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• Public Notice New Regulations US Army corps g of Engineers Portland District -- September 17, 1993 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have amended their permit regulations defining discharges of dredged material and fill material and clarifying that prior converted cropland is not waters of the United States. The final rule was published on Friday, August 25, 1993, in the Federal Register at 58 FR 45008. The effective date of the final rule is September 24, 1993. The proposed changes were published in the Federal Register on June 16, 1992, for public comment. The comment period closed on August 17, 1992. We received over 6,300 comments most of which supported changing the definitions of discharges of dredged material and fill material. The final regulations implement the following actions with regard to the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 regulatory program: (1) modification of the definition of "discharge of dredged material" to include incidental discharges associated with excavation activities; (2) clarification of when the placement of pilings is considered to be a discharge of fill material; and (3) modification of the Corps and EPA's policy that prior converted croplands are not waters of the United States. EPA also issued conforming changes to its CWA program regulations. Overall, these changes will promote national consistency, they will more clearly notify the public of regulatory requirements, ensure that the Section 404 regulatory program is more equitable to the regulated public, enhance the protection of waters of the United States, and clarify which areas in agricultural crop production would not be regulated as waters of the United States. This final rule is part of President Clinton's August 24, 1993, Wetlands Protection Plan which provides a fair, effective and flexible approach to wetlands protection. Pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act a permit is required from the Corps of Engineers for the discharge of dredged or fill material into all waters of the United States. The term discharge of dredged material means any addition of dredged or excavated material into, including any redeposit of dredged material within waters of the United States. The definition of discharge of dredged material was modified to recognize that excavation activities generally result in at least some incidental discharge of dredged material. The term discharge of fill material means the addition of any material used for the primary purpose of replacing an aquatic area with dry land or of changing the bottom elevation of a waterbody.. The definition of fill material was modified to recognize that the placement of pilings can have the effect of fill material. Furthermore, pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 a permit is required from the Corps of Engineers for activities, including excavation and fill, in navigable waters of the United States. EXCAVATION ACTIVITIES Excavation Activities that Require a Section 404 Permit. 1. Mechanized landclearing, ditching, channelization, and other excavation activities that destroy or degrade waters of the United States, including wetlands, require a Section 404 permit under the Clean Water Act. 2. Dredged or excavated material placed at a specific discharge site in waters of the United States;