Environment (Drinking Water)

HJRES 76 is a congressional resolution seeking to block an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that updated regulations for reviewing new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The bill targets the specific rule published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 102773), which would have modified how the EPA evaluates new chemical substances for safety. If passed, this resolution would use the statutory process under Chapter 8 of Title 5, U.S. Code, to formally disapprove the EPA rule, preventing it from taking effect. This resolution directly affects the EPA’s authority to regulate new chemical submissions and does not create new regulations itself.

This bill amends Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to clarify and streamline water quality certifications for energy infrastructure projects. It requires states and the EPA to publish certification requirements within 30 days of enactment, set strict 90-day deadlines for requesting missing information, and base decisions solely on specific Clean Water Act sections (301, 302, 303, 306, 307). The changes replace vague terms like "water quality requirements" with precise references to these sections and mandate written explanations for certification decisions. It directly affects states, interstate agencies, and the EPA as they process certification requests for projects like pipelines or power plants.

HR 3900, the Water Quality Technology Availability Act, amends a key provision of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require that pollution limits for industrial discharges be based only on technologies already commercially available in the U.S. This change directly affects industries subject to water quality regulations (like manufacturing and utilities) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when developing effluent guidelines. The bill modifies Section 304(b)(1)(B) to replace "technology in relation to" with "technology that is commercially available in the United States in relation to," ensuring standards reflect existing, practical solutions. It does not create new requirements but clarifies that regulatory standards must consider only currently available technologies, not hypothetical or undeveloped ones.