Public Notice: Water Quality Certification of 2026 Nationwide Permits in North Dakota
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Omaha District, North Dakota Regulatory Office for a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) for the proposed 2026 Nationwide Permits. Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA requires applicants for Federal permits and licenses that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge would originate.
EPA acts as the certifying authority in areas of Indian country[1] on behalf of those Tribes that have not received treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) for Section 401, in this case the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, Spirit Lake Tribe of the Spirit Lake Reservation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of the Standing Rock Reservation, Three Affiliated Tribes (the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation) of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. EPA also acts as the certifying authority on lands of exclusive federal jurisdiction in relevant respects.[2]
EPA will act on this certification request by either:
- granting certification;
- granting certification with conditions;
- denying certification; or
- expressly waiving certification for each NWP consistent with CWA Section 401 and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR 121.
Project Description
Applicant’s Name
Benjamin Reile (benjamin.d.reile@usace.army.mil)
Senior Project Manager
North Dakota Regulatory Office, Omaha District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Waterways
Waters of the United States within Indian Country lands in North Dakota and Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction in relevant respects.
Nationwide permits are a type of general permit issued by Corps designed to streamline the permitting process for activities having minimal impacts to jurisdictional waters of the United States. Activities can be authorized under a NWP only if that activity and the permittee satisfy all the NWP terms and conditions, including regional conditions. The current set of NWPs were published in 2021 and are set to expire in 2026. The Corps issued a Federal Register Notice for the proposal to reissue the NWPs on June 18, 2025. Information related to the reissuance and modification of NWPs, including the draft decision documents for the NWPs can be found on Regulations.gov.
A summary table of the proposed changes to the NWPs can be found on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.
Division engineers are authorized to add regional conditions specific to the needs and/or requirements of a particular region or state. Regional conditions are an important mechanism to help ensure that the adverse environmental effects of activities authorized by the NWPs are no more than minimal, both individually and cumulatively.
See the proposed regional conditions for the NWP in North Dakota.
EPA Region 8 provided certification decisions on behalf of those Tribes that have not received TAS for Section 401 for the 2021 NWP reissuance:
Public Comments
Submit comments as described in the “How to Comment” box at the righthand side of this webpage. The EPA must receive comments by 11:59 pm on August 2, 2025.
All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered in the preparation of the Clean Water Action Section 401 Water Quality Certification and will be part of the administrative record. Contact Estella Moore (R8CWA401@epa.gov ; 303-312-6357) to request additional information, public notice updates, submit comments or provide additional information relevant to this certification.
At this time there is no opportunity to review the submitted material and documents in person at an EPA office. These documents are only available electronically and can be provided upon request.
Notice of any extension of the comment period will be published on this page and sent to those who have requested updates.
Public Hearings
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. If the Administrator, in his or her discretion, determines that a public hearing is appropriate or necessary, the EPA will schedule a public hearing. You may request a public hearing using the information n the “How to Comment” box on the righthand side of this webpage.
[1] Indian country in North Dakota generally includes (1) lands within the exterior boundaries of the following Indian reservations located within North Dakota: the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, the Spirit Lake Reservation, the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, and the Turtle Mountain Reservation; (2) any land held in trust by the United States for an Indian tribe (including but not limited to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe); and (3) any other areas that are “Indian country” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Section 1151.
[2] An inventory report compiled by the U.S. General Services Administration for federal properties as of 1962 identifies properties that may contain exclusive federal jurisdiction. EPA notes that this inventory report is not all-inclusive and that the information contained within it has not been recently confirmed and/or updated. Please contact EPA Region 8 at R8CWA401@epa.gov with questions regarding the jurisdictions where this certification decision applies.