Clean Water Rule Comment Compendium Page: 74 of 861
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Clean Water Rule Response to Comments - Topic 12: Implementation Issues
has not communicated to the regulated community the details of what that will entail. (p.
2)
Agency Response: See Summary Response. The rule does not change how water
quality standards, TMDLs and permitting required by the CWA are implemented,
and these comments are outside the scope of the rule. Overall, the scope of
regulatory jurisdiction in this rule is narrower than that under the existing
regulation. Fewer waters will be defined as "waters of the United States" under the
rule than under the existing regulations, in part because the rule includes provisions
for a number of excluded waters, some of which are excluded by rule for the first
time. For further discussion of exclusions, see summary responses for Topic 6.2:
Excluded ditches and Topic 7: Features and waters not jurisdictional.
San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors (Doc. #15017.1)
12.92 The Agencies have not adequately analyzed the proposed rule's implications of the
multiple CWA programs affected by the proposal. The proposed rule will replace the
definition of "navigable waters" and "waters of the U.S." in the regulations for all CWA
programs, including section 404 discharges of dredge or fill material, the section 402
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, the section
401 state water quality certification process, and section 303 water quality standards and
total maximum daily load (TMDL) programs.
We do not believe the agencies have truly considered the complex implications that this
proposed rule will have for the various CWA programs.
Although the EPA's Economic Analysis purports to analyze the costs of overlaying this
new "waters of the U.S." definition onto other CWA programs, the analysis largely
focuses on the section 404 program and essentially concludes that there will be no
additional costs for other CWA programs. This cursory analysis seems inadequate. The
agencies have not considered, for example, that many ditches and other water features,
including intermittent or ephemeral streams and washes, may now meet the definition of
"waters of the U.S.," thereby requiring these water features to achieve water quality
standards, including numeric effluent limitations. The agencies have not looked at how
this type of change may create confusion over whether an NDPES permit is required for
certain features or may place an increased burden on states administering stormwater
programs and setting water quality standards. The EPA and the Corps have not truly
considered how the proposed rule may affect the states implementing the various CWA
programs or the stakeholders regulated by these programs. Nor have the agencies
analyzed how the proposed definition of "waters of the U.S." will affect their own
administration of each of the CWA regulatory programs. (p. 1-2)
Agency Response: See updated Economic Analysis for the final rule. The agencies
understand that the definition of "waters of the U.S." applies to all CWA programs.
The agencies modified the final rule from the proposed rule in response to
comments received in order to ensure unintended effects to those other CWA
programs were reduced or eliminated. The Economic Analysis provides
costs/benefits and predicted change in jurisdiction for all CWA programs. The rule
defines the scope of waters of the U.S. subject to the CWA. It will not affect the
current implementation of the various CWA programs; implementation of those74
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United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Clean Water Rule Comment Compendium, report, Date Unknown; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc949218/m1/74/: accessed April 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.