Washington AG Provided Testimony on Clean Water Act Section 401 Before Senate Committee

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

A representative of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works regarding proposed changes to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which gives states authority over water quality certifications for federally permitted activities within their borders. The testimony emphasized that “the extreme changes being proposed to Section 401” in a rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and in legislation pending in the Senate “are unfounded and unnecessary; they run counter to congressional intent and the concept of cooperative federalism; and they carry grave risks to clean water for families in every state.”