The territorial seas and traditional navigable waters include large rivers and lakes and tidally-influenced waterbodies used in interstate or foreign commerce. The 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule defines waters of the U.S. Criticism claimed the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule had a narrow scope of protection for sensitive, temporary features, such as an ephemeral stream. in comparison to previously accepted standards and court interpretations. The NWPR was a rule passed under the Trump administration that drastically narrowed the definition of waters of the U.S. The ruling developers are most familiar with is the Navigable Waters Protection Rule of 2020 (NWPR). Waste treatment systems designed to meet the requirements of CWA are not waters of the United States. Wetlands adjacent to other waters that contribute to surface water flow (other than waters that are themselves wetlands) Features such as ephemeral streams can qualify for this protection if they have a “significant nexus.” Tributaries that flow into navigable waters. Other waters: The use, degradation, or destruction of other waters such as intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), which could affect interstate or foreign commerce, including any such waters Interstate waters, regardless of navigability, including interstate wetlands as:Īll waters currently used, or were used in the past, or could be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including traditional navigable waters, which are waterbodies subject to the tide’s ebb and flow The current pre-2015 interpretation defines jurisdictional waters of the U.S. Unlike under the NWPR, many projects require a section 404 clean water act permit. was a return to a pre-2015 definition after the passing of the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR). The most recent change to the definition of waters of the U.S. Since the passing of the Clean Water Act, the definition of "waters of the U.S" has held various interpretations through dozens of court cases, a handful of executive orders, and a couple of final rules. However, determining which waters are jurisdictional has been debated for the last decade. are the oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, creeks, marshes, and wetlands considered "jurisdictional" under the Clean Water Act - as in, they are within the regulatory jurisdiction of the USACE. In the Act, Congress stated that “it is the continuing policy of the Federal Government, in cooperation with State and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations, to use all practicable means and measures… to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.”įrom this ruling, the environmental regulations, agencies, and pollution control programs we know today have been created. Following a congressional investigation into federal mismanagement of the country’s environmental resources, President Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into law on January 1, 1970. Decades of increased urbanization, industrial expansion, and resource exploitation put the environment's continued health at risk. Following this in the 1960s, after the release of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962), the Cuyahoga River fire in Ohio (1969), and public backlash from the Interstate Highway System, public concern for the environment heightened. Then in 1948, the CWA began as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 and was amended in 1972 into the regulation we know today. had no laws targeting the impacts of human-centered activities on the environment, nor did anyone seem to care. The Lacey Act of 1900 prohibited illegal plant and animal trade, the Antiquities Act of 1906 preserved national monuments, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 responded to over-hunting. Learn More about the Clean Water Act hereīefore the 1960s, environmental awareness in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and state governments. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) primarily administers the CWA in coordination with the U.S. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires a permit for dredge and fill Section 402 of the Clean Water Act requires a permit for stormwater discharges Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires state water quality certification Title IV of the CWA, the most relevant title to development and construction projects, spells out the permits and licenses required for projects that impact the waters of the U.S. These waters are collectively known as Waters of the U.S (WOTUS). The CWA establishes the primary regulation for impacts on rivers, streams, and wetlands that are jurisdictional under the federal Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 is the primary law that governs the pollution of our nation's waters.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |