On October 21, 2019, the WSWC submitted a letter on EPA’s proposed rule Updating Regulations on Water Quality Certification (84 FR 44080) (EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405).
The letter referenced several previous WSWC submissions, including a May 19, 2019 letter which contained the following attachments: (1) our policy positions on States’ CWA §401 certification authority (#426) and on renewable hydropower development (#433); (2) an August 14, 2018, letter from the Council to Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) and Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committees, addressing the importance of this authority to States, together with a summary of our States’ responses to a 2014 survey on CWA §401 certification activities; and (3) testimony WSWC provided at a Senate EPW Committee hearing on S. 3303, legislation introduced in the 115th Congress which proposed to limit the scope of review and timing of CWA §401 certifications.
WSWC Comments – EPA Docket – Proposed CWA 401_2019Oct21
[Note: This post was edited 4/12/21 to reflect the correct version of the letter submitted to EPA’s docket. A previous version of this post utilized a draft letter that was not submitted.]