EPA Proposes Cleaner Rules for Water Project Certifications
Published Date: 1/15/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The EPA is updating the rules that states and tribes use to check if projects protect water quality before getting federal permits. These changes make the process clearer and fairer for everyone involved, especially for states, tribes, and project developers. Comments are open until February 17, 2026, so now’s the time to speak up before these updates take effect.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Clarified Scope of Section 401 Review
The EPA proposes to revise the regulatory "scope of certification" at 40 CFR 121.3 to align the rules with the Clean Water Act. The Agency says this change is intended to increase transparency, efficiency, and predictability for certifying authorities and the regulated community, especially States, Tribes, and project developers.
New Content Rules for Requests and Decisions
The EPA proposes changes to what must be included in a request for certification (40 CFR 121.5) and what must appear in a certification decision (40 CFR 121.7), and to the modification process (40 CFR 121.10). The Agency says these revisions aim to make the process clearer and fairer for applicants, certifying authorities, and project developers.
Changes to Timing and Automatic Extensions
The EPA proposes removing regulatory text that provided an automatic extension process to the "reasonable period of time" and reiterates that section 401 timelines begin "after receipt" and that the statute provides for a reasonable period not to exceed one year. This affects how long States, Tribes, and applicants can expect to wait for section 401 action.
Tribal 'TAS' Text Removed From Part 121
The EPA proposes to remove regulatory text in 40 CFR part 121 regarding "treatment in a similar manner as a State" (TAS) for Tribes and instead rely on the existing regulatory process for TAS under section 303(c). The Agency identifies Tribes as among those particularly affected by the proposed revisions.
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