Watchdog 401 Certifications

Despite their importance, 401 certifications are often not reviewed by members of the public. You can make a difference by tracking the issuance of 401 certifications in your basin or state and by making sure that federal actions requiring a certification are in fact getting the required certification.

Get on your state's mailing list for public notices of proposed 401 certifications in your basin.
Find out how many 401 certifications your state has issued in the last year. Review a few to see what kinds of practices they are requiring and approving.
If draft 401 certifications are not addressing your concerns about the proposed activity, submit comments to your state agency.
If completed 401 certifications are not addressing your concerns, and permitted activities may cause or are causing water quality problems, consider filing a 60- day notice of intent to sue the state agency.
Contact the federal agencies that grant permits and licenses for current and proposed activities in your basin. For instance, if development of wetlands is an issue in your area, contact the Army Corps of Engineers. Find out when each permit is up for renewal, and make sure there's an application for 401 certification at that point. If no application is made, you can sue the federal permitting agency for failing to require a 401 certificate.