Issue a rule prohibiting retroactive or preemptive CWA Section 404 permits

Not started

Printed page 429 13. Environmental Protection Agency

“A rule to prohibit retroactive or preemptive permits under CWA Section 404.”

What has happened

Aug 27, 2026 Not started

No rule prohibits retroactive or preemptive action on §404 permits. EPA's §404(c) authority to veto a disposal site before a permit is applied for or after one is issued is unchanged, and the water rulemaking of this window has gone to the definition of waters of the United States and to §401 certification instead.

No action found yet. This entry is the starting point, not a finding.

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Negative search (2026-08-27): no EPA rule or proposal in the window addresses retroactive or preemptive permits under §404, and the Federal Register full-text search returns only the waters of the United States proposal, which mentions §404 in passing.
The Quote is aimed at EPA’s §404(c) veto power — the authority to block a permit before the Army Corps issues it or after it has been issued. That authority remains in the regulations.
EPA’s full regulatory agenda, read 2026-09-01. The full EPA Unified Agenda was read on reginfo.gov (214 entries across the active, long-term and completed stages), because the Federal Register prints only the entries that need a Regulatory Flexibility analysis and the 2026-08-27 negative search was taken from that abbreviated version. No entry anywhere in the 214 mentions section 404 permits; EPA’s Office of Water entries are effluent guidelines, drinking water and the “waters of the United States” definition. The negative now reaches the agenda as well as the Federal Register.