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Under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, a federal agency may not issue a license or permit to conduct any activity that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States, unless the State or authorized Tribe where the discharge would originate either issues a section 401 water quality certification finding compliance with applicable water quality requirements or certification is waived. General regulations describing the process of certification and the process of notifying neighboring jurisdictions were recently finalized to ensure that section 401 is implemented nationally in an efficient, effective, and transparent manner. As a result, EPA is reviewing the regulations that apply when it is the NPDES permitting authority (currently, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, almost all U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, Indian country and select federal facilities) to ensure that they are consistent with this final rule and make updates as appropriate.

Statement of Need:

Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that prior to EPA issuing a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, certification must be obtained from the state in which the discharge originates that the discharge will comply with applicable effluent limitations, water quality standards, toxic and pretreatment effluent standards, and other appropriate provisions of state law. General regulations describing the process of certification and the process of notifying neighboring jurisdictions were recently finalized to ensure that section 401 is implemented nationally in an efficient, effective, and transparent manner. As a result, EPA is reviewing the regulations that apply when it is the NPDES permitting authority (currently, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, almost all U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, Indian country and select federal facilities) to ensure that they are consistent with this final rule and make updates as appropriate.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

The Agency will propose any updates as appropriate consistent with the CWA.

Alternatives:

The Agency will analyze alternatives at the time of the proposal.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

The Agency will determine anticipated costs and benefits at the time of the proposal.

Risks:

The Agency will analyze the risks of any updates once policy decisions have been made.