Washington Update

EPA Proposes New Language to Revise Clean Water Act Rules on Wetlands

WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed redefining key words in the Clean Water Act that would limit protections for wetlands. 

The proposal cites Sackett v. EPA, a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that limited federal pollution regulation over wetlands by claiming all wetlands must have “a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their own right” to be protected under the Clean Water Act.

According to a GIS analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 38 million to 70 million acres of wetlands are at risk of pollution or destruction under post-Sackett decisions.

The proposal would “dramatically narrow which waters are covered by federal safeguards, leaving many wetlands and headwaters vulnerable to pollution and destruction,” the NRDC said in a statement

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association hailed the proposed changes to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule announced by the Trump administration and the Environmental Protection Agency recently as “a long-needed return to reality.”

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, together with Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle, announced on Nov. 17 a proposed rule that would establish a clear, durable, common-sense definition of WOTUS under the Clean Water Act. 

The proposal, unveiled at an event at EPA headquarters in Washington, follows the Supreme Court decision in Sackett vs. EPA and will provide more regulatory certainty to support the nation’s farmers and advance the EPA’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative, Sec. Zeldin said.

Key proposed revisions include:

  • Defining key terms like “relatively permanent,” “continuous surface connection,” and “tributary” to appropriately delineate the scope of WOTUS consistent with the Clean Water Act and Supreme Court precedent;
  • Establishing that jurisdictional tributaries must connect to traditional navigable waters either directly or through other features that provide predictable and consistent flow;
  • Reaffirming that wetlands must be indistinguishable from jurisdictional waters through a continuous surface connection, which means that they must touch a jurisdictional water and hold surface water for a requisite duration year after year;
  • Strengthening state and tribal decision-making authority by providing clear regulatory guidelines while recognizing their expertise in local land and water resources;
  • Preserving and clarifying exclusions for certain ditches, prior converted cropland, and waste treatment systems; Adding a new exclusion for groundwater; and
  • Incorporating locally familiar terminology, such as “wet season,” to help determine whether a water body qualifies as WOTUS;

EPA officials stated that when finalized, the rule will cut red tape and provide predictability, consistency and clarity for American industry, energy producers, the technology sector, farmers, ranchers, developers, businesses and landowners for permitting under the Clean Water Act. 

ARTBA President and CEO Dave Bauer said “projects that keep Americans safe and get them out of traffic will face one less bureaucratic hurdle” once the new rule is finalized.

He added that the proposal “reflects what the law and common sense have always said: a roadside ditch is not a navigable waterway. EPA’s move is a long-needed return to reality that respects the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision and protects real waterways, not every puddle or roadside ditch.”

Published: December 11, 2025.

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