Trump EPA to Again Rewrite WOTUS Rule

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “for the fourth time in the past decade, the Environmental Protection Agency will write a new rule for regulating waters of the United States, one that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said will closely align with a Supreme Court decision and alleviate regulatory risks for farmers.”

“Zeldin on Wednesday announced the latest attempt to write a new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule ‘and make sure we are fixing WOTUS once and for all.’ Zeldin said the new rule will more closely align with the Supreme Court ruling on Sackett v EPA that significantly narrowed the definition of WOTUS,” Clayton reported. “The Sackett decision limited EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to regulating only wetlands and waterways with a continuous surface connection to a larger body of water.”

“EPA and the Corps on Wednesday announced a joint memorandum to field staff about implementation of a ‘continuous surface connection’ in accordance with Sackett,” Clayton reported.

Bloomberg Law’s Bobby Magill reported Wednesday that the EPA “will hold a series of public ‘listening sessions’ that will ‘inform any future administrative actions’ on the definition of WOTUS, according to a draft Federal Register notice EPA published alongside the guidance. The EPA will review the current definition, and the listening sessions will focus on hearing from people who were ‘sidelined during the previous administration,’ the agency said in a news release.”

WOTUS Rulemaking has been like Ping Pong

Magill reported that “the EPA’s move is the next twist in the long history of WOTUS.”

The Washington Post’s Maxine Joselow reported that “in 2015, the Obama administration widened the law’s scope to cover even ephemeral streams that flow only after it rains. North Dakota, Wyoming and other states challenged the rule in court, leading a federal judge to pause its implementation. During President Donald Trump’s first term, the EPA repealed the Obama-era rule and in 2019 created a new, weaker one. The Biden administration then tried to strike a balance in 2023 by undoing the Trump-era rule and redefining the law’s scope as ‘traditional navigable waters,’ including interstate waterways.”

Joselow reported that the EPA’s announcement “kicks off a years-long rulemaking process that could limit the reach of the Clean Water Act, passed in 1972 to protect all ‘waters of the United States’ from harmful pollution. The Biden administration had expanded the law’s scope in an effort to curb the flow of pollutants including livestock waste, construction runoff and industrial effluent.”

“The new rule will stop the ‘pingpong’ between definitions, Zeldin said,” according to Magill’s reporting. “Businesses are tired of the WOTUS ‘whiplash,’ and farmers are angry over fines they faced because of WOTUS misunderstandings, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said during the announcement.”

Ag Groups Cheer, Environmental Groups Jeer Rewrite

Joselow reported that “Andrew Wetzler, senior vice president of the nature program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, criticized the latest change announced Wednesday. ‘Trump’s EPA is moving to radically restrict protections for our waterways and wetlands,’ Wetzler said in a statement. ‘With this change, EPA is doing the bidding of polluters — taking an extreme approach that will leave communities across the country vulnerable to more pollution, flooding and environmental harm.'”

America’s farmers and ranchers will be better off with a clear and simple WOTUS definition that stands the test of time. @USDA supports @EPA’s revisions of WOTUS that provide certainty and recognize the key role agriculture plays in protecting our beautiful natural resources. https://t.co/czllPQFZ0k

— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) March 12, 2025

“Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a powerful farm group, praised the move, which comes as many farmers face uncertainty due to Trump’s tariffs and trade decisions,” Joselow reported. “‘This is a first big step in a very difficult farm economy that gives farmers and ranchers hope — hope that good things are going to happen in the future,’ he said.”

“The new guidance will provide immediate relief for landowners that have wetlands far from traditional navigable waters, said Larry Liebesman, a senior adviser at the environmental and water permitting firm Dawson & Associates,” according to Magill’s reporting. “It ‘puts the burden on the Corps and EPA to implement a more specific analysis of what establishes a hydrological connection,’ he said.”