States Threaten 'Vast Increase' In CWA 401 Denials As Corps Speeds Reviews

摘要

State water regulators are threatening a "vast increase" in the number of federal permits for pipelines and other projects they plan to block under section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in response to a recent Army Corps of Engineers memo directing that Corps' district officials limit states' reviews under the law to 60 days in most cases. In a Feb. 8 statement on its website, the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) pushes back against Corps' Assistant Secretary R.D. James' Dec. 13 memo setting 60 days as a "default timeframe for a state's decision" under CWA section 401 on whether to certify Corps' dredge-and-fill permits and directing officials to allow extensions only in "special circumstances."