Comment & Consultation

Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322

Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Announced: 

September 4, 2026

Public Comment Period: 

30 days following publication in the Federal Register

EPA and the Department of the Army announced a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking input on additional regulatory alternatives for the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS).

The WOTUS definition establishes the scope of waters covered by Clean Water Act regulatory programs. The new alternatives will be considered alongside the agencies’ 2025 proposed rule as they develop a final WOTUS definition. 

Tribes and Tribal environmental programs may wish to review the supplemental proposal and consider how the additional regulatory alternatives could affect Clean Water Act jurisdiction and Tribal water resources.

EPA’s Waters of the United States website

EPA is seeking Tribal input on a proposed extension of the manufactured products provision of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) General Applicability Public Interest Waiver for Indian Tribes.

The proposed extension would continue to waive BABA’s manufactured-products requirement for qualifying federal financial assistance agreements awarded to Indian Tribes through December 31, 2026.

This may be particularly important for Alaska Tribes and Tribal programs implementing federally funded infrastructure projects, and EPA has asked that the opportunity be shared broadly with Tribal networks.

Comments may be submitted to EPA’s Office of Water at BABA-OW@epa.gov.

Review EPA’s BABA Waivers Open for Public Comment

Webinar Sept 29 at 3:00 PM Eastern

Microsoft Teams Webinar Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/226662310515817?p=g8xtTxCOms0ncnTg4a

Meeting ID: 226 662 310 515 817

Passcode: W6Hy7qb3

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is initiating consultation and coordination with federally recognized Indian Tribes on the proposed Updates to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Definitions and Exclusions Rulemaking. EPA proposes to revise a regulatory definition under the Clean Water Act permitting regulations pertaining to discharges in the contiguous zone and ocean. The proposal would revise the regulatory definition of “discharge of a pollutant” at 40 CFR 122.2 to align with the statutory exclusion in Clean Water Act section 502(12), 33 U.S.C. 1362(12), of vessels and other floating craft that add pollutants in the contiguous zone or the ocean from the definitions of “discharge of a pollutant” and “discharge,” and therefore from NPDES program requirements. The proposed rule would also make conforming and clarifying changes to the NPDES regulatory exclusion for vessels and other floating craft at 40 CFR 122.3.

EPA’s anticipated timeline for the consultation and coordination period is expected to extend for 45 days from September 4, 2026, through October 19, 2026.

The consultation and coordination plan for this action includes a description of the action under consultation and the process EPA intends to follow, including a timeline for the consultation and coordination period and information on how you can provide input on this action. This information is available on EPA’s Tribal Consultation Opportunities Tracking System (TCOTS) at https://tcots.epa.gov.

The official EPA contact person for this consultation and coordination process is Kenda Conley with the Office of Wastewater Management. Please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Conley by email at conley.kenda@epa.gov or by phone at 202-564-0306 should you have any questions about this action, to request government to government consultation, or if you would like to request alternate arrangements to the process outlined in the consultation and coordination plan.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) is initiating consultation and coordination with federally recognized Tribes regarding regulatory management of unreasonable risks identified in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Risk Evaluations for Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP), Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP), and Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP).

TSCA requires EPA to issue a proposed rule under TSCA section 6(a) applying risk management requirements to the extent necessary to address the unreasonable risks one year after the date on which the final risk evaluation is published and publish a final rule two years after the publication date of the final risk evaluation. EPA’s final risk evaluations for BBP1, DBP2, DCHP3, DEHP4, and DIBP5 were published on regulations.gov and announced via a Federal Register notice on January 6, 2026 (91 FR 373)and is also available (with supporting documents), on EPA’s website.

This consultation and coordination process will be conducted in accordance with the EPA Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes and the Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty or Similar Rights. EPA invites you and/or your designated consultation representative(s) to participate in this process to discuss potential risk management to address the unreasonable risks identified in the BBP, DBP, DCHP, DEHP, and DIBP risk evaluations under TSCA including implications for treaty or similar rights, Indigenous Knowledge, and sacred sites. OCSPP’s anticipated timeline for the consultation and coordination period is expected to extend from September 1, 2026 – November 1, 2026. During this period, two identical technical webinars will be conducted, covering the same information. To participate, OPPT invites you and/or your designee(s) to join us for one or both of the following sessions:

•September 14, 2026 Tribal Technical Briefing 1 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm (ET)

Zoom Registration Link:

https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/2goZiUNARrmaZV3-p0VgGQ

•September 16, 2026 Tribal Technical Briefing 2 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm (ET)

Zoom Registration Link:

https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/_Ke6KlqoQJKioMIDeGe8sQ

We look forward to your participation in this consultation and coordination process and hope that you or your designee(s) can join us for one or both technical webinars. If you have any questions, are unavailable to participate in the webinar and/or have comments, including written comments, would like to request a consultation, or if we may be of additional assistance in the interim, please contact Amanda Miles at miles.amanda@epa.gov or 202-566-0348.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) is initiating consultation and coordination with federally recognized Tribes regarding regulatory management of unreasonable risk identified in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Risk Evaluation for 1,3-butadiene.

TSCA requires EPA to issue a proposed rule under TSCA section 6(a) applying risk management requirements to the extent necessary to address the unreasonable risks one year after the date on which the final risk evaluation is published and publish a final rule two years after the publication date of the final risk evaluation. EPA’s final risk evaluation for 1,3-butadiene found unreasonable risk to human health. The final risk evaluation was published on regulations.gov (Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0451) and announced via a Federal Register notice on January 5, 2026 (91 FR 264) and is available (with supporting documents), on EPA’s website.

This consultation and coordination process will be conducted in accordance with the EPA Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes2 and the Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty or Similar Rights.3 EPA invites you and/or your designated consultation representative(s) to participate in this process to discuss potential risk management to address the unreasonable risks identified in the 1,3-Butadiene risk evaluation from August 10, 2026 to October 9, 2026. During this period, two identical technical webinars will be conducted, covering the same information. To participate, OPPT invites you and/or your designee(s) to join us for one or both of the following sessions:

• August 25, 2026 Tribal Technical Briefing 1 from 2:00- 4:00pm (ET) Zoom Registration Link: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/bK-BCeMaQcWKhiSwKjIp9Q

• September 1, 2026 Tribal Technical Briefing 2 from 2:00- 4:00pm (ET) Zoom Registration Link: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/FICHob5eQkWxz7lwSXiMlw

We look forward to your participation in this consultation and coordination process and hope that you or your designee(s) can join us for one or both technical webinars. If you have any questions, would like to request a consultation, are unavailable to participate in the webinar and/or have comments, including written comments or if we may be of additional assistance in the interim, please contact Amanda Miles at miles.amanda@epa.gov or (202) 566-0348.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released draft risk evaluations for o-dichlorobenzene (oDCB) and p-dichlorobenzene (pDCB) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and is seeking public comment.

Both chemicals are used in certain household and commercial products and can evaporate into indoor air. pDCB is commonly associated with some air fresheners, deodorizing products, and moth repellents. EPA’s draft evaluations examined potential exposures for workers, consumers, the general public, and the environment.

Among the preliminary findings:

• EPA identified unreasonable risks to workers from several occupational uses of both chemicals.
• EPA also identified consumer inhalation risks for certain uses, including some products containing pDCB.
• EPA’s draft evaluations did not identify unreasonable risks to the general public through ambient outdoor air or to the environment under the evaluated conditions.

If finalized, EPA could develop risk management actions under TSCA to address identified risks.