2018-14679: Definition of “Waters of the United States”-Recodification of Preexisting Rule
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The purpose of this supplemental notice is for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (agencies) to clarify, supplement and seek additional comment on an earlier proposal, published on July 27, 2017, to repeal the 2015 Rule Defining Waters of the United States ("2015 Rule"), which amended portions of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). As stated in the agencies' July 27, 2017 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the agencies propose to repeal the 2015 Rule and restore the regulatory text that existed prior to the 2015 Rule, as informed by guidance in effect at that time. If this proposal is finalized, the regulations defining the scope of federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction would be those portions of the CFR as they existed before the amendments promulgated in the 2015 Rule. Those preexisting regulatory definitions are the ones that the agencies are currently implementing in light of the agencies' final rule published on February 6, 2018, adding a February 6, 2020 applicability date to the 2015 Rule, as well as judicial decisions preliminarily enjoining and staying the 2015 Rule.
The agency’s own summary, as published.
What this changes
Amends 11 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.
- 33 CFR 328 Definition of Waters of the United States
- 40 CFR 110 Discharge of Oil
- 40 CFR 112 Oil Pollution Prevention
- 40 CFR 116 Designation of Hazardous Substances
- 40 CFR 117 Determination of Reportable Quantities for Hazardous Substances
- 40 CFR 122 EPA Administered Permit Programs: the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
- 40 CFR 230 Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines for Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material
- 40 CFR 232 404 Program Definitions; Exempt Activities Not Requiring 404 Permits
- 40 CFR 300 National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan
- 40 CFR 302 Designation, Reportable Quantities, and Notification
- 40 CFR 401 General Provisions
Rulemaking docket
We haven’t pulled this rulemaking’s full docket yet. View docket EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203 on Regulations.gov →
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