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GAO-15-750R 1 (2015-07-16)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadrgu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: cAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 B-327123 July 16, 2015 The Honorable Jim Inhofe Chairman The Honorable Barbara Boxer Ranking Member Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate The Honorable Bill Shuster Chairman The Honorable Peter A. DeFazio Ranking Member Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure House of Representatives Subject: Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers; Environmental Protection Agency: Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States Pursuant to section 801 (a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a major rule promulgated by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (Corps); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (collectively, the agencies) entitled Clean Water Rule: Definition of 'Waters of the United States' (RIN: 2040-AF30).1 We received the rule on June 2, 2015. It was published in the Federal Register as a final rule on June 29, 2015, with a stated effective date of August 28, 2015. 80 Fed. Reg. 37,054. According to the agencies, the final rule does not establish regulatory requirements, but, instead, defines the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in light of the statute, science, Supreme Court decisions, and the agencies' experience and technical expertise. Programs established by CWA, such as the section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program, the section 404 permit program for discharge of dredged or fill material, and the section 311 oil spill prevention and response programs, all rely on the definition of waters of the United States. Entities currently are, and will continue to be, regulated under these programs that protect waters of the United States from pollution and destruction. The agencies report that the scope of jurisdiction in this rule is narrower than that under the existing regulation. Specifically, the agencies state that fewer waters will be defined as waters of the United States under this rule than under the existing regulations, in part because the rule puts important qualifiers on some existing categories such as tributaries. According to the agencies, the rule provides greater clarity regarding which waters are subject to CWA jurisdiction, reducing the instances in which permitting authorities, including the states 1 This report supersedes our report dated July 13, 2015, on this rule. GAO-15-750R

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