The request, announced Friday, comes nearly a year after the EPA first proposed redefining “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act following a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that stripped federal protections from vast wetland areas. The supplemental rule will allow the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate a wider range of policy options before issuing a final regulation implementing the court’s decision.
WOTUS Rule Follows Sackett v. EPA Decision
The rulemaking stems from the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA, which sharply limited the federal government’s authority to regulate water pollution in certain wetlands. The ruling favored Michael and Chantell Sackett, an Idaho couple who fought for years to build a home near a lake, and tilted the legal landscape toward property rights over clean water protections.
The Clean Water Act’s scope has reached the Supreme Court twice since 2006, reflecting decades of litigation over which wetlands and waterways fall under federal jurisdiction. The EPA’s latest proposal aims to implement the Sackett decision by focusing on relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water — such as streams, oceans, rivers and lakes — along with wetlands directly connected to those waters.
Under the narrower framework, wetlands that lack a clear surface connection to federally protected waters would fall outside federal permitting requirements. That shift could remove millions of acres of wetlands from Clean Water Act oversight, according to estimates from environmental organizations — though the EPA has not released its own projection of how many wetlands would lose federal protection under the final rule.
Zeldin Frames Rollback as Economic Relief
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the rule will cut “bureaucratic red tape” while protecting water quality and “recognizing that states and tribes are best positioned to manage their own water resources.” The agency said the measure will deliver greater predictability for landowners, farmers, ranchers, energy producers, technology companies, developers and small businesses.
“The EPA’s goal is a durable WOTUS definition that follows the law and ends burdensome regulatory uncertainty,” Zeldin said in a statement. He framed the supplemental comment request as a commitment to transparency, saying public feedback will “help strengthen the real-world expertise behind the final rule.”
The WOTUS rulemaking is among dozens of environmental regulations the Trump administration is rolling back as part of what Zeldin has called an effort to accelerate economic prosperity while putting “a dagger through the heart of climate change religion.” The broader deregulatory push has targeted emissions rules, drilling restrictions and climate reporting requirements across multiple federal agencies.
Critics Warn of Damage to Waterways and Wildlife
Environmental groups have condemned the EPA water rule as a giveaway to industrial interests and agricultural operators. J.W. Glass, a policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the Trump EPA’s push will “destroy thousands of miles of waterways critical to wildlife across the United States” and leave low-lying areas exposed to climate-fueled storm surges.
Glass said the proposal would “wipe out life-sustaining waterways in every corner of the nation” and particularly threaten the Western U.S., where intermittent streams and isolated wetlands play critical roles in regional ecosystems. Jon Devine, director of freshwater ecosystems at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the measure “declares open season” on the nation’s waterways and would “virtually eliminate protection for freshwater wetlands.”
Zeldin rejected those arguments, countering that any lands removed from federal wetlands protection will still face state and tribal regulation. Whether states have the funding, staff and legal framework to fill the regulatory gap remains an open question — many states lack wetland programs comparable to the federal Clean Water Act permitting system.
States Face Patchwork as Federal Oversight Recedes
The shift toward state-level oversight also raises practical questions about the EPA water rule and regulatory consistency. Businesses operating across multiple states must navigate varying wetland protection standards — a patchwork that could widen as more waters fall outside federal jurisdiction. Industry groups have generally welcomed the rollback, arguing that federal overreach imposed costly delays on routine projects from home construction to pipeline installation.
Tribal governments, meanwhile, have warned that reduced federal oversight could disproportionately affect waters on or near tribal lands, where state regulatory authority is often limited by sovereignty disputes and jurisdictional gaps. The tension between federal retreat and state capacity will shape how effectively water quality is protected once the final rule takes effect.
What Happens Next
The EPA and Army Corps will accept public comments for 30 days once the supplemental plan appears in the Federal Register, expected within the next week. The proposed WOTUS rule has already generated more than 220,000 comments and three public meetings, signaling intense interest from stakeholders on both sides of the debate.
Once finalized, the regulation is likely to face legal challenges from environmental organizations and downstream states concerned about water quality. The rule’s fate may hinge on how courts interpret the Sackett decision’s limits on federal wetlands jurisdiction — and whether the EPA’s effort to narrow its own authority survives judicial scrutiny. For now, the supplemental public comments period gives farmers, developers, conservationists and tribal governments a final window to shape a regulation that will reshape federal clean water enforcement for years to come.
— Sofia Alvarez, government desk, AXO News