Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act defines a permitting program for dredge and fill activities in wetlands and other waters of the United States.  Section 404 also allows a state or tribe to administer its own permit program to regulate these activities in lieu of the federal program for most nontidal waters, given approval from the EPA.  In 2010, the Association of State Wetland Managers and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) convened a national workgroup to facilitate state and tribal “assumption” of the Section 404 Program.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment will hold a hearing: "Forty Years after the Clean Water Act: Is it Time for the States to Implement Section 404 Permitting" scheduled for September 20 at 10:00 a.m. For more information, click here.

Clean Water Act Section 404 Program Assumption: A Handbook for States and Tribes

Section 404 Assumption Fact Sheets