Get Navigable Waters Rules Annotated - In

The Navigable Waters Protection Rule ing to the Federal Register, this new rule drastically limited the scope of WOTUS and defined them as: The traditional navigable waters and territorial seas include large lakes, rivers, and waterbodies that are tidally influenced and used in foreign or interstate commerce.

The act itself defines navigable waters to include the territorial seas, which generally means the oceans out to three miles offshore. This aspect of the law protects against offshore discharges from sewage plants, power plants, factories, and oceangoing vessels.

Navigable Waters of the United States This term includes the oceans and navigable coastal and inland waters, lakes, rivers, and streams. Corps jurisdiction extends shoreward to the mean high water line.

The Canadian Navigable Waters Act includes protections for navigation on all navigable waters in Canada. Scheduled navigable waters are listed on a Schedule to the Act so that any works in those waterways that may interfere with navigation can receive extra oversight.

The act itself defines navigable waters to include the territorial seas, which generally means the oceans out to three miles offshore. This aspect of the law protects against offshore discharges from sewage plants, power plants, factories, and oceangoing vessels.

In 2012, omnibus budget Bill C-45 changed one of Canada's oldest laws, the Navigable Waters Protection Act, into the Navigation Protection Act, removing key legal protections from over 99% of Canada's lakes and rivers.

Navigable waters of the United States are those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce.

Why it Matters. This rule defines which streams and wetlands are protected by the Clean Water Act. A narrow definition would leave many wetlands and streams subject to state jurisdiction, which could constrain pollution prevention efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A navigable water is one that the public has a right to use for travel or transport. It can include a canal or any other body of water created or altered by construction. In deciding whether to call a water “navigable”, proponents can use the Project Review Tool available on the External Submission Site.