On Jan. 5, as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition, ABC joined comments on a U.S Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed rule that would streamline the federal permitting process under the Clean Water Act by clarifying the definition of “waters of the United States.”

The comments expressed support for the proposed rule, which seeks to amend the definition of WOTUS as currently defined by the Biden administration’s January 2023 final rule and August 2023 amendment. Further, the comments offered recommendations on adjustments to the proposal that would provide additional clarity and certainty to contractors.

The comments included the following key recommendations to further strengthen the proposed rule:

• Further clarifying the definition of “traditional navigable waters” to ensure it only includes waters used for transporting interstate and foreign commerce
• Streamlining regulations by combining tributary and lake/pond categories
• Defining relatively permanent waters to be those that flow at least as long as the duration of the wet season

The EPA and USACE will now review all comments on the proposed rule and are expected to release a final rule in the coming months.

More information on the ongoing WOTUS rulemaking process is available on the EPA’s website.