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Oct. 20, 2019: The proposed changes to the Clean Water Act 401 regulation will lessen water protection by practically eliminating state and tribal input and authority to reduce, control and prevent deterioration of its waterways. EPA is overstepping its authority with this proposal. The proposed rule is a gift to industry and a death knell to waterways across our nation. This proposal should be withdrawn. The Proposed Rule illegally limits certifying authorities by reducing them to a determination of whether a point-source discharge will comply with water quality requirements. It further limits certifying authorities by requiring explanations on conditions - conditions that can only look at point-source discharges and not the overall impacts to water quality. Therefore, it would limit the state's ability to apply conditions that will protect water resources. This will strip the states' and tribal authority as granted by Congress. |