401 Water Quality Certifications for hydropower licenses

EPA implemented a new Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule that took effect Sept. 11, 2020. This new federal rule has changed how we process requests for Section 401 water quality certifications.

Under EPA's rule, all applicants must first file a pre-filing meeting request at least 30 days before submitting a Section 401 water quality certification request.

To comply with EPA's new rule:

• Before submitting a Section 401 certification request, please request a pre-filing meeting with Ecology at least 30 days beforehand. We have developed a pre-filing request form to assist applicants.
• At least 30 days after submitting a pre-filing meeting request, applicants may then submit their entire Section 401 request, along with a 401 Request Form, to Ecology and the federal permitting agency.
  • For most requests, the federal permitting agency is typically the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For hydropower dams, the federal permitting agency is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For NPDES permits, the federal permitting agency is the EPA.
• All Section 401 requests must meet the federal requirements in this table.

Applicants must submit their pre-filing meeting requests, Section 401 water quality requests, and any supporting documents to us electronically at ecyrefedpermits@ecy.wa.gov.

If you are having any difficulties accessing forms, please contact our Federal Permits Unit at ecyrefedpermits@ecy.wa.gov or 360-407-6076.

We are still working to understand how EPA's new rule might change other state review processes for Section 401 requests. We will be updating our web content and sending notifications as we work to comply with the new rule.

Please check back regularly for the latest updates.