Congressional lawmakers are considering codifying EPA's regulatory definition of waters subject to the Clean Water Act (CWA) to provide long-sought legal certainty over when developers and other dischargers are required to seek permits from EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, government and environmentalist sources say. While the agency's definition is narrower than the definition many environmentalists and Democrats have sought in a bill clarifying the law's scope, sources say the move could help dislodge opposition to the bill from rural Democrats. The sources say the definition may be more politically salable because it includes clear language exempting prior converted croplands and waste treatment systems from regulation - both issues that have prompted considerable concern from industry officials, GOP lawmakers, and the rural Democrats.
展开▼
