Defining Discharge Of Dredged Material

摘要

In a final amendment that adds another chapter to a complex regulatory history, EPA has restored the 1999 definition of discharge of dredged material. The action responds to a court order by throwing out several provisions EPA added to that definition in a 2001 rulemaking. The actions affect the requirement under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to obtain a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for certain discharges of dredged material into waters of the United States. In May 1999, EPA modified its definition of discharge of dredged material to make it clear that not all redeposits of dredged material were subject to permitting. Specifically, the Agency expressly excluded the term incidental fallback. Before the 1999 action, the court had described incidental fallback as redeposit of dredged material that "takes place in substantially the same spot as the initial removal."