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S. 2963: A bill to remove a limitation on a prohibition relating to permits for discharges incidental to normal operation of vessels.

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S. 2963: A bill to remove a limitation on a prohibition relating to permits for discharges incidental to normal operation of vessels.

113th Congress · introduced 2014-11-20 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 613.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2014-11-20 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 613. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

A bill to remove a limitation on a prohibition relating to permits for discharges incidental to normal operation of vessels.

Plain summary

Makes permanent a prohibition exempting from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) a vessel under 79 feet in length or a fishing vessel for any discharge: (1) of effluent from properly functioning marine engines, or of laundry, shower, and galley sink wastes; or (2) that is incidental to the normal operation of those vessels. (Currently, the prohibition is temporary, and the time period during which the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] and any state with a state permit program are prohibited from requiring a NPDES permit ends on December 18, 2014. This prohibition does not apply, however, with respect to garbage discharged overboard, other discharges when the vessel is operating in a capacity other than as a means of transportation, discharges of ballast water held in ships to increase stability, or any discharge that contributes to a violation of a water quality standard or poses an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.)

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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 remove a limitation on a prohibition relating to permits for discharges incidental to normal operation of vessels.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] · 14 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Ron Wyden (D-OR)

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 (1)
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).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong113-s2963 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113