S. 3481: A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Federal responsibility for stormwater pollution.
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S. 3481: A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Federal responsibility for stormwater pollution.
111th Congress · introduced 2010-06-10 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Became Public Law No: 111-378.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2010-06-10 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Became Public Law No: 111-378. (final step reached)
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Federal responsibility for stormwater pollution.
Plain summary
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 summary (Public Law), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Federal responsibility for stormwater pollution.
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The strongest published arguments
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD] · 3 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA)
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.
Words on this page, explained (4)
- Appropriation
- Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Obligation
- A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s3481.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>
Record fed-us-cong111-s3481 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111