Last month, Barry Rabe was nominated to co-chair the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Assumable Waters Subcommittee.
The subcommittee will take on the Clean Water Act's (CWA) Section 404 program, which enables states and tribes to regulate the dumping of dredge and fill material into their waterways.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently handles the process in most states. According to the EPA, states have raised concerns that CWA regulations lack clarity to enable states and tribes to determine which waterways they are allowed to regulate. The subcommittee will provide advice on how the EPA can simplify the process and enable more states and tribes to participate in the program.
Barry Rabe is the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy and director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.