ule will be effective January 26, 2023.EPA And Army Announce Final Rule Establishing Definition Of WOTUS: On December 30, 2022, EPA and the U.S. Department of the Army announced a final rule establishing a durable definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to reduce uncertainty from changing regulatory definitions, protect people’s health, and support economic opportunity. EPA states that the final rule will restore essential water protections that were in place prior to 2015 under the CWA for traditional navigable waters, the territorial seas, and interstate waters, as well as upstream water resources that significantly affect those waters. EPA has posted a pre-publication version of the Federal Register notice. The final rule will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.EPA Proposes To Amend Lime Manufacturing NESHAP: On January 5, 2023, EPA published a proposed rule that would amend the NESHAP for Lime Manufacturing Plants (Lime Manufacturing NESHAP). 88 Fed. Reg. 805. EPA states that to ensure that all emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from sources in the source category are regulated, it is proposing HAP emissions standards for the following pollutants: hydrogen chloride (HCl), mercury, total hydrocarbon (THC) as a surrogate for organic HAP, and dioxin/furans (D/F). Comments are due February 21, 2023. EPA notes that under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of the comments on or before February 6, 2023.EPA Will Propose To Strengthen PM2.5 NAAQS: On January 6, 2023, EPA announced that it will propose to revise the primary annual standard for particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) by lowering it. According to the pre-publication version of the Federal Register notice, EPA will propose to retain the current primary 24-hour PM2.5 standard and the primary 24-hour PM10 standard. EPA will also propose not to c