Proposed Rule2021-23039
Notification of Regional Roundtable Discussions Regarding “Waters of the United States”
Primary source
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Published
October 25, 2021
Issuing agencies
Defense DepartmentEngineers CorpsEnvironmental Protection Agency
Abstract
On June 9, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (hereafter, "the agencies") announced their intent to revise the definition of "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act through two rulemakings-- first, a foundational rule that will propose to restore longstanding protections, and a second rulemaking process that builds on that regulatory foundation. On July 30, 2021, the agencies announced stakeholder engagement opportunities, including the agencies' intent to host ten regionally focused roundtables. EPA and Army are announcing a process for stakeholders to submit nomination letters to the agencies to potentially be selected for one of these ten geographically focused roundtables. Each roundtable should include diverse perspectives and highlight the experience of individual participants with the definition of "waters of the United States." The agencies intend to livestream each roundtable to make them available for public viewing.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 203 (Monday, October 25, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 203 (Monday, October 25, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58829-58830]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23039]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
33 CFR Part 328
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 120
[FRL-6027.4-04-OW]
Notification of Regional Roundtable Discussions Regarding
``Waters of the United States''
AGENCY: Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of
Defense; and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of events; request for nominations.
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SUMMARY: On June 9, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (hereafter, ``the agencies'')
announced their intent to revise the definition of ``waters of the
United States'' under the Clean Water Act through two rulemakings--
first, a foundational rule that will propose to restore longstanding
protections, and a second rulemaking process that builds on that
regulatory foundation. On July 30, 2021, the agencies announced
stakeholder engagement opportunities, including the agencies' intent to
host ten regionally focused roundtables. EPA and Army are announcing a
process for stakeholders to submit nomination letters to the agencies
to potentially be selected for one of these ten geographically focused
roundtables. Each roundtable should include diverse perspectives and
highlight the experience of individual participants with the definition
of ``waters of the United States.'' The agencies intend to livestream
each roundtable to make them available for public viewing.
DATES: Nomination letters for the roundtables must be received on or
before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on November 3, 2021. EPA
anticipates that roundtables will be held in December 2021 and
potentially January 2022. Specific dates will be coordinated with
selected nominees based on availability. Please refer to the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Balasa, Office of Water,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (312) 886-6027; email address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a3f4ecf7f6f08eccd6d7d1c6c2c0cbe3c6d3c28dc4ccd5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7e29312a2b2d53110b0a0c1b1f1d163e1b0e1f50191108">[email protected]</span></a>, or Stacey Jensen, Office of the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Department of the Army, 108 Army
Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0104; telephone number: (703) 459-6026;
email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#50252331223d297e20353e2431373f3e7e382134317d3123317d33277e3d32287e3123317d33277d2235203f2224393e37103d31393c7e3d393c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4431372536293d6a34212a3025232b2a6a2c352025692537256927336a29263c6a253725692733693621342b36302d2a230429252d286a292d28">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
In the last six years, the agencies have implemented three
different definitions of ``waters of the United States''--the pre-2015
regulatory regime, the 2015 Clean Water Rule, and the 2020 Navigable
Waters Protection Rule (NWPR). The agencies' experience
[[Page 58830]]
implementing these previous definitions of ``waters of the United
States'' (WOTUS) has highlighted the regional variability of water
resources and the importance of close engagement with stakeholders to
understand key implementation issues under varying definitions of
WOTUS.
On June 9, 2021, EPA and the U.S. Department of the Army
(hereafter, ``the agencies'') announced their intent to revise the
definition of WOTUS under the Clean Water Act through two rulemakings--
first, a foundational rule that will propose to restore longstanding
protections, and a second rulemaking process that builds on that
regulatory foundation. On July 30, 2021, the agencies announced
stakeholder engagement opportunities, including the agencies' intent to
host ten regionally focused roundtables. EPA and Army are announcing a
process for stakeholders to submit nomination letters to the agencies
to potentially be selected for one of these ten geographically focused
roundtables.
The intent for each regional roundtable is to engage individuals
representing diverse perspectives in meaningful dialogue on the
definition of WOTUS. The roundtables will provide opportunities to
discuss geographic similarities and differences, particular water
resources that are characteristic of or unique to each region, and
site-specific feedback about implementation of WOTUS.
The goals of the regional roundtables are to obtain robust and
diverse public input on WOTUS. The agencies are seeking input on a
durable definition of WOTUS, not limited to the scope of the regulatory
processes announced on June 9, 2021. EPA and Army are seeking to
understand perspectives:
<bullet> Highlighting how different regions are affected by the
various WOTUS definitions (i.e., the pre-2015 regulatory regime, the
2015 Clean Water Rule, and the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule).
<bullet> Learning about stakeholder experiences, challenges, and
opportunities under different regulatory regimes.
<bullet> Facilitating engagement across diverse perspectives to
inform the development of a durable and workable definition of WOTUS.
The agencies are committed to learning from the past regulatory
approaches--the pre-2015 regulations and guidance, the 2015 Clean Water
Rule, and the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule--while engaging
with stakeholders to develop an enduring definition of WOTUS.
The roundtables will take place in December 2021 and potentially
January 2022. These stakeholder engagements are complementary of
previous and future opportunities for public input, including:
<bullet> A notice of public meeting dates and solicitation of
written pre-proposal feedback from August 4, 2021 to September 3, 2021;
<bullet> Public meetings that were held on August 18, August 23,
August 25, August 26, August 31, and September 2, 2021;
<bullet> State meetings and engagement with Tribes and Alaska
Native Villages; and
<bullet> Future public comment periods on upcoming regulatory
actions.
II. Public Participation
A. Submitting a Nomination To Be Selected for Stakeholder/Community
Roundtable
The agencies intend to host ten virtual roundtables during which
stakeholders can participate in a discussion on ``waters of the United
States'' and provide their unique perspectives to EPA and the Army.
These regionally focused roundtables will allow stakeholders with a
range of perspectives to engage and discuss their experiences with
definitions of WOTUS, including challenges and opportunities within
their geographic areas. The roundtables will also provide an
opportunity for the participants to discuss geographic similarities and
differences, particular water resources that are characteristic of or
unique to each region, and site-specific feedback about implementation.
For the purposes of these roundtable discussions, geographic
regions are identified as follows:
<bullet> Northeast (ME, MA, RI, CT, NH, VT, NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD)
<bullet> Southeast (WV, VA, KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, AL, MS, AR, LA, FL)
<bullet> Midwest (OH, IN, MI, IL, MO, WI, MN, IA, KS, NE, SD, ND)
<bullet> West (WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, NV, CA, AK, HI)
<bullet> Southwest (TX, OK, NM, AZ, UT, CO)
The agencies are inviting stakeholders to organize interested
parties and regional participants that comprise up to 15
representatives for these roundtables. Each nomination for a roundtable
must include a proposed slate of participants representing perspectives
of: Agriculture; conservation groups; developers; drinking water/
wastewater management; environmental organizations; environmental
justice communities; industry; and other key interests in that region.
The agencies request that organizers that would like to be
considered for a roundtable submit their self-nomination letter via
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#32657d6667611f5d4746405753515a725742531c555d44"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="40170f1415136d2f35343225212328002530216e272f36">[email protected]</span></a> no later than November 3, 2021.
Nomination letters should include the following information:
<bullet> Organizer primary point of contact and contact information
(name, title, affiliation, email, phone number);
<bullet> Name, affiliation, email, phone number, and address
information of proposed participants for the roundtable;
<bullet> Confirmation that the number of stakeholders, including
the organizer and participants, does not exceed 15 individuals;
<bullet> The region the roundtable is representing, with a
paragraph description of the region;
<bullet> The perspectives that are represented in the roundtable;
<bullet> A brief description of key topics related to WOTUS
implementation in the region. For consideration, the agencies have
described topics in the August 4, 2021 Federal Register publication (86
FR 41911) that we believe are key to understanding regional
variability.
After reviewing the nomination letters, EPA and Army will select
ten of the self-nominated groups to participate in a regional
roundtable discussion on WOTUS, hosted by the agencies. Please note
that because of current CDC recommendations, as well as state and local
orders for social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19, EPA
cannot hold in-person public meetings at this time. The agencies will
host these roundtables virtually. The agencies anticipate coordinating
with elected officials that represent the location of selected
roundtables. The agencies also intend to livestream each roundtable to
make them available for public viewing.
Jaime A. Pinkham,
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Department of the
Army.
Radhika Fox,
Assistant Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-23039 Filed 10-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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