (2) follow-up notice regarding the cause and duration of, volume of discharge resulting from, and public access areas affected by an unanticipated bypass. Includes among prohibited bypasses those resulting in discharges from a POTW that consist of effluent routed around treatment units and blended with effluent from treatment units prior to discharge. Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to implement this Act. Provides a maximum civil penalty for violations. Establishes the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund from which amounts shall be provided for improving wastewater discharges.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Great Lakes Water Protection Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL-10] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-109hr5734.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/109/hr>

Record fed-us-cong109-hr5734 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong109 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong109