Environmental Protection Agency
Following careful reconsideration of the water quality certification rule the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) promulgated in 2020, the Agency is finalizing a rule revising and replacing the 2020 regulatory requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401. This final rule updates the existing regulations to better align with the statutory text and purpose of the CWA; to clarify, reinforce, and provide a measure of consistency with elements of section 401 certification practice that have evolved over the more than 50 years since EPA first promulgated water quality certification regulations; and to support an efficient and predictable certification process that is consistent with the water quality protection and cooperative federalism principles central to CWA section 401. An Executive order signed on January 20, 2021, entitled "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis," directed the Agency to review the water quality certification rule EPA promulgated in 2020, and this final rule culminates that review. The Agency is also finalizing conforming amendments to the water quality certification regulations for EPA-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Environmental Protection Agency 40 CFR Parts 121, 122, and 124 [EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0128; FRL-6976.1-03-OW] RIN 2040-AG12 AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: Following careful reconsideration of the water quality certification rule the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) promulgated in 2020, the Agency is finalizing a rule revising and replacing the 2020 regulatory requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401. This final rule updates the existing regulations to better align with the statutory text and purpose of the CWA; to clarify, reinforce, and provide a measure of consistency with elements of section 401 certification practice that have evolved over the more than 50 years since EPA first promulgated water quality certification regulations; and to support an efficient and predictable certification process that is consistent with the water quality protection and cooperative federalism principles central to CWA section 401. An Executive order signed on January 20, 2021, entitled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” directed the Agency to review the water quality certification rule EPA promulgated in 2020, and this final rule culminates that review. The Agency is also finalizing conforming amendments to the water quality certification regulations for EPA-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System …
Other Federal Register documents from the same docket.
Citation: 88 FR 66558
