The U.S. Army released a memorandum taking initial steps to empower States and tribes in assuming Section 404 permit authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Letters are also being sent to all fifty State Governors and the tribal leaders encouraging them to assume the federal 404 permitting program. The memorandum and more information is available at: https://www.army.mil/asacw/. Swamp School will be holding a webinar on the topic.
On March 23, 2018; Governor Scott signed HB 7043 (404 assumption) into law. Below is the Governor’s letter as it sets forth a brief but important explanation of the purpose of the bill. Synopsis: This new bill will “eliminate duplicity in permitting while upholding and improving our stringent environmental protection standards.” HB 7043, “simply begins a public evaluation to identify ways we can continue to protect our environment”. The most rewarding part of this letter is the last sentence. “the Department of
Pursuant to Section 404(g) of the CWA, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is pursuing approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assume the Section 404 Program and administer its own individual and general permit program. State assumption of the Section 404 Program would be limited to certain waters and does not include navigable waters of the United States. The navigability studies will also assist with determining the waters that would be retained by the Corps
The Trump administration wants to “repeal and replace” a rule for defining which waterways are and are not protected by the Clean Water Act, and environmentalists say Trump’s proposal would leave 80 percent of all US waters unprotected. In this fourth installment of a five-part series, we see how the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers forged the current rule over four arduous years. Author: Steve Zwick Click here to
