Office of Water Policy for Draft Documents

On August 6, 2019, the Office of Water issued a policy for managing draft documents. EPA often issues guidance and policy documents related to the national program. In some cases, the Office of Water has issued these documents in draft form but not taken steps to timely issue them in final form. This has caused some confusion for states administering Office of Water programs, the regulated community, and the public.

The Office of Water has determined that draft documents that have not been finalized within a reasonable period of time should be managed appropriately to prevent confusion and misuse of non-final Agency documents. To that end, effective immediately, all draft documents that were issued more than two years ago and that have not been finalized are hereby rescinded. In addition, any draft documents that have been recently issued must be finalized within two years of the draft date or will automatically be rescinded. Lastly, any future draft documents that are not issued in final within two years of the draft date shall be automatically rescinded.