美国环保署的新规则定义水域(the Clean Water Rule) was briefly the law of the land here in Texas. “Waters of the U.S.” is one of the most fundamental of environmental definitions because it effects an array of extensive legislation including Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and most developments that require filling a pond, wetland, or stream. From August 28 to October 8, 2015, the new waters of the U.S. definition was in force, but not clearly understood. It takes time and experience to find the true limits of a new legal definition. The rule has been blocked by two courts putting off implementation of the new definition for now. What is at stake in Texas?
以下是德克萨斯州仍然留下的三个最大问题，而德克萨斯州等待从法院听取：
1. Tributaries
Under the old rule, waters of the U.S. extended from a large navigable river such as the Sabine, up through the various branches that feed into it, all the way up the watershed to the smallest streams that are dry except after a good rain and the wetlands next to them. The focus for a consultant was to find the line between erosion channels, swales, and ditches that are not regulated and a stream or ditch that is regulated. In Texas, the local districts put an emphasis on regulating streams that have an ordinary high water mark. Unfortunately, defining a water of the U.S. by finding the ordinary high water mark is not as simple as it sounds. Wetland professionals had hoped that the new rule would and add clarity to the process.
在新规则下，有规定可以延长或缩小符合美国水的定义的支流长度。支流的定义可能会在新规则下较窄，因为它需要一个床和银行。有希望开发人员可以排除通常是干燥的较小流。那些水道可能有一些普通高水位的证据，但缺乏清晰的床和银行，并在清洁水规则下，不会受到监管。
However, developers may be nervous about new provisions that regulate “tributaries” no matter how small their impact on water quality on downstream rivers and bays. The old rules require that a waterbody have a “significant” nexus to larger downstream waters, which seems to be a higher threshold for regulation than simply qualifying as a tributary. The Clean Water Rule states that all “tributaries” also have a significant nexus, but critics have trouble accepting that broad inclusion of tributaries as regulated.
新规则是否规避了最高法院的2006年的解释，即美国的水，必须对下游河流或海湾有一个“重要的nexus”？新规则的批评者担心，作为支流的干溪资格率可能不会对大型河流或海湾有一个重要的nexus。要受到监管，干溪应该对那些下游水域的化学，物理或生物质量产生可测量的影响。从监管机构的角度来看，一条干溪可能没有巨大的影响，但如果流域中的所有小干溪都填补，那将产生巨大的效果。如果两个观点都有效，您可以看到双方的距离有多远。
2.邻近的水域
支流的定义对单独的流有影响。池塘和湿地的定义为美国的水域受到对支流的邻近的影响。因此，如果沼泽不是支流，那么附近的湿地或池塘也可能被排除在外。当然，相反的是真实的，可能对德克萨斯州政府水域的数量产生重大影响。
美国水域的新定义包括基于距离支流的距离对池塘和湿地进行监管的一些特定的“明亮线”限制。没有进入血腥细节，有明亮的线条包括湿地作为美国的水域;根据水和洪水的存在，距离支流100英尺，1,500英尺，或4,000英尺。明亮的线条规则为识别且可能无法受到监管的人提供清晰度。然而，那些明亮的线条是最近诉讼的目标。受管制池塘和湿地之间的联系应该是基于科学的基础。事实是那些线条根本不科学。即使监管机构认为它们是简单的工具来增加可预测性，它们也可能导致包含可能被排除在规则之外的水域。
2.德克萨斯沿海大草原湿地
Perhaps the biggest “if” lies in determining what Texas coastal prairie wetlands are regulated waters of the U.S. The new Clean Water Rule names “Texas coastal prairie wetlands” as a group of “similarly situated wetlands” that could be regulated waters of the U.S. Under previous interpretations, those wetlands were in many cases not regulated as “isolated” wetlands. The new rule identifies Texas coastal prairie wetlands as a group of similarly situated waters that should be evaluated as a group, rather than individually, for their significant nexus to downstream waters. In my view, this will make it easier for the Corps of Engineers to regulate wetlands located along the gulf coast. The new rule did not provide clear definition of the geographic area, but it did suggest a link to specific geologic formations. It likely includes prairies around Beaumont, Houston, Bay City, Victoria, Corpus Christi, and Kingsville.
目前，新的清洁水规则是持有的。如果您认为您可能会受到新规则产生负面影响的项目，则谨慎，追求美国工程师的工程师的批准司法管辖区。此类司法决定普遍有效期为5年后，除非申请人要求，否则新规则至少承认未重新打开现有决定的意图。
If you have any questions, please contactGene Murray, P.G.