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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a draft rule today addressing the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The draft rule seeks to provide additional guidance on which waterbodies are covered by the CWA’s regulatory and permitting requirements, and will be subject to a 90-day public comment period upon its official publication in the Federal Register.

In an important development for NACWA utility members, the proposal maintains the existing waste treatment system exemption that exists in EPA’s current regulations. This means that treatment ponds, lagoons, or other waterbodies used by NACWA members as part of a waste treatment system to meet the requirements of the CWA will continue to be exempt from jurisdiction. Additionally, the proposal includes a new, explicit exemption for groundwater from CWA regulation.

NACWA has long advocated for maintaining the waste treatment system exemption and including a clear groundwater exemption in any new jurisdictional rule, and is pleased the proposal addresses these concerns. NACWA has also urged EPA to pursue any changes to CWA jurisdiction via a formal rulemaking process instead of via a guidance document, and is pleased EPA has taken this approach with the current proposal to allow for robust public review and comment.

The Association will be conducting an in-depth review and analysis of the proposal over the coming weeks and will be submitting comments on the draft rule. The rule does seek to expand EPA’s regulatory reach under the CWA, especially with regard to upstream tributaries and wetlands, and NACWA will be evaluating potential impacts on the municipal clean water community. NACWA will also carefully review any implications of the proposal for municipal stormwater collection systems. NACWA encourages all interested members to complete their own review of the rule and to forward any thoughts/concern with the proposal to Nathan Gardner-Andrews at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to help inform NACWA’s comment effort.