{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr1203-114/featured_to-amend-the-federal-water-pollution-control-act-to-clarify-that-the-administrator-of-the-environmental-protect-1470853955.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr1203-114/featured_large_to-amend-the-federal-water-pollution-control-act-to-clarify-that-the-administrator-of-the-environmental-protect-1470853955.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr1203-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2015-03-02","title_override":"Should the EPA be Stopped from Retroactively Revoking Mining Permits?","summary_override":"

This bill changes the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to regulate whether or not mining companies can dispose of waste in bodies of water. In simpler terms, once a permit is issued, the EPA can’t get rid of it and all past cases of the EPA doing so are nullified.

Specifically, the bill does 4 things:

Removes the EPA’s power to restrict or revoke a permit for dumping waste materials after the permit is issued to a company by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE);
Requires the EPA to make all information involved in making its decision to restrict or revoke a permit publicly available;
Prevents the EPA from redefining designated waste sites;
Nullifies any past decisions the EPA made that occurred after a permit was issued.

","official_title":"To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to disapprove a permit after it has been issued by the Secretary of the Army under section 404 of such Act.","short_title":null,"popular_title":null,"short_summary":"This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to remove the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the specification, or restrict the use, of an area as a disposal site for discharges of dredged or fill materials into waters of the United States once the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit for the discharge.\n\nThe bill applies to discharge permits issued: (1) after this bill's enactment, and (2) on or before enactment if the EPA failed to submit to the Army Corps a written objection to the permit prior to the Army Corps' issuance of the permit.","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable. ","impact":"Mining companies that need permits; local communities around dumping sites; EPA regulators; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other related agencies. ","argument_for":"The EPA's current regulatory process threatens to choke the growth of an industry that has seen enormous job and profit loss over the last decade. ","argument_against":"Environmental assessments are not static. The EPA should have the flexibility to restrict or revoke permits that could endanger the surrounding environment. 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Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.\r\n","page_title":"EPA Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/epa/black_epa-1434998540.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/epa/grey_epa-1434998540.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/epa/white_epa-1434998540.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"health","name":"Health","slug":"health","description":"Federal legislation around Health, encompassing: the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Research into diseases (Cancer, HIV/Aids, Ebola), Drug safety, Hospital care and prescription drugs.","page_title":"Health Related US Federal legislation, including Medicare, ACA, and research - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/health/black_health-1429042037.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/health/grey_health-1429042037.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/health/white_health-1429042037.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"Kathleen","vote_count":429,"photos":{"large":"https://graph.facebook.com/10205356744904163/picture?width=150&height=150","small":"https://graph.facebook.com/10205356744904163/picture?width=75&height=75","tiny":"https://graph.facebook.com/10205356744904163/picture?width=20&height=20","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/10205356744904163/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/0mLo6aLZ/following","followers":"/api/users/0mLo6aLZ/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":14,"is_following":null,"influence_score":240,"influence_level":20,"follower_count":1,"following_count":3,"position_count":147,"id":"0mLo6aLZ","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"a5eeec43-0a6d-432d-b1bc-0f8a149a9966","argument_for":"As a taxpayer I do not want to pay for Pollution, Industry wastes dumps and releasing more climate warming pollutants. Let's put our resources to reliable sustainable resources and leave more resources in the ground","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":0,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/a5eeec43-0a6d-432d-b1bc-0f8a149a9966"},"body":"As a taxpayer I do not want to pay for Pollution, Industry wastes dumps and releasing more climate warming pollutants. Let's put our resources to reliable sustainable resources and leave more resources in the ground","stance":"yea","created_at":"2016-09-09T17:34:12.889Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/a5eeec43-0a6d-432d-b1bc-0f8a149a9966.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"hr1203-114","user_id":"0mLo6aLZ","endorser_ids":[]}}

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Should the EPA be Stopped from Retroactively Revoking Mining Permits?