Company: CRCE
Filing Date: 2025-03-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001096906-25-000275
Chunk: 20

Company: Circle Energy, Inc./NV
Filing Date: 2025-03-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 20
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 regarding the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters, defined as waters of the United States (“WOTUS”), as well as state waters. The CWA prohibits the placement of dredge or fill material in wetlands or other WOTUS unless authorized by a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) or a delegated state agency pursuant to Section 404. In addition, the CWA and analogous state laws require individual permits or coverage under general permits for discharges of storm water runoff from certain types of facilities. Some states also maintain groundwater protection programs that require permits for discharges or operations that may impact groundwater conditions. Also, in June 2016, the EPA issued a final rule implementing wastewater pretreatment standards that prohibit onshore unconventional oil and natural gas extraction facilities from sending wastewater to publicly owned treatment works. This restriction of disposal options for hydraulic fracturing waste and other changes to CWA requirements may result in increased costs. Federal and state regulatory agencies can impose administrative, civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance with discharge permits or other requirements of the CWA and analogous state laws and regulations.

8

The scope of EPA’s and the Corps’ regulatory authority under Section 404 of the CWA has been the subject of extensive litigation and frequently changing regulations. The EPA issued a final rule in September 2015 that attempted to clarify the federal jurisdictional reach over WOTUS under Section 404 of the CWA. The EPA and the Corps issued a final rule in January 2018 staying implementation of the 2015 WOTUS rule for two years. On October 22, 2019, EPA and the Corps published a final rule repealing the 2015 WOTUS rule. The EPA and the Corps replaced the 2015 WOTUS rule by promulgating the Navigable Waters Protection Rule on April 21, 2020, which provides a revised definition of WOTUS and became effective on June 22, 2020.  These regulations have been challenged in federal court. The final revised definition of WOTUS was published in the Federal Register on January 18, 2023 and took effect on March 20, 2023 to conform with the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency which amended the definition of “waters of the United States.” Any future litigation and future regulations concerning the definition of WOTUS may result in an expansion of the scope of the CWA’s jurisdiction, and we could face increased costs and