Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires that any applicant for a Federal license or permit to conduct an activity which may result in a discharge into a water of the United States, seek a certification from the state in which the discharge would originate that the discharge will comply with applicable effluent limitations, water quality standards, toxic and pretreatment effluent standards as well as other appropriate provisions of state law.   Regulations, which pre-date the establishment of the EPA, describe the process of certification and the process for notifying neighboring jurisdictions.  In addition, EPA has provided stakeholders with guidance through a 2010 handbook called Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification: A Water Quality Protection Tool for States and Tribes.” EPA is considering whether the Section 401 certification process would benefit from updated rulemaking to promote nationwide consistency and regulatory certainty for states, permit applicants, and other stakeholders.