The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has promulgated a final rule to amend a Clean Water Act (CWA) section 311 regulation that defines the term "navigable waters." This final rule restores the 1973 SPCC rule definition of "navigable waters", as required by a recent court decision, and replaces the definition that the EPA promulgated in 2002. The final rule amends 40 CFR § 112.2 by revising the definition of "navigable waters" to read as follows:

§ 112.2 Definitions. Navigable waters of the United States means "navigable waters" as defined in section 502(7) of the FWPCA, and includes:

• All navigable waters of the United States, as defined in judicial decisions prior to passage of the 1972 Amendments to the FWPCA (Pub. L. 92-500), and tributaries of such waters;
• Interstate waters;
• Intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams which are utilized by interstate travelers for recreational or other purposes; and
• Intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams from which fish or shellfish are taken and sold in interstate commerce.

This rule is effective November 26, 2008.