With all of the buzz surrounding the release of the GHG NSPS Proposed Rule, several water-related pieces of EPA rulemaking have gotten lost.
First, on September 4th, EPA released the long-awaited proposed rulemaking on Water Quality Standards.
Next, on September 17th, EPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers finally sent to OMB a proposed rule to clarify Clean Water Act Jurisdiction. In conjunction with this move, EPA published a new study in which scientific evidence is given for the connection between what had previously been considered non-navigable waters (and therefore not regulated by the Clean Water Act) and waters that are covered by the Clean Water Act. The argument is that all of these waters should be regulated by EPA or comparable state programs.