WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have finalized a rule redefining which bodies of water are protected under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). Under the CWA, so-called “Waters of the United States” receive heightened protection, and activities that could affect such waters may be subject to heightened permitting and environmental requirements.

Specifically, by changing the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), this final rule is likely to impact Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements, spill reporting obligations, construction permitting requirements, and effluent discharge monitoring and reporting requirements, among others.

Practically speaking, if you had to comply with CWA permits before now, nothing has changed. However, if you have a store where you previously did not need to comply with CWA requirements, that may have now changed. Even if no obligation is triggered for a particular convenience store you own, you should perform an analysis of your site, especially before building a new site or renovating an old site, to ensure that such activities will not trigger regulatory obligations.

You must be in compliance with the expanded WOTUS rule beginning August 28, 2015.

To ensure compliance with the new rule, ask yourself:

1. Are you already compliant with federal CWA permits because your store impacts what was previously considered a WOTUS?
a. If yes, then you are required to continue complying with the regulations.
b. If no, go to 2.

2. If you have an existing store that was not previously affecting a WOTUS or are planning to build a new store, you need to figure out whether your store is impacting a WOTUS under the revised definition:
a. You can enter your address into U.S. Department of the Interior’s Geological Survey online database to see if you are near any streams or bodies of water.
b. You can enter your address into the U.S. Fish & Wildlife’s National Wetlands inventory to see nearby wetlands.
c. You can request a “Formal Jurisdictional Determination” from your local Corps Office:  See here. 

3. If your convenience store is located near a WOTUS, you may need to start addressing EPA CWA permitting requirements.

For more detailed information about the final rule, review NACS counsel’s in-depth compliance guide here .

You can also read up on the Code of Federal Regulations here.