The Clean Water Act (CWA) states that regulations shall be issued "which require an owner or operator of a tank vessel or facility ... to prepare and submit ... a plan for responding, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worst case discharge, and to a substantial threat of such a discharge, of … a hazardous substance." The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering developing a regulatory action to require planning for worst case discharges of CWA hazardous substances under section 311(j)(5)(A). This regulatory action is being conducted under the terms of a consent decree entered into on March 12, 2020, which requires that a proposed action be signed within 24 months of the final agreement. The consent decree also requires that a final action follow within 30 months of the publication of the proposed rule.