USEPA Definition of "Waters of the United States"

Learn about what the future may hold for the 'Waters of the United States'.

The land use development process requires the identification of Federal jurisdictional waters and wetlands on a project site or along a project corridor. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published revised definition of ‘Waters of the United States' found at 40 CFR Part 230, on June 29, 2015, effective August 28, 2015. Court challenges have resulted in the rule being stayed, and more recently, president Trump issued an executive order directing the EPA's administer to either rescind or revise the rule. This topic will help you understand the eight specific categories of jurisdictional waters and wetlands in the new definition. The material will review the extensive list of features excluded from regulatory oversight and a number of new terms, such as adjacent, neighboring and ordinary high water line, used in the definition. A summary of the four decade history of the evolution of the definition of waters of the United States within the Section 404 program will be interjected into the discussion including past Federal guidance and Supreme Court cases that greatly influenced the new definition. The topic will conclude with a look into the future on how this definition and the executive order may change the Section 404 federal permitting program in the coming years.

Learning Objectives

- You will be able to explain the Clean Water Act framework.

- You will be able to discuss waters of the United States by definition.

- You will be able to review the categories of water.

- You will be able to describe connectivity of streams and wetlands to downstream waters.