Comments on the agency’s efforts to review and revise the sec. 401 water quality certification rule and encourage the agency to engage in robust coordination with the states through organizations like ACWA.
As the agency undertakes its efforts to reconsider and revise the 2020 sec. 401 certification rule (hereinafter “2020 rule”), ACWA offers the following recommendations: any new rule must fully incorporate the principles of cooperative federalism and respect the role of the states in protecting its water resources and enforcing state requirements; any rule should fully incorporate the decision in PUD No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Wash. Dep’.t of Ecology, 511 U.S. 700 (1994)(hereinafter “PUD No. 1”), and respect the role of states in in fully evaluating the impact of potential projects on state resources; and any new rule should maintain those provisions from the 2020 rule that increased transparency, predictability and efficiency.
401 Intent to Reconsider and Revise Letter vFinal
