WEF Coordinating Comments to U.S. EPA’s Proposed Rule on the “Waters of the United States”

On April 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly published in the Federal Register a proposed rule, also known as “Waters of the United States” rulemaking, to clarify protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands. The proposed definitions of waters will apply to all Clean Water Act programs. The rule will be open for public comment until Oct. 20.

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) is coordinating with other organizations on areas of common concern regarding the “Waters of the United States” rulemaking. WEF also is working to prepare its own set of comments through its committees. The Regulatory Subcommittee of WEF’s Government Affairs Committee is taking the lead to collaborate with the Federation’s Watersheds and Stormwater Committees.

WEF’s comments will center on the general areas of

• potential National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issues;
• construction-related provisions;
• certain relevant definitions in the definition section;
• wet-weather related issues (separate sewer overflows, combined sewer overflows, municipal separate storm sewer systems, and green infrastructure);
• water reuse;
• potential conveyance issues; and
• drinking-water issues related to drought.

Volunteer to help WEF prepare these comments, by contacting Claudio Ternieden, director of Regulatory Affairs at WEF, at cternieden@wef.org and identifying which areas you would like to focus on.