U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on March 13 that the EPA will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review and revise the definition of “waters of the United States (WOTUS).”
Zeldin said the agencies will make sure the revised definition follows the law, reduce red-tape, cuts overall permitting costs, and lowers the cost of doing business in communities across the country while protecting the nation’s navigable waters from pollution.
“We want clean water for all Americans supported by clear and consistent rules for all states, farmers, and small businesses,” Zeldin said. “Our goal is to protect America’s water resources consistent with the law of the land while empowering American farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, and families.”
The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case concerning WOTUS in May 2023, eventually ruling in favor of Chantell and Michael Sackett in their case against the EPA. It ruled that to be categorized as WOTUS, bodies of water must have a direct physical connection and appear almost as one continuous body of water.
The case originated after the Sacketts began building a new home in Idaho and placed a large quantity of sand and gravel on their empty plot of land. The EPA soon notified the Sacketts that their property contained protected wetlands that qualify as “navigable waters” or “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act and that all construction must stop.
The Sacketts argued there was no direct connection between their property and the federally protected waters, and that the EPA had no jurisdiction over their property. The case has been working its way through the court system since 2012 before finally arriving at the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s ruling significantly impacted the EPA’s jurisdiction in enforcing the Clean Water Act. Previously, the EPA deemed certain wetlands and waterways not directly connected to navigable water as under the authority of the act through the “significant nexus” test. The significant nexus test attempts to determine if a body of water can create a chemical or environmental impact on another body of water to which it is not directly connected. In their majority opinion, the court decided this test was too vague and implemented with almost no congressional input.
In February of 2022, NGWA sent comments to the EPA urging it to postpone any additional work on drafting a new WOTUS rule until the Sackett case was decided. The EPA did not accept the recommendation and published a new rule earlier that year.
Within its 2022 comments, NGWA reiterated its long-held stance that groundwater should largely remain managed by state and local governments and tribes:
“Because groundwater quality and supply issues vary dramatically across the United States, NGWA believes state and local authorities are best positioned to regulate and manage their groundwater supply.”
The EPA previously reevaluated the definition and rules governing WOTUS in 2015 and again in 2019.
Click here to read more about the announcement.