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Public Meetings and Pre-proposal Recommendations on Revising the Definition of “Waters of the United States”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army recently announced upcoming community engagement on the agencies’ plans to write a new definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act to better ensure clean and safe water for all. EPA and Army are committed to providing certainty by developing a reasonable, effective, and durable definition of WOTUS that protects public health, the environment, and downstream communities and economies, while supporting agriculture and other industries.
Public meetings will be held on August 18, 23, 25, 26, 31 and September 2, 2021. The meeting on August 25, 2021 is for small entities, including small governments and small non-profits. In addition, the agencies are initiating Federalism and Tribal consultations for the foundational rule that would restore the regulations defining WOTUS that were in place for decades until 2015, with updates to be consistent with relevant Supreme Court decisions.
EPA’s WOTUS website includes registration links for the August public meetings: https://www.epa.gov/wotus/public-outreach-and-stakeholder-engagement-activities
In addition, the agencies are requesting feedback on how to better engage to ensure input is received from communities with environmental justice interests. How does the jurisdictional status of waters affect communities that are overburdened with environmental pollution? How is the implementation of NWPR impacting low-income communities, and other disadvantaged communities? Can the jurisdictional status of waters be linked to environmental justice concerns, and, if so, what is the basis? Pre-proposal feedback can be provided to the agencies during the public meetings or via the docket at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0328. The docket closes on Friday, September 3, 2021.
Background:
“Waters of the United States” is a term in the Clean Water Act that establishes the geographic scope of federal jurisdiction under the Act. The engagement includes an opportunity for stakeholders and the public to provide written recommendations and a series of public meetings in August to hear perspectives on the agencies’ rulemaking process. Additional information about tribal consultation may be found on the Tribal Consultation Opportunities Tracking System website (https://tcots.epa.gov/). Additionally, the agencies plan to convene regionally focused and inclusive roundtables during the upcoming fall and winter.
EPA’s WOTUS website includes registration links for the August public meetings and the Federal Register Notice. For more information about our outreach and engagement plans, and more generally on the definition of “waters of the United States,” visit https://www.epa.gov/wotus.
Please feel free to contact CWAwotus@epa.gov with any questions.
For up-to-date information about Environmental Justice funding opportunities, events, and webinars, subscribe to EPA's Environmental Justice listserv by sending a blank email to: join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov. Follow us on Twitter: @EPAEnvJustice.
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