ACWA comment letter submitted April 15, 2019, regarding the US EPA and US ACE proposed rule redefining Waters of the US.
Documents
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WOTUS Discussion Questions for State Outreach Sessions
Discussion questions provided by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers during state WOTUS outreach sessions.
USACE Regulatory Policy Directives Memorandum on Duration of Permits and Jurisdictional Determinations, Timeframes for Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certifications, and Application of the 404(b)(1) Guidelines
A USACE memo to the agency, directing District Engineers to restrict the timeline for state review for 401 certification to 60 days. States may request additional time, but the decision is entirely at the discretion of the District Engineer, and extensions may not be granted if requests are “based on workload or resource issues or… Read More »
ACWA/ASWM Letter on Sec. 404(g) of the CWA
We encourage EPA to consider these issues during the rulemaking process, as well as the following: 1) additional uncertainty about assumable waters in response to ongoing Water of the United States proposed rulemaking; 2) limited state and tribal experience with assumption for other states and tribes to build on; 3) the possibility of allowing partial assumption; and 4) the impact of assumption on consistency with federal statutes such as the Endangered Species Act, National Historical Preservation Act, etc., considerations. Most importantly, we strongly encourage EPA to continue an engaged stakeholder process with states and tribes.
ACWA Chart Comparing 1986 WOTUS Jurisdiction, 2015 Obama Rule Jurisdiction, and 2019 Trump Rule Jurisdiction
This Excel chart compares the Trump Administration’s proposed rule “Redefinition of Waters of the United States”, the 2015 Obama Administration rule defining Waters of the United States, and the regulatory definitions which existed before that. The chart provides brief information on how each defined various features/bodies of water, and where in the proposed redefinition of… Read More »
ACWA Compilation of Questions EPA Seeks Comment On for Proposed Rule Redefining WOTUS
This document compiles questions asked by EPA in the proposed rule redefining Waters of the United States. In the proposed rule, EPA poses the questions after each section which discusses various definitions, terms, concepts, etc. The purpose of this document is to provide an easy-to-reference list of those questions for ACWA members and their states… Read More »
ACWA Summary of Proposed Rule Redefining WOTUS
The following memorandum provides a brief overview of key elements within the proposed rulemaking, Revised Definition of “Waters of the United States”. The summary is based on the pre-publication version of the proposed rule. This summary is meant to assist ACWA’s Membership in their review of the proposed rule as they prepare comments and provide… Read More »
ACOE Memo on Assumable Waters
Memo clarifying the waters the Corps will retain for permitting under section 404(g):
1. Waters that are jurisdictional under Sec. 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 provided that
a. Retained waters include tidal waters shoreward to their mean high water mark, or mean higher high water mark on the west coast, and
b. retained waters to not include those waters that qualify as “navigable” solely because they were “used in the past” to transport interstate or foreign commerce; and
2. wetlands adjacent to waters retained above, landward to an administrative boundary agreed upon by the state or tribe and the Corps.
3. For ease of implementation and to provide transparency the Corps will use the existing RHA section 10 lists of waters as a starting point, which could be amended by the Corps as appropriate consistent with applicable regulations and case law.
ACWA 2018 Farm Bill Priorities
ACWA, ECOS & ASWM Waters Assumable by States/Tribes under §404
ACWA, ECOS and ASWM sent a letter to Administrator Pruitt expressing our appreciation for the support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided in responding to our joint request that the agency actively engage in a discussion clarifying those waters that are subject to assumption by interested states, and those waters that should be retained… Read More »
West Virginia District Court Conductivity Case Opinion
The US District Court for the Southern District of WV held that WV’s failure to develop a TMDL for state waters with high conductivity requires EPA to either approve or disapprove WVDEP’s apparent intention to not develop conductivity TMDLs.
The Unclear Definition of Water
A summary of proceedings pertaining to WoUS definitions.
