Overview
- Administrator Lee Zeldin unveiled a draft rule that the EPA and Army Corps say implements the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett decision by tightening which waters fall under federal jurisdiction.
- The proposal defines key terms, including “relatively permanent” as standing or continuously flowing year‑round or during the wet season and “continuous surface connection” as surface water present at least in the wet season.
- Streams would need a discernible bed and banks to qualify, and exclusions are reiterated for features such as groundwater, many ditches, previously converted cropland and waste treatment systems.
- The regulatory impact analysis estimates only about 19% of mapped wetlands would remain covered, with sharp variation by state, including roughly 2.4% in Arizona and about 5% in Iowa.
- Industry and agricultural groups praised the clarity and reduced permitting burdens, while environmental groups warned of weakened protections and signaled potential litigation as a 45‑day public comment period opens with two hybrid public meetings.