Waters Advocacy Coalition cautions Corps against broadening jurisdiction with OHWM

The Waters Advocacy Coalition, comprised of 45 organizations from a broad cross-section of the economy, submitted the following comments addressing the Interim Draft of the National Ordinary High Water Mark Field Delineation Manual for Rivers and Streams to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on November 30.

“Despite the Corps’ characterizations of the Draft Manual, the OHWM is critical to understanding what constitutes WOTUS under the current regulations,” the coalition said in the letter.

“Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA, there is no question that the presence of an OHWM is irrelevant to determining whether a tributary meets the relatively permanent standard.”

Read WAC’s full comments on the Draft Manual here.