The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a final rule detailing the extent of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act in the Federal Register this week. The 60-day effective date clock starts upon publication, making the rule effective August 28, 2015. With the rule now final, there are likely to be many implementation questions, concerns and even new guidance. AGC is working to update information on the Construction Industry Compliance Assistance Center with the latest available resources. However, AGC’s efforts to inform its members on the new rule will span several months as it becomes clearer how the rule will be implemented.

While Rule Includes AGC-Backed Revisions, We Are Working with Congress to Restart the Rulemaking Process to Address Many Other of the Measure’s Flaws

Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chair of the Committee on Environment & Public Works, is asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to launch an investigation into EPA's campaign to promote support for its rule, examining whether the agency might have violated federal lobbying laws.

Two different Senate committees held hearings examining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) pending ruleredefining federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. Both examined the impending regulation through different lenses to highlight the impact on the regulated community.

The House approved a measure to rescind the administration’s controversial proposed rule redefining “Waters of the U.S.” By a vote of 261-155, the House passed H.R. 1732, which would require EPA and the Corps to withdraw the regulatory proposal within 30 days and then set up a consultation process with state and local stakeholders as well as industry and small businesses in an effort to craft a new, better rule.

Action Needed Now: House Vote as Early as Tomorrow, Rule Expected to be Finalized Soon

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are close to finalizing their proposed rule redefining "waters of the U.S." and making many more areas subject to federal control. More federal control would require nearly all construction sites to obtain often unnecessary Clean Water Act permits. The vast majority of new areas covered by these rules are currently protected by state and local governments so any increase to overall water quality are questionable.

By a vote of 36-22, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation that would send the administration’s proposed rule redefining federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act back to the drawing board.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) joint rulemaking redefining which waters are jurisdictional under federal Clean Water Act standards has left the agency and moved to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). This is the last stage in the federal rulemaking process where OIRA runs the final rule through interagency review one last time before allowing the rule to be published as final.

AGC and its industry partners from the Waters Advocacy Coalition met with the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to discuss the federal water quality standards (WQS) regulation proposed by EPA and its interaction with the proposed change in the definition of “Waters of the United States.”