Public Notice: Opportunity to Comment on CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the proposed Upper Sioux Minnesota Riverbank Stabilization Project in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota

Summary

The EPA received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) St. Paul District Civil Works program on May 14, 2026, for CWA section 401 water quality 
certification (WQC) of the proposed Upper Sioux Minnesota Riverbank Stabilization Project.

Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires applicants for federal licenses or permits that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority of the State or Tribe where the discharge would originate.

Certification or waiver by the EPA is required where no state, Tribe, or interstate agency has authority to give such a certification. Here, the EPA is the certifying authority because the Upper Sioux Community has not yet received treatment in a similar manner as a state for CWA section 401.

EPA Region 5 is providing public notice of the Corps’ request for certification for the Upper Sioux Minnesota Riverbank Stabilization Project within the Upper Sioux Community’s reservation boundaries in Yellow Medicine County, MN where the EPA is the certifying authority. EPA is also providing an opportunity for public comment.

The EPA will act on this certification by either (1) granting certification; (2) granting certification with conditions; (3) denying certification; or (4) expressly waving certification consistent with CWA section 401 and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR 121. Learn more information about the EPA’s CWA 401 WQC process.

Supplemental Information

The Corps is partnering with the Upper Sioux Community on the Minnesota Riverbank Stabilization Project. The Minnesota River is the northern boundary of the Upper Sioux Community’s reservation and continued erosion may result in a decrease in Reservation land acreage if the erosion continues at its current rate. Project plans include stabilization of the riverbank through a combination of longitudinal peak stone toe protection and hard armoring along the riverbank, along with installation of bendway weirs and native riparian seeding and planting.

The project is being carried out under Section 203 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, as amended (33 U.S.C. § 2269). Section 203 authorizes the Corps to carry out a Tribal Partnership Program, consisting of water-related planning activities and activities related to the study, design, and construction of water resource development projects that substantially benefit federally recognized Tribes.

In making its certification decision, EPA considers whether project activities will comply with applicable water quality requirements. Learn more about the project.