33 CFR § 328.1 - Purpose.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t33/s328.1"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "33 CFR § 328.1 - Purpose."
title_number: 33
title_name: "Navigation and Navigable Waters"
section_number: "328.1"
section_name: "Purpose."
chapter_name: "CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE"
part_number: "328"
part_name: "DEFINITION OF WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "33 U.S.C. 1251"
regulatory_source: "51 FR 41250, Nov. 13, 1986, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "328"
---


# 328.1 Purpose.

This section defines the term “waters of the United States” as it applies to the jurisdictional limits of the authority of the Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act. It prescribes the policy, practice, and procedures to be used in determining the extent of jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers concerning “waters of the United States.” The terminology used by section 404 of the Clean Water Act includes “navigable waters” which is defined at section 502(7) of the Act as “waters of the United States including the territorial seas.” To provide clarity and to avoid confusion with other Corps of Engineer regulatory programs, the term “waters of the United States” is used throughout 33 CFR parts 320 through 330. This section does not apply to authorities under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 except that some of the same waters may be regulated under both statutes (see 33 CFR parts 322 and 329).