Description

Comment Deadline February 17th, 2026

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing this proposed rule to update and clarify several substantive and procedural requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act) section 401. CWA section 401 is a direct grant of authority to States (and Tribes that have been approved for “treatment as a State” status) to review for compliance with appropriate Federal, State, and Tribal water quality requirements any discharge into waters of the United States that may result from a proposed activity that requires a Federal license or permit. This proposed rule is intended to clarify several aspects of the certification process consistent with the statutory framework.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before February 17, 2026. Comments on the information collection provisions of the proposed rule under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) must be received by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OMB-OIRA) on or before February 17, 2026. Please refer to the PRA section under “Statutory and Executive Order Reviews” in this preamble for specific instructions. 

Public meeting:

EPA will hold a virtual public meeting following publication of this proposed action. Please refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional information on the public meeting.

ADDRESSES:

You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-2929, by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/

(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

Email: OW-Docket@epa.gov.

Include Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-2929 in the subject line of the message.

Mail:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.

Hand Delivery/Courier:

EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays).

Instructions:

All submissions received must include the Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-2929 for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the “Public Participation” heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

Full Info Here