Proposed Waters of the U.S. Comment Period Extended

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced extending the comment period on their jointly proposed rule amending the definition of Waters of the U.S. to expand the range of waters that fall under federal jurisdiction.  The comment period deadline has been extended until November 14, 2014. 

This is an extremely controversial proposal that would expand federal jurisdiction over a number of bodies of water, including conveyance ditches, water supply systems, storm water drains, and flood conveyance systems.  The change will result in additional costs, compliance responsibilities, and enforcement actions, and could place counties at great risk of third party lawsuits and other actions.  RCRC encourages member counties to file comments on the proposed rule, if you have not yet done so, and include county-specific examples of water bodies that will be impacted by the rule. 

The announcement can be viewed here.  RCRC’s comment letter can be viewed here.  The proposed rule can be accessed here.