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House subcommittee hears states, regulators warn against broader use of section 401 certification
Summary
Rob Singletary, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, told the House subcommittee that Section 401 of the Clean Water Act should be limited to direct water‑quality impacts and not used to address broader non‑water concerns.
Rob Singletary, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment on Feb. 11 that Section 401 of the Clean Water Act has been used beyond its intended scope and urged Congress to clarify its limits.
"We feel strongly that this powerful tool should be reserved for efforts specifically related to water, resource protection," Singletary said in his opening testimony, adding that ambiguity in the rule "expands the workloads of state agencies, complicates and lengthens the review process, and makes certification determinations more vulnerable to legal challenges."
The subcommittee also heard from Sean LaTourette, commissioner of the New…
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