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EPA/OW

RIN: 2040-AG12

Publication ID: Spring 2023

Title: Clean Water Act Section 401: Water Quality Certification
Abstract: Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 provides States and Tribes with a powerful tool to protect the quality of their waters from adverse impacts resulting from federally licensed or permitted projects. Under section 401, a federal agency may not issue a license or permit to conduct any activity that may result in any discharge into navigable waters, unless the State or Tribe where the discharge would originate either issues a section 401 water quality certification finding “that any such discharge will comply with the applicable provisions of sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307” of the CWA, or certification is waived. EPA promulgated implementing regulations for water quality certification prior to the passage of the CWA in 1972, which created section 401. EPA revised the regulation in 2020. In June 2022, consistent with Executive Order 13990, EPA proposed “Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule” to revise the 2020 Rule. EPA plans to finalize a revised rule after reviewing public comments on the proposed rule. The final rule will update the existing regulations to be more consistent with the statutory text of the 1972 CWA; clarify, reinforce, and provide a measure of consistency with respect to elements of section 401 certification practice that have evolved over the 50 years since the 1971 Rule was promulgated; and support an efficient and predictable certification process that is consistent with the water quality protection and cooperative federalism principles central to CWA section 401.
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)	Priority: Other Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage
Major: Undetermined	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 40 CFR 121.1
Legal Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1151

Legal Deadline: None

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
Notice	06/02/2021	86 FR 29541
NPRM	06/09/2022	87 FR 35318
NPRM Comment Period End	08/08/2022
Final Rule	08/00/2023

Additional Information: .
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: Federal, State, Tribal
Federalism: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No
Related RINs: Related to 2040-AF86
Agency Contact: Lauren Kasparek Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460 Phone:202 564-3351 Email: kasparek.lauren@epa.gov