Thank you for your February 20, 2019 letter regarding Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 and your thoughtful list of potential process reforms.
Documents
ACWA and ASDWA Water Reuse Action Plan Comment Letters
ACWA and ASDWA’s comment letters on reuse: Comments on the publicly-available draft National Water Reuse Action Plan, and initial Comments on the Development of a draft Water Reuse Action Plan – [Docket No. EPA-HQ-OW2019-0174]
ACWA Comment Letter – Pre-proposal Recommendations for Clarification of Provisions within Clean Water Act Section 401 and Related Federal Regulations and Guidance
This ACWA comment letter was submitted on May 24, 2019 and was responsive to EPA’s Pre-proposal Recommendations for Clarification of Provisions within Clean Water Act Section 401 and Related Federal… Read More »
ACWA Comments on “Revised Definition of “Waters of the United States”” Proposed Rule
ACWA comment letter submitted April 15, 2019, regarding the US EPA and US ACE proposed rule redefining Waters of the US.
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… 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… 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… 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… 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.