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Section 404 of the CWA: <br />1. Deference shall be accorded to the local, state or tribal governmental unit, or other sponsoring individual or <br />organization regarding the need for, timing, and the siting of a CWA § 404 - regulated project. <br />2. In considering the project purpose and need for water development projects proposed by states, tribes or other <br />local governmental subdivisions, the purpose and need shall be defined by the project sponsor. The purpose and <br />need as identified by the Federal agency shall incorporate the sponsor's purpose and need in its entirety. <br />3. The EPA's authority under § 404 (c) of the Act shall be limited to identifying and directing unresolved concerns to <br />the Secretary of the Army for a final decision. <br />4. The Corps of Engineers shall adopt simplified procedures for issuing general and nationwide permits and for <br />transferring 404 permit authority to states. The scope of actions covered under general or nationwide permits shall <br />not be narrowed from that existing on January 1, 1997. <br />5. Section 404 shall provide for a simplified and expeditious permit process to help facilitate recovery from <br />Federally- Declared Disasters. <br />6. The EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shall establish guidelines and objective measures for mitigation, <br />and defer to the Corps of Engineers on matters of engineering, economics, flood control and other areas within the <br />Corps' expertise. <br />7. All relevant agencies including the EPA shall participate in the pre - application consultations and shall work <br />constructively with applicants to resolve problems that arise during the permit process. <br />8. Section 404 shall provide for routine maintenance activities to be covered by the initial permit process and allow <br />for automatic renewal so long as the activity remains substantially the same. <br />9. Section 404 shall provide an exemption for construction of emergency water supply projects and any incidental <br />fallback. <br />10. Section 404 jurisdiction should not apply to water surfaces and water related vegetation areas created artificially <br />incidental to irrigation, hydropower, flood control and water supply projects, or to intrastate wetland areas that are <br />not hydrologically connected to other bodies of water. <br />Non -Point Source: <br />1. The CWA shall encourage necessary, cost effective and reasonable voluntary measures to control non -point source <br />discharges including the use of BMPs and pollutant trading. <br />2. The EPA shall consult with the appropriate agencies within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture and all <br />affected state, tribal and local entities before identifying non -point source control measures. <br />Non -point source controls shall be integrated, to the extent determined appropriate by state and local entities, with <br />watershed management programs designed to achieve overall progress towards water quality objectives in that <br />watershed. <br />4. Non -point sources shall not be subject to Section 401 certification review requirements. <br />Section 402 of the CWA, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits: <br />Use of materials approved by EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act shall not be <br />subject to CWA regulation when used in accordance with label instructions. <br />2. Irrigation canals and facilities constructed for the transportation, storage, and treatment of water for public water <br />supply purposes shall not be classified as waters of the United States for regulatory purposes. <br />n <br />