(a) Comments and reply comments. Comments, protests, interventions, recommendations, and preliminary terms and conditions or preliminary fishway prescriptions must be filed no later than 60 days after the notice of acceptance and ready for environmental analysis. All reply comments must be filed within 105 days of that notice.

(b) Water quality certification.

(1) With regard to certification requirements for a license applicant under Section 401(a)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act), the license applicant must file no later than 60 days following the date of issuance of the notice of acceptance and ready for environmental analysis provide for in §5.22:

(i) A copy of the water quality certification;

(ii) A copy of the request for certification, including proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; or

(iii) Evidence of waiver of water quality certification as described in paragraph (b)(5)(2) of this Section.

(2) A certifying agency is deemed to have waived the certification requirements of section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act if the certifying agency has not denied or granted certification by one year after the date the certifying agency received a written request for certification. If a certifying agency denies certification, the applicant must file a copy of the denial within 30 days after the applicant received it.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision in 18 CFR part 4, subpart B, any application to amend an existing license, and any application to amend a pending application for a license, requires a new request for water quality certification pursuant to §4.34(b)(5) of this chapter if the amendment would have a material adverse impact on the water quality in the discharge from the project or proposed project.