A bill to require the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to propose a new nationwide permit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for dredging projects, and for other purposes.

Proponents argue that nationwide permits reduce bureaucratic delay, lower costs for infrastructure and commerce, and allow necessary waterway maintenance and development to proceed faster. Critics counter that nationwide permits reduce environmental scrutiny, bypass meaningful public comment periods, and increase the risk of water pollution, habitat destruction, and erosion. Non-partisan evidence from the EPA and GAO shows that nationwide permits, while efficient for permitting agencies, correlate with higher rates of unauthorized or environmentally damaging activities when oversight mechanisms are weakened. The Clean Water Act's case-by-case permitting requirement exists because dredging impacts vary significantly by location, sediment composition, and aquatic ecosystem type.