A plea for patience and research on surface water connectivity in the U.S. Clean Water Act

While winter has proven to be one of the coldest and snowiest seasons on record throughout much of the United States, the coming summer could be unseasonably warm in Washington, DC if the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) successfully implements its reinterpretation of one of the nation's proudest environmental regulatory accomplishments, the Clean Water Act (CWA). In 2013, USEPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) bypassed the traditional scientific review and public comment process by submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed rule establishing a broad interpretation of the scope of the forty year old CWA. In the US, the OMB is tasked, among other duties, with evaluating the significance of agency policies and proposed regulations on the national economy. Integr Environ Assess Manag © 2014 SETAC.