The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Army announced a new proposed rule on September 4 that would strip federal Clean Water Act protections from most wetlands in the United States. The measure goes further than an initial proposal released in November and is the latest step in a long fight over the legal definition of "waters of the United States."
A wider rollback than the first plan
The new rule is a supplement to the administration's earlier effort to rewrite the definition after the Supreme Court's 2023 Sackett decision narrowed federal authority over waterways. Environmental groups said the updated version would remove protections from millions of acres of wetlands that the earlier draft would have kept covered. A 30-day public comment period opens once the rule is published in the Federal Register. The Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Sackett limited federal authority to wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to regulated waterways. Supporters of the new proposal say it applies that reading consistently across the country and removes case-by-case tests that had kept some isolated wetlands under federal oversight.
Why wetlands matter
Wetlands act like natural sponges and filters. They slow floodwater, trap pollution and feed the streams and aquifers that supply drinking water to many communities. They also provide habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife. The Environmental Defense Fund said shrinking the rules would raise flood risk and leave drinking water sources with less protection.
Property owners cheer, lawsuits likely
Farmers, ranchers and rural landowners have long called the federal protections an intrusion on property rights, and many welcomed the proposal. Any final rule is expected to face lawsuits from states and environmental groups, which means the practical effect could stay uncertain for years. For now, the definition of protected waters in the United States sits at its narrowest point in decades, with the fight over its final shape just beginning.