On the recordJanuary 23, 1996
Basically, the problem exists with EPA's interpretation of the Clean Water Act. The EPA has interpreted constructed water conveyance facilities to be waters of the United States and therefore subject to the same Clean Water Act standards as California's most pristine mountain streams. In the case of California rice, many facilities proposed for regulations were specifically constructed as part of the tremendous and widely acclaimed successful effort to keep agricultural drain water out of the Sacramento River and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Basically my bill is designed to easily rectify this situation by amending the Clean Water Act to make it clear that no State need regulate water within a constructed conveyance facility except to ensure the facility's continued use for the purpose for which it was constructed; and to prevent water quality problems in downstream natural waterways.
Source
govinfo.gov
