Environmental Resource Permitting Program News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Highlights The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signed an agreement to delegate to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) the authority to issue wetland permits in the state under Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), effective on Dec. 22, 2020. Florida joins only two other states, New Jersey and Michigan, that have assumed such authority. The new FDEP regulations include enforceable deadlines, shorter review periods and shorter comment periods, the combination of which is expected to eventually reduce time and cost for the processing of permits. H...

Friday, December 18, 2020 Before yesterday only two states had received approval to administer the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404 program (Michigan and New Jersey), and no state had received approval since 1994.  Now, for the first time in over 25 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the formal transfer of section 404 permitting authority to a third state: Florida.  Once EPA’s approval is published in the Federal Register, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) will “assume” 404 permitting authority from the U.S. Army Cor...