1. Short Title
This Act may be cited as the “Protecting Our Great Lakes Act of 2014”.
Protecting Our Great Lakes Act of 2014
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the discharge of dredged material into the Great Lakes, and for other purposes.
2. Prohibition on Discharge of Dredged Material into the Great Lakes System
Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) is amended—
in subsection (a), by striking “The Secretary may” and inserting “Except as provided in subsection (u), the Secretary may”;
in subsection (f)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “in paragraph (2)” and inserting “in paragraphs (2) and (3)”; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3) Any discharge of dredged material into the open waters of the Great Lakes is prohibited.”
in subsection (r), by striking “The discharge” and inserting “Except as provided in subsection (u), the discharge”; and
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(u) Prohibition on Discharge of Dredged Material into the Open Waters of the Great Lakes
“(1) In General—The Secretary (or a State in the case of a State program approved under this section) may not issue a permit for the discharge of dredged material into the open waters of the Great Lakes.
“(2) Disposal Areas
“(A) Any dredged material resulting from activity in the Great Lakes System (as defined in section 118 of this Act) shall be reused in beneficial ways on land or disposed of in a confined land-based or confined water-based disposal area determined to be economically and environmentally viable by the Secretary in consultation with concerned States.
“(B) Any person who violates subparagraph (A) shall be treated as having violated a condition or limitation set forth in a permit issued under this section.
“(3) Definition—For purposes of this section, the term open waters of the Great Lakes means all of the waters within Lake Erie, Lake Huron (including Lake St. Clair), Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, and Lake Superior lakeward from a line drawn across the mouth of tributaries to the Lakes, including all waters enclosed by constructed breakwaters, but not including the connecting channels.”