Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers July 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army (``the agencies'') are publishing this proposed rule to initiate the first step in a comprehensive, two-step process intended to review and revise the definition of ``waters of the United States'' consistent with the Executive Order signed on February 28, 2017, ``Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the `Waters of the United States' Rule.'' This first step proposes to rescind the definition of ``waters of the United States'' in the Code of Federal Regulations to re-codify the definition of ``waters of the United States,'' which currently governs administration of the Clean Water Act, pursuant to a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit staying a definition of ``waters of the United States'' promulgated by the agencies in 2015. The agencies would apply the definition of ``waters of the United States'' as it is currently being implemented, that is informed by applicable agency guidance documents and consistent with Supreme Court decisions and longstanding practice. Proposing to re-codify the regulations that existed before the 2015 Clean Water Rule will provide continuity and certainty for regulated entities, the States, agency staff, and the public. In a second step, the agencies will pursue notice-and-comment rulemaking in which the agencies will conduct a substantive re-evaluation of the definition of ``waters of the United States.''

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, Wilmington Regulatory Division and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, Charleston Regulatory Division (collectively COE) are issuing this notice to advise the public that a State (North Carolina Department of Transportation [NCDOT] and South Carolina Department of Transportation [SCDOT]) funded Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared for improvements to SC 31 starting near Little River, Horry County, South Carolina and running northeast to US 17, in an area between Calabash and Shallotte, Brunswick County, North Carolina. This project is called the ``Carolina Bays Parkway Extension'' and is NCDOT Project 44604 and SCDOT Project P029554. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the COE is the lead Federal agency responsible for the preparation of the DEIS. Information included in the DEIS will serve as the basis for the COE's evaluation of the proposed project pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). As directed by CEQ regulations implementing NEPA, the COE will cooperate with the NCDOT to the fullest extent possible to reduce duplication between NEPA and the North Carolina Environmental Policy Act of 1971 (SEPA). Therefore, the DEIS will also serve as the basis for the NCDOT's evaluation of the proposed project pursuant to SEPA. The DEIS will assess the potential effects of the proposed project and a range of reasonable project alternatives on impacts to navigable waters and other waters of the United States, including wetlands. The DEIS will also provide information for Federal, State, and local agencies having other jurisdictional responsibility.