Revised WOTUS Definition
In the December 7, 2021 Federal Register (Fed Reg_Revised WOTUS Def_2021-12-07) EPA and the Department of the Army published a revised definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act. Public comments are due by February 7, 2022.
EPA and the Department of the Army will hold public hearings (remote access only) on the following dates:
January 12, 2022 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm (EST)
January 13, 2022 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm (EST)
January 18, 2022 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm (EST)
The enclosed Federal Register notice has information on how to register to attend one of the public hearings and how to provide public comments.
Background
“The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants from a point source to navigable waters unless otherwise authorized under the Act. Navigable waters are defined in the Act as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” Thus, “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) is a threshold term establishing the geographic scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The term “waters of the United States” is not defined by the Act but has been defined by EPA and the Army in regulations since the 1970s and jointly implemented in the agencies’ respective programmatic activities.”
