Public Notice: Opportunity to Comment on EPA's CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification for Tribal Lands and LEFJ in New England for the proposed 2026 Department of the Army New England District Regional General Permits A, B and C

Opportunity to Comment on EPA's CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification for Tribal Lands and LEFJ in New England for the proposed 2026 Department of the Army New England District Regional General Permits A, B and C
How to Comment
Comments Due

Comments are due by close of business or electronically marked by midnight on August 3, 2026 (45 days from this public notice publication)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 will receive comments by email. To submit your comments or for more information contact:

Haley Miller (R1CWA401@epa.gov), Water Quality and Wetlands Section, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1. Please use the subject line "2026 RGPs - 401 comments."  

If you are unable to submit electronically or need other assistance, please contact Haley Miller at (617) 918-1169.  

Do not submit any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered by the EPA in the preparation of the Clean Water Action (CWA) Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) and will be part of the administrative record. 

Publish Date

Summary

On June 12, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New England District proposed the 2026 Regional General Permits (RGPs). They are available on the USACE website.

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 occur. On June 5, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New England District requested that EPA Region 1 provide a CWA section 401 water quality certification for the RGPs on behalf of Tribal Lands and for Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction (LEFJ) located in New England.

Generally, EPA acts as the CWA section 401 certifying authority for federally permitted activities on Tribal Lands on behalf of those Tribal Nations that have not received treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) for Clean Water Act section 401 purposes and where no state has been authorized as the 401 certifying authority on Tribal lands. EPA also acts as the CWA section 401 certifying authority for federally permitted activities on Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction. As the CWA section 401 certifying authority for Tribal Lands in New England and for Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction located in New England, EPA Region 1 will issue a decision on the certification request and determine whether discharges from a certified project may affect water quality in neighboring jurisdictions. EPA Region 1 is therefore requesting public comments on its pending CWA section 401 Certification decision for the USACE New England District's proposed Department of the Army Regional General Permits for Tribal Lands in New England and for Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction located in New England.

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

Applicants or Respondents

CWA section 401 Certification Applicant name: USACE-New England District (Department of the Army)

Federal Permitting Authority: USACE-New England District (Department of the Army)

Location: Discharge in waters of Tribal Lands in New England and Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction located in New England.

CWA section 401 certifying authority: EPA Region 1

Supplemental Information

On June 12, 2026, USACE published a public notice for drafts of  three proposed regional general permits. USACE issues RGPs authorizing certain activities under the CWA Section 404 (discharges of dredged or fill material) and Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10 (structures or work in navigable waters) "that will result in no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects." RGPs are historically reissued every five years individually by state. New England state RGPs that authorize activities proposed within the 2026 RGPs are set to expire at varying dates in the next five years, with the first expiration date for the Connecticut RGPs expiring in December 2026. The USACE envisions that once the proposed RGPs are implemented, all previous RGPs will be discontinued in New England States, regardless of regional General Permit expiration dates that are set beyond December 2026.

Information about the proposed Department of the Army RGPs is provided in the following USACE Public Notice:

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Last updated on June 25, 2026