# 114-hr-2809: Great Lakes Water Protection Act

114-hr-2809, Great Lakes Water Protection Act, is a 114th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Dold, Robert J. [R-IL-10] (R-IL); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-2809
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 114-hr-2809
- Congress: 114
- Title: Great Lakes Water Protection Act
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Introduced: 2015-06-17
- Sponsor: Rep. Dold, Robert J. [R-IL-10] (R-IL)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Great Lakes Water Protection Act This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) from discharging untreated or partially treated sewage into the Great Lakes or a tributary of the Great Lakes when the discharge is the result of the POTW intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of a treatment facility. A bypass is allowed if: (1) it is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage, there is no feasible alternative, and the treatment works provides notice; or (2) it does not cause effluent (waste) limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must work with relevant states to create requirements for providing immediate notice to the public about discharges. The EPA must establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to comply with this bill. This bill establishes a maximum civil penalty of $100,000 per day for violations of the bill occurring on or after January 1, 2035. The penalties must be deposited into the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund, which is established by this bill. The Fund must be used for improving wastewater discharges.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3] (D-IL), 2015-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2015-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Candice S. [R-MI-10] (R-MI), 2015-06-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016
- 114-hr-5090: To ensure that air transportation between the United States and the European Union complies with the intent of article 17 bis of the United States-European Uni…
- 114-hr-3651: Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015
- 114-hr-3381: Childhood Cancer STAR Act
- 114-hr-3119: Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act
- 114-hr-2992: Merchant Marine of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act

## Sources
- [114-hr-2809 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2809)

## Related
- [114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5292)
- [114-hr-5090: To ensure that air transportation between the United States and the European Un…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5090)
- [114-hr-3651: Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3651)
- [114-hr-3381: Childhood Cancer STAR Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3381)
- [114-hr-3119: Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3119)
- [114-hr-2992: Merchant Marine of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-2992)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-2809 (as of 2025-11-18).