H.R. 9017

119 HR 9017 IH: Restore Florida Water Independence Act of 2026
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-05-22
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 9017  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   May 22, 2026   Mr. Donalds  (for himself,  Mr. Mast ,  Mr. Moskowitz ,  Mr. Haridopolos , and  Mr. Buchanan ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure , and in addition to the Committee on  Natural Resources , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned   A BILL
To provide that compliance with a certain biological opinion is deemed to be compliance with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for purposes of a certain agency action, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Restore Florida Water Independence Act of 2026  .
2.
Compliance with biological opinion related to dredge and fill permitting program
(a)
In general
For purposes of the Agency Action—
(1)
the Biological Opinion is deemed to be compliant with, and compliance with the Biological Opinion is deemed to be compliance with, the requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ); and
(2)
no additional consultation under section 7(a) of that Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1536(a) ) is required.
(b)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Agency Action
The term  Agency Action —
(A)
means the approval by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency of the request of the State of Florida for the assumption by the State of Florida of the administration and permitting of a State permit program under section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1344 ), as described in the notice published by the Environmental Protection Agency titled  EPA’s Approval of Florida’s Clean Water Act Section 404 Assumption Request  (December 22, 2020; 85 Fed. Reg. 83553); and
(B)
includes other activities.
(2)
Biological Opinion
The term  Biological Opinion —
(A)
means the programmatic biological opinion issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service titled  Programmatic Biological Opinion for Environmental Protection Agency’s Approval of FDEP’s Assumption of the Administration of the Dredge and Fill Permitting Program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act  (dated November 17, 2020; FWS Log #: 04E00000–2021–F–0001; 04E00000–2021–B–0001); and
(B)
includes the incidental take statement described in pages 69 through 73 of the programmatic biological opinion.
(3)
Other activities
The term  other activities  has the meaning given the term in the glossary of the Biological Opinion.