Conservation and Water Protection Call To Action: Clean Water Act Change Proposal
Read on for details and follow the link to TU’s action page to easily register your comment. Please share with others who may be interested.
On Thursday, January 15th, the U.S. EPA published a proposed rule to revise the regulations related to Clean Water Act Section 401 program, which provides authority to states and tribes to regulate projects impacting state waters.
The EPA has opened a 30-day comment period. The deadline to comment is February 17, 2026.
CWA Section 401 grants states and tribes the right to review and certify projects that will impact water quality through discharge of pollutants. This includes small projects, and also large, interstate energy and infrastructure projects. Think pipelines, hydropower projects, and data centers. Unless the state issues (or waives) a 401 permit, a federal agency may not issue a permit for the proposed activity.
The proposed rule would significantly narrow the authority of states and tribes to review these project proposals and to place conditions as needed to protect water resources.
Please use this link to get to the TU action page where you can easily reach your elected officials and also register your public comments. Thank you for speaking up!
https://www.tu.org/conservation/action-center/?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f132807%2frespond