Federal Agencies Issue New 'Dredge and Fill' Permit Guidance Pertaining to Construction in U.S. Waters, Wetlands

In December 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued joint guidance on the terms and procedures used to determine the extent of federal control over water and wetlands, building upon previous guidance issued in June 2007.  Legal standards establishing the boundaries of jurisdictional waters, referred to as "waters of the United States," have been under public scrutiny since the U.S. Supreme Court's fractured 2006 decision, Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006), which set recognizable limits on federal control over wet areas.  Regulators will look to the so-called "2008 Rapanos guidance" when deciding whether construction activities impacting wetlands, tributaries and other waters require federal authorization.  Click here to read the rest of this article.