U.S. EPA: “Implementation Challenges Associated with the Clean Water Act Section 401” Listening Sessions

It’s no surprise that the Clean Water Act applies to most bridge projects permitted by the U.S. Coast Guard. Since that’s the case, we’re sharing an opportunity for stakeholders to provide feedback to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

On July 1, 2025, the EPA announced a Federal Register notice initiating a series of stakeholder listening sessions and a 30-day recommendations docket inviting written feedback on regulatory uncertainty or implementation challenges associated with the Clean Water Act section 401 certification process as defined in the 2023 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule. The EPA will use this input to determine whether guidance or rulemaking are necessary to address identified areas of regulatory uncertainty or implementation challenges regarding the scope of certification. The EPA also seeks stakeholder input related to CWA section 401(a)(2) implementation.

The EPA is set to host two virtual listening sessions that are open to States, Tribes, project proponents, and the public.

• Wednesday, July 16, 2025, from 1-4:30 pm Eastern
• Wednesday, July 30, 2025, from 1-4:30 pm Eastern

Persons or organizations wishing to attend and/or provide verbal input during a listening session will need to pre-register using the links on the outreach page. Listening sessions will be hosted by EPA using the Microsoft Teams platform.

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 General information on the USCG Bridge Program, as well as links to other useful information, can be found via our home page: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Office-of-Bridge-Programs/. Contacts for each District Bridge Office can be found here on the USCG Bridge Programs website.