Defending Rivers from Overreaching Policies Act of 2015
This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish: (1) a Supplemental Scientific Review Panel to make recommendations regarding metrics to quantify the connection between any body of water or wetland and a traditionally navigable water, and (2) an Ephemeral and Intermittent Streams Advisory Commission to develop criteria to define whether a body of water or wetland has a significant nexus to a traditional navigable water using the metrics developed by the review panel.
The commission must report to the Army Corps and the EPA on the criteria after a public comment period and release public versions of the reports.
The Army Corps and the EPA may not develop, finalize, adopt, implement, apply, administer, or enforce the proposed rule entitled, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act" and published on April 21, 2014, or begin the drafting of any substantially similar rule, until they receive a final report from the commission.
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