Changing Water Regulations| WOTUS and EPA’s New Clean Water Rule

Why Should You Attend:

On the last Friday of August 2015, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers issued its controversial Clean Water Rule, which creates a new, extraordinarily expansive definition of “waters of the United States (WOTUS).”

These new rules are complex and vast, affecting 2 million miles of streams and 20 million acres of wetlands. They’ve been the subject of both a massive public relations campaign on the part of the Environmental Protection Agency as well as a massive amount of public response, as evidenced by the volume of comments submitted to the docket. As a result, the proposal has attracted the highest level of attention from the incoming 114th Congress, which has already developed a list of EPA regulations worthy of greater scrutiny. Will the WOTUS rule survive Congress? If so, what will the impacts to the regulated community be?

This webinar describes the recent changes, provide an overview of the origin of these changes, provide a critique of these changes and discuss effects of implementation, and present the current challenges in light of the legal background and current political environment.

Learning Objectives:

• You will be able to describe the procedures for identifying the effluent limitations, water quality standards and other requirements applicable to discharges.
• You will be able to discuss the formation of the team resources needed to manage a water dependent project.
• You will be able to explain why the identification and management of Clean Water Act requirements at the earliest stages of project development is so important to project success.
• You will be able to review existing and emerging issues with confidence that you can create a plan for implementation.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Learn how to navigate the complex new definition of “waters of the United States (WOTUS).”
• Understand the history of WOTUS, and why the jurisdictional definition is so important
• Review legal status and legislative history
• Understand the reactions from political and business interests
• Learn how implementation and enforcement will affect your bottom line
• Participate in an interactive discussion about the application of WOTUS rule to a real life waterway.

Who Will Benefit:

• Target Audience includes professional/business related to compliance with environmental laws
• Small businesses
• Private landowners
• Local and state government officials
• Agricultural cooperative extension service agents and staff
• Regulatory affairs officers
• Trade associations that represent landowners, businesses and public groups impacted by regulation of surface water in the United States

Instructor Profile:

Tamar Cerafici is an internationally recognized leader and legal specialist in the often complex and challenging nuclear regulatory industry. She has been providing clients with expert advice in regulatory compliance, sustainable development, and energy regulation for over twenty-five years.

Ms. Cerafici has been at the forefront of the industry in building regulatory and policy framework for a new generation of nuclear plants. She was a major contributor to the first Early Site Permit granted under 10 CFR Part 52, successfully implementing alternative site analyses that have become the general standard.

Ms. Cerafici has spoken in the U.S. and abroad on issues surrounding sustainability, environmental compliance, and public policy. In her spare time, Ms. Cerafici mentors new attorneys and other professionals in transition to help them understand the dynamic changes in the environmental marketplace.

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