Member Article

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers recently issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the definition of “waters of the United States,” which was published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2003. EPA and the Corps will be accepting comments that the agencies will use in developing rules clarifying what waters are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. The rulemaking is in response to the United States Supreme Court’s holding in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, which restricted EPA and Corps jurisdiction over isolated wetlands. Attached to the notice is a memorandum by EPA and the Corps, explaining their view of the current status of the regulatory definition of “waters of the United States.”