Section 401 Clean Water Act

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Section 401 clean water act. Interstate agency or administrator as the case may be fails or refuses to act on a request for certification within a reasonable period of. Under section 401 of the clean water act cwa a federal agency may not issue a permit or license to conduct any activity that may result in any discharge into waters of the united states unless a section 401 water quality certification is issued verifying compliance with water quality requirements or certification is waived. Learn more about 401 certification.

Cwa section 401 certification. Clean water act section 401 guidance pdf 8 pp 291 k 06 07 2019. On june 1 2020 the epa finalized the clean water act section 401 certification rule to implement the water quality certification process consistent with the text and structure of the clean water act cwa.

Clean water act section 401. Clean water act section 401. You may need a pdf reader to view some of the files on this page.

Section 401 of the clean water act requires any applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct an activity that may result in a discharge of a pollutant into waters of the united states to obtain a certification from the state in which the discharge originates that the discharge complies the applicable water quality standards. This guidance clarifies and provides recommendations concerning the implementation of clean water act cwa section 401. Background and issues congressional research service 1 background under the clean water act cwa an applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct any activity that may result in a discharge to waters of the united states must provide the federal agency with a section 401 certification.

State certification of water quality a compliance with applicable requirements. Under federal clean water act cwa section 401 every applicant for a federal permit or license for any activity which may result in a discharge to a water body must obtain state water quality certification certification that the proposed activity will comply with state water quality standards. The clean water act cwa establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the united states and regulating quality standards for surface waters.

The final rule establishes procedures that promote consistent implementation of cwa section 401 and regulatory certainty in the.