U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced legislation on July 24 to make permanent key exclusions clarifying that waste treatment systems, temporary streams from rain, and groundwater are not navigable waterways.
The “Clarifying Legal Exclusions Around Regulated (CLEAR) Waters Act” excludes covered water features that do not interact with navigable waters from being regulated under waters of the United States (WOTUS).
This follows a bill being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 12 by Mike Collins (R-Georgia) titled “The Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act” that essentially does the same thing.
The introduction of both bills follow U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announcing on March 13 that the EPA would be working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review and revise the definition of “WOTUS.”
Zeldin said the agencies will ensure the revised definition is consistent with the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, 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.
Ernst was with Zeldin when he made the announcement.
“I was thrilled to join EPA Administrator Zeldin in announcing that the Trump administration is revising this misguided and harmful regulatory expansion,” she said. “After leading this fight for a decade, I am making it clear that the federal government has no businesses regulating cooling ponds, municipal treatment plants, groundwater, and streams that only flow after rainfall under WOTUS.”
Following Zeldin’s announcement, NGWA submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on April 23 regarding perspectives on defining “waters of the United States.
In NGWA’s comments, the Association stated:
“NGWA believes that “groundwater, including groundwater drained through subsurface drainage systems, should not be included in the definition of ‘waters of the United States’ and should continue to be regulated and managed by states. Clarification of federal and state jurisdiction is important to commerce and decisions involving economic and environmental tradeoffs.”
NGWA’s comments also provide detail regarding exclusion of wetlands, wastewater recycling structures, surface expression of groundwater, artificially irrigated areas, and stormwater control.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard the 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.
Click here to read Ernst’s bill.